I am not a revolutionary.
I am not uber militant about affecting social change. I usually express my action through voting, and getting others to join a cause. But tomorrow…I will take it to the streets.
My state is broke, as are most states in this county. My governor, The Terminator, has proposed nearly $4.3 Billion, with a capital B, in budget cuts to education. This proposed cut will CRIPPLE many districts, including my own, the 2nd largest in the district in the country. My district, LAUSD, is facing a reduction of approximately $377 million in state aid, which translates into new teachers, like me, being cut.
So tomorrow, I will give up an hour’s pay for the kids of LA & walkout of my classroom to show the governor that this shit won’t fly. I will stand and picket. I will pass out leaflets and I will make my tiny voice herd. My job is on the line. The jobs of my colleagues are all on the line. Hopefully the sheer size of my district will shield us from being cut, but you never know. Many of the smaller districts have already experienced drastic cuts to their teacher population. Districts from Northern to Southern California are having to cut anywhere from 300 to 1000 teachers, and some districts have even gone so far as to close down schools. We are living in extremely scary and uncertain times.
I have been trying to imagine what a normal classroom would look like with 1000 fewer teachers. Will there be 35 or 40 students to a class? Will there be more?
No matter what side of the political fence you sit on, I think we can all agree that cutting the budget for education hurts our kids. We don’t need more prisons, we need more schools. We need more dedicated teachers who work hard & give it all they’ve got to make sure our kids become successful, responsible adults.
Can you did that?
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More power to You! Education is one of the most important assets we can give our children. It is so bad here in GA, those who can afford it (including myself), send their children to private educational facilities. I am thankful that the one my son attends has its tuition fees along the same costs as area day care centers. If I had more than one child, there are doubts if I can afford to send them all.
An excellent and caring teacher like you could never have a "tiny voice".
As a former legislator in Connecticut, I know what the elected officials are thinking---education is the easiest and the least fought for. I know that education and supportive social sevices is ALWAYS the first on the chopping block! Why? Because there is no real political will to do otherwise. Teachers are not respected nor the work they do.
Somehow we have lost our way around education. Making money has become the order of the day...prisons for profit, schools left behind as an indirect draft. Yes as an indirect draft...read the No Child Left Behind legislation.
I think you and your fellow Teachers have the right idea...raise awareness take the fight to the streets and keep pressing on.
Tap your PTA for what it's worth and try to wrangle some local media. An Op-ED piece by a group of teachers would be a good idea. And press your local elected offocials and school board memebrs. Is your School Board elected or appointed? If they are elected then they ought to be pulled in. If they are appointed then press the Mayor. Start with sharing the Mayors's record of Educational support. Where does he stand in regards to allocating funds for education. This may mean looking at support of the City council too!
It is not as daunting as I am making it seem. OK it really is...but The fight is on and you have to win it!
Good luck. Email me if you want to chat.
sista gp: thank you. what a day it was...i actually felt empowered, although it may or may not have had an impact on our governor.
lovebabz: wow. it does sound mighty daunting. thankfully our union is fighting politically, along with the CTA (california teaching assoc.). but i feel what you are saying, it takes continuous action to REALLY make some changes. let's just hope this is the first of many.
How did the walk out go at your school?
The superintendent’s response was not in support of the message that the teachers were trying to send, instead it was a futile attempt at fear mongering.
The districts argument was “if the teachers walk out for an hour, all hell will break loose”
HELLO! What is an hour compared to what the budget cuts will do?
One outcome of the budget cuts will be overcrowded classrooms. Let’s not even begin to speculate on which schools will be affected the hardest by the program cuts.
Seriously? We complain about where we stand as a country, when compared academically to other countries? Seriously? C’mon now!
As a mother of two boys, you have my support!
yes i can dig that
Monica: thank you for asking. it went well. our administration held an assembly and had some former NFL players come talk to the kids during 1st period. i have NO idea why Sup. Brewer tried to make it seem as though children would be roaming the halls & causing all sorts of havoc. this demonstration was planned WEEKS ago, which gave school administrators time to pull together some other plan for the kids for that hour. I think the treat of havoc was Sup. Brewer's way to get the parents to worry & put pressure on us not to demonstrate. as we were outside, many parents took fliers & honked in support (one even joined the line). i'm glad you, and others, understand the ramifications these budget cuts will have on our kids.
Torrance: word!
The "Terminator" needs to be terminated. Agreed? Good for you. That's fine civil disobedience. I admire you for that.
governor terminator huh
sad
Sis - after this year of substituting in public schools "mine eyes hath been open" to the fact that we're going back to the days (never left them really) when education was for the select few & ELITE... i encourage parents that ask me: no matter WHAT school your child is in PARENTS HAVE to be involved!! u can't expect ANYone to treat your child as well as U do. Glad to hear you're an educator & parent who KNOWS that;-)
bless: he sure the hell does. he's been a horrible governor. and to think, he had our last governor recalled because he allegedly couldn't manage the state. our state is now in a complete budget crisis. but no one is talking recall now, are they?
torrance it's like living in the twilight zone. i went away to NY and came back & this dude was in charge.
CapCity yes, you are right. the sad part is...a lot of the parents are absent or too busy to keep up & be advocates. it's sad. i went to a conference on Sat about educating the black child & the most important part of the puzzle is parents. parents & educators who treat each student like their own child. it never really clicked before, but i spend more time with these kids than their own parents. they are mine by default.