will someone be eating crow . . .

I doubt it. However, it does feel nice that I've been vindicated.

Our local paper just wrote a scathing editorial on the negative remarks made by our new superintendent. Some of the teachers that have worked in the district for many years are astounded that the paper has called him out like they did & have remarked it is the first time EVER that it has taken the stance that perhaps the superintendent should try to work with the teachers.

It's been one of those in my career where I can't help but think that the paper's stance has a lot to do with what I have been working on since becoming president. My hallmark has been trying to work to bring everyone together because the bottom line to me has always been & will always be that we need to stop pointing fingers & figure out ways to work together for the good of the kids.

If the adults can't figure out - then how can we expect the kids to do so?

Yeah, I'm going to take this as a feather in my cap.

I love my job

I love my job most of the time, like in more than 90% of the time. There are times when I get to help my colleagues in tremendous ways & when they thank me for doing what I'm paid to do as union prez, it just makes the job even nicer.

There are other times where I get annoyed. That's really probably about 2% of the time - even though on this blog it probably looks like much more than that. Even with that 2% annoyal rating, I love being union prez.

It's that 5% give or take that makes me question my sanity.

Today, I'm having that 5% of wanting to strangle somebody. And that's because adults won't act like adults and instead get angry or irritated with me because of it.

We calendar all of our meetings in August of each year. From that calendar, I put in all the information on an online calendar that is readily accessible to everyone through our website. Additionally, all of our officers & our reps receive a hard copy of said calendar at our first rep council meeting. I also always put our next two meetings on each meeting agenda. All of that is a lot of notice - wouldn't you think?

Most of the time, I send out an e-mail reminding people of an upcoming meeting. This week, I forgot. I sent an e-mail out with an apology today as we have a meeting tonight.

The sky is falling.

I am to blame.

On being a sub . . .

Currently, I'm working one day a week at one of my school sites. The job I'm supposed to do is to provide reading interventions to struggling readers. That I've enjoyed immensely. However, the last two times that I've been at my school site, I've been told that I need to sub. (We have a hard time finding enough people wanting to sub in my district - I suspect it has to do with the low pay, tough working conditions, lack of respect, and lack of support.)

I've enjoyed both days back in the classroom. The kids were talkative, some were a bit disrespectful, but most were pleasant to be around. It was nothing I didn't think I could handle, especially since the kids were 3rd & 4th graders. However, yesterday I kind of taken aback as one of the aides who was in the room made a comment to me that threw me off. She proclaimed that she thought the kids were being absolutely horrible.

I looked at her perplexed as I didn't think they were being horrible at all.  Were they testing the limits? Yes. Was it something that I felt was out of control? No.

I think that part of it for me was that I'm used to teaching at the middle school level. I've seen disrespectful, outrageous behavior. Perhaps my tolerance level is a lot higher than those who have never had the pleasure of being around hormone riddled adolescence.

(On another note, one of the girls had an accident & I was horrified. Apparently, she is really shy and was too embarrassed to raise her hand to let me know she had to use the bathroom. She told me when they broke for recess. I felt so bad.)

Great big test anxiety setting in . . .

I postponed it until the last possible date because of the anxiety I feel about this stupid test.

The program that I'm applying for have said that the test is only a very small part of the total application package. This should have been encouraging, but instead I've found it more worrisome. I think that's because if I knew a target score of what they were looking for, I could at least shoot (& prepare for that).

After 4:30 today, I will move on.

Pointing fingers always works . . .

The previous post had some quotes from a well-known national African American education reform leader. As a white educator who has chosen to teach in a community that is predominately of color, there have been numerous times over the past decade that I've been accused of racism. Too often, I'm judged by the color of my skin and not by the content of my character.

The students that I have taught over the years who have been the most successful have parental supports in place that do not make excuses, not only for the educator but the for the student. These parental supports are willing to engage in meaningful conversations with the teacher in trying to find solutions to help their child be successful.

The handful of kids that I have had in which their parent or guardian has said that I was racist have done so after I tried to hold their child accountable, whether that be for getting their work done, treating others with respect, or not making excuses for their bad behavior. The charge of racism never came before I placed an expectation on the child that the parent disagreed with & more than once, the parent demanded from my administrator that the child be moved to another classroom.

When I hear the phrase, "soft bigotry of low expectations," it is usually referenced to the white educator. There seems to be this belief that if you are a white teacher in a school district that is highly diverse, that you are doing so in order to pick on or hold down children of color.

While I can only speak for myself, I know that this is a bad assumption to make. The educator, regardless of color that is committed to making this world a better place, often chooses to teach in the toughest conditions. For myself, I chose to stay in my district, even though many of the colleagues that began teaching with have moved on to teach in districts that do not have all of the "problems" of my district. I have always held onto the belief that every child regardless of zip code deserves to have a quality education that is delivered by a quality educator. 

The "soft bigotry of low expectations," too often does not come from the teacher in the classroom. Rather it comes from those far removed who refuse to support teachers when problems arise and instead, tell the teacher that maybe you are too tough, or you lack strong classroom management, or the only reason you called home to report on your child who just maliciously assaulted another student is because they are black.

It is always easier to point fingers as to why something is wrong. White teachers in a highly diverse community seem to be very easy targets. I would prefer being allowed to engage in conversations and work with the community in order to solve the issues that prevent our students from being successful. I prefer getting my hands dirty and my ego bruised if it means making things better for the students and the community I've been called to serve.

On being accused of racism . . .

From this day forward let's all commit to calling every person a racist who uses race to explain teacher failure, every time, everywhere.


Using race, family & poverty as excuses for your limitations is, among other things, racist. If you can't get results get a new job.


I'm tired of teachers who deflect responsibility & make themselves victims. If you can't get results it's not parents' fault it's yours.


The above are all quotes from a well-known African American educator who is routinely featured on a national news program. These were recent tweets.


I'm submitting them to my readers without comment. Curious as to what others think. 

the earring . . .

Artist Girl got her first piercing when she was in 8th grade. Guitar Teen, I believe, was probably around the same age when he wanted his first earring. Last week, Wrestling Fan, asked if he could get his ear pierced. He is going to be sixteen in a few months & I'm quite surprised that he hadn't asked before now.

Wrestling Fan has been working really hard in school and is proving to be a very responsible teen. When he first texted me his request, I told him that we would need to have a conversation with dad. The next day, I had a lunch date with my husband, so I brought it up in conversation with him. He was fine with it.

Last Friday, we took him to get his ear pierced & he's now sporting some nice bling (well, what under $40 in bling will get you anyway!) in his left year.

He got quite the kick out of the young woman who was doing the piercing. She asked him if he was over or under 18.

It stoked his ego, just a bit.