Could We Be Leaving Teachers Behind?: An Interview with HBF Teacher

Joining us today is HBF (Hopeful But Frustrated) Teacher. We´ll be talking about her realistic fiction book No Teachers Left Behind, a painstaking look into the faults of America´s educational system.

Thank you for talking to us today, HBF Teacher. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi! I am a middle school teacher who is certified to teach in the major content areas (Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies). I teach in metro Atlanta Georgia. I´m also married and have two wonderful children.

I really want to get into the meat of this book. Can you first tell us what prompted you to write No Teachers Left Behind? Was there a straw that broke the camel´s back or was it just a series of events?

So many things happen to teachers on a daily basis, and it all just adds up. With that in mind, I have to say that a series of events led me to write No Teachers Left Behind.

Common complaints I´ve heard from teachers are budget cuts forcing them to work longer hours, purchasing supplies with their own hard-earned cash, larger class sizes and discipline issues. Hasn´t this been going on forever? Does anyone in the public education system believe it´s going to change?

Yes those are some of the most commonly heard complaints, and they have been mentioned over and over again for years. Isn´t it amazing that nobody has tried to come up with a solution for these issues after so long? For instance, at my school, we are given four packs of copy paper for the entire school year. After that, we are on our own. Other supplies are given out infrequently or not at all and that´s when teachers are expected to fork over their hard-earned cash.

Depending on where a teacher works, discipline can be a problem or it could not even be an issue. Unfortunately at my school, discipline is a huge issue. Sure, students should not be left behind, but should they be left in classes when they are stopping others from learning? That´s a situation that my peers and I deal with on a daily basis. We refer "problem" students to administrators, and then we are told that the students should not be denied instructional time. What about what they are denying their peers? What about what they are doing to the teachers?

I could go on about this for days, but I´ll just end with my response to your last questions about whether or not the public education system is going to change. Will it change? I´m not sure, but every night before I go to sleep, I pray that it will change. I pray not only for myself but also for today´s students and the students of tomorrow. Soon, there will be no one who is capable of actually teaching who is willing to teach. I´m not talking about someone who is in the classroom because it sounded like a good plan after they lost their job somewhere else, but I´m talking about a person who really wants to be in a classroom because it´s what they were born to do. In my novel, No Teachers Left Behind, readers will have the opportunity to meet a few people who were actually born to be inside of classrooms.

If it is possible for things to change, what are the top three things that would make public education better for teachers?

The top three things that would make public education better for teachers are more teacher input as far as educational policies (teachers should be asked and not told), higher salaries to recruit and maintain the teaching force that we have, and smaller classroom sizes (despite what so many people are saying, students do learn more in smaller classes).

The back cover of the book mentions overpaid administrators. Aren´t these people who have come up through the ranks of the public education system? Haven´t they been in the same place that frustrated teachers are now? If these administrators have been in the same place educators are now, why aren´t they more compassionate about your plight?

Most administrators at one time or another have actually been in classrooms, but that isn´t always the case. If my memory serves me right, I don´t think the current US Secretary of Education has ever been a teacher. As for the other administrators (the ones who have once taught), I think they forget what it´s like to be inside of a classroom as soon as they see their names on office doors. At that point of no return, they quickly become lost in the idea of making headlines and documents that make themselves and their schools look good, and they block out anything else – most sadly, the cries for help from their teachers.

Let´s talk about kids and their parents. What are some of the most challenging discipline issues you face?

Attendance and Classroom Disruptions (excessive talking, disrespecting peers and staff members, etc.) are two of the most challenging discipline issues I face as a teacher. If children aren´t at school, they´re not going to learn, and if they´re off task, they´re not learning either.

When you bring these issues to the attention of parents what happens?

It depends on the parents. On any given day, some parents are supportive, some are unsupportive, and the worse are always in denial. The good parents, in my opinion, are on their kids in a flash, reminding their kids why they come to school in the first place. The adults who lack parenting skills are either in denial about their children or to put it bluntly, just don´t give a crap. A couple of weeks ago, I called a parent (I had been calling this one regularly for several months now) and told her that her son would still not stop talking in my class. Her response was that she didn´t appreciate me calling her at work and that from 8:30 to 4:30 her son was my problem and to deal with it. That is an example of one of the teacher/parent relationships that inspired me to write No Teachers Left Behind.

Do you think that there are other areas of the country where the parents are more supportive of their children´s teachers or is this a nationwide problem?

I believe that for the most part, teachers go unappreciated and under supported by parents all over the United States. I have heard that teachers are more appreciated at private schools, but I´m not sure of this either. I´m not one to advocate a mass strike of any kind, but the country would be crazy if all the teachers in America just decided to sleep in one day.

One group that seems to have escaped being portrayed in No Teachers Left Behind is teachers unions. Are they helpful or are they part of the problem?

Since I´m not a part of a teacher´s union, I really can´t speak for or against a union. I have heard that they have a great deal of power though. If they are making the work day better for their members, then in my opinion, unions are helpful.

Can´t it be said that they encourage promoting the administrators who end up giving grief to dedicated teachers like you?

Based on my limited knowledge of unions, I would hope that the union would work for the good of the teachers and not against them. If that is the case, then they would not work to promote ineffective administrators.

And don´t they also keep bad teachers employed right along with the good ones? Or don´t you believe there are any bad teachers?

Yes, a union should work for its members, but as a group representing teachers (a body whose sole purpose is to help young people), it would be counterproductive for it to assist bad teachers in maintaining employment. I sincerely hope that the unions out there always keep that in mind.

Do I believe there are bad teachers out there? Unfortunately there are some bad teachers who pretend to teach each day. I work with some, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Not everyone should teach. It is an honor to be able to be a part of a child´s life, and some people are so unworthy. These are the ones who teach for all the wrong reasons and the ones who don´t believe that every child can learn.

What the main message you want to communicate with No Teachers Left Behind?

Teachers don´t receive enough support nor are they appreciated like they should be. America should stop leaving its teachers behind.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Readers can purchase a copy of my book at Amazon.com.

Do you have a website or blog?

Readers can visit me 24/7 at www.noteachersleftbehind.info.

What is up next for you?

Every good book has a sequel so I´ll be writing the sequel to No Teachers Left Behind.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thanks for having me here today. It´s been a pleasure.

Thank you for joining us today, HBF Teacher. We appreciate your insights into America´s system of education.