Renewed Strength
Hello All,
This has been a very difficult month for me. I have been sick, which makes little problems seem much larger than they really are. My handicapped daughter has developed seizures that are now so strong that she is passing out 20-30 times per day. My family's income right now [while I am in school] will be a little less than what I'll make as a teacher, and since I can barely pay my bills now [reality: many aren't getting paid], I had begun to consider using my teaching degree in a way that would allow me to survive financially [read: be anything after graduation BUT a teacher]. Wanting to make a difference, and being able to, are two very different things.
I began to wonder if it was all worth it. I am a non-union, conservative, religious Republican. Typical for Idaho, not typical for a teacher, even in Idaho. I began to wonder if I wanted to fight the system, to be shunned because I support vouchers and see teachers as, at times, part of the problem and not the solution. The behind-the-back whispers about me have already begun by those who see education through a prism of monolithic stagnation. "Ahhh" I thought, "It isn't worth it."
But it is. The reason why there is no diversity in education ['aint that a hoot -- that which the NEA embraces the most is what they allow the least among themselves] is because people like me say, "Ahhh ... it isn't worth it." It is worth it. The kids are worth it. Their future is worth it. They deserve a diversity of thought within the schools -- the whacky liberals and the whacky conservatives [that would be me] providing an educational pallet full of contrasting colors and hues.
I apologize that I lost sight of the "ball," at least for a moment. I'm back. I'm ready. To my future students, I say, quoting a favorite television character, "Who loves ya baby!"
This has been a very difficult month for me. I have been sick, which makes little problems seem much larger than they really are. My handicapped daughter has developed seizures that are now so strong that she is passing out 20-30 times per day. My family's income right now [while I am in school] will be a little less than what I'll make as a teacher, and since I can barely pay my bills now [reality: many aren't getting paid], I had begun to consider using my teaching degree in a way that would allow me to survive financially [read: be anything after graduation BUT a teacher]. Wanting to make a difference, and being able to, are two very different things.
I began to wonder if it was all worth it. I am a non-union, conservative, religious Republican. Typical for Idaho, not typical for a teacher, even in Idaho. I began to wonder if I wanted to fight the system, to be shunned because I support vouchers and see teachers as, at times, part of the problem and not the solution. The behind-the-back whispers about me have already begun by those who see education through a prism of monolithic stagnation. "Ahhh" I thought, "It isn't worth it."
But it is. The reason why there is no diversity in education ['aint that a hoot -- that which the NEA embraces the most is what they allow the least among themselves] is because people like me say, "Ahhh ... it isn't worth it." It is worth it. The kids are worth it. Their future is worth it. They deserve a diversity of thought within the schools -- the whacky liberals and the whacky conservatives [that would be me] providing an educational pallet full of contrasting colors and hues.
I apologize that I lost sight of the "ball," at least for a moment. I'm back. I'm ready. To my future students, I say, quoting a favorite television character, "Who loves ya baby!"
