Lord Have Mercy *Rant Ahead*

I missed nearly a week of posting, and for that I apologize. My first week of school went well, then the second week came- and boy howdy did it come like a fleet of Mack trucks to run everyone at my school (children included) over and send us into near chaos. I didn't sleep well for another week, so it's no surprise that I've caught a bug and am staying home from work today. Sleep deprivation and stress will do that to ya, you know?

-

Where do I begin? (rant coming on, so if you wanna look away now, please do!)

-

The school district I work for is large and underfunded. Oklahoma ranks near the top of poorly funded school systems and lowest paid teachers. Not something to be proud of to say the least. There are some districts nearby that are in better shape due to the area having property taxes and all that, but, my district as a whole isn't one of them. So, it came as no surprise when they implemented a new policy to change the way things were being done and ultimately to save the district money in hopes of providing better attention to students's needs and of course let us not forget passing those bleepin' state tests that are so ever important to show the public we are teaching children stuff.

-

If I sound a bit bitter, I am. Not going to lie. I get the need to redo things, I get the request for accountability with the state tests, but, as far as implementing all these new changes in the name of the bottom line you loose me. Last week thanks to said policy changes my school had to cut a teacher and shift four teachers around, dissolving their classes and putting the kids into new classrooms week two of school. As things stand now we have nearly thirty children in all of our third grade, fourth grade, and kindergarten classes. Now this isn't the worst out there, but, bear in mind we have nearly a quarter of our school population with learning disabilities, many more undiagnosed/untreated, and almost fifty percent of our school are learning English at school (ELL).

-

And the teachers are supposed to get everyone to pass those precious state tests (3rd-6th grade) with those odds. Oh lets not even go into home environments that perpetuation illiteracy and such. I could write a book at this rate.

-

Last week was obviously chaotic and the staff is on edge and the students sense it. Heck, even Leo was wiped out by last Friday! I know that there are no easy solutions here, and the school district lost state funding while implementing this new policy. One large part of the problem, on the district level, is they're implementing a new policy while enforcing it with old policy rules- it only makes sense, barely, when you realize that this was ruled on and implemented in less than a year. Yeah, it makes me want to scream too.

-

I think what frustrates me the most is the whole bottom line mentality when it comes to education. I know it's not as prominent in other areas, but, still money is the name of the game. There are sub-cultural attitudes that contribute to children who can't read, and of course, parents who don't give a crap about their kids education will inevitably result in many of those kids being unsuccessful in school. That said, however, education is an investment, both by parents and the state. It takes time, patience, and varied resources to help a child be successful. Results take time, learning is a life long process after all. The demand, however, for success now, to educate with virtually nothing coming into poorer schools, etc etc is one of the main culprits that continues the cycle of kids who can't read, kids who turn to crime as they grow, who become parents too early, and then raise children who don't care about education because what good did it do for them when they were kids. It's sad, and it's distressing and I know the school system isn't completely at fault. These parents should be responsible for what they do to their kids, absolutely. There's no easy answer, nor a perfect school system out there. But, surely, we can do better can't we?

-

I apologize if this rant comes across as political, I don't intend it that way. I'm just an educator who is witnessing first hand what these policies and mentalities are doing to those children who are growing up in poverty, by no fault of their own. It is them who are the victims and it is me who is on the front line, fighting, and quickly realizing that I cannot throw myself in front of every single bullet whizzing towards nearly all the kids.

This School Week

Nothing terribly exciting report this week. Mainly I've been adjusting to my school schedule, subsequent fatigue, and Jon's new college schedule. Oh there was that whole tv thing, but, other than that things seem pretty mellow. Despite that, however, I must share with you some of the new, interesting, not so interesting, highlights of being back in school this week. And I know you are PUMPED for this right?! Am I right??!?! ;-)

-

Saying goodbye to the summer sleep schedule and adjusting to the new one has had its ups and downs. The wake up time hasn't bothered me too much,but, the fact that the first two nights I couldn't fall asleep has. Oh and what's up with waking up at 3:15am thinking the alarm should be going off any minute? Really, body, really?

-

Yesterday two-thirds of my school building had no air conditioning. Some sensor decided it had had enough with the Oklahoma heat and fried like an egg on asphalt (yes you can do that under the right circumstances). That was bad, obviously, but, what made it worse was the 106F temps yesterday. I think the teachers were about to die, or explode. The kids... well, they were sweaty and smelly, but, thank goodness there were no casualties.

