The Education Wonks
Yikes! You know, there is something weird about CAschools. Would I see the same class sizes in Palo Alto junior high?
Like anything else, money does change things like class size. Many schools in the more wealthy areas of the Bay Area have 20-25 to 1 ratio. However, most schools have to put up with the very high numbers. My classes are having scheduling problems and will level out to 35 per class within the month.
Time for you to come to the international circuit. I can get ya a job where you can put $15K/year in the bank (at a minimum) and live better than you do in the Imperial Valley. Class sizes are usually miniscule compared to US public schools (my largest class is 12), the administrators are quality people who put their heads in the job, not up their wa-zoos, and the kids are a delight to work with.
And no, its not a job in Iraq or Afghanistan...
Edwonk--good luck! I still have another week before the future geniuses arrive. But first a week of PD.
" and there are many more new teachers looking for jobs than there are posts needing to be filled."
So what happened to the 'teacher shortage' talk?
Good point.
It seems as though I've been hearing talk of a "teacher shortage" for a very long time and yet it's always "in the near future."
Education, like politics, is local. In our case, we get a great number of applicants from "over the hill" in San Diego. Many are seeking that first teaching job. Most work in this "place" for a few years, (to build experience) and then return to the more desirable (but expensive) San Diego area.
Apparently, there is a glut of teachers over on the temperate coast.
"Seniority rules in California make it financially punishing to change one's district in mid-career."
Thank you very much for this information. Now that you have told me this, I'm avoiding that entire state like the plague. And warning all my classmates.
"It's hard to feel enthusiastic about one's job when one earns less money for more work while the price of nearly everything from fuel to food to college tuition continues to rise."
Boy, don't I know it. I just got back from a week in Canada. Everyone there has health insurance, and they get a medical passport so that they can be treated in other countries. College is affordable, as is housing.
We could do that here too.
Wow. My three ninth grade English Classes are all 30+ and I was feeling put upon. My two tenth grade "Basic" classes are only 14 and 15 (that's about equal to the thirty). Like yours, they look like good kids so far and the ninth graders seem eager.
I understand the frustration with pay. We had a rif this year. Positions were cut, programs eliminated and the board then gave the supt. a 12% pay haike and increased her car allowance from $600 to $800 per month. We are still negotiating (I'm lead negotiator) and they are frefusing a 1% cola increase.
Posting a link back to your first day post.
Bill
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