Dear Governor Scott Walker.....

Dear Governor Scott Walker,

I often hear it said that being a teacher is a thankless job, but I never really believed that statement until recently. I graduated from college about 13 years ago with both a bachelor's degree and 12 credits into a master's degree. In August of 1999 I started my current job of library media specialist at $25,000 and just about the same amount in student loans. This doesn't include the credit card bills I racked up, because I was required to student teach for 9 months at no pay before receiving my degree. I wonder what your starting wage was when you quit college without a degree to take a marketing job with the Red Cross?

Over the years I have earned my master's degree and taken countless required graduate classes (at $200 or more a credit, to which I am reimbursed $75 a credit) in order to maintain my teaching license. I have also gone from having two school libraries, 650 students, and a full time aide in each school to three school libraries, 1150 students, and an aide one day a week for 4 hours.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not writing this letter to whine about working conditions. I love my job. I love working with students and seeing that moment when their faces light up with new information learned. I love seeing students get excited about reading or new technology tools. What could be better than students who are excited to see you when they walk into school? So you see, being a teacher is not thankless.

It is these same students who are suffering as our school budgets have been slashed over and over again by the state. Now you want to continue to slash school budgets, while also punishing those who choose the teaching profession. Why? Because you believe that teachers are the ones robbing our state of millions of dollars.  You believe that teachers make more money than those working in the private job sector.  What other private job sector workers are required to have a degree, required to take graduate credits in order to stay employed, and required to practice the job for months without pay?

You believe that teachers are ruining our middle class, yet we are the middle class. We live in the communities that we teach in, pay property taxes in these communities, and spend our money at businesses in these communities.

I think it's time to stop using teachers as the scapegoat for why our state is in such a terrible economic crisis.  It's time to start celebrating our schools and all the great teachers and students that will be the future of our state.

Some links for your consideration:
Are Wisconsin Public Employees Over Compensated?

CNN: Government jobs not so cushy

National Institute on Retirement Security

Another letter to Governor Walker

Wisconsin Corporations Skate as Governor Targets Public Employees

Illustrators Join the Fight to Save California School Libraries

The Amulet series written and illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi is a huge hit here at Butte des Morts school. The students are chomping at the bit for the third book in the series to come out (date unknown). They will be very excited to know that the series has been optioned for a movie by Will Smith.

Kazu Kibuishi is also one of the latest illustrators to join the in on the Save School Libraries campaign currently going on in California. Read more about it here.

iPods in the Classroom w/ Chad Kafka

-Polls everywhere- can pose question and receive live updates

His website with the presentation is located here.

Networked Learning presented by John Pederson

People to Watch
A Must read about learning in education: Doc Seals and David Wineberger's bookThe Cluetrain Manifesto

Clarence Fisher is a Canadian educator who connects his classroom to classrooms throughout the world. How do you keep kids safe in the world while exposing them to all this info in the world?

Christian Long -Alice Project

Michael Wesch - Digital Ethnography his bio

People getting information from around the world, instead of traditional ways. People feel they are more supported. I personally can attest to this. From being on Twitter and making connections, I now feel I have a much larger support base, both personally and professionally.

Study Blue - online notes and flashcards built by students, way to connect students, students can actually get paid if they take good notes depending on how they are ranked.

Seth Godin - his books Linchpin and Tribes

Golden Archer Winners Announced

This morning the Golden Archer Awards were announce during the member's meeting of WEMTA. The winners are:
Elementary Level: Chester's Back by Melanie Watt
Middle School: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
High School: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

New Books to Butte des Morts Library

New Contest: Can You Find the Olympic Rings?

Over the next week I will hide some Olympic rings inside of a book here in the Butte des Morts library.  If you are the first person to find the Olympic rings inside of the book you will win a prize!  Today I hid the rings inside the book 'Wow! City!' by Robert Neubecker.  Who will be the first to find it?