March 4, 2018
By Andrea Eger, Curtis Killman and Samuel Hardiman
Teacher turnover (click here) at Tulsa Public Schools spiked the past two years, with an exodus of 1,057, or 35 percent, of all 3,000 school-based certified staff....
The pay rate in Oklahoma is not the reason. Nope. Not the pay.
...Tulsa World data analysis found a significant portion of those former TPS teachers — 295, or 28 percent — are not in higher-paying states but in other Oklahoma school districts with comparable pay....
Teachers take their responsibility seriously. They expect to believe they have won over students and helped them learn and achieve.
...“If I don’t think something is best for my students, it’s really hard for me to buy in. And I didn’t agree with the curriculum,” said Howard. “It was very scripted....
...combined with inadequate funding for supporting teachers with the extraordinary challenges of teaching in the inner city....
West Virginia has just concluded a teacher strike. Yes, they were given more pay, BUT, don't teachers purchase their own supplies? Teachers in the year 2018 look forward to additional salary because it makes their job easier, not more rewarding in a personal agenda.
...Suburban districts benefited most from all of the turnover, led by Broken Arrow, Jenks and Union, in that order. And a host of Tulsa charter schools also now count former TPS teachers as their own.
In both years, about 14 percent of the 1,057 exits were retirements, for a two-year total of 145 former employees, according to state data.
Counted among those retirees was an East Central High School teacher who said he threw in the towel two years before he had originally planned because of a lack of support with student discipline issues....
I think I mentioned I was teaching. Right? There is a sincere problem with discipline IN THE CLASSROOM. Why? Because students no longer are expelled from school and they are catered to in inventive ways to keep their derriere in the seat. The seat is worth money to support the school and every student is vital to keep the lights on.
The "W" Republican movement that DeVos is a proponent of, has destroyed the public school. The public schools have lost monies, lots of money and each student is valued by the dollar amount they bring with them. This is not about learning anymore. There is curriculum. Definitely. teachers work hard every day to carry out their lifetime of dedication to their students.
There are new paradigms in the public schools, including parents attending school with their troubled child, one on one teaching assistants for students with significant poor behaviors. Poor behavior is best described as dangerous behavior. Children now can get up from their desks and travel anywhere throughout the school as a behavioral disorder. They sometimes are found outside the school grounds because they are clever enough to get to a playground and climb school fences to simply "be mischievous" and provocative. No other reason. They like to be a troublemaker.
This type of paradigm disrupts the learning of students without behavioral problems, because, it is distracting. I was teaching students math one day. I introduced the subject, the concepts behind the math and asked for questions. There was a low level of conversation in the room even after I called for silence. There were no questions. I then stated, "If you are having any trouble with the math, please come to the table at the front of the classroom and I will go over the math individually.
There is a chair at that table. I took the chair and began to look through the rest of the days cirriculum. All of a sudden there is a student standing next to me. She wanted individual help with her math learning. As I looked up I realize there was a line of students waiting for individual attention to their learning. A line. I mean two thirds of the classroom.
The noise level increased after I introduced the material. I ignored the noise and proceeded to teach each individual student until they exhibited a correct understanding of the math. Everyone of them "got it." One student came back three times to stand in line and further explore her learning for correctness.
Why the line? Because the ones that really wanted to learn could not because of a culture within the classroom that put up invisible walls that keep them from participating. The wall is chaos.
I have taught all subjects now from math, English, geography, social studies, chemistry, physics, history and social studies at all grade levels. It is all the same. There is chaos in the public schools and it travels with them from grade to grade. When I offer individual help, they finally are rescued from the chaos and learn. Just that simple. I love teaching them one on one and seeing their faces light up when they understand and 'get it' is a real reward for me. You want to know the best part, when they 'get it' they can work well at their desks and complete an assignment.
When students don't understand the material they are taught, they act out as an ego defense from criticism. The chaos is from under achieving. When MY students are given individual attention, they sit at their desks, open a book and carry out their assignments and some even finish homework before they go home. They want to learn, but, the chaos keeps them from it. When they are provided individual attention, they soak up the subject matter like a sponge. They smile and they are happy with themselves and I guarantee you they are also happier at home.
This teaching methodology manifested by itself. I did not anticipate any of the chaos i found in the classrooms. Providing individual attention to any student in the class I am teaching is now my new work ethic.
Charter schools were designed to try new curriculum and new teaching techniques and new concepts. They were not about destroying the public school systems and creating a hostile environment in the classroom.
There is one other paradigm principals and administrators are trying and it called, "Looping." It is where a teacher follows the same students year after year for three years. This is an attempt to minimize the chaos and build learning relationships.
The Charter School phenomena have destroyed the public schools and school systems like Tulsa are trying to find better ways. I am not sure there are better ways. The public schools need their structure back and teach again.
Teachers need good salaries to enhance personal gratification AGAIN. They need not purchase school supplies, that is the responsibility of the school system.
I am going to keep teaching because I love it. "W" made a mess and no one in education seems to know how to straighten it out because they are oppressed by their own mission and the lack of resources they face. DeVos is not interested in public schools, she wants them to fail and allow every school in the country to be nothing but wall to wall Charter Schools. Americans needs to decide if they want good education for their children or designer learning that MAY teach them something.
It ain't like it used to be and it needs to return to a classroom with order and learning.
"Tulsa World" featured a two-part expose' on the schools in the area, in case anyone is interested in the entire insight it provides.
