I've been home for two days nursing a nasty cold that started in my throat, moved to my head, and has now taken up residence in my chest. It hurts, and I'm really bad at being sick-- bad at resting myself, bad at sitting still, bad at feeling bad.
It has given me a little time to reflect. To my great pleasure, this year has felt much different- things that would have weighed me down last year are rolling off my back, things I would have struggled with seem somehow easier to deal with. I feel less stressed out, less anxious, and more focused on the things that I need to accomplish.
That is not to say that things have changed-- everything is still dysfunctional, orders that mean nothing fly left and right, the focus, which belongs on the children, is not where it should be. The school system (if mine is any indication) is in a serious state of disrepair. I feel like we are casting our nets about blindly, trying to find a solution-- school takeovers, turnaround schools, charter schools, private schools. How is it that the public school system is not using it's most visible and dedicated resource- it's teachers?!? We are here, every day, from six fifteen to five o'clock. We go home and revise lesson plans, grade papers, and think. We discuss our students with our friends, family, and significant others. We ask our resources, medical, psychological, creative about our students. We brainstorm solutions to troubling problems in dreams, late night cups of coffee, and showers. We are the future that we want to see in education, but no one is asking us what we think! I know from my own conversations with colleagues that we know and understand the problems, we see the roots of the issues and can clear away the debris, we are aware of the shortcomings of suggested solutions, and we have creative and dramatic ideas that just might change the face of education and save our children! We know what methods, teachers, and administrators are effective, and which ones are just for show. We know what our children need before anything else, and we understand them on a level deeper than even their parents on many occasions. Why does no one care what I think, what I know??
I think maybe my brain is sick too. Boo.
It has given me a little time to reflect. To my great pleasure, this year has felt much different- things that would have weighed me down last year are rolling off my back, things I would have struggled with seem somehow easier to deal with. I feel less stressed out, less anxious, and more focused on the things that I need to accomplish.
That is not to say that things have changed-- everything is still dysfunctional, orders that mean nothing fly left and right, the focus, which belongs on the children, is not where it should be. The school system (if mine is any indication) is in a serious state of disrepair. I feel like we are casting our nets about blindly, trying to find a solution-- school takeovers, turnaround schools, charter schools, private schools. How is it that the public school system is not using it's most visible and dedicated resource- it's teachers?!? We are here, every day, from six fifteen to five o'clock. We go home and revise lesson plans, grade papers, and think. We discuss our students with our friends, family, and significant others. We ask our resources, medical, psychological, creative about our students. We brainstorm solutions to troubling problems in dreams, late night cups of coffee, and showers. We are the future that we want to see in education, but no one is asking us what we think! I know from my own conversations with colleagues that we know and understand the problems, we see the roots of the issues and can clear away the debris, we are aware of the shortcomings of suggested solutions, and we have creative and dramatic ideas that just might change the face of education and save our children! We know what methods, teachers, and administrators are effective, and which ones are just for show. We know what our children need before anything else, and we understand them on a level deeper than even their parents on many occasions. Why does no one care what I think, what I know??
I think maybe my brain is sick too. Boo.
1 comment:
your kitchen is pretty freaking awesome. we should hang out again. don't know if i can make the 11th, but i'll try. (stupid deadlines)
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