Teacher Appreciation Week 2010 got to start on Monday, at the same time when America’s public education system is being gutted by budget cuts, and the rest of the world gains ground in an increasingly competitive global environment. The Parent Teachers Association (PTA) set aside the first week in May, starting in 1984, as Teacher Appreciation Week to celebrate the contribution teachers make to society. In recent years, that contribution has been rewarded by budget cuts, compensation reductions, layoffs and privatization that draws resources away from the public education system. There are plenty of Teacher Appreciation Week gift ideas: fruit baskets, flower bouquets and coffee mugs, but most teachers would probably rather have more payday cash, job security and adequate education budget.
Stimulus Package sent for Education
While Teacher Appreciation Week 2010 starts, state and local tax revenues are decreasing. Federal money that has been propping up the nation’s education system is running out. The education stimulus package the Obama administration began in 2009 directed $ 100 billion to stem really big education cuts by states, and to fund programs for low-income students, early-childhood initiatives, and special education. In February, the New York Times reported that studies show many states will spend all or nearly all that is left between now and the end of this school term.
Teacher Appreciation Week 2010 ironies
While the nation gets to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week 2010, education funding is going down the drain. The education stimulus package included the largest one-time infusion of federal education dollars to states and districts in the nation’s history. The administration trumpeted last fall that the education stimulus package had helped school districts save or create about 250,000 education jobs. A 50-state survey on the stimulus program carried out by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that states allotted 38 percent of their education stimulus package money to the 2008-9 year and 48 percent to the current school year, leaving only around 14 percent for the school term that begins this fall.
Gift ideas for teacher appreciation week
Although a decent wage and job security is probably too much to ask for Teacher Appreciation week, there are many different ways to observe the occasion. Forget about coffee mugs, gift baskets, and flower bouquets. For different Teacher Appreciation Week gift ideas Gather.com suggests writing teachers a thank you letter, taking them out to dinner, or stopping by for a visit. With budget cuts, teacher might like gift cards to help get classroom supplies. Also, a good Teacher Appreciation week gift might be just to volunteer in the classroom once in a while.
Teacher Appreciation Week and quotes to go with it
Nobody wants to pay for quality education although they all want it. The only way public education can adequately be funded is by increasing taxes. Increasing taxes is a hard sell in this lousy economy. Politicians don’t have the guts to make a sacrifice for the future, even with a recovery on the horizon. That hasn’t changed for nearly 50 years, when President John F. Kennedy said:
“Modern cynics and skeptics see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing.”
Sources for the article
Teacher Appreciation Week
http://www.teacher-appreciation.info/Teacher-Appreciation-Week-2010/
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/education/08educ.html
Gather.com
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978212592
