A darkness surrounds me these days.
I'm not sure why; however, the fact that my health has not been great lately might be adding to it. Next Thursday, I go in for hernia surgery. My doctor will perform a traditional surgery. On the dark bright side, he said I'll be out of work at least two weeks up to six weeks. That, of course, will keep me from school through winter break. Never before have I been so happy to have my body cut open so I wouldn't have to go to work.
Work...teachers are being mauled by the financial times this year.
We are working harder to attain certain federally mandated standards (100% pass rate by 2013). Yet, we have larger class sizes, lay-offs, and fewer supplies due to the recent wave of budget cuts. We wouldn't want to inconvenience the American public by raising their taxes, however.
My job is wearing on me. Hard.
Last week, the school board voted to give teachers a one-time bonus with one-time surplus money in the health insurance account. All that was needed was final approval from the county board of supervisors (Virginia is a rare state where the school board, although elected, does not have a fiscal authority). They chose to deny the bonus.
Teachers in my school district were devastated.
On Tuesday, there is a county board of supervisors meeting at 3pm. I suspect that there will be more than a few teachers there to silently protest the snub.
My job as a leader in the teacher association wears on me and makes me feel older than I am. Oh yeah...did I tell you that the Virginia legislators will try to mess with my retirement package this spring. They may just add 5 years to my minimum retirement age (Rule of 90). :( Plus, they may vote to destroy the teacher pension program for future teachers. Let's face it...4 billion dollars in a fund sitting within sight of a cash-strapped commonwealth may be just too tempting for legislators to not raid.
I grow weary of all of this.
2 comments:
Here's wishing you a speedy recovery!
I can't fathom how teachers are able to do what they do. My mother has been teaching for 30+ years and will be retiring in January. Figured she'd better get out before her retirement is crushed.
The combination of the economic hardships, standardized testing, and complete lack of involvement from parents have been wearing on her for years.
It is rather sad to see a former Virginia teacher of the year and McGlothlin award winner be so frustrated with the current state of teaching.
If you have the wherewithal to continue to fight for teachers (and subsequently the students) please keep carrying that torch!
Wishing you all the best,
Jeremy (MR2 Hokies on TSL)
Thanks for the comments, Jeremy. Actually, I dredged up that piece from my pile of dead entries. That surgery happened about five years ago. In the end, I recovered, had another hernia surgery, and then a knee surgery. Now I'm done with surgeries and retired from teaching! Life is good!
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