It's not looking too good for AZ teachers right now

I joined the Spanish teachers for lunch today. The entire conversation was about impending cuts in teachers, cutbacks on spending, and hiring freezes for the school district starting next school year. The more I listened in, the more I realized I was getting into this profession at a bad time. Even the one German teacher who had been at the school for 17 years fears she will be cut.

"I could never advise anyone to get into teaching now" she said rather sadly.

Talks of the "Stimulus Package" kept reverberating throughout the conversation.

The Spanish teacher I subbed for today had a resume on her desk for a teaching position in another town.

Although I enjoy being at the high schools, I know that any cuts will also directly affect me. Less classes mean less chances of getting work. I would have to seriously consider looking for either another job that I would like or move to the big city (Tucson).

I will continue to take classes this fall, even if I am still subbing for another year while going to school.

I have enjoyed this semester's classes and have met some wonderful people. A few of the women in my two EDU classes have become rather close...we get together to chat up to 30 minutes prior to class. These women range in age from their mid 20s to their early 50s. One is an Iraqi War widow, another is a parochial SpecEd teacher, another is an army wife and most are hoping to become elementary school teachers. One of my favorites is a born-and-bred Tombstonan who went to Tombstone High and who speaks near-fluent Spanish. She's in both of my EDU classes. I find her to be a very bright, young, articulate woman who's going to be a great teacher. We all know that this is a bad time to be learning to be a teacher, but most of us aren't giving up. We may just have to broaden our marketability. History and ELL are still in my future. (But which one do I want to Master in?) With a Master's I could also teach at a Community College.

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http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2009/03/05/20090305sr-teachercuts0306.html

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/282204.php
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/282932.php

http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2009/03/05/news/doc49b0384899a9f088577927.txt

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/03/05/news/doc49af76e1cb9f6354374835.txt
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/03/04/news/doc49ae1cc6743ba667165202.txt
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/03/04/news/doc49ae1e0f4bc1e826505811.txt

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/02/08/news/20090208_front_190526.txt
http://azdailysun.com/articles/2009/03/05/news/local/20090305_local_192086.txt

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/us/17university.html?_r=1&hp