My cat is home from the hospital and today I am supposed to buy a house so I was really excited all morning, then lunch time came and the union meeting.
Over the next two years, California's education budget is slated to be short by a billion dollars. That's BILLION. With a B.
That means probably more teacher layoffs, maybe furlough days, cutting programs left and right. Maybe no more music, art, yearbook. Probably no more textbooks. We already cut out board cleaner and tissues. We've never had markers or construction paper. I'm about to run out of giant chart paper and then there will be no more. Classes will get bigger - one of my classes already has 39 kids in it, but now elementary school classes will probably go up to 30 kids per teacher. Can you imagine 30 little kids to one poor, overworked teacher?
This is where we are headed. It's a gloomy outlook.
I honestly don't know what's going to happen or what we can do. Did I mention that I just bought a house? And they're laying off more teachers? One of my friends is getting married in a few months. She's rethinking her honeymoon because she doesn't know if she'll have a job.
But beyond just me and my friends, the kids are going to suffer from this. We've been struggling for years to get them up to grade level, but now we might as well be babysitters for all the work we'll be able to do. We'll keep trying, but it just seems like the state has resigned itself to an uneducated youth. Except the private school kids. They'll still get educated just fine. Our poor Mexican kids? Fuck 'em, right? They'll never know what they're missing.
I started out today really excited about the future. Now I'm not so sure.
that's really shitty. So sorry to hear about that.
ReplyDeleteI hope your cat is feeling better, I spend half my time at the vet's office.
ReplyDeletePretty sad, but on the bright side you secured the home before all this went down, meaning that it won't be easier to do later.
As for the state, in my opinion they really need to market and regulate their marijuana business much better, because it might be the biggest thing going for them at the moment.
I'm sorry. It is the same mess in Dallas. some of my classes have like 35 kids in them. THey are also cutting teachers next year as well. Hope things work out.
ReplyDeleteMaybe college is not all it's cracked up to be.
If the state of a nation is measured by its education, a dire future is looming...
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I don't believe it would make sense to fire someone with your commitment.
The worst thing imaginable: they squeeze every ounce of energy out of you, thus zombifying you in the process. Don't let it happen!
But here's my guess: one day your house will be paid off not by teaching but by some script sale!
Thanks. Karel. I hope so.
ReplyDeleteAnd the cat is still in need of treatment, but he is much better.
Happy about your cat getting sprung. Happier about your house. Now, about the future for teachers? I am not so worried. We can't really be replaced or outsourced, y'know. People expect there to be education available for their kids. It's part of being American and all.
ReplyDeleteWhat I see: for the next two years, shit. Huge classes, cuts in materials, no new textbooks. In my district, we may get a few days off?
Then, in three years, the economy will be getting better, there will be very few new teachers in the pipeline - none as good as us, pal, no way- and test scores will suck, suck, suck. The populace will raise their hands and shit their pants. Whoever's in the White House will notice that we're getting all our iPhone engineers from overseas and the games they design are abysmal and based on obscure anime comics.
The Earth's a big blue marble.
Life is cyclic.
and, my favorite
Herr Schuster: "The ball is round, a game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory. Off we go!"
-the opening lines of 'Run, Lola, Run'.
all for positive thinking, but last year and we lost TEN English teachers alone.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you see the superintendent's proposal? At the moment it's either more layoffs or a 12% paycut. Hopefully the union can intercede and make them get rid of things like periodic assessments and professional development before they cut more teachers.