-

The assistant superintendent visited us today and was furious our a/c had not been fixed. He made some calls and the job was done by 10am. Where was he yesterday?

-

I lost a student's brother after school. That was fun.

-

I work in a kindergarten class that has the school's only vegan. Yes, a five year old is being made into a vegan by his mother. That's a new one for me.

-

Leo has adjusted amazingly well. In fact, it's almost like he's 'home' in a way. He is comfortable, happy, and eager to be working and napping in class. It's awesome, and I'm one proud mamma.

-

Despite overcrowding in one school nearby, and two fourth grade classes bursting at the seams at my school, the school district may cut positions based strictly on our enrollment numbers. No, not that we need these people in the office running things or that we desperately need another teacher to lift the burden off of the two with forty kids in their rooms, it's all based strictly on numbers. It really boggles my mind to say the least.

-

I am glad to be back. Despite the insanity that being at my school brings, I'm happy to be back. My new piano lesson schedule is also working well so far. I'm still a little worried about this set up in the long term, but, so far I'm happy and still functional despite the getting-back-into-the-new-routine fatigue. To say I needed to feel like that this week is an understatement. I'm doing a mega happy dance about it, in my head b/c I'm too tired right now.

-

Hope your week is going well also!! Bisous y'all!

I Giggled

Follow this link to view this video of Matt Damon telling off a reporter and cameraman from a Libertarian organization during a rally for education earlier this week. I laughed, a lot, and even cheered. Keep in mind tenure for teachers most definitely has some issues and yes, there are some bad teachers out there no doubt. What I love about Matt's response though, is that he points out tenure isn't the issue and the problem with the US education system is actually a multitude of complex problems. LOVE IT! And it's cool that Matt Damon's mom is a teacher and he was sticking up for her, and the multitude of great teachers out there who spend countless hours and their own money to try to educate children despite a broken system. Bravo, Matt... bravo.

-

We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program of the ongoing 'Great Purge and Reorganization Fest of 2011' soon. I know you guys are excited!! ;-)

My Job as a Roller Coaster Ride - Sans the Puke

Thank you, knowledgerush.com for the accurate depiction!

I am not here to discuss how working at a school with low-income, high risk kids can be a crazy ride from day to day. I think I've covered that sufficiently with at least one entry per month mentioning that. lol No, what I'm about to tell you is the craziness that is working for a local public school system here in the OK. Fair warning, this will be a bit lengthy and has plenty of twists and turns. Hope you can keep up!

-

While I do not have the statistics on hand, let's just say that Oklahoma is ranked pretty stinkin' low compared to most of the states when it comes to funding the schools, paying our teachers, etc. So it came as no surprise that my employer had to reorganize their district to try and save money. Plans were discussed, town hall-esque meetings were held, and teachers and staff held their breath. The plans came out and the school I work for was safe. We were going to add another grade, but, we would be able to retain everyone. Phew!

-

But, unfortunately the feeling of relief did not last long. Soon we were told all support staff who was hired this past school year would be given non-renewal notices; the district cuts people according to time served as opposed to who the principal believes need to go. I get it, but, it does stink as I was one of those employees who received said notice. My principal reassured me this happens all the time, staff is told they're getting cut because Title 1 allotments are always changing. So, while I was nervous, I trusted my principal and everyone else's past experiences. My boss also reassured me if she couldn't get me back as a para, she would do everything in her power to get me back as a teacher's assistant.

-

THEN the last day of the school year comes and teachers are then told our school has to cut six 1/2 positions!!! The reason? The reorganization plan that was approved messed up the redistricting. Some students were going, some were staying, but, overall the numbers were HUGE mess. I was sad for the teachers, but, also even more worried about getting a new job. Fortunately, they were able to save positions because my school insisted that the lines were looked at closer to give a more accurate list of how many students we were going to have for 2011-2012. To add to the mess, however, there were calls about cutting the TAs who had been there for awhile. It's a good thing I don't bite my nails, because I wouldn't have any nails left!!

-

You think it's over right? Ohhhhhhhh no, no, no. The state legislature passed a bill that basically cut funding to public schools (mainly to primary education, naturally the universities of this state were left alone.). The district, who had just implemented a new program to save money, now faced cutbacks. So, the funding to special education programs were cut.* Forty para positions were part of the cuts. At this point, my chances of gainful employment with my school looked very dismal.

