My New Published Column

[LowerCaseRepublican]

My column ran in today's Joliet Herald if anybody gets it. Anyway, wanted to throw up a link to it to get some feedback from the ST faithful...and to get our mind off the Sox collapsing

 

http://lennybrucefan.tripod.com/id36.html

[KipWellsFan]

Wow, very strong article, I'm impressed. Edited September 23, 2005 by KipWellsFan

[AddisonStSox]

Fantastic work per usual.

 

I always look forward to reading your pieces. Keep em' coming.

 

EDIT: I hope you haven't had to sit through too many of Prof. Hoxie's lectures.

Edited September 23, 2005 by AddisonStSox

[Soxy]

That was awesome. My baby sister is about to get her certification for teaching (in special ed no less) and she definitely gets the, oh anyone could do it a lot. But man, I would sooner chew off my own leg than be a K-12 teacher, not because I don't like kids, but because of the crap they have to put up with from parents, administration, government, etc.

 

At least University teaching isn't regulated.

 

Or as I like to say, Those who can't teach, teach at college.

[Mplssoxfan]

"We didn't choose the wrong profession. Society chose the wrong heroes."

 

Sad, but true.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Bruno Behrend from WIND radio was b****ing about me & wants me to come on his show.

 

This Rush Limbaugh wannabe blowhard is going to get f***ing owned. Details as they come for me getting on the air there.

[KipWellsFan]

Bruno Behrend from WIND radio was b****ing about me & wants me to come on his show.

 

This Rush Limbaugh wannabe blowhard is going to get f***ing owned.  Details as they come for me getting on the air there.

 

Whoa congratulions, you're well on your way to becoming a media talking head!

[LowerCaseRepublican]

I think I win the debate when he has on his web site:

 

"In America, BIG ED first came for the homeschoolers, and I didn't speak up because I don't want to seek power. Then it came for the charter schools, and I didn't speak up because I don't want to seek power. Then it came for the private schoolers, and I didn't speak up because I don't want to seek power. Then it came for the Pre-Schoolers, but I didn't speak up because I don't want to seek power.

 

Then it came for me, and by that time there was no one who had the power to fight them."

 

--

When were teachers massacring 6 million Jews again? He used the first Hitler reference so I win by default. Oh man this is going to be fun.

[Queen Prawn]

I think salary heavily depends on where you teach. Brian's cousin teaches at a public school in the south suburbs (she is at a K-8 school) and makes (or so she says) above 90K a year - she's been there for about 5 years, I believe. A friend of mine taught at a Catholic school (math in the middle grades) in the south surburbs and made less than 30K. I saw the salaries of the teachers in the Woodridge/Darien/DG area and I remember the lowest salary being around 40K and that was for someone who had about 1 year in there.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

I think salary heavily depends on where you teach.  Brian's cousin teaches at a public school in the south suburbs (she is at a K-8 school) and makes (or so she says) above 90K a year - she's been there for about 5 years, I believe.  A friend of mine taught at a Catholic school (math in the middle grades) in the south surburbs and made less than 30K.  I saw the salaries of the teachers in the Woodridge/Darien/DG area and I remember the lowest salary being around 40K and that was for someone who had about 1 year in there.

Right. It depends on districts you teach in since property taxes are the primary way that schools are funded. So the affluent districts have high paying jobs and the well "not so affluent" have lower paying positions (not to mention the lack of funds to get supplies like textbooks etc.)

[G&T]

To make this a better argument, I would outline what you think would make for better schools. I know we can all assume, but that isn't good enough if you want to get noticed.

 

My problem with what you are saying in this, from what I can tell, is that you assume that if you pay more money to teachers you will get a better education in high school. That simply isn't true. You could pay a professor a million dollars to teach high school in these places that are "not well off" and there is not proof that those kids learn anything. If you don't place responsibility on those who have to learn then you are fighting a losing battle.

I went to Stagg High School. There, they separated the honors students and the "less willing to learn" in order to help them further with individual attention in a program called the "Academy." I have heard that the Academy has been taken away because it was a waste of money.

I don't think that "well to do" parents don't want to help other kids, it's more like they don't want to give money to a failing cause. That's where state budgeting comes into play. Where would YOU send most of the money?

