A few weeks back, the local paper ran a rant to the editor about how overpaid and underworked teachers are, not to mention the outrageous benefits we get. I rarely read these letters, let alone respond, but I was moved to write a column in response. The paper ran it.
Today, I got an email as follows from a young teacher. 'bout made my day:
Dear Dr. Carroll,
I wanted to write and thank you for your encouraging article in Sunday’s paper. I am a first year teacher and have been overly stressed this last week as the reality of layoffs has become apparent. I completed my bachelor’s in applied psychology at OIT and completed my master’s at SOU last July. It was a difficult summer, completing a very expensive degree, giving birth in June, having a husband return to school to also become a teacher, and no prospects of a job.
Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to become an ESL teacher for a K-12 school. I had no background in ESL, let alone experience with secondary level students,and wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into. Although this year has been a challenge, I LOVE MY JOB! I love everything about it. The long hours, difficult students, low pay, catastrophic loan payments, and the fact that I will need to complete 24 more graduate level credits to attain my ESOL endorsement to keep my job are all worth it.
I know I am making a difference in the lives of students everyday, and the frustrating part is that I am still not guaranteed that I will survive potential layoffs. Your article has expressed everything I wish the public to consider about our profession. I could have easily applied to be in a nursing, dental, or radiological program, but teaching is truly my passion. I have never worried about the money, but now that there is a fear of losing my job, I can’t help but to feel frustrated. Your words hit close to home and have made me feel a little bit more appreciated in these dismal times.
Thank you for advocating.
Sincerely,
Ashley Spivey
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
Blah, blah blah. . . .
In all the depressing news about the economy, I’m at least enjoying the hilarious political satire of John Stewart and especially Steven Colbert. Almost as diverting is following the debate between Rush Limbaugh and, supposedly, the Obama administration. Some commentators have said it’s unfair to label Limbaugh the spokesperson for the Republican party, but a long list of Republican leaders have lined up behind him.
Even Michael Steel, chair of the RNC and a leader who has often put his foot in his mouth, had to back away from criticisms of Rush. If Limbaugh isn’t the anointed leader, who is? Steel himself? John McCain? Sara Palin? Bobby Jindal? John Boener?
John Kerry made the mistake of not reacting fast enough to the outrageous claims of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. They weren’t the official voice of the Republican party, but they probably did more than any Republican officials or the Bush campaign to defeat Kerry. Should the Obama administration just stay quiet about a guy who makes equally outrageous charges and has the support of sixty percent of Republicans and a huge national audience?
I’ve been listening to a little of Rush and Sean Hannity on AM radio when I’m out in my truck running errands. Somebody in the administration needs to respond to this nonsense.
And it’s not like the Republicans haven’t done the same thing in the past. In an article in today’s Washington Post, Howard Kurtz points out that “Mark McKinnon, a top adviser in President George W. Bush's campaigns, acknowledged the value of picking a divisive opponent. ‘We used a similar strategy by making Michael Moore the face of the Democratic Party,’ he said of the documentary filmmaker. ‘That's why we gave him credentials to cover the 2004 convention and then turned the spotlight on him.’”
And further, “For nearly two decades, the radio host has masterfully inserted himself into political disputes by pushing the usual boundaries. In last year's Democratic primaries, he tried to derail Obama with what he dubbed Operation Chaos, urging his followers to cross over and vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
If Republican leaders don’t like the White House responding to Rush Limbaugh, they need to distance themselves from him publicly.
Don’t hold your breath.
Even Michael Steel, chair of the RNC and a leader who has often put his foot in his mouth, had to back away from criticisms of Rush. If Limbaugh isn’t the anointed leader, who is? Steel himself? John McCain? Sara Palin? Bobby Jindal? John Boener?
John Kerry made the mistake of not reacting fast enough to the outrageous claims of the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. They weren’t the official voice of the Republican party, but they probably did more than any Republican officials or the Bush campaign to defeat Kerry. Should the Obama administration just stay quiet about a guy who makes equally outrageous charges and has the support of sixty percent of Republicans and a huge national audience?
I’ve been listening to a little of Rush and Sean Hannity on AM radio when I’m out in my truck running errands. Somebody in the administration needs to respond to this nonsense.
And it’s not like the Republicans haven’t done the same thing in the past. In an article in today’s Washington Post, Howard Kurtz points out that “Mark McKinnon, a top adviser in President George W. Bush's campaigns, acknowledged the value of picking a divisive opponent. ‘We used a similar strategy by making Michael Moore the face of the Democratic Party,’ he said of the documentary filmmaker. ‘That's why we gave him credentials to cover the 2004 convention and then turned the spotlight on him.’”
And further, “For nearly two decades, the radio host has masterfully inserted himself into political disputes by pushing the usual boundaries. In last year's Democratic primaries, he tried to derail Obama with what he dubbed Operation Chaos, urging his followers to cross over and vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
If Republican leaders don’t like the White House responding to Rush Limbaugh, they need to distance themselves from him publicly.
Don’t hold your breath.
Monday, March 02, 2009
I love my TV!
Last month I decided to cable-up. Blame it on those long winter nights. We also got a better deal by bundling our computer hook-up, telephone and television. Now I can surf the web, call my cousin in Arizona, and watch a Sopranos rerun, all at the same time.
