Corporate Whining: As American As Apple Pie

This graphic says it all:

 

 Photo from Mathematiques Noir

Highlight of the Day: 9/26/2011

Two other paras and I are sitting in a classroom today trying to get students to do their work, which they wouldn't do.  One of the paras kept going up to one of the students every 30 seconds and asking him to start his work.  This particular student was on the computer looking for music to listen to on his headphones, and insisted he would start his work once he found the right music.  This para continued to harp on him several times over the course of the class period.  Finally, the para walked over to the classroom next door (not once, but twice) and tried to have the teacher there get him to work and threaten him with punishment.  By the end of the hour, the student had received an office referral for arguing with her, and never started his work.

Now, was the student was avoiding his work with the use of the computer?  Of course.  And this particular para was correct in trying to get him to start his work.  However, she was doing it in a way that only aggravated him and made him not want to do his work even more. 

If I were a supervising teacher, I would have pulled her to the side and told her "He didn't start his work when you bugged him 30 seconds ago.  What makes you think he is going to start at this moment?"  I would have also told her that she should ask him to start his work, walk away for about 3-5 minutes, come back and try to get him to work then.  If he hadn't started his work then, give him a warning, go way for another 2-3 minutes, and then give him a consequence if he hadn't started.  But since I was a fellow para (and one that has only worked there for about 3 weeks), I kept my nose out of the situation and let her dig her own grave.  My suggestions may or may not have worked, but what she was doing damn sure didn't work.  Also, the classroom teacher who she went and grabbed was not pleased being interrupted with her plan time. 

I can empathize with this para, and most paras like her, who want to jump right in and get the students to do their work when they aren't doing it.  But as someone who has supervised paras in the past, one problem I feel needs to be addressed is that sometimes, less is more.  This is especially true with students who have behavior problems (as all of the students in our program do).  For a student that isn't complying, but aren't disrupting or hurting anyone, it's not very complicated: instruct the student; give them the warning; come back later, and if they still aren't complying, then give a consequence.  Simple and effective. 

To Those Who Think American Teachers Are Lazy

Here is a chart that documents who pays teachers the best for their time in Industrialized nations.

Photo From GOOD

As you can tell, American teachers work the most hours, but have one of the lowest salaries for teachers.  As a public school teacher, I knew that the criticism of American public school teachers that has come out of the mouths of pundits in the past year are not in line with reality.  Here is proof.

Highlight of the Day: 9/23/2011

OK, so this is a day late.  Sorry, I couldn't help that.

Yesterday was a workday for staff, and teachers had meetings and parent-teacher conferences.  We did have a staff meeting in between, and the staff got to talking about classroom safety issues.  My supervising teacher volunteered to work on a committee to come up with new ideas for classroom safety.  Because the last school I worked at was so safety intensive, I though I might be able to help out, so I quietly volunteered my name to her.  She then volunteered my name to the committee in front of the whole program staff (including the program director).  So in less than a month at my para job, I have become part of my first school committee.  It feels pretty good to be helping out, it makes me look good to my superiors, and I get to put that down on my resume. 

Highlight of the Day: 9/22/2011

I was showing a new para around the school today, and I took her into the ISS room, and introduced her to some of the students with her.  One student greeted her with a "Fuck You".  She is already part of the team.  Later that day, he called me a "Fucking Dick."

While I am still enjoying working with the students, I will say I am starting to look forward to a workday without them tomorrow.

Tonight in Georgia . . .

Photo from Fight Back News

A grave injustice has take place. Troy Davis has been put to death by the state of Georgia.  If you don't know about the details of the Troy Davis case, read here.  What it boils down to is that there is too much evidence to suggest that he not only might not be guilty, but that he was probably innocent.

I was going to take this opportunity to write a post about the injustice of the death penalty.  I will another day.  While I have always been opposed to the death penalty, this case has energized me to become more vocal and speak out against the cruel and permanent injustice of this "punishment".  For right now, I am just sad for Troy and all of those involved in this case (including the MacPhail family).

