ms_teacher

Same here on the pay. However, I got a bonus for m...

2012-05-27T11:34:11.671-07:00

Same here on the pay. However, I got a bonus for my student overload for 2nd semester, so I have enough this month to breathe easily. (in spite of the very expensive trip to NYC)

I know what you mean about spendy for the book &qu...

2012-05-25T20:20:49.424-07:00

I know what you mean about spendy for the book "Finnish Lessons." We can still have a pretty good discussion on "The New Jim Crow!"

Thanks for joining in.

I just requested "The New Jim Crow" from...

2012-05-25T18:57:30.470-07:00

I just requested "The New Jim Crow" from the library, but wasn't able to get "Finnish Lessons" - I'll have to see about purchasing it; it's pretty spendy on Amazon, so we'll see....

Hear! Hear! IMO, NEA had NO business endorsing P...

2012-05-19T21:09:43.156-07:00

Hear! Hear! IMO, NEA had NO business endorsing President Obama. I'd challenge every member of NEA to write Dennis Van Rockel (who I met several times when he was President of AZ Ed Assoc.), and ask him just what has President Obama done to help the children and teachers of the United States? I know Dennis cannot provide a definitive answer because there is no answer. In truth, I wouldn't be a member of NEA by choice - IMO, they don't speak for me, make my teaching job any better or my future to include my earned Soc. Sec. benefit...am rambling now....

I too objected to the endorsement (early or otherw...

2012-05-14T05:54:17.561-07:00

I too objected to the endorsement (early or otherwise) by NEA of President Obama...he let us down. He has sold out to the corporate interests. Arne Duncan and Race to the Top has been every bit as bad, if not worse, than No Child Left Behind.

I am very disappointed in the President's stand on public education. The devastation that the policies of the last two administrations are having on public education will be felt for years.

SIng it, sister. Sing it loud, sing it proud.

2012-05-12T18:45:06.918-07:00

SIng it, sister. Sing it loud, sing it proud.

Am I missing something here? At our home, we use i...

2012-05-06T20:19:43.892-07:00

Am I missing something here? At our home, we use it as a time to celebrate Mexican culture (and we're in a very diverse neighborhood). If we make fun of anyone, it might be the French (part of the holiday) but we make up for that on Bastille Day. On both days, we end up talking a bit about hegemony and power. A little Chomsky doesn't hurt on a Cinco de Mayo.

I would say that only the getting drunk part of it...

2012-05-05T09:12:06.871-07:00

I would say that only the getting drunk part of it is true. It has nothing to do with Mexican culture anyway since it's just the date of a battle and not their national holiday. (which is in September!)

Oregon is nice...in places....depressed and depres...

2012-04-24T21:29:56.882-07:00

Oregon is nice...in places....depressed and depressing in others. No teaching jobs up there....I'd suggest living there temporarily to see if you can handle the overcast, rain, lack of sun and (west of the Cascades) green-ness.

Oregon is nice...in places....depressed and depres...

2012-04-24T21:28:57.807-07:00

It sounds like wonderful times in your home.

2012-04-14T18:06:00.675-07:00

It sounds like wonderful times in your home.

So glad to hear about the great times together. It...

2012-04-08T16:51:37.380-07:00

So glad to hear about the great times together. It's impossible to predict the future. I would never have thought that Ashley would go from Evergreen to UW to Columbia to UCLA. I worried about my two (very different) daughters ever being friends...and it took a while, but they appear to be very close. YAY!!

I'm curious about which cc? SBCC has a good m...

2012-04-08T12:19:55.587-07:00

I'm curious about which cc? SBCC has a good music program. My son may never leave there, he likes it so much.

Some people will never understand what it is to te...

2012-03-30T21:49:21.391-07:00

Some people will never understand what it is to teach, nor will they try. These people will just continue to bash teachers as if we have the easiest job in the world. Heaven forbid you fetch a cup of coffee you are a slacker. Good for you saying what you said to her, it's nice to see people stand up for what they believe. Half the things she said didn't make sense anyway. I'm over in NJ with Governor Chris Christie who basically states his dislike of teachers and says by the second day the student knows whether or not their teacher knows what they're talking about...silly me I didn't realize the students were trained. It's a nightmare over here in NJ, luckily I'm assisting in a Catholic School that he has no power over!

Maybe now we can quit this nonsense of a post-raci...

2012-03-21T20:04:37.641-07:00

Maybe now we can quit this nonsense of a post-racial America. This story is so very, very sad.

I agree with you 100%. Even when it isn't kill...

2012-03-21T18:32:15.982-07:00

I agree with you 100%. Even when it isn't killing, it's different treatment and suspicion.

There's a large part of me that would happily ...

2012-03-19T06:44:25.440-07:00

There's a large part of me that would happily give up being president of my local, but two things get in the way: no one else shows any interest in being the union leader, and of all the things I do in life I'm best at this. Google has zero results for the phrase "How to stop being a leader", which is regrettable for leaders who would like to follow for a while.

I haven't been by for awhile and just thought ...

2012-03-18T19:19:50.597-07:00

I haven't been by for awhile and just thought I would check in. I agree with Jenn...these are very big decisions. I don't think I could get so involved in the union. I also have no plans to go into administration, which I used to think I wanted. Like you said, you have to ask yourself if it's really worth it.

I am also a middle school teacher, who is waiting for my son to graduate from high school, so my hubby and I can relocate. (I will also be retiring then.) We are also considering Oregon. We used to live in McMinnville, such a nice little town. Check it out.

Our thoughts right now are Arizona part of the year (family) and Oregon another part. We also have a little property in Hawaii and would like to find a way to build on it for another place to retreat. Dreams, dreams, dreams...sometimes they do come true.

Those are some big decisions! Good luck to you.

2012-03-18T18:35:14.106-07:00

Those are some big decisions! Good luck to you.

Wonderful--keep up the good work.

2012-03-13T20:08:04.278-07:00

Wonderful--keep up the good work.

VERY NICE!! I'm glad that the paper called him...

2012-03-11T16:46:29.278-07:00

VERY NICE!! I'm glad that the paper called him out and vindicated the work you've been doing. Sometimes(most of the time?) we get no credit, so it feels good.

I choose to interpret the quotes a little differen...

2012-03-02T18:34:33.380-08:00

I choose to interpret the quotes a little differently. Rather than taking them as yet another attack on teachers, I think the quotes can be interpreted as a wake-up call, for all of us, to institutionalized inequities that permeate our lives, including schools at every level, every socio-economic strata, and every real estate venue. Arriving at a decision of whose fault it is that hungry or tired kids are not learning in school is not going to get anyone any closer to helping those kids learn. We, all of us, need to put our egos on the shelf and our thinking caps on, so that we, together, can come up with some creative way to meet the needs of these kids. Regardless of cultural or ethnic differences, we have to teach the kids we get, not the ones we wish we had.

Ridiculous. That is my humble opinion. I agree wit...

2012-03-01T12:54:14.133-08:00

Ridiculous. That is my humble opinion. I agree with the doctor/patient comparison as well.

I teach in rural Alaska where most of the students have fetal alcohol syndrome, have a relative who has committed suicide, and deal with abuse and neglect on a daily basis. I can't control those factors, and I can't stop these problems from affecting their education. I can only do my part, and I try to make a difference in their lives and education as best as I can.

How annoying.

2012-02-23T17:42:38.846-08:00

How annoying.

I hate having to baby adults--I feel like I'm ...

2012-02-23T16:23:14.967-08:00

I hate having to baby adults--I feel like I'm in the same position as you are with a few members of my department. I didn't remind you 100 times, gee, sorry.