5 More Weeks Until Retirement

Well, the end is in sight now. The funny thing is that both my students and coworkers seem to expect me to be slacking off now since I will be leaving in the near future. Hah! I could never live with myself if I did that. Why should I not give my best to the last group of students I will ever teach? They don't deserve the same level of teaching that 30 years of other students have received? Well, if anything I am trying even harder to inspire this last group. Not that anyone other than them will notice. By now I am used to not being recognized for excellent teaching by the administrations. It is an old story for me and I try not to be bitter about it. I guess my lack of diplomacy and refusal to play politics has doomed me over these years to obscurity. During the past 30 years so many others have been selected for accolades around me. Some of them deserved it but a lot of them "played the game" and gained favor by sucking up and ingratiating themselves to others. I see it all the time in our school emails where some are involved in a continual self-promotion campaign. This has increased since the possible upheaval of jobs at the end of the year. Some may lose their jobs and others are jockeying to improve their job status and get better positions. It would be humorous if it were not so pathetic. I feel for those good teachers who may be out at the end of the school year at the expense of others who can't teach well but who are masters in promoting their own "brilliance" as educators.

They are already starting the fight over my job in Anatomy Honors and Biology Honors. It is a very nice position with a great room so there will be quite a struggle over who gets my old position. I am refusing to involve myself in this as any recommendation I would make might actually be detrimental to anyone's chances of getting my position. The honesty of this blog has upset a number of key people in the county school system and I think they are happy I am leaving. I am also happy but for different reasons. I believe that with the reduced funding and altered class period times that the quality of courses like Anatomy Honors will be drastically impacted upon. I am glad I will not be asked to teach under circumstances that may force a science teacher into abandoning most meaningful lab experiences. I hope I am wrong about this but I see a future where Anatomy will be a series of memorized lessons from the book with the occasional demonstration thrown in so the school can say they are still conducting lab exercises. Funding cuts are so deep this year that supplies for next year's Biology and Anatomy labs are a fraction of what they should be. Students will suffer due to the lack of labs that support their training. It is a sad thing to contemplate and I for one could never reconcile myself to it if I were to stay. Image is not everything. Teaching is.

So anyway I am wrapping up the year with final lessons and projects. Today I ran a carload of musical equipment to the school so the Anatomy classes can begin their "MTV video" on the brain. Final taping will be Thursday for this project. I and the students will watch and critique these projects. We will be the only ones to appreciate the effort involved in completing an assignment of this magnitude. It is creative, gets students involved who normally are turned off by regular school lessons, and reinforces important concepts we have been covering in class. Some students may become inspired by this project to seek a career in science. It will be one more event in my teaching that will not gain me recognition or accolades. My creative efforts will go unnoticed and I will sit in meetings applauding while others, some with dubious teaching skills, are praised for their excellence. Yes, I am sad that the long list of "teachers of the year" will not include me. It is only human to want their efforts to be acknowledged by their peers. At times like this I remind myself of the countless number of lives I have altered and the hundreds of former students who are now in the medical and science fields as a direct result of my efforts. I heard that a number of students who had signed up for Anatomy next year are very upset that I will not be teaching them. That lets me know that the ones here who are the most important people in my life appreciate what I have done. This knowledge will have to be satisfaction enough for me as I say goodbye to education.

Should you go into teaching as a profession today? Well, my feeling is that if you want to play politics and are great at self promotion you will go far. If you expect to be rewarded for excellence in inspiring young minds and changing lives you may be very disappointed. Being a top level teacher is an altruistic endeavor. You will give your life to others in sweat, tears, and blood. Your health will suffer as you put everything into your lessons year after year. The only times you will not be ignored is when something happens to bring down the wrath of the administration upon you. It is a thankless job and you have to be a little bit crazy to tackle it. It has also been the best 30 years of my life. I know that many former students out there have benefited from what I have given them and this is my primary inspiration for hanging in there through all of these years. For that I have no regrets.

Though I will post a few more times I wanted to wrap things up now with some of my final thoughts on teaching while I am still in the trenches. I hope this blog has helped a few readers to gain some insight into the world of teaching, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If so, then this blog has served its purpose.

Florida Education Appropriations

At this moment I am watching the Florida legislature debate and supposedly clarify the 2009-2010 state education appropriations budget. Here are my impressions.

A few of these people are actually concerned about adequately funding schools in the state. Some of the legislators are wrapped up in promoting special high cost programs in their individual districts. It is my suspicion that they are trolling for local votes rather than displaying an actual concern for education.

Most of our legislators are playing politics. Interjected between bouts of Obama bashing and praising are deceptive comments about the level of student funding. Representative Flores states that the funding level per pupil will actually be increased during the next fiscal year. She also states that the revenue funding is the same as in 2006. So why is Florida having to receive a special dispensation to receive additional funds? Flores states that the overall funding is less than in 2006 so Florida does not qualify for the special funding according to their criteria.

If we are receiving more money per pupil then why is our school having to cut off some lights each day and to reduce heating and a/c use? Why are field trips and extracurricular activities sharply curtailed? Why are they moving to a radically different school schedule for next year so they can stack more students in the classrooms? Categorical funding is the answer. We have tons of money build schools but this money can't be used for the students or to buy needed supplies and to keep the schools running. The result is that the students will not be receiving an adequate level of education next year. Don't you just love state educational politics? I am so glad that I will not be facing this type of deceptive crap next year but I feel deeply sorry that my fellow teachers will be stuck in the impossible situation of having to instruct students in hot or cold classrooms with few supplies. It just makes me sick. The least our elected officials can do is to be honest (for a change) and say that the students of Florida will be shafted. It's probably because it would show just how uncaring or education many of our state politicians really are.

What's hitting the fan in Florida?

I have been watching the Florida legislature televised debates recently. They are winding up their attempt to slash the state budget and it looks at this point like education will suffer huge losses in financial support. The state prison system, on the other hand, will apparently have an increase in funding. That's a wise thing to do since the reduction in educational support will probably result in an increase in the prison population in future years. Whatever it is that's hitting the fan for Florida education I know that it stinks.

Why Do State Legislators Keep Saying This?

The Florida state legislature is currently discussing budget cuts. Included in these talks is the cutting of education budgets anywhere from 0%-10%. If I were a betting person I would bet on 10% like they did last year. That makes around a 20% cut in our school budget over the past two years! Since we have already conserved as much as possible the next steps include items such as eliminating the planning period and having a six period day. Though not said yet the implication is that salaries may also be cut as well. "Everything is on the table" is the current philosophy. Though I am thankfully going to avoid the worst of this by retiring at the end of the year it really bothers me that my fellow teachers remaining behind, and some will probably have go, will not have the funding to adequately teach and will be even more stressed out than this year. Classes will be stacked with students, science teachers will not have any time for preparing labs, and salaries are pitiful and may drop.

Last year our state increased funding for state prisons while decreasing educational funding. This is probably a good thing because without a good education I am certain that more of my students will wind up in prison. While slashing our school budget the state legislature keeps spouting off about how much they value educators and the job we do. If they keep throwing this type of manure around they will need bigger shovels!

All Sorts Of Things

A lot has been happening this week on different fronts so instead of a theme post I am just going to throw all of these thoughts together.

1) School preplanning is in full swing. Along with the usual mix of meetings I have been putting supplies away and trying to get everything ready for the kids' first day Friday.

2) Good news about the supplies! It looks like almost all of my order was approved and came in. I was really worried about not having necessary lab supplies this year due to the budget cuts but everything is ok for now.

3) Bad news. Class sizes are large and still growing. Where are all og these kids coming from???

4) Humorous news. At least one or two of the administrators must be reading this blog since a rumor has been circulating that I am going to retire in the middle of the year. They probably got this idea from an earlier post of mine. Rest assured that I intend on staying the full year. It would not be fair to the school or students to leave like that. The future? Well, let's just say that I will look at things at the end of this school year and decide then about teaching beyond that point. If I am still having fun it might be a possibility. This is going to be sad news for one of the other science teachers here who has already stated her desire to take over my Anatomy classes and room. I feel a little like a mortally wounded robbery victim whose body is being stripped by robbers while they are still alive. As far as my retiring from teaching, the undertaker will have to wait a little longer.

