Matt Damon's Speech to Teachers?

As a teacher myself (not currently teaching, but still certified), I often felt like an underpaid babysitter. Yes, I said UNDERPAID. Using the salary that I made while I was teaching, I was earning approximately $1.27 per student per hour, and that is ONLY for the time that the students are there.

I also ran into a problem with too many parents (probably a good 80% of them) who felt that as long as the child was at school, he/she was our problem, not theirs.

Then you have the parents who are involved but definitely believe their child can do no wrong, and you (as the teacher) end up in the principal's office having to defend every move you've ever made regarding this child. In the public school system (can't speak for private, haven't taught in one), everything is so focused on making sure you create a paper trail (conferenced with student on this day, called parents these days, asked counselor intervention this day, finally can refer to principal) that you hardly have time for anything else during the day. Then, of course, it's become a thing where they want you to have VERY detailed lesson plans for each day. You can't just say, "We'll be learning this concept," and be done with it. You have to detail what objectives it covers, what taxonomies it covers, etc...

My first year teaching, I was trying to follow all the rules, get everything done every day, etc. My husband had to have a talk with me (we had been married for not even 6 months at the time) about letting some of those things go, because I hadn't even been working there for 2 weeks and he was already feeling like we weren't spending any time together.

Needless to say, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I've wanted to teach since I was in 7th grade, but after doing it for 3 years (yes, only 3) I'm not sure HOW I feel about it anymore. Love doing it on a tutoring basis, but for a classroom full of disrespectful kids whose parents tend to take no part of the responsibility? Not so keen on it.

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OH, this was not the post to have L.. I am SO passionate about this subject, I'm probably going to write a book. :)

First of all, I LOVED Matt Damon's little speech....wish the whole thing would have been recorded.

I have taught high school mathematics for 7 years. I have my Master's degree in administration. This will be my first year of teaching that I do not have a NEW class to prepare to teach (I have now officially taught every math class that our small school has to offer). I currently teach Geometry, Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, College Algebra, and Calculus. Last year, due to budget cuts, our school day was extended and every teacher remaining (meaning anyone who wasn't cut) picked up another hour of teaching. I lost a good chunk of my plan time, picked up another class, and still get paid the same. Everything is turning into a More Work-For-Less Money mentality....and we're supposed to be glad, because we have our jobs. Don't get me wrong, I am glad to have my job, but I am up at school from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm at school every day, then I typically work from 8:00 pm (after kiddos are in bed) until midnight at least 4 or 5 days a week just trying to keep caught up with grading and lessons, etc. I am a VERY efficient person...I would hate to see what other teachers do.

Here are some things that I have learned over the past 7 years:

1.) Bad teachers are a reflection of poor administrators. Bad teachers CAN be gotten rid of....yes, even if they have tenure (it's a little more time consuming of a process), BUT they should never have reached tenure to begin with if the administrator was doing his/her job. I have yet to meet a teacher that was awesome and just suddenly turned crappy after meeting tenure. They were already mediocre to begin with.

2.) The public has a HIGH SCHOOLER's mentality of teachers....I can guarantee that my opinion of what teachers did/were worth from high school is NOT the same as what it is now that I have been teaching. I really would love to trade jobs with some of these people and have them come teach my classes for 1 week....see how they deal with the students, meeting standards for high stakes testing, etc. COME VISIT my school and observe me teaching.....watch all the stuff I have to accomplish.

3.) Unions are not the problem....they are intended to protect teachers' rights. In my small school district, the only thing saving some amazing teachers from being fired is teacher tenure....because if it was up to the school board (without tenure) then half would vote that teacher off simply because that teacher held their child accountable for work during school.

4.) With regards to high stakes testing....STOP comparing us to all of these other countries. STOP. It is ridiculous. Here's why: Those other countries CHOOSE which kids to educate (generally their top 10-20% of students). Special needs students: Nope. High risk students: Nope. Low SES kids: Nope. Compare OUR top 10-20% with them, and now we have a better chance at seeing how our schools are doing.

I could go on and on...I better stop for now. :)

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I am a licensed social studies teacher (although currently I am a SAHM). I do have tremendous respect for MOST teachers, but I have seen (during my education program) a TON of atrocious teachers who I would not allow to teach my dog, much less my children.

Yet, they are protected by tenure and are allowed to fail our children year after year after year. I don't think all teachers are under fire, but I do think that the teachers' union is, as they refuse to hold their own accountable. It is very rare that a teacher is fired for incompetance, although I've seen plenty of incompetance on display in the Chicago Public Schools in which I did my clinicals and some of my student teaching. Not only incompetance, but absolute ambivilance about their lessons (or lack thereof) and about their students.

