Salon Discussion #3

Why do teachers quit the profession? It is safe to say that there are a variety of reasons for teachers choosing to walk or sail away. Prior to 2020, there were nationwide teacher protests with educators marching for safer work conditions following the increase in mass school shootings and for better compensation. Teachers demanding an increase in salary, benefits and assistance in performing their duties had been a consistent gripe for years. Across the US, teachers were often underpaid and overworked as compared to other college educated professionals in this country. There were also questions related to the performance expectations placed on teachers to achieve the academic benchmarks for their students. Each of these broad issues were quite central to making the profession unattractive to individuals hoping to enter and thrive within the field of education. Each one also separately had its own complicated political, historical and socioeconomic dynamic. Yet all of our teachers, aka “servant leaders,” put aside their needs and stopped protesting following the pandemic and national shut down in 2020. They rallied to provide some form of stability to continue the compulsory educational indoctrination system. But whatever happened to the issues and concerns raised by teachers?

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With the past academic years creating new challenges, educators banned together to administer instruction to children using hybrid learning models. Teachers had to adapt according to the latest stats on COVID-19 and teach in unprecedented ways using both synchronous and asynchronous remote virtual instruction. This all occurred within constantly CHANGING public health updates from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and school district protocols as the political theater about masking and fake news from the broader community escalated. In the fall of 2021, schools eventually reopened to mostly in-person learning. This was a tremendous accomplishment for those most responsible for making school possible within school districts (teachers, principals and administrators, lunch aides, security guards, bus drivers etc.). Everyone worked tirelessly and collaboratively to reestablish a school environment focussed on educating America’s young minds. As this 2021-2022 school year has progressed, however, the same original concerns raised by our teachers have reared again for US all to bear witness (teacher/class size issues, massive teacher burnout, student behavior and school shootings, over worked and underpaid, not enough support or time for planning, substitute teacher shortages and public health concerns etc.).

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Recent studies suggest that the issues raised by educators were never really addressed with the pandemic front and center – – and understandably so. They only got pushed aside. However, what has been proven once again is that serious issues never really remain completely hidden  – – forever. The negative impact on teachers is evident when you look at just a few recent stats to understand the current mind-set of educators today including:

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• A 2021 RAND American Teacher Panel (ATP) survey conducted in early January found that nearly one-quarter of teachers indicated a desire to leave their jobs at the end of the school year, compared with an average national turnover rate of 16% pre-pandemic according to NCEA data.
• According to data in June 2021 from Teachers Pay Teachers, an online marketplace for curriculum content created by teachers for teachers, slightly over a third of teachers (34%) considered changing careers entirely in the past month. Additionally, 11% said they considered taking a leave of absence. Areas teachers listed as needing more support included providing a budget for teaching materials, addressing student behaviors, listening to teachers’ concerns, and providing more planning time. 
• In November 2021, K-12 Dive found that nearly 48% — of 6,000 teachers surveyed said they had considered changing jobs in the past month, up from 32%. 

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As a result, the potential wave of teacher turnover and future teacher shortages has now reached a slow crescendo. In fact, even mass substitute teachers shortages have been a recent concern making it even more difficult for school districts to operate optimally. It is quite clear that the pandemic only served as a temporary distraction from teachers’ workplace issues. So, what can be done now to identify a national agenda to curtail the current wave of trends. I would surmise that separately from the immediate goal to educate children post pandemic, the Department of Education needs to establish a counsel to look at these issues from a more systemic perspective getting input from stakeholders (educators, politicians, cultural, philanthropic, business, industry any other appropriate representatives from every region in this country) with the goal to identify a more global plan for improvising the educational indoctrination system for not only students but educators. In the past, American presidents, industrialists, philanthropic and business leaders have collaborated on public education policy when creating our modern education system. Their ideas helped to form the current compulsory educational system in this country and its varied positive and negative manifestations.

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In 2022, it is now time to RELOOK at the impact on teachers seriously and with compassionate respect. YES – they are essential workers who are often over worked, unappreciated and under valued yet we should all know by now just how important their role is in society. How do we get the collective society to accept that systemic CHANGE is needed? Well in the past, our national leadership set education policy and financial incentives to make the new initiatives more attractive for states and local governments to implement. If it worked in the past, why not try it now? The other alternative is to continue allowing our teachers to “sail away” to calmer waters. After all, don’t teachers deserve the same level of respect, compensation, career satisfaction, financial mobility, safety, and health and peace of mind that WE all desire? 

