Reply #35: Do you not understand how these things improve the quality of students' education?

[Tatiana]

Do you not understand how these things improve the quality of students' education?

class size

My first year teaching, I had 31 students (started off with 34). Among those 31 students were FOUR students with IEPs that were to be included in the regular education classroom. I requested a teacher's aide and was denied. To make a long story short, I did the best I could with those students and they met standards on their alternative assessment exam, but I knew that our school had done those students a disservice as well as my other regular ed kids. In a classroom with students at 5 different reading levels, it gets hard to meet everyone's needs. If I had received the TA, I would have been better able to use small groups to facilitate instruction and incorporate activities from some of the more advanced students (who tend to get bored and tune out if they are not challenged or actively engaged). After that first year is when I got involved in the union. My class size last year was 25 and our class honestly had a fantastic year. All but one of my students met or exceeded state standards (not that I think the ISAT is a true measure of what a student has learned). Most important, I really had the opportunity to engage all of my students and push them to think critically (with some fantastic results on their final projects).

adequate support for special education students (including hiring a 1 on 1 aide, if necessary to meet the needs of a student)

I think I covered this above, but I will reiterate that if we have students with special needs and/or disabilities, we need to provide the appropriate level of support in order for those students to be successful. There was no way a teacher with 27 other kids can provide the level of support that a learning disabled student requires. We are talking about intensive one-on-one literacy instruction including guided reading. If I didn't give a damn about those kids, I'd say "Oh well" and continue to swipe in and out each day. But the fact is, teachers do care about those students and their success. They do care a great deal about ensuring those students have the tools they need to achieve their goals and dreams. I never requested that teacher's aide for my own benefit. I wanted those students to receive the support we were required by law to give them.

maintenance of enrichment/gifted programs for students

I don't teach gifted or enrichment, but I believe these programs are important to our students. As I indicated before, if a student is not engaged or challenged, they tend to tune out. At my first school, some of the students with the most discipline referrals also happened to have some of the highest ACT scores. They got bored and started getting into trouble. We have to have programs and instruction that meets the needs of those students too. Sometimes this is possible in a regular classroom but sometimes students are so advanced that self-contained classrooms are a better fit. I have seen too many students who had a potential bright future ahead of themselves end up in the juvenile or criminal justice system. Do these programs benefit me personally? No. But fewer students on the street and fewer students in our justice system benefit society.

Again, I want to reiterate that the majority of teachers do a damn fine job with the tools they have. We had a school board President who would constantly rail against our union and all the "demands" we wanted. I politely invited the man to spend a whole school day in my classroom. By the end of the day, he was apologizing and thanking me. Now, he visits a couple of different classrooms in various schools every month to actually see what teachers are dealing with and what is going on in the classroom. I wish everyone who railed against teachers and their unions was required to spend a couple of days in a classroom and see first-hand what it takes to educate our students.