Today we’re joined by our very first interview guest and the only one to be interviewed twice (so far). He’s here to talk about all the new laws targeting teachers and what that does for someone like him going to school to become a teacher. It completes the unofficial “Teacher trilogy” of interviews that started with my mom (“The Veteran Teacher”), went on to “The Laid Off Teacher,” and is now ending with Michael Baranick “The Future Teacher.”
1. Hi Michael, thanks for coming. You’re the first person to be interviewed twice, but try not to let the fame go to your head. Next thing I know you’ll be starting a rival site called Alabama Progressive
Michael: Dang you know me too well! I guess I’ll have to come up with a more clever title…something like LiberalAlabama.com.
2. You’re in school right now to become a teacher. Do all of the radical changes taking place across the country for teachers worry you?
Michael: It does a lot. Our education system across the board is horrible and it’s only getting worse. They’re placing more and more of a burden on arguably the people with the most important jobs in the country and wanting to reduce their pay, benefits, etc. while doing so.
3. A false complaint we’ve heard over and over about “Obamacare” is that it discourages smart young people from wanting to become doctors. BUT won’t these changes to education discourage motivated young people from becoming teachers?
Michael: I think so. I still don’t fully understand the whole argument on how Obamacare discourages people to be doctors but that’s a different story. When you take a young 17 or 18 year old senior in high school that’s getting ready to go to college and decide what to do for the rest of their lives, how are you going to sell them on a job that is low paying, requires countless hours of preparation and work not just in school but grading papers at night, lesson planning, etc., have no job security, no control over retirement, and now if you’re going to teach in Alabama, having to keep track of the illegal students in your classroom.
4. “Obamacare” has no salary cap for doctors or cut their pay in any way but these changes to education DO directly affect teacher pay, teacher healthcare, teacher pensions, and their collective bargaining rights to get a better deal.
Michael: Exactly, and this is what I meant but I don’t understand how the health care bill discourages people from becoming doctors. If anything, it should make it even more attractive because with more people covered by insurance then that means in increase in patients that they’ll see…actually I get it now. They’ll have more people and might actually have to work more.
5. I hate to keep trying to connect the healthcare law with teacher attacks as they’re really the polar opposite of each other, but I see the reaction as much the same in certain circles. A minority of Republicans really protested the healthcare law and Republicans said it showed Obama shouldn’t do it. Well we are seeing a MAJORITY of everyone hate these attacks on teachers, and they’re full steam ahead on them. Isn’t that hypocritical? It seems like it’s okay to go against voters as long as they’re getting their way.
Michael: We’re talking about the party of hypocrisy here so why should we expect any less? I mean they’ve proved that time and time again throughout history. What I think is scary is when I hear some of the people in my classes talking about how they’re such big Republicans and believe what they’re doing is “for our own good” and come up with ridiculous reasoning to take up for a party that directly HURTING them. It blows my mind. I think it’s just proof of the excellent job Republicans do at almost brainwashing their base by telling them a couple of things they want to hear and then secretly doing things directly opposed to their base when they come to power. For example in 2010, “vote us in and we’ll create jobs.” What do they do? Come in and try to eliminate Medicare, Medicaid, social security, etc.
6. Is there a strain of Republicanism that just doesn’t give two shits about what the people they’ve been elected to represent want?
Michael: Absolutely. They worry about the billionaires, CEOs, and all those guys and what they want. They want power and need this group and their money to gain that power. Then when they get to power they have to pay these people back for their support and say screw the little guys. However, don’t forget that they don’t believe in abortion so they’re going to have a loyal base that’ll support them.
7. Some high profile Republicans like Rick Perry have said people shouldn’t even be allowed to elect their senators, and want to repeal the amendment that allows direct elections for senators. I know Republicans go crazy when you call them fascists, but…I mean we’re not calling them that out of the blue.
Michael: Hitler would be proud of Rick Perry and some Republican candidates. It’s hard to say that you believe in Democracy but don’t want people electing the people that will represent them. What would keep force them to be accountable for their actions then?
8. Another recent issue in Alabama has been the nasty immigration bill making it illegal to rent a house to an illegal immigrant, allow one on a church trip, and all other kinds of ridiculous measures. It also basically asks teachers to do the job of ICE [Immigration Customs Enforcement], how crazy is it to ask teachers to determine if their students are illegal or not? As if they don’t have enough on their plate defending their livelihood
Michael: Yeah this is what I touched on earlier. It’s crazy to think that teachers today don’t have enough to worry about already and now this. The job of a teacher is to educate each and every student in their classroom to the absolute best of their ability, no matter of race, sex, or legality. Asking them to do any more or any less is almost a slap in the face. I’m waiting to see what happens when there’s a car wreck and an illegal immigrant is injured badly and the ambulance shows up. Do they take him to the hospital on the ambulance? It’d be against the law with the new immigration bill.
9. Are you looking forward to becoming a teacher and having to ask your students to provide citizenship papers when you take them on a field trip?
Michael: I’ve always planned to teach in Georgia after graduating so I’m hoping I won’t have to deal with this. However, if I do end up teaching in Alabama, I probably won’t do it. If I’m going to be arrested, then so be it. In all honesty, I believe that the bill will end up getting challenged and ruled unconstitutional anyways. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
10. Of course we both know that the immigration bill is just a smokescreen issue to take attention away from all the unpopular anti-teacher legislation Alabama Republicans have passed. They know the federal courts will throw some of this legislation out, but they can look like they’re “tough on Mexicans” and win points instead of people remembering they cut teacher benefits.
