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Some of the posts I've written may look critical in the way I've addressed the teaching profession. What I am critical of is a nationalized governmental mechanism to oversee education- net because it's necessarily evil in and of itself, but because it's the least effective way to educate children. Teachers are like anyone else... there are good ones and bad ones- just like there are good doctors, bad doctors, good mechanics, bad...
Having said that, teachers themselves have my ultimate respect and sympathy (especially the latter)- over the years the job has become more and more complicated fro a myriad of reasons. It has evolved into a nearly sisyphean task and I wanted to look at a few of the issues that make it that way. In my last post I addressed the issue of a centralized bureaucratic mechanism from an institutional standpoint. here I want to address some of the demographic, cultural and technological issues.
Teaching back in the "old days" when the educational system was locally controlled made the job much simpler... not necessarily easier by any stretch of the imagination, but not nearly as complex in terms of job requirements. Simply put- teachers taught.
America has been a nation of immigrants since its inception, making the demographics perpetually dynamic. For teachers this translates into occupational complexity- an everchanging classroom... much more profoundly now than it was a few decades ago. Historically, immigrants learned English, the dominant language, as part of the assimilation process- this isn't necessarily so anymore, making bilinguality an added dimension to the teaching experience in many communities
Another change in demographics is the makeup of the family itself. Decades ago the nuclear family was the norm... "Dad" went to work, "Mom" stayed home and was there after school. Several decades ago this changed and even the nuclear family dynamic is different also. The economy is such now that "Mom" is aslo required to work just to make ends meet. This puts another burden on educators... Not only must they teach but "babysit" as well. Lamentably, some parents seem to have almost completely abrogated their responsibility as parents, placing it squarely on the shoulders of teachers.
Another issue that bears mention is the rapidly changing world of technology, where teachers are expected to keep up with the latest developments. Given the frequency of these advancements, it would be almost impossible even if it was the only thing they had to do. But, it isn't... teachers must teach, babysit, solve complex social problems (another family issue frequently thrust at teachers) acting as social workers for all intents and purposes, and keep up with the latest technological advancements.
Like I said, teachers have my utmost respect and particualrly my sympathy. It's a thankless task considering what they're paid. Day after day, teachers are met with a never-ending stream of unrealistic expectations in which it is always they who are to blame when Jr. can't pass a standardized test. It's a job I certainly wouldn't want!
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