Cuts in benefits, lagging pay and the "Parents' Bill of Rights." All have diminished trust in her profession, said Jeanne DeJong, who represents a trend in early teacher departures.
Dan, your article made me want to be in Jeanne’s class. She is an artist, combining fun, skill training, history, science, experimentation, freedom to make discoveries, multiple ways to take in and master learning and deep knowledge of her students. This article about her is both INSPIRATIONAL and TRAGIC. I hope she finds ways in a well deserved retirement to find a way to advocate for her education & teaching vision. If not, she has planted 100’s and 100’s of fertile seeds. Thank you Jeanne DeJong! P.S. On my way to checking out Birchbark House.
Another excellent, insightful feature, Dan. My wife and I were so happy that our daughter had Jeanne DeJong as one of her teachers. It's shameful what the current educational system is doing to high-quality, well-intended teachers like Jeanne. Our teachers and students deserve much better!
So she pouted over parental rights so shes going to retire a year too early to get retirement? Not buying that one.
Her attitude is s perfect example of WHY teachers need to be reeducated to understand parental rights out rank both her's and the government's.
I'm also sick of teachers complaining about salary. Aside from working half the hours and getting good to great pay, NC teachers are the highest paid college graduates their first year. They get about 32k per year per teacher in benefits alone not including pay. Not only that but they're doing a TERRIBLE JOB. 30% of all black students alone aren't passing the SAT etc.
I'm tired of this constant poor me attitude to get more money and less accountability.
Happy retirement. Yes, give the young people a chance to start their teaching career
Chart at the top of this story is a little old but it shows value of benefits are far less than your figure and far behind that provided in other states. Also, pay for new teachers, even after two years of raises, will be $41,000. https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/incentives-seek-to-counter-rising
Teacher salaries are the result of the market. Teaching degrees are a dime a dozen, so the market and salary for jobs reflects that. Not too many brain surgeons out there, so the market also reflects that and they’re paid commensurately for their rare skills.
Of course, excellent teachers are rare, so they should obviously be paid more. Why doesn’t that happen? Because of their fellow teachers! Good luck getting the teacher’s unions to pay excellent teachers more than mediocre teachers. The teacher’s unions don’t even want poor teachers fired!
So as you can see, all of the things teachers complain about are self-inflicted. The solution is to make teaching degrees hard to get through rigorous requirements, which would make teaching degrees prestigious, produce better teachers, and increase their salaries. Who would be against this? The teacher’s unions!
The sad state of teachers and their unions is why home schooling is so popular.
Partially true. I do know in SC classroom teachers can make 100k . Its a matter of 'certifications' . And teachers in administrative offices make a couple of hundred THOUSAND dollars.
All this on top of national declines in education.
Totally right about the teachers union. It's nothing but an arm of the government to impose government educational curriculum. Which is their version of social values education.
I agree about the inion. Interestingly the union only donates to Democrat politicians. Like in NC. It's ridiculous the way teachers public image has been reduced to crying about salary when it's one of the best in the country. The benefits are outstanding. Schooling is super easy and the hours are a dream.
agree, it sounds very fishy that she would give up pension because of 'parental bill of rights' which by the way she does not even explain what her problem is with parents wanting to know what is being taught
the teacher made 70k, for what is basically a half year job, the school year is 182 days, teachers get long christmas and spring breaks and all holidays off, same as the students; what books did she herself remove from the classroom? she was not forced to remove any books was she? why shouldnt the parents be involved in what is taught? she doesn't say; what in particular does she not like about the parents bill of rights law? and why ? again, she doesnt say. doe she not know that the parents bill of rights came about because of what some , or many, teachers were teaching , even if she herself was not, so what is her actual complaint?
Exactly. The Parental Bill of Rights was needed solely based on the fact that some teachers proved that they needed further oversight due to poor decisions made by them. Many examples nationwide of egregious teacher behavior ignoring the rights of parents are easily found online with minimal searching. Great job by the NC Legislature to look out for students and parents.
I think we can agree that there is a crisis in public schools but we can also debate the reasons. One thing I hope for our country and county is that we don't make decisions based on fear, but on facts and best outcomes. The reason I believe we need to pay our teachers competitively is because that attracts and retains more qualified folks and that leads to better student outcomes. The future of our country depends on public education ensuring we have curious conscientious citizens..Citizens who know math and science and English and who can understand probabilities and risk when apportioning our precious and often scarce time and resources. Education is learning facts and methods, but it's also learning how to evaluate information and be a good citizen who will vote and play a part in directing our government and therefore our lives, most fundamentally. When we are not exposed to uncomfortable ideas, painful facts about our history, and people with different lives and values, we are losing opportunities to develop these critical thinking and empathy skills. I welcomed my kids' exposure in TC Schools to teachers and students and materials reflecting different values and worldviews than my own. It provided me an opportunity to talk with them about how someone might develop their point of view or perspective and why I personally don't share it but that different people can have different worldviews and be good people wanting the best for their families. Our growing inability to see this about each other may be in large part why we have such difficulty compromising to resolve big problems anymore. I agree that parents have huge roles to play with their kids but I'm always fascinated when they're so worried about the impact of the larger world and unfamiliar ideas. That's where we all live. Teach them ways to think about it. Don't imagine you can hide it from them. In any event, losing dedicated trained teachers will be a huge loss for all of us. I appreciate Mr.DeWitt's bringing attention to the issue locally. I'll finish with a plea that all Transylvanians, however you vote, pay attention to the terrible condition of our local school buildings and facilities. Thriving schools make thriving communities and in many instances, they're not safe from mold and structural vulnerabilities. Classrooms have water leaking from the ceiling when it rains. They are out-dated and lacking basic security features. We have $68 million in school bond money waiting to be utilized to fix some of these issues but we need our commissioners to prioritize using it before we lose it. I hope clean safe spaces for our kids and teachers is something we can all agree on and I'll work with anyone in the community, agree with me on anything else or not, to get that done for our kids.
