Stress

Working in education right now seems to be a bit stressful, especially in the state of Kansas.  We are so much in debt this year that they are cutting school funding, which is resulting in some interesting things here in the state.  We already have to give back money for this year, and then they’re looking at major cuts next year. 

I work in a fairly small district; however, it’s the largest district in the area by far.  They let six teachers know last Friday that their contract won’t be renewed next year.  Not because they are bad teachers…not becuase we don’t need them…just that we can’t afford to pay them due to the cuts.  That’s pretty scary.  I have worked in the district long enough that there are still others that were hired after me that would go before me, but it is still a sad reality.  The thing that bothers me the most is that this isn’t what is in the best interest of the children.  I hate when money had to stand in the way of giving the kids what they deserve.

My husband also works at the local community college, which will also be hit hard with this financial crisis.  We hope and pray that his job is safe, especially because there isn’t anything like what he is doing around here.  All we can do is pray that everything works out the way it’s meant to be, but this still causes stressful times. 

Even though all of this is going on, I can’t lose sight of why I am an educator.  I love my students, and I am going to work as hard as I can to provide them with the best 2nd grade experience possible.  I hate what our education system is facing right now, but hopefully this will be a short-lived phase that will soon be gone so that we can get back to placing these kids first.