I hate having to explain basic things to adults, I think they should just get it. Yet once again the Times Union has proven it doesn’t understand what teachers do or what the problems with education are. They demonstrated thus when the clumsily compared teachers to foot ball coaches after they wrote: Many of us have no patience with even mediocre football coaches before a change is made. Why do we have so much more patience with fair-to-poor schooling?
With a nod to my friend Roger Daily I will attempt to explain some of the differences between teachers and football coaches.
Football coaches have kids that want to be there, who are excited and who want to do well, teachers often do not.
Football coaches often have all the resources they need after all what players comes to practice without their pads. Many teachers are constantly supplying materials to their students or their classes are going without.
If a kid acts up, is late or misses practice the football coach has many options to discipline them. I have my teacher look and voice and if I have to write a referral rarely does anything meaningful happen to the student.
If a kid curses out their coach or threatens them they can be kicked off the team, I have to take them back the next day.
Are we seeing the differences? Do I need to continue because I am just getting rolling?
If the Times Union is talking about college coaches well for the most part they are well compensated, where I know many teachers who live in fear of an illness or a blown tire or some other mundane life occurrence as they are little more than pay check to pay check. I know more than a few teachers with second jobs.
Football coaches don’t have administrators breathing down their backs telling them what play to call and when to call it. No, they were hired at least partly because of their creativity and initiative. Sadly for teachers learning schedules and curriculums have robbed many of them of those things.
Football coaches get to pick and choose their players, where teachers have to try and do their best with whoever sit in their seats.
Football coaches have staffs that help them. I have a lady who if I am really nice to her might make me some copies if she doesn’t forget or if a million other things don’t come up.
Football coachers aren’t buried with mountains of paperwork that only have a superfluous relationship with teaching, teachers are.
Is that enough are the differences now readily apparent?
When the Times Union and others make these childish and inaccurate comparisons (Finland anyone?) they do teachers and education a disservice. You see we have serious issues and it is going to take serious people to solve them.
Too true man, too true.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have one-tenth of the support in my classroom that any paid football coach has for his job. A mediocre football coach is treated much better then our most outstanding teachers!
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