The Toilet Paper Trail

Much has been posted about the recent firing (and rehiring) of all teachers in a consistently low performing high school. As some have already noted, there probably wear/are teachers at all over the effectiveness spectrum. If, however, a super-majority of the teachers were on the low end... how, pray tell, did they all end up at the same high school? Who hired them? Who interviewed them? Did only ineffective teachers apply? Did the effective teachers bolt as soon as a new job opened? Was it some nefarious plot by the district human resources department to stack the deck with dead weight at this particular school? It's not random, as someone hypothesized, that ALL of the teachers were ineffective and I don't believe that only through some magical twist of fate do "good teachers" end up at a school. Many good teachers prefer to work at schools with issues. Somewhere along the line, there was a reason the "good teachers" and "bad teachers" chose to apply to a particular school/district, were hired and decided to remain there for successive years. Why?

Several years ago, when looking for my first position, I was dismayed to discover that there was not actually a shortage of teachers in my state as was being constantly broadcast by the media. There were places that struggled to fully staff schools, but other places received hundreds of applications for every opening. Not a shortage of teachers, but rather a shortage of places teachers wanted to work. No, it's a not a poverty thing. There are schools with crushing poverty, gangs, criminal elements that have no problem in finding teachers. In fact, if one takes a closer look, generally it is in fact, entire districts that have a hard staffing... not necessarily only schools within that district. This, to me, would indicate a problem. And, perhaps, an explanation as to how a school would end up with an entire staff of ineffective teachers. Or why the school has a revolving door for staff members. Or even, why so many teachers change careers after less than five years of teaching. 

So Mr. Duncan, Mr. President... listen up. If you want to attract effective teachers to those low performing schools and turn things around, but don't want to increase the salary to a livable wage, here are few ideas. They do not require a billion dollar investment.

1. Consistently working toilets stocked with toilet paper. Seat covers would be nice too! Plus some what to wash up afterwards. Seriously, you could pay me $125,000/year... but if I can't pee daily, I'm out of there. To me, urination is vital.
2. Windows with panes of glass. Un-cracked.
3. Working heating/cooling system.
4. More than 15 minutes to scarf down lunch. Without a child next you, screaming "He's looking at me" or "That's a snot-burger!"
5. A secure area to store belongings - like pens and paper. Possibly a computer or a coat.
6. Textbooks for all students in the classroom. Possibly a school library. With books in it. And a librarian - you know to check the books out, order new ones, tape up the broken, etc.
7. Either a classroom large enough to accommodate all students registered for the class or a smaller class size. You should not have 40 bodies in a room designed to hold 20. It's a fire hazard. Especially when the teacher can't even see the back of room to tell who is lighting the place up.
8. At least four walls in the classroom. Plus a ceiling. Not squeezed in to the corner of the gym, stairwell or any place where one has to consistently worry about objects flying in the classroom area from outside of the room.
9. Insect/Rat free buildings.
10. Access to office supplies, including pens, paper, paperclips and possibly even chalk. Without having to fill out a form delineate the use of said office supplies in triplicate at least three months before use of item.
11. Access to a working copy machine at least 75% (we all know they break down at times) that is not guarded by an employee whose sole job duty is to prevent use of machine by all teachers.
12. Regular janitorial services at the school building. Like daily. Plus regular maintenance and by 'regular', I mean more than once every 10 years.
13. Teachers having the ability to decide simple things on what is best for their students. Things like how to place books on the shelves or how to arrange desks/tables. A good teacher knows a good idea when they see it... a bad teacher won't and forcing them to do something won't magically turn him/her into a good teacher. Some issues are an administrative decision. Furniture arrangement is not.
14. Recognition that teachers are actually people with relationships outside of the school. They should be allowed to have children and interact with them after hours. 50 to 60 hours a week in the classroom and another 20 outside, is unreasonable. Yes, people can do it for a short time, but they won't stay and, again, it won't make a "bad teacher" into a "good one."

I realize that this is a simplification, but sometimes I seriously wonder why it seems so difficult to understand the constant exodus of good teachers to "good schools". No one will stay where the management consistently expects subordinates to only say "thank you Sir! May I have another". We don't need to take our dog to work or sit in $400 chairs (although, I'll admit to really missing that nice chair from the old dot.com days)... but access to toilet paper should be a no-brainer. It's a lot cheaper than smart boards, charter schools or hiring an entirely new staff every year.

FWIW - I teach at a school with over 50% Free/reduced lunch (it's actually over 70%, but we can't get the older kids to bring back the forms) in an area with roughly a 14% unemployment rate. Some of my student's homes make the Projects look dang nice, what with that indoor plumbing and store-bought floors. This district is never lacking for teachers and we always have toilet paper.