When you can't think of anything better to do, bash teachers

It was one of those typical MyLot.com discussions.
The Americans at the moment have one of those situations where teachers are (and are not) the flavour of the month.
There is a dispute going on in Wisconsin (where, incidentally, I lived for a time) between the state government and the teachers' union.
As a result, now, every teacher there is seems fair game for criticism. Every time a story arises in which an individual teacher looks bad, the entire profession is condemned.

Ridiculous nonsense - but typical of the media driven society we have increasingly worldwide.

I tried to produce an answer that moved away from this individual situation, and the number of silly stories in the media, and looked instead at the people in the profession as a whole - not just in Wisconsin, but in the USA as a whole, not just in the USA, but across the world.

My view (as an ex-teacher, but I do not admire incompetence in any area, so I am not that biased) is that the majority of teachers (say 90%) are honourable, industrious, committed professionals who are dedicated to the education of their charges. They may have different ways of handling this, but the commitment is there.

There are exceptions - some are just plain incompetent and should be advised in their own interest to leave the profession (though a sugar-coated pill in the form of retraining in another area might help. The prospect of unemployment might well keep them otherwise in teaching, which is to nobody's benefit). Others are just lazy, going through the routines, making no more effort than is necessary to achieve the minimum results. They too need geeing up and informing that better is expected of them.

In the light of my own experience though (I spent six years teaching in secondary schools in England during the 1970s), most teachers teach because they are committed to the job and everything that it involves. You don't do it for the money (compare what they make with people in other "liberal professions" - lawyers, accountants etc.). Can you imagine going to teach in a run-down school in a run-down area with classes full of demotivated and often disruptive kids - unless you were committed to it? It makes no sense, there must be an easier way to make a living.

For that matter could you see any of their critics (particularly in the media) being able to handle classes full of 15-year-old ne'er-do-wells and misfits for one day, never mind the usual 200 in a year? (In passing I would myself agree with those who wish to cut the number of school holidays and make that 220 - but, I digress).

Unfortunately the quality of debate on this subject leaves a lot to be desired. One person answering my MyLot piece started with the Wisconsin situation, ended with Wisconsin situation, and used all the standard arguments as presented by the media lately.

The professor in my university days who taught me Aristotelian logic, would be cursing in Welsh by now. You do not take a particular case and make a general rule from it. Period! Because the teachers' union is insisting upon some silly clauses (and I would agree totally with those who say that teachers should not be taking holidays during the school term!), all teachers are idle, good-for-nothing, unprofessional, incompetent, dissolute, money-grubbing scoundrels!

Sorry - totally illogical - and totally wrong!

But bashing teachers is the flavour of the month, so ....

Where the majority of teachers are concerned, I was reminded of the famous Mark Anthony quote from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar":
The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.
Except in this instance the good is simply buried during their lifetime!

It is not all bad news. The MyLot Indian community offer some fascinating insight into how teachers are considered in their country. They are held in such esteem, it is almost unbelievable. One wonders why, and why it is so different from the opinion held in many western countries. This is simultaneously fascinating and a cause of immense sadness - to me anyway. The Indians may not be totally right (some critical standards are necessary), but they are surely more on the right track than we are in the west.