They say that God is in the details. But details are exhausting. And so, most of the conversations on public policy take place at the height of 20,000 leagues.
Take for example, the discussion about teachers’ pay. There is no doubt that the base salary is too low to live honorably. Over the years, teachers have boosted their base pay with a degree, courses and extra responsibility – so over time the teachers do more, know more and get more – this is the process of gaining expertise.
But it is a complicated system. Let’s speak in simpler terms.
The battle lines are drawn: On the one hand, the argument is that teachers work fewer hours, have long vacations, and shorter days. But this argument is disappointing for teachers to hear; they say it does not reflect their reality. Instead, the discussions should be focusing on the teachers themselves, their experience and the ability to do quality work in the classroom.
In two years, we – at the Lion Family Foundation – have launched six programs focusing on the person who will spend most of their time with our children (apart from parents), especially in primary school – homeroom teachers, mechanchot kita.
When I speak to the teachers, I hear the following argument: “We need time – we don’t have time with the individual children, we need to prepare ourselves, to think and reflect. Our time is taken up instead with bureaucracy and substituting for teachers who are ill.”
“We need time – we don’t have time with the individual children, we need to prepare ourselves, to think and reflect. Our time is taken up instead with bureaucracy and substituting for teachers who are ill.”
Teachers
They add: “We can’t get to all the children, especially those who need that extra attention to get out of their shells. We don’t have time to find out what the real story is, to learn more about the students whose parents never show up.”
“We need status in society,” the teachers say. “When we see an issue facing a child or a family, our input is not valued. Our authority and ability to advocate, is harmed when we are not in the room with a parent, counselor or principal.
“We give everything but we want to do it better. We are alone.”
Our children are our most precious resource both as individuals and as a part of society, so we would want a respectable solution for them. So when salary is discussed without taking into account how teachers should be able to spend their time, we miss the essence.
Homeroom teachers
A homeroom teacher receives an extra 10% beyond the base salary for things which cannot be measured – for which it is difficult to set a value: The hours with the parents, the concern for the children, the time spent on the boy who cannot control his emotions, or the girl who is too scared to understand her own feelings.
There is the attention that must be given to the dynamics within the classroom; the child who is being given up on by the math teacher, even though there is potential; the child who seems to be increasingly sad as the year goes on; or the bully who is checking the boundaries.
But most of all we have found that the homeroom teachers are saying something profound. For example, Evie, a third grade mechanechet, says: “Today the entire education system is upside down; instead of our having to answer to the principal, supervisor, or counselor, they should be supporting us and our work.”
This should be the compass, and at the north point should be the homeroom teachers explaining what they need. At the forefront of everything, for the good of our children, we have to hear from these teachers. Isn’t it time to hear what they have to say?
The writer is the CEO of the Lion Family Foundation.