Time to recognize the real problem in educating children

I’VE BEEN THINKING

Carol Goodman Heizer is an author who moved to Hood County from Louisville, Kentucky in 2019. She has had short stories and articles published in six editions of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. Her column for the Hood County News will appear every two weeks. She was a public school teacher for 17 years.

Yes, we again turn our attention to teachers and the difficulties they face in educating our children. In the July 31, 2022, edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a half-page statement read, “Job stress and difficult working conditions have teachers looking for the exits. North Texas schools have to figure out how to replace them.”

That is, I believe, a parallel to the old slogan that admonishes folks who “shut the barn door after the horse is stolen.” Too smart… too late. The real solution is shutting the barn door before the horse is stolen. And as it is with horses, so it is with teachers. The real problem is not finding ways to replace them. It is finding ways to keep teachers from exiting the classroom for the myriad of reasons discussed in a previous column.

Each time a seasoned or experienced teacher leaves the educational field for greener pastures (not solely focused on money), the instructional process suffers a loss. Studies tell us that it takes, on an average, three years for a new teacher to become completely comfortable and efficient with students, environment, instructional material, and effective teaching strategies. It is a vital learning process for that educator that is wasted when (s)he leaves prematurely – due to the pressures and procedures that are expected of today’s teachers.

If we are to reverse the national trend of teacher shortages in America, we need to re-think our entire educational process. With the lack of emphasis placed on phonics-related reading curriculum, lack of weekly spelling lessons and tests, lack of cursive writing instruction, multiplication tables memorization, and basic grammar rules for the past generation or two, we should not be surprised at today’s illiteracy rate in America! This was addressed in my column two weeks ago. We are the most blessed nation on the earth, yet many of our high school graduates fall far behind other nations in their overall academic achievement.

Spending more money on school districts is not the answer. This is proven by the test results given to private school and home-schooled students who often outscore their public school education peers.

Ask any current teacher what their reason would be for leaving their profession, and you may be surprised at their answer. It would not be their salary, although that would certainly be a legitimate reason. It would be the unreasonable workload placed upon them and the lack of support from their superiors (who often get little support from their own superiors). According to totaljobs.com, the five highest stress jobs in America today are social/support workers, teachers, police officers, health care professionals, and prison officers.

Why do we pay professional athletes millions of dollars per season, yet pay teachers so little they often take summer jobs to supplement their income? Why should teachers have to buy their own materials and supplies when schools run short of money while men who throw the pigskin live in mansions and drive cars that many of us only dream of owning? Talk about an uneven playing field!

In lieu of my previous column and this column’s information, is it possible to turn our broken educational system around? Or is it too late?

To illustrate the severity of the problem, may I share a recent incident with you? My daughter entered a local establishment to purchase two sandwiches. I had given her a written description of the sandwich I wanted, and she handed it to the young employee behind the counter. He looked at the note, looked at my daughter, and said, “I can’t read cursive writing.”

cgheizer@gmail.com