Time to Cut

Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder has a plan. Under his plan our family will need to reduce our spending next year. Since my husband and I are both public educators it’s a double wammy. My husband’s place of business, Grand Valley State University may benefit from the Governor’s plan to raid the School Aid Fund to provide funding for higher education. My school district, Northview Public Schools, definitely won’t. This plan is a little confusing. Like a big city shell game operator in a short con, Snyder isn’t supporting education, he’s palming the money to hand over to business in the form of tax breaks, and our children are the big losers.

But I don’t mind bringing home less income as long as we can still meet our basic needs and a few wants. Some of the extras will have to go. Paying down the mortgage will take a little longer, which will make the bank happy as they will earn more interest. Our entertainment will lean more toward family dominoes night rather than going to Celebration Cinema. But our middle class life style, like that of many of my students, includes a number of wants which we can curtail without too much pain. Here are a few to consider:

As I meander my way to work through Grand Rapids’ darkened streets on these early spring mornings, I am amused by the “Fahrenheit 451” glow, of big screen tvs in many homes from modest cottages to rambling ranches. In fact, after drooling over the gauntlet of flashing rectangles on our weekly trek through Costco, we finally succumbed last year and now have such a device dominating our basement. Flat Screen TV: $700, Comcast Service: $ 1200, Replacing lost remotes: $15, multiple times

Yesterday, we had a laugh in my computer class. I showed them my cell phone and compared it’s slender width to the towering stack of plastic cards extracted from my wallet. I happily await the day when I can throw out this growing pile of discount, debit and membership cards and just ‘swipe’ my phone. Surprisingly, many of my middle school students own a cell phone.  I splurged on an I-phone for my husband for his birthday last year.  Wish I had one, but the data plan is so expensive. AT&T Family Plan: $850,  Teens’ Ring tones:  a lot of allowance money

Some boys in the cafeteria were sharing their enthusiasm for World of Warcraft played on their X-box. I finally banned that at my home because it was just too much fun for my sixteen year old son: hard to spare the time for homework and old-fashioned face to face time with flesh and blood friends when computer games are on. I do, however, love my Nintendo DSi that I got at Target last summer. I don’t think I could fall asleep without playing solitaire, and I definitely couldn’t wake up without my DSi alarm. We caved and bought the kids a wii for Christmas. I threw my shoulder out boxing with my son. Nintendo DSi: $149, X-box Live Service: $60, Wii: $199, Ibuprofen: $2.85

I’m collecting used pizza boxes for an art project later this term. It will be easy gathering the 80 or so boxes I need. Like lots of hard working families we have a pizza night, burritos at Quedoba’s or a burger from Culver’s about twice a month, usually on Fridays when we’re just too tired to cook or everyone is going a different direction and we need something fast and easy. I usually make a salad to go with it to assuage my guilt. 24 Pizza nights: $500, Art supplies savings for my school: +$100

My two sons are growing their hair long. As a child of the 60’s, I don’t mind. At school, a new style I find adorable sported by some of my African American students is a modified Mohawk. Very sharp looking! Many girls, like my 14 year old daughter, are still wearing their hair long and sleek, but with carefully shaped bangs and layers. I am so overdue for a haircut, but finding the time for an appointment is a challenge! Haircuts for our family: $600,  Roto Rooter to unclog the shower drain: $80

A student shared with me her excitement over the new puppy that will be joining her family in a few days. It was wonderful to see her face shining with the pure joy of this simple pleasure. Our cats keep us warm on these early spring mornings when my DSi photoclock alarm goes off too early and the temperatures are still well below freezing. Basic need or want? I’m not sure about this one. Veterinary care: $200, Cat Food: $150,  Savings on heating bill: ?

Governor Snyder’s plan is now in action: Let the elderly, the unemployed and the public employees cut back. Pink slips were handed out this week in school districts throughout Michigan. My younger colleagues are rethinking summer plans, setting aside personal and educational goals. Everything is on hold. Most will not know if they will be rehired until August.

Our governor wants to rob Peter to pay Paul. Raiding the School Aid Fund will do little to solve the economic problems of a society which enjoys so many ‘simple’ pleasures and, yet, is unwilling to fund basic needs. Thanks to Wall Street and the greed of a few we must now recalibrate our wants and needs. We need to pay for the social services it takes to lead a civilized existence. Among the most important: public safety, services for the poor, and education.

Our middle class family receives a check from the state of Michigan every April. Why are we getting a tax refund? I am able to pay higher taxes to fund the social services that make Michigan a great place to live. I might draw the line at starving the cats, but if I need to cancel cable tv, give up the occasional Starbucks run, actually cook dinner on Friday night…so that my colleagues can receive reasonable unemployment support, so be it. Business might not be happy with this loss of revenue, but Snyder’s tax break will help make up the difference, right? Or, how about another plan? Let’s consider meeting our needs without sleight of hand confidence tricks. How about a fair tax structure with the burden shared equally between business and individuals living above the poverty line. What will you cut when the time comes?

