In response to:
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 13:56:21 -0600 From: "Renee Jenson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [StPaul] SPPS Capital Improvements
Renee - amen to your post on teachers earning every penny! The are the HUMAN Capital that make the schools what they are, and we need to ensure that they have the resources they need.
I respect every bit of time they spend inside and outside the classroom on their work. My dad taught bilingual education and our whole family would get involved in preparing the classroom when I was a kid (must be why I still love school; it was a family event to get to help Mom & Dad put up new bulletin boards and choose posters and vocabulary words in English and Spanish for the walls). My mom was a teacher, then a part-time teacher's aide (earning an embarrassingly low amount for a bilingual, college-educated person) so she could spend more time at home with us.
My parents (retired now) live very modestly, but could not afford to buy a home before we finished college. They were in that awkward category: not "poor" enough for assistance, but not wealthy enough for a family of four on 1.5 incomes to save enough (and there weren't the same types of low down payment programs then). However, my mom really wanted to be at home while we were young, so they made that sacrifice and I'm not sorry for it.
Professional development is what keeps teachers energized and prepared to deal with the changes they (and their students) cope with every day. Teachers, whether or not we like it, are sometimes "parents away from home." They often invest their energy in the emotional needs of students as well as the cognitive and developmental needs. It is sad to think that I had wanted to be a teacher too, but my dad didn't want that: he said he wanted better for me (more money & traditional success - don't all good parents say that) and so I didn't pursue licensure.
Can you think of anything better for society than helping young minds grow and develop? Why don't we acknowledge the central role that schools and educators have in our community as a whole, and the importance of youth development?
I'm stumped - don't have any answer for that one.
CDLC
* * * * * * * * * * Cristy A. De La Cruz Highland Park Proud daughter of outstanding teacher/mentors
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