Monday, February 21, 2011
Slam Poetry on What Teachers Make (Jeff, Topic Seven)
Taylor Mali, What Teachers Make (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU)
Social media viral video
October 24, 2006
Summary: A controversial bit of slam poetry denigrating those who judge teachers as a professional class. His basic argument is that teachers are much more than they are given credit for.
Intended Audience: Those who enjoy slam poetry, teachers, those who judge teachers
Key Points: 1) Teachers are awesome, 2) Those who disagree are, well, not awesome
Relevance: Regardless of the merits of the theoretical framework Mali is working within, it is clear that knows how to engage people. Something is to be said about an educator who knows how to engage, challenge, and care about his students. Judging from his bit, he would be a tough teacher (he taught in New York City for an extended period of time), but I would rather have a teacher who cares and is passionate than one who is not. This is not a particularly "deep" topic in any regard, but it is a useful example of a number of admirable qualities (and perhaps undesirable techniques)--certainly useful to think about and enjoy.
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I have read this before - I didn't realize that it was also out there in video form. I actually had a teacher for an Elementary Math class at PCC hand it our class (since we were all presumably going to be teachers). Fantastic! Here is something along the same lines, that a friend posted on facebook the other day :)
ReplyDeleteAre you sick of highly paid teachers?
Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!
We can get that for less than minimum wage.
That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours).
Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.
However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.
LET'S SEE....
That's $585 X 180= $105,300
per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).
What about those special
education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an
hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.
Wait a minute -- there's
something wrong here! There sure is!
The average teacher's salary
(nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days
= $277.77/per day/30
students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!!
Make a teacher smile; repost this to show appreciation for all educators.
Smile. That is what I did when I got done watching that video. I was thinking I was going to be having the same discussions he did when I told colleagues I used to work with I was going to be a teacher. But almost everyone said that is was awesome, so I have not had to have those discussions - yet. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat Mr. Mali is saying is very true - it is about caring about kids, nurturing them, teaching them and making a difference in their lives. I have seen how changing people's lives brings rewards to my wife everyday as she works as a Social Worker with homeless. Is it hard? Yes. Can it be frustrating? Yes. Is the pay very good? We have a saying that it is an oxymoron to use the phrase, "high-paid Social Worker". Is it worth it? That would be a resounding Yes!
Big and bold but refreshingly "honest"! I feel like the current mantra about teacher ability is not a pleasant one so it's nice to hear someone in defense of teachers. I feel like I want to say more but can't seem to articulate - maybe I need to let it marinate longer. I know it's something along the lines of praise needing to be earned, blanket praise is usually unwarranted.
ReplyDeleteJessica, I loved your post about teacher wages. I have shared it with at least three people today. Perhaps I would rather be a glorified babysitter than an educator.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you all have enjoyed the video.
Taylor Mali is an interesting guy. I'm not sure how I feel about the specifics of the video. Is that the "right" way to approach students? Is there a "right" way? Is simply caring enough to try the "right" way? I'm not sure. Those are all questions that I am continuing to mull over as I attempt to assemble some sort of philosophy of education.