January 26, 2009

Well, happy freaking Monday! President Obama has supposedly given tons of money to school districts and my district announced today that they are going to lay off 8% of it's employees certified and classified. I do not know if this means 8% of each or all together. We find out who this week and it will be effective as of February 27.

So, they are basically laying teachers off in the middle of the school year when it's impossible to find another position until August. Plus, our contracts specifically state what we are to make for the year so I have no idea how they can break a contract like that. Our superintendent seems to think he can lay off whomever he wants, too. Our union rep says that by Missouri State law he has to go by seniority. We'll see what happens and if our union is willing to finally step up to the plate.

More importantly, we are trying to keep our accreditation and they are going to be shifting classes and students around like crazy after this chaos. How in the world is this what is best for our students? How can someone justify this kind of upheaval and then still expect high test scores? The complete ignorance of people sometimes amazes me, although at this point I'm not sure why it still does amaze me.

Any parents out there that do not understand this yet, listen carefully. Politicians and school board members and most superintendents do not put your children first and these are the people who run your schools. Most of them have no clue as to what it takes to make a classroom work. I have people coming into my classroom who have not served a day with first graders telling me that I am doing things wrong even though I've spent the greater part of the last 16 years with first graders.

You let people with no back ground in education or people who have not been in a classroom for over 20 years make decisions for your children and override the real experts' knowledge. Don't you think it's time to restructure the way we do business in our schools?

You would not allow someone who does not have surgical background to oversee a new surgeon in the operating room. You would not let someone who has no law school training to oversee a new lawyer defending you in court. You would not even allow someone who's not had proper training to clean your teeth, yet you allow people who do not have any experience in the classroom make decisions for your child's educational well being.

The old adage, "Those who can't, teach." is dead wrong. If it were true than anyone could survive in a classroom and there would be no need for teacher certification or special degrees in order to become a teacher.