Letter to Editor of Advocate from a 1st year teacher

[AnnInLa]

((Mods: Not sure about the 4 paragraph rule when pasting a letter to the editor. If this is a violation, please delete.)) ((As a high-school teacher of more than 20 years, I find these numbers representative of my experience as well))

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/062905/opi_view001.shtml

Numbers from a first-year teacher

I recently finished my first year as a high school English teacher in a Baton Rouge inner-city school. When I heard that Gov. Kathleen Blanco had finally given up hope on the teacher pay raise, I was predictably upset.

As I followed the debate over the proposed $1-a-pack cigarette tax, I couldn't help but notice how obsessed the officials and experts are with numbers (two-thirds majority and five votes short…). So, I thought I'd supply them with a few other numbers from my first year of teaching that they might find enlightening …

170 - 190: the number of students I taught.

29: the number of referrals I wrote for students being disrespectful to me or for misbehaving in class.

12: the number of referrals I wrote for students who verbally refused to work.

10: the average number of hours I was at school each day.

8: the number of fights I recall breaking up (but there was only one in which a student bled on me).

4: the number of freshmen I taught who became pregnant during the year (sorry, but I'm currently unaware of the number of abortions).

3: the number of students caught with guns during school (one of whom was arrested two doors down from me).

2: the number of teachers who had to be taken to the hospital for injuries because they tried to break up fights (one of whom broke up a fight the second week of school and whose injuries kept him out the remainder of the year).

1: the number of "thank-you" cards I received from students.

1: the number of students I taught who were charged with murder (she also has a baby, but I didn't count her in the pregnancy tally because she had it in middle school).

1: the number of graduating seniors stabbed to death on graduation day (a few additional numbers on this one: The murdered special-education student was 21 years old; his alleged killer was 41 years old. And the number of dollars their argument was over? $10. Incidentally, the man was charged with manslaughter, not second-degree murder.).

0: the number of state senators, representatives, governors or mayors who came to visit our high school out of concern for the education and safety of our city's children.

Please don't misunderstand me. I love teaching, and I'm looking forward to next year. Ninety percent of the kids I teach are great, and I never have problems with them. These numbers aren't just unique to me or my school; they're indicative of a much larger problem in most of the state's public schools, mainly that the real needs of both teachers and students are largely (and often quietly) ignored.

But one last set of numbers: 11, 18, 16, 31, 35, 41. These were the lottery numbers suggested to me today by my fortune cookie fortune which read, "Diligence and modesty can raise your social status." Hmm ... must have been written by one of the Republican House members who refused to give me a pay raise.

John Dillon
Baton Rouge

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/062905/opi_view001.shtml

[unhappycamper]

1. You have chosen a demanding profession.

If you do it right, and I suspect you will, you will impact the next generation in a positive way. My hat is off to you. Thank you for performing this patriotic duty under the most difficult of circumstances.

[teenagebambam]

2. May I humbly suggest

that we all take a moment today to seek out a favorite teacher from the past and send them a thank you card?