Friday, June 1, 2012

It's been a while...yet, not much has changed

Here we are, June 1st, and once again the SDP budget for next year has everyone in a frenzy. Here we are, getting ready for summer vacation, and once again many teachers are unsure if they will return to their positions in the fall.

Is it stressful? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes. However, I'm trying to go with precedent here, and believe that things won't be so bad when the end of summer rolls around. I know the district operates at a huge deficit, and this is a problem for sure, but ultimately, the city will not just leave students to be without classrooms and teachers come September. (Though, scary rumblings that Chester is actually closing the doors to its high school make my head spin!)

So, what are we to do. We're told to wear red every Friday, and stand in front of our respective buildings. I don't do this. I never have. I know I have some very union oriented teacher friends who participate, and I'm sorry, I just can't do it. Instead, this morning at my school, there was a teacher breakfast (complete with shrimp and grits, gotta love it) which is a much better way to come together as a united front. As the secretary here said (and a shout out here to all the great school secretaries, you are amazing!) these breakfasts are about morale building. And, boy, morale is something that is missing in a lot of schools.

Alas, I will leave on June 19th not knowing for sure where I'll be again in the fall. I've gotten myself to a place mentally where this is okay. I've taught now for 8 years, and with the exception of 2 years in a row as an 8th grade English teacher, I've never been in the same position year after year.

It's just sad to me that education is something that always seems to be on the very public chopping (or auction) block. I do this because I love it. I don't like to hear teachers blamed for problems beyond our control. However, this involves society in general opening their eyes to the real problems (mainly poverty and its symptoms), and no one wants to do that.

I feel like I was writing almost the same thing last spring...sigh.


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