[Vision2020] RE: Half of teachers quit

[keely emerinemix]

Perhaps, Mat, they live in a town that has a large group of people who, for 
reasons they claim are found in their religious beliefs, treat them like 
emissaries of Satan himself and who pray for the destruction of public 
schools.

Or maybe it's because neo-conservatives and libertarians who are experts in 
running shoe stores and pencil factories believe that the same market-based 
philosophies can and should be applied to public schools, whose "product" is 
vastly more complex than running shoes and soft-lead pencils, but which 
lacks serious representation in the halls of power.

Perhaps it's that many "liberals" have abandoned public schools and the 
public good in favor of idyllic and isolated lives that neglect the children 
and families they once swore, over cheap beer and chips, that they'd fight 
for.

And it may have something to do with the method of parenting, or lack 
thereof, that these children receive at home, which turns them over to the 
crudest elements of society via media and electronics and then produces 
combative or uninterested parents who can't believe and don't care that 
anything's wrong with their child.

Finally, it may have to do with the obscene way we fund public schools, 
which virtually screams its disregard for children from kindergarten through 
college and cheers mightily at a bloated war budget, tax cuts for the 
wealthy, and a runaway economy that leaves those most dependent on education 
the least likely to receive a good one.

Whatever the answer, Mat, it can be traced back to one thing:  a lack of 
clear, solid, committed, generous and vocal support for public schools, from 
the crankiest lone voter all the way to the halls of the White House, and 
this, I believe, is the single biggest issue facing our nation.

keely


From: "Donatelo Juan" <donboy22 at hotmail.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Half of new teachers quit
Date: Tue, 09 May 2006 21:49:07 +0000

Hi Visionaries,

I thought I would introduce a new topic.   Please read this article on MSN:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2628&ncid=2628&e=27&u=/nm/20060509/us_nm/life_teachers_dc_2

I really do understand why most teachers leave teaching.  My question are 
simple.  Why are the salaries so low for beginning teachers?

"The kids were wonderful to be with, but the stress of everything that went 
with it and the low pay did not make it hard to leave,"

Why are most of the teachers in their mid 40, white and religious?

"The study, which the association released last week ahead of its annual 
salute to teachers on Tuesday, also found today's average teacher is a 
married, 43-year-old white woman who is religious"

Why are there not more men?
Can a new teacher support a family with an entry teaching salary?
These 43 year old teachers, Are they second income families, single income 
families, single parent families supported additionally with child support 
payments?

Just some questions.
Mat

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