Bills before the state Legislature simply add to teachers' stress
Do you remember a year and a half ago, when teachers were members of a beloved profession, taking care of our young people in the midst of the pandemic? They were seen as practically essential workers. Juggling remote classes with in-person classes. Holding zoom calls with students and parents alike, making sure that all of the stakeholders felt heard, like they all mattered. Teachers were called heroes, and rightly so.
Now this.
There are provisions in two bills now being considered by the Florida House that turn teachers into something they never signed up for. One of them requires a teacher to wear a microphone and be videotaped. The rationale of course, is that if there is an incident in a classroom it can be seen, and acted on. But this has “Big Brother is Watching You” written all over it.
Teachers should be trusted as the professionals they are, should be trusted the way they have been in years past. What has so changed to make this even a consideration? How comfortable can they be if they are being listened to and watched? I used to teach English and there were some really interesting, thought-provoking detours which literary discussions provided for me and my kids. Some of those detours might push my students intellectually a bit, might get them out of their comfort zones to speak, which by the way, is where most learning occurs.
But if teachers are mic’d up, those wonderful side trips might not happen. Why? Because someone else doesn’t trust them? Because these outsiders know better what should be taught? English. History. Science. Languages. Art. A young person’s schedule is loaded with opportunities for their teachers to guide them towards ideas they might never have imagined. This sounds like what education is supposed to offer. Teaching while looking over your shoulder has to feel paralyzing.
How effective would you be at your job if you knew every word was analyzed and every movement was scrutinized? There are many ways teachers are evaluated, observed, graded, measured, and deemed worthy of their place in front of kids. Good teachers are retained. Others are not. There is a system in place that takes care of those decisions. Please let us not add to the pressure our students’ teachers feel.
Before I discuss the second bill being considered, I’d like to offer a couple statistics relative to teacher retention. Thirty percenbt or more of all teachers leave the classroom within their first five years. Turnover rates of teachers vary from 15% to 20% during any given year. Add to this, about 20% of all teachers have second jobs.
Hold that thought.
Now to the second considered bill. One of the provisions would require educators and administrators to out known LGBTQ+ students to their parents without the students’ consent. I’m trying to imagine how that might manifest in a classroom, or a hallway, or a cafeteria. Teachers scrutinizing kids…what would they be looking for? How odd that would be! Would teachers eavesdrop on private conversations? What’s next? Could a school eventually ask a student to hand over a cell phone? Big Brother indeed. I cannot agree with this. The slipperiness of this slope is simply too dangerous.
A few moments ago, you read a few statistics on teaching and teachers. I know, I know. You can make statistics do anything you want, but those stats were gleaned before these new rules were conjured. I loved teaching, and have so many friends still teaching, and they love it too. But they’re tired. Tired of COVID-19. Tired of wearing masks and trying to read their students’ expressions while they wear theirs. Tired of being afraid for their health, both mental and physical. Now these added stressors…It just seems like we’re about to give teachers even more existential weight to carry on their shoulders.
These are heroes we are talking about.
Todd Carstenn is a retired Vanguard High School teacher who lives in Ocala.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Bills before the state Legislature simply add to teachers' stress
