It's gorgeous here currently. It's about 80 degrees. My husband worked in the yard mowing, composting, and he even washed our cars. Ambitious man. He'll hurt like hell tomorrow, but he'll be proud of what he accomplished. It's early Sunday evening and I am reflecting a bit over the last week wondering where it went as we speed headlong toward summer.
Eat those tender, spring leaves, Goat. Tasty.
Beltane was this week. Definitely feeling the spring and starting to see it around town. The goslings along the river have emerged. The baby bunnies have braved life out of the den. Birdsong is the bloom of sound (I heard that on NPR just now. Lovely isn't it?). While I didn't do a full on ritual of any kind, I did spend some time in meditation on the what spring has to share. We're half way already--to mid-summer that is. It's hard to think of that in this region because we just established spring. We could still see snow, but it's likely to be that really heavy, wet kind that downs tree limbs and power lines.
Be gone, Demon Snow! I cast you out!
This week hasn't been all pondering the new season though. There's a real tension as we await the results of our school levy. Voting is on everyone's mind at the school. Some of our paras have already been told that they won't have jobs if the levy fails. Teachers without tenure are panicky. Teachers with tenure but little seniority are quaking. Even teachers like me who have 15+ years are worried because no levy means a reduction in force; that means tenured folks might be shuffled or worse, let go. Contracts are usually out by now, but they're waiting until after Tuesday. It's stressful and uncomfortable and no one is truly happy right now. We may smile and laugh, but underneath is a vibe of target-on-my-back disquiet.
Darts anyone? Anyone?
I've been watching the teachers who have bravely been fighting for the students they love and teach. I've been cheering the teachers who walked out and forced their state's representatives and community members to listen. These efforts are long overdue. Listening to the state of some other districts in places like Colorado and Arizona and Oklahoma and Kentucky and West Virginia has been both eye-opening and inspiring. The idea of a strike has always been on my mind. I was a student in high school the last time our district went on strike.
Pretty sure I knew these guys then.
I was a sophomore and my mom worked in the district. My sister was in college already. My father was on disability and would soon be diagnosed with lymphoma in addition to his MS and chronic fatigue. While some of my classmates continued to go to school, I did not. Some students who stayed out like me saw it as a vacation. I did not. It was difficult. My mom's income was all we had as Dad's disability was really a pittance of the monthly income. His check was nowhere near enough to sustain our household. For the two weeks of the strike though, his disability was all we had coming in. Those two weeks were of course taken from mom's next paycheck, which was already scarce enough to meet our bills. I regret being an entitled, moody teenager then. You see, we had declared bankruptcy and we had a second mortgage because of the stupid ass requirements for disability. I don't know if Mom and Dad are out from under that yet or not.
The System: A Visual Representation.
Since then, I always felt secure in this district. We had passed levy after levy and the community really was behind the schools. Then the recession hit. Suddenly it was all about keeping what you had and if the schools needed money, they should scrimp, save, and only those with kids should pay taxes. Soon, we had restrictions on ordering supplies. Then, the paper was limited. No more color copies or card stock. The supplies like pencils, pens, post-its, dry erase markers and highlighters were no longer for student use and we had to account with the admin assistants for everything. Reduce reuse, recycle. We did it as levy after levy failed.
Ummm, thanks, Bart?
Then the reduction in staff started. Class sizes got bigger. Our special ed paras were axed, which meant our students with disabilities were hurt. They didn't have support in regular ed classes, so our resource classes got bigger and the student options got smaller. There weren't paras to support them enough in industrial tech classes or in business classes; they tried, but it was difficult for our neediest kids. Then the pressure to meet national benchmarks got worse. Failing school, loss of money, and morale sank. Yet, we kept showing up every day and worked our asses off to keep students engaged and challenged.
And yet they do, Daniel. They do.
We're desperate this year. My nephew is a senior and his Advanced Placement English class has been at 35 all year. If you are not familiar with AP classes, 35 is ridiculous. Trying to have a Socratic conversation with that many bodies confined in a room that was designed for a much smaller class (the building was finished in 1930) is absurd. I won't even mention the lack of adequate ventilation and antiquated boilers. A few years ago, the city did support a bond, which helped to address some of the aging buildings as well as start construction on a new elementary near where I live. But bonds are for building, levies are for learning. Trying to get the community to understand that difference is challenging. Bond money cannot be used for operations. The rules are very clear on that.
Way to work around those rules!
Well played, Bun Bun. Well played.
Another complication that recently came to light is of course insurance. Health insurance costs are ridiculous right now, and our little corner of the world is no different. They want to end the insurance pooling. For my household, it's unsettling. My husband and I are both high risk on the health side of things. We rely on a pool to keep costs manageable. I really don't know what will happen if the pool goes away. I do know that our union has issued a demand to bargain. We've had great luck bargaining in the past, but this year it seems particularly ominous and irresolute. I just don't know where things are headed.
'Bout right.
I love spring. I love the earthy smell, the warmer temperatures, the baby animals, the buds on trees, and the flowers blooming. Until Tuesday night, I won't sleep easy though. I likely won't sleep easy after if the levy fails, but at least I'll know where things stand. There's a scene in Richard III by Shakespeare where Anne and Richard are talking over her dead husband's funeral procession. The fiend asks if he should live in hope. She replies that she hopes all men live so. Shall I live in hope? I keep trying, but I can't help feeling defeated already. At least our Education Secretary in Washington has our back. Oh. Wait...
Keep plugging along, Moose. Keep pushin' on.
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