Saturday, October 25, 2014

Time Magazine Joins The Teacher Bashing News Media.



























The once gold standard of news reporting, Time magazine, has now sacrificed their journalistic responsibility for some cheap headlines by putting on its cover, a picture of "rotten apples" with a caption saying its nearly impossible to fire bad teachers.  While the article inside the magazine seems more balanced, the use of the picture demonizing teachers rather than a more neutral cover on the tenure wars is inflammatory.

Most educators know that the problem with education is not teacher tenure but the lack of education funding and deep poverty.  Many students show up to school hungry, tired, sick, and insecure.  To believe that a teacher can cure society's ills is not only naive but is insincere when you claim that if you eliminate teacher tenure education will improve. In fact, the opposite is the more likely result. In the book "The Teacher Wars" by education reporter Dana Goldstein, she reported that a teacher affects, at most, 7% of a child's academic achievement.  That means that 93% or more of the factors that affect student academic achievement are beyond the teacher's control.

If teacher tenure is the problem then states that have no teacher tenure should have better educational outcomes and a lower racial/income academic achievement gap.  However, the opposite is true.  States like Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas have the lowest academic levels in the nation and the widest racial/income academic achievement gaps where teachers have no tenure protections.  Furthermore, many studies have shown that teacher tenure is associated with better student outcomes since teachers feel more secure to try different approaches without fear of being fired.  Moreover, teacher tenure reduces teacher turnover which can destabilize a school.  Finally, if a teacher is truly awful, then the Principal can deny tenure or, if tenured, can document the reason to terminate the teacher in a "due process hearing".

A case in point is the New York City schools.  Given the same racial and income cohort, schools that have experienced tenured teachers have lower staff turnover and better student achievement.  By contrast, the schools that have higher inexperienced non-tenured teachers on saff suffer from high teacher turnover and lower academic achievement. Is it any wonder that the schools who have a deep poverty concentration have the highest teacher turnover, the most non-tenured teachers, and the lowest college readiness scores?

Already there are fewer college students going into education  and fewer yet who actually want to teach in the classroom.  How can you expect to get "quality teachers" when the media continually demonizes teachers and blames them for all the ills in society.  This just scares high quality potential candidates from considering the teaching profession and ensures that it becomes the profession of last resort during the recession years and go begging when other, better paying and less stressful jobs are available.  The teaching profession is a highly respected profession throughout the world, except in this nation where these deep-pocketed billionaires have convinced the media that the problem with the nation's education.is teacher quality and not the real reasons of inequility, inadequate funding, and poverty. 



11 comments:

Bronx ATR said...

I was covering a 12th grade class yesterday with another teacher. Some of the students asked my opinion about going into teaching. "Mr., as a sub, the educational requirements must be much less, but could you advise us?" The other teacher (a great teacher by the way) turned and ask me if a higher level degree was needed as a sub. I explained in depth my credentials and why I would not recommend teaching to anyone. This is truly a demoralizing profession. Bottom line - the billionaires are demonizing us in order to privatize education and make money.

Anonymous said...

Time magazine at one time was the most respected of all the weekly magazines. However, with falling circulation--provocative pictures/headlines sell magazines-no matter who it offends.
Anyway, even Michael Mulgrew responded to Time and sent emails out earlier today to UFT members-stating similar things that you mentioned.

Anonymous said...

Even Mike responded!! He must garnishing some publicity before he takes Randi's position. I guess Sterling couldn't be worse than Mike.

ReadyToRetireNow said...

"The teaching profession is a highly respected profession throughout the world, except in this nation..." Agreed. I've been to Europe many times to visit relatives, and have been called "professore" by young and old alike. Not mister or signore, but professore. Its amazing how they almost fall all over themselves with deference and respect just because I'm a teacher, but I have to admit...I like it. When I have to come home at the end of August, I always experience some sadness knowing that I'll be ridiculed, chastised, maligned and flat-out disrespected for another school year by media, public officials, parents and children.

Anonymous said...

Respect for the teachers is getting worse and worse -not only just in the media.I went apple picking and the orchard had a special section of really rotten apples- called the 'Common Core Section'- was reserved for educators only. It included one special tree-for ATR's only-called the 'Apples Thoroughly Rotten' tree where picking apples had to be rotated.

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine a society where the transmitters of knowledge absolutely essential to a person being able to function in that society are treated like the lowest lackeys, subjected to harassment, humiliation, threats, inferior treatment compared to other groups, and utter disrespect for their efforts. Where they are called out and trashed by media unfit even to line a cat litter box. Where the so-called protective entity against such malfeasance gladly takes money for protective services, then joins those against whom they were hired to protect.

Oh wait. We're talking about teachers. Then it's OK. Teacher bashing is on the table as a national sport.

Let's see how long the country lasts as more people wake up and refuse to consider teaching as a profession, which it no longer is. It's more like being the guy who sits above a tank of water at a county fair, waiting for someone to hit him with the ball and dump him into the tank.

ReadyToRetireNow said...

http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/education/features/3045/

The link above leads to an interesting article from NYMAG. Perhaps the reason why we are experiencing the problems we have now could, in part, be due to the exodus of people who stood up for their rights and would not tolerate being abused.

ReadyToRetireNow said...

That's okay. They'll just fill up the ranks with foreigners with H1B visas and non-citizen anchor babies (see Denver Public Schools) who will be more than happy to work more for less. The elitist, union- breaking scheme will come to full fruition.

Anonymous said...

Time magazine sold their soul to the devil ala jim hardy in the movie damn yankees!! What else is new. Money talks and time magazine in this era of 15000 plus magazines needs to stand out so why not put something outrageous on the cover and generate responses.....this is why I will not respond to them...Mulgrew in his email said to send editor at time magazine email but that is exactly what they want - even negative publicity is better than NO PUBLICITY

Anonymous said...

ReadytoRetireNow: Yeah, they might do that. And can you imagine the foreigners being able to relate to the spoiled entitled children they will find in NYC's classrooms? I've seen plenty of foreigners try to deal with that, and it wasn't pretty. As soon as I'm ready to retire, the whole system can collapse into a heap of putrid ooze for all I care. I worked very hard to provide excellent education for my students. My efforts were not appreciated, nor were those of other ATRs. So, the whole thing can collapse, with their foreign teachers and anchor babies needing all manner of social services. It's just a shame that WE will have to pay for the mess.

Anonymous said...

Cuomo (Marioooo) at it again claiming our nyc school system is a monopoly!! This guy is the king of all bozo politicians with his voice and speech pattern it makes me want to vomid. He is so phony and corrupt it is hilarious!!! This guy is a walking time bomb as he appears to not be working with a full deck of cards...he was able to make it to gov because his father was former Mario Cuomo. The nerve of this speech deficient terd to call the schools a "monopoly"...I guess the fire department and police depts are also public monopolies eh?? Wow cant make it up...