The news...

Wellllll........

Probably no Photo III next year. But I did have an idea about how to give the students what they deserve and I plan to talk to them about it today.

The meeting went about how I expected it to. There are massive cuts coming. I really wish I could be blunt and honest about all this but the ban on teachers discussing political viewpoints means that students can listen to and read things from those who despise the teaching profession and not hear the counterpoints from those who are actually in the field.

I will say this... I would like to, some day, see teachers get the same respect and gobs of money that those in the police departments, fire departments and the military get. There are never any arguments about those people getting too much of anything, be it pay, overtime - which teachers DO NOT GET, contrary to what many of our students and their parents think - benefits, etc., etc.. I remember talking to an Italian student years ago. He was a very conservative person - one would assume that he felt teachers get too much - but he felt that US teachers deserve the respect the teachers in other countries get. We are entrusted with something most common citizens would never do - spend each and every day with a roomful of youth and work to increase their knowledge and abilities in a myriad of areas to prepare them to be well educated and prepared adults. The majority of us do this because we love it. NO ONE is getting rich as a teacher. But we do not get respect and we certainly do not get fair compensation when one considers the level of education and expertise we are required to have. Oh, and by the way... that Master's degree I just got? Paid for it out of my own pocket. No teacher has a whole master's degree paid for in full by her/his district. In fact, the amount of reimbursement I could have gotten would have amounted to peanuts compared to what those in the business sector get.

Some may say that they see rich teachers. If one of us has a flashy car, big house, expensive lifestyle, or goes on lots of fancy vacations, you can bet they fall into one of these categories:

• part of a wealthy family
• married to someone who makes a great deal more
• has no kids and makes do without many common comforts

I fall into the latter category. My sister is a teacher and married to a teacher. They are going to have a kid. Have no clue how they will afford it. I can go on European vacations, sure. But I challenge any person who poo-poo's that to do what I do: only buy a car when your old one dies (I am on only my second car and I am 36 years old), do not go out to eat all the time, no cable TV, no video game systems, no Uggs - I'm talking to you kids who refuse to pay for a yearbook - no ipod and requisite downloads, no new wardrobe every year, no cell phone other than the one free with the plan, do not rack up credit card charges unless you can pay them off each month, no purchasing of DVD's or CD's all the time - rent from the public library, do not drive everywhere - WALK!, and be thrifty with electricity and other things that involve paying a bill. And there are many other things my husband and I do to not end up in debt. But, many, many teachers are in debt for a variety of reasons. We just do not make as much money as the public thinks. And, do I really need to go into how many of us spend our own money when we run out of supplies on the job? Really? I hope not.

I know I am ranting, but as I sit here, to my right is a very expensive digital SLR my co-worker got from a friend in the military. It was given to her because the guy dropped it and it broke. See if she wants it once she can get it fixed. The military paid for it. He dropped it. They buy him a new one, no questions. From what I can tell, this was a bad and careless drop. But no ramifications.

None of our students drop DSLR's. We can't afford any for them... We can no longer afford to pay for the cameras that do break because of wear and tear. Anyone want to do a can shake or bake sale for the Photo program to get our equipment fixed?

I'm done...