A recent letter compared teachers to business managers, with students being their employees in this analogy. It was very positive, but I would like to give what I think is a better comparison — teachers are like doctors, and students are like patients. In both occupations, the doctor/teacher wants to help people. They dedicate their lives to it, often with a good deal of sacrifice. They do not, however, have any control about how their patients/students come to them. A patient may be a pack-a-day smoker, 80 pounds overweight, and they may eat Velveeta cheese for breakfast, and that doctor still is required to do their best to help that person. Similarly, the students who come to us may or may not be able to read, write or even speak English, when they come into our class. They may not have homes, enough food, basic supplies or parents who can help them with homework or life skills. In these cases, there is less chance for a good “prognosis” (“No patient left behind,” anyone?)
Now, imagine an under-funded general practitioner’s office or hospital, in which our good doctor is required to help many more patients than what is considered a healthy amount; tie the doctor’s pay to whether or not all the patients get 100 percent better (in fact, on a fitness scale, they must meet BMI “standard” and improve year-to-year), regardless of the condition they were in when they came to the doctor’s office or the life-style choices they continue to make, and you’ll get an idea of what teachers are facing today.
Kathleen Reed
Edmonds
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