Refreshing post from Franklin teacher

I saw this post on milforddailynews.com this morning and thought it was worth repeating here. It is said to be from a Franklin teacher. To me, it exemplifies the typical Franklin teacher: hard-working, dedicated, and caring. It also captures empathy for the residents in Franklin, other teachers, the School Committee, and administration. Of the over 400 teachers we have in the system, I believe this to be the prevailing view. I just wish more like this writer had shown up at the union meeting yesterday:

I too often work 10-12 hour days. My car is in the parking lot at the school I teach at often well into the evening. I then bring additional work home with me, that often has me working until close to midnight, not to mention the work that I take home on the weekends. I am in my 10th year of teaching, and it has been like this since day 1, because I am committed to do the best job I can each and every day and to continually evaluate my own teaching and search for ways to better do my job for the children of Franklin. Meanwhile, I am also a single parent to 2 young children that DESERVE and require my attention each morning and evening, and on the weekends. No one goes into teaching deceived into thinking they will have a 6 hour work day and all this vacation time to run off into the sunset!

In addition, I chaperone ski trips and other afterschool events, have given up my vacation to chaperone students on a trip to Washington DC, and make a point to attend events my students and former students are involved in, whether they be athletic, musical or theatric. I spend my summers taking courses in order to maintain my teaching license and better my teaching. I also spend many days in my classroom to be sure it is ready for students in the fall and to begin to implement new ideas.

My guess is that many of you who continually perpetuate and feed the enormous disrespect towards teachers that the community of Franklin has, have never stepped foot in a classroom beyond your own education and have not once bothered to have a real conversation with a teacher. And shame on all of you, because I am sure many of you can think back and remember a teacher that really made an impact on your life or was there for you during a difficult time in your life. I would also bet that those of you with such a dislike for teachers have children who are or were in the Franklin Public Schools and I find it hard to believe that each of those teachers was as you describe us.

I am certainly not trying to pit the private sector against the public sector. I am fully aware of how hard people in the private sector work and how big of a hit they have taken (lay offs and pension reductions to name a few). My own parents continue to work well past when they should have retired, because the economy does not enable them to do so. The work we do each and every day may be different, but one cannot be viewed as less important than the other.

In terms of the wage freeze and conditions, as a member of the FEA and a resident/parent in Franklin, I can tell you that there are 2 very different versions of the events that have transpired out there, and I doubt the truth will ever see the light of day. The other unions in town agreed to a wage freeze with no conditions in return. I (and many of my colleagues) feel that we should do the same. For many of us, of utmost importance is saving the jobs of our colleagues and therefore protecting the high level of education this community has come to expect. I do not believe conditions should be attached to a person’s career/livelihood. Our contract is up for renegotiation next year and now the school committee is aware of the things the union would like to see addressed. The time to address those issues is not now (and I may be shooting myself in the foot for saying these things publicly).

We should agree to the wage freeze so that the teachers can continue doing the excellent work that they do and the school committee and administration can move forward in planning for the 2009-2010 school year.

I continue to have the utmost respect for those who have answered the calling of the teaching profession. The School Committee will continue to strive to make certain that we maintain Franklin as a high performing district. To move student achievement, you need reasonable class sizes, professional development opportunities, and highly qualified staff. It is committed teachers like the poster above that make this possible in our community.