Raise standards by showing teacher appreciation!

Using the above graph as a reference, students from South Korea out perform students from the US in all socioeconomic situations. Why is this?
Koreans value education, students live, eat, and breathe education.

 

I am not condoning this type of education, because all though Korea is performing above the majority of the world’s education, students aren’t always the happiest. They are not completely cut off from the world, and they know there’s more out there, and want to experience the joys of being a kid or teen.

 

There is one aspect of their rigorous education that we can all model, Appreciation for teachers. Teachers are highly respected and highly paid. To become a teacher, their are highly selective teacher education programs that look for top college graduates. In addition, teachers are given more time to plan lessons and interact with each other.

 

How can we make teachers happy?

• Give them more time during the day to:
  • Plan lessons and get materials ready. In order for teachers to keep students engaged we cut, paste, design, and purchase so much ‘STUFF’ to make lessons more appealing and fun.
  • Work with other teachers besides using the lunch break. This time can be used to plan lessons, gather materials, and share best practices.
  • Set up phone appointments with parents to keep them up to date on their child’s progress. Waiting for parent/teacher conference which is usually once a semester may be too late to identify and help students with problems they are currently facing.
  • Grade papers and fix up bulletin boards inside and outside the classroom. It takes at least 1 hour to put up one bulletin board, not including any art and materials the teacher has to prepare. Classroom teachers change classroom work about every 3-4 weeks (An average classroom has 4-5 (48”X36”) full size boards, and may have 2-5 smaller boards).

 

• Give them a higher salary without adding more time and constraints. As a teacher from the NYC Department of Education for the past 14 years, the raises I received weren’t just salary raises for current work. Teachers had to teach longer days, and were responsible for more paperwork inside and outside the classroom.

 

• Parents can show their appreciation for teachers by:
  • Thanking them in person, letters, cards
  • Voting for candidates that support educational endeavors
  • Talk to your children about the importance of teachers and to always respect the teacher (I’ve heard many parents’ disregards to certain teachers, but if you can equate this experience to having a boss you’re not fond of, you still have to respect them. We must show students respect for authoritative figures very young)

 

There are many more ways to show appreciation, if you’re a teacher, please feel free to comment on how we can increase teacher appreciation and increase respect for our profession.