A grave injustice has taken place in Georgia.  May the real killer of Mark Allen MacPhail face justice one day.  May the memory of Troy Davis be the beginning of the end of the death penalty in the United States.

 

Photo from http://www.examiner.com/african-american-art-in-national/savannah-talks-troy-anthony-davis-no-3-the-slain-officer-macphail

REM: 1980-2011

RIP.  Here are three of my favorites:

Highlight of the Day: 9/21/2011

Me and another para are trying to teach a reading lesson to a class of students and it is not going well, because of all the misbehavior and distractions that are going on.  Oh, did I mention this was a class of 2 students.

I ended up taking one student, and he ended up taking another.  That seemed to work quite well.

Highlight of the Day: 9/19/2011

Photo from timothyjones.typepad.com

I spent a fair amount of time supervising our program's In-School-Suspension (ISS) room, and was called a nerd by a couple of students.  I was then asked, mockingly, if I am into "Dungeons and Dragons" or Magic Cards.  For the record, I am a bit of a nerd, but I do have my limits.  But I could have been called a lot worse.

A Video for Sunday

This Sunday's video come from Christopher Hitchens at a debate on religion.  He has been battling cancer for the past year and a half.  Here, he discuses how Christians go around to hospital rooms of sick and dying patients and convert so their souls can be saved.

Highlight of the Day: 9/15/2011

Photo from Veni Vidi Vici

I finally got cussed out by a student today.  It was bound to happen at some point, and I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.  I now feel like I'm part of the team at the program I am working at.

Highlight of the Day: 9/14/2011

I had the opportunity to lead classroom instruction today.  OK, so I was only working with two students (one of the students was in ISS).  Still, I am happy that my supervising teacher is giving me this opportunity.  We read a story on internet sources and to be skeptical of the different between true news websites and opinionated websites like blogs and Wikipedia.

For the record, while I give a lot of my own opinions on this blog, I try to make sure all the information I post on are true.  If I ever do get anything wrong, I promise to post a correction as soon as possible.

A Couple of Points on the Recent GOP Debate

 Picture from Media Scrape

For the sake of disclosure, I did not actually watch the debate, but I still feel compelled to comment on a couple things.

First, Michelle Bachman made this comment on Governor Rick Perry's policy of instituting mandatory HPV Vaccination in the state of Texas after the debate to Fox News:

"There's a woman who came up crying to me tonight after the debate. She said her daughter was given that vaccine. She told me her daughter suffered mental retardation as a result. There are very dangerous consequences."

I am not an expert on medicine or vaccines and thus, I do not have much of an opinion on the HPV vaccine per se, nor do I have an opinion on this policy in Texas (it appears both sides have legitimate points). 

However, I am an expert on individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, and I can tell you that there is no link between the HPV vaccine (or any vaccine for that matter) and Intellectual Disabilities.  So, what cause one to become Intelectually Disabled?  There are numerous causes that range from likely to definite:

• Infections (present at birth or occurring after birth)
  • Congenital CMV
  • Congenital rubella
  • Congenital toxoplasmosis
  • Encephalitis
  • HIV infection
  • Listeriosis
  • Meningitis
• Chromosomal abnormalities
  • Chromosome deletions (such as cri du chat syndrome)
  • Chromosomal translocations (a gene is located in an unusual spot on a chromosome, or located on a different chromosome than usual)
  • Defects in the chromosome or chromosomal inheritance (such as fragile X syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome)
  • Errors of chromosome numbers (such as Down syndrome)
• Environmental
  • Deprivation syndrome
• Genetic abnormalities and inherited metabolic disorders
  • Adrenoleukodystrophy
  • Galactosemia
  • Hunter syndrome
  • Hurler syndrome
  • Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
  • Phenylketonuria
  • Rett syndrome
  • Sanfilippo syndrome
  • Tay-Sachs disease
  • Tuberous sclerosis
• Metabolic
  • Congenital hypothyroid
  • Hypoglycemia (poorly regulated diabetes)
  • Reye syndrome
  • Hyperbilirubinemia (very high bilirubin levels in babies)
• Nutritional
  • Malnutrition
• Toxic
  • Intrauterine exposure to alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, and other drugs
  • Lead poisoning
  • Methylmercury poisoning
• Trauma (before and after birth)
  • Intracranial hemorrhage before or after birth
  • Lack of oxygen to the brain before, during, or after birth
  • Severe head injury
• Unexplained (this largest category is for unexplained occurrences of mental retardation)

