♪… Dear teacher … ♫
By Varela
On Monday the 12th, an unprecedented event occurred in Miami-Dade County. Some public schools put up signs saying “We’re open.” Others said “The teachers are here.” And in some schools the students were taken to gyms and cafeterias to watch television, because entire classrooms had neither teachers nor substitutes.
No, there was no hurricane, tornado or tsunami. What happened was that almost 7,000 of the 21,000 teachers in the public education system cut classes so they could protest on the streets. Because in Florida it is illegal for union teachers to strike, they were forced to phone the school principals claiming they had headaches or appointments with the eye doctor.
No, the teachers are not asking for a raise in salary either, though they could use it. The reason for the flap was that the state legislature has passed a controversial bill, the Teacher Quality Bill. And if Governor Charlie Crist signs it into law this week, there’s going to be a riot in the chicken coop.
The bill says that a teacher’s salary depends on the performance of his or her students, not on the teacher’s experience and academic credentials. It’s like telling a Toyota worker that he will be paid according to the mileage rating of the cars that leave the assembly line. There is even an evaluation of teachers, good ones and bad ones. Critics think that the law will force old teachers to retire prematurely and send younger teachers in a stampede to the north. The law’s backers say it is necessary, because it encourages efficient teachers and gets rid of the mediocre ones.
This posits a dilemma. But, is the teacher who cuts classes to stage a protest a good teacher? In a society where everything is measured by the money, it might be acceptable. But if you analyze moral and ethical concepts, it’s as if a doctor didn’t look after a patient because he’s unhappy with the schedule the hospital administration gave him. Or like a soldier in the thick of a battle who folds his arms because his captain ordered him to attack during a rainstorm.
What would happen in such cases? Well, I suppose the doctor would be fired and the soldier court-martialed. Not teachers. We have a shortage of teachers. For 2010, Florida wanted to hire more than 160,000 docents. Another problem is the shortage of teachers without specialties. In Miami-Dade County, a teacher with a Master’s degree can earn up to $50,000 per year, but few have the diploma.
A friend of the family, who taught elementary school in the public system, told me that being a teacher here is the last card in the deck. First, because the wages are low and the incentives few. Second, because of the level of violence in many schools. Finally, because our education system is confusing and authoritarian. Most of the control over public schools is in the hands of each local school district, and each district is ruled by a board, a small group of people elected by the local community or appointed by the local government. That’s where the personal interests and the financial influence groups come into play.
Then I asked my friend if she would have cut classes for a day to protest. She hesitated for a moment and answered “No.”
Even though I sympathize with those who protested on Monday, I think that in cases like my friend’s, our educational system – for lack of tact – loses true educators.
Born in Cuba in 1955, José Varela has been an editorial cartoonist in Miami for 15 years, with the magazine Éxito (1991-97) and El Nuevo Herald (1993-2006). A publicist and television writer, he is a member of the Progreso Weekly/Semanal team.
