Two years ago, when it was more powerful, the local tea party demanded that Easton School District stop using Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed," as part of it curriculum for some students. Ehrenreich's tome, like the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, was yet another step along the slippery slope of socialism, they argued. As part of a story about a year the author spent as a waitress and doing other low-skilled jobs, Ehrenreich describes how pre-employment drug tests are evaded.
Former school board candidate and dad Ronnie DelBacco has carried on this crusade, persuading school directors to place this matter on the agenda in May.
Now as most of you know, I don't like writing about school boards. But on Friday night, while having dinner with my grandson at Pizza Joe's, I saw a real example of Nickel and Dimed.
Our waitress is a Spanish teacher who's been laid off by the Catasauqua School District. Twenty-four per cent of the staff is gone, across the board. So instead of teaching children Spanish, our waitress was asking us whether we wanted cheese with our meatballs.
Because there are fewer teachers, seniors at Catty have an "opt out" program that allows them to skip their first and final classes of the day. Not enough teachers. Naturally, most love arriving late and leave early.
I always thought children were our most precious resource, but aren't they being nickel and dimed on their education?
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