I am scared

For the first time in my professional career I am worried about my profession.
Teachers work an average of 57 hours a week and get paid for 37, and still politicians are complaining about their pensions and health care.
Budget cut after budget cut seeks to offer them less.

High-stakes testing is demoralizing teachers all across America. These tests are expensive, time-consuming, and show a vast disrespect for what teachers already know about the children they teach.

Inequity is so deeply rooted in our public schools that no one blinks an eye about the fact America spends more money on its wealthy schools than its poor schools.
Class sizes in Black, Brown, and Poor Public Schools keep rising. 

Librarians, School Social Workers, Gym Teachers, School Nurses, Art Teachers, Music Teachers, and Para-Professionals are being cut with every new budget in Black, Brown, and Poor communities. If you need the truth on inequity just follow Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig blog Cloaking Inequity.

Billions and billions are being spent on high-stakes testing, online learning scams, virtual schools, and school choice programs without equity.
In our poorest public schools, teachers are under-resourced, given little or no supports, and are blamed for just about every problem poor schools are having.

Recently, I asked every baby boomer teacher I know how are they doing? These are a group of friends who loved teaching. They want out!
I have looked at the data for teacher education enrollments across the nation. They are down in big numbers everywhere. As Dr. Tim Slaker has been saying this is not a teacher shortage, it a full-blown teacher exodus.

What are our policymakers and legislators doing about it?
Listening to CEOs, Political Think Tanks, Testing Companies, and clueless Education Reformers.
What are they not doing?
Listening to teachers,
Listening to students,
Listening to parents,
Listening to teacher educators.

Why, well you will need to follow the money trail people.
Teachers don't give large campaign contributions to political parties.
Students don't give large campaign contributions to political parties.
Parents don't give large campaign contributions to political parties.
Teacher Educators don't give large campaign contributions to political parties.

Greed is destroying the teaching profession, our public schools, and causing harm to our nation's children.

I am going to say something out loud that scares me.
I am afraid about the future of my profession, and I am worried about the harm being done to our children.

I am not leaving,
I am not running from this fight to save our teachers, our children, and our public schools.
I am running to the fight,
I am digging in,
I am going the distance, but I am scared.

What scares most is if I fall, who takes my place?
Jesse The Walking Man Turner

If you like to listen to the tune that inspired my morning walk this morning, its Bruce Springsteen's "Jack Of All Trades" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