The
2016 Jeopardy Teacher Tournament got rebroadcast last week, and one of the finalists, Kaberi Chakrabarty, thanked her principal for "allowing [her] to be there." Really? Teachers have to ask permission to leave town? Kaberi finished 2nd in the tournament and pocketed $50,000 in winnings, which amounts to a year salary for many teachers. I checked
her contract with the school district of Joliet, IL, and, though teachers over there are significantly better paid and get better benefits than here, I could not find any provision restricting teachers from engaging in open displays of extraordinary amounts of knowledge.
As I was watching the three finalists exult at their achievements, I knew that they would probably feel the pressure to donate some of their winnings back to the school that "allowed" them to attend Jeopardy, because that is what is expected of teachers. We believe that teachers, even though
paid insufficiently, should
contribute financially to their schools, to complement what taxpayers and the politicians they elected refuse to provide for the education of our children.
There is no such expectation when any other professional wins prizes on Jeopardy or other game shows. I would like to see Harry Broker, after winning a bundle on the show, declare: "I plan to give 10% back to my employer, Goldman Sachs, for
allowing me to leave town and to let colleagues take charge of my clients' accounts. Hopefully, that money will be put to good use, like to give a nice golden parachute to an undeserving executive."
