What is Going On?

It seems that almost any story one would read in a daily newspaper or see on television involves a teacher strike, their pay, school reform, and the problems associated with paying their pensions.  There is no denying the fact that these issues are out there.

The problem is this...if that's all the media focuses on then many of the current realities of the profession are ignored or out of the purview of the general public.  Teaching and teachers are going through a transformative period that is often not of their doing, has a draining effect and consumes huge portions of time and effort.

It is not uncommon for a teacher to have a variety of students in the same class...Honors, AP, Regular, Inclusion, those with IEP's and the like.  The demands made of teachers in such a situation necessitates that a teacher often work with multiple aides and have at least a couple of different lesson plans for the same class period.  The days of having one lesson for one class are going by the wayside.

The above situation calls on teachers to have a couple of different curriculums, additional handouts, and different classrooms materials.  I am aware of many teachers dealing with this scenario.  It also means that students with greater needs demand more teacher attention.  Sadly, some students get passed over not because a teacher intends to; rather, it simply isn't practical to 'get to' everyone.

You would be surprised at the out-of-classroom time, at school and home,  that an instructor spends with aides, case managers and parents in just one of the above described classrooms.  It is incredible!!!
Oh, it doesn't end here!!  You can be sure that a teacher will have to have different assessments, different tests and different rubrics that deals with the above situation.

The general public lacks much of this information.  Ones view of the teaching profession and the demands placed on teachers may simply be ill informed.  To be sure, those of us who have been teachers would be hard pressed in today's classroom.

The challenges are great but what I see taking place by those many great teachers continues to amaze me!

Thanks!
Dick