I've been careful not to state where I work on here...it's a high school and an urban one, but I've been vague (I think) and really, since about two people read this, who cares.

But lately, things have been going to shit there and from the top down. There are some shitty teachers, I've said that before. There are some who are simply waiting to retire. But there are also a lot of really good teachers who work VERY hard. With the budget in crisis, the district has made some very interesting choices, sinking money into nearly useless technology, for example, while freezing salaries for teachers. This salary freeze is unique due to the fact that not only does it freeze teachers at their step (the number of years they have worked) but also horizontally on the chart-meaning teachers that earned advanced degrees in their field aren't getting moved over on the chart to reflect that increase in education. Getting those masters hours (or doctoral) are expensive, but usually this expense is mitigated by the increase in salary. Not this year.

For a district of our size, we are horribly top heavy with administrators, but those positions seem to be safe from any cuts. We have such an overbloated professional development policy with all its special programs that we earn the state's yearly requirements for development hours in the first quarter of the year. In order to keep our graduation rate high with the new, very strict requirements for graduation, we're letting kids earn six or seven credits in one semester through an online program. Teachers are being told, halfway through summer school, that their classes are being combined with other teachers' classes and they won't be needed anymore. Any class under twenty five is combined with another class, which has some teachers teaching over 35 kids with multiple classes in the same room under the same teacher. It's hard enough to teach a full semester's worth of information in four weeks, imagine having three classes at the same time and trying to do all that.

It's not education, it's a factory. Pump them through, hope they perform well on standardized tests, don't kick kids out for violence against students or teachers because it looks bad in the state formula, and, to top it all off...well, I'll let the boards' words speak for themselves.

This was mailed out from a teacher (non-tenured at that. She's a brave one), but the bolding of important phrases is my decision. Feel free to pass this on.

Here goes....

Dear Hickman Mills colleagues,

As you know, our school board decided we should receive no financial improvements for higher education and no step changes for years of experience for the upcoming school year.  This was discussed at the May 21st school board meeting.  You NEED to know what happened:

During the meeting, board member Debbie Aiman voiced strong opposition to the salary freeze, concerned that the board will accurately place a new-to-the-district teacher on the salary schedule both in years of service and education, while those teachers who have been teaching in the district remain stuck in their current place on the chart.  Another board member, Scott Jennings feared losing quality teachers and questioned freezing teachers for higher education hours.  He requested more discussion about the issue at the June 9th meeting.

Board member Ken Bonar’s response to Ms. Aiman’s concern about accurately paying new-to-the-district teachers but not current teachers was, “Life’s not fair.”  Board President, Bonnaye Mims reacted to Mr. Jennings fears about losing quality teachers by saying that where one teacher leaves, there are 5 more to fill that spot; she said she will find someone to replace any teachers who choose to leave (although the board voted to spend $18,000 on a contract with Teach for America to bring in 6 new math and science teachers because of a shortage in the district).  Board member Teresa Edens also voiced opposition to adequately paying current teachers based on the salary schedule.

This Tuesday, June 9th, the board discussed the issue again, and Mr. Jennings made a motion to unfreeze the chart horizontally for teachers who had completed graduate hours, noting that the cost of this is LESS THAN 1% of the district's budget.  He and Debbie Aiman were strongly in favor of unfreezing the chart.  However, Ms. Mims and Ms. Edens were the loud, unwaivering opposition.  In fact, Ms. Edens stated she had no idea where teachers would go if they decided to leave Hickman Mills.  In a disgraceful 4-3 vote, with President Mims breaking the 3-3 tie, the board voted to maintain the salary freeze. 

Below are the board members' email addresses.  Whether you are eligible for an increase based on education or years of service or not, it is an outrage that our school board believes that a warm body will suffice for our children.  This vote demonstrates a serious lack of respect for our role as educators.  If we say nothing, we demean ourselves and our students!  Please, please, please...stand up for yourself, stand up for your colleagues, stand up for our children...take the time to email just one board member and let them know of the disgraceful decision they have made.  WE are the professionals, and we must demand to be treated as such.

Board Members in support of Hickman Mills teachers: 
Debbie Aiman – debbiea@hickmanmills.org
Scott Jennings – scottj@hickmanmills.org
George Flesher – georgef@hickmanmills.org

Board Members not in support of Hickman Mills teachers:
Ken Bonar – kenb@hickmanmills.org
Bonnaye Mims – bonnayem@hickmanmills.org
Teresa Edens – teresae@hickmanmills.org
Darrell Curls – darrellc@hickmanmills.org

All in all, if I type this all up it will seem like I've had  shitty couple weeks. But up until today, they haven't been bad.

Friday BEFORE the Friday before Easter, the hubby got laid off. It was, really, the best kind of laid off you can be. Lots of apologies, glowing recommendation letter, and everyone who wasn't laid off had a reduction in hours, so you know it wasn't personal. It's a small company and the economy is just too rotten for them at the moment. 