Sorry, Ukraine and Israel need that money far more than our kids schools. At least Biden and the who administration and Congress think so. Then again, the lobbyists are AIPAC and the weapons industry
I can appreciate sarcasm as much as anyone, but for folks just learning about this issue I want to be clear that this is the furthest thing from national or international politics. The bond money was already voted to be used for our schools by a huge majority of county voters. We just need our local leaders to make a plan to use it.
In my own high school biology class, an under-performing student - a guy who just sat in the back staring at the wall - finally came alive when the lesson on evolution came around. The poor kid just shouted EVOLUTION IS A LIE!! and continued to yell about how evolution is false and wrong and wasn't A LAW. It was jarring to the students because of the hostility and the fact that the poor kid was otherwise checked out from learning anything about biology. The poor kid clearly did not form his own opinion on evolution.
The poor teacher was clearly aware that next she'd have a bunch of idiotic parents showing up at the next school open house to yell about Teaching Things To Students. Not to help educate children or support anything at all, but to show up metaphorically wearing road cones on their heads while demanding to be taken seriously as adults. "ITS NOT A CONE HATS ARE MADE TOO SMALL!!". Absolutely absurd.
Similarly, "Parent's Bill of Rights" rings hollow for every person in the world who has had to deal with (or was born into a family with) a cone-wearing parent that opted-out of education long before they were born. Educators should be elevated in our society, not treated like "customer is always right" commodities or relegated to only teaching what cone-wearing parents have a chance at understanding.
Dan, your article made me want to be in Jeanne’s class. She is an artist, combining fun, skill training, history, science, experimentation, freedom to make discoveries, multiple ways to take in and master learning and deep knowledge of her students. This article about her is both INSPIRATIONAL and TRAGIC. I hope she finds ways in a well deserved retirement to find a way to advocate for her education & teaching vision. If not, she has planted 100’s and 100’s of fertile seeds. Thank you Jeanne DeJong! P.S. On my way to checking out Birchbark House.
Another excellent, insightful feature, Dan. My wife and I were so happy that our daughter had Jeanne DeJong as one of her teachers. It's shameful what the current educational system is doing to high-quality, well-intended teachers like Jeanne. Our teachers and students deserve much better!
So she pouted over parental rights so shes going to retire a year too early to get retirement? Not buying that one.
Her attitude is s perfect example of WHY teachers need to be reeducated to understand parental rights out rank both her's and the government's.
I'm also sick of teachers complaining about salary. Aside from working half the hours and getting good to great pay, NC teachers are the highest paid college graduates their first year. They get about 32k per year per teacher in benefits alone not including pay. Not only that but they're doing a TERRIBLE JOB. 30% of all black students alone aren't passing the SAT etc.
I'm tired of this constant poor me attitude to get more money and less accountability.
Happy retirement. Yes, give the young people a chance to start their teaching career
Chart at the top of this story is a little old but it shows value of benefits are far less than your figure and far behind that provided in other states. Also, pay for new teachers, even after two years of raises, will be $41,000. https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/incentives-seek-to-counter-rising
41k for half a yr of work, not too bad is it?
Teacher salaries are the result of the market. Teaching degrees are a dime a dozen, so the market and salary for jobs reflects that. Not too many brain surgeons out there, so the market also reflects that and they’re paid commensurately for their rare skills.
Of course, excellent teachers are rare, so they should obviously be paid more. Why doesn’t that happen? Because of their fellow teachers! Good luck getting the teacher’s unions to pay excellent teachers more than mediocre teachers. The teacher’s unions don’t even want poor teachers fired!
So as you can see, all of the things teachers complain about are self-inflicted. The solution is to make teaching degrees hard to get through rigorous requirements, which would make teaching degrees prestigious, produce better teachers, and increase their salaries. Who would be against this? The teacher’s unions!
The sad state of teachers and their unions is why home schooling is so popular.
Partially true. I do know in SC classroom teachers can make 100k . Its a matter of 'certifications' . And teachers in administrative offices make a couple of hundred THOUSAND dollars.
All this on top of national declines in education.
