Teachers often complain that society doesn’t value their work. They (I) point to their salaries or to the lack of respect given to them by [some] students or [some] parents. I often wonder if the union’s own “representation” of teachers (protection of crappy-ass teaches who have long burned out) is equally damaging or demeaning.
Of course the union is absolutely necessary for us teachers, but crap, can’t we all admit that a person ought to be competent at a job in order to continue to hold that job? Or at least that the person ought to display sincere, actual, and meaningful attempts at becoming competent or revitalized (e.g. professional development, observations, etc)?
Monthly Archive for February, 2007
We’re so close to buying a place it’s kinda scary. Should we take the plunge? Should we wait? Are interest rates going up or staying low? Are home prices going to decrease? So many damn questions yet no one really knows the answer.
“…estoy viviendo sin morir, estoy muriendo sin poder morir.”
I haven’t written in weeks but I have so much to communicate. First off much props to Porterville folk getting together to help out the farmworker community devastated by the freeze. Thanks Pete for spreading the word!
Damn it. I couldn’t make it to any Maná concert in California. Damn scalpers buy up all the tickets and kill it for the rest of us. I’m not sure why Maná doesn’t make a stop in Fresno. I’m positive that they would sell out the SaveMart Center at Fresno State.
Coachella has also sold out…not only ticketwise. Why in the world is Goldenvoice limiting the number of single day tickets and 3-day passes? If I can’t find any tickets at the last minute from some desperate ebayer I might not catch the Rage Against the Machine reunion. I wonder if the reunion is for good or what, since Audioslave is no more.
This past weekend we went to Tijuana and Rosarito. We stopped by Tijuana to take my jefa to the doctor. Yeah, I know, I know, American medicine is superior. Not so according to my jefa. My mom says that los doctores Americanos nada mas dan medicina y mas medicina. As for Rosarito, we didn’t visit the American catering wasteland on the main strip. Instead, we went to shop for some wedding items (not saying what) further down the way.
The best thing about traveling into Tijuana is seeing that big Mexican flag and smelling the smog that reminds you of where you’re at. I love the smell strangely enough. The worst part of traveling to Mexico is not the messed up streets, the shanty homes built on old tire foundations or Avenida Revolucion. The worst part is leaving and going back to the U.S. Whenever I cross the border I get so damn nervous. It’s weird for sure. Fucken border patrol agents are assholes. I feel like I’m going to get the Babel treatment. Once they let us pass I feel like a ton is lifted off my chest.
When we used to live in a farm labor camp in Lamont I used to have to babysit my youngest brother. I had to change his diapers, feed him and bathe him. Sometimes I would leave him locked in the room and I would go play “carritos” with the other kids of the camp.
When I was in elementary school my family had a junky Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme nicknamed “La Mantequilla.” I used to avoid being seen in the car.
In fifth grade I was supposedly a GATE student. Whatever that means. Anyhow, when Ms. Mestaz used to call on me I used to get red. The other kids used to get a kick out of it. I didn’t really bother me then, but I still get red when all the attention is on me. The GATE thing has nothing to do with turning red but I just had to throw that out.
In high school, as a freshman, I stopped hanging out with my best friend so that I could hang out with a “cooler crew”. I reflect back and I think I’m a stupid-ass for doing that.
Back when I lived in Macondo I used to eat dirt when I got depressed.
Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez is my all time favorite book.
The year is flying by. We are already in the third quarter of the school year. Technically, we have already completed 1/3 of the third quarter. Damn, time flies. It’s February for crying out loud! February!
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Too bad we can only exchange valentine cards. No candy though. No chocolate. No candy hearts. No heart-shaped lollipops. How have we gotten to this point where we can no longer eat junk food in the classroom. I think some of my favorite moments as a fifth grader revolve around eating junk food at school with my classmates. Maybe I’ll give the kiddies a Hershey’s kiss as they step off school property. Now, all I have to do is come up with some way to convince my Jehova’s Witness kids that we are not celebrating anything.