Getting the Facts Straight

New Jersey's governor, as well as many other politicians and concerned citizens, seem to be zeroing in on the atrocious way in which teachers ruin society by demanding to be compensated adequately for the feeble jobs that they do. At least that is the view of New Jersey  Governor Cristie and those other high flying, overly ambitious and under qualified, political ladder climbers. From what I understand, he claims that we teachers are the main cause of drain on the coffers of New Jersey's Treasury.

I'd like to know how he can claim that. OOOPS! I take that back. A rabid politician can claim anything he wants, and there will always be rabid fools to agree. That's especially true when it comes to negative claims about teachers' job performances, responsibilities, benefits, etc.

His claim is quite interesting, given that for 13 of the past 14 years, the State of New Jersey has not contributed to the Teacher's Pension and Annuity Fund. Only teachers have paid into their pensions. In fact, in the past the venerable State of New Jersey has borrowed money from that same pension fund and never paid it back.  Also, we teachers contribute heftily to our own medical insurance plan. We don't get it for free. So, it appears that the only way that we drain the system is by demanding that we get paid adequately and that we be treated fairly. That's pretty unreasonable of us.

Now, as for tenure. Yes. It must be revised. That does not mean eliminated. It means that it must be made more meaningful for students', teachers' and communities' benefits. So, to that end the wise political ladder climbers and their supporters are trying to tie it to student performance. That's really keen thinking. Intellectually gifted students can excel in spite of the teacher's quality. On the other hand, students at the other end of the intellectual spectrum oftentimes do not improve regardless of the quality of teaching they receive. So, judging a teacher on their students' performances is really wise thinking.

Maintaining tenure should have meaningful requirements attached to it. Teachers should be required to take X numbers of courses/credits in their field within a given period of time. They should also be required to take "enrichment" courses outside of their field. What would be ideal is if teachers were required to step out of the classroom every so often and actually spend some time in the business world working in something related to the subject they are teaching. All of that would mean that teachers would be in a constant state of growth and enrichment, which they could pass on to their students and that the classroom and industry and academia would become more closely aligned.

All of that would also be very difficult to implement and would require lots of ironing out. So, tough talking politicians create popular press for themselves by taking the easy, populist, expedient road. They don't move to revise tenure to insure that the best people are drawn into the profession, that the best teachers stay and the worst are weeded out.They herald the every populist ideas, "Ax tenure. Those lazy, over paid, under worked teachers deserve to have their salaries cut, an axe always hanging over their heads, no legal recourse and certainly no respect. They don't deserve the same collective bargaining rights as do police and firemen. Teachers are a drain on society. They cost us money."

There are times when I almost wish those defamers become successful in their campaign. Then, they would reap what they are sowing. Then, fewer good people would go into the profession, taxes would be lower, classes would be more crowded, respect for teachers would be even more undermined than it already is, so students would be even more difficult to motivate, parents would have even more to complain about ref. their schools, and industry would have even more to complain about ref. the inadequacy of their workers. (Isn't that a long, bitch of a sentence?) Let us not forget that the police will have more crime to keep them busy.

Then, and only then, will the United States of America be able to regain and maintain it's legendary status as world leader. Teachers had nothing to do with the US of A's success in the past. They have no real role in its future accomplishments. Dump as many as you can. Cut compensation to the bone. Force them to live in ghettos where they belong. You'll save money, America! 

I propose a toast: "Short Life to The Mental Midget Mentality Of The Mouth, Cristie, and His Band Of Merry, Short Sighted Followers."