Today I was "working" at summit. I got to blow bubbles, play with bugs, and all sorts of other fun kid stuff. One thing that I love about this job (after school program) is that its a time where kids can just be kids at school. Today I incorporated some "school" stuff. My goal is to help create a better portfolio for myself in this, well not so great, economy. I utilized stations and creativity. The stations included: Science (one of the favs) where they had to find bugs. Music: (another fav) I had bottles and filled them up with different levels of water for the kids to tap or blow into. Art: (third fave) the had to draw something they see on from the bench. History: Read about someone famous from Iowa. Writing: Write a story about what it would be like to fly for a day/what would you do. Gym: least favorite because they had just done this, but how many push-ups/sit ups etc. I didn't have to do this for the job. Everyone else just lets them run around outside and is basically the babysitter. But what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't take this opportunity to throw fun and learning together? Afterwords I had a lot of great compliments both in person and on my facebook page from the other staff.
I can't think of something more frustrating that a lazy teacher.... Ok I know that seems out of the blue, but after all this work for just $10/hr and no pay for prep time, or even health benefits.... only reason is for the kids to learn and enjoy just being kids. And there are still teachers out there with jobs in this economy who are lazy and would prefer to just give out pre-made worksheets because actually doing something would be to much hassle for them. In someways teacher pay based on test scores and effort put forth would be better than salary and the union backing them up. Don't get me wrong, the union is a great thing and does a lot of good. They protect good teachers from getting taken advantage of. But unfortunately they also protect the bad teachers from getting fired.
As a up and coming teacher I feel frustrated because I am entering a job market where there are teachers retiring and not having jobs replaced, ok teachers keeping their jobs, great teachers who are new or at the bottom of the list because they have a lack in "experience" not being resigned and others like me who have almost no chance at all. Above everything else a country needs to focus on education, then everything else after that. Not just because I'm a teacher, but because knowledge is power.
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