¡Sí Se Puede!
¿Por Qué No?
Volume 12, Issue 6 - March 2008
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| David A. Sanchez,
CTA President |
A few days ago I received an e-mail with the subject line “Hello, Mr. Sanchez — this is one of your past students.” She said her name was Norma, and she’d been a first-grade student of mine years ago at Ontiveros Elementary School in Santa Maria. She’d recently seen me on TV being interviewed about the state’s budget cuts, and said that by coincidence days before she’d pulled an old video cassette out of her closet that had footage of a singing concert the school had staged. She said she remembered those fun days with all of us singing in the cafeteria, and she remembered the “F-R-I-E-N-D-S song,” and she remembered me. Norma went on to say that she was now a first-grade teacher herself, and how she gets up every morning with a smile on her face because she knows she’s making a difference — and a lot of her motivation and desire to become a teacher was due to my example.
Of course, for any teacher, that kind of praise is rewarding. It was really uplifting, especially in these challenging times, to read that e-mail and reconnect with that student.
The state budget battle with its proposed cuts to public education is about real people like Norma and the students in her class. It’s about thousands of teachers across California getting layoff notices — over 14,000 teachers and 4,000 other education professionals to date. It’s about people with home mortgages and babies on the way who are left with uncertainty and no job security at all. It’s about fairness and equitable education for all students. It’s about our future.
The pain of the governor’s proposed $4.8 billion budget cuts is undeniable, but through the hard work of CTA members and staff we are making a difference. Our legislative team fought back several attempts to cut $1.5 billion from public schools in the current year. While any midyear cut will hurt, CTA has limited the damage to $507 million and kept those cuts away from student programs.
CTA has worked steadily at getting its message out about the impact of the cuts to public education — and it’s starting to pay off. More than 300 news stories have appeared in local papers in the last month. The public is truly engaged in the process. Outraged parents, teachers, education support professionals, students, principals and community members are showing up en masse for local events. Recently, the city of Alameda, along with assistance from parents and teachers, launched its own ad campaign against the governor’s cuts, featuring signs on garbage trucks and public garbage cans with the slogan: “Our public schools are too important to throw away.” Keep up the good work. The word is getting out.
People are beginning to see what could happen when an entire music department vanishes, when a sports department disappears, or when much-needed career and technical education programs are eliminated. We know that we’re essentially robbing our students of a well-rounded education. That’s why it’s important now more than ever for members to add their voices to the fight. Change will germinate from the local level.
Because we know that CTA is better prepared to battle for California’s future when united with strong partners, we are also part of a broader coalition that opposes the state budget cuts and supports raising revenues in order to provide vital services. A strong California provides quality public schools, affordable health care, safe communities, and help for those who need it. The coalition is just getting started, but its goal is to show lawmakers that parents, teachers, seniors, firefighters, health care advocates, environmentalists, law enforcement officers and all working families are united.
Thinking about that e-mail from Norma, I was fortified. This fight is about all of us working together in our local schools and communities to build a stronger California that includes a quality public education for all students. The memory of a good teacher can light the path of a person throughout their entire life. I was pleased to hear from Norma, now a colleague of mine, who like every teacher deserves security and a sound platform from which to light the way for another student.
¡Sí Se Puede!
¿Por Que No?
It can be done! Why not? -- Words inspired by César Chávez, encourage us to remember that, together, we can achieve great things.