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Salon Discussion #2

This is just a brief lesson on the state of our society in general. As we look back on the last five years, America seems to be experiencing a kind of decline or collapse “unveiling” our less than stellar beliefs and behaviors falling very short of our American ideals. This did not happen overnight.

In 1971, American President Richard Nixon severed the links between the dollar and gold standard as part of a broad economic plan. With the absence of constraints on the dollar and other currencies, we began to print money, not backed by gold assets, to cover debts. This resulted in an explosion of more debt worldwide. Some have suggested that the monetary system, consisting of mostly freely floating currencies, led the U.S. from being producers to more consumption driven. The American Dream became defined as even more aspirational for fortune and money without regard for earning it with integrity and through a honorable means. Consumerism spread like a virus with people, mostly poor, spending the most on luxury goods. Many tried to keep up with the fictional Joneses or now the modern day real life Kardashians  – – whichever you prefer. Americans vigorously pursued the American Dream resorting to signaling – – looking rich with an expensive car even if they lived pay check to pay check. Thinking that the entire world revolves around your own needs, money and possessions created a culture exhibiting both materialistic and narcissistic traits.

No more focus on ideals and values as the cornerstone for success. The mantra “greed is good” symbolized our culture not just here but abroad as well. In reality, however, social mobility was really illusory as studies have shown a huge wealth gab with the top 1% of U.S. earners now holding more wealth than all of the middle class. Federal reserve data also indicates that from 1989 to 2019, wealth became increasingly concentrated in the top 1% ( >$11 million) and top 10% ( >$1.2 million). More specifically, 10% of households held 70% of the country’s wealth while the bottom 50% held only 2%. This was due in large part to the corporate stock ownership concentration in those segments of the population (the bottom 50% own little, if any, corporate stock). As all of this was taking place, our societal indoctrination system, particularly entertainment and media etc., was promoting a fantasy lifestyle. Even beauty became a kind of currency as the rise of cosmetic procedures, eating disorders, bullying and “IT” factor aspirational goals preoccupied our youth. Unfettered capitalism, as we’ve practiced in the United States of America, does what it was designed to do – – commoditize almost everything even human bodies for profit until reaching, as some have speculated, eventual exhaustion or collapse.

So how does this broader societal reality impact the educational indoctrination system and what comes first – – the individual or the collective society agenda? Generations X, Y and Z have been fully indoctrinated in the greed is good, money equals value in society mentality but what about Generation Alpha (the new batch of babies)? The world-wide pandemic, isolation and lost family and friends forced some young people and “US” to relook at our choices, relationships, mental/physical/spiritual health and values/priorities. Even though social media is everywhere, when society and popular culture collapses people tend to go back to their roots – – reconnecting, reprioritizing and ultimately “unveiling” what is really important from a human perspective. The final outcome is yet to be realized but the TOWER moment could certainly be here.

For those who celebrate the Lunar New Year in 2022, which officially begins on the first of February, the occasion could mark a pivotal moment toward positive CHANGE following the collective challenges in recent years. The Year of the Tiger embodies both bravery and courage symbolizing resilience and strength even in times of struggle. As Americans, we are indeed built for this challenge. There is always hope for a better tomorrow since the democratic ideals and core values held deeply within the American experiment are still relevant today. So take a look at the writing prompts below and see what thoughts come to mind? Depending on what you believe tells a lot about your mindset and the potential future score (less than 0-100) for our next generation.

Writing prompts:

• EDUCATION INDOCTRINATES US, USING A SOMETIMES INCOMPLETE AND FALSE NARRATIVE, WITH THE IDEA OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM AND OUR RIGHT TO RULE THE WORLD. Should this be the standard? How do we alter the educational indoctrination system to provide a more complete and accurate perspective on the great American experiment?
• WEALTH HAS BEEN DEFINED AS WHATEVER GAVE us/U.S. VALUE? What values should we prioritize and promote going forward in 2022?

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