A shout out for the teachers in the house....

Bill proposed in South Carolina for tax payers to fund up to 15 million dollars in potential losses that Southwest Airlines may initially incur with a move to GSP.

The much ballyhooed Boeing incentive package will cost SC up to 540 million dollars when Boeing was already planning to move here without such a large incentive package.

Then our fine state's government has the gall to tell educators across the state to get ready to swallow the burden of $85 million dollars in budget cuts?

Our state continues to languish in the bottom half of the national ranks as far as education goes. As of 2008, SC teachers ranked 33rd in the nation in avg. annual salaries. We now expect these teachers to succumb to layoffs and those still employed to incur larger class sizes? It is sad that most teachers have to pay out of their own pocket for classroom supplies. Now our legislature wants to freeze salaries and possibly even cut them? The larger class size means less chance of one on one time with a student if needed.

Some have noticed an increase in a general sense of apathy from today's students, especially in the high schools. There are still kids out there eager to learn! Kids today aren't dumb though and they can see that our government apparently has no interest in improving their education so why should they care about it? It's a vicious waterfall effect that is passed down to younger siblings who see that apathy and adopt it at a younger and younger age.

I have many dear friends who have dared to enter the teaching profession. A noble profession it is. Their goal for their careers is to teach a child everything they need to know to prepare them for life's journey. It is infuriating to me to see those goals stymied by seemingly dozens of standardized tests and other dog and pony shows forced upon them by the so called leaders in the state and national boards of education. Let's cut some of these useless items out of the budgets and use that money to let the teachers TEACH. Ask your high schooler if they have ever read such classics as Orwell's 1984 or Silas Marner. More than likely you will get a bewildered look on their face. Better yet, ask them to write a few paragraphs on any subject you choose. Then tell them they have to do it with no computer, putting the old pen to paper. The results in some cases would be staggering. Lack of penmanship, sentence structure, and misspellings would stun you, coming from your supposed B+ student.

I know it is a different world now. Kids today have seen an emergence of technology even us kids of the 80's could have never dreamed of. But let the teachers get back to teaching the fundamentals. Our educational failings are not the fault of the teacher. It is the fault of the powers that be tying the teachers hands so they can't do the one goal they have: molding young minds into smart, functioning, future members of society.

Someday, if you can catch it for free on Comedy Central or another channel for free, watch the first few minutes of perhaps one of the worst movies ever made, IDIOCRACY. If not, try and catch a few clips on YouTube to understand the premise it presents. Sadly, I can see this premise coming true one day. You take a look at it and see if you agree.
Goodnight all and thanks for the ear! - Sandman 8:08pm 4/29/2010