Michael: Yeah there’s no denying that. I was reading a book the other day about the Civil Rights Movement and many powerful whites in Alabama knew that they were going to lose the battle but still had to fight so they could make the argument that they “fought for the cause.” Republicans are doing the same thing here. They’re cracking down on Mexicans, which is a scapegoat without a voice or representation to fight back, in an attempt to win over voters that will keep them in power. Hopefully people can see through the smokescreen and see what’s really going on before it’s really too late.
11. With the immigration legislation I’m sure some Latinos will move, thus robbing the state of some much needed Democrat voters. If they leave and the teacher’s union continues suffering attacks, what’s Alabama Democrat’s strategy going forward?
Michael: I’m not sure Alabama’s Democrats have a strategy right now. It’s almost like being a German during the 30’s and the Nazi’s rising to power. Sure you might have good ideas or whatever but if you’re not a Nazi you don’t have a prayer of getting heard or gaining power. Alabama is so predominately Republican, that it’s almost as if it’s going to take the Republican Party imploding itself before the Democratic Party has a shot. I believe we’re starting to see the Republicans do just that too by targeting their base of support. They want to eliminate programs like Medicare which helps seniors (a large Republican block of voters) and now immigrants which could cause several churches to face felonies if they take them on a church trip or Christmas caroling.
12. The Alabama Education Association [Alabama’s teacher union] has almost 100,000 members, but many of them don’t vote for the people the union backs.. Are these last elections (where almost none of the AEA’s candidates won and now teachers are being hammered) a–forgive the pun–teachable moment to teachers on why they should support their union?
Michael: I think it is and it’s what needed to happen to maybe make them wake up. I mean obviously a union which supports your interests isn’t going to back a candidate that is going to hurt you.
13. Another blow for Alabama public education is Republicans continuing to push charter schools and private school vouchers. What is it about them that makes everything “privatized” sound better even if education can’t function as a business?
Michael: I wish I could answer this but I can’t. I mean their logic is that public schools are full of incompetent teachers that protected by unions and don’t do a good job at educating our youth and that’s why test scores are so low. Public schools cost too much. And of course, private schools and charter schools are the magic answer that’s going to make American kids so much smarter. The truth is, public schools may spend a lot of money but that money isn’t going on the students. Instead, it’s going on useless administrative positions with six figure salaries. Unions aren’t protecting bad teachers, they’re helping save the good ones. If a school system truly had a bad teacher that wasn’t doing his job, whether he has tenure or is a union member, they can get rid of him. Also, if you steadily increase private schools, and eliminate public schools, you’re going to run into a lot of the same problems.
14. Do you think the whole plan is to discourage sharp young people from becoming teachers so the system will become worse, thus propping up their logic that “public schools are so bad, we need more charter and private schools”?
Michael: It’s a possibility. I mean what better way to “prove” something then by altering the playing field and trying to set up a system that’s going to fail. An example could be coaching football. If I say that Alabama has a better football team than Auburn, I better be able to prove it. So why don’t I go around starting rumors about how terrible a college it is, try and get Auburn penalized for violations, reduce their scholarships, etc. to try and get the good recruits not to go there.. Republicans are consistently placing heavy burdens on public schools, then blaming the schools for not meeting the standards, thus making it less attractive to the new “recruits” of future educators.
15. Also we’re seeing a lot of cuts to Pell Grants which I know you and several other friends going into education have used before. A common excuse I hear for outsourcing is that people overseas are smarter than Americans (which has nothing to do with it so much as they’re cheaper) but if that’s true, why are Republicans cutting funds to public schools and now Pell grants that would let more people get a college education? It seems like it would only make a perceived problem worse.
Michael: I would break this down in a few different parts. First, the idea that people overseas are smarter than people in the US. I would say that it might possibly be true, but I think it’s because of the poor standards they’ve set for our education system in America. I mean, just look at how many graduates you see from places like Harvard and Yale, or even places like Alabama and Auburn or JSU that are graduating “with honors,” yet Americans still are behind a lot of these countries when you look at test scores. It’s proof that American schools and universities have dropped their standards, to get more students in, and make more money. Secondly, I would say that the Pell Grant program is an absolutely vital part of education in this country and without it, several people, myself included, wouldn’t be able to go to college at all. I think there should be limitations put on grant recipients to make sure that the people receiving them are doing something crazy like actually going to class. If not, they need to lose them and pay them back so people who could benefit can have them. Lastly, looking at funding for public schools, I think it’s just another way for Republicans to go back to the idea that private and charter schools are the answer. I think what you get from all of this is the combined idea that Republicans, like they’ve always wanted, is having an elite educated minority in power, and uneducated minions following them blindly and voting them into power.
16. And finally…is any of this making you think twice about a business degree? With Alabama basically being in proration forever and hiring fewer and fewer teachers, what’s the fallback plan if they’re not hiring when you graduate?
Michael: Again like I’ve said, I plan on teaching in Georgia so I can hopefully avoid SOME of this. However, of course as you know, it doesn’t get much better no matter what state you go to. But I have considered, and am actually currently considering changing my degree and double majoring in history and another subject, then getting my Master’s Degree in education through the 5th year alternative program here at JSU. That way I will have a Masters, making me stand just a hair above some other candidates (not sure if that’s a good thing since I’d also probably make more money) but also have a secondary degree in case I can’t find a job.
Alabama Liberal: I think we can all relate to that fear my friend.
Well said, keep your head up because the children deserve an education.
Wow, this article is REALLY something to think about and especially if you are thinking of becoming a teacher.
Teachers use to be respected and now they are just some ole mean person to kids. Or that is what parents have done to this profession.
If parents would be parents to their kids and not make schools raise kids most of this wouldn’t be happening.