| Teacher Retirement | for everyone |
The events in Wisconsin have generated attention on teacher pension plans and public sector unions. The aforementioned Charles Brennan suggested that 56 (the median age of retirement for Missouri public school teachers) was too young to retire, given the way things are in this country. What follows is my response....
I taught 34 years at Hancock High School before retiring (officially) in 2005 (I continued to work part-time for 3 years after that). I was 57, about the median age cited by your guest. I retired primarily for financial reasons (there was a locally negotiated district early retirement incentive that was a major factor; it was costing me about $3500 each year I continued to work full-time after Year 30; I had also met all the requirements to take advantage of the PSRS [Public School Retirement System] incentives in place at that time and it was clear, even then, that those were ending and the contribution rate would continue rising {I think it was about 12% when I retired, 6% or so when I started}).
No one tried to talk me out of retiring (I could have been persuaded, probably) for the same reason the district had its own early retirement incentive program: I could be replaced with a cheaper, younger teacher. I like to think I was still at, or near, the top of my game, well respected by students and staff. Please note, this is not a complaint. Even though it was to my financial advantage to retire, that was never a primary motivation in my career (I was, after all, a teacher) and I still liked my job, which is why I stayed on for three years part-time.
In fact, I'm still teaching, but I've moved over to a private school, almost full-time.
One final point: In the middle of my career I thought I could teach forever. At the end, I knew that wasn't true. First, the physical demands of teaching are more significant than non-practitioners realize (good teachers don't teach from their butts!). Add to those demands the mental challenges of ever-changing clientele (think about how different kids are today) and technology (I started with chalkboards, typewriters, overhead projectors and purple dittos!), plus the increasing dictates of the educational bureaucracy. Finally, the constant carping of critics wears on you like a chronic illness.
The pace of change in society and education made it increasingly clear to me that schools and the profession need the energy of youth. This was especially true for those of us who looked back longingly to "the way things used to be," when teachers were trusted professionals allowed to practice our craft in the way we believed best for our students in our individual classrooms. When I left public education, my perception was (and remains) that teachers are being turned into interchangeable parts. The performance artistry of teaching is being replaced with checklist accountability.
Again, like most of life, the question is complicated and our quest for simple answers doomed to failure.
I taught 34 years at Hancock High School before retiring (officially) in 2005 (I continued to work part-time for 3 years after that). I was 57, about the median age cited by your guest. I retired primarily for financial reasons (there was a locally negotiated district early retirement incentive that was a major factor; it was costing me about $3500 each year I continued to work full-time after Year 30; I had also met all the requirements to take advantage of the PSRS [Public School Retirement System] incentives in place at that time and it was clear, even then, that those were ending and the contribution rate would continue rising {I think it was about 12% when I retired, 6% or so when I started}).
No one tried to talk me out of retiring (I could have been persuaded, probably) for the same reason the district had its own early retirement incentive program: I could be replaced with a cheaper, younger teacher. I like to think I was still at, or near, the top of my game, well respected by students and staff. Please note, this is not a complaint. Even though it was to my financial advantage to retire, that was never a primary motivation in my career (I was, after all, a teacher) and I still liked my job, which is why I stayed on for three years part-time.
In fact, I'm still teaching, but I've moved over to a private school, almost full-time.
One final point: In the middle of my career I thought I could teach forever. At the end, I knew that wasn't true. First, the physical demands of teaching are more significant than non-practitioners realize (good teachers don't teach from their butts!). Add to those demands the mental challenges of ever-changing clientele (think about how different kids are today) and technology (I started with chalkboards, typewriters, overhead projectors and purple dittos!), plus the increasing dictates of the educational bureaucracy. Finally, the constant carping of critics wears on you like a chronic illness.
The pace of change in society and education made it increasingly clear to me that schools and the profession need the energy of youth. This was especially true for those of us who looked back longingly to "the way things used to be," when teachers were trusted professionals allowed to practice our craft in the way we believed best for our students in our individual classrooms. When I left public education, my perception was (and remains) that teachers are being turned into interchangeable parts. The performance artistry of teaching is being replaced with checklist accountability.
Again, like most of life, the question is complicated and our quest for simple answers doomed to failure.
Human Aquarian wrote on Feb 25, '11
ReplyDeleteWOW!
Great take on things from an educators perspective. I was once your student and like all my past teachers, I cant remember one thing you taught me -but I do remember you being a straight shooter and that comes form "artistry of teaching".
Now, I too am a teacher. I long for the years of what teachers were like when I was young. You are spot-on when you say we are designed to be "interchangeable" It kills me, it really does suck the life out of my face when I see admin and the 'higher-ups' just cover their ass with paper work and make, me, the hard working "Joe teacher", feel as if I am not doing enough. Constantly making me feel defeated, worthless and replaceable.
My trick is to not care about what they think at all. I will teach the students by example and due diligence of my job. If putting in a hard 9-12 hours a day + weekends is not good enough. What is?
They say China, Japan and almost every major country is kicking our butts in education. First look at the upbringing, then the size of the text-books. Average size of a US math text book? 500+ pages. Average size of a non-US text book? 200.
Somewhere, someone lead education down a terrible path. I'm just here to try to make a dent in this enormous task to try to regain a modicum of integrity that is still left in being an educator.