Finding Hope When You're Hopeless

Our meeting yesterday was just as grim as I expected. Well, perhaps worse. Leading the ideas for how to trim $2- $3 million from our district budget was a 10% pay cut OR firing 42 teachers. Those would be the easiest things to do - the biggest bang for the buck so to speak. Other ideas required making cuts in many, many, many, many areas - and even then it was difficult to amass the needed dough.


If anyone tells me that Idaho values education, I will either laugh in your face or punch you in the nose. When state legislators vilify educators and make cuts that directly impact the classroom - well, that is NOT supporting education. Proposals have been made to put a one year moratorium on state demanded initiatives and testing that is not required for federal funding. Both ideas were shot down. Superintendent Luna refuses to abandon his "pet projects" for even one year; despite the fact that these programs cost the taxpayers millions and have very little benefit to the children in the classroom. I find it ludicrous that children must go without textbooks, supplies, teachers, etc. so that they can be tested. There is something extremely WRONG with that thinking.


The most heartbreaking part of the meeting came afterward, when I went back to school. Our new PE teacher (age 24) was standing in the hallway looked utterly bereft. You see, she had just found out the day before that she has degenerative disc disease. That's a pretty hard thing to face at 24 - but it was made all the worse by the fact that she got to see her job elimination posted as one of the solutions.


So, what will schools look like next year? I hope Idaho parents are in for a shock, because they are going to get one. We have been told to expect classrooms with 40 students in them. Programs will be cut. Schools will no longer be subsidized by caring teachers. After a 10% pay cut I will not be able to devote the thousands (yes, I just did my taxes and that's the truth) of dollars from my own pocket to make up for a lack of funding. Our district has already notified parents that all school communication will be done electronically. If you don't have the internet, you are going to be clueless. Sorry. We've also decided to spend one hour a day working with the lights off, as that will save $100 per classroom. We haven't bought new textbooks for years, we already have our paper allowance so limited that we are barely able to copy the required tests for students, but our state continues to tell us to "spin straw into gold."


When I think about young people going into education, my heart aches. They will be teaching in a very different world from the one I worked in. My advice to them would be to change majors and find another vocation.


There is talk of trying to clear the decks of older teachers by offering a Rule of 85 for one year (teachers could retire if their age and years of teaching equals 85). I would be one of the people who would qualify. The package would have to equal that offered by our current Rule of 90 (in order to provide an income that one could actually live on) in order for me to consider it. Should I go for it, I would still have to find employment elsewhere in order to pay for insurance etc. One thing would be certain though - once I retire, our family will be leaving Idaho. So, Marsha, while you're house hunting, you might want to keep your eyes open for us as well.

Mom's Birthday

Today is Mom's 78th birthday. Yes folks - 7 tens and 8 ones. Seven and 4/5 decades. Seventy-eight percent of a century. So, in keeping with the fact that I am the "Evil" daughter, I am including a photo of Mom as we usually see her. She has fallen asleep while reading the newspaper (as she always does). This makes the reporting in The Post Register look bad, but the woman just seems to find the printed word to be a narcotic! Read something, and BLAM! Off to the land of nod.


Lest you think ill of me, we are taking her out to dinner tonight and are plying her with some pretty decent gifts. We love Mom. Everybody does, but she belongs to US! Of course, she will likely never realize that I have posted this picture, because should she read this blog, she will have already fallen to sleep by the time she gets this far. hee - hee - hee


Here is a photo of Bailee's "thermal buddy" for the Regional Invention Convention. It is stuffed with rice and can be heated in the microwave or chilled in the freezer. We think Huckle, as she named him, is pretty cute. Even Hadlee (the dog in desperate need of a haircut) was impressed. She didn't qualify to go on to the state competition, but she's going to sell more of her buddies to make money for summer intensive dance class.
Today was one heck of a day at school. Some of my boys were playing basketball and the game ended up in a fist fight. Now, given this group of children, this is really not a very big surprise. They have issues with appropriate responses, self-control, and good sense in general. Frankly, there is just more testosterone flowing through the fifth grade than is prudent. Post-recess we were out in the hall with about six boys trying to dig down to the bottom of it all. Well folks, we did a lot of digging, but we never "found the pony" so to speak. It seemed appropriate that my teaching colleague, Kathy, gave me another great quip - "I'm gonna hang you up and beat you like a pinata." Oh my. There really are days, you know.


We've had more snow - which promptly froze on the roadways. The trip to work this morning was a real peach of a time. By tonight, most of it had melted off, which was a real blessing. The skies still remain cloudy, overcast, and threatening however. Winter is SO not done with us!

Tomorrow we are meeting with our district superintendent to discuss budget cuts that will need to be made next year. You hear so many rumors that we are all on edge. So far the possible cuts that are being bandied about include:

• doing away with kindergarten
• cutting out busing
• dropping all sports below 10th grade and cutting all sports except football and basketball
• cutting gifted and talented programs
• pay cuts
• firing non-tenured teachers
• upping class sizes to 35-40 students
• cutting all electives below 10th grade
• cutting out music, art, and p.e. programs
• raising student fees
• cutting the janitorial staff
• firing aides and support personnel
• dropping the lunch program
• cutting or doing away with supplies and textbook purchases

You can see why we are all a little nervous to hear the truth. We know the cuts are going to be bad ... but how bad? I tremble to think. It seems to me the the best and most productive cuts would be to place a one year moratorium on testing. If we went one year without the Direct Writing Assessment, the Direct Math Assessment, Idaho Reading Indicator, and ISAT - we would save millions! It also would not hurt the children. Feature that.