Totally right about the teachers union. It's nothing but an arm of the government to impose government educational curriculum. Which is their version of social values education.
I agree about the inion. Interestingly the union only donates to Democrat politicians. Like in NC. It's ridiculous the way teachers public image has been reduced to crying about salary when it's one of the best in the country. The benefits are outstanding. Schooling is super easy and the hours are a dream.
Actually, last I checked was 5 years ago and NC 1st year was 54k. 5 years ago.
agree, it sounds very fishy that she would give up pension because of 'parental bill of rights' which by the way she does not even explain what her problem is with parents wanting to know what is being taught
https://nypost.com/2024/02/16/opinion/the-nyt-finally-admits-it-schools-are-teaching-our-kids-divisive-critical-race-theory/
the teacher made 70k, for what is basically a half year job, the school year is 182 days, teachers get long christmas and spring breaks and all holidays off, same as the students; what books did she herself remove from the classroom? she was not forced to remove any books was she? why shouldnt the parents be involved in what is taught? she doesn't say; what in particular does she not like about the parents bill of rights law? and why ? again, she doesnt say. doe she not know that the parents bill of rights came about because of what some , or many, teachers were teaching , even if she herself was not, so what is her actual complaint?
Exactly. The Parental Bill of Rights was needed solely based on the fact that some teachers proved that they needed further oversight due to poor decisions made by them. Many examples nationwide of egregious teacher behavior ignoring the rights of parents are easily found online with minimal searching. Great job by the NC Legislature to look out for students and parents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL0s2X04G0A; here is a video about how schjools are dumbing down students
I think we can agree that there is a crisis in public schools but we can also debate the reasons. One thing I hope for our country and county is that we don't make decisions based on fear, but on facts and best outcomes. The reason I believe we need to pay our teachers competitively is because that attracts and retains more qualified folks and that leads to better student outcomes. The future of our country depends on public education ensuring we have curious conscientious citizens..Citizens who know math and science and English and who can understand probabilities and risk when apportioning our precious and often scarce time and resources. Education is learning facts and methods, but it's also learning how to evaluate information and be a good citizen who will vote and play a part in directing our government and therefore our lives, most fundamentally. When we are not exposed to uncomfortable ideas, painful facts about our history, and people with different lives and values, we are losing opportunities to develop these critical thinking and empathy skills. I welcomed my kids' exposure in TC Schools to teachers and students and materials reflecting different values and worldviews than my own. It provided me an opportunity to talk with them about how someone might develop their point of view or perspective and why I personally don't share it but that different people can have different worldviews and be good people wanting the best for their families. Our growing inability to see this about each other may be in large part why we have such difficulty compromising to resolve big problems anymore. I agree that parents have huge roles to play with their kids but I'm always fascinated when they're so worried about the impact of the larger world and unfamiliar ideas. That's where we all live. Teach them ways to think about it. Don't imagine you can hide it from them. In any event, losing dedicated trained teachers will be a huge loss for all of us. I appreciate Mr.DeWitt's bringing attention to the issue locally. I'll finish with a plea that all Transylvanians, however you vote, pay attention to the terrible condition of our local school buildings and facilities. Thriving schools make thriving communities and in many instances, they're not safe from mold and structural vulnerabilities. Classrooms have water leaking from the ceiling when it rains. They are out-dated and lacking basic security features. We have $68 million in school bond money waiting to be utilized to fix some of these issues but we need our commissioners to prioritize using it before we lose it. I hope clean safe spaces for our kids and teachers is something we can all agree on and I'll work with anyone in the community, agree with me on anything else or not, to get that done for our kids.
Sorry, Ukraine and Israel need that money far more than our kids schools. At least Biden and the who administration and Congress think so. Then again, the lobbyists are AIPAC and the weapons industry
I can appreciate sarcasm as much as anyone, but for folks just learning about this issue I want to be clear that this is the furthest thing from national or international politics. The bond money was already voted to be used for our schools by a huge majority of county voters. We just need our local leaders to make a plan to use it.
In my own high school biology class, an under-performing student - a guy who just sat in the back staring at the wall - finally came alive when the lesson on evolution came around. The poor kid just shouted EVOLUTION IS A LIE!! and continued to yell about how evolution is false and wrong and wasn't A LAW. It was jarring to the students because of the hostility and the fact that the poor kid was otherwise checked out from learning anything about biology. The poor kid clearly did not form his own opinion on evolution.
The poor teacher was clearly aware that next she'd have a bunch of idiotic parents showing up at the next school open house to yell about Teaching Things To Students. Not to help educate children or support anything at all, but to show up metaphorically wearing road cones on their heads while demanding to be taken seriously as adults. "ITS NOT A CONE HATS ARE MADE TOO SMALL!!". Absolutely absurd.
Similarly, "Parent's Bill of Rights" rings hollow for every person in the world who has had to deal with (or was born into a family with) a cone-wearing parent that opted-out of education long before they were born. Educators should be elevated in our society, not treated like "customer is always right" commodities or relegated to only teaching what cone-wearing parents have a chance at understanding.