Well, it's about time... some good news. A Photo II student was the only PV student to receive a Gold Key award in the Scholastic NJ region. Woo hoo! I am super excited because it is a lady who works tirelessly, she is sooo respectful, and is just an all around great person and deserves this a great deal. I will find out about the Silver Key and Hon. Mentions later in the week, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for that.
Speaking of respect.... flipped my lid a week ago after leaving a family gathering. I had to sit through the "greedy teachers" comments yet again. My sister, her hubby and I teach and were present. My husband is a state worker for the Division of Developmental Disabilities and was also there. We all suffer at the hands of our governor. We all work our *sses off and we are not special in that. And we should not have to constantly defend our professions. Yet there we were and big mouth Mel said nothing and neither did anyone else. Who was that "anyone else" that should have defended us? My mother. She loves a good debate but when push comes to shove, she can't fathom defending our field to certain people. I was disgusted and left shortly after.
Then there's the chart I found recently that compares time teachers put into their work relative to the pay they receive. The pay is considered among many other factors, making the comparisons more honest. US at the top of time expenditure and near the bottom in pay.
So then I have my delightful students in periods 3 and 8 who refuse to respect each other and me and never close their mouths when I or a classmate need to speak. I even had to scream at them both on Friday. Throat hurt the whole night. The waitress at Heritage Grille took sympathy on me - she was a former teacher - and gave me extra sauce for my Tennessee bread pudding. It was a special sauce.
So I have been realizing that for my own well-being and what is left of my sanity, I cannot possibly retire from teaching. I'm not quitting just yet, but but I can't make it another 20 years. I may be able to in another country where I will get more respect - or at least free time that matches my low pay. Hungary, the UK, Italy and Belgium all look good right now...
Because of the work I do with preservation, I have also been thinking of restoration. I do a lot of volunteer work in that line and have found at least one low-residency master's program in Historic Preservation. But that is hard work on my hands and I have to honestly assess the condition they are in. The surgery seems to have improved things with the right hand. I don't know....
I do know that I am going to start actually using my sick days. Why let them go to waste?
