And Then Bashing Teachers

George Will's article today, giving thanks by cynically bashing dozens of progressive ideas and movements, stooped to another low.  This, and other "lows" is the reason the Republican Party is destined to be an afterthought in American political life.

He smashed into the teachers of Illinois.  First he snidely commented that teachers in Illinois should give thanks that the "Bill to move retirement up from 47 did not pass", then a comment about how teachers at a low performing school all got good evaluations, while the school itself was failing.

Matt Damon's mother is a teacher.  Recently a conservative blogger tried to interview him at an event  praising teachers.  The conservative bigot asked aggressive questions about teacher's huge pensions and lack of accountability.

Matt took his head off.

These were some of his comments:

1.  If teachers are so greedy then why work in a profession that minimally at best rewards their training and experience?  Most teachers in the United States top out at about $60,000 to $70,000 income before retirements, that deliver about 60% of that income after 35 years of service.  That works out to about $40,000 retirement.

2.  Find me other professionals in our work force with a bachelors degree plus year of professional credentialing of education and 35 years experience.  The closest are engineers, who make over twice as much comparably.

3.  The retirement is modest to say the least.  There is no profit sharing plan for teachers.  In fact, until only recently, most retired teachers had to substitute in California because their retirements had no inflation factor figured in.  So, 70 plus year olds hobbled into classrooms filled with hyperactive children, and tried to hold it together for seven hours, because they had retired when $12,000 year salaries yielded a $3000 per year pension, with NO Social Security or Medicare.

4.  Most bigots like Will don't realize that it was not until the mid-eighties that teachers were allowed to buy into Medicare.  Many of those teachers are now retiring and at least have Medicare.  Older teachers still don't have Medicare.

5.  Why you might ask?  Well, the same hide-bound conservative people,  like Will, legislated a block to Medicare for teachers since their "salaries were sufficient to yield a pension that could buy health insurance in their retirement".

6.  Ok, you do the math.  A teacher retires in San Jose in 1995 after forty years of helping, teaching, counseling, saving young people.  She retires with a salary of $40,000 (the average at that time).  She gets a State Teachers Retirement of lets say 70% (forty years of service).  This yields a retirement of $28,000 per year.  She does not get Social Security or Medicare since in the mid-eighties it was too late to enter the Medicare system.  So, on $28,000 she has to try to buy health insurance at 65.  She has a pre-existing condition and cannot even qualify.  So, she substitutes to pay most of her doctor's bills and prescriptions.   The medical bills take half of her salary in the early 2000s.  She dies in 2012, broke having worked until the last year substitute teacher (one of the hardest jobs on earth).


7.  And the satisfactory evaluations at the at risk school comment:  Mr. Will, you go into   a truly "at risk" school and teach for a month.  Then look me in the eye, and tell me that failing teachers make for a failing school.  The best, and I mean the best teacher alive, fails at a school that has 90% abused children.  The schools in America need to have the tools to treat deep socio-economic damage done to children, and have nothing, save that teacher who stands in front of 35 screaming, hurt, scared and sometimes hateful children every day.  Try teaching an abused youngster someday, Mr. Will, and tell me the child does not achieve because of poor teaching techniques.  Nonsense.

That, Mr. Will is the reality for most senior retired teachers.  Only the 65 and younger retirees have Medicare (I am one of the first) and have benefited from more generous pensions.

And generous by what standard?  As an example, I am a Stanford graduate with a Masters Degree.  I have three credentials, one of which is an Administration Credential.   Each of these required a year of post graduate study.  So, basically I have a Masters plus three more.  In the business world, that would mean a six figure salary.  I put in 35 years of service.  My retirement, far short of six figures, is about 70% of my best year's salary.  I do qualify for Medicare and get an "offset" Social Security monthly stipend that is so small it is insignificant.  The Social Security is for 16 years of coaching and 'extra-duty' assignments that my district decided to make subject to Social Security for which I qualified with 40 quarters (just like everyone else).  But, the offset, because of my "generous pension" cuts the paltry social security by 50%, resulting in just enough to make my Medicare Plan B payment each month.

So I am a moocher by Will's standards I guess.

America has always not respected its teachers.  The result is an educational system in constant crisis, math and science scores the lowest in the "developed world", and a constant cry to "privatize", "charter school", cut pensions; etc.

That Mr. Will is your problem.  First, you don't know what you are talking about....see 2012 election results.  And second, your bigotry toward teachers is why people now hate the Republican "brand".