Elsewhere on this forum, a certain troll has started a misleading (read: lie) thread about the correlation between student enrollment at public schools vs. "teacher staffing".
Aside from the fact that the entire premise of the thread is a lie, note the disclaimer at the top of the chart: "...total education staffing rose by 2.8 million, or 84 percent. Most notable was the growth in non-teaching staff which increased by 138 percent."
Coming from the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation, the report obviously is skewed. They even admit the numbers are fudged below the chart:
"Some figures have been interpolated."
What does that mean? This:
The truth behind these numbers requires a little work, something the Heritage Foundation and it's right wing supporters are incapable of.
Here's a fact:
The increase in number of teachers since 1970 is based on two facts: One, an increase in actual students, and two, smaller class sizes, thanks to reduced teacher/student ratios.
Now, let's discuss the non-teaching staff.
Staffs have, quite honestly, increased dramatically. Why is this?
There's several reasons:
1. Bureaucracy. Not at the school level, at the State level. Governors repaying favors hire more education staff at the state level, who in turn, hire more education staff at the local level. Rarely does this filter all the way down to the school level, the first tier of budget cuts.
2. Increased responsibilities. Along with increased class sizes comes increased responsibility. It takes people to administer competency tests for teachers and students and ensure governmental regulations (such as NCLB and FCAT) are administered.
3. More increased responsibilities. Over the years, school administrators create more work. Although the following pertains to colleges, it also applies on a smaller scale to public education:
It's about time we quit blaming teachers for the problems in our schools. Instead, let teachers be the answers.
Make educators the administrators, not bureaucrats and politicians. Cut staff from the top down, not the bottom up. Pay teachers a living wage. Modernize and build new, technologically superior schools. Keep teacher/student levels as low as possible. Require continuing education for teachers. Quit testing teachers and let them educate. Concentrate on educating the children, and not the bottom line.
And quit believing sound bites and manufactured data from right wing shills who see a business opportunity in our schools and a means to make a profit off education at the expense of the students and teachers.
Aside from the fact that the entire premise of the thread is a lie, note the disclaimer at the top of the chart: "...total education staffing rose by 2.8 million, or 84 percent. Most notable was the growth in non-teaching staff which increased by 138 percent."
Coming from the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation, the report obviously is skewed. They even admit the numbers are fudged below the chart:
"Some figures have been interpolated."
What does that mean? This:
The truth behind these numbers requires a little work, something the Heritage Foundation and it's right wing supporters are incapable of.
Here's a fact:
The increase in number of teachers since 1970 is based on two facts: One, an increase in actual students, and two, smaller class sizes, thanks to reduced teacher/student ratios.
Now, let's discuss the non-teaching staff.
Staffs have, quite honestly, increased dramatically. Why is this?
There's several reasons:
1. Bureaucracy. Not at the school level, at the State level. Governors repaying favors hire more education staff at the state level, who in turn, hire more education staff at the local level. Rarely does this filter all the way down to the school level, the first tier of budget cuts.
2. Increased responsibilities. Along with increased class sizes comes increased responsibility. It takes people to administer competency tests for teachers and students and ensure governmental regulations (such as NCLB and FCAT) are administered.
3. More increased responsibilities. Over the years, school administrators create more work. Although the following pertains to colleges, it also applies on a smaller scale to public education:
It's about time we quit blaming teachers for the problems in our schools. Instead, let teachers be the answers.
Make educators the administrators, not bureaucrats and politicians. Cut staff from the top down, not the bottom up. Pay teachers a living wage. Modernize and build new, technologically superior schools. Keep teacher/student levels as low as possible. Require continuing education for teachers. Quit testing teachers and let them educate. Concentrate on educating the children, and not the bottom line.
And quit believing sound bites and manufactured data from right wing shills who see a business opportunity in our schools and a means to make a profit off education at the expense of the students and teachers.