Schools are laying off teachers and canceling humanities classes nationwide, putting the check before the child.
Students expect to suffer because of budget crisis
[Terence Chea; Jun. 09, 2010]
Students who graduated from high school this spring may have collected their diplomas just in time, leaving institutions that are being badly weakened by the nation’s economic downturn.
Across the country, mass layoffs of teachers, counselors and other staff members are leading to larger classes and reductions in everything that is not a core subject, including music, art, clubs, sports and other after-school activities.
Educators and others worry the cuts could lead to higher dropout rates and lower college attendance as students receive less guidance and become less engaged in school. They fear a generation of young people could be left behind.
The American Association of School Administrators estimates that 275,000 education jobs will be cut in the coming school year, based on an April survey. Other AASA surveys found that 52 percent of administrators plan to cut extracurricular activities, and 51 percent are reducing elective courses not required for graduation.
Tupper Lake Central Schools in New York, will lose 25 percent of its instructional staff in the upcoming school year, which will probably result in bigger classes and the elimination of electives such as photography, modern art and ceramics.
Silver Creek High senior Anthony Chavez said he worries that students won’t get the same opportunities with just one counselor for more than 2,400 students. “Through my four years here, my counselors helped me with everything. I’m the first generation in my family to go to college,” he said. “I didn’t even know what SATs were.”
And it’s not just our neighbors who are losing out, we are losing teachers and programming right here too.
Teacher layoffs putting Modesto’s Fremont Open Plan in jeopardy
[ J.N. Sbranti; Jun. 02, 2010]
After thriving for 34 years as an alternative elementary school, teacher layoffs are putting Modesto’s Fremont Open Plan in jeopardy.
The alternative school has nine teachers, but two of them are retiring and three others have been told they’re being laid off because of budget cuts.
Modesto City Schools is slicing $25 million from its 2010-11 budget because of funding shortfalls. To save money, the district is boosting class sizes and reducing teachers. That includes laying off about 55 elementary school educators, based on seniority.
“We feel the continuity of our program is in jeopardy,” Fremont Open Plan parent Patti Reeder told trustees.
They weren’t the only community members to share their concerns. With teacher layoffs and school closures, scant humanities or after school programs, some look to other methods of learning.
EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT
- LEARN – Interview a family you know (youth and guardians) regarding education. How have the education levels and educational quality in Modesto affected them? What choices have been made because of it? What options have or have not been available?
- ACT – What can you do about it? Using your own self-described super power, work with friends, family, neighbors, or other Super Heroes to empower one youth, or one community, with better access to education or a higher quality of educational richness.
- IMAGINE – Unleash your creativity. Tell me about how you would solve Modesto’s educational issues if you had any resources you needed, and be specific about which change would solve which issue. Share your strategy through your videos, images, and blog posts, and post a link to them in the comments below.
- Ask A Mentor for Help
Education
The cuts being made to education are rediculous. The most important investment that can be made and the wisest money spent is on education- especially basic education! Lawmakers and legilastors seem to have it all backwards. Cutting educations and raising a bunch of dim-witted, skill-less, low-level-functioning idiots is the last thing that our economy needs. If we want to have a solution on how to get out of a financial crisis, maybe we should be trying to raise more Einstiens. The arts and extracurricular activites are a huge part of that education as well. People, especially children, need those outlets. Kids learn better in creative environments- it is a crucial part of their developmental process. But, enough about my own frustrations, let’s get down to business.
Learn- John and Sharron are some close family friends of my parents, and they are teachers. He teaches Spanish and French in Modesto and she teaches at an elementary school in Atwater. They are all too familiar with the cuts that have been made, as John has had to move from school to school to find a stable position, and every year they face even more cutbacks. Sharron works with hadicap children and finds that the resources even available to them are being cut. The speech therapy programs are lacking and the extra help for the autistic children is dwindiling. It is sad that we have come to cut off the education of future generations to cover the financial mistakes of the currently empowered ones.
