"My high school students often come to the classroom lacking many social skills and moral training. They come from broken homes and foster homes, as a result of drug births or a dad in prison. Many have little self worth, and motivating them to learn takes an extra effort.

"Financial cutbacks have reduced high school counseling services. With NCLB unfunded, many of our youth cannot access education. If more services were funded (like counseling for emotional dysfunction), there would be less acting-out in the special education or general education classrooms, and children could have the rightful benefits of public education. One of my students will end up in the prison system if he cannot access such services. He would otherwise be a productive member of our society.

"Between the budget cutbacks that our schools face and the state and federal mandates, not only are special education teachers overworked to the point of having to complete school reports at home in the wee hours of the morning, but also many students cannot receive the counseling they deserve from specially trained advocates, thereby limiting their access to opportunities to set and realize their educational goals." 

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