Summertime…and the living is easy…
Right now, much of the talk in faculty and grade level meetings is about summer slide (at least on the elementary levels). But students aren’t the only ones to suffer from summer slide. Teachers and staff can suffer, too!
Education is a demanding profession. We all know that our work responsibilities extend far beyond the school hours and days. Over the school year we make many personal sacrifices in terms of time with our families and friends. By the time summer comes, it is a much needed and necessary rest. Summer allows many of us to become human again. It is a time to let go of the stresses that come with working within our schools.
But the attacks on public education do not take a summer break. Just recently we have seen…
1. A California judge strike down tenure for California teachers. He called tenure “unconstitutional.” According to the New York Times, three states have been following this lawsuit, funded in part, by Eli Broad and Michelle Rhee, in consideration of bringing their own lawsuits. One of those three states in New York.
2. The Supreme Court, at this very moment, is deliberating on a lawsuit that may cripple unions across the nation. If the Supreme Court rules against unions in Harris v. Quinn, the ability of our union to bargain for our next contract may be severely undermined.
3. A union in New York State recently settled their contract by agreeing to a two-tiered salary schedule. In other words, new hires will get paid on a separate, lower pay scale than veterans. Why should we care? Once one union gives in, the pressure on other unions increases dramatically. In 20 years, those new hires will be the majority. They will be the ones we depend on to negotiate retirement incentives and protect pensions. I wonder how enthusiastic they will be.
So what can you do to prevent summer slide?
Install the MAC app on your phone and use it once a week. https://mac.nysut.org/
Visit the HerricksTA.org website. We can keep you up to date over the summer about what is happening in education.
Reflect on where you are going to draw the line in the sand. How much more will we lose? None of us can afford to close our classroom doors and ignore the world anymore. Where is your line? What are you prepared to do about it? We’ll be asking in the fall.
Enjoy the much needed and deserved summer break!