Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is...
The time is coming when we need to reallocate our funds to “put our money with our mouth is” as the slogan used to say. But I think it takes a huge shift in thinking for the politicians and taxpayers and that will take a bigger push from us as educators and we will have to change the way we currently “advertise” or advocate. We cannot currently use the methods of “educating” the policy makers that we do because they are not listening and if we want to be effective in our goals we need to learn how to speak their language in order to get them to listen. We need to speak more effectively and show them the fiscal benefit. I know business do not belong in schools but most politicians are or were businessmen so we as educators need to appeal to their business sense and speak their language when proposing policies so they see the benefits.
The studies and the proof we need is out there that funding early childhood education is more cost effective than funding a prison but obviously the message hasn’t been effective yet because it is seen as an entitlement program or as something parents should be doing at home. Where corrections are seen as being a public safety but the tax payers/politicians don’t see that the people sitting in a prison are not doing anything productive and are just a drain on our taxes. We need to give law makers the vision and the faith of the long term benefits of spending n education versus the easy political fix of spending money on corrections and “public safety”.
The three states were examples of what works and what doesn’t but also examples of politics. The states that worked valued teachers better and put money into it. When we value teachers and “put our money where our mouth is” education is improved. Everyone gives lip service to teachers being valued but we all know that usually we don’t really feel valued. Individual parents will say they think teachers are “great” or “need to be paid more” but no one wants to pay more taxes to really make these things happen. So we need to reeducate and really change the way we present ourselves as professionals so that we gain more respect. Speak their language.
Preach it sister! Jamie, I completely agree with you. The trend, unfortunately, is that teachers are not being listened to when it comes to education reform. I wonder if it is because teaching is not valued as a profession, so the opinions of the teachers are not valued either. The parents, who are now called the consumers, need to be the group to step up. They not only need to use their voices and their votes, but they need to be willing to pay for it. Although the reason public schools were created was so people did not have to pay to educate their children, this was done, and is still done, through government funding. This means taxes. Idahoans pay low taxes compared to other states. We need to be willing to pay a bit more. Even raising taxes by 1 cent/dollar would make start. It would add up.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jamie! How do we go about gaining more respect though, how do we present ourselves as professionals...I don’t know about you, but I think that do a pretty good job of being a professional within my school, my district, and my community…but that is not helping me get paid anymore. I know what you were talking about was referring to teachers in general, as a whole; we need to make teachers seen in a professional light. If you are able to figure out that, I think many teachers would be willing to pay you for solving the problem.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with what Heidi posted too, that parents need to step up and have a voice too, but they also need to be educated on how a tax increase really would affect them. Many people just do not understand fully enough to make the decisions they are making.
Bravo Jamie. You hit the nail on the head with this entry. The shift in thinking about educational funding has to change. We need to communicate better with students, parents, communities, states, nation and especially policy makers. As we seek better communication with some of these business professionals, we need to speak their language. Long term investments in life long learning, beginning with preschool, is a proactive stance. If we focus on children early and throughout their school career, including college, we will reap societal and financial rewards.
ReplyDeleteIf perhaps we don’t invest in our children on the road to success, there is a larger price to pay for all of us. As you mentioned, prison is just one outcome. We cannot afford all of these pricey prisoners. Look at what is happening currently in California!
It seems strange that many societies place a higher value on teachers than we do in the U.S. It makes us feel as professionals, less professional than others. I wish that someone would understand that we are the trained professionals that devout our lives to a career that we feel is one of the most important because we care about children and our society.
We didn’t become teachers because of the money. It’s because we know where our focus should be on in the future.
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and what I wonder is how teachers and teacher groups can reclaim their (seemingly) lacking validity? I think, as a profession, we have to gain credibility so that our voice matters within the issues - this will potentially mean some tactic changes for the union and possibly having a professional teacher voice outside of the union? I'm not sure - just trying to think how others percieve messages from teachers and why?