We Need a Teaching Force!

This revised essay has become far more imperative now that the most recent study has been done on teacher experience. The study concluded that in 1988 a typical teacher had 15 years of experience; today that number has been reduced to 3 years!

In many ways teaching is a relay race as one generation of teachers passes the baton to the next. The faster the baton is passed the faster the mentor teacher can get the young protégé ‘up to speed.’

A lot has been made by my Baby Boomer colleagues that we were the first generation (“post the Korean War,”) that embraced teaching as a ‘lifestyle choice’. And with that push, the commitment to excellence and innovation in teaching evolved. No doubt, the children of the Baby Boom made an impact on the lives of new ‘g-g-g-generations’ who fell under their wing.

I had the pleasure of teaching dozens of would-be-teachers who are alumni of my English classes, and I emphasized that they bring something every teacher must have when they walk into a classroom — compassion. Each has had to run hard and fast, often facing hurdles that our generation did not have to leap.

Unfortunately, factors besides the many hoops that these young people have to jump just to get the teaching profession. The financial cost/ benefit of teaching is laughable. Students leave college with, not a money on their back, but rather, a King Kong. “Student loan debt in the U.S. reached another all-time high of $1.4 trillion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019, according to Experian data. That’s an increase of 116% in 10 years and represents one of the country’s most significant and widespread financial burdens to date.”

As for a typical Bachelor Of Arts degree, students rack up $16,000 of debt. That does not count the year that it takes to earn a teaching degree — time that often requires a student to work without any pay (or work in the evenings to survive). 

Once these teachers are placed in the classroom, they have a terrible turnover rate. 50% of them quit after five years. And that number is even more striking when one considers how few are even taking the plunge (understandably) to go into the profession.

Once then are past the five year mark the National Average for teacher salaries is abysmal. As of August of 2019: “Nationwide, the average public school teacher salary for the 2017–2018 school year was $60,483, according to data from the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.” What a statistic like this does not indicate is that opening salaries are often as low as $45,000 (Oklahoma, South Dakota and Arizona where shortages are dire); these averages do not take into account how many years it takes to move up to just the average. 

As for ‘keeping up with inflation’ as they say in New Jersey — “For get about it.” According to the Washington Post in 2018: “…some states seeing big drops in average salaries. Colorado, for example, which is having a serious teacher shortage, saw a 15 percent decline in average teachers salaries from 1969–2017….”. That amounts to a Rocky Mountain low.

What to do what to do? First, on the agenda is the removal of a Trump administration that abhors public schools. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose only qualification for this post was being a rich donor to Trump’s campaign, said recently: “Government has never made anything better or cheaper. more effective or more efficient. And nowhere is that more true than latest in education.” 

This statement is a gut punch to all those great public colleges, schools, and the teachers and professors that sacrifice less pay for more fulfillment. Of course, she speaks from absolutely no peresonal experience either as a teacher or having her children attend even one day in a public school. Trump and Co. have no vested interest in anything ‘public.’ 

Next, America needs to invest in its children and those teachers. Study after study concludes the same thing: the teacher is the single most important factor that creates success in a classroom. Not the computer. Not the textbook. Not the online impersonal technology. All those things are just the tools of the trade. It is the teacher that is the artist, the motivator, the counselor, the leader and the coach — sometimes all those jobs on a Thursday. 181 days a year. And America wants it done on the cheap…but not for much longer.

To add insult to injury, many thousands of teachers signed up for a program that asked for a ten year commitment, and after that commitment ended, they would have their debt forgiven. Scores of reports are indicating that the federal government is now reneging on the deal. Talk about getting screwed and being disgusted by an administration that shows utter disrespect to these public servants.

Yes, the climate crisis is the most existential issue the world faces, but without this nation’s new generation of children becoming educated and literate, this nation, dare I say the leader of the free world, will continue to be bamboozled by those foolish enough to perpetuate the idea that the global warming is a hoax. Our children will have to have the critical thinking skills and work effort, not to mention grit, that it will take to sift through the disinformation and disregard for the facts — pure and simple.

This will take time and political courage. The votes it will take to raise taxes or make cutbacks in the military industrial economy may cost political careers. It is not the moon or mars we should be shooting for with the insane Space Force — not today, not for the next decade. It’s a Teaching Force that this nation needs right now ASAP. 

So here’s to the runners, those noble teachers, who grab the baton and head to the finish line — even though it is more a marathon than a sprint. We owe tem more than our gratitude. 

ps. I am always willing, like many, many of my retired colleagues to jump in and make a ‘guest appearance.’ All they need to do is ask.

It’s Still the Same Old Story: Isolationism and Trump

From time to time, I reflect back on America’s involvement in WWII. Raging across Europe and Northern Africa, Hitler’s Nazi forces were making a mockery of the idea that a treaty would assuage the fanatical German leader. It all seems like some distant memory for some or perhaps a trailer for a new movie ready for a 3D cinema near you.

