What Do Teachers Make?

I'll post about Book Expo soon, but wanted to share this cool video. The hubby brought it to my attention this morning.

Behold the work of teacher and slam poet Taylor Mali. If only all teachers were this passionate.

To find out more about Taylor Mali, click here.

Comments

[rob]

eh. Sounds to me as though he's passionate about showing that he shouldn't be judged by his wallet.

Which I agree with and everything, but I'm not sure I'd want to be his student. Why is it a good thing to not ask questions in study hall? Why absolute silence? Why is it so cool that you can make parents scared?

I'm cynical and should go to bed. Also, hi! I read your blog sometimes, but I don't think I've commented before.

[Patricia]

It's a shame you didn't get his humour. Obviously there's a certain amount of tongue in cheek with the 'scared' part when he talks about calling the parents – don't you recall the next line that comes right after it? The point he's trying to make in that part of the poem is that parents usually only get calls from the school when it's bad news, about their kid doing something wrong, hence, they are scared. But Taylor Mali cared enough to call the kid's parents because their kid had done some good. Something amazing, in fact. Isn't that great?

I'm sure that the 'absolute silence' and 'no questions' part is not something he would do ALL the time, but quite honestly, what's wrong with having kids sit in study hall in absolute silence? It is study hall, after all. That's the time to be quiet and to learn. And sometimes, a teacher has to teach, and he/she requires absolute attention, so maybe there are some times when NO, you can't ask a question. I certainly recall many occasions when I was a kid in grade school when the teacher bluntly stated NO, you can't ask a question – you should have listened the first time when I gave you the instructions. It certainly was a good way to teach kids to be quiet and LISTEN. There will be plenty of times in 'the real world' where we aren't going to have second chances to ask a question – sometimes you have to be in the moment and pay attention.

I guess I really connected with this video because I recall a lot of my teachers 'in my day' had this tough attitude, which is sadly lacking in teaching today. Teaching kids isn't all just about fun, freedom and creativity on the kid's side – it's also about discipline and respect, which doesn't seem to be too prevalent in our school systems. More kids should learn how to be silent and sit still and listen, and quite frankly, more kid these days should learn how to fail. I've read too many articles about how teachers are afraid to fail kids for fear of 'damaging them'. What a bunch of hooey.

A good teacher like Taylor Mali is preparing kids for the real world, where quite frankly, everything is not going to be handed to you on a silver platter. Better to learn that early in life, rather than later.

Obviously this video had a great effect on me. I LOVED it. I can watch it over and over again. That's the kind of teacher I would respect – one who cares enough about kids and their futures to make them really work hard. I'm so glad that I had the education I did when I was in grade school. Boy I sound like an old grump.

[rob]

I think I got where he was trying to be funny, and I understand that he was calling that time about something good. That time.

It's a shame that when someone disagrees, the first reaction is to say that he or she "didn't get" it.

You obviously give him the benefit of the doubt each place where there is doubt. You assume that he's a good teacher, and therefore whenever he says something that could be read either way, you read it that a good teacher does X, so he must mean X. I don't.

For example, when he says that they shouldn't ask questions, you say that it's because they should listen. I note that it's when he's talking about study hall and absolute silence. No listening. No teaching going on. No engaging.

And you assume that he'd fail the failures, though he says nothing one way or the other.

As far as the real world, I find that almost across the board, bosses and other coworkers are MORE (not less) likely to understand lapses of attention. You say, "sorry, I drifted off for a second." As long as you're honest, people are extremely forgiving.

Anyway, I'd think that he'd say that most of the stuff about making a difference is for all teachers, not just him because he's so devoted. I agree that teachers can make a difference and that they should be valued. I just don't see what this guy said that makes him so special. I accept that we disagree, of course, which is part of what makes life interesting.

[Patricia]

Rob,

Sorry if I sounded condescending and strident – I'm usually pretty cynical about a lot of stuff, but for whatever reason, I truly connected with this guy. I don't see his approach as negative at all, I see him as someone who cares enough to push kids to do their very best. I see nothing wrong with that. I've talked to some friends who are teachers, and my sister-in-law who is a vice principal, and they found the video very inspiring.

I wanted to be clear about my interpretation of the 'no questions' and the 'study hall' part though – I see those two sections of his poem as separate; they are just different aspects of his teaching life. I can certainly recall many times in class as a kid that some kids would ask questions just to slow things down, be annoying or disruptive, etc. Nothing wrong with asking questions, but like I said sometimes in school and in life, you gotta sit still and listen. That's why we have two ears and only one mouth. It makes me think a lot about what Ralph Nader said in his book talk I attended about a month ago, how important it is to listen before we actually speak. I recall he said something to the effect that if we are talking all the time, then when are we going to actually listen to what is going on.

The 'study hall' part is something totally different in the poem, has nothing to do with the 'no questons' part. Study hall was when you were supposed to be quiet and actually study. Read, write and think. I don't know if those parts of class even exist anymore. That's actually another subject that Nader discussed (getting back to Nader again, sorry – I just finished watching a video about his life story) – the Tradition of Silence. There's a lot to be said for reflective thinking and writing, rather than just reaction, reaction. Besides, there is a part in the poem when he discusses making kids question, read and write. As much as you may think it, it isn't about him. It's about all teachers, who care about what they do, rather than what they make. And if I were to take it a step further, I can think about my own job (freelance illustrator) and how I care about what I do and contribute to society and if I were judged soley on how much money I made, I suppose I wouldn't amount to a hill of beans for a certain segment of society. Ok, so I don't save lives, but I (hope) I make people laugh or at least smile, and sometimes I truly do hope I make them think. And I am truly honoured to create art for children, and if my pictures can in any way inspire kids to pick up a book, and look at the pictures and read the words, and then love reading, well – then I think I've done something pretty cool. Hell, I should make a slam poet video!

It's interesting how we viewed that video as something so totally different, like two people looking at an abstract painting and seeing two completely different images. I have to wonder if it is not just a 'viewpoint' thing, but also a generational thing (I suspect that I am older than you – I was born in 1963. Please correct me if I am wrong). Not only did I grow up in a school system that was more strict than our schools today, I was also raised in a somewhat strict manner by a mother who believed in discipline, and that children should speak when they are spoken to, and should not whine and whimper for attention and pleasure, as I see so many children do today. So it's in my blood, I'm afraid. And I'm actually quite grateful for those lessons.

Regardless of our differing point of view, it's been a very interesting conversation! Thanks for commenting.

[rob]

Well, I'm not sure I'm making myself clear, because I certainly don't think there's anything negative in what he's saying about the money, or about what teachers do, or their value. You're defending those points, but I agree with them wholeheartedly.

I didn't like some of the things he said about the actual methods. But really, I already said (twice?) that I completely agree with not judging teachers (or anyone) by the money they make.

[On the other hand I also think it's true that some people, who would be great, aren't teaching because the money's no good. The point is that we should pay them more, of course, but there's some validity in saying that if there was more money, there may be better teachers out there.]

And I'm surprised that you say that as much as I may think that he's only talkng about himself, he's really talking about all teachers. In fact, I said exactly that in the last paragraph of my last comment.

But we obviously do disagree about where in the poem the study hall ends and the questions begin. That's a small part of the whole, so I won't bother with it too much. Seemed as though it was the exact same part of the poem to me. Not so to you.

As to whether this is generational, I was born in '69. We're just two intelligent, informed, reasonable people who see things differently. It may be in part due to the way I remember some of my teachers, and the terrible, stifling, idiotic way that they handled creativity and independence. But of course, others were fantastic....