I’m sorry to say there’s been a recent upsurge in interest in these two posts. I do check the statistics of my site every day, partly because I’m interested, partly because I like knowing what’s attracting notice and what I should do more of, and partly because it’s part of the way I’m trying to get comfortable with numbers.
The two posts are these:
- Anti-teacher Upsurge. This was written back in April 2010, and I was noticing a number of articles and stories about how bad teachers were. There are several links in the article, and I think it’s indicative that this movement to push on teachers and force us to give in on a number of issues has been part of a longer-range plan.
- Teacher Outsourcing Begins. And here’s the second. I find myself wondering, as I watch the (admittedly mild) upsurge of viewers on this post, if the viewers are thinking about how to avoid this fate, or if they’re thinking about how to achieve a total outsourcing.
Although Stephen Downes, in his recent guest post, warned me about linking too often to current news stories, I do wonder if Paul Krugman’s recent piece in the New York Times has anything to do with this. Krugman warns us about the hollowing-out of America’s job market. The high-paid and low-paid jobs that are not easily replaced, outsourced or roboticised remain, while the mid-range jobs that are repetitive are vanishing rapidly.
I don’t think teaching is repetitive or rules-based at all. But I think many of those currently on the warpath who are trying to cut teacher salaries and benefits think of our work as being replaceable. And I wonder how this will all play out.
