The dreaded March 15 puts teachers on notice
“The Ides of March is the name of March 15 in the Roman calendar. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July and October. The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was killed.”Caesar was famously warned in William Shakespeare’s play to “beware the Ides of March.”
Two thousand years later, the 15th of March has similar connotations for modern-day teachers who dread the day for its association with layoff notices, a death of sorts – an annual exercise that saps enthusiasm, kills motivation and inspires dread and gloom.
Certainly the Roman God of War, Mars, is an apt symbol for the date, with picketing protesters and chanting demonstrators substituting for military parades.
With California’s education budget in tatters, it is any wonder that a nearly visible pall hangs over schools these days? You can feel the despair in the air if you visit classrooms, talk to educators or listen to administrators.
San Diego Unified school board member Katherine Nakamura painted the picture vividly when she told me the need for funding is so desperate that she feels like she’s standing on a street corner rattling a tin cup, begging for money for kids any way she can.
The deplorable state of the education budget has extended all the way through college, affecting higher education as well as students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the public has been led to believe.
But despite the attention on University of California and California State University funding woes – underscored by all the reports of demonstrating college students opposing tuition hikes – the numbers tell a different story.
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-03-15/blog/teachable-moments/the-dreaded-march-15-puts-teachers-on-notice#ixzz0iFL5aILJ