Found this on NWP Connect

Lil's free writing this morning on things that bug us about education led me to rant and rave about teacher cuts.  Why oh why do policymakers cut teacher and TA positions to save money when we do so much outside of school already.  With less teachers, how can we do all this with less support?
Found this on NWP Connect, something to think about:
No Clear “Quitting Time”
 --a composite list poem written by the K-16 teachers in the Great Valley Writing Project. 
 *A snapshot of teachers' lives after hours, inspired by Mike Rose's 5.16.11 blog.
After school,
I buy notebooks for students;
take pictures at the Winter Formal;
go to a school play;
watch a student race in his track event;
purchase pizza for the yearbook kids;
have lunch with former students;
write letters of recommendation;
see students’ entries at the Ag show at the Fair;
watch a student compete in her first auto race;
and create a backpack full of supplies,
a secret surprise for a student who needs it.

After school, I respond to student writing,
tutor students,
and do research.

I call every parent in the first weeks of school to introduce myself (roughly 150 students);
I meet with concerned and unconcerned parents;
I buy book after book of new teen literature to provide my students
with a wide array of books to read.

I spend the night with students for a community service project called Kids in a Box;
run a 7th and 8th grade girl’s book club;
serve as a club adviser for The Writer’s Guild.
I arrange field trips,
contact parents, create and revise my curriculum,
and plan and organize more fundraising events.

Each year, during my Spring Break, I go to Washington, D.C. with the 8th graders.
I give money to a student so he can afford college necessities;
donate to the wrestling team;
keep in contact.

I print 4x6 photographs of students performing Hamlet in costume;
arrange wall bulletin boards to show off student work;
make Portuguese sweet bread with my students;
attend a sober grad fundraiser;
and purchase a t-shirt to support the cause.

I supervise yearbook and the advertising that goes with it;
write recommendations for club officers;
attend sporting and dance recitals for former and current students and
for the last two weeks of the school year,
I offer a homeless student a ride to school.

I organize a pre-post school-wide writing assessment;
participate in staff vs. student fundraisers; and
read adolescent lit. to add to my “tool kit.”

I help students write personal statements for college applications;
organize a book drive for our school library;
listen to other teachers and when asked, offer suggestions.

After hours, I make copies, enter grades, write more letters of recommendation.
I tutor students one-to-one in writing conferences before and after school;
haunt used bookstores looking for books to fill my classroom library;
send books to my former (fantastic) student now in prison (a life sentence for a gang-related murder).

I play on the faculty basketball team;
attend pizza fundraisers and students’ dance shows;
spend the weekend in the school photo lab with my two kids
so I can meet the yearbook deadline; and
I set up a reward for a student who struggles and when she improves,
stage a celebration.

After hours, I read books on English Language Arts;
read The English Companion (a Ning for English teachers);
plan lessons;
read and respond to more student papers; and
look for engaging information to supplement district adopted materials.

I take a group of twenty kids on a college tour, a two day trip;
host a pool party for my AVID kids;
attend basketball games; and
open my home for student book group discussions.

Sometimes I drive kids home when their parents can’t or won’t.
Sometimes I dream about angry, violent students who have threatened me.

I attend a student’s church play;
and orchestra performances.
I sponsor girl’s volleyball and pay admission to encourage a good turnout.

I buy new clothes for a student after her house burns down.
I make lunches for students who have no lunch.

I edit articles for Write Voice, the Great Valley Writing Project’s Newsletter;
submit articles to California English.
I write.

Some days I think small acts of attending mean the world;
other days it is harder to tell.
One thing is for sure:
in a teacher's life, there is no clear quitting time.