Danny Glidewell
Beach Fanatic
Growing up there were two jobs I wanted to do: law enforcement officer and teacher/coach. I had the privilege of serving almost 26 years in the criminal justice profession before I retired last June. Because I am still fairly young I decided to substitute teach for something to do. I have to say I really enjoy the experience for the most part and would love to teach full time.
That said, I have to say that teachers NEED at least thirty minutes a day to eat and clear their mind. A teacher's day is highly structured, which is far different from my experience as a deputy where every day was vastly different. Being responsible for 18-25 young people with vastly different life experiences and attitudes, not to mention educational potential is a daunting task. Most regular teachers have piles of paperwork to occupy their planning period so the lunch period is the one true break they get. And most teachers I have been exposed to in my limited experience eat together and use the opportunity to compare notes about children and pass on information, so in essence the lunch is a working one. This interaction would not be possible if students were present.
I consider myself a conservative and most people I worked with in my career would say I have a great aversion to wasting taxpayer dollars. I always considered the budget I was responsible for to be a sacred trust and took saving money seriously. In fact I was criticized for taking saving tax dollars too seriously.
But IMHO providing teachers a lunch free of students just makes good business sense. I also believe the #1 asset of any organization is the people who make it up and taking care of those people, including good pay and working conditions, pays off in the long run.
That said, I have to say that teachers NEED at least thirty minutes a day to eat and clear their mind. A teacher's day is highly structured, which is far different from my experience as a deputy where every day was vastly different. Being responsible for 18-25 young people with vastly different life experiences and attitudes, not to mention educational potential is a daunting task. Most regular teachers have piles of paperwork to occupy their planning period so the lunch period is the one true break they get. And most teachers I have been exposed to in my limited experience eat together and use the opportunity to compare notes about children and pass on information, so in essence the lunch is a working one. This interaction would not be possible if students were present.
I consider myself a conservative and most people I worked with in my career would say I have a great aversion to wasting taxpayer dollars. I always considered the budget I was responsible for to be a sacred trust and took saving money seriously. In fact I was criticized for taking saving tax dollars too seriously.
But IMHO providing teachers a lunch free of students just makes good business sense. I also believe the #1 asset of any organization is the people who make it up and taking care of those people, including good pay and working conditions, pays off in the long run.