Teachers Slam Donald Trump Jr. For “loser teacher” Comment

Brut America

Donald Trump Jr.’s “loser teachers” comment didn’t sit well with educators across the U.S. — so Brut asked a few of them to school the president’s son on what it means to be a teacher in America.

Transcript

00:00I love seeing some young conservatives because I know it's not easy.

00:04You don't have to be indoctrinated by these loser teachers that are trying to sell you on

00:09socialism from birth. I'll admit there are definitely some times when I do feel like a

00:13bit of a loser. When I have to tell my friends that I can't go out with them on a Friday night

00:18because I spent all my money that week on school supplies.

00:31Nobody becomes a teacher for the recognition. They certainly don't do it for the money.

00:36They do it to have an impact on the lives of our children.

00:40We're teaching the next generation of leaders, of citizens.

00:45I keep this little wall behind my desk to remind myself of all the lives that I take

00:51responsibility for every day when I come to work. Each year, I put out at least a quarter of my

00:59paycheck back into my classroom. My very first year of teaching, I put out over $5,000 because

01:05there was nothing in my classroom, not even bookshelves. So if this is what constitutes

01:11a loser teacher, count me in. I get up at 5 a.m. I'm at school by 6 and I spend at least 10 hours

01:18here. That's lesson planning, that's grading, that's working with kids. I'm being pulled out

01:24in the hallway because a kid has an episode where they're upset about something. Or I'm

01:29reading student writing and I come across like a story today where I asked kids, you know,

01:35what's something that you just wish you had? And I had a kid write, I wish I had a house

01:40because I've lived in trailers my whole life and house would be really neat. I want to let you know

01:45that I am not a loser, but in fact I am a champion for public education. Every day I teach my students

01:52to read. Not only do students learn to decode words and understand the sounds associated with

01:58various letter combinations, they also grapple with complex information and new ideas. Being a

02:05loser teacher means I've often gone years without receiving a pay raise despite having effective

02:10evaluations. I've also received a pay cut due to cuts across the state. Being a loser teacher means

02:17I was here for eight hours on Saturday, all unpaid, looking at data, creating resources my

02:25students would use this year, and coming up with the best hands-on ideas I could to keep my students

02:30engaged. So the idea of, you know, being called a loser teacher and then also having somebody

02:37threatened from the same political party, threatened to take my pension is, it's frustrating.

02:47So I would just ask Donald Trump Jr. that before you come at educators,

02:53you take a few minutes to educate yourself.

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