Four Million!
There are more than 4 million practicing teachers in the United States. To put that figure in some perspective in terms of scale, there are more teachers than administrative assistants and secretaries (3.082 million). And it’s more people than all the doctors and lawyers thrown together (about two million). In other words, teachers are our largest class of B.A. workers. I thought of this in the aftermath of this post about a teacher in Indiana and her attitudes toward gay students and homosexuality more generally.
I got a few notes upset that I’d single out this teacher, ‘why are you highlighting that?’ My first reaction was, frankly, whatever. In almost ten years of writing this blog – you can peruse the archives yourself to the right – I’ve never rushed to highlight bad behavior or malfeasance because it’s generally not that interesting. People steal money or do unethical things in all walks of life and it seems ridiculous to me to highlight it every time it happens in our sector as illustrative of something (reform critics make a habit of doing this with charter schools and public school critics do the same with traditional public schools all in an effort to prove one point or another). But it’s worth discussing. My take is that certain things are different. Sexual abuse, for instance, has some unfortunate education-specific issues associated with it and should be discussed. And this particular Indiana case was different because I think it highlights an issue that is only recently beginning to get the attention it should – for some students our schools can be pretty hostile places and that has serious – life-threatening – consequences for some students.
But more generally and apropos of our big debates these days, there are 4 million teachers! That figure ought to make reasonable people realize that they’re not all villains, or heroes, intolerant, broad-minded, tireless, or lazy. In fact, while they’re overall going to be more predisposed to want to work with kids, want to teach, to serve, and have some attributes correlated with that (like some other types of workers teachers are fairly homogeneous on Myers-Briggs) more fundamentally they’re going to be just like the rest of us, a mixed bag. We’d probably have a more sensible conversation about teacher quality, evaluation, salary, and all the rest if we just started from that mundane but real place.
February 15th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Since it’s Friday, we’ll skip the potentially-metastasizing comment debate about Myers-Briggs and Jungian-style social psychology. Because a debate of that scope would inevitably mean that someone would be wrong on the internet.
February 16th, 2013 at 2:01 am
“types of workers”
This is known as a “tell”.
In other estimable opinions I hold, Myers-Briggs is a well-meaning pile of psychological excrement.
February 16th, 2013 at 11:01 am
Funny to read Andy here on sex abuse of kids.
He’s the one who defends Whitney Tilson and Campbell Brown when they falsely accuse teachers and their unions of protecting teachers who abuse children.
Asked for evidence, Andy gives none.
Here’s the blood libel from Whitney:
California Whistleblower Case Shows Union Protection of Teachers
…. protecting ALL teachers, … – or much, much worse,
http://goo.gl/yjUEb
Funny thing is, when you read the story Whitney links to, there is only one mention of the union:
I promised to be nice for Lent, but this is stupid on the part of the education reform movement.
February 16th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
Yes, four million people who care enough about the nation’s children to actually be with them each day. And it looks as though the president is now listening to the citizens who really do put students first: teachers.
Teachers know that we need to think outside the box to bring about true educational equity to our least privileged children. It will take a lot more than test prep, VAM and General Stupidity.
February 16th, 2013 at 8:02 pm
If Campbell Brown is so concerned about those who sexually abuse children, she better keep a close eye on KJ, Rhee’s husband…the pedophiles are closer than she thinks.
http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2008/04/15/21/Phoenix_Police.source.prod_affiliate.4.pdf
February 16th, 2013 at 8:15 pm
Oh, the hypocrisy!
February 17th, 2013 at 8:06 pm
Linda,
I very much enjoy what you write.
But please don’t go down that road regarding Kevin Johnson. The allegations are serious, but it will be one of those murky areas like OJ.
Leave it at that Campbell Brown, Whitney Tilson and Michelle Rhee lie about teachers, unions and child abuse and that Andrew Rotherham prefers to remain agnostic on their veracity.
But he will call Valerie Strauss names.
February 18th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
“Blood libel,” Phillip? *Ouch*
I doubt some of you actually read what Andy posts here because he linked to this earlier …
http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/teachers-union-accuses-campbell-brown-of-blood-li
February 18th, 2013 at 3:43 pm
Art,
In the previous two times Andrew has written on this matter here, he directs people to his column on the issue in Time.
As for teachers and their unions protecting teacher child abusers, Andy remains agnostic.
Here are Andy’s Eduwonk words:
Here are Campbell Brown’s words:
February 18th, 2013 at 10:26 pm
It’s hard to see in this story how teacher unions protected criminals:
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/190787991.html