No
Being creative and doing extra work isn't mandated.
You can get by handing out scantrons and making the kids do worksheets the whole hour, and you can get by pissing off parents, but that's not why I teach.
There are plenty of teachers with many parental complaints. They don't return phone calls. They don't work with parents. It takes extra time to do that, and the district doesn't give much. That's the way it is. It is regrettable that teachers can get away with that. I'm not all that in favor of tenure because of that. I walked away from tenure myself, because we got a horrible principal, and I didn't want to work with him- so for me, a teacher with zero complaints and a large happy student population, tenure is meaningless.
I love what I do, so I give out my home number, tell parents and students to call any time (before 9pm)- and I offer help with anything. I donate one night a week working at the tutoring center, and I give my lunch 30 minutes (yes, 30 minutes for lunch at our school) to my students if they need help. My offers have never been abused, and I can honestly say I think I've really helped a lot of students. I've also worked about 25% more than I'm paid to work (maybe more) and spent a ton of my own money on my students- but for me teaching isn't just a job, it's a calling, and I get rewards that are not monetary. I understand not everyone gets those rewards, but I do, and for me they are better than money. |