What I have seen has convinced me that the union doesn't care very much about the well-being of the students; just their members' job security. If they TRULY cared about the kids, they would observe teachers' classrooms, and give THEM evaluations. Those teachers who are terrible, and do NOT improve when given the chance, should be fired. Many are burnt out, which is understandable given the line of work. That is no reason to keep them in the classroom. If they can't handle it, they need to find a new profession. There are thousand and thousands of younger teachers who have more energy, enthusiasm (although admittedly not as much experience as) who are trying to find jobs, but cannot because so many teachers who should have retired or found jobs elsewhere are still filling the ranks (especially since the economic downturn.)

I haven't heard Damon's speech, but heard about it. I'll check it out to see if he has a fresh perspective to add.

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Here is the thing, I have had good teachers and I have had bad teachers that have no business messing up the next generation. My children have as well. The problem comes in that the ones that are let go for budget cuts aren't always the ones that should be let go.

That is what is under attack not the teachers themselves. Schools should be allowed to get rid of the bad teachers so that the good ones can be paid what their work is worth.

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Wow! I'm glad I read this post, as a teacher I usually don't hear such positive support! I obviously agree with so many of your comments, I wish more people could understand what is required of teachers. This summer has been particularly rough for my husband and I, he is a teacher as well. He has worked ALL summer, 12 hour plus days 5-6 days a week and we are still financially struggling. It seems like our supposedly overpaid salaries aren't cutting it. We have three kids and could never even live in the school district we teach in. A couple years ago my husband was involved in contract negotiations, it was so hard to read and hear so many people attacking him professionally and personally. It took its toll on al of us. I don't need to be a millionaire, I just wish I could provide better for my family. Thanks for such nice words Moms!

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I am a teacher (and so is my husband) and I have strongly encouraged my two children to not become teachers, even though my eldest is a natural teacher. The pay is too low for the required education. We live in one of the highest cost of living areas in the country and even with both of us working full time, our standard of living is not anywhere near what it would be for even one fully employed professional in another career. If I could start over, I would have gone into a different profession. I have an MA and my husband has a PhD. Our jobs were competitive and difficult to get (community college professors) and the advanced degrees, expertise in educational technology, learning disabilities, and ESL were absolutely essential to even get an interview for our jobs. To actually get our jobs we each had to be able to teach any course, from the lowest basic skills to advanced honors humanities and literature course. We were expected to chair committees and get involved in college-wide governance.

We both love our jobs, but the stress-load is phenomenal. We work with a large number of socio-economically disadvantaged students, emotionally fragile/mentally ill students, learning challenged students and others who are simply dealing with the enormous stress of the current economic crisis. We are doing all of this at a time when the resources for these students have been cut drastically while at the same time we are being dictated by our legislature to increase our "standards" and "outcomes" for our "customers." The legislatures have absolutely no idea of the realities teachers face in the classrooms and yet they continue to imagine they know how to "fix" the problem. If we resist, then the union bashing begins. Teachers all over this country were watching what happened in Wisconsin and it is clear that there is a backlash.

I agree with those that mentioned the administrators have a role in the way bad teachers are kept on. I have personally seen the union toss the "bad teacher" to the the admin and then the admin blame the union for protecting the bad teachers. I have had three different administrators tell me that they cannot get rid of a bad teacher because the poor performance has not been documented, but when I mention that there should be documentation, mysteriously, nothing is in the file. That is clearly NOT a union issue. Clearly they both need to work together to deal with these teachers, but the reality is that they are both afraid of law suits...Lawyers are at least equal in the blame game with it comes to trying to get rid of bad teachers.

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I have many family members who are teachers. I have a great respect for teachers. You have good ones. You have bad ones. I personally would NEVER want to be a teacher. I think teachers today face many challenges with students. My hat goes off to those who choose this profession. In my opinion, what's missing today are more of the good old private Catholic schools, run by the nuns. If a student got out of line, they would pay the price and at the same time, they'd learn to respect authority. It seems like we sure good use more nuns nowadays.

Just my 2 cents.

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I agree with you. They are under attack. My heart goes out to so many of the hard working teachers who never get the pay or recognition.

Love Matt Damon. Love his speech. He's pretty passionate about it because his mother is a teacher.

