What this report finds: The teacher pay penalty is
bigger than ever. In 2015, public school teachers’ weekly wages were
17.0 percent lower than those of comparable workers—compared with just
1.8 percent lower in 1994. This erosion of relative teacher wages has
fallen more heavily on experienced teachers than on entry-level
teachers. Importantly, collective bargaining can help to abate this
teacher wage penalty. Some of the increase in the teacher wage
penalty may be attributed to a trade-off between wages and benefits.
Even so, teachers’ compensation (wages plus benefits) was 11.1 percent
lower than that of comparable workers in 2015.
Why this matters: An effective teacher is the most
important school-based determinant of education outcomes. It is
therefore crucial that school districts recruit and retain high-quality
teachers. This is particularly difficult at a time when the supply of
teachers is constrained by high turnover rates, annual retirements of
longtime teachers, and a decline in students opting for a teaching
career—and when demand for teachers is rising due to rigorous national
student performance standards and many locales’ mandates to shrink class
sizes. In light of these challenges, providing adequate wages and
benefits is a crucial tool for attracting and keeping the teachers
America’s children need.
Video tries to show how the way adults talk to kids matters
A video about the way adults talk to kids is causing debate. It
focuses on the ways adults can affect a child’s education through
interactions with them. Although the response is varied, there’s no
denying the power of its message.
The Atlanta Speech School released a video called Every Opportunity and
the story it depicts is eliciting a strong reaction from teachers and
parents. It follows a little boy throughout his day at school and shows
how the adults he encounters, from bus driver to teachers, interact with
him.
It starts with the child climbing the bus steps and giving the driver
an enthusiastic hello that’s met with little more than a grunt. The boy
tries to greet an aide at the school’s entrance and she ignores him. He
asks the cafeteria employee for his student number and she’s
short-tempered and impatient. His teacher grows annoyed at the behavior
in his classroom and speaks to the children in a harsh tone.
The second half of the video shows all the same scenarios, but with
the adults responding to the children positively. By the end, the kids
are depicted as their adult selves, confident and ready for the world
because the teachers and staff gave them the encouragement and
positivity they needed to succeed.
The video is hard to watch and as such, is provoking a response
from some teachers who say these interactions are not the norm and that
they make every effort to treat their students with respect.
Nonsense! Let’s demonize teachers as usual. The kids at my school
beg to stay during school vacations and are sad when summer break
starts. School is the most stable and safe environment for a lot of
them. Yes adults should watch their tone with kids, but to make teachers
out to be drill sergeants is unfair.
In my 9 years of teaching, I’ve never seen the jerk teachers that
are portrayed here. Every one I know works extremely hard to make sure
their child is loved and respected. That’s why we are teachers. I agree
that education is in need of reform, but this teacher-shaming video is
ridiculously inaccurate. Teachers are the ONE thing in education that
are doing what’s right by their students.
While some are saying it’s an excellent wake-up call about the affect an educator (or any adult) can have on a child.
I think this should be mandatory viewing for teachers!!! I’m a
substitute and the lack of pleasantries I see regularly is so sad.
Children are people too and deserve the same respect as adults.
Be sure to watch the entire video… The first part models the
negatives that do happen at times, but the second part shows the
positives that typically happen throughout a school day. It’s a simple
reminder and as a 21 year veteran teacher, I welcome the reminder of the
importance of my role in children’s lives.
Beautifully said… The first part of this video made me so sad.
Than I recognized all the educators I know and it brought a smile to my
face. I’m thankful for all the Educators I know and their commitment to
the students they teach and love.
This is so full of wisdom, it should be a learning tool for at
home and at school. We all want to feel love and appreciated not shut
out by rules and regulations.
Many commenters pointed out that the video is important viewing for
parents too, and an example of how we should be talking to our children
at home. That’s certainly how I took it.
The beginning of the video made
me tear up because I recognized some of my worst moments as a parent in
those terse interactions. The video doesn’t feel as though it’s meant
to shame, but to remind adults of the power of our words and actions.
Because in a world full of distractions and busyness, it can be easy to
forget that our children are always listening.
As the little boy in the video says, “talk with us, not at
us.” It never hurts for parents and teachers to take stock of the way
they talk to kids. They’re people too, and deserve to be respected and
listened to so they grow up to be adults who do the same.
