Community Chat

[newziesuzie]

May 2 - 6 is National Teacher Appreciation Week

Thank you to all teachers.❤️

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http://www.taylormali.com/poems-online/what-teachers-make/

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"What Teachers Make
by Taylor Mali

He says the problem with teachers is
What’s a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?
He reminds the other dinner guests that it’s true
what they say about teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.
I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests
that it’s also true what they say about lawyers.
Because we’re eating, after all, and this is polite conversation.

I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor.
Be honest. What do you make?

And I wish he hadn’t done that— asked me to be honest—
because, you see, I have this policy about honesty and a**-­‐kicking:
if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor
and an A-­  feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time
with anything less than your very best.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won’t I let you go to the bathroom?
Because you’re bored.
And you don’t really have to go to the bathroom, do you?

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
Hi. This is Mr. Mali. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son said today.
To the biggest bully in the grade, he said,
“Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don’t you?
It’s no big deal.”
And that was noblest act of courage I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.

You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math
and hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you’ve got this,
then you follow this,
and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this.

Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:

Teachers make a ******* difference! Now what about you?"

Mali. Taylor. “What Teachers Make.” What Learning Leaves. Newtown, CT: Hanover Press, 2002. Print. (ISBN: 1-­‐887012-­‐17-­‐6)

(Mali is a vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching, having himself spent nine years in the classroom teaching everything from English and history to math and S.A.T. test preparation.)

[qualitygal]

I like the commercial they have on now on this.

[maestra]

from this teacher, thank you!

[maestra]

@newziesuzie

    When I chose to enter the noble profession as a pedagogue (look it up- Greek root), education was more than lip service.

Now, I feel like a chump. And a poorly paid one at that!

Hence, my retirement.

[maestra]

Let's see how quickly this thread can proceed South from here.

[Winifred]

Can only speak of our local school district - for way too many years the teachers were horribly underpaid. Many of us were quite vocal about this and it was corrected. I should say over corrected.  Horribly overpaid and underworked now - just not right. Our elementary schools for example start at 8:55 a.m. and are out at 3:05. Teachers do not have to be at the school until 8:45 in the morning and can leave at 3:15. Students attend school half days the week of report cards so teachers can do all their work on school time, not theirs. They also no longer have to do yard duty - we have "paid" volunteers do that. Lot of money flying out the window. Saying this I believe teachers should receive a very fair wage - not overpaid by today's standards.

[newziesuzie]

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@maestra wrote:

Let's see how quickly this thread can proceed South from here.

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I've given up on understanding whether
threads go south or not lol.🙂

Thank you for being a teacher @maestra,
I admire you and all teachers.

❤️

[newziesuzie]

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@qualitygal wrote:

I like the commercial they have on now on this.

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@qualitygal

I didn't know there was a commercial about this.

🙂

[qualitygal]

@newziesuzie, your banner title is what caught my eye. I think the commercial starts out that way. A man talks in it, about being a teacher and what he makes is a good way to teach kids and make their learning interesting.

[newziesuzie]

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@qualitygal wrote:

@newziesuzie, your banner title is what caught my eye. I think the commercial starts out that way. A man talks in it, about being a teacher and what he makes is a good way to teach kids and make their learning interesting.

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Thanks @qualitygal!

I'd love to see it, maybe I can find something about 

it online. Sounds good!

😊