Why I Believe in Teachers
Teachers working without pay because... education. From the Christian Science Monitor:
The Chester Upland School District (CUSD) has struggled with economic and academic problems for years, but now a budget impasse in the state capital, combined with the explosive growth of public charter schools in the district, have conspired to put it on the brink of insolvency.
CUSD officials informed teachers and support staff last Thursday that they wouldn’t be able to make payroll for the start of the school year. That day, the roughly 200 members of the local teachers union voted unanimously to work without pay. Secretaries, school bus drivers, janitors, and administrators will also be working without pay.
We all have decided to work without pay,” she continues. She starts to say “until” but then corrects herself. “As long as we can,” she says. “There is no ‘until.’ ”
A West Virginia high school teacher - alone and without anyone on the outside of her class knowing - saves entire class when teen gunman took over. I'd like to think her decades of teaching - and knowing something about the teen mind - were what saved those kids. Kind of like a Sully for the teaching profession (sorry, no TFA newbie could have done this). From the Associated Press:
“I knew if I lost my composure, this is going to end badly,” Smith told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. “He told me I was going to die today and I believed that.”
That the hostage crisis ended with no one killed or even hurt at Philip Barbour High School is largely due to Smith, whose superintendent called her actions “miraculous.”
Coming to school the next day wasn’t an easy decision for Smith. But one factor brought her right back into the classroom.
“I knew some of my students would, and they did,” Smith said.
The Chester Upland School District (CUSD) has struggled with economic and academic problems for years, but now a budget impasse in the state capital, combined with the explosive growth of public charter schools in the district, have conspired to put it on the brink of insolvency.
CUSD officials informed teachers and support staff last Thursday that they wouldn’t be able to make payroll for the start of the school year. That day, the roughly 200 members of the local teachers union voted unanimously to work without pay. Secretaries, school bus drivers, janitors, and administrators will also be working without pay.
We all have decided to work without pay,” she continues. She starts to say “until” but then corrects herself. “As long as we can,” she says. “There is no ‘until.’ ”
A West Virginia high school teacher - alone and without anyone on the outside of her class knowing - saves entire class when teen gunman took over. I'd like to think her decades of teaching - and knowing something about the teen mind - were what saved those kids. Kind of like a Sully for the teaching profession (sorry, no TFA newbie could have done this). From the Associated Press:
“I knew if I lost my composure, this is going to end badly,” Smith told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. “He told me I was going to die today and I believed that.”
That the hostage crisis ended with no one killed or even hurt at Philip Barbour High School is largely due to Smith, whose superintendent called her actions “miraculous.”
Coming to school the next day wasn’t an easy decision for Smith. But one factor brought her right back into the classroom.
“I knew some of my students would, and they did,” Smith said.
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