Now, I don't want to say for sure that Michelle Bachman lied when she told that story about the woman in the crowd.  But given the accuracy of a lot of the information that comes out of her mouth, one must take an immensely large grain of salt with her claim.

By the way, the American Academy of Pediatrics has come out refuting Bachman's claim and defended the use of the HPV Vaccine.

I also want to address something that happened at the debate that a number of people are talking about.  This is when Wolf Blitzer was asking a question to Ron Paul about giving life-saving treatment to someone who is uninsured and whether or not society has a responsibility to take care of that individual.  When Blitzer asks Congressman Paul if "society should let him die", watch how parts of the Tea Party crowd react:




The way the Tea Party has conducted themselves as a movement in the past two years ranges from comical to ignorant to just plain greedy and cruel.  It is all the more terrifying that they have not merely developed into a major political force in American politics, but they are now the controlling block in one of the political parties of our two-party system.  The dangerous and troubling fact of what the Tea Party (and thus GOP is today) is best described by Andrew Sullivan in a recent post about this incident:

"Of course, even if such libertarian purity does make sense, that cannot excuse the emotional response to the issue in the crowd last night. Maybe a tragedy like the death of a feckless twentysomething is inevitable if we are to restrain healthcare costs. But it is still a tragedy. It is not something a decent person cheers. Similarly the execution of hundreds, while perhaps defensible politically and even morally (although I differ), is nonetheless a brutal, awful business. You don't delight in it. And the same is true of torture. Even if you want to defend its use in limited circumstances, it remains an absolute evil, no humane person would want to do it, and no civilized person would brag of it or dismiss any moral issue with it at all. And yet that is what Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney have repeatedly done. They are positively proud of their torture record.

The fish rotted from the head down. Last night, we got a whiff of the smell."

Highlight of the Day: 9/13/2011

Today went really well with the kids.  So far, the kids seem to enjoy my company, or at least tolerate me being there.  I talked with my supervising teacher about my long terms.  I told her that my goal for next year is to be hired as a teacher and to have my own classroom again, which she completely understood, and said she would try to support me in that goal in anyway she can.  And even though the teacher-to-student ratio in this program is small, she is still in need of drastic support in some of the class periods.  Too many students bunched together into a classroom who really shouldn't be with each other.  Because I have classroom experience, she has informed me that starting tomorrow, she would start giving me some classroom instruction responsibilities with parts of the class.  I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited.  I'm starting to feel like a true teacher again (I just wished I was being paid like one).

A Video for Sunday: The Other 9/11

As we remember the lives lost on the September 11 terrorist attacks, we should also remember another tragic even that happened on this day.  On Septmber 11, 1973, in what some call "the other 9/11", General Augusto Pinochet led a military coup d'etat and overthrew the democratically-elected, socialist president of Chile, Salvador Allende.  In the following decades, between 1,000 and 3,000 Chilleans, would be killed under Pinochet's reign.  Another toughly 29,000 people would be tortured, two-thirds of which happening during or immediately after the coup.  Pinochet led one of the 20th century's most brutal dictatorships, and he was partially funded by Henry Kissinger and the Nixon Administration.

