Teacher Layoffs and American Hypocrisy

Think Progress reports that over 700,000 teachers have been laid off over the last three years.  Some will say that “fat” is being cut.  If that were true, why were these teachers hired in the first place?  We claim to value education and want students to learn.  How is that possible if we’re cutting teachers and packing students into bigger classes?  Moreover, who will want to stay in the profession of teaching?  Short-termed, short-sighted thinking by our political “leaders” may have long-term consequences as fewer talented professional want to go into teaching.  If we value education, we need to pay teachers well and respect them as professionals.

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