Monday, February 18, 2008

Orthonomics post on day schools

Sephardilady posts an article about the conditions that teachers face teaching in Jewish day schools. Her main point is that the behavior of students in day schools is inferior to behavior of students in public schools, even in the tough neighborhoods. This is something to think about...

Also, read the comments, people speak from experience there.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I disagree.

I think the main point of her article was whether or not you like your job. She points out that there are many teachers that teach in day school that turn down opportunities to make more money in public schools because they are happy with teaching and making a difference in the day school. Her point is clearly that there is something to be said for job satisfaction and not all people only work in order to make more money.

Critically Observant Jew said...

I guess this is viewing the glass as half-full or half-empty. Sephardilady shows both sides of the coin by saying

"Over the years I have met both Jewish and non-Jewish teachers who have given teaching a try in Orthodox schools and who express misgivings based on student behavior and will not return. I know a handful of frum public school teachers that work in public schools in some of the roughest areas who have told me that their public school students show them far more respect."

as well as

"On the other hand, I know many talented teachers in Orthodox schools who most certainly could take higher paying jobs in public schools, yet they enjoy their jobs and are happy to pass on greater salary potential for the non-monetary benefits they receive."

Nonetheless, she concludes that "perhaps instead of looking at only the monetary issues, it is time to look at the bigger picture, of which monetary compensation is only one piece of the puzzle." One of the non-monetary pieces of that puzzle is the student behavior.