98 Days of Hope
With all the talk about schools being shut down and budget cuts in the education sector around the nation right now, it’s clear that it is a difficult time for teachers. In the Chicago-area schools, there is much talk about budget cuts and personnel cuts because of the dire situation that is the Illinois budget. And this isn’t just Illinois; it’s across the nation.
But in the face of all of this, we do see some hope. Wonderful and extraordinary things are happening in our classrooms every day, despite the fear that, at the end of this school year, many more teachers may be joining the ranks of the unemployed.
An undergraduate classmate of mine, Megan, is chronicling the end of this school year on her new blog, 98 Days of Hope. From the About section (emphasis mine):
I am a teacher.
I teach in a public, urban district at a school that has undergone some remarkable changes throughout the last five years. Under state intervention and through the dedication of talented and committed teachers, students, and administration, we have seen positive changes in school community, academic achievement, test scores, and community involvement. I am surrounded by amazing people every day, and I am inspired by the work that we do together.
Over the past few months, I have become increasingly uneasy with the decisions my district has been making in my school and in schools across our district. Everything from removing block scheduling, reducing support classes, integrating high-need developmental students into all classrooms, reducing art classes, reducing advisory periods, reducing common planning and department planning, and introducing a “guaranteed and viable” scripted curriculum that doesn’t account for student need or respect a teacher’s ability to teach. Individually, and with the hard work of some incredibly gifted teachers, these changes could be accommodated. Collectively, I worry they are going to destroy our school, our district, the lives of our students, and reek havoc on our larger community. It may seem dramatic, but there are few areas more vital and urgent than education and our children.
As part of these changes, I will also most likely lose my job at the school I’m at–an arts school that I specifically moved to this state to teach at. That is not official by any means, but it is likely. That said, this blog is not about that.
This blog is about documenting the good stuff–the positive and inspiring things that happen in my classroom and throughout the school. Also, I don’t want this negativity and hurt I feel because of these changes to infiltrate my teaching. I want to focus on the positive. I want these last few months to embody the beauty and power of our school and to show the community what is possible . . . and what’s at stake.
This blog is inspiring. In a world consumed with paychecks and unemployment rates and failing test scores, this blog points out that there are wonderful things going on despite it all. I urge you to check it out for yourselves.
Thanks for sharing.