Did I say "shunning?"

We had a meeting after school today. Please read the previous post to understand a bit about the job cuts. Well, I mentioned that the teachers who helped make these very difficult decisions would probably be shunned.

Never did I think they would be called out, publicly, by a colleague. That's what happened at the meeting after school today. And for the life of me, I cannot imagine why.

This teacher expressed, publicly, his disappointment in the teachers on the committee, saying he did not feel represented, and went so far as to say that he's certain that "most" of the teachers would agree with him.


First of all, I don't agree with him. Second, that's just rude. Third, it's unprofessional. If he had a problem with a colleague, he should go to that colleague. It serves no purpose to discuss his disappointment publicly, except to ridicule the teachers in question. It's unprofessional and cruel.

I don't understand why he would do that. My opinion of him is now diminished.

That time of year.

It's happening again. Every year around this time, the schools start cutting teachers. I have a friend who is on our school's committee that decides who is cut and who is not. That committee is comprised of the principals, teachers, and parents. All must come together to decide where the cuts will happen. Obviously, it is not a happy time.

However, even though they are cutting teachers, they will probably have to hire new teachers in the summer. Why? All of the budget is based on projected numbers. We always end up with far more students than were projected, so the teachers that were cut will have to be re-hired. Unfortunately, the people who were cut will have moved on already, through the internal transfer process. So, the teachers who have established themselves in the building as team players, who have made friends, and who have strong ties to the community are uprooted and have to go elsewhere. They are replaced, of course, by strangers.

I hate this time of year. We find out whose jobs are cut, and then we have a bunch of pissed-off people to work with for the rest of the year. And if a teacher was on that committee that chose the cuts? Oh, yes. There is shunning.

The whole thing makes me sick.

Random thoughts

I'm applying for jobs. I have my resumé updated, but this one job is really testing my patience, and I just might let it go. I suppose there's nothing out of the ordinary about the application itself--it calls for an entire work history. However, I can't simply muster the motivation to list it. And to find my current and former salaries. I mean, I would be estimating. And the application practically makes you promise that you'll poke your own eyes out with a stick if you put false information on there.
Well, hell! I've been working for a long time! I don't remember what my teeny-weeny salary was 14 years ago! Jeez!
So, I'm thinking I should just let it go. And focus on writing what I want, which is my book. I think the payoff will be greater.

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Oh, speaking of my book--no, I haven't written much for it. But I have been collecting data for it, and reading for it, etc. I'm also still teaching at the university, which gives me a good idea about what I need to put in the book. I already had a good idea, but I'm collecting details. I'm also thinking of having an editing party at my house when I'm close to being finished writing.

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It's very cold today. We keep our house well-refrigerated at 62 degrees anyway, so it's just a bit colder inside the house than normal. Our heater does a relatively good job of keeping up. I suppose if we updated our windows, it could cut down on our energy bills. I don't know how much longer we'll be in this house, but it could save us some money in the interim. I'd also love to add central air conditioning to the house, but paying off credit cards comes first. I can't imagine that I'm mentioning air conditioning when it's barely 3 degrees outside.

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Does blogger now support images? The last time I checked, there was some long process to do it, and you had to pay for it, etc. Now I see a little "insert image" button up there, and don't know if it will work. Let's try it, shall we?

Looks like it worked. Except it's up top. Oh, well.

3 years old

What does 3 years old mean?

• Being able to turn on the "Wee Sing" CD in the player all by yourself.
• Singing along with all of the insane songs on said CD.
  
• Buckling yourself into your high chair and yelling, "Eat!"
• Running around the kitchen, snorting.
  
• Kicking and screaming and fighting when it's time to comb the hair.
• Saying "no" every time mama asks if you want to use the potty.
• Singing the ABC song.
• Counting to 20.
• Using the fine art of extreme passive resistance to get what you want (i.e. going completely limp and falling to the floor when mama tries to pick you up).
• Finding the correct letter on the "find the letter game" on your little LeapFrog radio.
• Hiding in the closet.
• Crawling into bed with mama when you wake up at 3am.
• Kicking mama in the kidney for about an hour, when in bed with her at 3am.
• Not protesting when mama gets fed up and carries you back to your own bed.
• Giving kisses. Exclaiming, "It's a kiss!" after each.
• Playing with mama's phone.
• Inadvertently surfing the internet on mama's phone.
• Reading Curious George at night.