Perhaps not all things are relative, but the theory of relativity or a version of it was a cause for some speculation as this observer took leave of the path around the Falls this past weekend. Some 38 years ago, this observer accepted the offer of a fellow teacher to head to the remote reaches of rural northwestern Iowa for a first taste of a whitetail hunt.
Except for once or maybe twice in that time, the trip has been a key component of a self-prescribed personal wellness program. This year marked the first year that a third-generation descendant of that original group, and the first female, joined the party. She has a great success story to tell, but we will leave that for another time and place.
Saturday morning was predicted to be very cold and even colder with the wind chill factor. Leaving the farm yard that morning, the thermometer on the instrument cluster indicated -11. Not to anyone’s disappointment, the air was calm, and to err on the safe side, the stories to be retold in future night-before-the-opening-morning reminisces will note that as daylight came to the woods, it was 9 below zero.
Needless to say, the late Friday night strategy sessions included a plan to spend less time than usual in the tree stands before the first drive through the woods. That goal was accomplished, and all in all, it was a good first day, although the number of deer taken did not measure up to past years.
Sunday morning the temperature had risen to 9 above, with blowing snow. Later that morning was the profound comment about relatively. “Nine below zero on a still morning may be bad, but it is better than 9 above with blowing snow hitting you in the face.”
Reflecting, another of the group quipped, “Nine above with blowing snow hitting you in the face may be bad, but it’s better than 19 above with freezing rain.”
This brought back memories of the conditions five years earlier. There was no controversy—those were the worst conditions.
All things are relative.
The theory of relativity and a number of other academic-related conversation topics also work their way into those Friday night conversations as several of the participants are teachers, and and two former teachers who are school administrators are in the group. The good natured joshing often reverts to discussions of educators versus noneducators and teachers verses administrators.
Of particular interest are the discussions of the contrast of the educator environment between Wisconsin and Iowa. We learn a lot from each other.
The Iowa educators seem surprisingly knowledgeable about the changing environment for Wisconsin educators, due to coverage in the national media, although the details are sometimes sketchy.
One of those contrasts has to do the theory of relativity, or at least the teaching of the theory of relativity. This is a physics concept. The pool of physics teachers in either state is not as deep as some more popular teaching areas such as elementary or high school social studies. There are other fields, such as other sciences and math, to name a few, with limited candidate pools.
Traditionally, the pattern has been that all teachers with the same experience and preparation levels have earned the same salary, regardless of the teaching field. There may be variations from one district to another, but most are fairly close.
That picture is beginning to change in Wisconsin. Teachers in certain specialty fields with high demand and few applicants have been able to successfully command higher starting salaries. In some respects in Wisconsin, it has become a seller’s market or a “free agency” situation for some teachers.
Unfortunately, there are up sides and down sides to this situation. Districts willing to pay higher salaries are able to lure teachers away from other districts. This can lead to a situation in which topnotch teachers are recruited, leaving some empty classrooms in some districts—often smaller, rural districts.
Every teacher’s contribution is important. Should elementary teachers be paid less because there is an abundance of people who want to go into that field? That would create a fair amount of rancor in the ranks.
We are of the opinion that all teachers should be treated professionally and be paid a professional wage. Sometimes that concept is met with below zero support.
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