Public School: What a Bargain!

My daughter belongs to a local gym. It costs about $15 for an hour long session of gymnastics. Shoving the living room couch aside, I had tried to teach her myself with a YouTube video, but it turns out there’s more involved in safely teaching a back handspring than can be gleaned from watching a video. Educating our children is expensive, but I knew if I wanted to keep both my daughter and my house in one piece, I needed to let the professionals handle it.

According to USA TODAY, the average, per-pupil, public school expenditure in 2010 was  $10,259. Where I live, in Michigan, with all the after-the-fact cuts and last minute give-backs of recent years, we're spending somewhere near $7500 a kid for about 1260 classroom hours, which amounts to around $6 an hour, less than half the hourly cost of my daughter’s gymnastics classes. Membership in the public school system is such a deal!

My children, like their teachers, spend many hours at school above and beyond the seven hours of a typical school day, participating in an astonishing variety of activities—from sports, to fine arts, to academic tutoring—provided by their hard-working, devoted teachers. When you consider this value-added experience, our membership fee to belong to American public education is closer to five bucks an hour. 

I just cut a check for piano lessons for my three kids. The going rate for these private education lessons? $24 an hour. My youngest, too old for group swim classes, needed some private lessons: $30 an hour. I am fortunate that our family is able to provide these experiences for our children, and, I am glad that families unable to afford private music, art, athletic experiences, or academic tutoring are able to send their children to public schools where we still offer these opportunities to everyone who walks in the door. What a deal! Not only do we at public schools provide academic instruction and enrichment, but we often feed and clothe and counsel. And as if that were not impressive enough, our schools provide special needs assistance in many forms, such as speech therapy, adaptive technology, and ESL instruction. 

I am very proud to be a part of the public education club. At $6 an hour, most Americans can afford the membership fee, and the rest of us can chip in fairly painlessly to provide for those who can’t. 

Like many families, when our children were small, we scraped together the money to send them to preschool for three mornings a week. (Then, as now, there was no public preschool available.) It was difficult financially, but we managed it, because we knew that early educational experiences were important to future success in school. I remember how thrilled I was when our youngest started public school, and we no longer had to struggle to find that extra grand or so a year to pay for preschool. Today, that preschool costs $1485 for the year, or about the same $6 an hour of our K-12 public schools. Why is it that many gladly pay to join preschool yet balk at the cost of our K-12 system?

Education is expensive. Just as gymnastics students need trained professionals and safe facilities, our school-age children need books and computers, counseling and tutoring, and top-notch, highly educated teachers. All this for six bucks an hour? What a deal! If it was offered on Groupon, we’d snap it up. I am proud to belong to the public school system both as a parent and as a public school educator for over twenty years. How about you?

Politicians, Pokemon and Pop Tunes

Sarah gives me hope. While politicians and pundits rage about public employee wages and benefits and regular folks, tired of dodging pot holes, look around for someone to blame, Sarah reminds me that not everyone is out for what they can grab for themselves. Last week Sarah gave me this cute, pink, pokemon character of her own design. Yet, it was her birthday. That teens lean to the center of self is true, but we forget, that teens don't spin on this central axis ALL THE TIME. I'm not so sure about politicians.
A few days ago Sarah came to class wearing a yellow, felt hoody she'd sewn without the aid of a pattern, sporting pikachu-like horns. Sarah's classmates, by and large, admire her creations and her courage to "step lightly to music she hears" however unpop-tunish it might be.
Meanwhile, the pop tune by Jessie Jay, "Pricetag," is getting a lot of air time on the radio. Check out her message:
"Seems like everybody's got a price, I wonder how they sleep at night, when the sale comes first and the truth comes second..."
I like this acoustic version better than the more slick tune with BOB, on the radio play lists. I played this song last week for each of my art classes. They were glazing ceramic pendants, personal symbols they designed or adapted from common symbols. This year, as most years, I was dismayed that I had to explain to a student or two why they couldn't make a ceramic swastika as a personal symbol in MY art room....still, I allowed the dollar signs....so Jessie Jay's song was kind of my antidote. Censorship? Subversive teaching? Guess I'm guilty on both counts.
But for every swastika wearing teen there are a hundred others, Sarahs all, who do not judge, for whom the truth and the needs of others come first, a lot of the time. Look at these cards my students made for the baby cousin of a classmate recently diagnosed with leukemia. Gives you hope, doesn't it?