I Can Do That! (again)

You've all seen it...

You know the one...

The one that you saved or pinned or whatever so that you would remember where you saw it,

Because you loved the idea of a flowerpot in a stand mixer.
So when you found one for $6 in the Goodwill...

you had a vision if it on your front porch.

(But you still can't remember where you saw it the first time...and where the heck did that picture go?  So if you know who gets the credit, I'd like to give it.)

Can you help a sistah out?

An Open Letter to Principals

Dear Principals Who Haven't Hired Me (or even sent a courtesy responding e-mail)--


        You are foolish.
         I have applied for a job at your school NOT because I am unhappy at my current school, but because I am interested in becoming the best teacher I can be, which is virtually impossible (using the new Common Core) with four preps.
         I love my school and I love my students, but I don't love that I have to spend about three hours a day planning great Common Core-aligned lessons.  Especially since most days I only have about 45 minutes during the school day in which to plan.
        Because I don't have three hours available after school (what with all the grading and whatnot that I have to do because I don't have enough in-school planning time), I feel as though I am letting my students down.  How can I give them my best without those additional twelve hours for planning?
        The only way to solve this dilemma is to teach fewer preps so that I can adequately plan.
       Which means I have to leave my school. 
       Twice now I have asked my principal to move me to one subject, and twice now he has denied my request.  Who has he placed in these openings?  Young people.  There was even an admission of hiring young people "because they have new ideas."  As if the rest of us don't.
        Now, I have nothing against young people.  In fact, I gave birth to children who are now young adults. I hope people give them opportunities to show their mettle, and they are not dismissed simply because of their age.
        But don't think I haven't noticed that every job for which I have been interviewed has been filled by a young person.

        Despite my advanced age, I noticed.

        In fact, one of you even pointed it out when I interviewed.  Your question, should you no longer remember, was "What do you have to offer that someone right of college doesn't have to offer?"
        At that point, I wanted to yell "REALLY?! Do you realize that your question skirts the border of legality?"  Instead, I smiled and said "Life experience." And explained what that meant, just in case you weren't sure how that translates to dealing with kids, with parents, and with instruction.
        Yep, there are laws protecting us "old folks."  The law is federal.  Title 29, chapter 14.    
        And here's what this "old lady" has to offer you, besides the obvious life experience:
        **an undergraduate degree in my area of licensure.  That means that I have approximately 20 MORE credit hours in my area than the typical teacher.
        **A Master's degree in both education and my SECOND area of licensure. (If I'd known this second area would have come back to bite me in the butt, I never would have added it.  But I wanted to be OVERQUALIFIED.  Go figure.)
        **Additional certificates that allow me to teach academically gifted students and AP English.  Just to make myself more "marketable."
        **Fifteen years of dealing with behavior problems, ornery and /or lazy students, toxic colleagues, a$$hat parents, and idiotic administrators.  And even though I haven't had a raise in five years, I am still laughing and giving my students a great experience in my classroom.

        I am at my breaking point.  I don't want to spend every waking moment planning lessons.  And I am letting my kids down.  You have made it virtually impossible for me to give my kids the level of teaching they deserve, which is why I am looking for a two-prep teaching position.
           I didn't expect that one would be so hard to find.
        With my education and experience, had I chosen another field of endeavor, I would probably be making at least double what I make now (considering that NC teachers are paid less than teachers in 48 other states) in the private sector.  Honestly?  I could work as a file clerk and make what I make now, without the additional hassle.
         But I love teaching.  I love that teachable moment, when I can drag something out of the depths of my (probably formerly, due to my AGE) MENSA-level brain, and spark a kid's interest in Mark Twain or psychology or Kent State or existentialism.  I love showing students that no man is an island; that, in fact, all things do connect.  That every choice we make affects the community (whether it be home, school, or the world) at large.  I love using all the knowledge I have crammed in my cranium, knowing that not many teachers have the bank of information that I have.  This is not judgement on my part (okay, maybe a little), but a guarantee that I am not the teacher who places worksheets in front of kids while I grade papers at my desk.  I'm not going to show videos every week, or have them take notes off a power point every day.  I tend not to lecture, nor do I give pointless homework just to have something for them to do.  I will get right into the learning trenches WITH THE STUDENTS, and together we discover the answers to questions that can't be asked on a multiple-choice test.
          Well, principals, I guess that's not what you want.  Because I can almost guarantee that's not what you're going to get with a probationary teacher.  You're going to get someone who is either stressed beyond all human endurance or who acts like a 15 year old.  Neither can be effective in a classroom.
          Knowing that I have given years to honing my craft and educating myself regarding the current research in education (which is now in it's third cycle of contradiction), it's a little disheartening to be summarily dismissed due to (what I believe to be) my age.  Especially because when I am in an interview, you are rapt.  You tell me that my ideas are some of the best you've ever heard.  You tell me that you never thought of things in that way before.  You take notes, and even ask me to repeat things to be sure you get them right, because you want to pass them along to your teachers.  Yet I'm not good enough to be one of your teachers.
       Why?
        I believe it has something to do with money.  Young teachers right out of school are a lot less expensive than teachers with a Master's degree and my level of experience.  I have to believe that there is some sort of incentive--whether monetary or otherwise--to keep costs low by hiring less-expensive teachers.  And probationary teachers make an average of $31,000/year.  I am marginally more expensive.  Plus, there's that pesky retirement to worry about.  Most young teachers quit before they are eligible for any sort of retirement benefits.
       Guess what?  You have passed over the wrong old lady.  I am collecting evidence, and I will eventually make an appointment with the new superintendent, who just happens to be a woman of a certain age.  If I see a pattern of young people being hired over older folks, I will take this public.  After all, the tag line of this blog is "not going gentle."
       Hell hath no fury like an (old) woman scorned.
     


