Here we go again...

I know all of my loyal readers are anxious to hear about the start of school, but that's going to have to wait. This morning, I want to comment on this story, the first teacher's strike in our state since the one I was involved in four years ago. Again, this looks like a clueless school board not realizing what they've stepped into. The Bellevue teachers authorized a strike back in June, before school even let out, but from what I hear, the board only started negotiating a few days ago. It sounds to me like the big issue is micromanaging teachers, insisting that they use a centralized curriculum handed to them via computer. There is no wiggle room to take into account individual student or class needs or abilities. In other words, the central office doesn't trust the teachers to do the job they've been doing all along. I thank my lucky stars that I'm currently in a district with a lot of community support on all sides, and that for the first time in my career I've started the year on time and without incident. I wish I was in a position to help out the Bellevue teachers, as I was the beneficiary of much help from other teachers when I was on strike. But Laura and I are still negotiating those last few steps to getting our new house and dealing with the old one, and so I'll just have to pay it forward another time. Considering how close the district I subbed in the most last year also came to a strike this year, I can't help but wonder if this one is a harbinger of what's to come if the state doesn't start taking its job to fully fund education more seriously.