the keepers of our culture

the fort worth and las vegas school districts have started recruiting campaigns in california, aimed at luring away teachers - and our lovely state superintendent of schools jack o'connell just whines about it. he complained that it basically isn't fair for them to come in and pick off our teachers, because they make it sound like education isn't a priority in california.

hello?

am i the only one who thinks that he is out of touch with reality? i mean, when has education actually been a priority in california? it's not like the state schools (sfsu in particular) make it easy to get credentialed - it's a year and a half of full time grad school classes, and then a year of student teaching - unpaid, of course. if you're a normal (read: not independently wealthy) person, it's pretty difficult to live on that. after that, you get a job that pays a pittance of a salary, so you'd better have a spouse making some good money if you want to be able to pay your bills, because it's not like it's cheap to live in california.

oh, and then you have to deal with all the political crap (because, you know, education really ought to be a political subject). in the meantime, you also have to buy books and supplies for your students and classroom, because california schools are so chronically underfunded that they often cannot provide these things themselves. not to mention dealing with parents who just don't care.

no, we've certainly made education a priority. definitely.

* i admire anyone who has a passion and a desire to teach in this kind of environment, because you really have to have a calling to do it. i think teachers should be revered not only because they are the keepers of our culture and pass it on from one generation to the next, but because they do it in an environment that is so hostile to their profession.