Today's headline in the Dallas Morning News: DISD Misused Federal Grants.
My first reaction to this article was irritation.
No wonder our kids in DISD aren't doing well when the principals and teachers are spending money on flowers for their secretaries, playstations for the kids, and cute throws for the teachers...all in the name of "encouragement!"
I do not agree with incentives in the first place. I believe that too many people work too hard trying to buy a child's (and parent's) interest in education rather than making the education process interesting and meaningful enough so that kids (and parents) have internal motivation and incentives to participate.
I think this is especially bad in the inner city. I hear people say all of the time, "That's the only way 'these' kids will want to learn." or, "That's the only way 'these' parents will participate is if we feed them or pay them." I don't buy it. I have a full staff of parents in our After-School Academy. I truly believe they work so hard because the After-School Academy is a meaningful way for them to participate in their child's education. I'm sure it's not for money because they could go other places and get more hours and probably make more per hour.
I wish people would work hard to figure out how to spend that extra grant money on cool, educational things that could pique a child's interest instead of trying to bribe them into attending school by offering them a playstation.
My second thought was indignation.
How could they possibly take grant money allocated for the kids and spend it on employees and themselves??
Yet, I quickly thought of the times that I, too, have wanted to let the employees of our After-School Academy (ASA) know that they are appreciated. Though there are times I purchase things out of pocket, there are times where I take liberties to purchase things using our ASA budget as well. Maybe I, too, should be more careful.
My final thought was about inequity.
I have friends who work for corporations and companies that use incentives and give their employees business credit cards. My friends have been given jump drives (that cost about $60+ in the store) and backpacks designed for laptops. They have been given Treos and Blackberries complete with unlimited text messaging, email, and whatever other amenities are possible. Not too long ago a friend came through Dallas on business and took me to eat. He assured me his company would pay for it and wouldn't mind a bit. We even went up the street after dinner to enjoy ice cream on the company. Several years ago, a friend of mine worked for a large accounting firm in Chicago. He and a couple of his co-workers purchased Bulls tickets on the company's credit card.
Why is it that when a public company provides these "extras" no one says a word? For companies and corporations, these "extras" are so common that I think the employees would probably be offended if they weren't included.
Yet, when someone works with children or in the social service sector, perks are seen as frivilous and mis-spent money. I suppose "civil servants" are supposed to be sacrificial in every aspect of their job and life. A pat on the back should be sufficient.
It is somewhat humorous to me that it is our money being "wasted" in private companies just the same as it is our money being "wasted" in publicly funded companies. We are willing to look the other way in a private company, yet we want to stand up, bang our fist on the table, and demand that they re-think giving our money away to "wasteful" venues when we talk about our tax dollars (especially when what those tax dollars are being spent for doesn't directly benefit us!).
I'm actually not defending DISD. I would like to see DISD's money used appropriately--and I don't think it always has been. DISD has a lot of work to do, in my opinion. But before I jump on the bandwagon of condemning DISD, I have to think through the accusations and realize that theirs may be no different than any company. They're just an easier target.
2 comments:
Something that I have become aware of since becoming a part of Dallas ISD is just how many teachers and educators there are involved in educating over 150,000 students across the city. There are close to 20,000 employees in the district...over 10,000 teachers alone. The majority of these employees have NO access to the funding that has been under so much scrutiny. There has been a handful of people somewhere amidst the mysterious and red-tape laced administrative offices that have acted inappropriately....yet doubt and blame has been cast upon all 20,000 employees in the eyes of the community. However, the vast majority of the people I work with in DISD are sincere people...people who put up with a lot of the frustrating junk that comes with being a large urban district because they care about the kids. They really do. Many of us could go to other suburban districts and not have to deal with many of the headaches and challenges that come with being in DISD. But most of the people I work with do have the kids' best interests at heart and it's unfair that all are being painted with the same brush by the media...when most have very little to do with what's under discussion. The media is quick to focus on these negative and unfortunate events, and has the power to convince an entire city that they should doubt the capabilities of educators within DISD, but they do not realize what that does to the morale of teachers who show up day after day, work long and countless hours for which they are never reimbursed, spend hundreds of dollars of their own salaries to supplement their meager classrooms to provide the best possible learning environments for their students....no, the media doesn't realize how discouraging and detrimental these reports are to the heart of DISD....the regular teachers and support staff who sacrfice and go beyond the call of duty day after day and year after year...and may never have access to a dime of DISD funding. These funding issues are NOT the real issues within DISD....the attention should be placed elsewhere and in a way that builds up the district and its teachers and encourages positive growth where it really counts...quality teaching in the classrooms...where the rubber meets the road.-- Rachel
Thanks for the perspective. I know I am guilty of buying into the negativity...especially when I see below grade level performance of so many of the kids. It's easy for the media to feed our frustrations.
Thanks for being one of the many teachers who endures the negativity for the sake of our kids!
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