Letter to the School Board

To Whom it May Concern,

My husband is a 5th grade teacher in this county. Aside from being the most hardworking man I have ever met, he is also one of the most positive. However, we both find it disheartening that the education system, especially here, is in a total state of decline. I am writing this letter, not only to inform you of the conditions and circumstances of which he has struggled through but also to make the public more aware of the fact that while public scrutiny of the education system often falls on the teachers, it is in fact a misguided and misplaced judgment.

I would like to start by addressing teacher pay. Teaching often is held in the same esteem as doctors and lawyers as a profession in general. However, the average salary of a doctor is $250,000 and a lawyer is $110,000. My husband after almost 14 years of teaching does not even break $40,000 a year. Granted, he does get 9 weeks off in the summer but even taking this into account, the 60 hours a week he dedicates at the school working only amounts to a salary of $14/hr. By law, the Department of Labor requires overtime pay for more than 40 hours per week, but that doesn't happen for teachers, does it. For a profession with so much at stake, and the youth of America in its hands, a higher degree with a minimum of a Bachelors degree is required and in some states often a Masters. But for a profession with so much training required and years of experience, my husband is paid the same as the starting salary for a migrant worker tending your lawn, a hotel cleaning person, a telemarketer who calls you at dinnertime and a file clerk. Since 2007, you have frozen teacher pay, raised healthcare costs while reducing benefits, and long before that taken away any bonuses teachers might have earned. Since 2007, my husband and I started a family and had two children, doubling our household and our expenses. Due to your rise in insurance costs, my husband makes less now than what he did 6 years ago. More than 70% of North Carolina teachers moonlight in order to make ends meet, including my husband, but unfortunately, as is our case, the ends still don't meet. I wrote inquiring as to the salary of the board members and assumed it was public record, as is the salary of teachers and other state jobs but the funny thing was, that information could not be found and I have received no response back from the board regarding such.

As far as the working conditions of teachers, I have to say it is simply deplorable for someone who is holding a title of a working professional. Within a ten hour day, my husband receives 10 minutes for lunch, if that. There are no bathroom breaks for at least an 8 hour period of time. Childcare laws state that the teacher child ratio for school age children is a maximum of 1:25 however public school class sizes regularly exceed that number in elementary schools. These sizes make it extraordinarily difficult to do any actual teaching since discipline takes up about 80% of class time and the one on one time that many children need with the IEP's is simply impossible to maintain. In a world run by technology and advancement, you have provided my husband with textbooks that are usually out of date and 3 classroom computers for the use of 27 students. These are the tools that the students have to use on a daily basis and school supplies such as paper, pencils and notebooks are more often provided by the teacher than the parents. Keep in mind that the same tools you have equipped your teachers to teach with are the same tools that have been provided decades before in a world where even McDonald's now provides their employees with updated and modern equipment. Society's behavior on a whole is out of control in my opinion, but for now, we are going to limit it to the behavior in schools.

The authority of a teacher in their own classroom has been crippled completely by the lack of parenting, and the rules you have made out of fear that support it. The few students left in the classroom that have any manners and respect at all as well as the teachers are subjected to be at the mercy of those children and their parents who have none. Those parents that come in screaming the loudest about the unfair treatment of their children are all too often the same ones wreaking havoc and bullying the teachers, administrators and you. You let this happen. Teaching, in essence was originally intended to be just that, spreading the wealth of knowledge. By implementing such absurdities as character education instead of taking on the bullies and telling them that as parents, it is THEIR job to build and instill the foundation of character in their children, you have accepted their own lack of character and accountability and placed that burden onto a teacher to complete in 185 days. Now you have placed an even more insane measure of accountability on these teachers by forcing them to teach to a test, which is highly regarded publically as a disservice to the education of our children. For the public that doesn't know, I will clarify. If the End of Grade test scores are below a certain level, starting next year, that teacher in grades 3 and up is in jeopardy of losing their job. Even more ludicrous is that fact that teachers in grades K-2 will also have their jobs in jeopardy if the test scores do not reflect adequate results.

As a mother, wife, and former teacher as well as part of this community I am sorely disappointed in the careless hypocrisy that is used to fast deteriorate this county's schools. Because of the reckless way in which our school systems continue to allocate funds, take on new and untested theoretical programs, and implement impossible tasks. The best part is, the teachers take the brunt of all the speculation, criticism, and judgment when in all actuality, it is you and the public that should be held accountable for the decline of our public schools. All I have seen from my end is a bunch of hard working teachers up against the Goliath of public failures. The public needs to take action and until they start looking at the decision makers and holding them accountable instead of placing blame on the teachers on the front lines, the decline will continue. I encourage each of you to take a week and put yourself in a classroom as a facilitator so that when making decisions, you can see the actual impact of them. I wish the public could do the same. Maybe then, positive change could be brought about.

Spring is in the Air

It has been very hard to imagine that for the past two months it has been winter here, given that the normal temperature is usually in the high 60's and the sky is bright blue with the sun blazing above. In fact, the seems a bit more like we skipped strait from Fall to Spring. Being such it has thrown my yearly internal clock off kilter. For instance, the past couple of days it has been sunny, clear and around 70 degrees outside. It is at this point that my Spring inner workings start processing the part of my crainium that says "Project Time!!!". Now I know it is only February and our funds are still limited but everywhere I look in this house, I see a project waiting to happen. So this week, i finally caved to my urges and started off small by creating a tile border around one very plain mirror in my bathroom. This then spread to putting a border around the ugly light fixture above that mirror and voila, my need has been somewhat quenched and for very little time and effort. I have managed to "pretty up" in a minor way but it is always the little details that can make a big difference. SO now what? left twiddling my thumbs yet again, the itch begins and there is so much I want to do. I want my bathroom fixtures replaced. I want to paint and panel the bathrooms and Katie's room. I want a tile backsplash in the kitchen. My yard.....Jesus, my yard. If I could get a whole new yard dropped around the house, that would be great. My poor Mercedes sits longingly in the driveway, begging for some attention. The problem with these things is a seemingly large amount of funding. So I have to do these projects a little at a time and in between take on free projects in between.

So far, I have a few lined up. Painting is the first thing that comes to mind. In case you were wondering, A.C. Moore has an insane sale on canvases. So I bought in bulk and am going to get inspired. Acrylic paint is also on sale which I have decided I like much better than oil. I also have a sketch book I need to take to a park sometime and just freehand. My family history is an ongoing work in progress. Irecently found more information on my grandmother's side of the family which I think I have made sense of but now have to retype so it makes sense to anyone who ever reads it. Ghost hunting comes next. Well, I joined a group hoping to actually do more of this than freelancing in graveyards on my own but unfortunately all my group has done is meet at a pool hall and eat drink and play pool. So I am hoping next month to actually start doing something relevant. I have a lot of the equipment, just need a site. If you read this and know of anywhere, let me know. Music is still there but more in the background since I have felt less compelled to play and I am working to understand why that is. My cooking skills are improving thanks to the lack of funds for always eating out and I can often get creative with dinner just as easily as I can with cakes even though cakes are so much sweeter.

The way I figure it is that I am chosing to spend my time and energy on positive things wheras a year ago, I could not really say that. It is good to be involved in things and I like having the freedom and time to explore my options. People don't get enough of that these days. I am just very glad and very thankful I have the help and support I need to be one of the lucky few.