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I'm sure this will turn into a lot of rambling.....Sorry. :)

Here is the way it is where I am: We have not had a raise in over 4 years, the price of our benefits has continued to go up, either through premiums or the actual coverage (copays, coinsurance, deductibles, etc.), and we have lost certain incentives and supplements. We also have to supply more and more for the students because the school cannot afford many basic supplies. There is now the need to fund more of our continuing education credits because the assistance programs or free workshops are no longer available due to a lack of funding. There is no choice in continuing your education if you want to continue to hold a teaching license and keep your job.

I would like for the general public to have a respect for my profession and not tell me how "overpaid" and "spoiled" I am. I do not generally complain to others about my salary and am doing just fine, but who wouldn't want to be paid more, right?! Most people have at one time or another thought they were worth more than the amount of their paycheck, so I won't apologize for having that thought every now and then.

I also get upset because I hear all sorts of awful comments about how "bad" and "incompetent" teachers are when the discussion of tenure or teachers' salaries/benefits comes up. Our country has A WHOLE LOT more to worry about in the finance department...Let's look at the high costs of other departments and other government employees and start cutting the "fat" where it needs to be cut instead of placing blame on teachers who are trying to do their best while being told over and over again by society how incompetent, worthless, and "bad" they are.

Yes, there are some bad apples in education that need to be done away with, but MOST teachers are in the profession for the right reasons....It isn't just a job to MOST of us...It's our passion and we're proving that we'd do it for/with less, because right now WE ARE! Doesn't that deserve some respect?!

A quality education IS NOT going to come cheap......UNLESS it is the incompetent, worthless, and bad teachers you want teaching your children, because those of us who are HIGHLY qualified in our profession and who are EXCELLENT at it, will eventually have enough and find other areas in which to use our talents. The disrespect is much more disheartening than the amount of my paycheck and THAT would be the reason I would choose to find work elsewhere....I do not know anyone who would continue to work in a profession where they feel unappreciated and disrespected. SOMETHING MUST CHANGE....and soon or we are all going to be sorry with what is left for our children, grandchildren, etc........

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YES, I read/watched Matt Damon's speech. It really it home since I am a 35+ year dedicated teacher no longer teaching due to cutbacks. I am/was a 'high end' paid teacher (I have my Masters). I was 'allowed' to retire as opposed to being released from my continuing contract (means I cannot be 'fired' unless I have done something terrible) because the district was eliminating one class in my grade level; this happened to other high end teachers in the district, too. (They did not follow the last one hired, first one to go rule.)
I maxed out on the pay scale almost 15 years ago. The only time I received a raise was when the local school district budgeted the teachers a raise.
My car was one of the first ones at school and usually the last one to leave each day and you could always find it at school each Sunday after church. I was described as a dedicated teacher who cared greatly for the students of our district, above and beyond the call of duty (and many times, before my family). I have spent thousands of dollars over the years for my students' use and so that they always had fond memories of their time in my class. I have former students come up to me as ask if I still do/did the special activities with my class, to which I answered 'yes'. Though I did not always agree with the way the administration wanted us to teach, I always tried to do my best and still get some special memories in, too.
I have been in denial most of the summer, that I will not be in the classroom in August. Since I was 4 years old, I have been in a classroom setting each Fall either as a student or a teacher. Since I was 7, I have always wanted to be a teacher (I did my 'student teaching' practice with my dolls).
But none of this matters, since school districts are now being run like a business, it is NOT what is good for the student, but what is good for the budget.
Thank you for letting me vent my unhappiness.

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You are so right! I loved TEACHING, but not all of the insanity that came with it. Kids behave the way they are allowed to behave, and more parents need to quit seeing teachers as some "enemy" and start working with them to help their children. Too many have decided it's the school's job to raise their children.

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I have not heard his speech. Will check that out.

I agree with a lot of what's been posted already. There are wonderful teachers out there and there are some that I don't understand why their contract is renewed each year (maybe it's easier than finding a new replacement?) I taught public school for 5 years before becoming a SAHM. I plan to homeschool our son. It really is hard work being a teacher - all of the required hours and required morning meetings/duty, photocopying papers, writing and submitting lesson plans, meeting with 20+ parents, report cards, attendance, scrounging for materials for your classroom, stretching a dollar, after school meetings, grading papers, creating exams, monitoring student progress, administering individualized support for children who need it, oh and did I mention teach?? A lot of people think "Well you get a Xmas break, Spring Break, plus all summer off." Well yes and no. You do get those days off, but you're at home working, or you're still at school finishing up the semester grades. Or you're writing your lesson plans, or you're taking professional classes to keep your certification. And during the school year, it is NOT and 8-hour-a-day job. My first year teaching, I used to be at school every day till 5 or 6 or sometimes 7 pm getting all of my work done. Then on the weekends, I'd be at school getting things photocpied or doing whatever needed to be done.

