My normal wake-up routine involves flipping through my phone and scanning the news before I get moving for the day. I like to know what’s going on in the world, but I can’t handle 24 hour depressing news feed. That would give me anxiety.
Today’s headline about raising the minimum pay for public teachers to $60,000 a year sounds amazing, but…
Don’t misunderstand me, teachers are definitely not being paid for the jobs they do. Schools have become more focused on standardized test scores than actually promoting learning and creativity. They’re more concerned with keeping kids in school than enforcing proper behavior, discipline and respect. Add in the number of families using school as a day care and you have a huge mess.
But will a $60000 salary have the same impact on a teacher in Mississippi as it would a teacher in Michigan. With all 50 states having a different cost of living, there is no guarantee that this will have the desired effect of attracting more qualified people to the field.
Plus how do we fund these salaries? The US is in massive debt. Inflation is still raging and school funding comes from the state and school boards. I read the idea of federal grants, but what strings will be attached to that? Will schools have to follow a new curriculum, or ban certain books? It just seems like murky waters to tread.
I know that all progress comes with bumps and setbacks. I used to be optimistic that we as a country could reach our goals and set an example for the world and generations to come. Over the last few years though I’ve become less optimistic. I expect everything to be turned into a political battleground. If that happens here, I expect our teachers and our children to be the casualties.
Pray we can do better.
Kristie
Adventures with the Michigan Mama 