Save Our Schools: TSC

Recently, the state of Indiana has had major budget cuts... more specifically, in the Department of Education. This has affected public schools all across the state. So much, in fact, that school districts have had to unexpectedly undergo much larger budget cuts than they were expecting. One of the corporations that has seen the most turmoil is Tippecanoe School Corporation (TSC) in Lafayette. Being from Lafayette, this really hits home to me. Although I went to one of the other corporations in Lafayette, this is affecting many of my friends. Last Friday, the school corporation gave out 167 Reduction in Force (RIF) notices. On top of these, they also sent out many Displacement notices to teachers. This is roughly 20% of their teaching staff. Now, let me lay this out for you:
Because of this, the remaining teachers in this corporation will now:
1. Will have much more students in the classroom, depending on the amount of teachers cut in each building/department.
2. Because of the greater amount of students per class, each teacher will have a larger workload at the same pay.
Of course, students don't get any benefit, either. Students will now:
1: Get less courses offered to them most likely, because of the reduction of teachers.
2: Because of the teacher to student ratio, students will not get the attention that he/she deserves or would normally get.
It has also been reported by many students' most appreciated teachers have been cut due to their "lack of experience" while the teachers with tenure and don't seem to show much interest have stayed.
What is this showing our students? That just because someone has been there longer automatically means they don't have to worry about losing their job and can just give up? I don't think we need to be showing our future this at all. The people that do their job and do it well should be the ones that stay, regardless of how long they've been there. Also, with teachers that don't give a crap, there will be more students that will begin to think, "Well, my teacher doesn't care, so why should I?"
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm certain that there are teachers that have been teaching for a long time and still remain to be great teachers and inspiration to their students. And I'm certain there are some bad newer teachers as well. But think about it. Parents generally want the best for their children. This is definitely not the best option for them, at all.
The corporation could have handled the money situation a lot better than they did. They went to an extreme with this one. They were advised not to cut teachers, and what did they do? Just that. Almost all of the cuts they are implementing are directly effecting the students, with the cutting of teachers, courses, and programs that have a large amount of students participate. This is not the student's fault, so why must we directly punish them? That's right, we shouldn't.
Both of the high schools in this corporation are also in the process of adding a new wing to the building. Unfortunately, the need for new classrooms has now been basically depleted, since there will be less teachers to fill the classrooms. Plus, think of the cost of adding a brand new wing to a school. Yeah, it's no where near cheap. Imagine how many jobs could be saved if the new wing was not built or postponed. The only problem with this solution is where it falls in the funds. The building funds falls in a completely different budget, and as of now, it is not allowed to transfer money from one budget to another. If this was allowed, who knows if they would even consider it...
I really hope this school corporation gets their act together. They have been a great asset to our community and have generally been seen positively in the public eye. I would really hate to see them go down the tubes, so to speak.

I'm not asking for much. All I ask for is for the students in this school system get the education and attention they deserve. After all, these children will be the ones to lead us someday.
If you are interested in learning more about this, please follow these links:
Save Our Schools: TSC facebook group!
Cuts Begin for TSC Sports Programs
Programs pay fee to use TSC facilities
Facebook Page Could Help Schools
Also, here is proof that this is happening in other states as well:
Kansas City, MO, closing nearly half its schools

New Semester or new EVERYTHING?

I know this blog was intentionally for my English class last semester, but I can't seem to really keep away. I keep trying to start writing stories, but I just can't seem to complete it. I really wish I had written earlier, but I didn't, so I apologize. I DO realize that not nearly as many people, if anyone at all, will be reading this anymore, but this is for my own benefit.
Well, it's been about a month since I last wrote, so I think I'll start by writing about winter break.
On the last day of finals, my dad came to pick me up around 2. We arrived home around 4 and I was unpacking my stuff when my mother called my brother and I out into the living room. She informs us that we are going to go to Missouri for about a week to see family. We were to leave on the 26th and come back on the 30th.
Awesome...

Christmas morning, I got up around 10...okay, my brother woke me up around 10. Getting up this late for Christmas was really odd for us. Normally, our dog would wake us all up around 7 because he wanted what was in his stocking (yes, our dog knew what Christmas was. I think he was normally the most excited out of all of us.) But since he passed away this May, many things around the house had changed, including Christmas traditions. But, the story of my dog is for a different time, a different blog. Anyway, we got to open our presents. I ended up getting a TON of Vera Bradley stuff, some clothes, a bunch of fuzzy socks (I'm obsessed with them,) and a few new things for my dorm, like a microwave and a toaster.
A little bit later, I headed over to my boyfriend's house so we could exchange gifts. I gave his grandmother and his parents their yearly treat baskets that I made them, and Cale and I sat down in front of the tree to exchange gifts. I got Cale some DVDs and a movie gift card. Afterwards, he brought over my gift. He got me a Nintendo 64!!!! I love the N64. Cale had one at his house and I would want to play it all the time. He also got me the first three Mario Party games, and we spent the rest of the day eating, watching movies, and playing the games.
...Then it was time to go to Missouri...

The car ride to my grandparent's house is about 7 hours long. It was boring, to say the least. I spent the majority of the ride watching movies on my laptop. I would love to say exciting things happened when we went, but they really didn't. My cousin, aunt and I went to go play bingo. I also had this nasty cold almost the whole time we were there. Missouri is a really boring place when you used to live there. It's still boring when you "go on vacation" there at least once a year.
Finally, it's the 30th. Time to go home. When I got home, Cale came over. And when he left, my dad told me I couldn't see him tomorrow. Tomorrow? But tomorrow was New Years Eve. Everyone knows that you're supposed to kiss on New Years Eve. Cale and I didn't get to do this last year either because I was in Florida getting my sun on. The only time we got to was our first New Years Eve. But oh well, hopefully there will be more to come.
Nothing really exciting happened until school started again. I slept a lot, since everyone else was at school or work. Cale and I saw each other when we could, and I was enjoying the relaxed life.

It finally came though. January 10th - The day to move back to campus. I was dreading this day. I was also very curious; my roommate moved out at the end of the semester and they weren't sure if I was going to get a new one. I reluctantly checked my email that morning, and sure enough... the name of my new roommate had been emailed to me. Her name? Jordan Crouch.
When I got to my room, the door was already opened. She was sitting at her desk watching bull riding. My parents and I introduced ourselves and made the usual small talk as we unpacked my belongings. It turns out she is majoring in elementary education like I am. I thought she would be someone I would be able to tolerate living with... but I may have been wrong.
The problem? She's a partier. I'm not. Therefore, she's out late a lot of the time, sometimes coming back around 3 am, when I'm asleep. I also don't think she has much respect for me as a person. She talks loud on the phone and on skype, she turns on the television when I'm studying, she turns the light on when I'm sleeping, and she allows her guests to basically trash the room.

But of course, the residence hall life isn't the only part about college. I am taking 17 credit hours this semester, which calls for a lot of work. My classes this semester are pretty much ones I have to take but don't generally enjoy. I am taking BIO 102, GEOG 101, HIST 150, PSYSC 100, EDPSY 260, EDHI 200, and EDTEC 120.
Well, that's all for now! Hopefully I'll write when I have the chance.
<3 Emily