You - Get Off My Planet!

I think we all have days when we are, shall we say, irritated with the world (i.e. the people in it). These are days when everyone wants something (usually 20 minutes ago), and expects you to drop everything to deliver it. We all get pushed, pressured, and pounded by demands until some darn fool makes that last demand and ...

That's where the above quote comes in (courtesy of my fellow teacher - Kathy). It really isn't all that rude, really. I look on it as a frank warning to any and all of the imminent meltdown of the person they are badgering. You know, remove yourself while you can or I will take you with me into the coming conflagration. "Run for your life while you still can," is also a good line. Either way, people have been warned. I really can no longer be held responsible.

Thursday night is quickly becoming my least favorite night in the week. Too many tasks are on my plate, and I am often tempted to take said plate and fling it against the nearest wall. Thursday is the night I must - do the church bulletin, take the bulletin in to be printed, update my classroom website (and usually the Studio website as well), write my weekly newsletter home, finish lesson plans (complete with alignment to state standards) for the entire fifth grade, finish all grading that needs to be done, update the computer grade program, update students' Accelerated Reading progress for the week, and pick Bailee up from dance. Other items often are thrown in as well ... which can make quite a stew. I get a bit tense ... and the sad fact of the matter is, I bite. Patience is a lovely virtue, and I usually have an ample amount (you can't teach kids without it - unless you're packing an AK 47), but on Thursday I am OUT! See me tomorrow and I will be happy to smile at you and even be nice. As for today - you've been warned.

From 60 to -60 in Eight Hours

Last night I came home from school feeling great. Our day was fast and fun, and we even survived our party in good order (meaning that I did not want to kill the children AND our room was clean when I went home). Bailee had Paige over for our becoming traditional Friday night play and dinner date (where female silliness reigns supreme), I was in a fabulous mood, I received a very sweet Valentine's Day card from lifelong friend, Garrett (honestly, you are the sweetest guy ever), a fabulous three day weekend lay ahead, and all was right with the world.

Then this morning dawned. It dawn at 5:30 a.m., heralded in by a sinus headache and earache. Ick. It is now 9:00, and I still feel under the weather. Unfair! I have too much to do this weekend and I feel that I am entitled to have some fun. This was definitely NOT in my plans. Hopefully, I will feel better as the day goes on. I have shopping to do, a house to clean, and a movie to see this afternoon. I'm putting my faith in Advil and Mucinex - may they live up to their advertising!

We are experiencing another gray winter day. Those of us living in Idaho don't need a ground hog to predict our future. We KNOW that spring will arrive no earlier than April (and sometimes late April at that). So, we hunker down, pull up our collars, pull down our hats, and soldier on through the cold, wind, and snow. Those of us who live on the edge ski, snowshoe, and make snow something to play in. Today I just see that it is something I have to shovel.

I feel so sad that the 2010 Winter Olympics have already been marred by tragedy. I was thinking how terrible it was that the weather wasn't cooperating, but the death of the Georgian Olympian on a luge practice run made that seem trivial. How tragic for that boy, his team, his family, and his country. My thoughts and prayers go out to them!

My Failure as a Teacher

I've been lax in downloading photos from our camera. This is a photo of a spider web that was "enhanced" by hoar frost last week. It looked much more impressive in real life.

Today I had a meeting with the parent of one of my children. Her complaint was that school isn't as visually stimulating as a video game. Yes. She was serious. I told her that until I can get digitized, we will just have to do the best we can with reality. I swear ... Wii, Nintendo, Game Boy, et. al. will NEVER cross the threshold of my home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bailee has been on a jigsaw puzzle kick since Christmas (and pulled in the rest of us as well). Here are some samples of her completed projects.

I also need to include a photo of Bailee and her buddy, Paige. They are so stinkin' cute together!

House Mousery

I don't know if any of you are familiar with House Mouse designs - but I think they are just the cutest ever. They have tons of products, from stationery to tote bags and sweatshirts. You can check them out at http://www.house-mouse.com/. Very cute. This particular design reminds me of all the costuming that we're soon going to be doing with Peter and the Wolf.

This was one of those weeks at school. Our fifth graders all seemed to be abusing "idiot pills." Such behavior! Such bad decisions! Such attitudes! They were so obnoxious and rude with the parent chaperones on our final ski school trip (if it hadn't already been the last one, it would have been after how they acted), that every teacher ended up dedicating the first thirty minutes of school on Wednesday to reading them the riot act. Not only did I mount my broom and do several laps around the room, I also released the flying monkeys. It was not a good week. For anyone.

Dance will now be focusing on our spring performances. We're going to do a variety show in June called On the Air with a radio theme. In May we will be touring area schools with Peter and the Wolf. Thanks to the looming budget cuts, everyone is worried that few schools will sign up and those that already have may be forced to cancel. We're trying to find business sponsors to help defray the costs. Not easy in this economy. The arts always take the first and hardest hit. It really is a shame, because the benefits are so great.

Very sad news. Former colleague and friend, Brianna, just had a miscarriage. This comes after struggling to get pregnant for over two years. Life is very unfair. I see SO many parents who shouldn't be allowed to raise children. My heart just aches for her.