Stories like this bug me to no end.
Over a five-year period that included the near-elimination of collective bargaining in Wisconsin’s public schools, the teacher workforce in metro Milwaukee is smaller, less experienced and still largely white, according to a new report.
The metro region also lost 700 teachers during that time, but that trend was most pronounced in Milwaukee Public Schools, which lost a total of 730, the report said.
Honestly, who cares?
I care that the public school teachers working with my child are competent and compassionate. I don’t care what color they are, what nationality they are, what God they do or do not pray too. I want them to be attentive, understanding, challenging and motivational.
Experience helps but not every experienced teacher is a great teacher. We’ve all had several teachers who were relatively new and who were excellent. And we’ve all had several teachers who had been in the profession a long time but were not effective educators.
As for the shortage, has enrollment dropped? Has this led to an dramatic increase in the teacher:student ratio that has impacted learning?
These studies are just about inputs. Let’s look at outcomes. Has the new hiring flexibility helped individual schools get better teachers? Has student learning and achievement improved? Are parental concerns taken more seriously now by teachers and administrators who are not insulated/protected by union regulations? Has Act 10 had any perceptible impact on parental satisfaction?
These are among the questions that matter.
Parents get that.
I wish more editors and reporters would.
