Wendy Morrison

Wendy Morrison is a special education teacher in early childhood education.

Why is education important to you?

I truly believe the quote that education is the great equalizer. I have spent a good deal of volunteer time working with teens from more and impoverished neighborhoods in Oakland. I see that one of the greatest disadvantages working against them is inadequate early education (preschool through elementary). It is really hard to get far in education when you don't even have a stable foundation. Gangs and crime only seem like a great option when you can't imagine a better way. Education broadens minds enough to imagine better ways of living.

As a teacher I work in a pretty unique role. I am a home visiting teacher working with children birth to age three identified with a developmental delay that is likely to impact their educational future. I work directly with the children, and more importantly educate parents and caregivers on the importance of early learning experiences and ways to create them with in every day routines. Our funding is federally mandated largely because of studies showing the cost savings of providing an early intervention model. Kids coming through programs like ours are better prepared academically. That means something different for every child (some of the children I work with have disabling conditions that will require some form of special education), but for every child is does mean a better outcome. I am proud to be part of California's early start program and happy that one exists, but often frustrated when I hear of comparisons to what is happening in other states with better funding. As one of the richest states we should be really ashamed at the state of our educational system.

How has California's lack of education funding negatively impacted you?

My salary is not terrible in comparison to some teachers in other districts and other parts of the educational system. That said, it could be much better. Teachers are woefully underpaid in California. When people just look at actual dollars and compare salaries, we are usually in the top of salary rankings, but when you factor in cost of living we always seem to fall below the bottom half in the spending power of our salaries rankings.

Being underpaid isn't the worst part about teaching in California. Especially for teachers who share a passion for teaching. The hardest part is the lack of resources. Trying to pull together educational resources and opportunities in a falling down school, with a lack of administrative support and budget is exhausting.

How has the increasing cost of college impacted you?

I have two college-aged kids and the cost of their schooling is crippling. My husband and I decided that we didn't want our children to leave college with loan debts totaling any more than 1/2 of what their proposed starting annual salary might be. We knew they would need loans despite the savings accounts we created for them, but we didn't want their loans to be so insurmountable that they negated any financial advance of being college educated. This means we are barely getting by, but it is worth it. It is just sad that this is the American way.

My family is British and we have extended family all over the globe. When I compare the cost of college for my kids with my relatives with children in college in Norway, England or New Zealand it is appalling! We really are doing something wrong here. I think anyone would agree that an educated workforce in important for any countries' economy, and yet we haven't created a system that demonstrates this as a priority.

What made you want to pursue a career in education? How have budget cuts impacted your work?

I have always been a "teacher", from a young age I enjoyed "teaching" kids younger than myself. My first career was as a nurse (following in my mother's footsteps). Even as a nurse, I was a nurse educator. I think being a teacher is tapping into all of the things I am best at. That isn't to say about don't struggle, just that I enjoy any struggles.

For our program the financial burden isn't in true "cuts". We just haven't had many increases in state and federal funding for so long that our program operates "in the red". The impact of the lack of funding is evident in every programmatic decision right down to how much printer ink I am allotted.