<HTML>Lawrence Kobrin suggested that it is the students that are headed towards
law school that we need to steer into chinuch. I practiced law for three
years before deciding to switch to chinuch this year. (No, I wasn't
disbarred.) His point is close to the mark: many lawyers get paid bupkes
when you look at the hours they work. So maybe teachers working ten
months are not so underpaid (but it sure feels that way).
Two thoughts: First, its not just the pre-law crowd we want to attract. =20
I have found as a mechanech that in some ways it is harder for me to
motivate and relate to less academically oriented students. The real
challenge may be attracting the kid who cares deeply about education-but
has to really work for it-into chinuch, even students that we wouldn't
"peg" as mechanchim. These students might be able to motivate students
that I will never reach.
Second, a great frustration as a first year teacher in an "out of town"
English-speaking school has been a dearth of materials. Can you imagine a
math teacher with no resources or textbooks? Yet I must teach biur
tefillah, navi, and six other subjects just like that. Why is there
nothing (suitable) out there for me and my students? (I know about the
BJE workbooks, but don't we need to go beyond "mi amar l'mi"?) Perhaps it
is there -- if so, please direct me and "davar rek hu mimeni". Torah
Umesorah seems to have a pretty good work book on Parshat Mishpatim - but
what about the rest of the Torah (for sixth grade up)? Where has everyone
been for the last 40 years?
(P.S. If any of your students are thinking about becoming a lawyer, just
steer them this way. Lawyer dissatisfaction is probably greater than
teacher dissatisfaction - there is a whole genre of books with titles like
"Running from the Law." I think people go into law just because they are
told they are smart without knowing what it involves and then they get
stuck. But I will save this discussion for Looklaw.)
Jon Marvin
Seattle, WA</HTML>
