To You It May Be Just Politics, But To Me It Is Personal

I became a teacher not for dreams of riches or glory but because I believed I could make a difference.   I believed that I could be the kind of teacher that would inspire children to themselves become teachers.  I would be the kind of teachers that would make school a place students would want to go to.  I would make a mandated education meaningful and relevant.  I didn’t become a teacher to get rich or even well-off.  I didn’t become a teacher to get a free ride from the public or to mooch off of society.  I didn’t become a teacher to have long leisurely summers off where I could do whatever I wanted, which apparently mainly involves scoffing at those who work. 

And yet, if you ask the Governor of Wisconsin and many of his supporters, I had no glorious or noble intentions when I chose my profession.  It is much more simple than that; I became a teacher to catch a free ride.  To hustle the public into paying for my mediocrity with unlimited job protection so I can do as little as possible while collecting a big fat paycheck.  I have become the reason for the recession we are in.  I have become the reason for the dumbing down of American society.  I have become the reason for the deficit, the lack of pay raises and the general bad state of the state of Wisconsin. 

So these days I turn off the radio when the ads come on.  I turn off the TV when the governor proclaims that his reforms are working, that taxpayers support him, that he is moving us forward.  Forward doesn’t involve taking the voice away from the people of the state, even if they are public workers.  Forward doesn’t involve cutting programs for the poorest people of the state.  Forward doesn’t include dividing an entire state because you cannot reach across the aisle.  Increasing class sizes and not being able to hire enough teachers is moving forward?  Cutting my salary, which already is laughable, and giving me no chance for a raise, because there isn’t money for it, moving forward?  I can’t even bargain for one, like they can in the private sector because that  has been taken away too.   

Yes, I believe in being held accountable, yes, I believe in paying my fair share, but I don’t believe that slashing the education budget is forward.  I don’t believe in the governor when he says that Wisconsin is on the right path. I don’t believe that Wisconsin will become a better state because of what the politicians have done and that to me is just sad.  Those who lead us should be role models, much like the teachers that are bashed every single day.  So this isn’t just about politics, this is my life every day.  The decisions made in our capitol affect every single thing I do in the classroom, yet where is the accountability for those who make the decisions?  I hope someone can give me an answer.