2020’s Best & Worst States for Teachers by Adam McCann, Financial writer, 9/21/20
Alan Singer in “Ask the Experts”
What are the biggest issues teachers face today?
By far, the biggest issue facing teachers today are health and safety, of themselves and their students, during the Coronavirus pandemic. Districts across the country are grappling with opening schools and designing different modes of teaching. The hardest part is they have to do this under political pressure from the Trump administration to reopen face-to-face and sometimes from local officials. Some districts involve teachers in planning, others present teachers with fiat plans. Political pressure also interferes with discussion over curriculum choices and high-stakes testing. President Trump recently threatened to remove federal funds from California schools because he did not like the way they plan to teach about slavery and racism in the United States. Other primary issues are job security and living wages. All of these issues are tied into the right to belong to a national teachers’ union such as the NEA or AFT.
How can local officials attract and retain the best teachers?
The best way to attract and retain teachers is by addressing teacher concerns. Can I support my family? Will my professionalism be respected? Will my voice be heard? Are teachers allowed to bargain collectively and will we have a contract that ensures our rights and welfare?
What tips can you offer young teachers looking for a place to settle?
I know this is hard, but an interview is not about selling yourself or recreating yourself to fit what you think a district wants. You can’t be who you are not, and the interviewer will sense this. If by chance you get the job, you will not be happy. While they are interviewing you, you are also interviewing them. Does this school district offer teachers the things that you value? What is its approach to teaching, curriculum, testing, and staff development? Do your homework before you go in for the interview, so in the interview, you know things about the district, but do not be afraid to ask your questions.
In evaluating the best states for teachers, what are the top 5 indicators?
Student standardized test scores are not because they are skewed by demographics. The top indicators really depend on the individual and their family. I had a two-career family and community and family ties, so I never looked outside the New York metropolitan area. I also chose to work in high-needs schools because of my educational beliefs. But the reality is I could have found similar schools with similar student populations in most large urban school systems. Many of the young teachers I work with as a teacher educator looks for school districts and communities similar to the ones where they grew up. Others are looking for different experiences. They want to get away from the city or suburbs, or if they grew up in a rural area, they want to give city life a shot.
Do you think performance-based compensation -- e.g., providing teachers a bonus when their students meet or exceed expectations -- is a promising strategy for improving student outcomes?
It is a disaster. Teachers should work together, plan together, and share lesson ideas and material. “Performance” based bonuses turn teachers into competitors when they should be colleagues and they focus the entire curriculum on test prep. When “performance” bonuses are imposed, teachers complain they do not want certain students in their class because it will impact on their performance grade. I know one elementary school teacher who got low grades because her students did not show enough growth on standardized exams. The reason was that they were an honors class and students had already maxed out the test the previous year, so their grades were stagnant the next year.
As several states have announced plans to resume in-person classes this fall, what are some key measures to implement in order to protect both teachers and students?
The first and most important step is a collaboration between school and district administrators, teachers, other staff, and parents. In high school, I would also involve students in planning. When all stakeholders are on the same page, something like this goes much smoother. The second thing is to respect science. Decisions must be made based on medical concerns for the health and safety of the entire community. I think the priority should be to get younger children back into classrooms because they need connection with peers and teachers, even if it is socially distant. I recommend keeping high schools completely online until there is a vaccine and using the buildings as space for the younger children. My plan for middle school would be in the middle, a hybrid combination of in-person and online classes.
Are unions beneficial to teachers? What about to students?
I am a strong union man, although I recognize some of their drawbacks. In the mid-1970s, New York City went bankrupt and laid-off over 5,000 teachers. City officials tried to squeeze dozens of extra students into every classroom with students sitting on radiators and the floor. The only things that stopped it was the teachers’ union and the teachers’ contract which set maximum class sizes. I always experimented with curriculum approaches and the union-backed my right to make these decisions. It also protects my freedom of speech as a citizen outside of school and kept me in the profession because I earned a living wage with good health, drug, and dental benefits for my family. Unions have to protect all of their members and defend the due process. The same things that protected me, protected people I disagreed with about teaching, but that my rights depended on theirs. The short answer is that because unions are beneficial to teachers, they are beneficial to their students as well.
The rest of the article: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-teachers/7159/