However, after reading this post, I’m rethinking my position. For that matter, I may offer my daughter’s teacher a helping hand the next time I see her.

Thank you for reminding us all of the sad state our education system is in. I hope you can find a new teaching position soon, since just by reading your blog I can “hear” how much you love your career.

And to the previous commenter – I appreciate your good intentions, but 90% of the parents can’t afford to pay for help for their kids and there are *lots* of free (although not very good) after-school programs so they usually send their kids to that.

I hope you don’t mind that I linked to your blog.

I don’t pretend to know the industry, but is this something that you could take on yourself or in a group? It sounds like the system is broken, so maybe thinking outside the dysfunctional-government-box is the answer.

Operating under the assumption that 90% of parents want the best for their children and are willing to pay for it, maybe you could ‘sell’ your services to those parents directly.

What if you setup some kind of mass tutoring session for children, almost like a latchkey, or a school after school? There are many different tutoring companies that sell extra tutoring sessions after school, so there is proof of a market. It is a pretty ambitious idea, but maybe you could start with 5 kids at a time, in a simulated classroom. They would get much more attention than when at a public school and you would get to do what you love.

Another idea would to be to work as a consultant to home schooling parents. Someone with your teaching skill set might really help a parent just starting out with home schooling or a parent looking to help their kid make the transition from home schooling to formal school. This would also keep your skills sharp while waiting for another position.

Again, I appreciate how difficult your situation is and I am not trying to say I have all the answers, or any answers at all. Hopefully you are able to find something soon, because it is obvious that your talent and passion for teaching are going to waste due to a unappreciative and complacent education system.

What has happened to our education system? It’s ironic because most of your life, of your adolescence you are focused on education, learning and being in part of higher education systems. There’s a lot of emphasis, yet, we do not provide or give back to the teacher’s themselves.

Is this just in California or do teachers really have to buy out of pocket? My teacher friends do not, but is this state-by-state? How does it work?

Anyway, I want to stomp my foot because this is bullshit. Plain and simple. But really, I commend you and respect you. And I don’t doubt that you will find something worthwhile, especially because of your network, your skillset and your leadership