Google for Education Summit

I've spent two days of my own money going to the Google for Education Summit. <br><br>I have no department budget, but I've spent money for training, certifications, and tools to teach. My school pays me a stipend for teaching AP, but it requires me to pay for professional development. Every year I've had to pay $300 for AP training. I have to pay for AP grading training. I have to pay for AP site visits if I want to host. I have to pay for curriculum out of pocket. I have to pay for state certification, professional development for state certification, and pay for training for state curriculum. I've had to pay for professional development training to learn how to use all of the different tools my school utilizes. <br><br>Our contract requires 190 days. My school requires 205. I have to pay for training if I want to teach an AP or honors class. I have to pay for training if I want to teach a dual enrollment class. I have to pay for training for curriculum. <br><br>If I want to become an administrator, I have to pay for state certification, training, professional development, and a masters degree. <br><br>I had 4 weeks off in the summer, but I spent two of those weeks training. <br><br>I have spent 10s of thousands of dollars on training and certifications just to be a teacher. I have spent thousands of dollars on professional development just to teach. <br><br>The Google for Education Summit was the first time I've had state certification training that was free. I've been teaching for a decade and this is the first time the state has provided me with training that I didn't have to pay for. <br><br>Yet, the politicians can't stop talking about how I get paid so much or how much I get paid to "babysit" and how I don't actually teach.<br><br>Politicians don't pay for training, professional development, state certification, masters degrees, curriculum, and AP training. I do. I'm a single mom. I do it all by myself. I spent every penny I had saved going into the pandemic on training and professional development just to be able to teach. <br><br>This summit had actual teachers. I've never had any training with actual teachers. I have to pay for training so that I can learn from other teachers. <br><br>I have to pay for professional development just to stay certified. I have to pay for training just to teach. I have to pay for masters degrees just to become an administrator. <br><br>I spent 10s of thousands of dollars just to become certified and get a teaching job. Yet, the politicians claim I'm not qualified. <br><br>I've spent 100s of thousands of dollars just to be a teacher. Yet, the politicians claim I'm making too much money. <br><br>I pay for everything to be a good teacher. I pay for everything to stay certified. I pay for everything to be a better teacher. <br><br>I'm not sure how much more I can or will be able to pay. I've already spent every penny I have. I've spent my entire savings. I've spent my entire retirement. I've remortgaged my house. I've sold my car. I've sold my furniture. I've sold my house. I've sold my clothes. I've sold my shoes. I've sold my jewelry. I've sold my wedding dress. I've sold my car. I've sold everything I have just to be a teacher. <br><br>I don't know how much more I have to give or what's left to sell.