Friday, August 26, 2011

US teachers spend the most time in the classroom teaching. So much for the idea that American teachers are lazy.

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal:

Among 27 member nations tracked by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ), U.S. primary-school educators spent 1,097 hours a year teaching despite only spending 36 weeks a year in the classroom — among the lowest among the countries tracked. That was more than 100 hours more than New Zealand, in second place at 985 hours, despite students in that country going to school for 39 weeks. 


The OECD average is 786 hours. And that’s just the time teachers spend on instruction. Including hours teachers spend on work at home and outside the classroom, American primary-school educators spend 1,913 working in a year. According to data from the comparable year in a Labor Department survey, an average full-time employee works 1,932 hours a year spread out over 48 weeks (excluding two weeks vacation and federal holidays).

One of the things that can piss me off faster than just about anything else in the world is listening to people slam teachers. That absolutely makes my blood boil.

I have had the privilege of working with some of the finest educators in the country, and I can tell you from my own experiences with schools in the Anchorage area, that I have only rarely, and I mean RARELY, come across a teacher who I considered less than completely dedicated to the children they taught.

When I worked at the local elementary school for those four years, I would often receive calls from the teacher that I worked with, who was still at the school sometimes as late as seven o-clock in the evening inputting data on the computer or preparing her lessons.

Now this article goes on to say that despite these many hours of classroom instruction that America is still not doing as well as it could with educating our young people. But I would suggest that it has much more to do with the lack of parental involvement, the "dumbing" down of the textbooks around the country,  and the focus on "teaching to the test" that has been the focus of education in our public schools since the introduction of NCLB.

Nor does it help to provide a multifaceted educational experience with the dramatic increase in the banning of books from our school libraries:

On Monday at the Republic, MO school board meeting, four Republic School Board members reviewed a year-old complaint that three books are inappropriate reading material for high school children. In a 4-0 vote, the members decided to ax two of the three books from the high school curriculum and the library shelves: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was spared. The resident who filed the original complaint targeted these three books because “they teach principles contrary to the Bible“ 

There have been 20 books banned in the last six months from school libraries. And instead of responding to complaints from a single parent, like in times past, these days the complaints are coming from organizations that seem determined to "clean up" the libraries in response to a religious or political agenda:

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, says he believes the challenges are increasingly influenced by politics and the economy. 

" Districts are dependent on budgets, and politically motivated school boards try to determine what we read, what we think and what we teach," he says. 

Here is the list of banned books.


Cutting school funding at every opportunity, demanding high exam scores even in low income/high crime  areas, and removing intellectually stimulating reading material that does not comport with a right wing political agenda, and we want to blame TEACHERS for the lack of success in our classrooms?

30 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:46 PM

    So true! I give thanks for the amazing teachers in my life!

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  2. Anonymous4:30 PM

    Wall Street collapsed and the conservatives blamed poor people buying homes.

    The climate and changing and they want to blame radical environmentalists and slanted scientists rather than face the music.

    Sarah Palin was a disaster as a national mainstream politician but the conservatives blamed the JournoList for the negative revelations that she was not fit for office. She went further by trying to dub it as LSM and say that this was so sorry the state of journalism today.

    State's went into the red and the conservatives blamed the unions and teachers.

    Teabagging Florida Governor Rick Scott then went after welfare recipients, convinced they were using drugs on the public dime and tested them for eligibility - turns out only 2% tested positive for use.

    Corporations are now citizens like you and me, with rights and privileges and access to the power corridor you and me have absolutely no hope to equal.

    See where they are going?

    See the pattern?

    Anyone but them are at fault, and that means your kids teachers, your neighbors and people we elect to represent us to see to our collective well-being.

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  3. Anonymous4:32 PM

    I love your passion! What a fantastic person you are, Jesse.

    I am so glad I found your blog. You are a man of intellect, passion and integrity.

    My husband has been a teacher since the early 1970's. He has had innumerable students get scholarships and go on to get teaching certificates and many have joined him in our district. All are highly regarded.

    However, thanks to our Republican Governor and legislature, teachers have had their salaries frozen for the past three years even though the costs of health care premiums, short-term disability, dental, vision and cancer insurance have soared. Our med-copays are getting out-of-hand. Our doctors, knowing this, are giving us samples of our meds so we can pare down the costs.

