We won't get great teachers unless we value them

Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, May 3, 2016.

Teachers can’t be all things to all students -- but the good ones come close.

As we think about educators on this National Teacher Appreciation Day, that is surely one of their biggest challenges.

We think of them as teaching a class, when, in reality, they are teaching individuals who make up a class. That might seem like an obvious point, but it is one we should not take lightly as we celebrate our teachers.

We certainly need to pay teachers better. But we also need to have a better understanding and appreciation of what they do. A recent writer to the Buzz column wrote, “Work year is only 8 months, summer and holidays off. Not a bad salary and great benefits!”

The reality, of course, is that teachers work 10 months in class. Add in time spent at school after class and then preparation at night and on weekends, continuing education, and … well, you get the idea. Or maybe you don’t.

And it’s not just about the hours teachers work, it’s about the intensity of that time and how it has to be juggled among the students who make up the class. Teachers, especially at the critical elementary level, dive head first into their class time early in the morning, and can’t back off that engaged intensity until the end of the day. That is not an easy task … especially in a room full of children.

For those seven or so hours of class time, teachers are working fervidly with 20 or more children with varied backgrounds, often with very different strengths and weaknesses, and each with a distinct set of educational needs.

Good teachers are the ultimate multitaskers -- they learn through experience what works best. They teach not only academics, but also thinking skills. They teach children to learn how to figure things out on their own, solve problems and become lifelong learners.

They also teach socialization skills. It’s not the primary goal of a teacher, but it certainly is a vital byproduct. Children learn to work in groups outside their home setting; they learn how to get along with other people.

We ask teachers to be great educators for each child in their class -- not only the smartest or the hardest-working or the best-behaved.

This is an awesome responsibility.

And let us be clear -- we value the teaching profession so much that we want every bad or mediocre teacher out of our schools. We want only the best.

Can we get the best -- the teachers the children of North Carolina need and deserve -- if we rank 42nd in the nation in teacher pay? Ineffective teachers do not deserve more money. But we must ensure that ineffective and mediocre teachers never make it into our schools to start with. And if they do, then we need a fair evaluation system that gets them out.

We can’t pretend there are great teachers waiting in line to work in our schools. We need to make the job more appealing by paying teachers more and demanding great work.

On this Teacher Appreciation Day, perhaps the best way we can show our appreciation is to commit ourselves to better understanding what teachers do, and commit to never take them for granted.

We will not have great teachers in our schools if we don’t encourage them, thank them, and, yes, pay them well.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20160502/ARTICLES/160509961/1108/editorial?p=3&tc=pg