Education Rant (I warned you)

I was watching the news this morning and ended up shaking my head.  Yes this happens often as evident in this post from a few weeks ago.

It seems like every spring we go through the same battle here, and I'm sure in other states too, education cuts.  Yes, I know I'm not in the classroom right now, but education cuts effects everyone... yes everyone.  I never understand why the country is so up in arms about the education our students receive, and then turn around and say... but lets cut the money that the schools get.  Doesn't that seem backwards?  We think the children are not recieving the best education possible so lets take money away from the schools?  Is anyone following this logic?

Now do I think there are areas in the education system that should be cut... oh yeah!  But, most of those are not the areas that get cut when the money comes up in shortage.  A few years ago, a law was passed mandating class sizes in Florida, this is a good thing.  They also passed a law that said that the state will provide funding for four year olds to get pre-K, provided in schools and qualified day cares/preschools.  These are all things going in the right direction to gain educational strength.  But, then you pass these laws and cut the funding... ummmm wait!

The newest thing they are debating on is performance pay for teachers.  I think this is one of the most backwards thinking of them all.  In my opinion we should take our top teachers, give them extra money and put them in the poor performing school.  Put them in the inner city schools, where the students are more concerned about where their next meal is coming from than learning the difference between their, there and they're.  Put them in the schools with the migrant workers, yes we have lots of those down here.  But, if your pay is based on student performance why would any teacher want to teach in these "harder" schools?  Especially in the high school grades where the students are just putting in their time before they can get a full time job to support themselves and/or their family.

We as a country need to look at what we can do to provide every child the best education out there.  We need to find ways to motivate students to stay in school.  We need to find a way to get strong students out there to become educators.  We need to find a way to change the country's perception of teachers.  In many countries being a teacher is a privilege, it is held in high esteem, and here?

Things like this just tick me off... can ya tell?
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11 comments:

  1. It is amazing to see the differences in education from province to province. Teachers in MB get paid a LOT more than those in NS and I really think it reflects on the quality of teaching that goes on. It is shocking to see the provincial tests compared to the rest of the country and see that certain areas are just not doing what is necessary. I agree, invest more $ to make sure the quality of teachers is not being diminished.

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  2. I hear you on the logic but I think that we have a very decent school system in Minnesota!

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  3. I am right there with you Lori and feel the exact same way!

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  4. It never ends!! God bless you OCPS! GEEZ...

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  5. Yes, we face the same concerns here too! It is very frustrating.

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  6. I agree. Sometimes the school systems and the government cuts are so messed up. Facing lots of cuts in Michigan. Very scary.

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  7. I'm right behind you, Lori! It's infuriating! I'm not in the classroom this year either, but you are exactly right...it affects all of us.

    I did teach in one of those "harder" schools in AZ, where my kids had more crap in their lives than many of us see in a lifetime. I chose that. I was never in fear of my safety and quite honestly, those families would have protected me. You go into school thinking you're going to teach about the letter M and one kid tells you his dad went to jail that morning before he came to school... You're not teaching about the letter M any longer. I loved my class and loved my school.

    The money needs to go INTO the schools.

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  8. Oh, Lori -- I've been shaking my head here, too.

    What a huge problem...where to start?

    I keep hoping parents will get the message that this all starts incredibly early with them. Then they'll prepare them for school and also be concerned consumers about their own kids' education. It would be nice...

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  9. I also worked at one of the "harder schools". I was amazed at some of the things these kids struggle with and what they are exposed to at the age of six. And to be honest, sometimes I feared for my job because of the cuts that were being made because of "performance". My classroom was a great place to be a kids were learning but my test scores sometimes just did reflect that. If pay is based on performance, I want a person in my room observing my performance, not judging me on test results.

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  10. Have several friends who have been teaching for over 20 yrs! Bless them and all they do! Your children spend such a huge portion of their lives in school - why would anyone think it's okay to cut, cut, cut the $$ provided for education - these kids are the future of all our nations!! Happy Friday to all!

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