This may or may not be old news, but I had a pretty conflicted reaction to the news that all (close to 2000) teachers in Providence Public Schools are being served with a 'pink slip' at the end of the school year becasue the city is trying to deal with a $40 million dollar budget deficit in its $315 million dollar budget. I know its a different city, so they have different problems, but I was wondering if anyone had the same kinda puk-ey feeling I did when I began to think about how this might become a trend in other cities. How does one even begin to think that using fear tactics on teachers is an appropriate way to resolve larger budget shortcomings? I am addressing the prevailing trend of municipal/state administrations to react to the symptoms of a larger financial problem, rather than to be accountable for their implication as its source.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11026165/1/ri-teachers-to-rally-against-dismissal-letters.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN
i was pretty sad to hear this news. all it does is create an atmosphere of distrust and apprehension amongst the teaching population, and there is no way this doesn't carry over into their teaching, and as a consequence, the students. i'm sure the board felt like there wasn't any other option, but for this to be the solution....what is the world coming to?
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