When I was in my early teens, I tried to watch myself for signs of a good occupation for myself. It seemed clear to me that I enjoyed watching and trying to understand people. I studied psychology and psychiatry as occupations and read about the difference and the money needed for the education. I thought of the armed forces, even though I might not have been accepted.
My mother had wanted to be a teacher but circumstances and money problems prevented that until later in life. When I was graduating from high school, she told me to check out the nearest teachers college. I did and found the basic tuition to be $67 a year. For $267, I got tuition, room and board for a year. Even I could afford that. I enrolled and totally loved the place, the people and the experience.
I taught the 5th grade and found out two important things: a young and growing family may want more money than teachers make and second, further credentials are needed beyond the bachelor’s degree to stay licensed to teach. I began searching out graduate schools for a master’s degree and on the way got sidetracked into a doctoral program in educational research. That led to a career in training teachers on both undergrad and grad levels.
Many American teachers, like me, come from the lower half of the social classes. That tends to mean that they are practically minded and interested in having college lead to a job. Of course, the job of teaching does involve working with human beings and teacher training is designed to emphasize that books, knowledge and thought will be mixed with psychology, popular culture, estimating trends in society and family life. It will not be all scholarship.
I had multiple opportunities to work with mixed groups of elementary and secondary teachers and pre-teachers. The two groups tend to be noticeably different, in part because of difference in personality and proclivity and in part because of differences in the training programs and the schools where they will teach. Many parents have noticed that their loveable little 7 year olds are quite different when they are 14 and 15 years old. That difference between happy and secure childhood and challenging and sometimes frightening pre-adulthood is naturally reflected in elementary schools and secondary schools. Elementary schools are full of noise and excitement. Sometimes the high school is too but there are likely to be more whispered conversations or a quieter, more studious atmosphere there.
The elementary teacher has traditionally be required to study all subjects and to be prepared to teach all subjects while the secondary teacher knows one subject deeply. It is an everyday experience for the secondary teacher in preparation to be studying a subject that will never be taught during that teacher’s actual teaching. The subject is too advanced or too controversial or simply too small to get into the very crowded high school curriculum. Many elementary teachers are cheerleader, bouncy types who are willing and able to do most anything. Some secondary teachers are like that also, but personality, training, and experience are likely to make many more critical, cautious and wary.
Are teachers any good? You bet. I know “Freakonomics” cites data on teachers modifying state exam results but in general, you won’t find a more honest and committed group than teachers. They tend to be committed to the good of the students and more knowledgeable about what is actually good and worthwhile for young people than the general population. Further, they accept a job with low pay. There are endless arguments about teacher pay and teacher quality but I stand firmly behind that they aren’t paid enough. The usual blather is about number of hours worked and cites summer vacations. Hogwash! Teachers need to study and learn more, about their endless subjects, about ed technology, about psychology and about themselves. If you want better teachers, pay them better. If you want, you can forget about starting salaries but look at what they can expect to make a year 5 years after getting a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. It is true that teaching itself is satisfying and we should all be thankful that it is for some excellent people.