Act- I have witnessed the lack-luster ways of the current education system. When I was in was in high school and went through my mundane life, I just chose to ignore the possibilities around me. After my K-otic side was born, not only did I seized the opportunites to participate, but I also helped create those opportunities for others. Teachers are so under-appreciated and overwhelmed that I feel there is a lack of enthusiasm for what they could incorporate into their classes. I think that a resurgence of inspiration and creativity, along with some enthusiastic encouragement could go a long way for today’s youth. As a community member and a parent myself, I am trying to get involved and help the teachers out so that my children can benefit from what they should be getting. If more parents would take a proactive role in their children’s enducation, I think that we could have a hige positive impact on not only our children’s educational opportunites, but the future of education as well. If people don’t fight for something it will never get fixed, but if we stand up and voice our oppinions, we can effect change for the future.
Imagine- With unlimited resources, I could cause a lot of K-oas! When children are presented with opportunities to play and participate and have fun, they usually will. I think that there should be more options available when it comes to educational environments and possibilities. Schools that use alternative teaching methods, that focus on smaller class sizes, that are more focused in a certain area as the students get older, they explain the future potential and options to students and their families are a few things that I would implement. An example of this would be the Steiner Waldorf methods, that are available through some charter schools. I would also raise the incentives and compensation for teachers to be more proactively involved in the curriculum. It’s not about teaching the minimum and stopping there, it is about connecting the material to the loves of those learning it. I would use my enthusiasm and creativity to inspire and drive the minds of the teachers, families, and students, and I would use my determination to help push through legislation that brings to light the need for all the extracurricular activites and the arts. The educational success of a student is not soley based on the effort of that student, but the effort of the families behind them and the teachers and programs infront of them.
http://k-oticathegreat.blogspot.com/2011/12/education.html
Learn- I talked to my aunt who has two young boys. the oldest is 9. When I talked to her about it she said that she was getting ready to put her kids into soccer, but said they decided not to because they can see my my older cousin falling behind. My Aunt thinks it’s because their is allot more kids in his class not. he isn’t getting the attention that he got before
act- I would institute a school voucher program, so if parents were not satisfied with their school they would have the choice to take them somewhere else. I would also try to organize as many parents as I could to volunteer to pick up these programs, so that they would hopefully not go away.
Imagine- if I had an unlimited amount of recourses I would give parents much larger vouchers so that they could choose any kind of school they wanted, and it would be fully paid for. I would also build more schools, especially is lower income areas. I would make sure that all the new school I built had all that they needed to be versatile, in that they could offer many different things to capture the students interest.
http://jjones9.blogspot.com/2010/09/helping-modesto.html
You bravely venture forth to attempt 1:Educational Empowerment…
You encountered an Over-full Classroom!
– The Over-full Classroom attacks!
– It has 9 hit points.
You distract the Over-full Classroom, and attack it for 6 damage.
– The Over-full Classroom slashes at you, but you dodge.
You stab the Over-full Classroom for 21 damage.
– The Over-full Classroom attacks, but your armour protects you.
You stab at the Over-full Classroom, but it dodges.
– The Over-full Classroom attacks you for 5 damage.
You attack the Over-full Classroom and miss.
– The Over-full Classroom attacks you for 13 damage.
The Over-full Classroom defeats you, and keeps its treasure.
You are paid 50 gold pieces for your bravery.
LEARN: I have learned that there are many issues with the educational system in Modesto. The approach I chose to take on how to “fight crime” that is going on in schools is not to focus on the lack of money and funding, but to take what we do have and make the most out of it. What we do have are environments that are not adequate for positive learning environments. Children need to feel safe and not be worried about fitting in, being bullied, or being excepted in a learning environment.
ACT: I purpose that schools give a lot of focus to making the learning environment safe and productive. Budget cuts have caused the number of teachers to decrease which means less one on one time with the students so with time being limited I think that quality beats quantity. The quality of the school environment is corrupted when “bullies” make children fear coming to school and make then unable to focus while at school. I think that this problem is solved by getting the parents involved with speaking to their children about appropriate classroom behavior and having a “No Tolerance” policy when it comes to bullying. Harsh punishments resulting in privileges being taken away to enforce these rules. Children need to understand acceptance and that school needs to be full of positive reinforcement with revoked privileges if you put another students educational opportunities in jeopardy.
IMAGINE: With these actions in place I believe that one day schools everywhere will be positive and fun environments for kids to gets an education but also to make them better, more accepting and understanding people. Education is so important and when money and the amount of teachers and materials are lacking, we must make what we have the most positive and productive as possible. One day all children across the country will wish school would never end!
