Tuesday, October 28, 2014

No!...TIME.

To the readers who once upon a time used to frequent this blog, we're sorry.  We just don't have time right now.  Our focus on family and work over the past few months has meant we have less time to dedicate to this endeavor.  But don't fear...there are plenty of teachers out there providing a glimpse into their experiences which will suffice in our absence.  Are they the TU?  No.  But might they have something to offer?  Yes.  Personally I feel our lack of activity is a direct byproduct of the reality that we rarely have time to eat lunch with each other or anyone else for that matter.  What does that say?

I am sorry to disappoint those of you who happened upon this post thinking it mostly dealt with the recent TIME magazine cover.  You could read this past post to kind of get an idea of where we're at on that one.  In short...yes you could dump the "worst" teachers...but that doesn't fix the problem and why they exist there in the first place.   Too bad no one in the article asked teachers for their thoughts.  I thought this letter to the editor and the comments did a fine job with what I don't have time to do.   And don't for a second think there hasn't been plenty to write about.

We could have covered the ground level impact and perceptions of  maker spaces, the lockdown of our school that came before we even had a lockdown drill,  the debate about our Where's Waldo  "1%" raise, the conviction of our state's former first family, the rise on ISIS, the Ukraine crisis, the 4th year of the 8 period day or a thousand other things that sail through the collective minds in our workplace on any given day.  Instead, we've just been trying  to make sense of the world around us and teach our students down in our little basement. For me that always is a bit easier with a little inspiration.  Needless to say for teachers, that inspiration seems harder and harder to come by. So take it wherever you find it.  From your faith, your students, your curriculum or somewhere else.   Don't let the bad news get you down.  Try to not stop dreaming.


 I'd have done better in Neil science class I think...
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Also it often helps to listen to some Movie Theme Music while you grade


Or if you prefer...


No doubt at some point when we find the time and inspiration we will reappear with greater frequency.  Or maybe we'll just starting eating lunch together with some regularity.