Angry, Tired Teachers Hit the Road

I would love to see the California band, “Angry, Tired Teachers,” on the cover of Rolling Stone. They certainly look the part. And they can sing. Their theme song, “Cuts Hurt,” hasn’t been picked up by a major record label, but some members of the California Teachers Association (CTA) who I’ve spoken with know it by heart.

The group is comprised of working teachers who are also members of the Hayward Teachers Association. The band showed up at several stops of a six-week tour sponsored by CTA.

Though the band didn’t play concert halls and nightclubs, they did develop a following of teachers, parents and students who attended rallies along the way. These audience members are angry and tired too.

The gatherings were organized to protest Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts of $4.8 billion from public education. In addition to the bus tour, CTA also sponsored an advertising campaign and regular news conferences focusing on the 14,000 pink slips or layoff notices sent to teachers. The number of layoffs is not known.

Whatever that number turns out to be, cuts hurt.