    He still has to certify to keep his license (at our expense). The school board refuses to negotiate in good faith saying simply "our way or the highway" even though there are not enough kids going into teaching to replace the teachers they have.

    Another baby boom is scheduled to hit schools in a few years at a time when more than half of the teachers will be retired. However, young people do not see teaching as an economically viable career considering the long hours, the costs (most teachers have to some classroom supplies out of their own pocket) and the increasing list of additional work days and responsibilities (my husband has to clean his own room now).

    The right wing is out to make a third world country of America. School boards often limit teachers' ability to give homework, failing grades when students deserve them or ask students to take remedial classes even if they have learning disabilities. Parents would rather have their teens work after school than study.

    A sad state of affairs all round - except for the passion you and others express. That keeps my husband going. He has dedicated his entire life to teaching, taking the economic hits in stride and dealing with the psychological and physical stresses (and physical threats as well) as well as can be expected.

    Thank you for understanding, respecting and speaking out on behalf of teachers at all levels. As a country, we are lucky to have people sacrifice for the sake the nation's children.

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  4. WakeUpAmerica4:34 PM

    CA is 40 weeks.

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  5. Dis Gusted4:38 PM

    Teachers have a hard row to hoe. Hours extend into the night - grading papers, etc. and the paperwork now is ridiculous.

    There is always the chance that you're going to be sued. Lawyers need to stay out of the classroom.

    NCLB was the worst thing to ever happen to public education.

    Private schools are not better according to various studies. In some cases, teachers are not licensed.

    We have a charter school in the area that teaches things like the holocaust never happened, creationism instead of evolution and insists on making the girls wear skirts below the knees always (no pants/shorts or short sleeves) and high neck blouses.

    They don't allow dating or mixed parties. Anyone caught holding hands (even when NOT in school) is expelled.

    Why anyone would want to send their children there is beyond me, but the school was chartered in 1974 and it looks like it is here to stay.

    I pity the students when they enter the real world.

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  6. Warrior895:03 PM

    People complain about teachers because they think because THEY went to school, they know what to do.

    They want things to improve, but don't want to spend the money or treat teachers like professionals.
    They don't want to accept responsibility for instilling respect and integrity in their children.

    I teach in a low-income district and our teachers are dedicated, and many of our parents want to help their kids as much as they can. But many are single parents, strapped for money, working second shift, etc.

    Education (and the state of it) is a SOCIETAL reflection, not a reflection of how teachers, as a whole, perform.

    Just my two cents. I appreciate how much you support teacher, Gryphen.

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  7. Anonymous5:37 PM

    I'm so glad to see this issue addressed in such a meaningful way. And I concur with Anonymous 4:32's comment, every word of it.

    My Chidren go to public school in Philadelphia, My husband and I are "hands on" and very picky with our kids education. On average, there is a parent teacher meeting twice a month, and it's usually the same handful of parents who show up, ask questions, offer to volunteer time and supplies, etc.
    But when Joannie gets a "D" or a warning of expulsion for bad behavior, Joannie's parents are right there, up in arms, "NOT MY JOANNIE!- you'll hear from so and so on the school borad...blah blah" It's the teacher's fault.
    Thankfully, the prinical of this school was once a teacher herself (and not some adninistative business manager) and defends the teachers.
    The problem is not the teachers, it's the parents who either don't care or don't know what it takes to be an educator in an environment that isn't conducive to learning. Why should teachers have to buy supplies with their meager, hard earned salary? And why is their salary so low in comparison to what they do? How hard they work? The influence they have on shaping the next generation?
    9 times out of 10, its a republican who cuts the budgets, yet sets up and runs charter/alternative schools, and we all know the Texas Text Book issue.

    Thanks to all the teachers out there! I appreciate everything you do for my kids and for our world.

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  8. Anonymous6:00 PM

    Up with teachers. Down with unfunded mandates from the federal government.

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  9. Anonymous6:21 PM

    Thanks for the support.

    I was so proud the day I got my license. I work with incredible people and am privileged to work in this profession every day. It breaks my heart to hear how me and my colleagues are denigrated by people who really have no clue about what we do.