 

No Child Left Behind makes no sense. I know because my cousin is a teacher in the city. However, you aren't accounting for other issues. If funding were really the problem I think that would have been fixed by now.

[EvilMonkey]

Ihave to agree with G&T. Your column makes it appear that the only thing needed to fix the schools is more money. There are alot more problems than just lack of funding. All the money in the world will not fix the apathy that alot of parents have towards their own kids education. You mention that most don't seem to want to pay, but it is about more than money. They have to CARE. Ask your parents how many times they have called parents to tell them about how thier kids are not doing well, only to be berated by the parents, or told to mind thier own business. My mother works in a grade school, and part of her duties is to call parents to schedule meeting with them and the teachers for the kids that are failing, or in need of discipline. She commonly gets the "I don't have time", even though they offer evening and early morning hours to meet. You MAKE time for your kids. Basically, there are three parts to getting a quality education. You DO need money to help secure good facilities and teachers. You also need the kids to WANT to learn, and the parents to have an interest in their kids learning. There are poor districts that give an excellent education, as do many private schools that pay teachers alot less than most public schools. But if the kids and parents don't give a damn, the hallways could be gold plated and the kids would still fail. By the way, I like your style, and admire your choice of profession.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Ihave to agree with G&T.  Your column makes it appear that the only thing needed to fix the schools is more money.  There are alot more problems than just lack of funding.  All the money in the world will not fix the apathy that alot of parents have towards their own kids education.  You mention that most don't seem to want to pay, but it is about more than money.  They have to CARE. Ask your parents how many times they have called parents to tell them about how thier kids are not doing well, only to be berated by the parents, or told to mind thier own business.  My mother works in a grade school, and part of her duties is to call parents to schedule meeting with them and the teachers for the kids that are failing, or in need of discipline.  She commonly gets the "I don't have time", even though they offer evening and early morning hours to meet. You MAKE time for your kids. Basically, there are three parts to getting a quality education.  You DO need money to help secure good facilities and teachers.  You also need the kids to WANT to learn, and the parents to have an interest in their kids learning.  There are poor districts that give an excellent education, as do many private schools that pay teachers alot less than most public schools.  But if the kids and parents don't give a damn, the hallways could be gold plated and the kids would still fail.  By the way, I like your style, and admire your choice of profession.

Funding is the first step to take. The primary mode of receiving funds for schools is property taxes. Government knows that property values are different in various areas so there will be great disparity in the tax rates. Being aware of this fact, the government of Illinois has knowingly perpetrated this inequity as the premier mechanism of funding the public school system. This systematic institutionalized inequity has been the breeding ground for many of the problems that Illinois’ school systems have had. By using property taxes, the disparities between schools are glaring – with amounts spent per pupil in some districts more than doubling the amounts spent in others. With less money, some schools have a greater difficulty getting necessities like textbooks. Jonathan Kozol’s book Savage Inequalities greatly details the inequalities in schools as a result of these funding disparities.

 

Another major reason for problems with Illinois schools is that many of the schools in the state are running deficits. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, 17% of Illinois schools have been found to be in “dire financial trouble” – which is a 55% increase from 2003. These schools have incredible debt and have been forced to barrow money to pay for daily operating costs. One hundred forty more school districts have been designated as “financial early warnings” which is the second-worse rating after “dire financial trouble”. Overall, 33% of school districts have been given these two rankings and 77% of Illinois schools have become enveloped in a spending deficit in order to cover their costs. The vast majority of Illinois schools are unable to pay for resources and materials that assist in creating an effective, positive learning environment.

 

The third major factor for the problem with quality education comes from under-funded legislation like No Child Left Behind. While Congress increased the amount of funding towards education, the money given did not meet the necessities for states to meet the standardized testing requirements of No Child Left Behind. These standardized tests result in a focus on low-level achievement in the classroom because testing focuses on what it is measurable. Students in class are cheated out of high level thought, critical thinking and in-depth analysis because teachers have been strong-armed into keeping state test scores up – since the school’s funding depends on continued high scores. If scores fail to increase, the federal government will put the school under review and later close the school if scores fail to improve – all the while not increasing the funds to the school.

