A couple of days ago, an education themed account tweeted out the following:
https://twitter.com/SteeleThoughts/status/1000152401955958784
To which, another account replied:
https://twitter.com/TheWeirdTeacher/status/1000914300817608704
And...all hell broke loose.
High-follower accounts quickly rushed to the defense of the original Tweeter, telling Doug that he had misread the intent of the tweet, that yes, Good Teachers do work over summer, and that his response was "poisonous."
The original tweet and the backlash to Doug's tweet really bothered me, and it's taken a few days to really figure out why. Here it is:
The original tweet gives teachers "permission" to do unpaid labor. People love to chide us over summer vacation. And we tend to respond in one of two ways:
1. But I *do* work over summer! I do all kinds of things over summer!
2. I don't get paid for that time.
And really? For most of us that's true. I used to go in two weeks early during a 6 week summer break to make sure scheduling was correct. This summer I'll be taking classes and working on curriculum. And I'll be taking classes (at my own expense) to improve my practice.
But here's where the original tweet bugs me: nearly 80% of teachers are women. There have been studies and talk about the second shift and the unpaid labor we do in our regular, day-to-day lives. Women are often expected to do the unpaid labor just as part of our expected role in society.
So we get to teaching and summers. It is unpaid. But the original tweet says "Good teachers" will spend time over the summer improving their lessons. The implication is that teachers who don't spend some time over summer doing this do not fall into the category of "good teachers." So in order to meet the expectations of the job, a white male administrator is suggesting that a nearly 80% female workforce has to do unpaid labor.
Here's another thing: in this country, we don't need societal permission to take on extra work. American culture is so much driven by work and productivity. People who work more than expected are valued. We don't value leisure or vacation time. The more radical and supportive statement would be to grant permission for teachers to take their unpaid time and do with it what they will. Do unpaid labor? If that's your choice, good. Relax and spend time with the family? Also good. Take classes, get a summer job, go on a trip? Good, good, good. That would be supportive. Instead, the phrasing of the tweet grants permission for a largely women-staffed workforce to take on unpaid labor, implying that those who don't are not in the in-group of "good teachers."
And it's a male authority figure making that call.
So from where I'm sitting, I see this:
* A male administrator states that a majority-female workforce needs to put in work during unpaid time in order to be considered "good" at their job.
* A male tweeter takes exception to that and says so, publicly.
* Several other male high-follower accounts rush to defend the original tweeter and try to paint the objector as unable to read, unable to understand intent, being a "poison," and generally not being nice.
Meanwhile women need to be exceptional in their jobs - wherever those jobs are - to be taken seriously, we need to put in extra hours, unpaid, and statistically we need to take up slack at home.
How about this: if we need to take time over summer to be "good teachers," then pay us. Teachers are literally donating plasma to make ends meet. It could be hourly. We could document our summer hours and then get compensation. If this is something that "good teachers just do," then value our labor and our time and pay us. Don't expect to tell us what to do with our unpaid time and then vilify those that push back. If this is what's needed, then put your money where your mouth is and pay us for our work.
Some of us will work over the summer. I will, this year. Yes, unpaid. But this latest kerfuffle seems to me to be men telling (mostly) women what they should do with their free time. And it's not taking a break.
That's certainly an interesting interpretation, and while I'm at the top of the list of people shouting for equal pay and equal rights and a bigger voice in education for women, I didn't see it as a women thing at all. Also, I'd argue that teachers are paid for the summer, even if their payments come only during the school year. I am in Ohio where most teacher's salaries are spread into 24 or 26 payments, so those checks keep coming in the summer, when many teachers choose not to work at all, which is their right. So, if you want to be paid year-round, shouldn't you continue to work during the summer? Again, I think this is a different layer of the debate, but an interesting one, nonetheless. Thanks for a truly thought-provoking post.
ReplyDeleteMy contract requires me to work for nine months, not twelve. If I do work outside of my contract time it should be considered a donation, not an expectation. I simply cannot believe that you think that I should be expected to work when I am not being paid for it.
DeleteAnne, great analysis of this conversation and the expectation by too many that we somehow should be grateful to do extra work without recompense. Why should we allow others to take advantage of us simply because we love kids? Why should anyone believe that they can impose that expectation on us?
You might want to take another pass at my post. I don't think you should be expected to work outside your contract. I was suggesting that if you're paid 12 months, it's not unreasonable to work for 12 months.
DeleteHonestly, I'm on the side that says teachers should work to hone their craft year-round, whether or not they're being paid to do it. I'll trumpet higher pay for educators forever. I think we should be paid like doctors. But show me a doctor who doesn't work outside of the hospital or office, and I'll show you a bad doctor.
Salaries for most schools & districts are based on the hours worked in a 9 or 10 month contract. That number can then be divided up into 12 (or 24, or whatever) equal pieces. This does not mean that teacher are getting paid over the entire year; it means that they are getting paid less for 9 months in order to get a predictable paycheck over the remaining 3 months.
Delete^^^ YES!!! Exactly what unknown said.
DeleteTeachers are not paid for 12 months of work. In Michigan, they are paid for 9, but have it spread out over the year because it saves districts money. That rationale of being paid for 12 months of work, you should do 12months of work is admin crap. How about this hot take. It’s called Summer Vacation. Are other professions required to do work when they have vacation time? Is that an expectation? Of course not. If they choose to do something, nobody would care, but tell them they have to and it would be a problem. Drs take vacations. My father and brother are nephrologist. They work insane hours, but need to take vacations and breaks. It’s for their well being. Suggesting we act like doctors shows a lack of understanding of what classroom teachers are dealing with every day.
ReplyDeleteThe suggestion that only good teachers do work over the Summer is at issue here. Some people read the tweet that way and that is what happens when people only tweet short feel good blurbs instead of sharing substantive posts tackling complex issues, but those probably don’t get lots of likes and RTs.
Points well taken, but in Ohio, we don't call any break a vacation. There is, in fact, no "vacation" in our contracts. We get personal days and sick days. Also, Nick, I'll respectfully disagree that the tweet suggested that "only good teachers do work over summer." That's an inference, not an implication. You ever have a student teacher? If so, I'm guessing that you might tell her that "Good teachers engage students. Good teachers keep parents looped in. Good teachers create learner-centered environments." If I heard you say any of these, I wouldn't leap to the conclusion that you are saying I'm a bad teacher. Also, the tweet said "...spend SOME time thinking ..." It did not say ALL or imply in any way that you shouldn't have down time.
DeleteAnne... the goal of my tweet was to validate the dedication of teachers, not make them feel guilty or unworthy if they don't volunteer their time in the summer. Teachers work their butts off for not enough money, and often times, in circumstances that are less than ideal. Teachers deserve a break in the summer, and they should never feel guilty about how they spend that time. Thank you for being a teacher, and I hope you enjoy your summer.
ReplyDeleteHere's the nugget that female educators everywhere immediately recognize: 'I didn't see it as a women thing at all.' Because--men (including 'good' administrators) just don't see lots of issues, from pay equity to maternity leave to providing snowpants for kids who don't have them, as a 'women thing.'
ReplyDeleteWhen you point out that women make up 80% of the teacher workforce, but about a quarter of the loudest and most prominent voices in education-related social media, they sputter but, but... but Diane Ravitch! But I respect women! But I had to work hard to be a prominent voice--it wasn't handed to ME! Then they will take the topic of your blog (men explaining things) and turn it into a discourse on contractual obligations and volunteering, in the comments.
You go, Anne Delgado. Count me as one of your new, appreciative readers.