When the subject of Texas public school teachers getting a much needed pay raise comes up, I always recall the most difficult day of my professional career. It was the one day I traded jobs with a public school teacher.
The purpose of me handing over my newspaper column for a day to a first grade teacher in return for taking over her class was so I could understand better what it felt like to be a teacher.
What I remember most 24 years later from that experiment is those two dozen 6-year-olds had tremendous devotion to their teacher and were disturbed that I wasn’t her.
“Mr. Lieber, our teacher always lets us sharpen our pencil first.”
“Mr. Lieber, that’s not the way our teacher teaches us.”
“Mr. Lieber, when is our teacher coming back?”
From the Pledge of Allegiance to taking a lunch count, to reading and writing lessons, on through lunch then back to class again, we were never apart, never not working together. The one exception came when they left for afternoon music class, and I thought I heard Red, the class pet guinea pig, talking to me.
“Mr. Lieber, my food pellets are gone.”
“Mr. Lieber, my water bottle is empty.”
“Mr. Lieber, when is our teacher coming back?
Commitment to teachers
Who was your favorite teacher? How did they help you? Did you ever say thank you?
Now imagine that same favorite teacher working today, possibly even requiring a second job to make ends meet. Many of today’s teachers, especially in smaller school districts, do that.
This year, the state of Texas has the rare chance to say thank you to its public educators. With more than $33 billion in surplus money for the 2023 Texas Legislature to spend — and our teachers’ pay below the national average — property tax relief is not the only need.
Now is the time for what one state lawmaker calls “the biggest teacher pay increase in Texas history.”
In House Bill 1548, state Rep. James Talarico, an Austin Democrat and former teacher, opened the negotiations with big numbers. Teachers, along with other full-time staffers such as librarians, counselors and school nurses, would get a $15,000 across-the-board increase. Other school workers would see a 25% bump.
For new teachers, the state minimum would jump from $33,000 a year to $48,000. The pay package would cost billions, but it makes sense.
This week, Democrats refined the plan by announcing their intention to support pay raises of $7,000 this fall with an additional $3,000 raise given next year.
Teachers fleeing
It’s not only the money. Teachers also need to know that state leaders support them. They need to know it’s worth staying.
In the past year, enough teachers and school staff have resigned from state school systems to fill Globe Life Field, (40,000 capacity) and then some, according to Rena Honea, president of the Alliance chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.
Back when I traded jobs, the issues were simpler. Number one on the annoyance list was how much time teachers were required to spend prepping their students for standardized tests. There was no COVID-19, no mass shootings in school, no book bans, no limit on what could be taught about certain subjects, rare political partisanship on nonpartisan school boards and no constant demand for “parents rights.”
I subscribe to the view that if we want the so-called Texas economic miracle to continue, the success of our schools and our students is the main goal. For that to happen we need great teachers — and we need to keep them.
“Teachers are just frazzled,” says Cheri Sizemore, a semi-retired educator and author of To Love To Teach Again: 10 Secrets to Rekindling Passion to Keep You in the Classroom.
“They say, ‘You know, I love to teach. I love the kids. It’s not either of those. It’s a lot of the extra duties that we’re supposed to do. It’s all the administrative paperwork. They require so much of teachers even before they can start planning their classroom.’”
A task force created by Gov. Greg Abbott issued a report that teachers and support staff should get raises, better training and improved working conditions.
In her book, Sizemore explains that some teachers suffer from guilt, regret and hopelessness. That contributes to their desire to resign.
She focuses on how to maintain stability in such a fraught atmosphere.
“You may have several children in your class who are having serious problems in their lives,” the North Richland Hills resident writes. “If you have had or are currently facing your own trauma, your sufferings may be magnified.”
Texas educates about 10% of the nation’s students. Yet our teachers’ pay is below the national average.
In Sizemore’s book, she shares tips for teachers to cope, such as “Reactivate your reason for teaching” and “Believe that you can make a difference.”
If you have strong views on this issue, send an email or leave a phone message at your state representative and state senator’s offices.
That one day of teaching did not end at the closing school bell. I had to stay in school and help prepare for a nighttime event. My workday was 14 hours. Why so long? It was “Meet the Teachers Night,” and I was ordered to stick around to meet everybody.
The longest day. An exhausting job. Now’s the time. Give these people a raise.
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The Dallas Morning News Watchdog column is the 2019 winner of the top prize for column writing from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. The contest judge called his winning entries “models of suspenseful storytelling and public service.”
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* Helping a waitress who was harmed by an unscrupulous used car dealer
