Many teachers are protesting and standing up for their rights around America, because of the budget cut and negative affects they are facing. The demand for teachers is going up and the supply of teachers is dropping. Educational experts say that in the years to come there will be a shortage in teachers as the baby boomers retire and the larger group of youngsters start school.
In Wisconsin, on February 16, many teachers refused to go into work and called in sick. They were protesting the bill that had just been passed on February 11, stating that Wisconsin is facing an immediate set back of $137 million for the current fiscal year which ends in July. “This isn't about protecting pay and benefits – it's about protecting the right to collectively bargain” said president, Mary Bell, of Wisconsin Education Association Council. This is just one state were teachers refused to go into work, imagine all 50 states at once acting out.
Many teachers are getting fired because around 80% of the budget is to pay teachers, but they can’t afford them anymore. Workers are also being stripped of any rights to negotiate for better pensions or health benefits. The rights of these workers are being stripped when they should be praised, because teachers are the instructors of tomorrow’s leaders.
Our children and younger generations are the most important thing in the world so why wouldn’t America want the best, no matter the cost. The budget can be divided and lowered in other areas besides education. Not only are the adults in this situation suffering but the children are going to be suffering on the equipment they need for proper learning: teachers, programs, tutors, etc.
Teachers have been underpaid since the profession started, but taking advantage of them to this extent is crucial. Everyone can only take so much, and many teachers will stand by this, and many teachers are going to give up. It’s a hard decision, because the budget cut is a way for our economy to better itself, while hurting itself. Education is the last thing that should have such a heavy budget on, because it affects everyone no matter their age. How else can Americans improve if no one is teaching them? With all the discouragement teachers are receiving from this cut, how can we be sure they’ll even want to perform at their best?
In Deserah Alvarez’s post “Teachers Today Challenge Tomorrow” she explains how cutting teachers salaries because of budget cuts will likely effect the current and future generations. The issue of how budget cuts effect teacher’s pay and benefits is an issue that needs to be resolved, but it seems as if no one can come up with a good alternative and so teacher’s pay continues to be cut whenever states need to make large budget cuts. Are the salaries of the administrative workers in education also being cut, or are the salary cuts only regarding teachers? There are many administration jobs in education that pay high salaries that could also be reduced. If teacher’s salaries need to be cut, there should be an attempt to cut salaries in other areas of education besides just the teachers. Program cuts should be divided equally instead of cutting out single specific programs.
ReplyDeleteBudget cuts have to come from somewhere, but I agree that education is very important for our country’s youth, and teachers are a large part of the success of future generations. Children will suffer in this situation, with the loss of teachers and educational programs, they will not get the equivalent education that they should be getting. I think that teachers should at least retain the rights to negotiate their benefits. I agree that if many teachers are fired because of budget cuts, it is going to lead to more issues. For one thing, there will be fewer teachers in the future because many people who want to teach will get tired of this situation and will not want to work as teachers anymore. Also, students may be discouraged from studying to become a teacher because of all the teachers being fired and the low salary that they are being paid.
America's teacher's futures are once again being threatened with mass budget cuts. In Deserah Alvarez's post titled Teachers Today Challenge Tomorrow, she explains the uncertainty of our future generations as a result of today's teachers facing more and more challenges in the workforce. To read her blog post, click here. She adds that teacher's salaries are being cut, jobs are being lost, and negotiations with pay raises and pensions are no longer being considered. The most noticeable she states, is in the state of Wisconsin, although, this has been a national problem for years. I agree with Miss Alvarez that there is a dire need for budget reform in our educational system. Why isn't there a better policy in place for education? Teachers have an important job in shaping our future youth. Without the resources available to our educational providers, the future appears to be uncertain. As Miss Alvarez says,
ReplyDelete"Our children and younger generation are the most important thing in the world so why wouldn't America want the best, no matter the cost"
I have to agree that education is not the place to be making drastic cuts. This will ultimately lead to a massive drop in the supply of future teachers resulting in a youth that is poorly educated. Do we really want our country being perceived by others as the dumbest country in the free world? Unfortunately, teachers have been getting "the short end of the stick" for years. This has caused a decrease in performance in many teachers causing less patience with students and perhaps, a loss of love for a career that was once held ambitiously. Teachers have a very important job and additional allocated funds should be contributed by the Federal government and better handled by State and local governments to provide a proper educational foundation for our youth and fair compensation for the teachers. Miss Alvarez's blog posting sums up the painful reality of how neglected our educational system really is. I mean c'mon, do we really want Bart Simpson for President one day?
Deserah Alvarez brings to light an important topic in her editorial, “Teachers Today Challenge Tomorrow” – budget cuts on education.
ReplyDeleteAlvarez makes many strong points on why education is not the sector from which funds should be cut. She points out that the country’s population is increasing while the number of qualified teachers is decreasing. This alone is worrisome, as it would inevitably lead to a poorly educated generation, which in turn would not have the proper skills to teach future generations. On a similar note, the teachers that don’t get terminated from budget cuts may not perform at their potential due to any number of reasons – lack of faith in the education system, uncertainty about their own employment’s future, low morale from the loss of fellow teachers, etc. Alvarez noted that one day in February many teachers in Wisconsin refused to go to work. What if, like Alvarez questions, teachers nationwide all refused to go to work? What if they refused to teach until the budget cut was withdrawn or amended?
Teachers as a whole are underpaid, and letting go of them in quantities this significant could be detrimental to education for a long time to come. Who, for example, would spend thousands of dollars on a college education to become a teacher for minimal pay and the constant risk of terminated employment due to budget cuts?
I think the government needs to look at the big picture. Millions of people are getting millions more dollars than they need and/or deserve, yet the government does nothing to try and step in. Professional sports players, celebrities, and designers, for example, are some of the wealthiest in the country, and do little (if anything) to help lead our country’s youth. If the government had special tax for the entertainment industry and/or media, they would have to take that much less money from our education. Even politicians, who earn thousands if not millions while campaigning alone, could be required to give a percentage to the government’s budget. Obviously no one wants to be subject to special taxing, but in a time of economic crisis, if a group or industry has the means to keep our country’s education system afloat they should be asked to contribute. Not only that, but they should want to – chances are they themselves got to where they are due to education. Either way, their children’s futures may depend on it.
Deserah Alvarrez Arthur of “Teachers today challenge tomorrow”, first off I could not agree with you more from the top of your post to the bottom. Personally these types of decisions strike right at home because I am an education major and it’s scary to know what teachers are facing. Even here in Austin, TX there are 8 schools at risk of closure, where will these teachers go, how will the student react when they lose that life changing teacher and put into an environment they are not familiar with? Will those be the next line of burglars or murders? Because the message sent to them is that even if you’re doing well in classes and your teacher is doing well on evaluations they are only seen as a dollar or change. Once again I agree with you and I believe that teachers should not be put in this position and they should be paid more.
ReplyDelete