Please! Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday

I love this holiday. It's one of the few I think that has as its celebration, a fitting tie to what we're supposed to be celebrating. What do our soldiers fight for, and what have all the soldiers who came before them fought for? They secure our liberties, true. But if all of our liberties are secure, what would MOST people like to be doing? They'd like to enjoy friends and family with a backyard barbeque and maybe a parade. That sounds like Memorial Day to me.
Please do take a few quiet moments to remember why most of us aren't working on Monday. Then, go outside and enjoy yourself! That's what all those soldiers, airmen, and sailors up in heaven would want you to do, right after you say a prayer for their families and in thanksgiving for your freedom.

A teacher's paycheck is never her own

As I begin to pack up my classroom for the eventual departure from my current school, I am realizing just how much of my own money I've spent on "school supplies." The sad thing is, I am not alone. Teachers don't make a lot of money; that's common knowledge. The crime is that, of the little they do bring home, they spend so much on making the classroom welcoming.
For instance: I love to read novels aloud with my class. The school has some novel sets. But I have spent upwards of $1,000 on novel sets alone. I hand them out to my students and HOPE they return them when we're finished studying the novel.
Another example: My classroom library does not contain any novel sets. Those are separate. I have already packed up four enormous (nearly too heavy to carry) boxes of books. These I may have one to four copies. Again, the students check them out of my classroom library, and I HOPE they return them when they're finished.
More: Science experiments. I don't teach science anymore, but when I did, there were always supplies I needed for which the school didn't pay: aluminum foil, paper towels, plastic cups, light bulbs, squid. Yes, my fifth graders dissected squid last year. We had lots of fun. I went to a grocery store in Chinatown and bought the squid, refrigerated them overnight, then carried them to school in a cooler. It was fun, but expensive.
Every job has these little irksome truths. Teachers have settled for low pay for generations, because most of us are so dedicated to our students and want them to have the best educational experience we can provide. As a society, though, we undervalue education. When we shortchange those who provide our future with the discovery-based lessons they need, we shortchange the whole country's future.
Aside: This practice is not limited to "underprivileged" schools. Teachers in some of the richest districts in the nation have thousands of their own dollars pouring into their classrooms.
Hidden benefit: As I pack up my classroom, I hope my principal is walking by and noticing how bare it is becoming. Yes, you axed me. I'm not leaving a poster, a paperback or a marker that doesn't belong to the school. I'm taking it all...along with my pride.

City neighbors

inspired by Stolie's post today
So, why is it that cityfolk don't know their neighbors, even though they live so close to each other? I propose that it is precisely because they live so close to each other that they CAN'T know too much about one another. Because they live in such close physical proximity, they can't allow themselves to know each other intimately as well.
I am friendly with lots of people in my building, but I wouldn't call any of my neighbors close friends. Also, I live in a building with fewer than 20 units. My friends who live in huge highrises know even fewer of their neighbors by name than I do. Now, I do live in the Midwest, so we tend to be a friendlier bunch than, say, New Yorkers. Even so, there's a distance that most cityfolk like to keep. Maybe those who live far away from each other (countryfolk) crave the attention of their neighbors, and so seek it.
I'm not anxious to hear more details of my neighbors' lives than I already do!

Talent coming out every pore

Wow! Went to a very fun wedding reception in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Saturday night. The band was phenomenal. Eight members in the band, and I think all but the drummer played more than one instrument. That just blows me away. I don't play any instruments, and I don't really read music. It's all a mystery to me, really. They were fantastic. I danced all night.
Hearty congratulations, Kari & Chris. Best wishes for a happy, healthy lifetime together. Oh, and super job choosing the band!