The Radical’s Blog: Can We Please Stop Insulting Teachers?

When our governor laid out his State of the State speech and included reform ideas, I read the articles in the local papers and partisan blogs such as Save Jersey and Blue Jersey, and of course the Patch articles. One thing caught my eye, as if planted by someone paid to troll blogs and insert talking points: Ending sick and vacation time rollover until retirement would lead to massive fraud and abuse by public employees which would bankrupt schools because of the additional substitute costs. It was clear this individual’s programming was set to talking points he really did not understand. As I read his comments bashing Governor Christie, he make it clear to me we need to stop insulting teachers as a tactic to attack reforms.

I have the highest respect for individual teachers. I would not be where I am in the world without the outstanding ones I had growing up. I have issues with the union, but I know from many discussions with teachers the union does not represent their personal beliefs. In 12 years in public school I can only think of one “bad teacher:" A bitter, petty and vindictive sorry excuse for a woman who taught me the true meaning of favoritism and manipulation. I hope she dies alone and is found three weeks later half eaten by the twenty cats she calls her family. Even with that deep hatred for her over 20 years I know she is the exception and not representative of all teachers.

In the attacks against Governor Christie’s reform plan the biggest insults I have seen towards teachers have been by those “defending” them. Let me discuss one of them here: The complete fallacy that teachers will abuse sick time if it is not carried over until retirement. If I were a teacher (or cop or municipal worker) I would want to put my fist through the monitor I read that from. With the exception of the previously mentioned teacher from my sophomore year in high school, most of the ones I have either had personally or my children have had are professional, dedicated people who are focused on the children. As I write this, I am making plans with one of my son’s teachers to meet over some issues with his homework. She is very pregnant with twins and will still take her personal time to meet. She is your typical teacher, not the system abuser described as the result of sick time reform.

By arguing that teachers will abuse sick time if they are “use it or lose it,” they are insulting the professionalism of every teacher and infantilizing them as children who require strict supervision so they will not abuse every system they can. Does that describe the teachers you know? If you are a teacher, does that describe you? I don’t think so either. Might a few abuse any system—sure—but the overwhelming majority of teachers won’t. Stop assuming the few bad apples are representative of the whole barrel. Stop assuming teachers will become passive-aggressive and abuse the system because they don’t like our governor saving the taxpayers money.

In the “real world,” use-it-or-lose-it companies see people use it at the end of the year and the week of the November elections. Want to know why? Schools are closed. Parents need the time to stay home with the kids. Companies know this and plan accordingly. The teachers already have off these two weeks. Are those arguing against sick-time reform suggesting every teacher will take off June because they can?

It is my personal opinion that the majority of teachers are professionals who will only take time away from the classroom when they legitimately need it. Those who are arguing they need to keep the indefinite rollover are in fact arguing the opposite. They need to re-evaluate their stand and say something positive about the professionals we entrust with our children’s education. Stop trying to defend teachers by insulting them.