BUT, with unemployment and the sudden lack of a need for childcare expenses, we'll be ok. The insurance issue...well, ask me about that AFTER I finally resolve it. That could screw us. But we have good family and good friends and that's making a huge difference.

Easter was wonderful, the kids had a blast, we had good food with family.

But we also noticed a rapid decline in Jack, one of my two cats. She stopped wanting food. She started stumbling when she stood. When she did lick at her food, her head jerked around and she could barely stand.

Today, we did the hardest thing any pet owner has to do. We said goodbye. The vet who looked her over said it wasn't just the right choice, it was the only choice available.

Goddamnit.

I miss her and I hated to do it. It was so quick, less than 30 seconds. SHe weighed less than five pounds and she died in my arms. She was 14 years old. 

 As of, now, yesterday (march 21) I have been married to the hubby for ten years.

They've been ridiculously good years overall.

Yes,  there have been issues.

Yes, we've fought (frozen peas, anyone?)

Yes, there will be more of both in the future.

But I am very glad I have him. And he seems very glad to have me.

Here's to you, hubby. And to us.

Seriously, I know I should have, but with life being...life, it seems to be the last thing on my list to do.

Let's see, anything exciting? Um, not really. Oh, we found two bullets in the hall today and had to stand over them until the cop came (an amazing officer, btw, the best type to have working in a high school) which was a bit disturbing, but somehow, that didn't irk me as much as the long conversation I had to engage in over whether we should switch to a grading system that elimates the zero. Yep, they didn't do it? Well, they have till the end of the semester to get it in. They can't get an A anymore, but if some people have their way, they also can't ever get an F, as long as they do their work. Or a D. Or a C.

Everyone's an A or B student! That's so realistic, just like life! The best part was sitting in the 6 hour (yes SIX) lecture to be told about this system and walk away with not a single piece of anything worth writing down. Or was it having an administrator tell you that many high schools do this and have for over twenty years and not be able to supply a single name to research. After, of course, we pointed out that the presenter herself said that this was a system better developed for middle school.

Sigh. Enough of that. Let's focus on the good.

Teaching wise first: I have students who actually get the humor in "Macbeth." I know, I know, it's a tragedy, what humor? Oh, it's there. When Macbeth complains about being left holding a "barren scepter" *wink*... That's funny. And my Creative Writing kids are making movies of their poetry using still shots. The results are sehr cool.

kiddy wise-well damn it, my kids is cooool. The girl is reading like a champ and impressing me with her sudden wealth of ability. I tucked her in tonight and a little later, when I walked by, she was reading her books outloud to herself. If you have kids around 6ish, btw, check out the Magic Treehouse series. She adores it. And she was enraptured with the first three Lemony Snickett novels.  She's also got a new friend, one who doesn't try to constantly eat me out of house and home, who doesn't get all snippy and mean with her when I won't let them eat me out of house and home, and who doesn't say or do slightly inappopriate sexual things (no seven year old should know how to bump and grind...or that said bumping and grinding should involve boys. And yes, I've talked to her step-mom and dad) This friend is sweet and polite and, unfortunately, allergic to cats. Damnit. I still like having her over.

As for the boychild, he's growing like weed. And the talking...oh my lord the talking. He had his parents as teachers thing last night and he impressed the lady with his hand eye coordination as well. Yes, I'm bragging. He's stubborn, head strong, and difficult to rein in, but he can also focus on a task for an admirable length of time for his age. He also has a very interesting grasp of songs, i.e. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is Pickle Pickle Lili star, how I, what you, what you are.  He's insistant, btw, that this is correct. Very insistant.

He's also, finally, past his resurgence of the I-don't-want-to-be-at-day-care-how-could-you-leave-me-oh-she's-gone-everything's-fine stage. Dear god, I hate that stage.

As for me and the hubby-we'll hit ten years of marriage soon.

I'm a lucky woman, all in all. A lucky woman. 

Went wonderfully. The family (meaning us and the kiddoes) kept it simple this year and the firl child was thrilled to find Santa had left a couple of small gifts under the little tree in her room.  The boy still doesn't really know what's going on, but he did truely love that whole present thing.. SPecifically the rip open paper part. The night before, we started some new family traditions. First, dinner was just a conglomeration of favorite foods-so fish sticks and egg rolls and pizza rolls, oh my. Then we all settled in to watch a family movie together-the Muppet Christmas Carol this year, which is my all time favorite Christmas movie.

After home Christmas, there was the big Christmas at the parents' house. This year, the grownups drew names and that kept the gift giving simple there. My sister gave me a killer basket (colender) of kitchen stuff which was wonderful and needed. The coolest, though, was her handmade coasters. THey rock. People will be shocked to discover I now want them to use coasters. Not because the table needs saving, but because those things are cool looking. The hubby got a new coat, which he desperately needed, and a computer game, which will make him happy, though we have to look into a new videocard.

