Teachers have long resisted outsiders who compare public schools to a business model, citing results and products as the most important determining factor for funding and teacher pay scales.
This idea discounts and forgets that humans are unpredictable, especially third graders!
Current state mandates are pressurizing the classroom and teachers. We are worried about losing funding. We fear losing our jobs if we don’t produce results.
These aren’t the biggest concerns for me as a young teacher. For me, it even scarier to see teachers who have lost their passion for teaching, for learning and worst of all children.
Sam Harrelson of PayPerTrends writes:
So, follow your passion(s). It will take time, but it will be worth your time, trouble and investment if you keep the fire alive.
Another bit of advice from successful bloggers:
So, find your passion first. Soon, money will follow.
If the government were getting paid for the number of times teachers, administrators and parents use the terms “test scores,” “AYP” or “at risk,” our schools would be fully funded. They have marketed hard and fast to scare teachers into thinking they don’t know what they are doing.
We need to be smarter marketers. Keep the fire alive.