I'm in a bad mood :( I wanted to type something witty and funny; I wanted to make you smile. But three things prevented me that doing that....unions, my school and men/boys (not necessary at the same time nor in that order).
Today, after a week of observations at my placement school, I couldn't wait to get back to my "university" classroom to debrief with my fellow students. Plus, I had spent the past few days describing my week to anyone and everyone who would listen....I needed a new audience.
We (when I say "we", I really mean "me") were having a wonderful discussion about our (my) experiences when all of a sudden the lights flickered, the air became bone-chillingly cold and I had that awful feeling that I was about to be forced to hold a picket sign and keep warm over a burning barrel. My initial thought was that Jimmy Hoffa had been buried underneath my school, and that he was haunting us from his undisclosed grave (crazy I know, but I have one heck of an imagination - just ask me about the movie "I am Legend"). I was relieved to discover that that was not the case, but was equally terrified when I turned to see the local teacher's union rep standing beside me.
These guys are tough. And they mean business. And they definitely do not like school boards or the ministry of education. They pointed fingers accusingly, had booming voices and ranted against "the man" - if I didn't know better I would have thought it was my Grandma saying Christmas grace! But I digress.
"They" successfully sucked the joy right out of the classroom. Apparently every parent, child, principal and school board member is on the sole mission of bringing down and destroying every teacher's career. It's us vs. them. Every single day, of every single year, in every single class there is the ever lurking danger of a false accusation.
I'm not saying that all teachers are perfect, far from it. And yes I agree that every person who works with children (teachers, bus drivers, coaches, etc) should take precautions to protect themselves - don't be alone with a child in a secluded area, don't kiss boo-boos and certainly don't subscribe to "Ilikekiddies.com". But I think its gone a little too far. We were warned not to touch students in anyway (no high fives, no pat on the back, and I'm sure even "props" is considered a no-no). Apparently, I must morph into a cold-hearted machine every time I show up at school. And that’s just no fun.
If the government wants to control the teacher population (Bob Barker?), rather than limiting the number of teachers college spaces, they should make any wanna-be teachers take a visit down to the teacher's federation. That will definitely clear up that pesky problem of enthusiasm.
My second rant is regarding my school. Today, myself and 100 of my fellow students had to haul our butts ALL THE WAY to our school’s main campus - about a 45 minute drive. What pressing issue is so freakin important that it made complete sense to send all those people (and cars) all that way? A lesson on how to set up an email account with the school (which 99% of us already had!) and a tour of the library which none of us will ever use! It’s a freakin university and a liberal one at that, did it not occur to anyone that it would be better for the environment and the mental health of everyone involved to send ONE person, in ONE car to see us???? Man, what the heck is all my tuition dollars paying for? - certainly not higher level thinking (teacher term!) I took a popular toll route (which costs me $15.00 and my firstborn - sorry T, remember mommy loves you) and it still took me 57 minutes!!!!!! GRRRRR!!!!
All together, it amounted to 6 hours of completely wasted time; I could have been at home doing much more productive things, like watching the season premiere of Oprah (trips to Australia for everyone!!!!) Luckily when I got home, I was able to quickly find the peace and solitude only a McDonald's combo and bottle of SWV can bring.
My last complaint has dissipated since I began writing this blog. No need to provide details, I’ll just say it involved lunch bags, open containers of chocolate milk and my 3 younger male roommates (you know who you are!!!!). But after a swig of SWV, and a good ole’ fashion primal scream, I have moved on.
Ahhhh, I feel much better. No longer grumpy - just sleepy. Good night!
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