Let me tell you about my day. It's a Sunday. First I got up and answered WORK emails. Then I got dressed and I went to church to see my grandson "star" as a shepherd in the postponed Christmas pageant (The church had a fire over Christmas time.) Then I took my mother, my daughter in law, and my grandson out to lunch. (My son was ill with the flu.) While at lunch, I watch "our" five year old practice letters on the placemat. I worried (as I always worry now) that his knowing all his ABC's and being able to count to 25 and write his first name just won't be enough when he enters Kindergarten this Fall. He's right on target (perhaps even a shade advanced) developmentally, but you know- these days in Kindergarten "we" don't hold much truck with developmental appropriateness. That's not enough. That won't keep us up with Korea or China.
After we left the restaurant, I went to a local store to pick up some yarn, 4 packages of noodles and some masking tape. I paid with my own money, even while these supplies were not for me. When I came home, I mixed several concoctions of isopropyl alcohol and food coloring in large cups and then put the noodles in the cups to dye the noodles. I now have 4 freezer bags full of yellow, blue, green, and red noodles. I also have yellow, blue, green, and orange stained fingers now. These noodles will be used to string "Nine Noodle Necklaces" in honor of "N" week in a pre-school that I'm working in.
Between batches of noodles, I taped masking tape onto the ends of 25 yarn pieces I had cut so that little fingers could "thread" the noodles to make their necklaces. I also reviewed the story "Too Much Noise" by Ann McGovern. I've chosen that book to do on "N" week because obviously Noise starts with the letter "N" but also because it has great participatory opportunities and because it has some repetitive phrasing. This is important because the reason I'm working in this pre-school in the first place is because I'm teaching a little 4 year old to use an eye gaze communication system as well as voice out-put switches. I need the repetive phrases to allow her a way to take part. I'm trying to get her ready for Kindergarten. Keeping her communicating and involved and included with the "typical" peers in the classroom will make or break her future. I take my work with her (and the other students I case-manage) very seriously. I'm teaching her and I'm teaching her peers and I'm teaching her teachers. And just as I fear with my grandson, I fear what I'm doing no matter how far "we" get will not be enough.
Next up in my "leisurely" Sunday, I answered some more WORK emails while I was watching "Men in Black" re-run on TV. I also worked a bit on making some contacts with fellow bloggers regarding education issues currently at hand in our country.
Following the defeat of the evil aliens by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, I then entered information into our state's IEP program in preparation for a conference tomorrow afternoon. I did some student updates while I was logged in.
At 5:30 I stopped for a dinner break. (In case you are interested, I had a whole wheat tortilla filled with avocado, onion, and lettuce.) Following dinner I did an hour's worth of exercising on the wii fit system that my family gave me for Christmas. (If you are interested, I am a "fantastic runner" and a "little unbalanced." But, I do have a perfect bmi.)
After this, I worked on a report for a student that I evaluated.
Now, I'm done for the day. And I decided to post this blog. And the REASON I bored you all with the accounting of my day is to illustrate why I'm angry. Why I'm frustrated. And also why I'm incensed on this quiet Sunday.
I'm angry, frustrated and incensed at how very little respect my profession is being given by the "powers that be" these days. I've worked over 50% of my day (on my day off) as I often do, and yet "they" not only take this all for granted, "they" throw a veil of disdain right over the top of it. Never mind research. Nevermind the protests of education heavyweights such as Diane Ravitch. Nevermind that none of the "reforms" they are suggesting have ever worked before in any scalable way. Nevermind all that! "THEY" know best.
"They" know that charters and vouchers will solve the issue of "failing" schools. "They" know that firing teachers and school staff will get rid of the "losers." "They" know that following a business model of competition will bolster the strength of our schools. "They" know that merit pay based on growth models and test scores will get better teachers in the field and retain them.
I'd say "they" know all this. I'd go so far to say that "they" know it in their hearts, except for at this point I do not believe they have any hearts. Or brains for that matter.
I'm sorry for my attitude, but it's how I feel. I feel that Arne Duncan and Barak Obama are letting our children down and actually using them to bond bi-partisanly with business interests. I feel that my Governor and his Superintendent of Public Instruction are trying to destroy my state's educational system. I feel like nothing I say or any of my colleagues say matters one whit to them. I feel like even my Union is not standing up strongly enough against all this. I'm feeling more than I ever have in my entire life, the urge to retire.
It makes me sad, because I've loved this field and this career. I love children. But I am starting to feel like I won't be able to make a living at it anymore and moreover I'm starting to feel like with all the "hoops" of alleged accountability taking up my time, that not only am I always working on Sundays (and Saturdays) to keep up, that I'm beating my head against the wall. I'm starting to wonder how on earth anyone with a family still at home (My children are grown up) can possibly even get their work done without it all spilling into family time. I'm starting to believe that "they" don't care about any families or any children at all.
I feel sometimes on these lonely Sundays that I walk all alone.
I'm starting to wonder if there's any hope at all for our nation's education system. And thankfully, I do see a glimmer of hope on the horizon. I'd like to tell you about it. It's a grassroots uprising of sorts. It's called "Save Our Schools" and it's organizing what is being called the "Save our Schools march and National Call to Action." I encourage you to go to the website www.saveourschoolsmarch.org and read about it and volunteer your own blood, sweat, tears, time, and even money towards this cause of saving our PUBLIC schools. There are some wonderful and heavy-hitting people there helping and hoping to lead the way out of this terrible quagmire that I feel we are in. They are organizing a march in Washington D.C. this coming July 30th.
And so on this lonely, working Sunday I'm thinking "maybe there is hope? Maybe all together we can walk to make a difference!" Please join with us!
Again the website is - www.saveourschoolsmarch.org
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