As many of you know, the economy is still pretty terrible. One thing that's been in bad shape for some time now is keeping teachers in jobs in CA. I know this is true because I've had many friends who became teachers and since the day they got their teaching credentials, have had a truly tumultuous experience. But now it's all over the news and it just confirms it. Depending on what you read, you'll see numbers anywhere from 20-26,000 teachers received "pink slips" telling them there is a good chance they won't have a job next year. They also say that in 2003, which up to date, was the worst year for pink slips, all but 3,000 out of 20,000 were without jobs by fall. But predictions for teachers keeping jobs for next year, fall 2010, suggest that things might not be that good this year because the economy is much worse than it was in 2003.
Most of my girl friends who wanted to be teachers have gotten pink slips every year for the past 6 years (since they started teaching). Sometimes they got their job back after budgets were figured out, but that didn't mean that it was waiting for them after the pink slip they got the next year. Some of them have left teaching all together because the instability is too much to handle. One is hoping that an $8/hour job at TJ Maxx will hold her family over until she can get a teaching job again. She said "I was rich when I was a teacher and I didn't even know it". It has crushed them. It makes me so very sad. For the teachers, for the schools and for the kids.
And for those of you who don't know this- teaching is a rough profession. I never thought that when I was a student in public schools in CA. I always thought it was pretty cushy job. Two weeks off at Christmas, two weeks at Easter... two and a half months of summer... what a life huh? But what you don't know is that they get there usually a couple hours before students do. They leave much later. They bring work home every single night. They are constantly planning, every night for every subject (elementary) or every class (middle/upper) and are grading papers all the time... even over all those lovely little breaks they get. They work just as hard, if not harder, than many other professions despite the lovely summer months off. And for all that work, the pay is crap. But most of them love it, so it doesn't matter to them, although I'm sure they wouldn't turn down a pay raise.
I was reading an article that said that enrollment in teaching programs has very significantly decreased. The state is "worried" because according to one article it needs 20,000 new teachers each year to make up for retirements and other losses in teachers but the reduction in enrollment is down by 10,000 in the past two years. Do you blame them? Imagine. You're young, you're starting your life, deciding to get married and start a family... but every year, you don't know if you'll still have a job at the end of the semester. Are you kidding?!?! It's ridiculous. No wonder enrollment in teaching programs is down. With that kind of career outlook, if I was in school and wanted a rewarding career with a stable future, I'd go into nursing.
And frankly, California SHOULD be concerned about those numbers. What has President Obama been going to schools talking to kids about? "DO YOURSELF AND YOUR COUNTRY A FAVOR. GET AN EDUCATION. YOU ARE THE COUNTRY'S FUTURE. YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DO GREAT THINGS AND ADVANCE THIS NATION IN WAYS NO OTHER GENERATION EVER HAS." You know what, I believe that. I really do. But if you can't get a decent elementary and high school education, how are you supposed to get to college let alone be successful? Just curious. How are you supposed to have a substantial enough base to really succeed in higher ed? And for kids who don't get the support they need at home, how are you going to get the encouragement and support and motivation to do great things with your life if your classes are jam packed with too-many students and an over-worked teacher who doesn't have the time to care the way he/she probably wants too? How?
I like this poster here.
I'm just glad that I am not a CA public school teacher. I am also glad that I don't have children in CA public schools who would no doubt feel the impact of all of this nonsense.
California, get it together.
