We interrupt your regularly scheduled light-hearted fare for something slightly heavier…
One of the more enraging and flat-out disgusting political narratives developing in this country at present is the one that public school teachers are lazy, incompetent wards of the state who essentially amount to little more than glorified welfare queens (Conservative noise-maker/prick Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly asserted that teachers are “freeloaders” who are running an “easy money scam” on all of us). Personally, every teacher I’ve ever known has been the antithesis of that — typically among the more selfless members of our society — and to trash them repeatedly for political gain damn near incites me to commit acts of violence.
So of course this past weekend when Matt Damon — whose mother is a teacher — gave a speech at the Save Our Schools march in Washington, DC, an attractive, programmed-to-recite-talking-points airhead working for a conservative web media outlet approached him afterwards and, in a roundabout way, questioned whether teachers work as hard as they should because they don’t fear being fired, due to tenure and protection from their union and whatnot. Needless to say, Damon, with his mother the educator by his side, didn’t take too kindly to the questions that came from the ReasonTV airhead and her camera man — who felt inclined to jump in and make an ass of himself as well — and proceeded to dress them down. The only way this clip could be any better is if Damon punctuated the whole thing with a Good Will Hunting style, “How you like them apples?”
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Reason isn’t a conservative website, it’s libertarian. Other than that, eh.
@John G…Actually, it’s a conservative site that masks itself as a libertarian one, in my opinion anyway.
Well they do bash both sides equally, but you’re right in that they do lean to the right, as most libertarians do.
That being said, she worded that question horribly and probably has zero idea what she’s even asking. Pretty girls get all the breaks.
@John G…She does come off, as I wrote, as an “an attractive, programmed-to-recite-talking-points airhead.” That’s for sure.
I’ve been teaching for 10 years and I find it very offensive when people just assume that teachers are crappy bc we supposably can’t get fired. I don’t know what crackhead made that up but here in Texas where schools are being shut down and teachers laid off I still have seen teachers fired for doing a terrible job. The pay is ridiculous and the material benefits are basically non-existent. Good for Matt!
I come for the laughs and entertainment, but this subject drives me crazy. Pardon the rant. First off, @Renee, thank you for you service and commitment. I have friends and relatives that are teachers they are committed and caring. WTF is wrong with this country when it come to recognizing those in the education profession.
Just writing from my own life but I don’t want the people I went to college with anywhere near my kids. I think teaching gets a bad rap because it’s a lot of bullshit classes and the job is 8-9 hours a day with 2-3 months off. In HS I “worked” for an Elementary teacher who told me to just go to school for education, get the girls in the class to do my work for me so in the summer I could wake up at 1 or 2 walk to the mailbox and get a check. I don’t know too many other jobs that offer a day like that. I can definitely see why people are pissed or maybe even jealous at teachers. But the pissed comes from the thought that there is no reason why kids shouldn’t be scoring higher. In my job I need to find 15% quantifiable improvement every year. IF I miss I’m gone. Doesn’t seem to be the case for teachers. -This has been a nonsensical rant from someone pissed off at reading FB posts of teachers who have summers off right now while I work every day 6-7 minimum.
Teacher accoutability is a must and yes it does exist. However, this is one of the only professions where the worker has very little control over the outcome of their work. Teachers can bust their butts in the classroom but if a student decides that he/she doesn’t care, then all of that work goes down the drain. I’ve had it happen. Then the school district puts the teacher on a “plan” if the failure rate is too high and/or students aren’t showing improvement over their last benchmark test. These “plans” can be used for termination purposes. Improvement must be shown regardless of the classroom situation. However anyteacher who is there to simply collect a paycheck should be fired.
I like how they’re “freeloaders”. Yeah, in a good chunk of states, you need a Master’s degree. Undeniably there are problems, but it’s not the teachers.