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  10. Anonymous6:23 PM

    Amy Tan's The Bone Setter's Daughter is banned for ??????

    Being a well written story?

    Teachers are being attacked by people that want the US populous to be as ignorant as possible.

    THe destruction of the public education system is a popular theme with the dominionist sect of the Christian faith because they prefer to indoctrinate the flock.

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  11. The only one I've read there was Me Talk Pretty One Day. Personally I love David Sedaris. Would I want my 14 year old to read it? Probably not right now, but in later teenager-hood, he can read whatever he wants. Should It be on a reading list for school. Not so sure. It is pretty explicit.

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  12. Anonymous6:32 PM

    One ray of hope. The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will send a free copy of Slaughterhouse 5 to any student in Republic High that wants it. They're also setting up something to help people in other communities that are fighting book banning. If anybody would like to make a donation just go to http://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/

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  13. Anonymous7:39 PM

    This retired teacher thanks you.

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  14. ibwilliamsi8:35 PM

    They want to ban David Sedaris? That's so wrong! I hope that he will do an essay about that!

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  15. Anonymous8:56 PM

    Do ya love your freedom???

    Wave your flag and open your Bible and let someone else do all your thinking for ya.

    How will future generations be able to lead when keep them from contemplating ideas that might challenge their brains?

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  16. To all the teachers who read this blog. I'm a retired school psychologist. I've almost always worked in low income schools. I've worked in a number of districts over the years. I can count on one hand the number of teachers I worked with that I didn't think were first rate. They work without proper equiptment and supplies. They work with children who come to school hungry, tired, and anything but ready to learn. They love our kids when it seems nobody else cares. Sometimes it seems overwhelming, but they keep on. I'm with you Jesse, nothing gets me as mad as the current atmosphere of bad mouthing teachers. They aren't the problem; they are the only thing holding the whole works together. And yes, NCLB is an absolute disaster.

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  17. Each year the American Library Association sponsors "Banned Books Week" to bring awareness to the public of this very issue. This year it is Sept. 24 through Oct. 1. I believe Banned Website Awareness day is Sept. 28 but I could be wrong. I'm sure it's on the ala.org site.

    As a school librarian I have some favorite books from the most frequently banned list; And Tango Makes Three has consistently be #1, dropping to #2 for one year.

    Where's Waldo and Walter the Farting Dog have also been "challenged". Many challenged books are children's books, either picture books or chapter books.

    That is the process that should be taking place. A book is "challenged". The person asking for the book to be withdrawn must have read the book and must clearly state the reasons for it's withdrawal. This usually starts on the local level with the school librarian (if there is one), the principal and possibly a committee made up of parents and teachers. It may then go up to the district level, depending on the size of the school and district. At no time should a book be banned by a parent going straight to the school board and then a vote.

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  18. Anonymous10:03 PM

    I'm gonna head over to FB and try to find my favorite teachers :)

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  19. People forget, also, that many countries with the high test scores do not educate everybody. Only the rich and smart can go to school, so yes, their scores will be higher than ours, where everyone is dragged there until about age 16, whether they want to retain any information or not.
    How again is this the teachers' fault?

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  20. Anonymous2:48 AM

    Barnes and Noble usually has a table devoted to banned books in honor of banned books week. It's pretty shocking to see what books were banned.

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  21. Anonymous2:52 AM

    When books are challenged in my jurisdiction, unless the challenger has a "standing" in the case, i.e., a child in school, the challenge is thrown out. This gets rid of the right-wing budinskis that have no business dictating what someone else's children should or should not read.

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  22. Not so long ago in Santa Fe, TX they tried to ban "Harry Potter" from the school library. How sad is that...but it didn't happen..people in the community were worried that soon Cinderella, Snow White an other books would be banned.

    I am ever thankful to have had progressive parents and kick butt teachers who were well educated and passed their knowledge along.......

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  23. Anonymous3:55 AM

    I agree. The only reason I got any education at all, coming from my background, was that I had the utmost respect for the teaching profession. I may not have always liked my teachers (esp the couple I remember who had no respect for the students and were petty tyrants) but it was the education I was getting that I always respected.

    Teachers were the adults--I was the child student, and it stayed that way for my entire school experience. And I'm the one who wanted to go to college, so inspired was I by all that knowledge out there, but we were too poor to afford it. So--I read, I read, I read, books from the library, second hand books, even today, thrift store books. And that is an education in itself.

