As community member and taxpayer I am concerned about the growing animosity between the Field teachers and Field administration, specifically some of the comments being made in recent sound off columns. Many thoughts come to mind; the most obvious being there is ignorance to the facts, in and around the district. Webster's dictionary defines ignorance as a, "lack of knowledge, education, or awareness." Let me try to help clarify a few misconceptions.
First, no teacher in the state of Ohio receives an annual raise, unless it is negotiated into his or her contracts. A common myth that exists is that teachers receive annual raises called "steps" up to fifteen years, where there after, longevity kicks in. Here is the fact about these so-called raises. It is a law in the state of Ohio that a teacher's salary increases proportionally to their base pay. The reasons for this law is to gradually bring the annual salary income of a teacher up to the level of a professional college graduate. One has to understand teachers are paid by the taxes of local citizens within the district, therefore it would be impossible to pay a teacher their just wage out of college, because it would break a district's economy. Realizing this the state of Ohio implemented a plan to gradually increase the pay of teachers to a respected professional level like say an engineer, lawyer, or any other professional job. However, teachers will never reach the monetary heights of other professions, which is fine, but hearing citizens, with no conception of the profession, verbalize false statements about teaching, is daily a struggle every teacher faces.
Secondly, how many people reading this have a job that requires them to further their college education annually at their own expense? Teachers are required to either begin or receive a master's degree within the first ten years of graduating college. Do you know who pays for this, the teacher. In other professions you have a choice as to whether you want to further your education. Some districts do offer tuition reimbursement, but if one works in a district like Field Local Schools the reimbursement may barely be enough to cover book fees! The only viable recourse for a teacher to afford a master's degree is to do a little each year, spreading the cost. When is this master's program most likely to be done? During the summer when many people think teachers are on an exotic beach sipping pina coladas or buying new cars, or big screen TVs or God forbid, watching their cable television. Instead of indulging themselves in, well, self indulgence, they are becoming better educators for three groups of people, the children, the district, and the citizens within the district.
If you're still a skeptic I have several suggestions. First, contact your board of education and offer some of your time to shadow or help a teacher within the district so you can see what the job truly entails. Don't judge the entire profession by ignorance. Second, there are always going to be people who will never be convinced no matter what is fact or what is simply untrue. These people are not interested in truth. They simply want to stir the pot and cause trouble. Don't be someone that passes on misinformation because it's "what you heard". Go to board meetings and community events. Become informed so that the information you pass on is accurate and when you go to the polls to vote or you hear rumors circulating, you can make informed choices and comments. Third, ask the administration if they agreed, during these tough economic times, to forgo their pay raises and/or any bonus compensation in order to help the bottom line of this school district. This would require integrity and we surely hope these are the kind of people we have put in these positions. Our community needs to ask serious questions about whom we are putting into leadership roles in this district and that starts at electing qualified people to fill our school board. Please be informed before the upcoming election.
I am not a teacher but an informed taxpayer who knows many teachers in our district. I know how hard they work and how freely they give of their time and talents during the school days, after hours and summers. I have a great deal of respect for their dedication, which we all should. We, as a community, need to step up and support our teachers instead of dragging them down. They do not deserve the tongue-lashing they are receiving. The do deserve to be compensated and respected for their contribution to our community and our children.
Dianna Knapp