I am sorry that I cannot
attend this important meeting tonight, but I am at the limit of hours and
energy that I can expend for the day.
This weekend I spent 12
hours organizing and playing in a band for a function that our Central H.S.
choir was invited to perform at, I wrote 2 formal recommendation letters for
senior scholarships, prepared a new syllabus for a new college-level course at
the high school next semester, and got a whooping cough immunization. Today I
used my lunch break to drive to West Salem and let my dog out so that I could
stay after school and volunteer to play the piano for our upcoming all-grades
musical, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I love doing all these
activities to support our students.
But I have had an 11-hour
day today, and it’s not unusual at all. It’s not unusual to use my weekends to
chaperone retreats, support the theatre program and choir, grade 8 hours worth
of papers at a time, and spend my own money in the process. In the first 4
weeks of school I logged 60 hours of extra work for the school, and about $200
worth of supplies that were necessary for my students and work here, like
planners for 10th-12th graders. I’m now at $670 for the
year, and we’re not through with semester 1.
And I am not alone in
this. This is the pattern for the vast majority of teachers and even staff in
this district. And we are exhausted from overwork and underpay, not to mention
the ongoing disrespect of going 197 days without an acceptable contract.
I am sorry that I cannot
be here in person tonight, wearing my red shirt with my colleagues.
I’m sorry I cannot be
here in person to express the abominable way we have been promised year after
year the very things we’re standing up for now:
that that basic costs of
living increase would continue after freezes,
that our salaries would
be commensurate with other districts our size,
that actual time with
students would be increased again,
that acceptable class
sizes would come to fruition.
I am sorry that you can’t
seem to hear us when we keep reminding you that you assured us everything would
return to normal as soon as possible
after we’ve already suffered cuts, furloughs, reductions in force and giant
classes for 4 years. The budget outlook is the best it’s been in years, and yet
we still wait.
I am sorry I cannot be
here in person tonight to show you my fatigue over this issue.
But most of all, I’m
sorry that I cannot be here in person to somehow further prove to you that we
care about our contract. I’m sorry that
you don’t seem to believe our union reps, who we elected, and who speak for us
in this regard. I’m sorry that you seem to need a mass showing and wasting of
hours by hundreds of people before you will take us seriously. I know I don’t
have time for that—I’m busy working harder than ever.
I’m sorry that you think
we aren’t for real until you see our fatigued and appalled faces. I’m sorry
that your dragging heels on the issue of this contract continues to take a toll
on my health, and on the joy I usually feel in volunteering for our students.
But most of all, I’m
sorry to our students, who need more days, more time, smaller classes, and above
all, the surety of a qualified, stable, long-term district teaching staff who
doesn’t move on or fail to apply in Central 13J in the first place over poor teaching
salaries, benefits and treatment.
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