I have often thought that the best way for Oregon teachers to get the attention of legislators, bureaucrats, and the public would be for ALL teachers to work only their contracted hours. Further, they would not take any work home, nor would they participate in any school activities for which they do not receive financial compensation. Legislators, bureaucrats, and the public might then see to what degree teachers subsidize the public education system through "donated" labor and how much the public education system relies on teachers to donate time to accomplish all of the tasks asked of them to meet the educational needs of children. What better time to do this than while the state legislature is in session and deliberating on how much it will spend on K-12 education? If the legislature funds K-12 education at the minimum level recommended by the Quality Education Commission, then teachers can go back to "donating" additional time if they like. If the legislature fails to meet the funding level determined as minimally adequate by the QEM they should continue to work only the hours they are bound to by contract and for which they are financially compensated. Teachers have been enablers for too long.
No comments:
Post a Comment