Dear Governor Synder,
I will not sacrifice students.You may take away funding from our public schools-I will just work a second job because I know my students need me, and the things I provide for them. I have survived all the pay cuts you have handed out these past 3 years. Even if it means going back to cleaning houses for others, I will buy the supplies, snacks, and incentives my students need to be successful! I will keep on teaching.
You may require more and more testing which is stressful to my kids, but I will still find a way to do fun hands on learning which they will remember and use long after they have forgotten the tested facts. I will honor every child as an individual and know they each have their own gifts. I will tell them that testing is just a small part of their education. I will keep on teaching
You may make the cost of my health insurance so expensive I can’t afford it. I will take more vitamins and learn to live without insurance, but I will keep on teaching.
You took away my seniority rights which will makes it harder for me to advocate for my students when many administrators only see test scores and not children. But I will continue to put my students first because I know their hopes, dreams and aspirations, and I will keep on teaching.
You will continue to point out everything negative you can about education and I will continue to point out how teachers make a difference every day. When I get discouraged I will reread the notes from my past years students and remember that they are the reason I teach. I will keep on teaching.
I will sit through the required Professional Development classes, even though they are basically the same ones I have taken years ago. Then I will go on line and find the successful lessons and ideas real teachers have created that really work. I will engage students in the learning process and I will keep on teaching.
You may make it impossible for students to have Music, and Art classes –but I will find a way to teach them that Art and Music aren’t extra, that they speak to our souls. Even If I have to drag out my guitar, sing off key, and use Youtube art classes, I will keep on teaching.
You may believe that giving school districts the right to evaluated and fire teachers for any reason will scare teachers into being better. I know that fear never works as a motivational tool. I have watched some of the very best teachers retire these past three years. I have watched others become so discouraged that they embraced the philosophy of just teaching the information that would be tested. I am not discouraged, I am not leaving. I am angry and I will fight for my students. Every child is a gift.
The unequal funding for education is not only unfair it is unethical. I will not be discouraged or silenced my students count…I will keep on teaching.
If you are ever interested in real ideas from real teachers to improve education, I would be more than happy to meet with you.
Kelley DeBoer
