This letter from a veteran teacher should be read and discussed in every TFA institute, during the five weeks of training. Corps members should take a pledge never to take a job away from a well-qualified, experienced teacher who was laid off to save money and to hire TFA:
| All I ever wanted from teaching was to do good work, excite children and really teach them. And I have done that. Always trying to do it better, always assessing and reworking what I do. I’ve been proud of my contribution to the children in my community, but I realize now that it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that I work until late every night or that I’ve had a high standard (Common Core is no big stretch for me). Or that I’m passionate about what I do. None of that will matter because if parent triggers gain traction, my school could get taken over by 51% of the public. And if that happens, it won’t matter how good a job I’ve done. All that will matter is that I’m expensive. With 21 years of public ed experience, a charter could hire two teachers for the price of hiring me. That lowers class size or increases profits. Either way, I will be terminated and will have to look for work in my 50s. It doesn’t matter who I vote for because the fix is in. Either party can cost me my livelihood even though I’ve done all the right things.
The only strategy I have left is to continue to do my job and try to educate people in my community. Oh… and stop spending money on anything at all. I need to save every penny I have because this may not work out well for me. I can’t contribute to the economy or believe in the future. All I can do is hang on, do good work and hope that I can make it till retirement. Not because I’m burnt out or no longer love teaching, but because someone can come in and steal my life’s work out from under me, and I’ve got my government’s approval no matter who wins the election. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Just change the number of years of teaching experience (me: 15), and that piece fits every experienced teacher in the United States…probably in excess of one million people–perhaps more? This is what I think about when I wake up, and when I go to sleep. I don’t at any other time, because I’m WORKING AS A TEACHER. God please help us.
Thank you. Phenomenal post. This is the fear of most veteran teachers that I know. We entered the profession to do good work that would allow for a modest middle-class life. Those of us who are more than half-way through our careers are getting thrown under the bus in the name of greed and profiteering.
I’m right there with all of you. Nearly 20 yrs working in my district and putting in the (many) extra hours, sacrificing time with my family, paying for classroom supplies and professional development out of my own pocket, and putting everything I have in my heart to this job that I love. I worry every day that it is just a matter of time until I get that pink slip in my mailbox because my years of experience are too expensive for our district. We’ve already been downsized closing one of our schools this year and there is talk that there will be more in the near future. Being the primary income for our family, I can’t express how stressful this is for me. I love my job and I am a good teacher. Doesn’t that mean anything?!
It’s so scary and true. I live in the state where the unofficial motto is “stack ’em deep and teach ’em cheap.” And LIFO has been eliminated. It’s only a matter of time, I’m afraid, before we start losing experienced teachers to “save money.”
Welcome to the unemployment line…
You don’t have to have 15 years to be illegally sacked. All you have to be is over 50, and that is enough for these cretins to get rid of you. I learned it the hard way that one must have a lawyer on retainer to be and remain a teacher because of the unequal power between teachers and administrators.
I’m thinking it may take a few age discrimination lawsuits to help begin reversing the tide.
Age discrimination is very hard to prove, especially on a case by case basis. You have to be able to establish a pattern. In any event, they always have “legitimate” reasons to fire you.
My fear as well. Teaching seems to be the only profession where experience is scorned and disrespected.
I’ve got 16 yeqrws under my belt and I’ve loved every single one of them and have helped many students do things they never believed they could accomplish. Every year I’ve tried to do my job better than last year and often I’ve succeeded.
And I am actively looking for a way out right now for all the reasons mentioned…
Please note that TFA is NOT cheaper. Yes, they cost less than more veteran teachers. However, in my district they get a full teacher salary and full teacher benefits. In addition, my district pays $10,000 per corps member per year to TFA to cover administrative costs and for the free masters of ed leadership (at a local university) that the corps members will get during their 2-year stint. Where does the money come from?
I wonder what the conventional Ed program students enrolled at the same local universities think about that.
That is not only tragic and an example of the fact that the education of our children has become an exercise in the Theater of the Absurd, it speaks to the despair that might just crush the remaining teachers who taught with love, insight, and inspiration. When are the teachers who really know what they are doing and have been proving it FOR A GOOD LONG TIME going to be recognized for their intrinsic value instead of being thrown out with last year’s “Wonder Program”?
I wonder what would happen if all 3.5 million teachers, school administrators, district administrators, etc. decided to stop enforcing NCLB accountability and just decided to teach and run schools under the same freedoms allotted to charter schools and private voucher schools. Would they replace ALL of us? If we really were smart we would ban together and stop the madness. There really are more of us than them. So why do we continue to play their game? Why don’t we make this our game? Let’s play offense instead of defense! We have The power to do this, but do we have the will power?
We need some strong leaders to get us there. Where are they? Dianne has started us on the path by informing us and leading us, but how do we move this forward in a big way? She is our voice for now. But we need more voices and loud voices.
Lots of questions…few answers. We are all scared, but instead we need to stand strong. At his point we don’t have much more to lose. I’m not sure exactly what I personally can do, but I hope we figure this out quickly.
A powerful, deeply moving letter. I wish every parent in the country could read this!
What I don’t understand, given the situation, is why teachers don’t engage in the political process. That is pretty much the only option now, but they for the most part won’t do it because it is too uncomfortable. Come on, teachers. There are good candidates out there. Knock doors for them. Help them on election day. Write a check.
I am having a hard time finding a candidate who supports us or who will address our concerns in either party. In my district we were successful in finding a very few state legislators to listen to us and vote in favor of our concerns. This was mainly because our LA governor has used his position to punish those legislators who defy his agenda. They are removed from committees, blackballed, denied opportunities for their districts, etc. He is a real bully and our elected officials are running scared. I have a feeling that when it is time to re-elect them that teachers will have a memory lapse and continue to vote along party lines and against their best interests. Pay attention people! Know who you are voting for and what they really stand for. Do your homework! It’s not just what they say, but what their record has been. I am tired of hearing about abortion as the only important topic for voting decisions. What about those children in poverty who are actually born and who attend our public schools. We can’t say we are against abortion and not be willing to help those women and their children in poverty who actually choose life. If we are pro life, then we are responsible as a nation to ensure they have the basic needs available to them. Including a quality education that prepares them to be productive citizens.