It's hard to be a teacher in today's world.
Joe Fatheree – Illinois Teacher of the Year – 2007
The following is derived from his guest blog posting on Rick Hess’s Straight Up
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The Sword of Damocles has once again been raised. Unfortunately, today it hangs over the head of the American teacher. For many educators, these are the times that try men's souls.
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Teachers are not only faced with the challenges of implementing new learning standards and evaluation models, but must also take care of the physical and emotional needs of every student under their watch.
Today's teacher is required to:
have a detailed understanding of the Common Core State Standards and the Danielson Framework for Teachers,
create differentiated lessons to meet the needs of diverse learners and
establish open lines of communications with parents and community leaders,
capture and interpret data streams that actively measure student growth over time,
have the ability to recognize deficiencies and immediately create and implement strategies for correction,
provide remediation,
encourage collaboration,
promote creativity,
build enrichment activities for the gifted,
understand changes in school law,
implement multiple forms of technology into the curriculum,
understand and ensure that multiple IEP's are followed to the letter,
and establish an effective discipline policy that promotes respect but does not curb individuality among many other duties that change on an almost daily basis.
All of this is done under the ever-growing threat of shrinking budgets, layoffs, and
the loss of retirement benefits.
Teachers also face the all-real danger of protecting the nation's children during natural disasters and school shootings.
It's hard to be a teacher in today's world. They live in a land of broken promises and moving targets. Morale is at an all-time low, and yet it is a time when our students need us the most.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2014/02/american_crisis.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS3