Stay tuned: Redo
Sometimes you say things you wish you hadn't. Othertimes your thoughts change over time. Flip flop, flip flop. Sometimes it's not really a flip flop, just a nuance. Sometimes you just aren't sure what you mean.
Lying at the chiropractor's I pondered the morning's blog. I remembered several of my kids' teachers. They go way beyond their contract. Some of them LOVE my kids. How do you compensate that? The truth is that you can't. Caring teachers - the kind my kids will remember far into their adulthood - are a goldmine. My blog below doesn't take into account two things. Many teachers teach more than HS teachers mentioned below. My kids' teachers regularly e-mail me at all hours of the week and weekend. They have met with me before school, during and after school and recently a teacher called for an impromptu 8pm teleconference that lasted about 45 minutes. Far beyond her contract!
No matter where I bump into a teacher, they always ask about my kids.
Of course we have had teachers that don't go the extra mile. I remember wondering about teachers back at EFA (my high school), and thinking "does he (the teacher) think this math class is as boring as I do?" Then there was Mrs. Mix who brought a dead language back to life and Mrs. Whatshername who made us learn about supreme court cases - like Brown V. Board and taught us WHY the 1950s and 1960s were so crucial to our lives. She was an older teacher who easily remembered these events (she would have remembered WWII too), as I now remember the changing world of Hostages in Iran, Anita Hill and Rodney King. I went on to major in Government and am sure that her class was an important push in that direction. If only I could remember her name....
My 5th grade teacher Mrs. Hoffman taught me so many practical things: household budgeting, how to write a check, what a union is, how important it is to read to children. And that it is important to dress warmly on a cold day. She made me feel loved. I think she's still alive - I should tell her.
Yes, I want my teachers to teach more than a few hours a day. And yes, I want them to well-compensated for this work. I know that only a special few will make such a huge impact that my children reminisce about them in their 40s. But when they do... the do.
The other thing that the blog below doesn't take into account is something very simple. Something I forget with all the union's rhetoric.
Teachers - individual teachers - many of them at least - probably hate conflict as much as I do. Some of them are - perhaps many of them - feel as uncomfortable around this fight as I would. I wish the conflict would end.
In my own life I see how little conflict I actually can tolerate. Even a small confrontation bothers me for months. Much of my life is built upon making others happy simply so that I can keep the peace. I bet there are plenty of teachers who just want this contractual fight to end so they can move on with their lives.
I know that's how I feel. Negotiate - find a solution and move on.
****
This morning's blog. Please take with 1-2 grains of salt:
Haven't blogged in while. I just haven't been feeling well - and I haven't been involved in much outside the four walls of our house.
This weekend my brother and sister-in-law are coming to the East Coast from their home in the Idaho. I can't wait to see them! I haven't seen my SIL in over 3 years. It's my personal goal to see them more often! Our focus is often on my husband's family since we visit them once or twice a year - as often as they see us. It will be great to have a long weekend with mine (Thurs-Mon)! Last Easter T's brother and family came for 12 days. Five days with my brother and SIL is true treat!
Being with them will also be a nice distraction from the frustrating state of Bridgewater school politics. Looks like there is nothing productive going on there. With a child entering the High School in the fall, I hope this is settled before soon. I am convinced that this will end with the s-word (strike). I worry about how her "resume" will compare to others when she applies for colleges in a few years, and "Incomplete due to strike" doesn't sound like a winner.
On the other hand - three hours and twenty minutes of instructional time at a $60K salary is a pretty cushy gig....
but classes are big at the High School. Too big. For each of these classes, teachers may have 35 kids - in a writing class, that can be a lot of pages of papers to correct... (between checking bathrooms for pot-smokers and truants).
Glad it's not my problem... Back to blogging in a few days.
Lying at the chiropractor's I pondered the morning's blog. I remembered several of my kids' teachers. They go way beyond their contract. Some of them LOVE my kids. How do you compensate that? The truth is that you can't. Caring teachers - the kind my kids will remember far into their adulthood - are a goldmine. My blog below doesn't take into account two things. Many teachers teach more than HS teachers mentioned below. My kids' teachers regularly e-mail me at all hours of the week and weekend. They have met with me before school, during and after school and recently a teacher called for an impromptu 8pm teleconference that lasted about 45 minutes. Far beyond her contract!
No matter where I bump into a teacher, they always ask about my kids.
Of course we have had teachers that don't go the extra mile. I remember wondering about teachers back at EFA (my high school), and thinking "does he (the teacher) think this math class is as boring as I do?" Then there was Mrs. Mix who brought a dead language back to life and Mrs. Whatshername who made us learn about supreme court cases - like Brown V. Board and taught us WHY the 1950s and 1960s were so crucial to our lives. She was an older teacher who easily remembered these events (she would have remembered WWII too), as I now remember the changing world of Hostages in Iran, Anita Hill and Rodney King. I went on to major in Government and am sure that her class was an important push in that direction. If only I could remember her name....
My 5th grade teacher Mrs. Hoffman taught me so many practical things: household budgeting, how to write a check, what a union is, how important it is to read to children. And that it is important to dress warmly on a cold day. She made me feel loved. I think she's still alive - I should tell her.
Yes, I want my teachers to teach more than a few hours a day. And yes, I want them to well-compensated for this work. I know that only a special few will make such a huge impact that my children reminisce about them in their 40s. But when they do... the do.
The other thing that the blog below doesn't take into account is something very simple. Something I forget with all the union's rhetoric.
Teachers - individual teachers - many of them at least - probably hate conflict as much as I do. Some of them are - perhaps many of them - feel as uncomfortable around this fight as I would. I wish the conflict would end.
In my own life I see how little conflict I actually can tolerate. Even a small confrontation bothers me for months. Much of my life is built upon making others happy simply so that I can keep the peace. I bet there are plenty of teachers who just want this contractual fight to end so they can move on with their lives.
I know that's how I feel. Negotiate - find a solution and move on.
****
This morning's blog. Please take with 1-2 grains of salt:
Haven't blogged in while. I just haven't been feeling well - and I haven't been involved in much outside the four walls of our house.
This weekend my brother and sister-in-law are coming to the East Coast from their home in the Idaho. I can't wait to see them! I haven't seen my SIL in over 3 years. It's my personal goal to see them more often! Our focus is often on my husband's family since we visit them once or twice a year - as often as they see us. It will be great to have a long weekend with mine (Thurs-Mon)! Last Easter T's brother and family came for 12 days. Five days with my brother and SIL is true treat!
Being with them will also be a nice distraction from the frustrating state of Bridgewater school politics. Looks like there is nothing productive going on there. With a child entering the High School in the fall, I hope this is settled before soon. I am convinced that this will end with the s-word (strike). I worry about how her "resume" will compare to others when she applies for colleges in a few years, and "Incomplete due to strike" doesn't sound like a winner.
On the other hand - three hours and twenty minutes of instructional time at a $60K salary is a pretty cushy gig....
but classes are big at the High School. Too big. For each of these classes, teachers may have 35 kids - in a writing class, that can be a lot of pages of papers to correct... (between checking bathrooms for pot-smokers and truants).
Glad it's not my problem... Back to blogging in a few days.
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