-

Fast forward to last night, my principal called me. I was teaching a piano lesson at the time, so, I had to call her back. I was nervous, and being me, I kept thinking it was bad news. I mean can you blame me in light of all the crap that has happened? After playing phone tag, and waiting nervously for over two hours, my principal and I talked. She has a teaching assistant position open and wanted to know if I would accept! I naturally said, 'HELL YES!' Ok so maybe I didn't say that specifically, but, I accepted. I know being a para has more clout, technically, but, with how things work at my school it would be essentially the same job. Bouncing from room to room helping in any way that I can.

-

I know, it's one crazy set up. I love my job as I do feel I am making a difference for children. However, by no means will I be doing this forever. I'm grateful though that I will have this experience to learn from and use for what I may do in the future. I am also grateful to have steady income and insurance!! It has been a crazy roller coaster ride working for the public school system this past school year and I think I could write a short book on my observations and thoughts about what I've seen this year. Here's to another school year, working hard to teach children who have to traverse the odds of their situation and to survive budget cuts.

*Don't get me started on how tricky this is legally and ethically. Blogspot would shut down with what I could say about this!!

Surely It Gets Better

I seriously believe this is what is in store for me this December

-

Just as my body begins to heal from November's 'trauma' December has already handed me some doozies. You remember how I mentioned December at an elementary school means staff and faculty go into survival mode? Yeah, it's true. Soooooo true.

-

I won't bore you with the stories of the misbehavior and other issues that came with the first of December. Though, the 2nd grader peeing all over the bathroom wall is a good one. I just felt the need to go 'DEAR GOD HELP!!' on my blog. I hope you all don't mind. I really do love you all and I hope this month won't be full of 'Holy crap, today was....' entries.

-

That said, I made NO promises. ;-)

Complicated

Why oh why do things have to be so... ugh... complicated? I'm not talking about the holiday in of itself. In fact, Thanksgiving was great and I was excited that I could eat a meal for the first time since 'the incident'. Then in the middle of the night my Thanksgiving dinner was not settling on my stomach so well. I was up for two hours in stomach pain, then my body decided to hit the eject button. Though I felt a bit better, I could barely eat the next day so I went back to my magic man of a kinesio/chiro to see if I could get any relief.

-

He checked me out and sure enough it wasn't just inflammation of my rib cage and abdominal walls I also managed to develop a hiatal hernia (click on the link for all the great details if you want them). In short, part of my stomach decided to take a trip upward into my esophagus. Oh yeah, you know it is as 'fun' as it sounds. Blech.

-

So no I wasn't so busy with Thanksgiving I forgot to post, I was in pain and exhausted, and kinda cranky with it all lol. Good news is it's not a serious injury, just an annoyingly uncomfortable one. Add that I have to eat tiny portions, deal with acid reflux, and I have become one not so pleasant person. I haven't had a full meal in over a week. My blood sugars hate me right now.

-

Here's to this week... may it be filled with good recovery, larger meals, and kids who won't decide to take their frustrations out on my poor stomach.

-

ps- Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving or at least a Happy Thursday.

Follow Up

Today, not even a full three months into this job, I had to fill out worker's compensation paperwork. Cuhrazy. After a night of not sleeping well, and continued discomfort and swelling due to the pain in my side thanks to the incident where my stomach was rudely introduced to a student's shoulder I was told to go and tell the principal what happened. My boss is uber cool and was very kind to me about the whole deal. Seriously, I feel bad and kinda embarassed that a second grader managed to do some damage. We talked to the student to explain to how their actions, though not a punch, still caused me pain. The kiddo felt bad and I made sure to point out how we were still friends and that we can move on from here. The child was actually taken home due to their actions. I felt bad, but, I'm hoping this ordeal can be used to help the child. To be honest, I'm not angry because this particular case is heartbreaking and I dearly want that kiddo to get the help they deserve so they'll have a fighting chance at having a decent future.

-

Anyways, after that little talk I began filling out paperwork with our health assistant. Upon completion of said paperwork, I had to head to a clinic immediatly ( I did not loose any pay thank goodness) to get checked out, mind you all of this with Leo in tow. I got chest x-rays taken and no surprise there wasn't anything broken (I mean I'm pretty sure the pain would be a bit more intense if it was!). The verdict? My rib cage and abdominal wall have suffered contusions and strains. Just like what my magic of a chiropractor/kinesiologist said! That kid really did hit the sweet spot. So, 'real' medical science has verified I'm going to be uncomfortable for the next few days and to not overdue it as tearing of this area could be bad. Wee haw.

-

Well, at least the swelling in my abdomen will likely keep me from overeating Thanksgiving Day! See? There's always a silver lining.