The Soapbox

This is something I've never done here before, but I am going to get on my soapbox for a little bit. I guess it stems from a difficult week and the news I just read. There has been talk for quite some time of increasing the amount of days in school and/or lengthening the school day. Well, the Oklahoma legislature passed a bill today increasing teaching days by three each year, taking our (as in teachers) professional development and records days. I don't mind so much about adding days, but taking professional days is not cool. I guess legislators have not a clue as to how much planning and work without children around go into teaching them. We all need those days to get ourselves ready to teach these children! They also probably don't realize how much teachers put in to teaching that is not paid time. All summer long I plan and make things, with my own money, so I will have a good head start to school. I go up two weeks early to my classroom, on my own time, to get set up so I'm not completely panicked when I do have to report. When I am at school, I work my tail off most days and get paid a penance. If they paid me and all the other teachers in the state for the time we really put in, then I would feel differently. It's sad when someone without a college degree can make more than I can. I suppose that is the price I pay for doing a job that I love.
What really got to me though, is the comments section on the Oklahoman website about the article. What IDIOTS!! The readers were talking about just getting rid of education all together. They said it would save our tax dollars, since we suck out the most money anyway. They also said since we were the 45th ranked state for education, that we weren't doing our jobs. I think they don't realize we were the 45th lowest PAID state in the nation. It just enrages me that people think so little of our children and their future! When these people are old and gray, the children I teach will be running the country. Then they will wonder why the people taking care of them can't do an effective job. We'll just have to remind them that education is the key! Some people can't see past the end of their nose.

OK. I'm off the soapbox now. Thank you for reading.