When I visit staff meetings, faculty rooms and talk with teachers about how they’re feeling about teaching, the feedback isn’t very positive. I hear a lot of “if only” statements.
If only parents were more supportive. If only we had fewer kids in class. If only we had more funds. If only people didn’t think that teaching is a sub-par profession. It seems as though teachers are waiting for a certain set of circumstances to line up (lower class sizes, highly supportive parents, more pay, more respect) so that they can be successful.
Our funding and achievement patterns are not showing that this is true – in other words, more money doesn’t mean better performance. We have spent more and more money on education with poorer and poorer results.