My Next Duty Station.

 Our school district has not yet settled our contracts for the 2023-2025 school years. That means we've been teaching on an expired contract. Negotiations have not been going well. Teachers have been attending school board meetings in hoards. I have not. Some teacher leaders have been asked to provide impact statements and speak at said meetings. A couple of weeks ago I was asked....I wrote this but then politely declined the offer to present. I am one of a few that are not members of the Teachers Union. Here is my Two Cents.

As a United States Marine, I know all about commitment; devotion to duty; loyalty; attention to detail and fidelity. I am proud of my service. Those years shaped the man I am today.

After a quick run through college, I took my next Duty Station at Jacobson Elementary School teaching 6^th grade. The year was 2001. In my second week of teaching public school those planes flew into those buildings. As horrific of a tragedy as it was, the days, weeks and months that followed showed a promise of a brighter tomorrow. Nationalism oozed from every corner of society. People joined hands with strangers. Collectively we supported our nations heroes – the firefighters, police officers, first responders and military members that selflessly stood in harms way so that our great country could send a message to the world that faith, hope, and love conquers all. Out of tragedy came a renewed sense of pride, togetherness, and energy that we hoped would never fade.

It did.

In March 2020, COVID-19 thrust the World into crisis. I was still stationed at Jacobson Elementary, then as now, teaching 4^th grade. Fear of a generational pandemic threw the entire population into reactionary mode. Worldwide shutdowns, social distancing, and the immunization debate caused panic and alarm. Policy makers and politicians coined the term “frontline workers” and defined what was necessary versus what was not mission essential. Health care workers, food processing and grocery employees and believe it or not, teachers were deemed necessary for the survival of our culture. We navigated uncharted territory with a survivalist’s can-do attitude.

In that moment, people of our great nation hunkered down and fought back against a disease and a fear of the unknown while the World as we knew it changed in an instant. In the face of danger, nurses and doctors worked tirelessly as their Hippocratic Oath tested their personal and professional obligations. Through supply shortages and disruptions to the food chain, society learned ways to adapt for the greater good. Public Education was no different from anyone else as we learned how to fly the plane after it was already in the air. Our commitment to children and families never wavered in those trying times.

In the weeks and months post-COVID, there was a renewed optimism as humanity showed appreciation to frontline workers that they deservedly earned. Words of affirmation and social media posts expressed gratitude and support for people whose vocation led them to a life of impact. The public showed a newfound respect for just how difficult it is to be an educator, a job that their children’s teachers have been devoted to in sickness and in health - through the good times and the bad. It truly felt that teachers would finally get the recognition and support that we’ve been owed for some time. Out of crisis came a renewed sense of pride, togetherness, and energy that we hoped would never fade.

It has.

Where has the admiration, praise, and support for education gone? Federal, state and even local campaigns have been run under the guise of Support for Public Education. Unprecedented amounts of funding have been earmarked for education, yet here we stand, bickering over unsettled contracts and as the kids would say, “throwing shade” at each other. To pretend that this doesn’t have an impact on students is unfair. Teachers everywhere are at their wits end. We’re fighting for fair pay and pension reform all the while being held hostage by a career and a conscience that always puts kids first. Shame on me for thinking that things were getting better. My career is not a donation.