This video comes from a man who lived in Chile during the coup, but later defected to England.  His words are haunting:



For more info on the Pinochet's coup, check out this article from Daily Kos.

On This Day 10 Years Ago (Part 1 of 9/11 essays)

Image from Sacred Monkeys

I was a college student in the middle of Missouri.  I had just come back from eating breakfast at the dining hall, and I had some time to kill before I needed to go to class, so I turned the TV on.  The first thing that came on the TV were live images of both World Trade Center Towers on fire.  Kate Couric was on TV explaining that not just one, but two planes flew into the towers in New York City. My roommate, who was also at the dining hall, walked in a few minutes later and asked "what the hell is going on in New York?  All of the cafeteria staff are gathered around the TV."  I told him what I knew so far.  News reports started coming out that a plane had hit the Pentagon.  At this point, it was more than clear that the United States was under attack.

As I was getting ready for class, the South Tower collapsed.  At this point, I figured my professor would cancel class so everyone could go back to their dorms and watch what was going on.  I decided to go to the classroom and at least find out what my next assignment would be, thinking that is all that would happen.  But when he came into the classroom, made a comment about how crazy the events are, and proceeded with his lesson.

I couldn't believe he wanted to continue class.  I remember thinking that our nation was in the middle of being under attacked, planes were being hijacked all around the country and flown into landmarks, and this guy wanted to do was continue his statistical probability lecture.  Needless to say, my mind was not on statistical probability.  On September 10, 2001, if you had told me such attacks would take place, I would have called you crazy.  I though these things could only happened in movies. I started asking myself various questions. "How many more hijacked planes would be crashed?" "Are we going to be hit with a chemical or nuclear weapon?" 

I got back to my dorm room, where my roommate informed me the North Tower had collapsed, and that a fourth plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.  For the next several hours, I watched as the news and images continued to be broadcast from New York and Washington, D.C.  Like everyone else in American, and around the world that day, I was shocked by the unfolding events.  My roommate and others in our dorm were wondering who did it, and what would happen now.  The government and terrorism experts were pretty sure Osama Bin Laden were behind these attacks, but no one knew for sure yet.  If it wasn't this Bin Laden guy, then who would have done such a thing?  Was it spies from another country?  Was it right-wing extremists like the Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City?  Were we going to invade another country?  Would there be a draft?  Who the hell were we going to have to kill because of this?

Everyone on campus (like the rest of America) was scared.  We didn't know if there would be more attacks after this or not.  Lots of students went to the college chapel for an impromptu memorial service.  I was still a Christian then, but even some nonbelievers attended so they could be with others in this time of tragedy.   The president of the college, a former military man, gave a speech on overcoming fear.  It became a cliche later, but emphasized the need to stay strong and not to hastily look for retribution, or the terrorists would win.  I remember finding that very comforting, and tried to take his words to heart in the days and weeks to come.  I wish more people in our country could have done the same.

My roommate and I were glued to the news on TV for the next couple of days.  We barely left the dorm except to go to class and eat.  I did not let fear overcome me as it did so many others, but I do remember feeling an immense amount of grief.  I would especially choke up whenever I saw the images of people walking around New York with pictures of their missing loved ones, asking to be contact if someone saw them.  I knew, and I think most other people knew that they would probably never see their loved ones again.  And no one knew what the number of casualties would end up being?  No one would know for another year, that it would be a little bit over 3,000 lives lost.  But at the time, people were speculating as high as tens of thousands of dead.



Part 2 , which will emphasize the aftermath of 9/11, will come either tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a video I found on Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish.  It is a video that features John Vigiano Sr. who lost both of his sons in the 9/11 attacks.  One was a firefighter, one was a police officer.

Highlight of the Day: 9/9/2011

First full day of working with students.  So far, I am getting along well with the students, but that is because I am not enforcing discipline yet.  As I mentioned yesterday, the head classroom teacher told me to ease my way into confronting students about their behavior because it is important to establish a rapport first.  Next week, I will probably start stepping things up.

