Starting last year I found at least five articles the discussed the cutback schools had made in order to finish out the school year. Although I applaud districts for their creativity, I struggled to understand how our modern day society thought that these cuts were alright. Why wasn’t anyone thinking about the impact that these cuts would have on the students and their teachers?
Here in Oregon, we let go over 2,000 teachers in the past year. The qualified experienced educators were let go, while newer college graduates were hired (since it would cost less to pay them); all of this was done in order to save more money. Again, very creative. However, I don’t want to discuss how much that upsets me. Instead, I want to highlight the difficulties this financial crisis is having on the people who matter the most in the schools – the students. It doesn’t matter how creative school districts are at juggling funds, we are still impacting their learning.
Last school year I had three students who were directly affected by the money pitfalls of their schools.
—–
First was V; my hyperactive elementary school boy. Usually during the year he was given a weekly bulletin. It was great, it gave families, students, and tutors a chance to prepare for the upcoming week. V and I could breakdown what he needed to focus on day by day. But after his Spring Break the bulletins started showing up on blue paper, then every other week, and by May not at all. So, this tool that helped V (and others) wasn’t available any longer; all because the school could no longer afford to buy paper. Can’t. afford. Paper. Paper….
Another story dealing with V, and another student of mine from the same school, began having all of their worksheets on blue paper. Both boys informed me that their school ran out of white paper and couldn’t afford to buy more that year. Thereby forcing teachers to, not only use colored paper, but to use it sparingly – because once there were out of it that was it for the year. This happened in April.
——————————————-
For J and the high-schoolers he went to school with, they had an interesting way to take tests – on overhead projector transparencies. Let me repeat that. In all of his classes last year, students had to take their own paper and use it to take exams from an overhead. There are several issues with this that I had a hard time knowing where to put my focus.
The teachers weren’t able to give students a paper test, or even paper to write the test on. What about the students who didn’t have paper? There sure hoped another classmate brought extra. What about students who had a hard time seeing the transparency? Or what would happen in a student missed part of the information? Maybe they skipped a question? However you look at it, this wasn’t a good situation.
———————————————-
Which is just like what my other student J had to cope with in his film studies class last winter. Typically the students would watch movies, or clips of them, discuss it as a group, and then do an assignment on what they watched. But what happens when the teacher can no longer afford to rent the movies needed to study? Oh, well, the students have to go and rent them themselves. Exactly. Remind me again how this is giving students a proper education?
All three of these stores are all true and all part of the reality that is facing students in the American school system. It’s a lose – lose – lose situation. Without getting too political, there are changes that need to be made so we can stop shortchanging the individuals who truly have the most to lose, and need the most to gain – the students.
—————————————————
On a caveat, last night I watched the new to find out that the state of Utah’s Department of Education is considering getting rid of 12th grade. Yup, the WHOLE YEAR. Tell me again why this is a good idea?
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700008175/Lawmakers-mull-ed-budget-cut-ideas.html
Recent Comments