Your View: Why have teachers been made the enemy? By Paula Chretien

It seems that no matter where one looks, teacher-bashing has become a cultural norm. Everyone wants a piece of the action. Politicians, reporters, journalists, parents and those who think they know everything, have all unleashed a litany of falsehoods. Yes, I am a teacher, and I am proud to make this statement

Most agitators are all talk. They like to fire up the public by pointing a finger and encouraging a witch hunt to begin. If you ask these same folks to back up their accusations with factual evidence, they continue to promulgate their opinionated rhetoric while providing no proof to support their opinions.

I challenge those who believe that they know exactly what the problems are and who are certain that they have the answers to solve those problems. Quit your present occupation and become a teacher. If you have the intestinal fortitude to endure the occupation, then when you speak about the teaching profession you will do so with more accuracy and credibility.

I am not so naive as to be unaware that not all teachers are dedicated or qualified to merit the title of teacher. I again challenge those who bash all teachers to name one occupation in which there is no weak link. There are bad doctors, lawyers, politicians, administrators, mechanics, contractors, nurses, secretaries, parents and the list could go on and on. Why are you so willing to paint an entire profession with a broad brush and condemn every teacher?

Those who continuously trash public education should take a long look in the mirror. They should ask themselves, "What have we done to create this situation?" They probably have already distanced themselves from their actions, but let me refresh their memories.

They talk about the high school being unsafe, yet they all but ended the alternative high school and put those who cause the most trouble back in the high school. When fights and suspensions increase, they blame the faculty. They compare New Bedford High School to Brockton High School in reference to MCAS scores, but they fail to mention that Brockton has three alternative high schools and greater administrative support at the high school.

Courts order students to attend school; however, they never put a stipulation on their academic performance. Consequently, the student attends the minimum number of days that are needed and refuses to perform academically.

Charter schools hold on to their "problem" students until the Oct. 1 deadline. After that date, they drop the students, keep the funding for those students, and the New Bedford Public Schools take on the responsibility of educating those students without the necessary funding. Even though the charter schools have this flexibility, their scores aren't significantly different from those of the public schools. It seems that those members of the witch hunt forgot about the skeletons hiding in their own closets.

Tenure and seniority are needed so that people can freely express their professional opinions without fear of repercussions. Without this protection, teachers would be relegated to being puppets and pawns in the game of education. Those who are not tenured constantly express this fear.

One only needs to read between the lines of (UMass Dartmouth administrator) Paul Vigeant's quotation, "One of the central questions is 'How do you balance seniority rights with financial stresses?'" It is quite evident that this member and other members of the "Roundtable" have no problem with eliminating the positions of those who have dedicated their lives to the education of the children of New Bedford.

By doing away with seniority, the system would be able to eliminate those who have worked long and hard to get to the top of the pay scale. Is this what these members see as being just? They seem to have tainted King Arthur's vision of what the roundtable symbolized. The unions exist for these very reasons. They protect the contractual rights of all members and seek to maintain fair working conditions.

In closing, teachers are not underworked and overpaid. We are one of the only professions where the public expects us to buy the classroom supplies and put in overtime without getting paid. We log many unpaid hours with the work that we bring home each night, the time spent working with students after school and the time spent chaperoning the many events that could not take place without teachers volunteering.

You do not expect that your plumber or mechanic will supply you with free labor or that they will pay for the parts that are needed, or that they will do the job for you after hours, yet you expect all of that and more from teachers.

Remember, none of your professions would exist if it were not for educators. Education makes all other occupations possible. It is time for a little more respect and a lot less bashing.

Paula Chretien is a teacher at New Bedford High School.