I guess I've been teaching and not paying enough attention to the emails from the superintendent's office. I learned yesterday that teachers in Fayette County will be furloughed for a yet undetermined number of days in the school year so as to save the county more money. I understand the furlough of the staff who do not deal directly with students, but those workdays before and after the school year are essential to teachers' long-term planning efforts. (The half-day workdays you can have! They're not worth so much, in my opinion.) Gosh, paycuts, fewer teachers, furloughs...
I speak for many of my colleagues when I report that WE ARE DEMORALIZED. No one that I know of has a contract; no one has any idea what or where she/he will be teaching (oh, yes, I've been told I should just be grateful to have a job...). My prediction is that, having been stripped of the last vestiges of their professionalism, many teachers will be putting in their 7.75 hours and leaving the grading/posting, IEP paperwork, club sponsorships, and return emails/phone calls in the school buildings. Now, I can only speak for myself when I say I cannot take much more abuse. My students have asked me several times this week what is wrong; they notice the stress. It takes a toll on me and, as a result, on them. I don't have an answer; I'm just griping. Anyone out there with some real solutions?