Those Crazy Teachers in Wisconsin

Honestly, I cannot remember the last time that teachers themselves were at the center of such a significant political controversy as all the debate currently surrounding public employee unions and state government budget cuts. I always had the perception that teachers were one of the universally respected careers that no one ever said anything bad about, along with firefighters. The reason that no one ever wanted to say anything bad about teachers is that everyone acknowledged their significance to society, everyone felt indebted them because no one else can become successful in their careers without at some point having a good teacher, it was clear how much hard work the job took, and the general perception was that there was something altruistic about being a teacher, given the other often higher paying jobs that intelligent people with masters degrees could obtain. That was only until politics got involved. The basic fact of the matter is that political rhetoric on both sides of the aisle can completely tarnish the image of any individual or group (look at poor Sarah Palin) and that is what is currently happening to teachers. Suddenly the altruism and sacrifice people used to associate with teachers is being replaced with the idea that teachers quit trying once they get tenure, never have to do any work after 3:00, and are greedy, lazy public employees who hoard all the best benefits and selfishly refuse to give them up for the good of their entire state. Teachers have always lacked the monetary prestige of many other professional jobs, such as accountants, lawyers, and doctors, but out saving grace was that people appreciated teachers and thought they were unselfish, hardworking people who took on the challenging task of making their careers about the betterment of students. With that perception on the way out as teachers become more embattled in political warfare, I can only hope that future toddlers who tell their parents they want to be teachers will not be viewed as if they just said they wanted to collect people's trash for the rest of their lives.

Original Image: Seattle garbage truck
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenac/4347115256/sizes/s/in/photostream/
by: Zena C

Released under an Attribution License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en