http://www.eliotcutler.com/2010/02/no-excuses-education-reform/ Eliot Cutler - Independent Candidate for Maine Governor '10 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:33:10 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://www.eliotcutler.com/2010/02/no-excuses-education-reform/comment-page-1/#comment-182 Carrie Reed Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:51:05 +0000 http://www.cutler2010.com/?p=478#comment-182 I am curious to know if Mr. Cutler has spent any time in Maine classrooms. I am not talking about "walk throughs"....but spent days, maybe even weeks, shadowing and having discussions with teachers about the obstacles that get in the way of teaching our students. I am wondering if, when Mr. Cutler talks about lengthening the school day, he has been in first grade classrooms after about 2:00 pm.... I graduated from the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 1982 with a degree in elementary education and have been in Maine teaching ever since. I am so very weary (and getting angrier in my older age) at the lack of respect and value that teachers are given. ...whether it is our salaries (and people forget how long it takes to reach the $45,000 + mark) our health insurance, number of sick days, personal days, or my favorite,"summers off"! As in every profession, there are those who need to improve or move on, but I don't know many teachers now who sit in the teacher's lounge during the day ....in fact in my school, we eat with kids, hold meetings, prepare for the afternoon etc. and I am sure that is the case in most schools. I would like to hold parents accountable.......I would like to hold administrators accountable as well as educators. I am all for changing and improving, but I am tired of people who aren't even in the classroom on a daily basis making all of the decisions, that quite frankly, seem to change from one year to the next. I currently teach in RSU 1 and when the powers that be were planning and organizing this consolidation, teacher input was not asked for at any stage...we were only made promises in regard to meshing our four contracts that is now being ignored, as we are in the midst of negotiations. Statewide contracts?? Why do I have a difficult time believing that teachers would be more valued under a statewide contract?? I believe it is just another way to fund education without compensating the very people who work on a daily basis with the students of Maine, and yes, with our blood, sweat and tears.. It is indeed very easy to talk the talk Mr. Cutler. I suspect you will not be getting the endorsement of the MEA....Carrie J. Reed I am curious to know if Mr. Cutler has spent any time in Maine classrooms. I am not talking about “walk throughs”….but spent days, maybe even weeks, shadowing and having discussions with teachers about the obstacles that get in the way of teaching our students.
I am wondering if, when Mr. Cutler talks about lengthening the school day, he has been in first grade classrooms after about 2:00 pm….
I graduated from the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 1982 with a degree in elementary education and have been in Maine teaching ever since. I am so very weary (and getting angrier in my older age) at the lack of respect and value that teachers are given. …whether it is our salaries (and people forget how long it takes to reach the $45,000 + mark) our health insurance, number of sick days, personal days, or my favorite,”summers off”!
As in every profession, there are those who need to improve or move on, but I don’t know many teachers now who sit in the teacher’s lounge during the day ….in fact in my school, we eat with kids, hold meetings, prepare for the afternoon etc. and I am sure that is the case in most schools.
I would like to hold parents accountable…….I would like to hold administrators accountable as well as educators. I am all for changing and improving, but I am tired of people who aren’t even in the classroom on a daily basis making all of the decisions, that quite frankly, seem to change from one year to the next.
I currently teach in RSU 1 and when the powers that be were planning and organizing this consolidation, teacher input was not asked for at any stage…we were only made promises in regard to meshing our four contracts that is now being ignored, as we are in the midst of negotiations.
Statewide contracts?? Why do I have a difficult time believing that teachers would be more valued under a statewide contract?? I believe it is just another way to fund education without compensating the very people who work on a daily basis with the students of Maine, and yes, with our blood, sweat and tears..
It is indeed very easy to talk the talk Mr. Cutler. I suspect you will not be getting the endorsement of the MEA….Carrie J. Reed

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