In recent years, there have been drastic cuts, underfunding for education both nationally and locally, rising expectations for teachers, and test-based accountability systems. In Texas specifically, there’s a student population with increasing needs – like low-income and ESL students – and a “teacher-bashing” narrative coming from many policymakers, Eaton says.
“[They] seem to want to pinpoint the issues with education squarely on the teachers,” she says. “In order to really make the profession valued, you need to … include their voices in major decisions.”
Teachers are history's greatest monsters. Everybody knows that.