I totally agree that it's the kind of profession that doesn't need budget cuts. If we dont invest in our education, what's the point in everything else? Our children are our future and we need to watch out for ALL of them, not just our own.

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I haven't heard about the Matt Damon speech.

But I LOVED the documentary "Race to Nowhere" and I wish that EVERY parent, teacher, administrator, school board member, and politician would be required to watch it.

I don't believe things will improve for our teachers until we all insist that the system changes.

Well, that, AND better parenting; so that when the little darlings enter the classroom, they know how to treat others with kindness and respect! I have many friends who are teachers, and the stories they tell of the children in their classes (behavior, attitude, language, etc.) is absolutely appalling. WE are our children's first teachers, and we need to do a better job. (Of course, I'm not talking about any of US on this site! We're all perfect Mamas! : ) I just mean a general "we".)

Blessings to all you teachers out there! (Go watch "Race to Nowhere".)

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I could not have said it any better than this, or than most of the thoughtful responses you got here. Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my teacher heart. I have been teaching for 13 years, and I'm considering making a change in the next couple of years because I am so burned out. I thought after my first 5 years were complete, I had safely passed the burnout risk, but the past two years have taught me otherwise. In my building alone, there are countless teachers who have left for other districts, changed roles in the building to have less stressful jobs (for example, leaving the classroom to be a PE teacher or go part-time), retired early, or left the profession altogether. Most of these individuals are highly talented, amazing teachers, and the kids will sorely miss them. This is not a coincidence, it speaks loud and clear about the stress we feel and the lack of appreciation and respect we get. I am wondering if my "summers off" are even worth it anymore. Like one poster said, my husband is also a teacher and works his butt off all summer for extra cash, yet we never seem to get fully ahead. Sad... Anyway, thank you so much for your sensitivity and for bringing this up.

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Amen! I've taught for seven years, and Matt Damon's speech actually brought tears to my eyes. I've also completed seven years of college, currently working on my second Masters degree. There are constant comments about having a "lucrative" benefits package. With my benefits I make 49,000. Hmmm, after seven years of college and graduate education, most people would make about three times that amount.

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My Mom was a teacher for 30 years and it's not an easy profession.
It's not all about teaching kids who want to learn.
It's about administration who jerks you around, kids who fight you all the way, parents who don't want their little darlings stressed (my Mom actually got a letter from a parent requesting that she NOT teach fractions to her daughter because the daughter got too upset doing fractions homework), budgets cut to pieces (constantly doing more with less), teaching to/for SOL tests and precious little else, etc.
Like any profession, there are good teachers and there are bad teachers.
With every graduating class at Harvard - someone graduates at the bottom of their class.
Tenure in general is a good thing, but at the same time - some bad teachers do hide behind it.
Some teachers I had growing up were absolutely wonderful, but then again, I had an English teacher in high school who almost jumped out a 3rd story window during our class. That man needed some serious therapy.

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Haven't seen the speech, but I've ALWAYS felt that teachers and our Military personnel have been underpaid. One is molding our future and one is protecting it. It just ticks me off to the bone that our congress people make triple or MORE (and all the bennies FOREVER) of what these service people do. Teachers, since the days of one room school houses, were usually young women and their pay was next to nothing. Just kept going that way. Think it stinks, and I wouldn't be a teacher today for anything. The things teachers have to put up with in the classroom is a nightmare, without the punishment threat, it's beyond my comprehension. Our world is upside down. It's only going to end when WE stand up to the injustices that have been forced on us in the name of....don't even have a clue as to how we got here......sorry. Most teachers have my sincere admiration.

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Well put Amber C.! administrator have the authority to chose who gets tenure and they usually have many young people graduating college who are waiting to step in. Where I teach there is an emotionally unstable woman, she has gone through anorexia, and every health issue known to humans(Many many sick days) she keeps her door closed and discourages teacher assistant, and Specials teachers from entering. But every day at three she schmoozes with the parents and they love her. She schmoozes with the principal who held her job for her for years while she was a SAHM. Another teacher is very strict with students and INSISTS they do their homework, reports their misbehavior and insists the principal deal with any violence. Her students learn a lot. Many parents and the principal hate her. Principals have to spend time in the classrooms to know which teachers are doing a good job, they cant be busy dealing with parents ALL the time, they cant be annoyed when teachers ask for help with discipline problems.

