Hello September!
For me, this time of the year is akin to New Year's Eve. For most of my life it signaled the end of a school year and the beginning of a new year. It always involved resolutions: I'm going to get more sleep, keep up with my paperwork, decorate my classroom more frequently, learn the names of all my students the first week, be much less grumpy. And like all new year's resolutions, it never took long for me to break all of these.
It is going on nine years since I retired. I find that hard to believe. Though I haven't been in a classroom in years, I am still interested in all things educational. It upsets me that teachers are no longer able to explore their creativity, but instead must channel it into completing a standard curriculum aimed at standardized tests. It continues to distress me that teachers are not given the tools to be successful at their jobs: small classes, helpful assistants, up-to-date materials, clean and comfortable classrooms, strong administrative support, sufficient planning time. Yet, despite all these roadblocks, teachers continue to love their jobs and successfully reach their students. Teachers continue to go above and beyond, and often do it for "free." Not that the Board of Education at my former school district appreciates them. Their contracted steps have been denied for years. Raises, if they are offered, are minuscule. Health care programs narrow their benefits and cost more. It's wrong. Yet, the public doesn't complain because to do so might raise their taxes. Ok, public, I get it. But now is the time you need to get involved in a protest that involves education. A protest only you, the public, can effectively launch. I'm talking about an uprising against the fees students must pay to participate in extra-curricular activities.
According to the BOE philosophy, extra-curriculars are costing the district too much money. They can't give teachers a step increase or raise because these activities are so expensive. Their answer? Charge students $100 per activity. This has been going on for a few years in the sports department. This year, the charges are being aimed at drama students. A parent that has a few active children in high school could pay as much as $600 for their kids to participate in the activities that colleges examine when determining who to admit. No money, no activities, a bare college application. The recent addition of the drama charge will supposedly bring in $65,000 to the district. Hmmph. I've examined both the district's budget and list of assistants to the assistants, and I could cut that amount and more if they'd let me. Supplementing a budget at the expense of a child's well-rounded education is disgusting.
Oh, and did I mention that the fees are dumped into a general slush fund? There's no accounting for how the money is spent. There is no distributing the money to the schools for their programs. The general fund. You know, the one that supplies donuts for supervisor meetings. I have repeatedly contacted the local newspaper to do an investigation on these fees, but the reporters have ignored my requests. Maybe one of you taxpayer parents might have more success.
I wish all educators the best of luck this year. Not only do I wish them the resources they need for their classrooms, I wish them a lot of luck with the activities for which they sacrifice family time and free time to provide for students. I really hope they can fill their teams, cast their plays, and provide a marching band, all the while collecting money for the BOE's donuts.
