The Denebola, one of Newton South student papers, talks to students and parents about the teacher’s contract and the teacher’s decision to wear these bright yellow shirts to school.
Photo from the NTA Facebook page.
by Greg Reibman | Nov 3, 2014 | Newton | 7 comments
The Denebola, one of Newton South student papers, talks to students and parents about the teacher’s contract and the teacher’s decision to wear these bright yellow shirts to school.
Photo from the NTA Facebook page.
September 13, 2023
Men's Crib September 13, 2023 5:20 am
I don’t like it nor would I like it if the school department hung posters in the classrooms advocating whatever their position in the contract negotiations is.
I don’t think the union’s contract negotiations belong in the classroom.
If I were King of the World, our [Newton’s] public school system would look very different than it does today. Because I am of the strong opinion that we are shortchanging our kids with a system that is much more stressful and far less enriching than it should be. I blame many successive school committees for that. But the cornerstone of our educational offering has always been and will always be our teachers.
Salary is generally commensurate with job performance in any professional environment. I believe the pay we offer teachers should be the highest, because our demands of them should be the highest. Creativity should be prized over conformity, and teachers should earn bonuses for excellence and classroom innovation. Conversely, teachers should be rated by peers and graded by students. Those who rank poorly should find other employment in a school system that accepts mediocrity.
Bottom Line: Pay the teachers! Change the system!!
From what I understand, the pay comparison is tricky because Newton pays very competitively at the lower and upper ends of the salary structure. It’s in the middle years that Newton salaries are a bit lower in comparison. Also, it’s not fair to consider only the salary – the comparison should be based on the total compensation package including, e.g. health insurance.
As far as the t-shirts themselves, I believe it was inappropriate for the teachers to wear them. It’s bordering on a conflict of interest to be engaging in political activity during work hours.
Perhaps someone from the School Committee can explain more about Newton’s compensation structure and the history behind it.
The few parents and students who commented for the article have no problem with the shirts (in fact, were glad to learn of the situation) and want the teachers paid well BECAUSE of the teachers’ performance and the education they provide the students. One parent talked about the kids being taught to have a social conscience and being willing to stand up for what they believe. Also one pointed out what is already happening to some degree, under paid, excellent employees will eventually go where they are treated well and Newton’s teachers will be replaced with the mediocre ones.
No one is considering only the salary.
An interesting practice in Newton schools is the use of 2 full time subs in the building, who do office and gofer work when no teachers/aides are out, instead of on an as needed basis. Being a substitute teacher requires teacher certification, but subconsciously the students see the full time subs every day doing odd jobs and don’t show them the respect they give substitute teachers who are there to teach.
Marti – full time substitutes offer a great advantage over part-time as needed subs. Full-time subs get to know the students, staff and building procedures, which helps them be better subs. What you described is class snobbery, hopefully our students do not look down on manual or office workers. To quote Ben Franklin, better a plowman in the fields than a nobleman on his knees.
Lucia, I am sorry my comment was unclear. I was definitely not saying that students don’t respect anyone personally or because of their job. I am talking about a student ‘s subconscious confusion of roles, not whether one role is better than another role. I’ve lived this scenerio in every perspective. Students in our communities are very lucky to be taught by subs who are teachers certified to teach the classes they sub in. These subs actually teach from lesson plans; they don’t babysit.
As to getting to know the school and the students, some of these districts only use a list of a few qualified teachers selected by the principals and teachers (a lot of them retired teachers from these schools) who know the school, the rules and the students.
I’m sure there are valid reasons for both ways.
Newton spends 45% more than Hingham yet Hingham gets better test scores.
Then again, Hingham doesn’t give away the store to its unions.
Compared to Hingham, Newton pays more but gets less when it comes to public schools.