It's Thursday. I've been reading things online about the failed levy from Tuesday. It's pretty sad. There was an article about how we will be "restructuring" next year. There is no definitive answer as to how we are going to cut the six million needed to operate next year. I'm kind of scared...I read another website that was put up in opposition of the levy. Again, it was pretty sad.
The majority of the website was aimed at showing how schools, Gahanna specifically, spend irresponsibly. It explained how teachers were paid entirely too much--especially when comparing the amount paid to the hours worked. You know the person who wrote/developed that website was not a teacher. This person never graded one research paper that took 45 minutes to get through. He or she never spent time creating new units to motivate and interest students. This Gahanna resident never created the study guides, quizzes, and tests to go with those newly developed units. This community member never spent the time emailing and calling parents to talk about progress students were making in class. Furthermore, the creator of this website never thought about the fact that all of this is done after the forty hour work week for which I am overpaid.
It would be interesting to see what a school looked like that this person described. Thankfully, we won't ever have to see that. The teachers I know will continue to show up an hour early every morning at the high school to allow students access to computers so that they can work. They will continue to grade and lesson plan after the school work day is over. That's the reality. A teacher's work day ends most days when they go to bed.
Those summers? When those summers are not spent revamping units, or taking more professional development courses, teachers need those summers to recharge a battery that has been drained. A school year can burn teachers out. Without the summer, teachers wouldn't survive. It must look nice from the outside, but join this profession if you dare. Check the statistics of teachers who leave the profession within the first five years...it's not for the weak, nor is it for the clueless individuals who think teaching is an occupation that allows for a forty hour work week with summers off.
So, form your groups of opposition. Create your websites. Distribute your pamphlets. Pronounce that we are overpaid and underworked. The levy failed. It was a blow to the school and the community. You were able to keep a few more hundred dollars in your pockets each year. At what cost? Will it be worth it?
They refer to us as fiscally irresponsible--as overpaid. When the budget is cut by six million and the dust has settled, will the sacrifices made be overlooked once again? I hope not. Like I said at the beginning, I'm kind of scared.
We showed up on Wednesday. We showed up on Thursday. We will show up tomorrow. We will work even harder despite being attacked. We will attempt to minimize the damage done by those in the community who didn't understand the implications of their vote. We will continue because too much is at stake: the students' education and our nation's future.
