Music Education late night thoughts

Here are a few late night thoughts from an Elementary Music Specialist who has finally been able to afford to live in the district where she teaches. Our children deserve the best education we can offer them. The educators are dedicated, the children are thirsty for knowledge, but there's a breakdown in funding. I watch the children enter our elementary school at Kennydale in Renton, WA and I am renewed every day by their spirit and enthusiasm for learning. They can't wait to get to their classrooms with their backpacks full of books, papers and lunches. I can tell you I sleep well at night knowing these people will be in charge of the world in the future. They are resilient, caring, creative, bright young people.

Our legislators have great ideas about education, but there is no longer a bridge between those great ideas and the funding to carry them out. Washington schools are sending many of the best and brightest teachers packing to jobs in other states or to stores like Costco where they can make more money and afford to pay back their student loans. They've lost their job because they don't have a contract or not enough seniority with the current budget crisis or simply can't pay to live where they work in the wonderful Puget Sound with the highest cost of living in the country. How does that correlate with us being 49th in teacher pay of the 50 states?

Everywhere I go people appreciate me because I am a teacher. People also realize we need to be paid more for the critical job we do of educating tomorrow's leaders. I'm hoping these same people will write to their legislators and say "YES" we are willing to pay for a great education for the wonderful children of Washington State. They deserve better than they are getting. Many people think the administration needs to cut the "fat" from the budget, but I can tell you what I know of Renton and the administration department has always taken the biggest hit on budget cuts every year. And it has been many years that we've been asked to do more for less and less.

I really take issue with an individual who comes to WA state who is making a living on cutting taxes, living in an expensive house, whose sole purpose is to take money from our citizens and tie the hands of our Legislators who are willing to solve this dilemma. That's for another blog.
More to follow.

Please feel free to join in the dialogue.
Yours in education,
Lavender Muse