"There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm..."
-"The Promised Land"
Bruce Springsteen
O.k., perhaps that intro. is a bit dramatic, but we begin anew at the old school house tomorrow, and I can't imagine much more of an unsettled horizon for moi, though I hope it will be mostly positive unsettling. Still, unsettling is unsettling...
Aside from moving, birthing, and infant care issues, I have been curious and concerned for a while about the work atmosphere this year. With the combination of budget cuts, salary stagnation (actually a tiny cut), increasing student enrollment, and larger average class sizes, I expected sour attitudes from the start. But, I have to say, everyone (meaning faculty) seems much happier and settled down than they were at the beginning of last year. Maybe the tough times have given some needed perspective. Or, maybe it's just because there's not some damned election this year.
I have mostly sophomores, but one class of juniors has been added, and as usual I'm also messing around a bit with what I'm going to do so as to be more effective and, most importantly, avoid getting bored with my curriculum. The yearbook needs to make money, the students need to shut up and sit down, and I need to sleep well every night (ha!). Any questions?
By the way, yes I know The Boss is coming to Charlotte in early November, and that tickets go on sale Friday. Yes, that is two weeks after the Wyfe's due date, and a couple of months into the new steroided-up mortgage payment. Yes, the boy and I just saw him in May. And yes, like a good soldier I have ignored these realities anyway and have tried to prevail upon the fair Wyfe for permission to go. Alas, to no avail. Pretty unreasonable, wouldn't you agree? Anyone want to help argue my case?
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FOR THE STRAIGHT WAY WAS LOST."
"Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel / And shining morning face, creeping like snail / Unwillingly to school." - Jaques, As You Like It
(Oh yeah... the views expressed here are my own, and not necessarily those of my school or school district. Thought you would like to know.)
"...I came to myself in a dark wood,
FOR THE STRAIGHT WAY WAS LOST."
About Me
- School Master P
- North Carolina
- I'm a born and raised North Carolinian, and live in the east-central part of the state. My average, but deviously ambitious family includes my one lovely wife , my one darling son (8 yrs. old), and (most ambitious of all) a no-doubt mean little girl born in October (surprise, surprise!). I have completed seven years of teaching high school English. I spent my first five years of teaching at a small rural school, and am now teach at a much bigger school in a bedroom community several miles outside of Raleigh.
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5 comments:
Case for going to Bruce: for all the upheaval and stresses you allude to in this post, a Springsteen show is perfect antidote. The show will be a light at the end of a tunnel, and anticipating it will provide some respite from your cares. You will be that much more pleasant to be around. In the after glow of the show, you will be inspired. The normal stresses of the holiday months will not affect you. By the time Christmas break arrives, you'll be walking on air--the more spacious air of your new home, and by Christmas, your exuberance, fueled by love of both family and rock 'n' roll, will set the tone of what will be the most joyous time yet known by the P clan, and your optimism for the new year will be so infectious that 2010 will seem like one of those rare golden ages we recognize while we're in it. Thank you, Whining Schoolboy, for going to see Springsteen.
That was freakin' sweet, Brad. Brought a tear to my eye.
I'll send it along as part of a diplomacy package to the powers that be.
Strangely, I remain unmoved.
As a mother of two young children, I might actually be glad to see you and the boy go out for a while, that is, if your girl actually comes on time. Of course, I'm moody like that and while I would probably let you go and kind of be glad you went, I would also be seething wondering when it would be my turn to get away. Actually, I am wondering that anyway.
Cynedra - you've perfectly encapsulated every husband's plight. Yet, we soldier on...
Sorry I didn't post your comment for so long. The last two weeks have been rather out of control, and I haven't been checking in.
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