Here is dialogue from a conversation I had with a student:

Student: How do you like the job so far here?  Do you hate it yet?
Me: No, not yet (laugh).  So far, so good. (pause) So, are you excited it's Friday?
Student: Not really.  You can't really go do anything when your under house arrest.
Me: Oh . . . yeah, that could put a damper on things.

I have a feeling I will be having lots of conversations like that in the upcoming months.

Highlight of the Day: 9/8/2011

I thought I would be spending the whole day with the students, but that didn't quite work out well.  I got a call from the HR department at the school district I'm working and was told I must turn in some additional paperwork before I can work.  Fortunately, the teacher I am working with was understanding and said to take my time.  So, I spent the first half of the day taking care of more paperwork.

During the afternoon, I got to meet some of the students, and we went on a short field trip to a job site as part of their class on vocational skills.  Currently, I am standing back and doing a lot of watching, so I didn't interact with many of the students.  With many education positions, it can be a good thing to just jump right in.  With this job, it is different.  As my assigned classroom teacher told me, you don't want to start telling these students what to do too soon.  One bad first impression and you may never be able to regain their trust.  Indeed, when I start trying to correct misbehavior, I want to make sure I already have a good rapport established. 

A couple of other notes:

-To the other students, I am considered another teacher.  While I am not considered a main classroom teacher, in the eyes of the students, I have as much authority as any other staff member.  This is extremely reassuring.  In too many classrooms, when a para tries to tell a student what to do, the student will reply with something along the lines of "You can't tell me what to do, you are just a para."  They even refer to me as Mr.and my last name.  Paras went by their first names in my last school district.

-I saw a lot of behavior from students that at other schools would be addressed with detention and office referrals.  Specifically: cussing, name calling and making threats.  At this program, these are met with verbal warnings, looks of disapproval and points being taken off on behavior charts.  This is definitely a whole different ball game I am dealing with.

Highlight of the Day: 9/7/2011

Today was my first day at my new paraprofessional job . . . sort of.  Most of the day was spent in orientation meetings.  Learning about benefits, professional development, going through paperwork, watching training videos, etc.

The last hour of the day, I got to meet the teacher I will be working with most of the time, and another para that will be in the same classroom as me.  I also got to see the classroom I will be spending most of my day in, and learn a little bit about the students I will work with.  I don't get to work with any of them until tomorrow, but let's just say I will be coming home with lots of interesting stories.  I didn't think that would be possible compared to my last job, but this just might have me beat. 

For instance, she let me look at a student's behavior notes for the day.  Several times I saw in the notes where he called the teacher "bitch" and said "fuck you", and had to be escorted to the cool down room (and this was considered a good day for him).  I am also told I am going to be the brunt of a lot of profanity and verbal abuse from students, and there is very little I can do to help the situation.  These are students who have been taken out of their regular classrooms so they can work on behavior modifications. 

Right now, I should be sweating bullets and freaking out, but I am actually excited.  Perhaps that will change, but right now, I'm ready to go.

My New Job

Tomorrow, I start my new job as a paraprofessional.  As I have mentioned before, I will be working with teenagers who primarily have Behavior Disorders.  For those who are not involved with public education, you may be asking yourself a couple of questions: First, what is a "Paraprofessional"?  Second, what constitutes a "Behavior Disorder"?

To begin with, a paraprofessional is similar to an aid or a teacher's assistant. Often times, they work with individual students or in small groups with students who have special needs (legally, those who have an IEP). 

