Cutbacks

Since we have been discussing cutbacks in education a lot, I thought it would be a good topic to research and to understand a little bit more. All of this talk is quite depressing, as cutbacks are not only something that happened in the past, but is also presently taking place. It is difficult to understand why education seems to endure such harsh cutbacks. I would like to look back throughout the years in Alberta to see what cutbacks have taken place thus far and then look deeper into the current situation that is taking place.

When schooling first started to come around in 1905 when Alberta became a province, citizens were hopeful supporters of education. They agreed to pay taxes in order to support public schooling, which they believed, in turn, would benefit society as a whole. In the 1930s, due to the economic depression, there were too many qualified teachers and not enough jobs. The 1940s found it difficult to find teachers because of the males who were off to fight in World War II. The province created a faculty of education in 1945 and normal schools were permanently shut down. The 1950s was a time to rebuild the economy and province and there was a need for expansion in education. Because of oil that was discovered in Leduc in 1945, the province was booming. They placed post-secondary education as a top priority. This increased even more in 1960’s. “Educational visionaries of the time seriously believed that education, properly conceived and humanely implemented, could radically improve society.” Teachers were finally required to have a degree in order to teach. “Concerned that provincial spending was out of control, the government imposed a series of severe cutbacks to public education in 1994.” Teachers fought to get the required support, but by the end of the decade, Albertans no longer had the belief that education was important and beneficial to individuals and society.

**Information retrieved from ATA website

Throughout the years of schooling in Alberta, many changes took place. At times, society believed that education was top priority, as we are supporting individuals and contributing to the larger society. But sometimes, people did not think it had any value at all.

Currently, the government has just made $80 million worth of cutbacks, and foresee bigger reductions for next year. Many teachers are worried about the cutbacks, as they are unsure where the money is being taken from. Carol Henderson, who is the president of the ATA, believes that the first place this cost will concern is the new teachers. She is fearful of this and says, "We want our young teachers, they revive the profession, they're going to be there when we have a lot of teachers retiring. "So it would be unhealthy for the teaching profession to lose a lot of beginning teachers." Not only are teachers curious about where this money is actually coming from, but they are also concerned about their raises for the year. They were promised a 4.99% increase, but are only receiving 4.82%.

From my point of view, although I believe that teachers do deserve more money, if it is only that little of an amount, it is better there than other places. It is just sad to see that something that is so valulable to society, individuals, and the economy to be taken for granted and not given the support that is needed.

**Information retrieved from CBC news story