 

A final major problem is faced with teacher burnout, a lack of teachers and teacher wages. As http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm?id=1869 shows, an analysis of weekly wages have fallen behind those of other workers – only inflation adjusted 0.8% increase compared to 12% weekly wage growth of college graduates and all workers. In fact, the site states: A comparison of teachers' weekly wages to those of other workers with similar education and experience shows that, since 1993, female teacher wages have fallen behind 13% and male teacher wages 12.5% (11.5% among all teachers). Since 1979 teacher wages relative to those of other similar workers have dropped 18.5% among women, 9.3% among men, and 13.1% among both combined.

• A comparison of teachers' wages to those of workers with comparable skill requirements, including accountants, reporters, registered nurses, computer programmers, clergy, personnel officers, and vocational counselors and inspectors, shows that teachers earned $116 less per week in 2002, a wage disadvantage of 12.2%. Because teachers worked more hours per week, the hourly wage disadvantage was an even larger 14.1%.

• Teachers' weekly wages have grown far more slowly than those for these comparable occupations; teacher wages have deteriorated about 14.8% since 1993 and by 12.0% since 1983 relative to comparable occupations.

• Although teachers have somewhat better health and pension benefits than do other professionals, these are offset partly by lower payroll taxes paid by employers (since some teachers are not in the Social Security system). Teachers have less premium pay (overtime and shift pay, for example), less paid leave, and fewer wage bonuses than do other professionals. Teacher benefits have not improved relative to other professionals since 1994 (the earliest data we have on benefits), so the growth in the teacher wage disadvantage has not been offset by improved benefits.

Politicians and bureaucrats have cheated students while trying to be “tough on education” with demands for increased achievement. The current wages for teachers are drastically below those of other professions. The state and federal government have created a system where teachers in certain districts have been financially handcuffed from providing an effective education. By creating and enforcing this system of inequality, the problems for American schools will only increase.

 

But you are on the button with parents wanting the kids to learn and the kids learning. A lot of the kids not wanting to learn is based on most lesson plans (studies I've seen put most objectives of lesson plans in classrooms at about 80% in the first three levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of learning -- which is just basic rote memorization) While I agree that rote memorization can build a quality and necessary foundation for further education, there must also be higher end synthesis and analysis as well...and that is lacking. Add in the melodrama of most textbooks, speaking from my experience in social studies, it makes it seem very dry and not nearly as vibrant as history can be. Plus many parents can be problematic. Often times you get the parents that want to be too involved and then the parents that can't be found when needed for a talk.

 

It's just too bad that I couldn't get all that in to a 450 word column. /grumbles about original amount being 525-550 but due to narrower format of the paper having to be reduced to 450 from now on.

[EvilMonkey]

We will have to agree to disagree here on the first step. While I am all for changing the method of funding for schools, I think the attitudes of parents and children need to be changed first, or the money will just be wasted. With the right attitudes from those two groups, lack of money CAN be overcome. You should right a column on different ways to change funding for schools! I bet that cold keep you in columns for a year, since you have that 450 word limit. Damn papers tryin' to keep tha man down!

[JUGGERNAUT]

It would be interesting if it were true, but it's not. I suggest you look at some sites that publish average teacher's salary's & administration salary's around the nation. Why in IL alone we have principals with total compensation pkgs close to 400K/yr. We have some suburban districts with admin avg's close to 6 figures.

 

More $$$ was not the answer in the past, it's not now, & it won't be in the future. The problem still remains the disparity of income levels between administrators & teachers. I think few tax payers mind paying teachers more. But when they read the reports in the papers or on the internet that the avg admin is making more than the avg teacher they get upset. There's no justification for that. It's simply a sign that the beuracracy remains out of control.

 

Given the power of the teacher's unions (NEA, AFT, etc.) it's pretty obvious they don't care. You don't see them lobbying for reigning in the admin salaries do you?

 

So the only rational & logical approach is to create more competition. Hope that over the long run the beuracracy collapses under it's own weight in the face of competition. Where does the competition come from?

Long distance learning, home-schooling networks, private & parochial schools.

