Sunday, July 15, 2012

Teacher Appreciation Versus Teacher Depreciation

Up in the Northwoods, the school boards are taking away from the teachers just because they can (emphasis mine):
The Arbor Vitae-Woodruff School Board approved changes Monday to the school’s employee sick-time and paid-leave policies.

The changes take effect in the upcoming school year.

The board discussed the issue with teachers attending the meeting, and after a closed session, approved a resolution that gives full-time school employees two days per year of paid leave. One of those days can be carried over to the following year, for a maximum of three such days.

The board also OK’d six paid sick days per year, with employees being allowed to accumulate a maximum of 20 days. Employees will no longer be paid for unused sick days.

Part-time employees will be allowed one day of paid time off per school year and three paid sick days. They can accumulate a maximum of 10 sick days.

In recent years, full-time employees had six paid-leave days, and employees with accrued sick days were allowed to use 10 per year.

The district was able to make the changes without the approval of the local teachers union, thanks to Wisconsin’s Act 10, which eliminated most collective bargaining by public-employee unions.

Teachers in the audience told the board that young teachers in particular need paid time off to deal with family demands.

“Having banked days is just such a relief to know I have this,” said one teacher in the audience.

Said board member Jack Jurries, “We’re trying to find an answer that we can afford.”
Not everyone is unappreciative of teachers though. And with a bit of marketing savvy, Penzeys Spices is giving people a chance to show their appreciation with a "Thank a Teacher Gift Box":


Teacher's Gift Box
Every Teachers Gift Box includes a 1/2 cup jar of Penzeys Forward!, a 1/4 cup jar of Penzeys Cinnamon, a Teachers Care bumper sticker, a colorful Teach! pin and a Teach! book of stories and recipes celebrating the spirit of kindness. It's a great way to tell a teacher that you know what they're doing is important.
Inside:
1/2 cup jar Penzeys Forward!
1/4 cup jar Penzeys Cinnamon
Teach! pin
Teachers Care bumper sticker
Teach! book of stories and recipes
Even if our "elected" leaders don't want to show respect to these deserving men and women, we can.  And we can show support for a company that actually supports teachers at the same time.

1 comment:

  1. Ever wonder why giving the teacher an apple is an almost iconic mental picture of that American school room desk?



    The school boards are weak for the most part.

    You have sincerely good local people working on these things, but more often than not, you get the bored housewives of the areas wealthiest business owners of some sort.

    These upper class wannabe types have nothing better do to than get involved in the communities.

    They have nothing better to do than tell others how things ought to be.

    But, that's the American way. They have it, and they are gonna make you grovel for it.

    And you still won't get it.

    ReplyDelete