Teachers are totally overworked. They don't have time to have a life with all the tons of paperwork they are responsible for. Etc. Etc. Etc.
“American Teacher” suggests that even though teaching is a difficult, laborious job, it is often low-paying and disrespected. Also, despite the fact that it serves a vital role in shaping students’ futures, graduates from most selective colleges do not consider it for a career because it is not as prestigious as becoming a doctor or a lawyer. According to the film, this results in students underperforming in schools. A clip of Bill Gates, whose foundation has donated heftily to education reform, shows Mr. Gates asking, “how do you make education better? The more we looked at it the more we realized that having great teachers was the very key thing” (Roth 0:01:21-0:01:30). For the American education system to improve, we need distinguished, prepared, intelligent teachers for our students. The film offers a solution to this problem: Given the problem of underperforming students in schools, the reform goal is to transform the nature of teaching by making it a more prestigious and well-paid occupation. This can be accomplished by the capacity-building of the rigor of the teaching career, and designing programs to increase teachers’ salaries to entice professionals toward the career. Screen Shot 2014-02-21 at 4.12.05 PM 0:29:48 The American Teacher
To express the difficulties inherent in the teaching profession, the film follows four teachers, Erik Benner from Texas, Jonathan Dearman from California, Jamie Fidler from New York, and Rhena Jasey from New Jersey for one year. By filming class sessions and telling the story of the teachers’ lives at home, it is made clear that teachers work long hours both inside and outside of the classroom. Fidler says, “I leave the house at seven o’clock in the morning…and I get home at 6:30” (Roth 0:04:45-0:05:00). The film notes that the average teacher who does their job correctly works at least a 65 hour work week. So why then, the film questions, is teaching regarded by society as an easy, attainable career?
To further illustrate the struggle of the American teacher, the film describes how low salaries affect a teacher’s personal life. Erik Benner, a history teacher and middle school football coach in Texas, was forced to pick up a second job at Circuit City in order to support his family. He justified this decision by saying that as a man, society views his as the “provider” of the family (Roth 0:39:40). Between teaching and shifts at Circuit City, worked seven days a week, which put severe strain on his marriage and ultimately led to divorce. It is clear his starting salary of $27,000 was not reflective of the amount of work he put into his job, and was not enough money to support a family. Due to situations such as this, not only are fewer people interested in becoming teachers, but current teachers are being driven out of the classroom.
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at August 5, 2017 7:56 AM MDT
WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH 