Jon Stewart, certainly out of a love for his mother who is a teacher, takes on these pundits, and defends teachers against these charges. Anyone who is a teacher or who has a loved-one who is a teacher knows that teaching is anything but cushy (with the exception of the Fox News pundit in the first video below whose Mom is a teacher). There are many long hours outside of their work day where they are grading papers, planning lessons, or talking to parents. Chances are, if a teacher isn't spending time outside of their 8-hour contract period doing work, they aren't very good at their job. Yes, there are summer breaks, but many teachers teach summer school, tutor, take a second job to earn extra income, or spend time coming up with new lesson ideas and getting ready for the upcoming year. Often times, they are doing a combination of these.
Finally, there is the issue of teachers having a cushy pay in comparison to those in the private-sector workforce. I will admit that in today's economy, the pay of a teacher probably looks pretty good compared to the many jobs people are now forced to get because of hard times. But five years ago, when I decided to become a teacher, this was not the case. While teachers have always had their detractors, it was widely agreed that teachers were overworked and underpaid. One woman I knew growing up who is a now-retired professor of education joked that whenever I get married, I will know that girl is not marrying me because of the money I make (and I can honestly say that is true). But times have changed, and suddenly teachers have it easy, they are overpaid, and are living off the the hard-earned money of the taxpayer (how dare we do that). Fortunately, Jon Stewart challenges this thinking, and brings in some much-needed reality to this debate.
Here is Part 1:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
Crisis in Dairyland - Angry Curds | ||||
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Here is Part 2, a message to the teachers from Jon Stewart:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
Crisis in Dairyland - Message for Teachers | ||||
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