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.