Check it out!!
http://superjameson.blogspot.com/
You bravely venture forth to attempt 1:Educational Empowerment…
You encountered Political Red Tape!
– The Political Red Tape attacks!
– It has 23 hit points.
You stab at the Political Red Tape, but it dodges.
– The Political Red Tape casts a spell at you, but you resist.
You attack the Political Red Tape, but miss.
– The Political Red Tape attacks you for 9 damage.
You attack the Political Red Tape and miss.
– The Political Red Tape casts a spell at you, but you resist.
You distract the Political Red Tape, and attack it for 10 damage.
You defeat the Political Red Tape.
It was guarding 32 gold coins.
Conservative Caveman
as i closed the dirty graphitti’d phone booth door on this busy street i fumbled through my trenchcoat pocket for some loose change, lighter, bubblegum, ahh three quarters. it ought to be enough. as my glowing red eyes light up the booth, i notice the typical missing phone book and trash in the change recepticle. no one seems to notice me as they pass, and i place my coins in the slot and dial. a car pulls up next to me on the rainy street as the earpiece rings.
“hello?” the voice on the other end calls out. “who’s this?”. “never mind who this is”, i say “i have an important mission for you and your husband. it’s life or death”. after a short pause, the voice on the other end says that she’s calling the police and that she can see me in the phone booth outside then hangs up. looking around and confused, my bear-power of intelligence is telling me that i may have called the wrong number so i check it. sure enough, what i thought was a four turns out to be a smeared nine. fearful that i may have to hurt humans, i leave for another phone booth. i slip away into the night.
this time i get it right, and its the voice of a friend of a friend’s second cousin’s merchant marine friend’s professors wife. she accepts my important mission.
one that will have future consequences.
You bravely venture forth to attempt 1:Educational Empowerment…
You encountered an Over-full Classroom!
– The Over-full Classroom attacks!
– It has 18 hit points.
You distract the Over-full Classroom, and attack it for 6 damage.
– The Over-full Classroom slashes at you, but you dodge.
You stab the Over-full Classroom for 5 damage.
– The Over-full Classroom attacks, but your armour protects you.
You stab at the Over-full Classroom, but it dodges.
– The Over-full Classroom attacks you for 10 damage.
You attack the Over-full Classroom and miss.
– The Over-full Classroom attacks you for 27 damage.
The Over-full Classroom defeats you.
You are paid 38 gold pieces for your bravery.
One Afternoon at Livingston Middle School i was going by and i all of a sudden and seen an after school program. i noticed that they were going though a budget cut. This after school program has 100 students and 4 workers, this program is suppose to offer one on one tutoring and fun enrichment games without. due to the budget cut this program is going to be not the usual after school program. is kind of like this picture the hurt locker they only people that suffer from this are the students that have no where else to go the start is cutting workers and these students are falling behind in school work and thats why students are acting up in school the way to changes this is by, someone standing up and being a leader. I Am will go go above and beyond to save the after school program with budget and hire more people, so the students can get more one on one attention. im tired of the school being a ‘Hurt Locker’ lets change that and make it a Locker of happiness.
You bravely venture forth to attempt 1:Educational Empowerment…
You encountered a Teacher Lay-offs!
– The Teacher Lay-offs attacks!
– It has 17 hit points.
You attack the Teacher Lay-offs and miss.
– The Teacher Lay-offs attacks you for 15 damage.
You attack the Teacher Lay-offs, but miss.
– The Teacher Lay-offs casts a spell at you, but you resist.
You distract the Teacher Lay-offs, and attack it for 1 damage.
– The Teacher Lay-offs attacks, but your armour protects you.
You attack the Teacher Lay-offs, but miss.
– The Teacher Lay-offs casts a spell at you, but you resist.
You stab the Teacher Lay-offs for 4 damage.
– The Teacher Lay-offs attacks, but your armour protects you.
You attack the Teacher Lay-offs and miss.
– The Teacher Lay-offs attacks you for 17 damage.
You distract the Teacher Lay-offs, and attack it for 7 damage.
You defeat the Teacher Lay-offs.
It was guarding a Creativity and 43 gold coins.