While not always the most reliable source for information, Wikipedia has a pretty good description of the typical duties of a paraprofessional (or "para" for short):

Paraprofessional educators generally assist teachers in the classroom, supervise students outside of the classroom, or provide administrative support for teaching.^[2] Job duties range from filling teaching positions to supplementing regular classroom curriculum with additional enrichment activities for students. Other positions include classroom aides, special education aides, school library technical assistants, and tutors.
Some paraprofessionals work directly with students, in which case they may listen to students practice reading aloud, help students understand and complete their assignments, or assist students with special needs.^[2]
Many paraprofessionals are assigned to supervise groups of students who are eating, playing outside, or on field trips. They may be assigned to perform clerical work for a teacher, in which case they may grade assignments, type up records for attendance or grades, set up equipment, and help prepare materials for instruction, e.g., by making photocopies of worksheets.^[2]
Many teacher assistants work primarily or exclusively with students who have special educational needs. Their duties vary according to the needs of the student, and may include physical care for students who are unable to care for themselves (such as feeding, lifting, moving, or cleaning), behavioral management, or academic assistance.^[2]
The role of the Paraprofessional Educator is constantly evolving. Today, more than ever, paraprofessionals are teaching lessons, working with small groups for remediation, leading extracurricular clubs/sports and are no longer simply the "Teacher's Aide" of the past.

As for students with Behavior Disorders, there are a couple of ways to look at it.  First, there is the official definition of IDEA (the official federal law outlining what special education is).  It is technically called "Emotional Disturbances":

"(i) The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:

(A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
(B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

(ii) The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance" (CFR §300.7 (a) 9).

Secondly, there is the broader version of students who have "behavior disorders".  To the best of my understanding, I will be working with more than just students who fall under the legal definition under IDEA.  They can have any other disability (or multiple disabilities) outlined in IDEA, but they have difficulty functioning in a regular classroom.  For more information on Behavior Disorders, I found education.com has a solid and thorough overview.

By the way, if you stumble across this blog and find that I misstated something about the nature of behavior disorders (or paraprofessionals for that matter), or that I should add something, please don't hesitate to comment or contact me on Twitter.  I want to make sure I am as accurate as possible.  In addition, I will let you know more specific details of my job in the next couple of days once I have actually started working.  I'm ready to go!

This Labor Day, Thank Unions

 

Picture comes from the blog Boiled Over

Today is Labor Day, a day where workers across the country get a well-deserved day off for all of the hard work they have done.  Of course, this doesn't count the millions of Americans work at a fast-food restaurants, major chain businesses, retail stores and other non-emergency sectors of industry that are open today.  This is a pretty unfortunate fact when considers the type of backbreaking work they often do, along with the low wages and lack of benefits they receive. They deserve the day off as much as anyone.  But I digress . . .

What most people don't realize (or forgot if they ever did) is that the history of Labor Day is rooted in the struggles of the American labor movement of the late 19th Century.  Labor Day, at it's core is a celebration of Unions.

"But why should we be grateful to unions," one might ask.  In fact, this is the type of question I get all of the time when I talk about my support of unions to friends and family.  They either see unions as unnecessary, a nuisance for workers and workplaces, or some combination of the two. Let me be the first to admit that there are (and have always been) unions that are either poorly run, fight for the wrong issues, or are just plain corrupt. That doesn't mean that the overwhelming majority of unions are that way.

As for the necessity of unions, it may not seem like unions are relevant given the decline of unions over the last 30 years (which, by the way, can be directly related to the decline of the American middle class).  But just as most individuals don't realize unions are behind the creation of Labor Day, most people don't realize that it was that gave workers so many rights and priveledges that benefit all American's today.  Here is an excerpt from the Big Corporation blog:

Let's get one thing straight...

Employers and Corporations did not feel generous and decide to give you two days off every week to have a social/personal life. (We now call them weekends). Corporations did not just feel like being nice one day and give their employees paid vacations. CEOs didn't get together in a board room and say "Let's give our employees more rights at work" or "Maybe there should be laws to limit our power over an employee".

Virtually ALL the benefits you have at work, whether you work in the public or private sector, all of the benefits and rights you enjoy everyday are there because unions fought hard and long for them against big business who did everything they could to prevent giving you your rights. Many union leaders and members even lost their lives for things we take for granted today.

