Good news and bad news: the new governor plans to implement tax cuts for the wealthy while freezing the salaries of teachers and state employees. In other words, he wants the rich to get richer at the expense of working class people. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that today we mailed our pension forms to the state, so such a freeze will not affect us unless the governor somehow finds a way to attack retirees’ pensions and benefits. Much as I love teaching, and do not mind working 50-hour weeks for ten months of the year, I really resent being in a profession which is so misunderstood by the public, so lacking in respect by many Americans, and the target of every greedy person who wants to improve their own tax situation at the expense of hard-working people.

Thank heavens my students respect me more than most members of the public do.