Currently in Wisconsin there is a huge debate that is raging over budget cuts in relation to state employee’s benefits…i.e. teachers. This has become a polarizing topic that has caused many protest and sit in at the state capital in Madison. As I watch this unfold it becomes amusing to watch many talking heads on the news rationalize the budget cuts by saying that teachers are overpaid and the benefits they produce do not match their cost in benefits…all this on the heals of teacher appreciation week last week, shame. To me it is hard to make this argument that teachers are overpaid and receive too many benefits when you take into consideration the amount of pressure that is put on public schools to produce on high stakes testing.

Some how this entire issue has transformed from a red vs. blue issue, to opening the door for people within the political world to assess what exactly a teacher’s worth is…and to me that seems a bit backwards. It’s obvious that I will tend to side with the teachers on this argument, but the truth is there are many avenues to go down that I could not even possibly address in a blog post. Instead, I will with Jon Stewart sum up how I feel about the whole issue of what exactly a teacher’s worth is.

Mr. McClung