 

Of course it requires some legislation & regulation to streamline. You can't simply offer a school-voucher for a parent to send their kid to the best school in their district (public, private, or parochial) without it. The regulation would essentially classify secular classes from religious ed & provide assistance for the secular only.

 

We can see evidence of the most innovative colleges jumping on the bandwagon of long-distance learning. Did you know you can give your child a K-12 Stanford education? It's true. It's not to hard to realize that over time those kids who graduate from Stanford K-12 will have the inside track on applying to the University.

 

As for a liberal education itself .. please .. it's a joke. Write something to strong with wit & sarcasm & a teacher will ask you to do it again on the basis it was too "harsh". So instead you turn in a fluff piece. Thank God the paradigm is beginning to crumble after decades of abuse.

[Heads22]

As a school board member, I got a lot of this stuff during my senior year. I would say that the average teacher in my hometown makes upper 30K-lower 40k, with only the most tenured teachers above 50k. I thought it was ridiculous that when my mom managed a gas station, she made more than the teachers at my HS, including the ones who had been there 30+ years.

 

Kind of off on a tangent....

 

I had been keeping an eye on this, and I'd be interested in your opinions. In IA, Gov. Vilsack has been pushing, and the IA legislature has passed a "No Pass-No Play" rule concerning athletics (but not) other activities. Basically put, anyone wanting to participate in athletics must pass all classes. My old HS had a rule where you had to pass (4 or 5, I can't remember) to participate in activities, including sports. Keep in mind, the band program at my HS got 10x the funding of the tennis programs, while being allocated only less than the football team. Why a band needs to take out of state trips every 2 years is beyond me. Here's where I come at odds with the superintendent and HS principal. I think it's poppycock, for lack of a better term, to allow an athlete to pass 4 or 5 classes (including übereasy courses such as Econ and history/government classes in the required curriculum) while failing one or two, especially since the student can determine the classes he/she is taking. HS ain't that hard, especially back home, where you literally had to try for an F. I'm as big a sports nut as anyone, but I am starting to think the board and administrators are starting to focus too much on athletics, when 1/4 to half of a typical meeting as the year wore down last year related to athletics, as more and more activites and events were catered to the football team, for example.

[Steff]

http://www.thechampion.org/teacher/cgi-bin...admin&year=2004

 

Average Administrator Salary

2004 by district search results.

 

District Name Average Salary

ANNAWAN COMM UNIT SCH DIST 226 $99,985

SCHOOL DISTRICT 46 $99,907

MAINE TWP SPEC EDUC PROGRAM $99,592

COMM UNIT SCH DIST 300 $99,552

JOLIET TWP HS DIST 204 $99,512

WAUCONDA COMM UNIT S DIST 118 $99,396

CAREER & TECH EDUC CONSORTIUM $99,271

MAHOMET-SEYMOUR C U SCH DIST 3 $99,253

BELLEVILLE TWP HS DIST 201 $99,251

EVERGREEN PARK COMM HI SCH D 231 $99,206

BRADLEY SCHOOL DIST 61 $99,130

CARY C C SCHOOL DIST 26 $99,037

PEKIN COMM H S DIST 303 $98,923

KOMAREK SCHOOL DIST 94 $98,896

WARREN C U SCH DIST 222 $98,765

LOW INCIDENCE COOP AGREEMENT $98,683

SCH DISTRICT 45 DUPAGE COUNTY $98,367

HOLLIS CONS SCHOOL DIST 328 $98,231

PRAIRIE-HILLS ELEM SCH DIST 144 $98,086

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT 158 $98,074

INDIAN PRAIRIE C U SCH DIST 204 $97,989

NAPERVILLE C U DIST 203 $97,940

CRETE MONEE C U SCHOOL DIST 201U $97,887

ELMWOOD PARK C U SCH DIST 401 $97,877

BROOKWOOD SCHOOL DIST 167

 

 

Average Teacher Salary

2004 by district search results.

 

Click 'District Name' to re-sort data by that field.