The kids raked in the goods this year, and there was tons of stuff that's just...cool! The boy's favorite had to be a car that crashes-hood pops up, doors fly open, etc. It regularly goes head to head with his transformer (Bulkhead for those in the know) who pops out of his "car" when he hits something. Bulkhead usually wins. However you determine "Hey, which crash is the winner." The girl child...well, let's see. There's her HyperDash game, which she's managed to modify to play with her brother on occasion (which means he's learning colors). There's her connect 4, which we played a few rounds of this morning. There's her new Webkinz and the accessories for her stuffed dog. She's in heaven. Now, we have to work on thank yous. Oh, and killer from everyone's perspective-the cool battle game with catapults and orcs and knights. We're just waiting to set that one up.

SInce then, it's been lots of good times at home as a family and cuddle time on the couch. THe hubby's back at work today, so it's a little weird, but I'll be glad to see him tonight. Which he'll hate because if the downstairs doesn't get cleaned tonight, I'm packing up and moving somewhere else. Seriously. It's gross down here.

Hope you all had fun this week! 

Snow day part 2. Let's hope it goes as smoothly as snow day part 1.

Of course, this is finals week, so snow days are totally screwing with my AP kids' finals. Ok, so I'm sure it's screwing with everyone else's as well, but I'm selfish and like to think my class matters more. Of course, my final isn't a test, it's a major essay which needs to be edited and revised and needs citations and the rest. I can't ditch the vocabulary post test, that's a district mandate, which means I'll most likely be totally short forming how to do citations. I had to ditch citations all together in the last essay due to a snow day, though many of my kids made a valiant attempt. I hate ditching citations, it's like ditching the speed limit in driver's ed. But I can't require them to do something they haven't been taught either and everytime I try to teach it, we have a snow day.

Maybe there's some weird connection there.

 I chose laugh.

The boy likes his nudity lately, and it's an easy, fun way to pass the time when Mom (me) insists on a nap. I thought he was cured of this when he stripped the diaper, then crawled into bed and ended up waking up to a soggy bed and shirt. But yesterday, oh yesterday, he decided to play nudist again.

This time, he had to poop.

Forgive me for this, but I figure it'll either make the childless REALLY consider the prospect of children or make those with children laugh (hopefully), but this poop was not only monumental....it was everywhere. As my hubby says, he decorated himself and his room with a Jackson Pollack-esque fervor. 

To be fair, the sheer number of wasted wipes seem to indicate he was attempting to clean his mess, but he so miserably failed. So.

However, with poop up to the elbows, the knees, and even in his hair, he managed to keep two things clean:

His butt.
His discarded diaper.

The irony is nearly painful.

Crawls into my bed around 3. Says she feels horrible. Is burning up, coughing, snotty nose.

Is hyper as crap and gets out of bed at 4.

It's 6:30. I want to crash. SHE wants to play games and chatter at the top of her lungs.

Still coughing, still stuffed up, still feverish.

She gets this from her dad.

I hate him. 

Ah, the advantage to being a teacher :)

It started to fall yesterday and, of course, the question would be if we would have early release. We definately prefer that because a) you get some of the classes, so they aren't a full day behind, b) it counts as a full day in the eyes of the state so you don't have to make it up, and c) there's just something about getting out of work early...

But they didn't call it, which I understand, since calling an early release is tricky. You have to make a decision based on what you THINK the roads will be like about 2 hours later, since the buses have to deal with high school, then middle school, then early release elementary, then late release elementary. The decision is really made more for the younger kids, since no one wants first graders riding or walking on crappy roads. It's hard to predict, especially in this state, what the weather will do. Yesterday was definitely a day to call early, at least it was in hindsight. It took me almost 90 minutes to make a 20 minute drive and the highways were slick. Neighborhood roads more so.

I was actually a little surprised we called it. Last year the superintendant was following the motto of "school no matter what" which lasted until: a parent skidded off the road into a ditch and was rescued by a teacher with a tow line, a neighboring district following the same policy had a wreck with a bus of elementary kids (no one hurt), and we all lined up and watched the dance of the buses on ice-lots of slipping and spinning. So it was surprising we got today off.

The girl got to do tons of snow stuff last night with her godfather who was home on leave (he headed back to Japan this morning) and now she's a little bummed cause no one can play (at daycare or homeschooling). The boy so wants to go out, but I won't let him in the snow unless he wears his boots. The boots are an issue. He put them on, he stood in them, he decided no. They're just too different from his shoes. Hopefully, the lure of 2-3 inches of snow will win out and he'll finally accept them.

I'm being uber-productive, mainly cause I don't have a choice. Graybat, who drives the hubby into work (love carpooling), probably needs a new battery, so they took our car this morning.  So it's dishes, laundry, and assorted cleaning today. Maybe I'll even go out into the snow myself later!