This may be a reach–but so be it. It’s no secret that a key issue among teachers continues to be respect. As in, do they get enough for what they’re increasingly challenged by–as society’s issues accompany students through the classroom portals each day? The pay, arguably, is insufficient, the hours long, standardized tests overemphasized, autonomy lacking and professionalism unacknowledged.
Then I see a TV kicker or a newspaper photo of an educator kissing a pig or being “slimed” with green goo as some sort of motivational payoff for student accomplishment. And I think: This can’t help. Surely there’s a more appropriate–and certainly less undignified–way of motivating students to read more books or achieve better attendance than this. Surely.