So, unless you live under a rock, you should be aware that California has a bit of a crisis in regards to the teaching and education community. This is something that does not bode well for someone like me, an aspiring teacher.
With the economy the way it is overall, "layoffs," "budget cuts," and "unemployment" have become frequent discussions in the household. My concern is when these discussions hit the households of an educator. Perhaps I am biased, but I am starting to feel like one of very few people with their head on straight.
Why is it always so acceptable to jeopardize the educations of the youth in this country? Here we have a president that has finally put the emphasis on education that is so long over due, but we have a governor that is so willing to cut billions out of the budget (do I need to remind you that Schwarzenegger ran on a platform where he said he would not cut from education)? And then, on top of it all, they put out a Proposition set (1A-F) that couples a FANTASTIC 9 billion dollars back into education (Prop 1B) with an evil, diabolical, and deceitful tax extension/raise that is being disguised as a "spending cap" (Prop 1A). Why is this such a problem, you wonder? Because if Prop 1A fails, Prop 1B fails too. This places so many people in a horrific predicament - do I vote for taxes that I can't afford to pay, or do I give up on the public education system and put thousands of California teachers out of work? I for one will never vote against education, because you cannot put a price on the future of a child.
I recently attended the John and Ken Tax Revolt 2009 with my boyfriend in Downtown Fullerton, California. We were among the minority there (being under 30, not upper class, liberals), and I can certainly say that I do not stand for almost anything that John and Ken do, but I must agree with the basic premise of this so called "revolt." The governator has got to go, and so do the bigwigs up in Sacramento. Say "so long" to the days of political divides, it is just one big clusterfuck. But I will never, ever support the concept that it is okay to cut from education, which seems to be an idea that J&K are more than fine with. They consistently call teachers "greedy" on their show, and talk about how they just want to suck money from every avenue possible. Is it greedy that I want to have a job come fall? Is it greedy that I went to school for an extra year to get a credential so I could teach children, while not being paid for all of the work that I did and am doing? I am not greedy, it is politicians that are greedy. It is republicans that are greedy. It is democrats that are greedy.
Someday, I will be governor of California. But for now, I just want a job. Is that so greedy?
