I'm a 30-year-old teacher and very few teachers are over 35, much less 40. I think there's a reason, though. We're seeing the older teachers almost literally die out. There is an 80-something-year-old teacher at my campus (she's small & spunky - not asleep at the wheel or anything), but everyone else is jumping ship as soon as they can. We keep getting our benefits whittled away, gaining responsibilities and losing sleep. (When I first started working, I got health care through the district at a steep monthly premium. When we switched to my husband's benefits through his job at a major wireless company, our ANNUAL premium was the same as the MONTHLY one through the school.)
Fewer people become teachers because, not only is it not a well-paid profession for the specialized training you have to get, the trade garners no respect. If you can go to college, get a four-year degree and get a job that starts out paying more than $36k, why would you, instead, take a job that pays less, requires continuous training and breeds such frustration?
You may see the teachers as "out of control", and I'll agree the "teacher of the year" guy was unlike teachers I know (about the TotY thing, not in the everyday classroom), but the kids were exactly right in Mr. Lowery's room - only, usually in those situations you have more than 25 kids like that in the class at once. The frustration, especially with unhelpful AP's and inconsistent disciplinary actions, piles up to *exactly* the level of Lowery's.
People see "Freedom Writers" or something, get inspired, get their teaching certification and expect to change lives. Sometimes you do get to someone, but getting to that day is like having to pull out all your own teeth before being able to taste food. :p
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Screenwriter_Brandi
15 years ago
I 100% agree with you and I'm not even a teacher (though I have thought about it). I'm glad this was a mockumentary because I felt sorry for the teachers that would have had to deal with all of those things. I have seen stuff like that also. And in addition to the unhelpful staff, the parents aren't much help either: ("My kid wouldn't do that. Well he respects me!") You see how the quick the woman was to blame Mr. Lowery's first year of teaching because her son didn't respect him instead of just talking to her son?
waiting for "american violet", "whatever works", "precious", and "medicine for melancholy"
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aragorn546
14 years ago
I teach in Brooklyn NY. I'm in my second year and am 28. Here there was a huge push for younger teachers as most were retiring and people didn't want to teach.
As far as "overachieving" keep in mind that in most schools there is an INSANE amount of pressure from the administration to improve test scores on state tests, among other things.
The pe teacher in the movie actually had a great speech about student expectations that I think is spot on.
Oh, and if you feel bad for the teachers in the movie because of how the students act....man I have some stories that would make you go screaming for the hills from my first year. We literally had a student taken out in a straight jacket last year. This year started off with two kids in a closet in the basement. Oh, and I teach 7th grade, but most of the students are around 16.
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