More Jennifer and More Newspaper Stuff

The Livingston County Press published my letter to the editor on Sunday. It was right next to a letter Iris Salters and Kuipers (a republican from the west side of the state) wrote regarding the proposed retirement plan. I expected to catch a lot of "stuff" (that's not the word I would usually use) online in response to that post, but the responses there were actually supportive of teachers and of the post! Amazing in Livingston County. Maybe they were teachers. I think teachers should speak out more, but I suppose there's a fear that speaking out will draw fire. Oh well. That can be fun too!

Jennifer Granholm proposed a $59 cut per student for next year. The stimulus plan came out the next day, so I'm hoping that $59 cut will go away.

This morning in the Free Press there was an article about teachers getting merit pay. They quoted people from 3 schools in the state that have some form of merit pay already. It sounded like the money is tied to the school making "Adequate Yearly Progress" in at least two of those school districts. I find this proposal a little scarey. Not because I don't believe in my teaching abilities, but because I know how many things affect a student's learning that are totally OUTSIDE of my control. I also know that a lot of strategies that would help students WILL NOT be paid for by our cash strapped school districts. I find this particularly worrisome because President Obama's Education "czar" is from Chicago where they have used merit pay. I guess we'll see!