I love it when a national story backs me up on a cartoon idea. I was beginning to wonder if any one "got it" and then this morning I opened my USA Today to this story about teachers selling ad space on exams so that they can afford to buy their student's supplies. Yes, you read that right. For anyone concerned over the future of education in this country, I strongly suggest a read. Administrators cut spending on supplies by a third, so teachers are left to fend for themselves. I've yet to hear even ONE administrator say "I'll take a pay cut, or even forgo my bonus this year, or buy my own gasoline, or etc., etc." It's always "where else can I cut without having to touch my well being." It's sickening. I'll make a promise right here and now - if I read about one school administrator anywhere in the country that volunteers such measures, I will be the first to dump tons and tons of praise upon him or her in this blog (insert cricket chirps here).
Anyway, here's my favorite line:
"The National Education Association says teachers spend about $430 out of their pockets each year for school supplies. This semester, Christine Van Ruiten, a teacher at E.C. Reems, a charter school in East Oakland, has spent $2,000. She scours Craigslist for free supplies and posts requests to DonorsChoose.org, which matches teachers with donors."
I wanted to make sure I posted a link here to the Donors Choose Web Site. For any teachers out there, who are contemplating taking money out of their own pockets for school supplies, go here first, and see if they can help.
http://www.donorschoose.org/Founded in 2000 by Charles Best, then a Bronx teacher, DonorsChoose has funded about 65,000 projects totaling $26 million. Best calls it "a more dignified, substantive alternative for teachers than selling candy door-to-door — and certainly than selling ad space on final exams. That's crazy."
No comments:
Post a Comment