While this letter will probably never be printed because of its length and support of educational funding… it is a good one!
Washington State’s constitution specifically outlines its paramount duty is to fund public education. With the knowledge that voters overwhelmingly passed I-732 and I-728, it is extremely disconcerting that the Seattle Times would propose that we cut teacher pay and increase class size. How many times to we need to list the cold hard facts: Washington State is 47th in the nation for class sizes, teacher pay is the lowest on the West Coast and far below the national average, and over the years many research reports and think tanks (that include various conservative and democratic persons) have said smaller classes and higher teacher salaries improve the quality of education. The answer is quite simple. Even in hard and good economic times, we need to be working on improving teaching and learning in our state, and the base line is class size and teacher pay.
As a teacher gains experience, just like a doctor or lawyer, he/she is also learning. Problems or challenges become easier to anticipate. There are more tools in his/her tool belt to assess learning and re-teach, modify, or increase instruction in particular skill sets. And then, this information can be passed to newer colleagues entering the field. What is happening in education is a type of brain drain. Because of the high stress, huge workload, and extremely low pay, teachers leave their field, their passion, to keep their families functioning. It is easy to criticize teachers and believe the myth that they are greedy and lazy. But there are few other professional and governmental jobs where pay is not guaranteed and work load continually increases without compensation. Even with a Masters degree, and at the top of the best school district pay scale, it barely comes close to the average wage a person out of college with a Masters degree earns. Because we have a system that encourages a revolving door type scenario, stability is lost. Knowledge is lost.
People also criticize the public school system for students who fall through the cracks. There is always this wonderment of why someone could not learn to read by the time he/she gets to high school. The basic answer is quite simple. The larger the crowd, the easier it is to hide. When education is cut, supplementary services are cut. Even when learning issues are discovered, there could be very few options or tools available to the students, parents, and teachers. When class sizes are smaller, it is easier to identify learning issues, and have the time to individually address the situation. Behaviors or attendance issues are dealt with at a faster rate. There is more time for a teacher to communicate with parents. There is no where for a student to hide.
Everyone wants to keep his piece of the pie when cuts have to be made. It is the people and lawmakers to make these decisions. Budget items need to be prioritized. Washington State started this list a long time ago. The citizens and lawmakers understood the necessity of having a well educated population. So they put it in the State constitution: it is our paramount duty to fund public education. In the last few years, there has been some movement forward. We need to remain firm in our beliefs and not try and solve the budget problem with what seems to be a quick and easy fix. Education money needs to remain and continually be increased, even in hard economic times.
Tags: Editorial, Education, Funding, Washington State
