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Wow, can I ever relate to this! Just like the Alabama teachers in this article by Tim Lockette, the teachers in my school have been adversely affected by deep budget cuts this year. Many of our teachers are laid off; for the first time ever we are paying over $100 per pay for our health insurance; we received no money to purchase classroom supplies; and we're expecting to have class sizes that hover around 32 students. Our staff is having a hard time maintaining a positive attitude with all the negatives that are out of their control.
Most importantly, it's difficult to think of how all of this will ultimately impact the students. I am most concerned about class sizes. I am currently teaching summer school to a group of nine students who struggled last year. When I think about these nine students being placed in a classroom of 32, I can't help but think that they will be totally lost, and some may ultimately give up. And yet, the teachers are expected to bring all students up to grade level, capable of passing a standardized test over a year's worth of material--and they won't even be tested until they've had a few months to forget some of what they learned!
I certainly don't know what the answer is (and obviously our governor doesn't either, because he was instrumental in getting us into this budget crisis!), but I hope that I, and the other teachers, can maintain a positive learning environment for our students. I look forward to every new year, and in spite of my concerns, I am looking forward to this one as well!
The complete article, "Teachers Head Back to School With a Shortage of Money--and Morale," posted August 5, 2011 by Tim Lockette, can be viewed at: http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/08/05/mct_alteachermorale.html?tkn=YNNFIW4Qr%2FpizflqabqzKkRhWWVv1LM%2BYARv&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
Its amazing what the government does to our kids! This year will definitely be an interesting year. I'm surprised you only have 32 kids per class. Last year I averaged around 34, and they're planning on pushing that to around 39 this year. Our district would rather pay teachers overage than another teacher. Hence why we had so many lay-offs and elimination of positions. Our sanity is tested and the kids suffer. The government needs to understand public education K-12 can't be ran like a college class. Younger kids need more one-on-one time with teachers. Good luck this year!
ReplyDeleteUnlike some of the other districts in our state and others our district I believe is doing a great job at working to keep the budget in check and they continue to keep the focus on the children.
ReplyDeleteOur district in the past several years has been very conservative with their budgets and have been able to set aside reserves. The last few years they have tapped into these reserves, but say that we are still in good finacial health. I believe them because they have followed through on promises: we will have no furlough days, we received our step increase this year (we did not last year), and we recieved a check for supplies. With that said, we do not have unions, I probably get paid less in my state than I would in others, and I have been paying a pretty penny for insurance since I loved here. I guess when you think about it, there are some ups and downs in any state.