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  24. Anonymous5:01 AM

    I think a lot of blame can be laid on the way Americans have to live.It takes 2 incomes to support a household,the stress level of worrying over losing a job with benefits is intense.The thought of being 1 paycheck away from losing your home,losing power,not having enough to eat,etc,is enormous.The number of single parent households struggling to survive.So many things contribute to parents being unable to be there for their children.Most people would rather focus on their children if you ask them,but life can make them focus on other things.Sure,some are selfish and have no parenting skills,but that's not the majority.As for teachers,it would be helpful if school hours and vacations were designed around childrens needs and not the baby sitting needs of parents.Things like starting an hour later for high school,year round schools,so less review is needed at the start of a new year,etc.My grandkids go to year round school,it has a month of summer vacation and several l2 week vacations during the year,and the students are thriving.Of course this requires some adjustments for mom and dad with daycare,etc.A support system would help,from what ever source.A lot of gran parents could look at their priorities and give some help,but the biggest help would be an economy and lifestyle that lets a parent ,mom or dad,be home for their children.

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  25. Anonymous5:10 AM

    Anony@ 4:32

    I was with you until you said how long the hours are for a Teacher. Excuse me, but where I live, Teachers work about 182 days a year, have every holliday off,every weekend, and all summer. They have teachers aides mark papers, do hall way monitering,watch the play area, and start at some very good salary for 182 days per year.

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  26. Anonymous5:27 AM

    4:32

    I am sorry for you having to pay higher premiums and getting no raises.But thats the way things are in the private sector too.My DH company has frozen salaries for3 years as well and premiums have gone up across the board,most workers today face this .Its not personal to teachers.How ever,things like a lack of supplies to do your job,working in un-airconditioned classrooms in 105 degree heat(how can they teach,how can children learn?)and the way conservative activist portray teachers is horrible.Here in Louisiana parents are given supply lists to provide,everything from paper towels and crayons,to pencils,paper,trash bags,tissues,many different binders and folders,hand cleaner,wipes,disinfectant,etc.The list for each child tops $50 .Add "fees" foreach student(even ECE and Kindergarden) of $20 to $50 .Lowincome families go begging tolocalcharities and even post on Craigslist forhelp. I am not suggesting that teachers should pay for this,they shouldnot have topay for childrens supplies either.Although I do not see a problem with paying for your own further education to keep job skills current,or acreditation fees ,workers in the private sector have to pay for their own continuing education to keep their job (then of course we get to use that on our tax returns,don't you?)and we have topay for all licenses ,etc,needed.That goes on tax forms too.I loved most of my teachers,all those years ago,and I agree that they are undervalued,but making arguments to private sector employees complaining about lackof raises and higher premiums is not going toworkin todays economy.Many would just say at leastyouhave a job.Others would say at least you have benefits.

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  27. GhostbusterTX8:16 AM

    The founder and editor of the Harry Potter Lexicon website is an elementary school librarian. He is well known as one of the top experts on the Harry Potter books, travels and lectures on them etc., but the (private Christian) school where he works has banned the Potter books from their shelves. Go figure.

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  28. Gasman9:31 AM

    Gryphen,
    You are preachin' to the choir, brother. Anybody that says "teachers are lazy" had best be farther from me than the length of my arms. Otherwise they are likely to get an impromptu lesson in physics as my fist rapidly decelerates into their nose.

    If you look at when our educational system began to decline, it corresponds precisely with the time that fundagelical assholes became politically active by infiltrating school boards both at the local and state levels.

    As somebody who has spent time teaching everything from preschool to university students - including a stint teaching high school - I can say with absolute certainty that public school teachers have quite possibly the LEAST number of the lazy among their ranks. Why? Because lazy folks simply won't last. There is no way a lazy person would last beyond a single school year. It is a ridiculously difficult job to do that we keep making harder with each passing year.

    I have NEVER met a teacher that bemoans lazy teachers, only those who have never spent much time in classrooms.

