RayNerd's Journal

It's pretty amazing how resilient teachers are.  In my school system, the state decided to save money by cutting out some of our planning days (and the pro-rated pay for those days) - at the beginning of the school year.  This is normally the time when we set up our classrooms, write first week lesson plans, and revise things we did the previous year to be more effective.  We also usuallyspend half of that time in meetings. In the past, we had 5 days.  This year we had 2.

One of the days was still full of meetings.

So, what did my colleagues do in the face of shortened time and increased pressure?  Got the job done.   Now, some of us came in on non-contractual time (a few always do, myself included).  Some found ways to save time in the decorating process, others helped each other finish.  But we got the job done.

Some people think that it doesn't make sense for people to work harder  when the organization cuts your pay.  It might be illogical, but there is a certain logic to it, at least in our profession.  Every lawmaker in this country (the ones that saw this economic debacle coming, the ones that casued it, and the ones that are doing things now to try to impact it for better or worse) was once in a classroom.  Maybe some of them had teachers who missed opportunities to share something significant with them.  Some little thing that would encourage them to look at the big picture when making a decision.

Those of us who give it our all not only teach content, but strive to help our students they have to balance personal responsibility with their role in a global society.  If we hit the mark, we help develop adults with an understanding that their actions affect others.  If we slack off, we miss an opportunity.

And I refuse to miss an opportunity, because the person with the next great solution might be in my room.  I will give teaching my all, even for a few days less pay.

But be forewarned - NONE of us will do it for free.