Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
A group of laid off teachers brought a petition to the offices of the North Clackamas Education Association in Oregon protesting the union’s decision to accept job cuts over salary freezes – contrary, they claim, to the wishes of the members.
“We took a poll in the spring and they got our opinion and the majority said wage freeze,” said Monica Whiteley, who was laid off. "If I was her I would. So I would like them to look at the poll or honor it and have us look at the memo of understanding that is out there.”
SORRY I HAVE TO STEP IN HERE: A POLL ABOUT A POSSIBLITY INVOVING THE MOST GENERAL OF CIRCUMSTANCES AND AT A TIME WELL BEFORE THE THE TRUTH HAD LEAKED TO THE SURFACE? JUST BEFORE THE BOARD WAS SET TO VOTE ON IT? THIS STINKS OF CORUPTION AND IS HAPPENING AT LOCALS ALL OVER THE STATE. THIS IS CTA LEADERSHIP AT IT'S FINEST. SCREW THE LOWER MEMBERS FOR THE GOOD OF THE DYING (SOON TO RETIRE) ELEPHANTS. THIS WAS ATTEMPED IN MY CTA LOCAL. IT IS NOT A VOTE ON AN ACTION ITEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They said they feel the union hasn’t been listening or communicating. “I have felt like my voice has not been heard. I wasn’t asked was I OK with losing my job,” said Jenny Klassen, another laid off teacher.
Meanwhile, members of the Kent Education Association in Washington state voted overwhelmingly to go on strike. Only one problem with that: Washington courts and the Attorney General’s office have repeatedly ruled that teacher strikes, like any public-employee strike in Washington State, are illegal.The KEA disagrees, however... There lots of ways around that if true!!!!
This is Where Some of our Children Live Here - Maybe More Than We Think
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The buildings had no running water, illegal wiring, boarded up windows and rodent infestations, officials said.any of these 74 children are presumably of school age, and will be starting one of Oakland's elementary schools next Monday. They are now homeless, living with relatives or in a shelter. When they arrive at school, they will not have a sign explaining their conditions. They will just be among the many thousands of Oakland students struggling to live way below the poverty line. Many of Oakland's schools are attended by students who live in poverty. Some schools are more than 90% economically disadvantaged.
We are often told not to make excuses for the poor performance of our schools, but I have seen firsthand the effect that poverty has on student performance. The children who lived in this apartment complex (until they were made completely homeless this week) are not that unusual. They have no place to study, so it is tough to do homework. There are drug users around the building, so it is noisy at night, making it hard to sleep. There are shootings in the neighborhood, so sometimes they have to dive to take cover from flying bullets. The nearest real grocery store is literally miles away, so food is often purchased at the neighborhood convenience store, and is highly processed and unhealthy. You can see them walking to school in the morning, eating their breakfast of corn chips and soda pop.
And just the stress of being poor takes its toll. If I am a bit short with my bills at the end of the month, I know how stressed that makes me. But those without regular work have a level of stress I have never even known. Unemployment in the Bay Area is over eleven percent, and is at least double that in many of these neighborhoods. That stress spills into family life, making people short-tempered and even violent. Children are often moved from one home to another, depending on who has space and food to take them in. Can you imagine how you would feel as a parent if you could not even afford to pay for a roof over your children's heads?
On Monday, teachers will welcome their students to class. The ones without homes, the ones who are hungry, the ones in foster care -- they will do their best to hide these conditions. Like wounded birds, they do not want to appear weak or flawed. Once they are grown and have achieved success, they may take some pride in their humble origins, but there is no pride in being homeless when it is your reality today.
Good teachers will find out soon who the hungry ones are, and work with the school and the child's parent or guardian to get them signed up for free lunches. They will make space for the children to stay after school and do homework. They will push all their students to do their best regardless of their circumstances. School can be a sanctuary for these students, a place where they are safe, and have a chance to be seen as human beings.
This fall there is less money than ever. Most of the Republicans in the state legislature have signed a pledge not to ever raise taxes, so when state revenues plummeted this year, school funding was cut by more than a thousand dollars per student. While the Bay Area remains an expensive place to live, Oakland's teachers are among the lowest paid in the region. Class sizes will expand, and there will be no money to repair the copy machine or replace broken furniture or lost books. Teachers will dip into their savings accounts to make up the difference for their children, because that is what we do.
But there is a way in which education rhetoric these days seems to deny that poverty has an impact on the ability of students to learn. Sometimes it feels as if the schools and teachers are actually being blamed for the conditions our students are forced to live in. These conditions should not be used to justify a poor quality education. But the schools and teachers that serve these students have special challenges, and need our support.
What is the impact of poverty on your students? How do you respond as an educator? How should we respond as a society?