        

Read more about some of the problems facing NC teachers here.


       
        

Round coffee table which never really made it into the store

One of the reasons I like to sell things at Elizabeth's is because they display them so nicely.

They take what I bring in and create wonderful vignettes and the store always looks amazing!  (Both Tammie and Densen were visual merchandisers for Pottery Barn, so you know they know what they're doing.)

 

Last week, I dropped off a round coffee table.  I love it when a coffee table is something other than rectangle, and this was a cute little French table that I bought for $10.

 

Unfortunately, this table offered one of the most stressful furniture painting experiences of my life. 

 

 

After my MMS milk paint experience with my little chair, I really wanted to see if I could replicate that look.

 

No dice.

What I got was pure, unadulterated ugly.  The paint didn't bubble, nor did it chip off the way I wanted.  I re-sanded and repainted and ended up with streaks.  So, like any other desperate woman, I tried to cover it with dark wax.

 

Words cannot describe how hideous this piece was.

 

So, I went back to square one.

I wiped it down with a mixture of almost all the chemicals I could find in my house and proceeded to hope that (a) I wouldn't asphyxiate myself, and (b) some of that junk would come off the top.

 

It worked.  (PS. Don't try this at home.)

 

 

Then, I mixed a little French Enamel in with the Ironstone and gave it a light going-over.  The wax that was still on resisted the new paint, giving this little table a chateau barn feel.

 

 

Et oo la la!

 

Taking her out of the back of the car, she was snapped up by a young lady who thinks she is perfect.

Her Three Sons

I have know Marianne at We Band of Mothers for awhile. 

She is one of the funny mommy bloggers...mainly because she has a never-ending source of fodder with her three boys, Larry, Curly, and Moe.

She and her friend M.O.V. (not her real name), have also written a book called Epic Mom, and it is hilarious.  (I wrote about it here.  I am on page 277.)  You should totally buy it for your friends who are moms.

So hop on over to Women Who Blog and see what Marianne has to say.  And why we should never be in the same room together.

Cool Blogging Stuff!

I got paid because I wrote something on the blog!!

(This is cool because I don't get paid to blog.  I sometimes get paid to write, and I also get paid to edit other folks' writing, but get paid for a blog????)

I won a contest!!

(This happened one other time when I won two awesome Jonathan Adler pillows from Checkered Moon, but I'm not one of those folks who enters contests all the time, just when I see them mentioned.  So it surprised the heck out of me!)

This time the prize was a great little grab-bag from Egg-land's best!  I got it from Janet, who bakes cookies...lots and lots of cookies...and also has a wonderful house and garden.  She blogs at From Captain's Daughter to Army Mom, and she actually lives here in my town!  (One of these days, we might even meet in person.)

I'm also acting in a local theatre production, so things are a little crazy right now.  I wanted one of the roles that had seventeen lines, but ended up with over 100.  Stress, much??  But more about that in another post.  In the meantime, get ready for the summer episodes of Kirb Appeal.  You may want a beverage handy.

Yep...these are my grown-a$$ kids.

 

 

Happy Mother's Day, BlogPeeps!

 

Today's feature Friday...

...welcomes karianne of Thistlewood Farm!

courtesy asergeev.com

She's the "go-to" blog for many bloggers; I was introduced to her a few years ago by a mutual friend and have been smiling at her antics ever since!  Hop on over to Women Who Blog and see what she says about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!