By Salina Garcia/Education Blogger
Choosing a career path was one of the easiest choices I’ve ever had to make, simply because I knew that my passion for teaching, combined with the need for teachers was enough to convince me that education was the field destined for me. However, I never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d see the day when public education in Texas would be asked to trim off millions of dollars from its funding allowance. Clearly this is a unwelcomed twilight zone no future teacher needs to hear just before earning a teaching certificate.
Being an active employee of a local school district in San Antonio, I feel as though I have a slight upper hand in terms of finding out late breaking information on what decisions are being made regarding the state’s budget crisis.
Dozens of probationary teachers are being let go at the close of the 2010-2011 school year at Northside ISD, 25 Curriculum Instruction Coordinators (CICs) are being let go from San Antonio ISD, as well as 100 other clerical and non-essential positions. Hundreds of other positions within San Antonio and surrounding area school districts will be eliminated from now through the remainder of the school year.
What does this mean for new teachers like me? It means that we might have to wait out the crisis and simply see what happens. However, in the meantime, we might be jobless. I personally am fortunate enough to have landed a full-time permanent job with San Antonio ISD before these issues occurred. Yet, I too am worried about what lies ahead.
Entering the workforce in my status as a new and inexperienced teacher has affected my confidence. Yes, my love for teaching is still there. Yes, the passion to help others is still there and yes, I want to make an impact on as many students lives as I possibly can. I would love a job where I get my summers off. But with graduation rapidly approaching and the education budget crisis worsening, I’m truly worried about what the future holds, and so are many other education majors. All we can do is work hard and hope for the best.
I will keep you posted on this issue and many more in my future blog posts. Stay golden, Jaggies!