Our only TV for the last six years or so has been rabbit ears, which got us the three networks, Fox, and PBS, all for free. I usually watched the nightly news, which runs maybe one or two overly brief stories of any substance. The rest is fluff and commercials. Is it really a lead story that the East Coast is getting a big storm in February?
PBS has occasional good programming. Fox has The Simpsons. Beyond that, nada.
But the new cable, coupled with the DVR which allows me to record any program and fast forward the commercials, has proven to be better than I expected. Now I record the network news and watch the whole program in about fifteen minutes, skipping both commercials and any stories about a beached whale. I can pause to go out to the kitchen and start dinner, usually beans and rice, or rice and beans. We’re not immune to the recession, you know, despite having the luxury of living on a fixed income. (Remember when people used to complain, “I’m living on a fixed income”? Now it’s not polite to boast about your good fortune.)
I record The Daily Show and the Colbert Report, both of which manage to bring humor to the news, which otherwise is overwhelming in its depressingness.
Yesterday, I recorded the first motorcycle road race of the year, an epic battle between a seasoned veteran and promising rookie at Phillip Island in Australia. Great race! The only American rider is Ben Spies, who looks like he might dominate the season. And BMW is fielding its first team of two bikes, returning to racing after almost three decades. The Beemers finished in the top ten, and former world champion Troy Corser looks like he’ll be in the running.
Is Troy Corser an absolutely perfect name for a motorcycle champion or what?
And finally I’m finding that there actually is something worth watching on television, as long as you can watch it when you want and skip most of the commercials. I usually watch an hour or two a night. And of course I still have DVDs. Saturday I watched Pan’s Labyrinth, an excellent film loaned to me by my Spanish tutor. “Don’t read the subtitles!,” she commanded. Right. My tutor is very strict, but I cheat.
I watched the big Obama speech to Congress, fast-forwarding through the long interruptions for applause. And the Bobby Jindal rebuttal had to be the strangest and most amusing thing I’ve seen in years. I actually did a replay of some of the best parts. (BTW, his story about being in the office with the local sheriff while Washington bureaucrats foiled rescue attempts turns out to be as true as Sara Palin just saying no to the bridge to nowhere. Kenneth the Page comparisons were right on the mark. So much for now for the rising stars of the new Republican party.)
All of this raises the question of whether television, like the newspapers, can survive a new technology which makes its advertising irrelevant. In the long run, maybe not, but by then I’ll be dead. In the meantime while I’m not dead, I’m once again enjoying television as one part of my entertainment and news on a daily basis.
Cage fighting is fun, too.
Our only TV for the last six years or so has been rabbit ears, which got us the three networks, Fox, and PBS, all for free. I usually watched the nightly news, which runs maybe one or two overly brief stories of any substance. The rest is fluff and commercials. Is it really a lead story that the East Coast is getting a big storm in February?
PBS has occasional good programming. Fox has The Simpsons. Beyond that, nada.
But the new cable, coupled with the DVR which allows me to record any program and fast forward the commercials, has proven to be better than I expected. Now I record the network news and watch the whole program in about fifteen minutes, skipping both commercials and any stories about a beached whale. I can pause to go out to the kitchen and start dinner, usually beans and rice, or rice and beans. We’re not immune to the recession, you know, despite having the luxury of living on a fixed income. (Remember when people used to complain, “I’m living on a fixed income”? Now it’s not polite to boast about your good fortune.)
I record The Daily Show and the Colbert Report, both of which manage to bring humor to the news, which otherwise is overwhelming in its depressingness.
Yesterday, I recorded the first motorcycle road race of the year, an epic battle between a seasoned veteran and promising rookie at Phillip Island in Australia. Great race! The only American rider is Ben Spies, who looks like he might dominate the season. And BMW is fielding its first team of two bikes, returning to racing after almost three decades. The Beemers finished in the top ten, and former world champion Troy Corser looks like he’ll be in the running.
Is Troy Corser an absolutely perfect name for a motorcycle champion or what?
And finally I’m finding that there actually is something worth watching on television, as long as you can watch it when you want and skip most of the commercials. I usually watch an hour or two a night. And of course I still have DVDs. Saturday I watched Pan’s Labyrinth, an excellent film loaned to me by my Spanish tutor. “Don’t read the subtitles!,” she commanded. Right. My tutor is very strict, but I cheat.
I watched the big Obama speech to Congress, fast-forwarding through the long interruptions for applause. And the Bobby Jindal rebuttal had to be the strangest and most amusing thing I’ve seen in years. I actually did a replay of some of the best parts. (BTW, his story about being in the office with the local sheriff while Washington bureaucrats foiled rescue attempts turns out to be as true as Sara Palin just saying no to the bridge to nowhere. Kenneth the Page comparisons were right on the mark. So much for now for the rising stars of the new Republican party.)
All of this raises the question of whether television, like the newspapers, can survive a new technology which makes its advertising irrelevant. In the long run, maybe not, but by then I’ll be dead. In the meantime while I’m not dead, I’m once again enjoying television as one part of my entertainment and news on a daily basis.
Cage fighting is fun, too.
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