Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Laid Off Teachers Are Taxed On Their Unemployment!!!

You better believe it... As unfair as it seems, laid off teachers are taxed on the little money received on their unemployment claims! While the State of California doesn't charge taxes on unemployment benefits, our Federal Government wants us to return a percentage of our unemployment earnings to them, even though their lack of funding to the States is the reason so many of us have been laid off!

Money, Money, Money, Money!

Here you see yet another example of a popular slogan among educators in the teaching profession: While our federal government imposes "No Child Left Behind", many educators rather choose to believe, "No Teacher Gets Ahead!"  

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Another Year With No Teaching Job!!!

Summer is upon us and another school year is coming to a close. Here in sunny Southern California, Kindergarten teachers and students are excitedly preparing for their commencement programs. Sadly, June is like any other month to me in a life without students. Once again, there will be NO Kindergarten Musical for me to direct, NO children to hug, and NO parents to thank!  Needless to say, it is a very sad time for me!  :(


"I Will Try To Have Fun In The Sun"

I can't understand why Long Beach Unified School District is not rehiring their teachers after all the time and energy we invested into the futures of their youth? After all, Proposition 30 was successfully passed last November with the expectation of adding billions of dollars to public school education. Yet, even more teachers were laid off for the third year in a row. Where has our money gone? 

Apparently, new technology and better buildings have taken precedence over teachers. The greatest leaders of this nation, including our Founding Fathers and over half of our U.S. Presidents, were taught in one room schoolhouses. Technology will never replace the compassion and enthusiasm of a teacher who delights in helping to mold young minds!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Allow Me To Introduce Myself

BECAUSE YOU ASKED!

If you would like to view my resume, teaching credentials, photos of my former classrooms,  etc, please visit www.lindagant.com.

Please choose from the 2012 BLOG ARCHIVE selections to your right, to read my posts on living & teaching on Catalina Island, my thoughts on No Child Left Behind, as well as the challenges faced by teachers who teach in remote locations.  You may also use your browser's Scroll Bar to the far right to scroll down through my previous posts. Enjoy and I would love to hear your comments after these posts!

MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Every child has the potential to learn and the educator, in partnership with the parent, makes learning happen.  Young children enter school, curious about the world around them.  They are like sponges, absorbing every word their teacher says.


Kindergarten Back To School Night

As an educator, I teach my grade level standards and use supportive District curriculum.  Assessments are the measures of knowing if my students have learned a standard.  Review solidifies concepts previously-learned, and it is important to re-teach concepts not understood.

My classroom environment has always been attractive, organized, and child-centered, so my students feel at home.  After all, it is their second home!  For learning to occur, good classroom management is of utmost importance.  I use praise as one motivator towards maintaining positive classroom discipline and provide various individual and group incentives, so my students want to be “Caught Being Good!”  Click HERE to visit my former Kindergarten classroom at Avalon School on Catalina Island.


Ready For Kindergarten Open House
Click On Photo Above To Display Larger Image

Parent involvement is the key to academic success, and open communication between the teacher and parent is of the utmost importance.  I encourage parents to participate in my classroom and keep them informed through weekly written notices in both English and Spanish.  Spanish as a second language has been a valuable asset for me, bridging the gap between school and home.  Recently, the Bring-Me-A-Book Foundation recognized Avalon as a "socially-disadvantaged" community, with much-needed attention given to the high percentage of low-income immigrant families living here.  Bring-Me-A-Book donated $7,500 in books, rolling bookcases, and parental training to our Kindergarten students and it was an honor to host this in my classroom!

As seen by my work experience over the past 21 years, I am particularly fond of teaching the Kindergarten and First Grade levels, and it has been so rewarding to see these young children begin to read and write in complete sentences!  Due to my ability to speak, read, and write the Spanish language, my teaching experiences in these lower grade levels has extended to second language learners.  This is an area of teaching, which I am very passionate about and enjoy very much.


Little Ones Need A Good Classroom Environment
Click On Photo Above To Display Larger Image

I currently hold a Clear California Multiple Subject Credential with a Spanish Supplemental Authorization, CLAD, BCLAD, and a Master’s Degree in Education with a Master’s Thesis focus on ELL students, and 21 continuous years of teaching experience.

My complete resume, copies of my California Teaching Credentials, and supporting documentation may be found on my website listed below.  Thank you very much for considering me for an elementary teaching opportunity in your School District.

This massive teacher lay-off in California has been a devastating and depressing time for all of us, and I look forward to "getting back into the game," as I can't even conceive of doing anything else!

Linda Gant
Long Beach, California
www.lindagant.com

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Laid Off On An Island!

In July of 2005, I transferred school districts to continue my 15 year teaching career on Santa Catalina, a remote Island 26 miles off the coast of Southern California. I was told they "needed me", a veteran teacher with a new Master's Degree in Education, and fluent in the Spanish language, because 75% of the Catalina Island community speak Spanish as their home language.

Little did I know I would be "laid off" after only 5 years serving the parents and students of this Island community, because I had "only 5 years seniority" in the Long Beach Unified School District!


I Miss The Hugs & Kisses From My Island Kids!
Perhaps it is a good thing that I didn't know this in advance, or I may not have left my "secure tenured position" in the nicest school in the Santa Ana Unified School District? Yet, if I had not left, I would never have had the opportunity to teach the Island youth, whom I have grown to love. 

Linda