Graduate Student's Have Hard Time Finding Jobs

Like I said before, bringing the pink slips back in the mix. Though these pink slips are currently just said to be a precautionary measure, the Providence school district faces a $40 million deficit anyways, leaving teacher’s futures in jeopardy. Randi Weingarten, president of the national American Federation of Teachers, which represents the city’s teachers said: “A mass firing, announced in the middle of a school year, does not help solve a budget problem, the purported reason, but, rather, disrupts the education of all students and the entire community,” she said in a statement. “Mass firings, whether in one school or an entire district, are not fiscally or educationally sound.” During an interview with a teacher from South Windsor, Connecticut, her response was, “Last year they handed out a ton of pink slips in South Windsor, generally people who are low on totem pole are the ones being fired, you have to be teaching from 7-10 years so they can’t touch you, they put lower and newer teachers on the chopping block. However, usually they will raise taxes or find another way to keep them on.” Currently teachers are losing their jobs and students are coming out of school not being able to find jobs, “They are taking whatever they can get outside their profession; there are no jobs to be had. They end up taking half the pay just to get benefits so they can pay for student loans.”

Class Room Size Is a Dramatic Affect to Low Budget

With pink slips being handed out left and right, it is of no surprise that our teacher staff is now declining. This means that with fewer teachers, class room sizes will increase, making it harder for students to learn in an overcrowded classmate environment. In a Psychological Science journal titled “Class Size and Student Achievement” the psychologists discussed the correlation between class room size and student learning, they stated, “The number of students in a class has the potential to affect how much is learned in a number of different ways. For example, it could affect how students interact with each other—the level of social engagement. This may result, for example, in more or less noise and disruptive behavior, which in turn affect the kinds of activities the teacher is able to promote. It could affect how much time the teacher is able to focus on individual students and their specific needs rather than on the group as a whole.” It seems to me as though we should become much more aware of the affect that this can have on future generations. Especially within the area of not getting that one on one that you need with your teacher in order to gain respect and a relationship with your teacher. Additionally this will also cause a problem within communication and learning areas. In my opinion, I feel like smaller classroom sizes mean that there is a greater relationship among classmates, as well as  a greater response to homework and assignments due to the fact that there is more responsibility on the teacher to expect that from them.