In today's mail I received a check.
This is what it said: Congratulations, you are the recepient of a State of Alaska, Department of Education & Early Development Performance Incentive Award. This award is part of the Alaska School Performance Incentive Program, Alaska Statute 14.06.126, adn the Alaska Adminisrative Code 4 AAC 33.500-4 AAC 33.580.
So now I have been gifted for working at a place that has always strived for achievement, regardless of any financial incentives. These people are consummate professionals. And I am humbled to work alongside them.
I have talked to a number of my co-workers today, and the consensus among them is that they don't really want the money and all are trying to figure out how to give it away to the less fortunate, myself included. I am working out a plan with one co-worker to give our money to a school that is in a less affluent part of town. These other schools often are dealing with children who have limited English and rarely have attended quality pre-schools which adequately prepared them for school.
I will not pass judgement on any of my co-workers who are planning to keep the money. God knows they work extremely hard, and there are more then a few single parents with young children at home. The money may be very helpful to them, and they should enjoy it.
But if next year we are not among the few lucky schools who meet the strict criteria of the No Child Left Behind program to earn this financial windfall, have no doubt that we will continue to give the children in our care the very best education that it is within our ability to provide.
It was never about the money.
Dear teacher,
ReplyDeleteYou "recieved" an extra check for teaching?
Perhaps you should send it back.
Remember "i" before "e" except after "c"?
It's "received", teach!
Well hey thanks "anonymous" for pointing out my typo. I always use spell check before posting but that one was so high up near the top that I missed it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way the point of my post is that I am "giving it back". I am going to give it to somebody who can use it. Somebody who deserves it just as much, or probably more, then I do.
But since they work in a school with less resources then ours or with more ethnicities and language barriers they will never get a monetary reward. They will simply go to work day after day, trying to educate children with MTV attentions spans, and parents who leave the raising of their children to the school district.
And by the way I never claimed to be a teacher.
People like you and your coworkers represent the true spirit of America, as it should be.
ReplyDelete(hmmm well someone knows how to spell...I am sure it was a Blogger Error....)
ReplyDeleteNow about you...the World needs more Teachers and more to realize that the greatest ReSource we have truly is Children...period..not Oil, not Gold...Children...thank you for helping to nurture and teach and mentor the Next Generation.....I am grateful.....