Dear Editor,
At the Live Oak town hall meeting, the following comment was made: “Teachers knew what they were getting paid when they took the job.”
Teachers did know that.
They knew they’d work extra hours to plan and prepare for lessons, and they knew that most grading would happen outside of school hours.
They knew they may need to buy supplies out of their own money for those students whose parents are struggling.
They knew that some kids would have bad days and discipline would be needed, and they knew that building relationships with students and their families would be the best way to reach the child academically.
They knew that sponsoring a club or sport on their own time after school hours would enrich the lives of their students, and they knew that, to be successful, the job would never be 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. August-May.
They are trained for all of that.
What teachers didn’t know was when they called home to discuss issues a student is having at school, they would be told: “He’s your problem when he’s at school - figure it out.”
They didn’t know that some parents would text them at all hours of the night with an expectation of an immediate answer, and they didn’t know they would be asked to foster students when there was nowhere else for them to go.
They didn’t know that COVID-19 would leave kids without parents or with such limited social skills that they would have to teach their students how to share, how to work through the word “no,” and how to process anger in a safe way.
They didn’t know that students would not have enough food to eat at home.
They didn’t know how many students, in a single year, would lose parents to overdose and suicide.
They didn’t know that doctors would send them prescriptions for “fixing” their teaching styles without ever contacting teachers or without having ever been in the classroom, and they didn’t know that nearly every student they teach would have a medical diagnosis or a specialized education plan.
They didn’t know that students would throw punches at them, and they didn’t know that their students would crucify each other on social media and that they would be expected to make it right at school the next day.
They didn’t know that they would be the go-to for families on the dangers of vaping, social media, bullying, and monitoring every text message and photograph sent. They didn’t know the amount of trauma that could be seen in a single classroom.
They didn’t know that the state would mandate specific Tier 1, scripted curriculum every other year and how teacher input would be ignored. They didn’t know that the state would mandate 50 hours of continuing education on a teacher’s own time during the school year without compensation from the state.
They didn’t know that the state would limit the amount of school supplies teachers can ask parents to provide and would refuse to increase the supply fee amount even though costs have increased.
They didn’t know they would be the basis for most property values, and they didn’t know that the public would ever consider turning their backs on them when there is finally a chance to say, “Thank you”; “We see you”; “You really helped my child.”
They didn’t know how excited they would be at the idea of their pay matching or exceeding that of surrounding parishes.
They definitely didn’t know that the parents of students they educated would purchase and display “Vote No” billboards.
They had no idea how under-appreciated this would make them feel.
Teachers know how crucial bus drivers, cafeteria employees, custodians, paraprofessionals, counselors, service providers, nurses, secretaries, substitutes, and administrators are to the success of their students. They also know how vital it is to have parental and community support.
Each child in our parish is unique and deserves the best possible school environment. Each employee comes to school every day to make a positive impact on the future of our communities and world - one child at a time.
We are blessed with the best. We hope we can retain the great educators we have and recruit the best for the future. Teachers are the MVPs of our parish.
We hope you will consider all 3,700 of our Livingston Parish Public Schools employees when you vote on March 25.
Sincerely,
Educator in Livingston Parish for 23 years
(2) comments
We Do Care About our Teachers. We do care. We do care.
I have worked for a number of bosses that acted like some children, but my statement to them. "The door did not hit me coming in and it will not hit me going out".
I agree that the State of Louisiana's elected officials are acting just like some the children in our schools.
Layton Richs in a podcast endicated that the administration offices would receive 4% of the $24,000,000. The school board has already approved the Superintendent's contract for 2023-2024 school year. Does he also receive an additional 10% raise as stated on the ballot? As the school board is using the salary schedule found on the LPPS website buried under Human Resources.
November will be the time to remove the State of Louisiana's elected officials from office. If they want to act like children, then let us know then who is making our teachers lives so miserable.
Now we are being told that only $20,000,000 will be used for the raises listed on the salary schedule. What will become of the other $4,000,000 when no one is looking.
We have parents that volunteer their time after work to help with school sports. So I commend all parents that help our schools in ways that give our children a well rounded education.
We let the teachers know that those bosses at the school board need to cut the fat and stop sending scammers millions of dollars in order to give teacher pay raises AND to stay out of our POCKETS!
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