 

District Name Average Salary

TOWNSHIP H S DIST 211 $80,082

PEORIA EDUC REG FOR EMPL TRAING $8,806

TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DIST 113 $79,166

LYONS TWP H S DIST 204 $79,163

GLENBARD TWP H S DIST 87 $78,984

NEW TRIER TWP H S DIST 203 $78,427

LEYDEN COMM H S DIST 212 $78,216

NORTHFIELD TWP HIGH SCH DIST 225 $77,909

EVANSTON TWP H S DIST 202 $77,206

TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DIST 214 $77,183

HINSDALE TWP H S DIST 86 $76,506

LAKE PARK COMM H S DIST 108 $76,109

FENTON COMM H S DIST 100 $75,873

THORNTON TWP H S DIST 205 $75,647

ADLAI E STEVENSON DIST 125 $74,944

ARGO COMM H S DIST 217 $74,299

MAINE TOWNSHIP H S DIST 207 $74,121

NILES TWP COMM HIGH SCH DIST 219 $74,009

REAVIS TWP H S DIST 220 $72,646

OAK PARK & RIVER FOREST DIST 200 $72,573

LAKE FOREST COMM H S DISTRICT 115 $72,553

CONS HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 230 $72,519

SENECA TWP H S DIST 160 $71,858

COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DIST 99 $71,532

BREMEN COMM H S DISTRICT 228 $71,157

DU PAGE HIGH SCHOOL DIST 88 $70,740

COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DIST 155 $70

 

 

Full list at link above.

[Heads22]

Avg teacher salary at my HS: $41,673

[Steff]

Avg teacher salary at my HS: $41,673

 

 

The list of all of them is way long, but there are some making in the 30k range in Illinois.

[Soxy]

The list of all of them is way long, but there are some making in the 30k range in Illinois.

And I bet they aren't in the wealthy suburbs.

 

To me, that's just another example of classism and the wealth divide in this nation.

[Heads22]

The list of all of them is way long, but there are some making in the 30k range in Illinois.

 

I'd believe it. They dip into the 20k range in Iowa for district wide full time teachers, with a 39k statewide average.

 

I always thought it was weird that the football team and basketball teams got new jerseys regularly, the administrators were getting pay bumps, but yet we had to buy our own tennis stuff (polos and etc.) and had to literally steal the supplies away from other sports (tape, bandaids, etc---came in handy when i got hit in the face with a racket). We even had to buy tennis balls to practice with. Although I suppose we can fund a sport with 350 dollars that is meant to cover travel costs and any entry fees.

[Steff]

And I bet they aren't in the wealthy suburbs.

 

To me, that's just another example of classism and the wealth divide in this nation.

 

 

Jim's daughter is a counselor in Bolingbrook making $28K, his son's wife is one in Romeoville making $32K. Would those area's be considered wealthy.. I'm not sure, but I know there are neighborhoods in both where $300K houses are the norm. A girlfriend of mine is a teacher in Chicago making just over $60K (been teaching for just under 10 years). I wouldn't call Lyons "wealthy" but the average there is among the highest at $80K and the Admin average in Joliet shocks me at $99K.

 

I always got the impression that the "rougher" the job, the more they made.

[Heads22]

Jim's daughter is a counselor in Bolingbrook making $28K, his son's wife is one in Romeoville making $32K. Would those area's be considered wealthy.. I'm not sure, but I know there are neighborhoods in both where $300K houses are the norm. A girlfriend of mine is a teacher in Chicago making just over $60K (been teaching for just under 10 years). I wouldn't call Lyons "wealthy" but the average there is among the highest at $80K and the Admin average in Joliet shocks me at $99K. 

 

I always got the impression that the "rougher" the job, the more they made. 

 

 

How tenured are the first two?

[Soxy]

Jim's daughter is a counselor in Bolingbrook making $28K, his son's wife is one in Romeoville making $32K. Would those area's be considered wealthy.. I'm not sure, but I know there are neighborhoods in both where $300K houses are the norm. A girlfriend of mine is a teacher in Chicago making just over $60K (been teaching for just under 10 years). I wouldn't call Lyons "wealthy" but the average there is among the highest at $80K and the Admin average in Joliet shocks me at $99K. 

 

I always got the impression that the "rougher" the job, the more they made. 

I was always under the impression that average income in the community/house prices were positively correlated teacher pay.

[Steff]

How tenured are the first two?

 

 

His daughter just started year 7, and daughter in law year 5.