5) I am going to make a real effort to be more positive about teaching this year, not to take things so seriously in education, and to have more fun teaching. I will laugh at the silly things instead of letting them eat at me. I am also going to smile more and try to help the other teachers here.

6) Very sad news. The wife came home yesterday in tears, She called her parents who live in another state. When she talked to her dad, who has Alzheimer's, he did not know he had a daughter and didn't recognize her at all.

7) I am going to adopt out our cat Elvira. The little vixen keeps raiding the cat food cabinet and stealing treats out of it. I have tried blocking the door with heavy objects but she always finds a way to get in. If it keeps up I will probably have to put a lock on the cabinet.

That's all for now. Sorry for the scattered nature of this post.

6)

Education Strikes Again

As I catch my breath let me give you all a little background. My last set of Chemistry courses was in 1974-1975. Chemistry was always my weakest subject. When I got my teaching certificate the powers-that-be stuck Chemistry as an an endorsement on my paper. I have never taught Chemistry. I have no desire to teach Chemistry. I have no aptitude for teaching Chemistry. I haven't taken a Chemistry course in more than 30 years. I have spent the past 15 years asking Tallahassee to take Chemistry off of my certification list. It would be terribly unfair and cruel for me to inflict the teaching of Chemistry upon students at my school. Their comprehension of Chemistry concepts would suffer, in spite of my efforts to teach them.

Some people just don't understand that the science disciplines are almost totally separate endeavors. They expect a teacher to be able to teach any branch of science equally well. I usually ask them the following question: "If all areas of science are equal, why don't you let your podiatrist replace that leaky heart valve of yours?".

With the downsizing of our school I got the word today from the department chairperson that I would be teaching.....drumroll please..... Chemistry! Apparently I will be one of two people left who are certified for Chemistry. The fact that I am totally incompetent for the job is immaterial. I tried to see the principal to discuss this but could not get in after waiting 40 minutes. I finally had to go back and teach so I emailed him with my reservations. I sent a copy of it to the school board chairperson and superintendent. The email pointed out that I would teach whatever they wanted me to teach but with 29 years of Biological background it seems a waste for me to act as a babysitter in classes where I can provide only a mediocre education.

This has made me decide that I am quitting after next year. Technically I will have 30 years after working for 1/2 year so I could quit halfway through the year. I would hate to do that but teaching Chemistry I would be able to provide as much guidance and instruction as if they asked me to teach calculus. I am not going to inflict my stumbling efforts to teach a subject I know little about to students who deserve better just to fill a slot. It will be a sad way to end 30 years of successful Biology and Anatomy instruction but sometimes I have no control over fate. Now I'm going to go take a pill for my migraine and try to relax.

Random Thoughts At 3 AM

1) Occasionally I am reminded why I am a teacher. Today when looking at a sponge under the microscope one of my students yelled out "Come here! This is just so cool!" Moments like these make me proud of my students and very happy I decided on the teaching profession 29 years ago.

2) On TV now the PBS station is showing speeches of many of our political experts talking about the Iraq war in 2003. Their statements were, in hindsight, about 95 percent wrong. It amazes me just how totally wrong a large group of our (supposedly) most intelligent people in Washington and in the military could be so blatantly wrong. What is more amazing is that they could not only apparently not learn from their mistakes but have spent the intervening years trying to spin their positions to justify their actions and make themselves look reasonably competent. It is eerily similar to the decisions made by the top levels of education. As Yogi Berra said, "It's deja vu all over again".

3) The acupuncture treatments had minimal effect upon my "pinched" nerve. That's why I am up now. I have an appointment Monday afternoon with a chiropractor and will let you all know how it goes over the next few treatments.

4) I finished my 4th song on my new CD "More Cowbell". I think they are my best instrumentals ever and are very proud of my amateur efforts at composing. The songs along with my earlier ones are at http://www.mp3.com/artist/the-unexcused/songs/
I would appreciate those with a few moments to listen to some of my songs and even give a review or rating. It is a neverending source of pleasure to be able to take a computer, some software, an amplifier, microphone, and a few guitars to make compositions like these that could only have been produced in a studio a few years ago.

That's all for now. I'm going to go back to bed in a few minutes, shove the cats aside, and try to get some rest when the feeling in my arm eases up.