First, dear reader...how I have missed you.
Now, onto the matter at hand. Florida's legislature is pushing through at lightening speed a bill that threatens the very livelihoods of Florida's teachers. I urge you to email your state representatives to ask them to vote NO on the Merit Pay bill that today passed through the Florida House PreK-12 committee.
I have attached below the long version of the letter I spent much time composing during my free time today. The email I sent was much, much shorter, but I flatter myself that I said some things in the extended version that need to be said, even if no one hears them. Read on, and leave your thoughts.
I have been a teacher in Florida 5 years. In addition to the Bachelor’s degree I earned before entering the profession, I have completed 2 professional certificate endorsements comprising approximately 600 hours of coursework, over 18 hours of graduate coursework in educational theory and methodology, and over two hundred hours of professional development and workshops (often on my own personal time without extra pay, and sometimes at my own personal financial expense), all to further my own capability as a teacher, and all in addition to teaching a full complement of language classes ranging from remedial reading to Advanced Placement Language and Composition.
If this bill becomes law, those countless hours I have spent to further my professional goals will become worth less than the paper on which the certificates are printed. I cannot think of another profession where a person would not expect to be compensated in a manner commensurate with his or her education, qualifications, and experience. It seems, however, that the teachers of Florida are being denied the same considerations that any professional in the business sector would likely take as his or her due. Instead, our pay and job security will be based almost entirely on student performance on standardized tests. I find it quite disturbing to think that my very livelihood could potentially be based on a single snapshot of my entire years’ work, with absolutely no context by which to understand the picture. It would not tell you, for example, that the majority of my students are considered “at risk,” for reasons such as low socio-economic status, limited English proficiency, minority status, special education needs, etc. As their teacher, I am tasked with providing not only their education, but also an environment that is both physically and psychologically safe, boundaries and discipline, the only hot meal that many of these children will eat today, a shoulder to cry on then they need one, an encouraging voice when they need one, an advocate for students who suffer from abuse or neglect. If you have children, imagine for a second the struggles, triumphs, frustrations, and heartaches that you have experienced in the pursuit of raising them—now multiple it by about one hundred fifty. That is what Florida’s teachers face every morning, and that is a mountain of responsibility that can in no way be measured by a standardized test.
Consider, for example, your job as a state legislator. Pretend that you have to run for re-election EVERY year--no more of these 4-year terms--and you are running unopposed (because no one else really wants to do your job). You go out and campaign every day, you put up signs and billboards and shake hands and do everything you can to inspire people to come out and vote. But on election day, only a few people come out to the polls—maybe it’s raining, or they’re tired, or they just don’t feel like it that day. So, despite all your hard work and effort, the results are disappointing. Then, your boss decides that since not very many people voted for you, you must not be very good at your job, so you don’t deserve to get a raise this term. And when you protest that you did everything you could and have no control over whether people vote, you are told that you obviously didn’t do enough, and that if more people don’t show up to the next election, you will lose your job.
Obviously this is an extreme example, but I hope you can see my point—even when we do everything in our power to do our job well, there are often numerous factors outside of our influence. Unfortunately, the factors that lie outside of a teacher’s influence are often detrimental to a student’s academic performance. I have no control over the student who has missed 23 out of the last 45 days, or the one whose family is losing their home to foreclosure, or the one whose parents are divorcing. I have no control over a student who comes to school every day with no supplies, or who never does his homework, or the one who is thinking about her four-month-old daughter at home. I cannot control the student who moved to my school with literally no English, or the student who has to miss weeks at a time due to illness, or the one who has to work long hours to help make ends meet at home. Each of these scenarios represents a very real child who has sat in my classroom some time this year. I have to accept every one of these children into my room and treat each one equitably, with respect and dignity, even if I receive none in return. Unlike many businesses in the private sector (and I believe this to be the fundamental point of misunderstanding between teachers and non-educators), I cannot turn a child away.
If a customer walks into a store with no money, the proprietor can turn him away; teachers cannot turn away our customers for inability to “pay.” Doctors and lawyers can turn away patients or clients if their caseloads become too heavy; teachers can’t refuse to accept a new student because we already have too many. A business manager can fire an employee who is perpetually late or absent, or who doesn’t perform his expected duties, or who steals from the company; a teacher most definitely cannot “fire” a student who is late or absent, or who doesn’t perform, or who cheats.
No teacher who is worth his or her chalkboard will argue against some measure of accountability in our professional lives. In fact, accountability is a something we live with every day as it is. In my classroom, I have a shelf of large binders full of lesson plans, charts, graphs, data, and other various pieces of information on my students. At any given point, I could tell you which student was a level 1 reader last year, which student missed passing the FCAT by a single point, or which student is strong in vocabulary but weak in reference and research. By all means, hold us accountable, because those of us who are worth it have nothing to hide—in fact, we are already doing many of the things you seem to find necessary.
But please, I urge you, reconsider the methods of accountability that have been set forth in SB 6. Sentator Thrasher claims that this bill is going to “inspire teachers.” It seems to me that Sen. Thrasher is extremely out of touch with the feelings of Florida’s teachers. As one of those teachers, I do not feel inspired, only undervalued, frustrated, and discouraged. I can only think that other educators will feel similarly, especially those of us who teach at risk students or in critical needs areas. If we are to be evaluated largely on student test data, then why would I not go to a school in an upper-class area, or to an IB school, where my success is all but guaranteed? Why would I complete my Master’s Degree when there is no salary increase to acknowledge my effort and qualifications? How do you plan to inspire loyalty and dedication when every year we must worry if this year’s crop of students is going to make the grade?
Senator Lynn said yesterday that “good teachers will remain. They don’t need tenure to remain.” To some degree, she is correct. We don’t need tenure. We do need the respect of our legislators and the public. We do need accountability that is equitable and only a portion of the overall measure of our capability as educators. We do need an acknowledgement of the tremendous effort that a teacher puts forward every single day (including weekends and summers and breaks). That effort deserves to be rewarded, not ignored.
Finally, please understand who will suffer if this legislation is passed—the students. Without fail, every colleague with whom I have discussed this piece of legislature has said that if it passes, he or she will seriously consider leaving the profession. Almost certainly, SB 6 will cause teachers in low income schools to look to higher-performing schools for employment. Instead of attracting the best and brightest, legislation such as SB 6 will drive us away. In a field that already faces an attrition rate of higher than 50 percent within the first 5 years, can we afford to drive out even more? Can our students afford to lose the experience of teachers who have spent years honing their craft? Our students need the best teachers available, but in a state that is already dramatically behind the curve on teacher salaries, SB 6 is only going to serve as another wedge to drive teachers from the classroom.
Again, I urge you to reconsider Senate Bill 6. Look at the overwhelming evidence that shows how ineffective merit pay has proven and put aside this measure that will do nothing to “fix” Florida’s schools. Take the time to create educational legislation that is based on the realities of education, not the assumptions of someone who has never set foot in a classroom.
Sincerely,
Me
