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I’ve seen a lot of ideas recently about teachers. I thought it would be helpful for people to know what teachers can and can’t do in Texas.
Why don’t we strike:
We will lose our teaching license.
We will lose our retirement. Money that we have entrusted the state to hold on to for years. We can not collect social security benefits as teachers in Texas.
We will lose our jobs.
We will lose our teaching license.
We will lose our retirement. Money that we have entrusted the state to hold on to for years. We can not collect social security benefits as teachers in Texas.
We will lose our jobs.
Teacher pay:
Teachers are paid for 187 days of instruction. We split our pay into 12 months to help make our lives more balanced. We are NOT paid for summers, even though we are constantly planning, training, etc.
Teachers are paid for 187 days of instruction. We split our pay into 12 months to help make our lives more balanced. We are NOT paid for summers, even though we are constantly planning, training, etc.
Liability insurance- Teachers in Texas must pay a monthly liability insurance just in case a parent decides to sue us for something (this ties back to the non-union portion of our state)
Teacher pay is dramatically lower than other professions with the same level of education and experience.
The majority of teachers spend a large amount of money on their classrooms. We buy food, jackets, supplies, cover field trip costs, toiletries/food for the home, etc.
State testing:
STAAR is not a good measure of where students are.
STAAR is not made for all kids, just good test takers.
STAAR is not a good measure of where students are.
STAAR is not made for all kids, just good test takers.
STAAR is expensive and time consuming. Test prep is weeks of lost authentic instructional time. The money spent on STAAR could be used to help lessen the huge disparity between schools (Title I and wealthy districts have dramatically different challenges and resources).
State testing causes students and teachers anxiety, leading to mental health issues.
We are trained and capable to authentically assess students. It is what we do every day to ensure that we are meeting students where they are.
We are trained and capable to authentically assess students. It is what we do every day to ensure that we are meeting students where they are.
Why we do it:
We love your kids. We love helping them learn to be good humans, inquirers, and risk takers. We love watching them realize how strong and capable they are. We love helping them navigate friendships and conflicts.
We love your kids. We love helping them learn to be good humans, inquirers, and risk takers. We love watching them realize how strong and capable they are. We love helping them navigate friendships and conflicts.
We love seeing the spark in their eye when they “get it” and the excitement in their voice when they can’t wait to share what they learned. We love protecting them and showing them that there are safe places in the world.
We love helping them learn to advocate for themselves, and we love advocating for them until they are ready to do it on their own.
We love collaborating with our colleagues and sharing new ideas on how to help our learners be more successful. We love our families that support us, and we love helping support families that can’t or don’t know how. We love your kids.
