The attack on teachers

From being referred to as "babysitters", to being derided and forced to "teach to a standardized test"...

Being a teacher is NOT easy. I am not one, but I have worked with teachers before. In high school, I ran out of subjects to be able to learn, so I was a teacher's aide for 3 semesters: once for the teacher who taught German, once for my Grade 10 English teacher, and once for my Honors US History teacher.

None of it could have been considered "busy work". It was all stuff that needed to be done and was stuff that then the teacher I was aiding did not have to do themselves. Usually it was running copies or making sure the bulletin board in the classroom was in order, or something of the like.

Anyone who claims that teachers have "cushy jobs"... sure, they get summers off unless they teach summer school, but all of the teachers that I know have said the same thing: they don't get paid in the summer. Sure, it may LOOK like they only have to be at school for "school hours", but that is not nearly enough time to grade papers, write exams, plan lessons, plus try to keep the attention of all the students in the classes, AND likely have to deal with parents who think their kid is a little angel and that the teachers and school system aren't doing enough for them. Not to mention needing to keep up with the education standards and also Continuing Education for themselves AND avoiding burnout.

Hats off to you, Matt Damon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGlf8J2PGhI&feature=player_embedded