“Why We Should Respect Teachers and Why We Must Be Mindfully Careful About What Comes Next for Educators and Education”
If the COVID-19 pause has changed anything for the good- I think that many, if not most parents, have gained a newfound respect for teachers as a result of the distance learning that prompted “homeschooling” over the past 7 weeks. Prior to this global crisis, teachers were not generally accepted by society and some parents as professionals working hard each and every day with their students- our children.
Once maligned by far too many people for working “short” days and having summers off, parents now have come to find that teachers work as long and as hard outside of the classroom in preparation, as they do inside the classroom with the variety of learning styles, personalities, needs and differing motivations that children bring into the learning environment each day.
I come from a family full of teachers and educators. My mom was a teacher, I have a daughter and a son who are both Special Education teachers, numerous aunts, sisters-in-law, nieces, and many friends are teachers. Much of my professional life has been spent working with teachers- supporting them and providing training and consultation to them. So it is no wonder that during this week especially- I am profoundly proud and thankful for teachers in my life. Most of us can remember at least one teacher who had a profound effect on our life at some point in our development- someone who had a positive impact on us and made us the person we are today. I call these teachers from our past, “Instruments of Inspiration.”
Yet prior to the COVID interruption teachers in America in too many cases were made to feel belittled, and under-appreciated. In many ways teachers have been vilified- the profession disparaged. This trend in thinking over the past couple of decades has prompted a very real teacher shortage in America- a shortage likely to grow worse over the next decade.
Because of this negative messaging about teachers and the teaching profession, college students are significantly less likely than their parents to see teaching as a viable way to become agents of social change. Of all age groups, voters 18-29 are the most pessimistic about the teaching profession. Only 24 percent are “very likely” to encourage a friend or family member to become a K-12 teacher today.
I recently read an essay on the teaching profession where the researchers were asking people to name another profession which they felt had a comparable status to teaching. In the West, teachers were overwhelmingly thought of in the same status bracket as librarians or social workers. Compare that to China, where teachers were considered to have an equal status to that of doctors.
There is a definitive societal lack of respect for teachers in the West. The media is a huge source of fueling the demise of the teaching profession. When teachers get a mention in the media, they have often been blamed for a vast array of society’s ills: from the loss of manners, to the decline in academic performance, to the shortage of viably trained professionals and vocational workers. My feeling is that this attitude towards teachers is not just morally wrong, it’s sabotaging the education system. If we constantly attack teachers, we will miss out on generations of talented graduates who will not want to join a profession that is constantly derided. The talent pool will be shallow moving ahead in this complex world.
If our culture so richly rewards celebrities, actors, and sports stars, heaping praise and riches on them, why should not outstanding teachers be equally celebrated? The moniker “hero” is thrown around so haphazardly today that we often fail to see the true heroes standing right amongst us- and every teacher that I know has worn that proverbial hero’s cape more than once in some child’s life.
Teachers wear so many hats today in the classroom- they are educator, nurse, counselor, protector, facilitator, monitor…sometimes they provide the only love, structure and encouragement that a child gets. Teachers work countless hours and have sleepless nights with concerns about their student-children that they hold close in their hearts. They are as proud as a child’s parent when celebrating accomplishments and as devastated as a parent when a child is hurt in any way.
If you are still wondering why we should respect teachers- it is because they hold the future in their hands. There was a teacher behind every great inventor, every great philosopher, and every great idea in history. Fierce independent minds – from Nelson Mandela to Steve Jobs – have paid tribute to the influence of a teacher during their early years. Countless future leaders and society contributors will one day credit their teachers as well. If it’s your love of reading, your interest in space, your love of thought and debate- I know that there was a teacher in your past that sparked your interests and fed your self-worth to help make you the adult you are today.
As I look ahead to fiendishly complex challenges of the modern age – from climate change to frenetic technological change to global conflict- and now to the task of re-creating a post COVID world – I know it will require better ideas, and better teachers- now more than ever. Teachers need our respect and they need it every single day. This current generation is in a better place than most of us to reclaim the teaching profession…and they have a chance to remind us what once made teaching beautiful in a million different ways. We have to model that kind of respect for teaching in order for younger students to commit to the profession.
But with my measured optimism, I wrestle with fears that all levels of government will look to recover from the COVID-19 devastation on the backs of schools and teachers. I fear huge funding cuts requiring larger class sizes; I see the number of teachers presently in schools being downsized to save money; I have lived through prior economic downfalls where the first things cut are Kindergarten, sports, music, arts, languages, libraries, before and after school programs and services for children with special needs- all the very things that our children need and deserve.
The COVID pause also showed us the ugly reality that there is little or no equity in the field of education presently. If we choose to repair our economy on the backs of schools, teachers, and our children- this disparity of access to an equal education will simply grow larger- and that in my mind is completely unacceptable. We must demand of our elected officials that schools be fully funded. Our teaching professionals must be given the latitude to come back with ideas from the lessons learned during distance learning to a New Improved Normal for ALL children.
I grow deeply suspicious of governors and other elected officials, not for their call for change, but for implying that classroom instruction may no longer be relevant as a result of our diving into the deep end of distance learning and seeing that it may have select positive benefits for some children. Lessons of how technology can benefit children are wonderful insights, but any educator knows that the magic of learning happens in the face to face connection made between teachers and their students.
I would hope that a lesson learned during this pause is that we need to put more emphasis on educating the “whole child” and let our teachers ply their trade in new re-imagined ways with the support necessary to meet the needs and demands of today’s students. The classroom and the school culture, and the dynamic impact that has on a child’s learning and development cannot be replaced and mimicked in a virtual learning environment! It definitely cannot be substituted in a distance learning platform for children marginalized in any way or for students with special needs. If we return to the old normal or to a diminished emphasis and gutting of education, then the coronavirus taught us nothing about the education process and what is good for our children and our future.I can guarantee you that inequity in education will likely grow wider- and we must shout out loudly as our children’s advocates that it is simply unacceptable!!
We need to respect the teaching profession and teachers because teachers are the architects of the future. I have always believed that every child has two homes- the one they are born into, their biological home and the one they spend 5 ½ hours a day in- their school home. I take great solace in knowing that if for some reason a child’s biological home should fail her in any way- then Thank God that they have their school home providing them the structure, nurturing, learning, acceptance and love that all children deserve as a basic human right as they develop and grow.
Today more than at any other time in our history we must form a coalition of loud voices lead by teachers and including parents, advocates, researchers, academics and government officials to figure out a New Improved Normal for ALL children to return to!
Thank you to the teachers in my life when I was a student- Thank you to the teachers among my family and friends- Thank you to teachers and classroom staff everywhere.
A most respectful THANK YOU during Teacher Appreciation Week [and every day] to our BHSC teachers, teacher assistants, aides, classroom therapists and building principals/leadership. I want you to know that you are appreciated every day of the year. Your personal impact on the children in your learning environments is immeasurable. Trust me on this…I know that teachers do not work for prestige or income – Teachers work hard and teach for the outcome…They work for “their” children’s success and the future. It takes a big heart to help shape little minds…and our classroom staff does it best!
THANKS and Stay Safe, Joe Cozzo
**With 8 school sites serving children with special needs, BHSC is lucky to have the GREATEST group of educational rock stars who love, educate, and care for our beautiful children each and every day. Visit www.askbhsc.org to learn more about our classroom programs and other services available for children at Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center and please consider a donation by going to: https://bhsc.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/268419/Default.aspx to see how you can help us help children and families. THX
