Using humor to explore serious challenges can be effective, and it has made many a great late-night host. The comedians Key and Peele recently ran a sketch about a "TeachingCenter" TV show, a play on SportsCenter that swaps pro athletes with teachers.
In the segment, one teacher announces at a news conference that she's leaving Ohio to take her talents back to New York City -- a deal that guarantees $80 million over six years. A teacher draft is held at Radio City Music Hall.
In the Highlight of the Day, announcers give a play-by-play of a history teacher who looks past eager students to spot one kid whose hand's not raised, but seems engaged. "She's bringing the introvert in the discussion y'all," an announcer says. "That's a teacher of the year play right there."
The segment is well done, and it's hard to not laugh at its clever juxtaposition.
What's not funny is the reality for most teachers. Teachers don't get the kind of widespread adoration of pro athletes, despite the fact that a teacher's goal is getting your kid over the finish line.
Watching that clip reminded me of our dedication to work with our states to give excellent educators the credit they deserve.
In my experience, teachers don't go into the field for the pay. However, we must pay our teachers a salary that is competitive with other professional fields. For now, let's set aside the fact that they don't make millions of dollars a year under competitive contracts.
Teachers enter the field because they are dedicated to the success of our children. Depending on the day, or even the hour, they are not only the head coach, but also the quarterback, the cheerleader and a fan in the stands.
As the executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, my team and I are increasingly looking for ways to support states in recognizing and supporting great teachers. Perhaps most visibly, we run the National Teacher of the Year program. Since 1952, the program has sought to identify some of the best teachers in the country, recognize their effective work in the classroom, amplify their voices and empower them to participate in policy discussions at the state and national levels.
If you're not familiar with the teachers of the year, check out this all-star roster.
You should hear Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, talk about using a Karaoke machine and pop music to build a bridge with her refugee students. Sean McComb, the 2014 National Teacher of the Year, makes an impassioned case for why now is the time to enter the teaching profession, and he's got smart ideas on how to improve it.
Kathy Nimmer, the 2015 Indiana Teacher of the Year, doesn't let blindness impede her work helping students overcome their own challenges.
Beyond the Teacher of the Year program, CCSSO and our states are looking at ways to create more opportunities for educators to lend their voice to the national conversation on how to improve public education for all kids. We need to recognize and honor teaching, and give it the credit it deserves as a profession at the national, state and local levels.
For us, supporting teachers starts from the time teachers are themselves the pupils. CCSSO works closely with a group of states committed to making sure that teachers coming out of their preparation programs are ready to teach on Day One.
Teachers who are ready for the classroom on their first day will have the skills to teach students to think creatively and critically and to collaborate. These teachers are engaging their students in new ways to dive more deeply into content.
But it doesn't stop there. States are exploring better ways to support teachers throughout their profession, whether it is reinventing what a school schedule looks like, improving professional development opportunities, or creating an evaluation framework aimed to support the classroom teacher.
We entrust teachers with our most precious asset, and the challenges they face daily would stretch anyone's emotional and physical capacity.
So, if you haven't watched the Key and Peele sketch, I suggest it. It's good for a laugh, and perhaps, as we are all sending our kids back to school, it will remind people of the real team at work for your child.