A quarter of a century . . .

I'll miss joining my blogging friends at BlogHer, but I have a really good reason to miss it.

On August 2nd, it will be my silver anniversary with my husband. We are going some place really special for the whole week.

Pictures later . . .

In which I respond . . .

This post was in response to an e-mail that I received from a disgruntled reader of my blog. This reader was upset at my critique of the movie, "The Ron Clark Story. She (the reader signed with a name) seemed to believe that this critique was a slam of the teacher in the movie and all that he had done to help his students.

She could not be further from the truth.

I'm going to go through her diatribe with my comments in a different color. If you don't want to read snark, stop here.

You've been warned.

Ms.Teacher It is 2011 and I am pretty sure you won't waste your time reading responses to your ugliness.
The only thing that was wasted was my time in reading your e-mail & my subsequent time in responding to it.


I am a 50 year old female, mother of 2 and not a teacher. You, as did some of your fans, start your days feeling no one does as much as you and you don't get recognized so you will be damned befor you ever believe Ron White did anything that we seen in the movie. 


Please re-read the original post. I never question the veracity of the Ron Clark (not white) story. I also don't ever wake up believing that I need to be recognized for anything that I do in the classroom or as the leader of my local union. However, it would be great if teachers, who choose this vocation because they believe in the value of education and in making a difference, weren't subjected to the bashing that is taking place in US society today.


Well I would hope my kids never had a teacher like you, you poor, poor thing! 
And, I, am glad that I never had to deal with a parent like you. So, I guess we are even.


Nobody knows how hard it is to be a teacher, but we do , most, not all parents respect that of you or teachers.
This sentence makes absolutely no sense. 


 I cannot imagine ever having a parent-teacher conf. w/you. I live in Colorado, but was born and raised in California!
Well, since you live in Colorado, I guess you'll never have to have a conference with me. Congrats on being born & raised in California. I'm sure that Colorado is thrilled to have you.


I had a Ron White type of teacher, that was done from his heart not because he had to, that was 5th grade. Then I got to middle school, and it happened again, this time 2 teachers, maybe not as time but they gave alot nonethe less. They were just amazing, I was growing up on the East side of San Jose, poverty and crime, and I have memories that just by what I have read today you and none of your fans will have that student that remembers you,
While I will never claim to be exactly like Ron Clark (not white), I can tell you unequivocally, that I have many students who remember me - for the right reasons. I've received notes from them over the years & for those who are in high school or have graduated, when they see me, many run up to me to give me a hug. They are as excited to see me as I am of them. I know that I have made a difference in the lives of hundreds of children. 


Here's a quick teacher tip on the word "a lot" - it is two words, not one. You might want to remember that.


 it would be my thought that you really are not doing what yu want, maybe instead of asking for someone to give yu Disneyland tickets, (you really have the nerve?) but maybe Disneyland should be your employer, see people with not having to know who they are.
I'm going to guess that this little "dig" is in regards to the "about me" section of MY blog. I've never advertised that my husband, who was also born, raised & continues to live in California, has never been to Disneyland other than that little blurb in the "about me" section of MY blog. Just so you understand, this is MY blog. If you don't like what I write, you don't have to read it.


I hope your kids give you enough ata girls, because they were not even mentioned for Disneyland, even though they are adults,if they would not be too miserable, they might like a family trip. Lon time ago, I know but ugly BLOGS, get new jobs,lot's of you!! 
Just so you understand, I write about my kids, however, that doesn't give you the right to ever go after them. A long time ago when I was in kindergarten, I was taught that if I couldn't say something nice, I should keep it to myself. Perhaps you need a remedial lesson.




Just so everyone understands where I was coming from when I wrote about Ron Clark. I think that many, many teachers across this country strive to be Ron Clark's every day. I also know that the statistics aren't kind for those beginning in this career as it can be an absolutely all consuming career. When I was in the classroom, I left the house at 7:15 and often did not return home until around 4:30. Most week-ends are spent grading papers, lesson planning, returning phone calls & e-mails, on top of trying to raise a family and maintain a marriage.  


This career is not for the faint of heart. 


The issue that I have with most teacher movies is the expectation that the public expects us to be superhuman from the moment we walk through the door of our classrooms until we retire. We are bashed for our contracted work day because people erroneously believe that we leave when the students do. We are bashed for our breaks because people don't understand that teachers don't have any paid vacations - the time we are off from holidays to summer break, are not paid. We are paid for our contracted days - any time beyond that - is on us.


Ron Clark should be admired for making & continuing to make the commitment he did to his students. However, for those of us who choose to make time for our families and our life outside of the classroom, we are choosing a path that will allow to continue to make a difference for many years. 


I would rather be a long burning candle than a match.

So what do you think?

Almost five years ago, I wrote a blog post about "The Ron Clark Story," which can be viewed here. Go read this now & then come back & read the e-mail I received below from a disgruntled reader.

Ms.Teacher It is 2011 and I am pretty sure you won't waste your time reading responses to your ugliness. I am a 50 year old female, mother of 2 and not a teacher. You, as did some of your fans, start your days feeling no one does as much as you and you don't get recognized so you will be damned befor you ever believe Ron White did anything that we seen in the movie. Well I would hope my kids never had a teacher like you, you poor, poor thing! Nobody knows how hard it is to be a teacher, but we do , most, not all parents respect that of you or teachers. I cannot imagine ever having a parent-teacher conf. w/you. I live in Colorado, but was born and raised in California! I had a Ron White type of teacher, that was done from his heart not because he had to, that was 5th grade. Then I got to middle school, and it happened again, this time 2 teachers, maybe not as time but they gave alot nonethe less. They were just amazing, I was growing up on the East side of San Jose, poverty and crime, and I have memories that just by what I have read today you and none of your fans will have that student that remembers you, it would be my thought that you really are not doing what yu want, maybe instead of asking for someone to give yu Disneyland tickets, (you really have the nerve?) but maybe Disneyland should be your employer, see people with not having to know who they are. I hope your kids give you enough ata girls, because they were not even mentioned for Disneyland, even though they are adults,if they would not be too miserable, they might like a family trip. Lon time ago, I know but ugly BLOGS, get new jobs,lot's of you!! 


So this is what I want to know from my readers, do you think I was slamming Ron Clark? I'll post my response in another blog post.