Teacher Rally/Protest

Teachers and their supporters took to the streets throughout the state of Idaho to protest/rally against Tom Luna's Education Reform Bill, "Students Come First." Even the name is a joke! We were happy to participate with Districts 91 and 93 in Idaho Falls. I'm not a political person AT ALL....as a matter of fact, I hate politics. But this issue gets my blood boiling! I have never used my blog for a political agenda either, but for me, this is worth the exception. I was proud to stand with the teachers! I was proud that even with very last minute organization, the line of teachers, and their supporters extended from ShopKo, clear down to Woodruff!

Here are a few of my feelings on the issues:

I want a teacher to teach my children, NOT a computer!

I have had wonderful teachers in my life, that have significantly influenced the route my life has taken. I have a degree in education, because I wanted to be able to be a positive influence on kids. My daughter wants to be a second grade teacher, because she has had wonderful teachers that have influenced her, and she wants to be like that when she's older! I'm not saying all teachers are great....trust me, we've dealt with some bad ones. But the point I'm trying to make is that most teachers choose that profession because they feel like they can make a difference in the lives of young people, NOT for the money! So, when did they become the bad guys?!?

Teachers are doing a darn good job, with the crappy situations they have to work with. My daughter has 35 students in her class! You can't even walk between the desks!

Here's one that might ruffle some feathers...when your child is doing a crappy job in school, step it up as a parent! It's not always the teacher's fault! The ultimate responsibility lies in the home! My kids have have a few bad teachers, but they've still managed to do good, because they have parents that care and get involved!

If they want to start paying teachers based on the performance of the students, than they might as well say, crappy parents can't have kids! I taught 6th grade last year for 8 weeks. I had a boy that REFUSED to turn in a math assignment. I tried EVERYTHING in my power to help the kid, including phone calls home! It makes it pretty hard when the parents care less than the child! Why should teachers get their pay docked when some situations are totally out of their hands?

Statistically, lower income areas show lower performance levels. What teachers are going to want to teach those kids? How does that mesh with the title of the bill, Students Come First?

When all the good teachers end up leaving Idaho, and going somewhere where they are respected and valued, we shouldn't be surprised. I could go on and on, but I won't! However, if the rest of the bills pass, count on me being out on the streets showing my support for the teachers again!

These are Bailey's teachers from 4th grade, Mrs. Lines, Mrs. Andrews, and Miss Johnson! We love these ladies for their efforts! They go above and beyond, and they deserve to be valued for what they offer!

I saw this on facebook, and a couple blogs, so I thought I'd share:

Are you sick of highly paid teachers?
Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!
We can get that for less than minimum wage.
That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours).
Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.
However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.
LET'S SEE....
That's $585 X 180= $105,300
per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).
What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an
hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.
Wait a minute -- there's
something wrong here! There sure is!
The average teacher's salary
(nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days
= $277.77/per day/30
students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!!