Still curious how a Union has benefited you?  Take a look at this list (also from the Big Corporation blog), which lists what Unions have fought for, and won, through their activism:

1. Weekends
2. All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Breaks
3. Paid Vacation
4. FMLA
5. Sick Leave
6. Social Security
7. Minimum Wage
8. Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
9. 8-Hour Work Day
10. Overtime Pay
11. Child Labor Laws
12. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
13. 40 Hour Work Week
14. Worker's Compensation (Worker's Comp)
15. Unemployment Insurance
16. Pensions
17. Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations
18. Employer Health Care Insurance
19. Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees
20. Wrongful Termination Laws
21. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
22. Whistleblower Protection Laws
23. Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)
24. Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)
25. Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises)
26. Sexual Harassment Laws
27. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) 
28. Holiday Pay
29. Employer Dental, Life, and Vision Insurance
30. Privacy Rights
31. Pregnancy and Parental Leave
32. Military Leave
33. The Right to Strike
34. Public Education for Children
35. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)
36. Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States

This Labor Day, we as Americans need to be thankful for all of the good that Unions have done.  Unions may have their flaws, but we all need to recognize just how important they are for American workers. And after Labor Day, we need to stand up and fight for the relevancy and existence of Unions (just as they have been doing in Wisconsin).  In addition, we should support efforts for workers all of the country to create their own unions.  It's a tough battle, especially in these times when so many people don't even have a job to begin with; but it's a necessary battle.  Please do not take for granted the rights that American workers have, or they will slowly be lost.  Unless we fight for what is right, American workers will suffer the consequences.

Being a Teacher During These Times

Here comes another post where I blab about my personal problems, as well as re-post comments I made on another blog.  I don't intentionally do it, it just keeps happening.

I read this amazing blog post by Political Kick blog about the, uh, joys being married to a public school teacher.  It broke my heart reading it, because I know my wife has stated similar stuff before about being married to me.  An excerpt:

It is hardest for me to be married to a teacher because if you have the privilege of knowing one like my wife, you know that it will be hard to ever live up to the fierce dedication, commitment, and love that keeps them going. That despite the salary cuts and the hate, the misrepresentation of their work and the impossibility of the demands, they will push on. 

What I know is that I am married to a woman who loves what she does and her students so much that that she would gladly break herself for them. This breaks my heart: Not because of how much it hurts her to keep trying, but from the sheer pride I feel to stand with her every step of the way. 

Here is what I posted in the comments section.  I started writing it, and felt it deserved it's own post about halfway through:

I was a special education teacher for the past 2 years. I know exactly the cost, hours, and struggles you are writing about. And so does my wife. She married me a few weeks before I began my first year as a teacher. It was often a very difficult and trying first year of our marriage. Not only because of the extra hours I worked, but also because of the financial burden we were under. Things got a little better as time went on, but this past year, my contract was not renewed (not tenured, budget cuts). I tried not to take it too personally, but it definitely felt like all the hours and hard work I put in were unappreciated by my school. 

I have a new job as a paraprofessional. While it doesn't pay nearly what a teacher's salary is (which is not much to begin with), I am still glad to have a job in education. It is what I love to do more than anything in the world.  


What I find interesting is that a few years ago, teachers were considered overworked and underpaid by almost every politician in America. Now, in this economy, and budgets being what they are, many consider teachers having it easy. To some extent, we do have it easy when comparing how teachers are doing to so many others in this economy. 

But rather than helping those who are in need, politicians pick on teachers, and insist they need to have it hard too (when it is already a difficult job). Rather than raising taxes on the wealthy to help the poor and unemployed, we make cuts to services (including education) for those who need it the most. I know that one day, I will be teaching in a public school again. I can only hope that the climate for teachers changes for the better by them (but we may have to fight for it). 

