The Next Time Someone Says ......

You've heard it over and over again.

They have all that vacation time!  Summers and Christmas and Thanksgiving and Spring Break and Rodeo Week ..... it's not a full-time job, really..... I'd love to be done at 3 every day....

Well, the next time that comes up in conversation (if it does, you really need new friends!), show them these pictures.

Ask if they were bent in half, painting Alaska early on a sunny Saturday morning.

Maybe they were on the ground, making Hawaii purple,

 in the sun.

They probably weren't taping boxes 

or painting playground equipment 

or sanitizing their workspaces. 

But they were. 

So were they.

The teachers at Prince Elementary School were washing windows...... do you wash the windows in your place of employment?  

They were painting the hallways.

.

Do you think that was part of the Masters in Education curriculum?

These professionals pay for their own continuing development, and do it on their own time.

These professionals buy their own supplies, and don't ask for reimbursement which isn't there.

These professionals earn less now than they did in the 1990's.

Would your interlocutors do that?

Those who can, were taught by teachers.

Those teachers ought to earn a living wage.  Their facilities ought to be safe.  Their support staff should be respected.  Their equipment should be cutting edge, and it should work.  

That's not free, nor should it be.  It's a difficult problem, with no easy fix.   Aaron Sorkin said it best, through Rob Lowe's Sam Seaborn:

If you can't listen to his passion, you can read it here:

Mallory, education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That's my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.

#RedForEd