by Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader

I recently expressed my concerns about the harsh rhetoric being employed in condemning teachers in Wisconsin and other states.  Mel Riddile pointed to such comments as a negative factor in the recruitment of new teachers.  But to my surprise and dismay as the budget battles escalate, the condemnation of educators has become even more hostile.  

Not exactly an apple for the teacher

One of the most odious recent comments was uttered by Mary Matalin on national television.  In the course of a diatribe about public sector workers, Ms. Matalin proclaimed, “We have to push back, pull back on these greedy, parasitic and selfish unions…”  Because she is far too intelligent to actually believe such inflammatory language, the hope is that Ms. Matalin is simply angry about some poor grade she received on a high school essay a few decades ago.  But compared to the previous attacks on teachers these words represent a significant increase in rancor.  For context a parasite is defined as “a person who receives support, advantage, or the like, from another without giving any useful or proper return, as one who lives on the hospitality of others.”   While Ms. Matalin’s remarks stand alone for their level of contempt they are continually echoed in milder terms by many others.

Please stop the madness

These conversations have now lurched into the ridiculous and dangerous.  According to census data the median income for a person with a bachelor’s degree or more is $100,000.  But in Wisconsin a group of college-educated individuals earning an average of $51,000 annually have been cast as the primary cause of the collapse of the future hopes and dreams of an entire state.  And yet, during the recent arguments over tax cuts many of these same critics decreed that individuals making five times the average teacher salary did not deserve the label “rich” and were in need of fiscal relief.

In education the concept of equitable pay is almost laughable.  At a typical high school with a student body of 1,500, the principal is responsible for a staff of about 200 individuals.  Two-thirds of those employees have at least an undergraduate degree and many have masters and doctorates.  The question to be asked is how does the pay scale for that principal compare to someone in private industry with similar responsibilities and an equally well educated work force?

Note to Ms. Matalin—the children can hear you

When viewed from a distance its makes no sense to ridicule and demean the same individuals who are expected to be the role models and mentors for our youth.  When teenagers hear their teachers described as parasites and worse, it is hard to imagine that they will value the judgment of those same individuals on topics such as literature or evolution.  We continually preach to our children about the need for a college education in the 21^st century and then belittle the very people who can provide them a pathway to that goal.  And through the eyes of an adolescent what is the perceived value of that degree if a profession that requires that level of education is deemed greedy for requesting a living wage?  This is not a message that will inspire academic excellence.  This irresponsible behavior needs to stop.