Monday, 23 November 2009

DON'T PUNISH EDUCATION!

I want to be a teacher. And it's been a dream of mine for a long time.

Right now I'm working on becoming one again and hopefully that'll happen. But I've been reminded how current events rarely seem to be in favor of teachers. There's always plenty of demands placed on them, like lesson planning, grading, conferences, and all the needs of the students that aren't always so obvious, such as when parents aren't there and they rely on a teacher they trust for guidance. It seems like the work never ends.

And one of the most obvious points is how glaringly low pay has stayed for teachers. Despite costs of living continuing to increase, pay for teachers just isn't going up and with school districts everywhere having to make sacrifices, teachers are never paid well. The one potent counterweight is that teachers have great benefits.

But now Congress would love to tax the daylights out of them in order to raise money for the public health plan. How on Earth is this the right option in a recession, especially in states (like Michigan) where school districts are facing record-setting losses and trying to shield students from the losses year after year?