Public Utility of a Pink Slip

I have been so bogged down by academics and my major job search--I have neglected my posting duties on this blog...

Silver Lake Davine writes about how Friday, the 13th will also coincide with teachers being notified on whether they are fired.

Stuart Goldurs also questions on how cutting budget costs by laying off bureaucrats could be a good thing.

While this may be a good thing in ridding LAUSD and other school districts of incompetent teachers--larger class sizes could impede a student's learning.

From the December 15, New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a very explicit essay on what makes a good teacher

The bottom line, from Gladwell's piece and from recent budget cuts is that it is better to award talented teachers with perks [when we can afford to do so] and for the sake of society--to forewarn incompetent teachers they will be laid off so they will have ample time to reevaluate their career. Overcrowded classes may become the norm in the next few years--but with better teachers, less children and adolescents will be neglected or behind. I went to public elementary school for 5 years (until for this very reason and for my mother's peace of mind) I transferred to a nearby private school. I remember that despite my not being allowed to use my emergency inhaler one time, and having experienced a few bad teachers--I remember more clearly the good ones. The ones who do justice to the benefits of public education. Their dedication, patience and love in helping to instill good values in society's future adults. They were about-to-retire 50+ year olds who had an old fashioned mentality when it came to teaching. They were not the ones who made us break fistfuls of sticks in order to teach us the benefits of doing teamwork as a group. They instead disciplined those who acted out, and spent more time teaching us how to behave civilly, orderly, and do our arithmetic and grammar when told to do so. Thanks to these competent teachers, I can balance my checkbook, and be more independent than desired by self esteem promoting teachers who wanted us each to wear a glittery sticker just to know that we were all--special.
Childhood is a fragile state. But it is also a time to learn essential survival skills to prepare for the sometimes painful ascent towards Adulthood. By the way, at the near age of 20--I still do not feel like an Adult. I still see people and circumstances a similar way I did as a child. I remember, feeling many awe-like moments in bed as a 7 year old, looking up at the sky and questioning why was I in Los Angeles, of all places? Why was I supposed to go to school while my mother worked downstairs all day in her little office? Why couldn't I just take a potion and speed up the process so I could soon work like her and be able to spend the day at home, reading and writing, and watching TV instead of dealing with other rowdy children etc. Maybe thats why I was deemed precocious. Or self centered.
I do not think I have encountered any more bad teachers than any one else--but maybe I just spend more time thinking about why per se they were just naive or incompetent. I got chastised by a 7th grade history teacher for my bad attitude--probably because I was cynical and questioned her p.c version of history where white men were always the villains and any minority in question were the noble underdog. No matter how hard she tried, she could not quell the true attitudes her students acted or felt. I remember during a presentation my classmates and I worked on--that was of the Spanish Inquisition, and I played the Jew--my classmates (of a similar underdog group from the Caucasus, notably found in Glendale, CA) seemed a little too enthusiastic about pretending to torture me. They played the Catholic priests. Even while trying to teach us about diversity, and tolerance, and the ugly side of World History--our sweet young perky teacher (I hope she's doing well) could not suppress our so called "racist" politically incorrect attitudes. Maybe my classmates eavesdropped on one too many family tirades. Or maybe they wanted to play the more powerful group. But bottom line--my classmates spent more time learning about who's supposedly racist and a villain and less time studying why the Spanish Inquisition happened, or how the Reformation occurred.
On the bright side--I do remember good teachers. One, most recently who was my AP Economics/Government teacher at a popular LA high school where Heidi Fleiss and Judge Ito attended. He works for his students, and is so invested in them that it pays off. Some students back in the day, returned just to visit him and regale him and his classes of the glamorous experiences of college in order to motivate high school seniors. And that sure worked, at least for me.
While it is a sad state to be jobless and laid off--perhaps these laid off teachers will go on to do bigger and better things not only for themselves but for society. They can become academic researchers, librarians, scientists, mathematicians, or even business owners. Just not teachers!