Diane Ravitch said that teachers working conditions are a child’s learning conditions. It will always be difficult for teachers to win a public relations battle. Government can wait out a strike, pocket the significant monetary gain, and listen to the growing rumblings of unhappy people. It is vital to recognize, however, that the battle is not trivial, and it is not “just about the money”. I want my child’s learning conditions to be as optimal as possible, and I want empowered educators. I want my government to value education over and above just about any other priority. Should education be a place to find cost savings like you would with a typical business? I want my government to pay teachers enough to incentivize the best and brightest to teach, and keep on teaching. I want the conversation and cultural lense to expand enough to see that extensive standardized tests are a business, and it is not what cultivates deeper learning. “Hurting the kids” will happen when a teachers classroom conditions are not seen as a child’s learning conditions.
J Cranston