Today is a work and school day for all but one of us in the Royal household. Utilizing the crock pot is big on a week day and today is the first week day usage.
Today's fare? Lentils and sausage stew. My mouth is watering. I have yummy crusty bread, a few handfuls of Parmesan cheese...oh my. Luckily we have bread because I am sure there will be much protesting from the royal subjects.
Ok, on to bigger matters at hand.
I would like to discuss how hamstrung KD is currently. He is a teacher and he is working without a contract. Yes, he is a member of the Massachusetts Teacher Association (MTA). Negotiations to rectify the situation were Thursday September 4th. The meeting to discuss the negotiations is on September 10th. The union representative for the town where he teaches is, at best, a dysfunctional, unresponsive human. You had a negotiating meeting AFTER school started? And the meeting to discuss that meeting is being held the SECOND week of school? Although they have a union appointed lawyer I am not sure that the lawyer has provided the best advice to date. The other thing that is beyond maddening is they, the teachers with out a contract, have no recourse. It is illegal for them to strike. So they must show up everyday without the respect they deserve and work, sans contract. Oh yes, they can "work to rule."
You may think, "Well, he should find another job or teach in another town, or teach private school." All of those sound good until you actually meet KD. He was born to do this. I have not met many people who were born to do what they do outside of my dad and KD. If he were to find another job, it would be in a town that could potentially have the same problems, although the union representative may have balls and that would be different. Another job outside of the profession of teaching is out of the question. Private school does not offer the same level of salary as public school.
So we wait and I seeth at the lack of priorities of the town and the state. KD is one of the best teachers on the Commonwealth's pay roll and to loose him would be devastating. This year he is planning to "revolutionize how he teaches physics," but will he be able to without a contract?
8 comments:
Do you call him Mr King Daddy at home?
first....love my crockpot. use it all winter long. second...i feel for KD, teachers can NEVER get paid enough. they deserve to make what a ceo makes. i hope it works out soon for him ( and you).
As the daughter of a teacher, friend of many teachers and wife of a former teacher...sigh...teachers get the shaft in a major way. I truly am sorry that he has to deal with this. Parents get mad when teachers strike b/c there is no free babysitting for their kids and take it out on the teachers. Teachers are underpaid and under appriciated and should not have to fight every few years for their cost of living raise and their benefits.
BUT there are people like me out there who DO appricate teachers and will take every opportunity to tell them so. KD is awesome b/c he cares about reaching his students by finding new ways to teach his subject. That, to me is amazing. He sounds like he was born to teach.
PS...where did you get that lentil stew recipe? I NEED it!
in the crock ...
chowder ( of course).american chop suey.pot roast.corned beef. tomato & tortolini soup. spegs & meatballs. chicken soup. beef stew. chili. i can really go on and on.
Can I have this recipe?
I have started school several times without a contract. It takes a while but it usually works itself out. Parental support helps!
Why is it the teachers in our country are so often treated with such disrespect? I seriously don't get it.
Contract negotiations suck. Can you believe, though, how much less private school teachers get paid and how much it costs to send a kid to private school? Something is not right there.
Post a Comment