Chilean Rescue, Yes on Measure I, Save our Schools!
The Daily News
1 So thirty-three Chilean miners were rescued from what unfolded as almost a tragedy beyond our comprehension.
2 Well let's hear it for the rescue efforts, and celebrate, at least for now, the safety of those miners.
3 Towards the end, nearly 2,000 people watched as one-by-one those who were trapped made it to the top. Millions watched on teevee, Facebook, Twitter, and all the rest of it.
4 I'm told that the rescue op took over sixty-nine days.
5 My reports stipulate that all thirty-three people were rescued yesterday.
6 This is wonderful news, wondertul news!
7 Of course there are already backstories, as we speak.
8 One sort of "gossipy" story involved a man who had TWO wimmenz rooting for his survival.
9 One was NOT his mother.
10 Can you EVEN imagine?
11 I'm convinced that the other one was just an old friend from third grade.
12 If that guy has any brains, he'll take quick advantage of his fifteen, and go on talk shows, sell his story, and retire in peace.
13 Run, Forrest, run!
14 Poor bastid.
15 Oh, those are the stories that we get each and every day.
16 Moving on, Part the First: Nothing like a massive heat wave to motivate.
17 I actually got off early yesterday, but within seconds, another teacher flew into my room and talked teaching with me for almost two hours. My plan was actually to get home, pull out things that needed grading, and do a marathon.
18 Instead, I flew to the supermarket for groceries, headed to Starbuck's, and finally got home. No air conditioning, but a lotta shade helped.
19 Got out to the garden and made a much-needed watering, cooked, ate, watched a little Glee, and then moved to the puter to hammer out today's DN.
20 I started at around 7:30, and awakened at 11 p.m. finding I had conked out from exhaustion AT the computer. I fell asleep in my hand.
21 Can't seem to keep up this year; I think it started with me two weeks behind, and I have not stopped working perhaps since August.
22 Two nights this week have me at volleyball games for supervision. I'm still surrounded by massive amounts of papers, so I can't even get out to see people and spend time with family or friends.
23 Sorry, just grousing.
24 The other side of me is pretty happy; that teacher who came in was pretty impressed with how much work I've put in this year. Cutbacks certainly affected my classes. It's a long story, but I have practically been writing my own dictionaries and running off my own books.
25 Support services are down to the bare minimums. I'm teaching a "support" class that has no direction nor materials. Fortunately, it has a small class size, and I really love my class, only because they are a handful.
26 Ah, that stuff's probably pretty boring to the layperson. As a teacher who takes the profession seriously, I work longer and harder hours this year than I ever have. I'm spending long weekend hours not seeing people and not being able to spend any time whatsoever with family and friends.
27 It gets frustrating, because my complete focus this year is to turn teaching into an art. I've spent long hours staying on top of daily lessons and grading papers, but it is certainly beginning to take its toll on my social life.
28 Professionally, I feel I have been all over my game, putting in all sorts of extra hours for the students, and trying with everything I have to keep the lessons up to date and on target.
29 But sometimes when I'm leaving campus at around 9 p.m., I ask myself why I'm working SO much. A lot of times the TOOOOOONDRA is one of the last cars in the parking lot.
30 I guess some people just pour everything they can into their profession.
31 I've had tremendous success so far, but I can't help feeling that a lot of other teachers manage to get by working half the time, or even a quarter of the time.
32 Even when I'm watching sports, I have mounds of papers I grade in between pitches. I feel the students get a sense of it, but I'm not sure they understand just how much I do.
33 I'm not trying to grouse here; I'm just a bit frustrated. It's nice knowing I'm going in to each day fully energized and prepared, and able to throw my entire being into my work. And at times, I feel that I'm a mad artist, trying to make every second as good as I can.
34 I've been organized, fun, humorous, and totally on my game all year, but I'm starting to see that it's only October and I'm completely exhausted when I get home.
35 This week I have had to supervise two volleyball games, and the school play is this weekend. So three nights I'm staying down there 'til all hours. I have no idea how I used to direct plays AND manage class advising, as well as co-advising ATFNL.
36 I've taken all that love and condensed it to becoming a simple classroom teacher.
37 I know the writing and reading skills of nearly every student, and I am constantly changing strategies to make every single class work. It's truly an amazing profession when examined intricately.
38 And yet, I'm really loving being a bit older, and by accepted definition, wiser in so many ways. Because of the hours I pour in, I can only say that teaching has become a painting. There are days that are frustrating. There are days that climb all over me. But most days are dazzling, and when I put that last touch on a class, almost beyond belief. I love, for example, that I have Care Bear band aids.
39 Not much, but a great touch. Attention to detail. Massive fun and surprises, and we are JUST beginning to move into ghosts, haunts, Heidi, legends, the Golden Age of Greece, etc. I've already loved most of the year, and now the fun stuff begins!
40 It's just...
41 It was a bit of a wake-up call when I fell asleep in my hand last night. I literally slept at the computer for almost three hours!
42 And tonight I have to supervise a volleyball game, meaning I get to work at 8 a.m. and leave at 8 p.m. People who think teachers are lucky because they have summers off don't realize that we work almost two extra months in hours during the school year.
43 Honestly, it all evens out. I seldom have guilt in the summer when I'm totally coasting and everyone else is working. No guilt whatsoever. But man, when it's on, it's on.
44 I guess that's enough grousing for one night. I ran into a great friend, one of our awesome custodians named Vernon last night at Safeway. He's an enormous Giants' fan, and we talked and laughed about the season. He has missed school because his wife is going through some health issues, and he too was exhausted.
45 It put a lot of this in perspective. So today I'm going to try to plow through a ton of papers, do a Socratic Seminar in my classes, and then work on getting caught up. The paper chase needs to slow down, just a little, and I need more time for family and friends.
46 It's been an amazing school year so far, quite successful. But I think this prolonged heat has squeezed a lot out of me, and I'm ready to relax.
47 Anyway, that's about it for grousing. Thanks for lending an ear. I don't think people really understand what is happening at schools right now. A LOT of the over-work is because they have cut back on support in so many areas. These people were hired for a REASON, and not having a full-time book room person, for example, has had an enormous impact on my classroom.
48 Long story, but two counselors. Think of that. TWO counselors for 2,700 students. And they are amazing. But parents expect the same services, and we just don't have the people or the time.
49 It's disgraceful what we have done to education.
50 Vote Yes on I, by the way. It will give us more monies so that we might be able to hire back some of the amazing people we have lost. And tell everyone you know to do that.
51 Meanwhile, I'm going to go back to sleep. This computer is lolling me...
52 Again, thanks for listening.
53 Support education.
54 Yeesh.
55 Peace.
~H~
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