A Return and A Rant

I aplogize for my absence this last week.  I do most of my blogging on the weekend but with my surprise engagement last week I was swept into a whirlwind of dinners, visits and congratulations that left me with little time to keep up with the online world.  But now I am back and better than ever!

I am very excited to have purchased a HP Mini Netbook and am now able to blog from the couch! Oh the marvels of technology!! 

In all seriousness, the real purpose for buying a netbook was to eliminate my frustration with the computers at my school.  Having used my home computer, the one at my old school and the one at my new school to create documents meant that the dinosaur I am forced to use at work would not open 3/4 of my files!!! It is incredibly frustrating to get inspired to work on a project only to discover your processor refuses to acknowledge anything created after the invention of the internet!  So now, I have a machine that can travel with me and actually open all of my files.  I also purchased a printer so that I won't have to deal with the antiquated piece of crap that the school board seems to think qualifies as a printer. 

Times like these always make me think about the parents who write into the paper or call the radio stations complaining about teachers being lazy and unconcerned with their child's education (these are particularly prevalent after a snow day - which, I must note, is simply for the safety of your child and is not a decision made by any teacher, but the board in the area).  I would love to provide those same parents with charts displaying the time I spend after my allotted hours, prepping for my classes, correcting student work, discussing issues with parents and staff, creating the school yearbook and directing the school musical (a task that takes at least 5 months).  I would also love to show them the receipts for each teacher in my school and calculate how much each person spends (out of our own pocket!) on supplies to try and better our teaching.  Perhaps I have lofty ideas about the respect that teachers deserve but I come from a small town where teachers were not seen as the enemy, and were appreciated for the extra time that they provide in order to give their students wonderful opportunities and life experiences.  What has happened in our world that we no longer acknowledge the valuable role of educators in the lives of our children?