Media Boycott

Riding an emotional roller coaster today. Most of what I feel like blogging about is fun, so in order to cleanse my emotional palate of the bad "taste" first, I'm going to rant for a moment. In fact, I'm just going to rant for this entire post, so if you want to get to the happier moments of the day, skip this.

I am considering a media boycott after watching yet another segment of NBC's "Education Nation" series that's everywhere this week. This segment was about Finland and it's amazing schools. Now, nothing against Finland. Could be a fun place to live, and teaching there sounds wonderful, but please, NBC news, stop comparing Finland to the United States in such a way that suddenly apples and oranges are the same thing.

Finland has 5 million people....total. Their economy is in a better state than ours at the moment. The report blatantly said that the country values education, values teachers, and has created a culture where students come to school ready to learn. Also, the report noted, there are three teachers in many classrooms: two for instruction and one to help struggling students. Can I tell you the material we could cover in my classes if there were two more bodies floating around the room? So, my first point...seems like a very different environment.

Second (I'm so angry that I'm slipping into using transitions that I tell my students to avoid because they are so obvious...you can deduct points from my total score if you'd like...), the report said that all teachers in Finland are required to have Master's degrees. Before I offend any of my friends who hold Master's degrees, let me say that I wish I would've taken that route when I returned to Creighton for my teaching certificate. Hindsight is 20/20, I guess, but I didn't because I didn't want to get a Master's that I didn't think I would really use (one in general Secondary Education was the only option available at Creighton...I was thinking that I'd like to go the Guidance Counseling route instead). More than a few of my fellow teachers who hold Master's degrees have said that they didn't really learn material that made them a better teacher, but that they earned them for the pay raise and job opportunities that are unavailable without them. Several teachers have given me advice on which programs are the quickest and least painful. I don't want to be painting these individuals in a bad light. They are great teachers, but their comments reveal some insights when I think about the real value (besides extra pay) of many Master's degrees. I fail to see how requiring teachers to earn Masters would improve anything until the Master's programs actually contain material that teachers find genuinely useful, which doesn't seem to be the consensus among people that I talk to.

And finally, not that this is the last thing that frustrates me, but I should stop before my blood pressure rises (not good for the baby, you know), the NBC report pointed out that in the United States, teachers generally come from the bottom 10% of college graduating classes while in Finland the teachers come from the top 10%. I'd like to mail in my diploma with it's "Cum Laude" distinction to prove them wrong. Thank you, NBC, for making me feel like a stupid loser and for insulting the intelligence of my fellow teachers...not to mention the mistake of automatically assuming that being a good student yourself makes you a good teacher. I've found the opposite, sometimes, because since I was a "good student," I sometimes don't get why everyone can't be one.

Ok, enough. This is why I just shouldn't listen to the news. Instead, I need to think about the great teaching moments I had today (and there were several), continue to do my job to the best of my ability, and know that, somehow, I am making a difference. I have to believe that.