Below is a copy of my response; I encourage you to also read the reader’s comments posted, below. And join in! There’s no silver-bullet, and no one person has the answer. The fact that we are all to some degree educated makes this a valid situation for us all to get involved with!
————————response to my thoughtful reader!
Thanks for your comments!
Couple things:
1. Yes. It is always the case that you don’t get everything you want. Educators, like everyone else, aim to educate all children, knowing full well that they may or may not get 100%. Life will always get in the way, and that doesn’t deter great educators from pressing forward to improve. That’s what progress is all about!
2. Clarification: You cite the McNair teacher who didn’t want greater pay. She was referring to a very specific situation: The key factor for McNair is that they are a magnet high school. Right now, they pull the best and brightest kids from all over the city. (There is separate discussion in some districts to abandon magnet school approaches.) So, what the McNair teacher is saying is that she doesn’t think she should get paid more for teaching already-smart-well-supported students, when her peers may be excellent teachers working with some of the poorest-most-disadvantaged students in the district. She made no comment on whether teachers should/shouldn’t get paid more, or whether teachers should/shouldn’t be rewarded for high-performance. What she did say was that she recognized the difference in educator-workload, something many, many outsiders forget, and that it would not be her place to assume that she is a better teacher than one in a low-performing school.
In fact, that’s what people are finally realizing, nationally. If you are trying to cook a gourmet meal, buying fresh vegetables from Whole Foods significantly lessens the challenge as compared to working from canned vegetables from the corner store. Inputs (birth-Pk, SES, family structure, community well-being) dramatically impact kids’ outcomes, and it’s a different challenge to teach in disadvantaged environments. Sure, some really phenomenal teachers can beat all odds and make great gains with even the least well-off kids. But as you said, we’re always going to have a mix of teacher abilities: some great, mediocre, and poor performing. Our objective is to keep pushing for excellence and create better systems to help counterbalance the disadvantage that kids are facing. (Look at US income inequality and child poverty rates – concerning!)
3. Burning out. Yes, it’s always a risk. But do we tell the artist not to burn himself out painting? Do we tell the musician not to burn himself out playing an instrument? Do we tell the scientist not to burn himself out building space ships? People who are passionate about a cause always risk burning out, they risk not being appreciated, and their paths forward are rarely linear. What better cause is there to champion than education, which facilitates all of these great disciplines and accomplishments–art, music, science…? Life is unyielding to reason–economists are classic for poking fun at human decision-making. It WILL be a hard road forward. Still, I encourage our concerned citizens and educators to press on, and do our human-best in whatever small ways possible. Stay engaged, stay learning, stay thoughtful, make what contribution you can. What we don’t want is to roll part-way up the hill and then roll back without making it over the hump. We’ve got national attention on this important issue, and if you love education, now’s a great time to get involved in productive ways.
Thanks again for engaging! Looking forward to more!
