A reader from North Carolina explains how the legislatures so-called reforms will affect her:
“I have been teaching in NC for 13 years now. To be honest, having to sign a new contract each year or not getting a raise yet again doesn’t concern me as much as having 25+ 7 year olds with no assistant. I’ve had to share an assistant with 3 other teachers for the past few years, and that is better than having no one. The idea that teachers can meet the individual needs of all children with less time and resources is insane. During a classroom emergency (sick or violent behaving student) how am I supposed to take care of the student needing help plus keep teaching the others? I’d like to see how some of these politicians would function without their secretaries and personal assistants. Instead of trying to help public schools, they are setting us up for failure. It’s like giving a carpenter a hammer, a handsaw, a couple of boards, and a box of nails then calling him incompetent when the house isn’t built in 3 weeks.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
What’s an assistant? In my entire life in Louisiana I’ve never had nor seen classroom assistants except in the special education classrooms. I’d be happy with enough paper to make copies of worksheets…heck, I guess I should ask for a copier that works too.
It’s all relative. With no student cap per classroom this teacher may indeed have more than 25 students. A teaching assistant is not a luxury. He or she is a valuable member to the team. The TA enables the classroom to function to the benefit of the students. When I started my current position here in NC in 2002 we had TA’s all the way up to 5th grade. Each year more and more have disappeared and it hurts the children. In Title I schools, TAs are essential.
Kenobi, I’d like more paper and copiers too but the TAs, social workers, nurses, counselors, and yes, librarians are all an important part of the nurturing and educating of our young people.
Good luck to you this year, perhaps you can find a local business to sponsor your class and get the supplies you need. It’s worth a try.
Sorry is my response seemed callous. That wasn’t my intention. I didn’t mean for it to come across as though the teacher quoted was somehow being inappropriate or whining. After re-reading my reply I certainly came across that way. I’m sorry. My intent was to show how little support we get here. I’ve never had fewer than 25 kids in my classes in all 12 years I’ve been a teacher and have never had an assistant. If I had one, even shared, I could only imagine the things I can do on my classes. I shouldn’t have to get a local business to sponsor my class for basic supplies. Certainly not when my there’s always money for TfA and every standardized test under the sun. Lets not get started on the awful, time wasting PD I sat through today.
Kenobi, I totally agree with you. We should not need sponsors for our classrooms but it might take a tiny bit of the burden off of you and it might make the public more aware of how poorly funded the local schools are. It was just a thought.
Since we don’t seem to see anyone coming to our rescue I wish the government would at least allow us unlimited deductions on our taxes for what we spend for our students.
No need to apologize, we have all been rode hard and put away wet for quite some time and it has taken a toll on even the most dedicated educators.
Kenobi,
” Lets not get started on the awful, time wasting PD I sat through today.”
Don’t you feel so lucky to be “professionally” developed! I’ll get to be “professionally” developed next week with a dash of being PLCed included. Joy o’ Joy!!
Loss of tenure protection in NC will markedly affect how their music and theatre teachers do their jobs. I’ve completed 32 years as an arts educator in PA. Without tenure protection, I can see those teachers being afraid of losing their jobs every time they choose a soloist, a drum major or a lead in the musical. All it would take would be a ‘connected’ parent with enough influence to pressure administrators or board members to go after the teacher. Also, bands, choruses and musicals are big, active programs in many schools. In big, active programs, things can go wrong. Teachers can make mistakes. Parents and students can disagree with decisions. The job is hard enough without being worried about losing your job at every turn. I certainly would consider moving to an elementary or middle school music position that is not as exposed to this kind of risk. Loss of tenure will also cause many teachers who also coach to reconsider exposing themselves to being fired from their teaching position because of parents angry with a decision, a policy, playing time or a won-loss record. Loss of tenure is horrible in so many ways in addition to academic freedom issues and being forced after you teach so many years and become too ‘expensive’ for the principal to keep, regardless of your performance in the classroom. Or, just because a given principal doesn’t like you….. If they want you gone, they’ll find a way to make your life miserable enough that you have no real choice. What a world, what a world………
Tom, you are exactly right! I really fear that teachers will begin to be dismissed in NC for “silly” reasons. Time will tell. There is some reason why millions are being invested to “grow” TFA. Thank you for your post. You and so many others really do understand!
Tom, you’re absolutely right that we are scared. I’m a high school music teach in NC and that is one of many concerns I have.
My BIGGER concern is that most arts positions in NC are locally funded, and with the cut to state funded positions, local school boards are going to be looking to fund the ‘tested’ subjects and keep class sizes lower. Our jobs will likely be the first on the chopping block when those decisions start getting made.
The are not insane, they are designed for a purpose-to make you either fail or appear to fail. Here’s hoping all public school teachers, by now, understand what’s going on.
Some guy in my gym asked me why they cut education in NC like they did so I started explaining that our rookie guys in Raleigh are in ALEC and use Jeb as a model and the guy just started defending Florida (which he claims has a powerful union—-I thought they were a right to work state). Anyway point being people do not seem to know about the intentional epidemic spreading across the nation. And he said Jeb Bush was wonderful.
So I stopped answering the question he asked and suggested he look up ALEC and Ren2010 and I hope he doesn’t ask me anymore questions. It is very hard to converse calmly when the same buzz lines are thrown at you, as follows:
“Well with tenure they can’t fire the bad teachers!”
“Well the public schools are failing.”
Thankfully from the leads I have found on this blog, I suggest to people that the idea of schools failing has no real origin. And furthermore, were teachers expected to bring children out of poverty?
I know people are just becoming keen to what is going on but this refrain is getting old. We need to make like James Brown and “take it to the bridge. ..”
Joanna, when my book comes out in September, spring for $21 and insist that guy read it.
Diane–
definitely.
I will leave a copy in the gym. In fact, I will sprinkle them like fairy dust around town. 🙂
We’ve just got to keep educating people. First George Bush’s NCLB left who knows how many children behind. Now too many teachers are being/have already been left behind, too.
A buddy of mine went to teach in NC. He was excited, now 10 years later, not so much. It’s a mess. Education simply isn’t a priority there.
NC: education is definitely a priority. The priority is to privatize it, put public funds into private hands.
NYC eliminated kindergarten paraprofessionals (teaching assistants) in 2003 or 2004. In 2003 there were 20 students in each kindergarten class. The following year, the numbers went up to 25 and have remained at a minimum of 25 since that time.
How many kids are in Mahlia and Sasha’s classes?
Need more be said?
As a teacher in NC, I am disappointed yet not surprised by the recent cuts. Another year without a raise while our health insurance premiums continue to rise, the demand increases, leadership decreases, and class size balloons. The people who make the most money on the district and state level are so disconnected from the daily operations of the classroom, that they have no idea what it means to teach. I have never been so discouraged in my professional life. If an exceptional teacher can not earn enough income to support his or her family, then they will undoubtedly leave the system. And then who is left to teach the children…..NC should think about this…
rogader, I think the tide might be turning a little, I pray the tide might be turning a little. Monday’s Moral Monday march was a big indicator that involvement is increasing.
I sometimes wonder if we used the word “educator” instead of “teacher” we might get more respect. Maybe that’s a little lame but sometimes semantics can make a difference. For example: Anthony Weiner has recently been brought to task for “sexting”. That sounds pretty harmless. Replacing that word with “sending and receiving sexually explicit photographs and words” gives a whole new perspective on the situation.
On the news last night there was some indication that later this week we would be hearing more from Raleigh. Cross your fingers, the legislators might have been smote (smited?) with consciences.