A Video for Sunday

One of the things I have missed posting the most since my hiatus were my Sunday videos.  Allow me to explain why I post videos for Sunday, because I'm not sure I ever have.

 I am an Atheist, but I grew up in a Christian Protestant denomination.  I no longer have a belief in God or the supernatural because, as rational individual, belief in such things does not make sense.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of church growing up.  I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it a little bit.  In addition to a sense of community that church provided, I enjoyed the lessons and stories that I learned, as well as the opportunities for mediation on life that my church provided.  I could never get past the superstitions and a lot of the Christian dogma of Christianity or any religion (hence, me becoming an Atheist).  But I took away so many other life lessons from my church. This included the importance of treating people with love and compassion (even those you may not like), the importance for standing up for the poor and weak, and standing up for what is just and right.  These are values and simple traditions I have tried my best to hold onto, even though I am no longer a person of faith.  Sunday videos are my own attempts to recapture those traditions and lessons of life that I received growing up, but in a more secular (and hopefully, entertaining) fashion.  Sometimes, my videos may deal with helping others.  Sometimes they may deal with issues of social justice.  Sometimes they may deal with the origins of existence and our place as human beings in the world.  Sometimes it may be just a fun video that hopefully gives you something to think about.

This week's video comes from Carl Sagan's series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.  Over the past year, I have grown to be a huge Carl Sagan fan, and am currently in the middle of watching the whole Cosmos series on YouTube.  This particular clip has to do with the evolution of human beings. The special effects are far from spectacular by today's standards, but the video still gives viewers something amazing to ponder.



I am happy that they are making a new Cosmos series, produced by Seth MacFarlane, and hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson (perfect Choice).

Why Do I Give A Shit About Sports?

Photo from Fantasy Knuckleheads

This question was posed by The Punk Patriot on a video he made for his blog.  He doesn't understand how any normal human being could care about sports because, essentially, what happens in the game doesn't really effect anyone's life.  I have never been asked this question before, but I thought this was a great question to ask.  As both a progressive activist, as well as a sports fan, I felt some obligation to answer.  First, here is the video he made:

I wrote my response in the comment section of his post, but I've decided to also put my answer on this blog post.  Here it is:

Why do I give a shit about sports? Great question, and one I am trying to wrap my head around because I've never been asked before. I just grew up loving sports (and everyone else around me loved sports) and I never really thought about it (kind of like religion for a lot of people in that regard). I will try my best to answer it.

Part of it is a connection a fan can develop and feel with a team, teams, or individual players. Does that connection matter in the grander scheme of things? No, but it's fun and feels good to have that connection (although for some, that connection can get unhealthy).

Part of it is that sports is a form of entertainment, similar to a movie, TV, book, etc. It has amazing moments of excellence, devastating moments of defeat and failure, suspense, twists and turns, and all of that other good shit.

And sports is something that, at the end of the day, usually doesn't really matter. It is something that a person can take interest in outside of the hardships of everyday life. It's insignificant fun and 99% of the time, someone's life in doesn't change when they watch sports (that can be reassuring).

As someone who cares about activism and real-world issues, I can understand how that could be frustrating to understand. But there is something refreshing about being able to get together with a friend or relative who you have almost nothing in common (politics, religion, etc.) and be able to root for the same team together. All the other major issues of life don't matter for a little bit. Does that come off as corny? I'm sure it does, but it is the best answer I've got.

Also, while sports is greatly dominated by corporate interests (which I do hate) there are athletes and sports writers who care greatly about progressive politics. I recommend you read some of David Zirin's stuff. He writes about Sports for The Nation.

By the way, despite an solid season of play, I am disappointed that my St. Louis Cardinals could not keep up with the Brewers in the NL Central.  At least I have the Kansas City Chiefs and, more importantly, Missouri Tiger football to look forward to.  M-I-Z . . .Z-O-U!!!