gee?! ya think?

I just read something on MSNBC that headlined..."The most experience is one to two years". They were talking about teachers. Hmmm....let me think about this....one or two years. I wonder why?

This year I have felt more pressure to get kids' testing scores up than any other year. With the threat that that teacher based or merit based pay is on the horizon - that pressure increases about ten-fold. So why would we have more teachers with one or two years? Perhaps because the rest of the veteran teachers are....oh let me see if I can get this right?.....SICK AND TIRED OF TESTING?!?!?!?!

As a veteran teacher, I am tired of being told that how a student does on a test will determine whether or not I am doing a good job in my room. COME SEE MY ROOM!!!!!!!! This is my challenge again to those doubters that we have it easy, that all the children are behaving and that we can get stuff done every single day the way it needs to go. Seriously, I am inviting you in. I want people to come in and watch what I do everyday. I want you to see how much time I get during the day to plan, to collaborate with my colleages, to see how many speed bumps there are along the way, to deal with students that aren't always behaving....EVERYTHING. I want people to come in and watch and then to consider how unimportant that test is to me at times.

When I tell people that I'm a middle school teacher, inevitably, their response is...."better you than me....I could not do that job." Well, you know what? Perhaps they're right....perhaps they can't, but I like what I do. Not everyday....but overall in the grand scheme, I do.

What I don't like is being told by people who HAVE NEVER been in the profession, how to do my job and what makes a good teacher. I don't like people making educational policy that don't know a lick about urban or public education. I don't like it when people try to tell me how easy my job is when they've never done it before.

People aren't blocks that can be pounded in a space just to fit and especially children. Each person learns differently. Paper and pencil tests just don't cut it anymore....they can't check for everything....they just can't.

So, when I see that most of the teaching population only has one or two years under them...I'm not surprised. Oh, and by the way....most of those teachers are coming out with things that they can teach us veterans....so don't think their lack of experience is always a negative thing!