    Are there bad teachers? Sure, since teachers are human and certain percentage of ANY group of humans are going to be incompetent or even just not that good, yes there are less than great teachers. However, since the job is so ridiculously difficult, stressful, unappreciated, AND chronically underpaid, AND teachers have to face choruses of uninformed teabagging assholes (along with more than a few moderate to liberals who've followed this "anti teacher" herd) bitching about lazy and/or ineffective teachers, the teachers who are left are only the most committed individuals that have decided to put up with all our bullshit.

    The GPObaggers want to install an idiotocracy by gutting education. If you REALLY want to improve education in this country, kick the fundagelical moronic assholes out of school boards, make sure that evolution is taught in every jr. high and high school, and double the pay for most teachers.

    AND the next time some slobbering toothless imbecile hyperventilates about "lazy teachers," let him have it, any way you see fit.

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  29. Anonymous11:18 AM

    I have worked in classrooms where teachers have yelled at the top of their lungs to the kids. Have told the kids to shut up and sit down. Teachers who have told the kids that their are dumb and will not go anywhere. These teachers need to get the hell out of the school systems, but yet every year they are still saved. Parents complain, the complaints go all the way up to the superintendent and nothing is done. I agree that their are AWESOME teachers out there and I thank you for treating the children with respect,listening to them, and all of your wonderful things you do; but there are also people who just shouldn't be teachers.

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  30. Gasman1:21 PM

    Anon @11:18,
    You say:
    "I have worked in classrooms where teachers have yelled at the top of their lungs to the kids. Have told the kids to shut up and sit down. Teachers who have told the kids that their are dumb and will not go anywhere."

    First of all, if you've worked in classrooms, good on ya'. However, yours is but a single anecdotal tale. How many teachers did you actually witness doing this? My guess it was in the low single digits. I am NOT defending such behavior, but please be honest about the numbers. You fairly well make my point that we color the discussion of the subject by interjecting anecdotal tales that are then extrapolated into a damning indictment of a whole profession.

    You've worked in classrooms; I've made my career as an educator - something I still do. 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the first time I actually taught in a school as a student teacher, so I think it's probably safe to say that I've spent more time in a classroom than you have. I don't see the problem you cite as being systemic or widespread.

    Having said all that, any teacher that was truly guilty of the things you describe shouldn't be in the classroom. Teachers should be their student's second biggest advocates and cheerleaders - surpassed only by their parents.

    I will tell you, without knowing anything about the district or school that you witnessed these bad teachers, I'll bet they were frustrated beyond measure. When I taught high school I think that I averaged one set of parents per each parent teacher night I attended and it was ALWAYS the parents of kids who were doing well. I also worked in a district that was obsessed with meeting the NCLB goals a couple of years before they were required, which led to neglecting school hygiene, school safety, and any curriculum that was not being tested, especially the arts. My district doled out classroom supplies with an eyedropper. I waited 6-8 weeks for requested dry erase markers before I simply gave up and bought them out of my own pocket. I estimate that most teachers spend on average $500-1000 of their own meagre salaries on supplies that their districts should be providing. Those teachers might well have been taking their understandable frustrations out on their students.

    The "bad teachers" meme is bullshit. I've been in those trenches and the people I saw alongside me were by and large the most dedicated, long suffering, tireless advocates for our nation's youth. I am sick and tired of people trotting out anecdotes as justification for ending people's careers. Show me hard, demonstrable, verifiable data that supports that "bad teacher" meme or shut the fuck up. If we keep bashing teachers, I GUARANTEE you that we will drive out many of our most experienced, dedicated teachers who will simply get tired of the criticism, idiocy, low pay, and mindless political scapegoating. If that happens, our educational system will be FAR worse that it is now.

    Let's all be clear on one point: NO teacher wants to retain incompetent colleagues. Hell, we've got enough of a PR problem as it is. Why the fuck would we make things that much harder on ourselves by retaining the very people who provide evidence for that "bad teacher" meme? We want them to move on, but in a way that causes the least disruption for the students.

    Too many people who certainly should know better are quick to parrot the febrile GOP hyperbole about "lazy, incompetent, ineffective teachers." Prove it, or STFU. The chart that Gryphen provided for this thread totally debunks the GOP meme as just another load of anti union bullshit propaganda. Don't continue to fall for it. It's all a goddamned lie that is meant to attack some of our nation's most dedicated public servants.

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