Ejection Fraction

In the last 6 months I have learned a lot about this phrase ejection fraction. As defined on Wikipedia "ejection fraction is the fraction of blood pumped out of the right and left ventricles with each heart beat." Now this post is not about personal health but rather educational health and just what is left beating as states begin their budget cycles.

Here in the State of Texas, a non-union, right to work state, the estimates so far are that the number of teaching positions cut could very well come close to 100,000. Possibly 4,000 in Dallas alone. The numbers coming in are staggering. Word is that out of 11,000 school districts in Texas, only 40 are solvent. We have been bleeding out for some time if that is truly the case and the percentage of what is pumping is dropping more and more each day.

Tonight I saw different tweets from friends Ryan Bretag, Jon Becker and Angela Maiers in relation to homework their children were doing in Ryan's case, the desire to find the right school in Jon's case and trying to know and find out that her children were cared about and for in Angela's case. Frustration was the course of the night. The pulse continues to get weaker. The number of people that joined in those conversations lending support and talking about it also showed a great deal of frustration from throughout the country.

What does any of this have to do with ejection fraction? The heart of any educational facility in my opinion rests on the heart and passion of the very teachers in the building, the people that are passionate about what they do and the children that are under their care each and every day, and yet, people elected to office continue to perform heart surgery with axes instead of scalpels. There are many people that have said it so much better in so many more ways than I could here. I simply hope that those teachers who work with kids are not on automatic pilot because they are worried about their jobs, I hope they are not mailing it in waiting for the axe to fall on them while supposedly educating our children for their future.

It is during times like this that so many people I have know have risen to the top of their game and continue prove to people over and over again that the reason they are in that classroom is that they are passionate about what it means to be a teacher. I hope for our children's sake that some folks were having a bad day and I hope for our schools sake some people in charge start thinking out of the box, otherwise we may learn how upset our teachers, parents and children can be when the revolution shows up here. The pulse continues to get weaker.

So much to learn and it needs to happen now.