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I taught for 4 years, and I am currently a stay at home mom. I have started a website, with teachers and parents in mind. The teachers can be current teachers, or inactive teachers, or even home schooling their own children currently. It has the mind frame that we should ALL be UNITED to teach our children, no matter what position we hold in respect to teaching our children. You can visit my site here: www.unitedtoteach.com. Cut and paste it to your browser. It is currently free to be a member. I am looking forward to not being so much of an island anymore on my site, but have other teachers and parents contribute. I have an idea, to help the laid off teachers continue to make at least a somewhat decent salary. I have not posted my idea on my site as of yet, but I will soon.
Our main problem is that we don't seem to value education as we should in our country. However, we also are comparing apples to oranges, when it comes to pitting us against other leading countries in the educational realm. I agree with this post, particularly:

"With regards to high stakes testing....STOP comparing us to all of these other countries. STOP. It is ridiculous. Here's why: Those other countries CHOOSE which kids to educate (generally their top 10-20% of students). Special needs students: Nope. High risk students: Nope. Low SES kids: Nope. Compare OUR top 10-20% with them, and now we have a better chance at seeing how our schools are doing."

Not to get too controversial, and not saying that certain populations don't deserve to be educated. We need to educate as many as possible, because our children will face a different world if others are well educated as well. However, how many other countries are accepting ILLEGAL immigrants into the country, and expecting their teachers to educate them? No wonder we are facing a lot of budget issues in our country. We need to require ALL of our clients/ customers to contribute financially. You get what you pay for. Yes, we should be charitable, but part of the reason our country is in its current financial situation is because we have become weighted down with how charitable we've become. There needs to be some balance.

I wished there was a reply function. I don't want to confuse you all. I wanted to reply to the person who responded below my response. She is saying that teachers need evaluated. As far as I am aware ALL teachers ARE evaluated. At least where I taught, in two different schools of the same district, our administrators could walk into our classrooms at ANY time, and evaluate our performance. We had at least 6 walk-throughs, with a 7th observation that the teachers could plan entirely. We had cumulative and formative evaluations, and our Principals and Vice Principals would sit down with us to tell us what was working well, and what could be improved. GOOD administrators would tell us HOW we could improve, instead of just telling us what needed improving. BAD administrators would tell us to go to Barnes & Noble. You are right, it is a top down situation. I do think they have at least part of the problem figured out, when they require that higher positions in education can only be reached when a person has done their time as a teacher. Most positions (LIbrarian and Information Technology, all the way to Superintendent, require that the person teach a minimum of 4 years first). Perhaps, any person in government, who thinks they are entitled to regulate education should be required to do the same.

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I don't know about the Matt Damon thing.

But I heartily agree with every word in your post.

Bravo!

:)

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Overall, I agree with your thought about teachers. (I have teachers in my family as well.)
I think good teachers are often underpaid, bridled and unappreciated.
That said, I also feel that there are too many 30+ year teachers out there "coasting" so-to-speak. You know what I mean--the ones that are "over it" and need to move on. I'm sure it's tough to maintain a level of passion and enthusiasm for anything for 30 years, much less adding the frustrations of teaching to the mix.
These teachers need to move out, move on & make space for the awesome fresh teachers who are just begging for jobs!

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I have mixed feelings about this subject. I have the upmost respect for anyone who goes into teaching nowadays. The kids are rude and the parents are not involved. We have had wonderful teachers and terrible teachers for our kids. I have seen a tremendous amount of waste in the schools while watching teacher purchasing supplies for their class. I blame the system. From the top to the bottom.

I believe there are too many administrators and red tape. I don't understand why there is such a need for number of adminstrators in a school. Schools are to educate the students. I believe you cut adminstrators before you cut teachers!!!

Union. Get them out. I do not agree with unions in education and you cannot convience me otherwise. Why doesn't the Union help financially with the continuing education for teachers? Why is it all the responsibility of the school district? The Union receives dues so what does that money do for the teachers?

Teachers. I receive job evaluations. If I am not performing to the level my employer requires then I am fired. That is how it should be with teachers.

Parent. We parents are the driving force for our kids. I was a very active parent in my kids schools. That is my job! However, you have parents who believe "it takes a village" and thus have other people parent their children. That is a problem and I'm not sure how you address that.

Funding. I think you have the change the way schools are paid for. We pay a tremendous amount of money per child to be educated. I believe those monies are not spent wisely a lot of the time. I'm not sure we need a Federal Department of Education. Why send funds to the fed and then have them send the funds back to the state. Seems strange to me.

If you are a teach, THANK YOU! I have so much respect for you. You don't have any easy job and I do not resent one penny I pay for education!! Again, THANK YOU! You are appreciated!

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