Adventures in Moving

So.

For those of you who may have missed my comings and goings of late, I've moved all my blogging needs over to Tumblr. Come join me; it'll be fun.

Peace Be

Adventures in Poetry

I wrote this poem awhile ago, but it felt so fitting to where my heart is today. 

most days

the line between lover and liar

is a tightrope strung between

my heart and  yours

a bible that sits on the night stand

and reminder that i haven’t prayed in years

i still want to pastor when i grow up

be an attorney

maybe a poet

want to frame your picture in mahagony

invite my brothers to share a meal

sometimes

you are not family enough

sometimes

your smile is a circle of light

any halo would dream of becoming

your open door a gate of pearls

and i forget to miss heaven

most days

i settle myself a circus performer

faith in my left hand

love songs in the right

the weight of both a death wish on days

i try to give one release

i cannot imagine an altar so holy

to turn away an open hand

i cannot tell you

how it hurts to believe in a God

that does not love me as i am

 

Adventures in Teaching

So.

If you haven't peeped the recent news cycles - the great state of North Carolina, is currently dedicating itself to the creation of the worst education system in these United States. The decision to appropriate funds to creating opportunities for parents to get their children out of public schools, instead of using those funds to making public schools better - is nothing if not a testament to the fact that our governor cares...almost nothing about North Carolina's children. He also cares nothing about the people who give their lives to educating those children - making the choice to continue our 6  year pay freeze (while citing the need for a "living wage" when he raised salaries for his staff); taking the cap of class size restrictions (when research shows that after 17, students start making smaller gains in the classroom); and I could go on...but a certain level of rage begins to build when I list all of the ways in which my governor told me that my profession is worthless.

Not the point of this post.

The most potentially harmful creation of this educational climate, is the rise in competitiveness among teachers. Let's be honest - if the only possible shot you have at getting a decent pay boost comes through your students excelling on a norm-referenced standardized test, that means that you have a better chance at making money if the teacher next door has a less-than stellar year. Veteran teachers are less willing to give novices the sorts of classroom management strategies that will make a learning environment possible; novice teachers are less willing to share innovative techniques geared towards educating an always changing population of students; and the administrators in any given building are more likely to make knee-jerk reactions (in terms of room-assignment, scheduling, and the like) based on year-to-year changes in test scores which can lead to even greater levels of resentment between colleagues.

But we're teachers....we love the children....we're supposed to rise above and work tireless hours, and help each other, and bla, bla , bla....but when I'm begging my friends for extra cash so I can buy supplies for my classroom - all the while praying that my car engine holds on until December when (hopefully) I get a little testing bonus and can afford to get my car serviced...it feels like it may be time to consider other economic opportunities.

Sorry. Again. Not the point of this post.

The point is this: It's no secret that teachers are under paid, over worked, and under appreciated - it would be nice if schools were able to provide an environment where we could still lean on each other for support.

Peace Be