But really, it is quite black and white. Literally. The film Casablanca comes to the forefront when I considerate as a clarion call for America to wake up from its slumber and realize that millions of lives had been and would be lost without our intervention. I spent many years teaching the subtle (and not so subtle) aspects of the film; however, today one particular question keeps running through my mind.

A jaded businessman, Signor Ferrari asks Rick Blaine, the embodiment of America’s idea that one does not stick one’s neck out for anyone: Ferrari asks:

“My dear Rick, when will you realize that in this world today isolationism is no longer a practical policy?”

Rick Blaine’s response then was that the problems of the world are not his concern. He is a businessman. Of course, we know (or should know) how the film ends: Blaine and company decide that the self-centered problems of “three little people don’t add up to a hill of beans in this crazy world.” Thus, he sacrifices love security to personally jump back into the fight…and this time America and the Free World wins.

My dear readers, it is time we joined the fight. Isolationism, whether it is cloaked in words like Brexit, nationalism, Trumpism, or “build that wall,” are today’s rallying cry from a small, but dangerous tribe of people so concerned with their own self interests, their own wallets, their own view of what an American should look like, whom they should love and what god they pray to, that they cannot fathom a larger cause — “a stronger together” force of will.

Isolationism did not begin with Donald Trump and it will not end with his administration. It is not a red or blue state, either. Intolerance cloaks itself in every religion, race, and creed. And the coward seeks refuge in the ‘castle walls’ built to keep out all those who threaten that entitled way of life.

Nowhere is this isolationism more evident in the Trump Administration’s rejection of the Paris Climate Accords. The idea that global warming is a “hoax” perpetuated by the Chinese, or a conspiracy by the left wing/ socialists is just another version of sticking one’s head in the sand and pretending that the crisis will pass, as if it were just a tropical storm added by foul winds. Of course, only when the inevitable hurricane blasts apart Mar-a-Logo refuge, only then will a few see the rising tides in the seas. Naturally, those with enough money and power will retreat to the next country club fortress and blithely comment that “Isn’t it just a shame….”

The Brits are also realizing the senselessness of a knee jerk, nationalistic reaction to leaving the European Union. Tossing out the baby with the bathwater is the conundrum facing those politicians across the pond. Clearly, there are issues (like fishing the waters between the continent and Great Britain), but these are compromises that need to be addressed — not a reason to abandon ship.

Turning to the turmoil in the Middle East, some believe that a total withdrawal of United States military forces is overdue in the Middle East, despite the growing danger of unchecked (and far from dead) ISIS forces — extremists that all true Muslim sects decry. What ISIS has done to millions of innocent men, women and children is a 21st Century Holocaust. The New York Times on November third 2019 ran a special section in its Sunday magazine about the ISIS slaughters, so disturbing, was the loss of life, the maimed, raped, and the mentally tortured people who were shredded by these assassins that I had to avert my eyes to the grim photographs.

Our Special Forces, along with the Kurdish fighters led to the killing of one of ISIS’s leaders, but the Trump administration once again made American foreign policy look both foolish and cruel. By abandoning the Kurdish people, who had captured some of the worst of the ISIS fighters, and then allowing the Turkish forces to both destroy the Kurds with bombardment but, in the chaos, Turkey also free at least a thousand ISIS prisoners, who will undoubtedly matriculate back to Europe to again reap havoc and destruction. How many will forget that it was Trump’s unexplainable green light to Turkish attack that may be one of the most devastating blunders of Trump’s legacy.

Why did Trump isolate the Kurds by having our peacekeeping forces retreat (a decision military leaders there and in the States criticize)? No one really knows. Was Trump motivated to protect his hotel properties in Turkey? Was he looking for a way to further ingratin ate himself to Putin, who now holds the levers of control in northern Syria? What possible sense is there in this pullout? Was it a simple “What’s in it for me?” Another one of his “Why should I stick my neck out” moment?

No one wants ‘forever wars’; however, there is a reason we protect nations like South Korea. There is a reason we are the muscle and the money behind NATO. Why not just look out for our own interest? Here are but a few reasons: Crimea. Ukraine. North Korean aggression. Russian involvement in our political elections. And the simple fact that we must lead the world from the brink of ecological destruction. That’s why.

At one point in Casablanca, An agonized Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine says: “I bet they’re asleep in New York; I bet they’re asleep all over America.”Then he sips his whiskey and remembers the calendar just turned to December….1941.

Government Is Good - But Easily Taken for Granted

I’ve been spending considerable time thinking about the value we place on our American government, as well as the need to be an informed citizen of this great nation. Last month, I walked through the cities of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and I could not help but be reminded how America saved the world from Hitler’s Holocaust. I was proud of the Greatest Generation, who waded onto the beaches of Normandy to save others from the tyranny of the Nazi onslaught.

With all the ‘Deep State’ conspiracy talk, the debates about ‘how much is too much’ government involvement, and complaints about taxation, I became motivated to answer a simple question that was asked by Rush Limbaugh: “With the exception of the military, I defy you to name one government program that has worked and alleviated the problem it was created to solve.” I discovered the answer by doing something Americans often don’t have time for — reading.

