Courtesy the News Journal:
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009904270315
Here's the Gist: In response to Gov. Markell's proposal to eliminate funding for free summer classes for Delaware's educators, Delaware State University is offering one class tuition-free with paid enrollment in a second class.
Is there a catch? Only if you consider that DSU's plan is self-serving in that it will help to keep their enrollment number up.
Does it go far enough? DSU's offer is not a solution! It's a wonderful gift to our teachers and students who are required to complete 90 credit hours of coursework in their field during a five year period to keep their teaching licenses. But, I ask you, where is the University of Delaware in all of this? Do they, too, plan to extend a helping hand? And where is our School Board? When will we hear what our district plans to do to support our teachers?
I cannot expect our teachers to provide to our students the best education possible if we cannot provide our teachers with the same! While our superintendents may be required to present Dover with budgets that reflect the Governors cuts, our school boards, who are elected by the tax payers should be side-by-side with the Delaware State Education Association and the Christina Education Association in supporting alternatives to balance the state's budget.
As a tax payer and a parent, I would rather see my dollars going into education, into supporting my teachers, paras, and professionals, who will help to expertly guide and prepare the next generation for what may be an uncertain future.
Furthermore, when I look at the proposed budget cuts, I can't help but ask: How many of our qualified teachers will be driven from Delaware or teaching altogether because we have failed to support them?
That's the thing about teaching -- it doesn't happen in a bubble. Our educators are only as effective as we make them. They cannot go into the classroom and reach every student if we have not prepared them and if we do not provide the follow-through at home and in the community.
I'll admit, I was and will continue to be a Markell supporter. I believe that he has great intentions at heart and is guided by the willingness and desire to help all Delawareans. But, when I disagree, he'll know it and so will you.
So, what are the alternatives to Markell's budget cuts? How can we spare the state without crippling the education system?
Stay tuned ...
Elizabeth Scheinberg
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009904270315
Here's the Gist: In response to Gov. Markell's proposal to eliminate funding for free summer classes for Delaware's educators, Delaware State University is offering one class tuition-free with paid enrollment in a second class.
Is there a catch? Only if you consider that DSU's plan is self-serving in that it will help to keep their enrollment number up.
Does it go far enough? DSU's offer is not a solution! It's a wonderful gift to our teachers and students who are required to complete 90 credit hours of coursework in their field during a five year period to keep their teaching licenses. But, I ask you, where is the University of Delaware in all of this? Do they, too, plan to extend a helping hand? And where is our School Board? When will we hear what our district plans to do to support our teachers?
I cannot expect our teachers to provide to our students the best education possible if we cannot provide our teachers with the same! While our superintendents may be required to present Dover with budgets that reflect the Governors cuts, our school boards, who are elected by the tax payers should be side-by-side with the Delaware State Education Association and the Christina Education Association in supporting alternatives to balance the state's budget.
As a tax payer and a parent, I would rather see my dollars going into education, into supporting my teachers, paras, and professionals, who will help to expertly guide and prepare the next generation for what may be an uncertain future.
Furthermore, when I look at the proposed budget cuts, I can't help but ask: How many of our qualified teachers will be driven from Delaware or teaching altogether because we have failed to support them?
That's the thing about teaching -- it doesn't happen in a bubble. Our educators are only as effective as we make them. They cannot go into the classroom and reach every student if we have not prepared them and if we do not provide the follow-through at home and in the community.
I'll admit, I was and will continue to be a Markell supporter. I believe that he has great intentions at heart and is guided by the willingness and desire to help all Delawareans. But, when I disagree, he'll know it and so will you.
So, what are the alternatives to Markell's budget cuts? How can we spare the state without crippling the education system?
Stay tuned ...
Elizabeth Scheinberg
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