Not everything you read online is true

It may be obvious to most of us, but not everything you read online is true.  We have recently come across a situation where many half truths and lies are being published that put us in a bad light yet due to confidentiality and ethical rules, we can't even defend ourselves.  Politics have come into play in something that isn't political at all.

Teachers going alley digging

I was reminded this evening of what teaching has come to these days in our state s our choir teacher talked about her finds "alley digging" to find props for the theater, orchestra, and chorus program she leads that has no budget.

The Casualties of Politics

I recently spoke with a veteran teacher who resigned from teaching and completely left the world of education.  From my conversations with her and observance of the way lead others out of school, I think it a safe bet to say she was a dedicated and very talented teacher.  She isn't the first and she won't be the last.

Recent politics has turned to bashing teachers and government workers in general.  It has turned to making demands about a profession one can't fully understand until one is immersed in it.  Recent politics have turned away from learning and towards results of meaningless assessments.  It has taken away from teachers the ability to teach in a way that will enhance future generations.

When you display such a hatred against a profession, take away all their tools to truly do their job well, and eliminate fair compensation you are only left with those that can't find a job elsewhere or don't mind being a part of a system that is falling apart.  Because the rest will find a new career.  The talented and dedicated educators will move on to a career where there isn't interference with doing a job one can be proud of.

Is that what people want?

I fear that 20,40, or even 60 years from now, the few who can rise up without a decent education will really regret the politics happening now.  And the rest will be too dumb to know the difference.

State of Education

I try not to get political in my blog but I am so frustrated with the editorials and comments regarding education in WI.  For those that don't follow Wisconsin politics, our governor and legislature passed a bill that limits union negotiation power to salary alone (not working conditions, benefits, etc.) and requires that all unions re-certify.

In general, I do not believe unions play a very important role today, however in teaching they play a huge role.  In private business management has an invested interest in the success of the company and typically has a good knowledge-base of the industry.  In teaching, management is elected officials from the community who likely have no or very little knowledge of education and what it means to be a teacher.  Additionally, their interest is typically focused only on saving the taxpayers money (which unlike private business is not tied to creating a good product at all).  Allowing a union to negotiate, reminds those elected officials of the importance of also creating a good product.

With the passing of this bill, the general public (the ones with no knowledge of teaching) have come out in greater numbers than before bashing teachers, complaining they make to much and don't work very much at all.  What this does is discourage bright students who are considering going into teaching from ever entering the field and it encourages current teachers to leave the field.  Who would want to be in a field where every day you are hearing how awful teachers are and how they have such lavish benefits???  Add to that the difficulties that parents aren't interested in their children learning (either they are only interested in good grades or they don't care at all) and administrations who cater to parents by forcing teachers to lower standards so the kids can get higher grades and not supporting teachers with discipline problems.

This new bill like just about any new bill will take many years for the effects to be clear.  But we are already seeing lots of good teachers retiring, moving to the few districts that still value their teachers, or leaving the teaching profession all together.  What will this mean for our students?  What will the changes to class sizes and student learning conditions mean for our students?  Time will tell.

State and Federal Budgets for Legal Services Corporation

As budget bills sweep through our nation to deal with the lower revenues and years of spending beyond our means, I can't help but fear how my clients and potential clients will fare. My state's budget bill cut out all LSC funding. We are likely to see cuts at the federal level and there is uncertainty as to whether some of our grants will be renewed.

Besides the obvious fact that I may be unemployed soon, what I fear most are the effects these proposed budgets will have on my clients. We already do not have resources to help all the people that need help. This drastic of cuts will mean even more facing our challenging legal system alone, many of whom have additional barriers to our legal system such as disabilities or limited English skills.

Additionally, our state budget bills makes drastic cuts to public benefits, benefits that almost all of our clients greatly depend on to help them put food on the table or pay for a roof over there heads.

I realize that cuts will have to me made and we all will have to sacrifice. But I hope our representatives don't focus most of the cuts on those who can afford it least. And I hope that those of us with more will do our best to fill the gap through charity contributions of time and money.