Many folks think they never needed government to do anything for them; after all, they pulled themselves up by their efforts with little help from Uncle Sam. Many view government as the enemy or as a bunch of bungling fools or as merely a greedy taxation machine…maybe all three.

So let me remind everyone of some of “Government’s Greatest Hits” — (and for brevity, these are just the Gold Standards). These results come from the research of Professor Douglas Amy, Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College. The good professor begins with this:

“What follows is a short list of some of the federal government’s greatest accomplishments. These are policy programs that have not only worked, but have been very successful and have greatly improved the quality of life of most Americans.

• Regulation of the Business Cycle. Until the financial crisis that began in 2008, most of us had forgotten how dependent we are on the federal government to prevent economic depressions. Since the 1930s, the government has used a variety of monetary and fiscal policies to limit the natural boom and bust cycles of the economy. Before government took on this responsibility, severe depressions were a routine and recurring problem in this country — occurring in 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893, 1907 and 1929. Thanks to government intervention, we have been able to avoid the enormous amount of human suffering caused by these massive economic meltdowns… By any measure, eliminating these depressions and this misery has been one of the greatest — and often unheralded — achievements of our federal government.

• Public Health Programs. A variety of programs run by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state and local Public Health departments have greatly improved the health of most Americans. For example, the scourges of polio, cholera, and smallpox have been effectively eradicated from this country — a huge achievement. And vaccination programs have reduced by 95% our risks of contracting potentially debilitating diseases like hepatitis B, measles, mumps, tetanus, rubella, and diphtheria. Federal funds spent on buying and distributing these vaccines have saved countless lives and the billions of dollars it would cost to treat these illnesses.

• The Interstate Highway System. Started by the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s, this system now forms the backbone of long-distance travel and commerce in the United States…. Even some conservatives have been forced to admit the success of this building program, with George Will calling it “the most successful public works program in the history of the world.” It’s hard to imagine the U.S. without this interstate highway system, and this system would not exist at all if it weren’t for the government.

• Federal Deposit Insurance. Another government program we’ve taken totally for granted until recently is federal protection of our bank deposits…. The main reason we had no disastrous runs on banks (and money market funds) during the financial panic of 2008 was that government was there to guarantee those deposits.

• Social Security and Medicare. Without these two government programs, growing old would be hell for many Americans…. Social Security has cut the rate of poverty for the elderly by over half — from 29% in 1966 to 10% today. Not surprisingly, financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn has described Social Security as ‘arguably the U.S. government’s greatest success. ’Medicare has also been incredibly successful. It has doubled the number of the elderly covered by health insurance, so that 99% now enjoy that benefit. Without this form of “socialized” medicine, 15 million of our neediest citizens would be going without many vital medical services and many would have to choose between food and medicine. Older Americans are now living 20% longer, thanks in part to this effective program. These two programs have done more than anything else to relieve the pain and suffering of our elderly population.

Okay. Those are just five of the largest programs that affect Americans’ pocketbooks. But is it true that overall the government has been successful? According to the Harvard study by Derek Bok, which compared the situation for Americans in the 1960’s to the 1990’s, after studying 75 indicators of government involvement, the study concluded:

During the past thirty-five years, our society has made substantial progress in most of the fields surveyed. In almost all of these advances, government actions have played a prominent role, whether it be in cleaning up the environment, expanding personal freedom, extending health care to the poor and elderly, reducing poverty, or increasing opportunities for women and minorities. Federal policies have clearly had a hand in America’s greatest domestic achievements…

As for those who believe government is the problem, not the solution, a rebuttal from Professor Douglas Amy, “But the basic point here is this: there is simply no credible support for the government bashers’ contention that most government activities are ineffective and that policies usually make things worse rather than better. Exactly the opposite is the case.”

Grover Norquist declared years ago: “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”He and his ilk have been spending millions upon millions of dollars since the 1990’s to convince Americans to not trust their government, to despise certain politicians, to pledge to never raise taxes for any reason, to never regulate anything because they believe in ‘Let the buyer beware!’ (try doing that on an airplane without the FAA’s inspections). And sadly, the results are that conspiracy theories abound, and people are either suspicious of government or just apathetic in their role as being an active, informed citizen (they don’t even vote!). This essay is my humble attempt to encourage all to read and pay attention to how much our government does for the average citizen. No, government is not perfect, but this noble experiment has been and remains the beacon of freedom and “the land of hope and dreams.”

It is often those who are not yet affected by circumstances beyond their control, who roar the loudest that they want government out of their lives. However, when those people face debilitating disease, trauma, natural disaster, etc., they clamor for the forces of government to help them be it fire, flood, food quality, or water purity (to name but a few). I wonder how Norquist and Limbaugh will feel about government actions and global warming as the waters rise up and up and up.

Sources:

“Government is Good: An Unapologetic Defense of a Vital Institution”A web project of Douglas J. Amy, Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College

Derek Bok, The State of the Nation (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996).