I've been watching the news and reading the papers daily. The budgetary crisis faced by the Texas legislature is about to seriously impact education in Texas. And that is some scary stuff. We are talking furlough days, closing schools, cutting salaries and RIFfing (reduction in force) teachers. I don't know the actual impact in my current district (they are still trying to figure it out), but I can imagine it's going to be a much different picture next year than it is this year.
I began my career in education in 1992 and I have never seen anything like this in the 20 years I've been an educator. I thought I was in a career that was untouchable because there are always children that need to be taught. Now I'm nervous and I have constant headaches, neckpain, and stomach aches as I watch what is unravelling around me. What does it mean to me? What does it mean to the teachers at my school? What does it mean to the children at my school?
And it's not just Texas. I heard on the news today that the school district that serves Providence, RI is laying off ALL 2000 teachers to maximize cuts. They will more than likely bring some back (Ed.'s Note: WTF? Aren't there still school aged children in Providence, Rhode Island?), but this will allow them to make the cuts needed.
Don't forget about our friends in Wisconsin..... teachers there had massive "sick-ins" to skip school so they could go protest the possible dissolution of collective bargaining in that state. They had a conference day off to attend professional development, but most chose to go to the capital and protest. The governor wants to dissolve collective bargaining because of the costs to the already financially troubled state.
What does this do to teacher morale and productivity?
And most importantly, what are we doing to our kids?
2 comments:
I was thinking the same thing last night. As a teacher, I never expected fame or fortune but I also never thought I'd see the day when teachers were being laid off. It is a scary time in education. I can't help but worry for me but Hailey starts kindergarten next year so I worry for her too. What kind of education will she be getting with all of these cuts?
If the United States wants to be competitive with the rest of the world, they need to start putting more into edcuation not take money away. Education is always a big topic during election time, but then we never see changes. Remember the whole push to get a state lottery in Texas? Where did that money go? If budget cuts were looked at elsewhere to help with wasteful spending, education wouldn't have to suffer the consequences of a government that doesn't put education first, rather it puts their own interests first.
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