Another Post About Teachers

It seems that over the summer, public vitriol towards teachers is at an all-time high.  Personally I feel this is fueled by a combination of our media and internet trolls.  One has to wonder why they hate education so much, after all you don’t see the public picking on any other profession as much, with the exception of politicians.  (But at least politicians can hold rallies and tons of people come out to support them!)  And I know that part of me shouldn’t waste time on trying to figure this out.  I should have a thicker skin, or at the very least take the advice I dole out to my students; “Don’t worry about what other people are saying!” But the truth of the matter is that it’s hard to do that.  So instead of getting angry I thought of reasons why people would hate teachers so much.

            1. They were taught by a real life Dolores Umbridge.

Even J.K. Rowling herself has said that this character was based on someone she knew.  Isn’t it feasible that there are Dolores Umbridges everywhere using their position in the classroom as one to inflict their ideology?  Could everyone out there have horrific school memories and hate their former teachers?  Just as Harry Potter probably grew up to hate kittens, (who wouldn't after an Umbridge punishment!  And if that means nothing to you, do yourself a favor and go read the book!) people who have bad experiences in school would most likely scoff at teachers.  So I really shouldn't be mad at these people, they just need a hug.

          2. They don’t understand that students are not a product.

We can’t just pack up students and ship them to college!

This actually makes a little sense.  People in our society are so product driven, so results driven, that when teachers say that they are working when there aren’t students in front of them, some people don’t believe it!  Yes it is true…over the summer I have a lot of time off.  (Time to catch up on being a normal person who doesn’t fall asleep by 4pm on a Friday!)  And time to plan.  Sure there are Professional Developments over the summer, but I also spend the summer reading articles about differentiation or blended learning, getting Google certified, reading the novels I will require my students to read, not to mention reading what is on the summer reading list, creating a syllabus, researching new ways to engage students, and the purchasing, planning, and designing.  A welcoming classroom isn’t granted by a fairy godmother, I spend days upon days getting my room ready.  I haul back every bin that is stored in my garage, porch, and living room, and set up my room.  A room I try to make inviting.  I scour the back to school sales for supplies, I hog the laminator at Lakeshore as if it is my job.  So although we only have students in front of me for 180 days, believe me we are still working.

3.      Jealousy.

Ah yes.  If they hate you that much, jealousy must be the answer!  And truly what is there not to be jealous of; we really have the greatest job on Earth.  We get to be in the room where it happens (sorry Aaron Burr!); that tiny spark of magic when a student realizes they can do something. Those days when students enter your room full of confidence because they know that they can figure out an equation, or analyze Shakespeare.  We get to be there when they goof off and side track you because let’s face it, sometimes they are just so darn funny.  We’re at their triumphs on the field, their not so great days in the halls, we advise them, we educate them, we love them as if they’re our own.  And they are our own; in our four walls where we head out on an educational journey from September to June.  We cry at their graduations, we cheer them on, were their teachers.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It has nothing to do with the hours; quite frankly my hours are long.  I’m at school by seven a.m. most days (sometimes earlier) and I rarely am home before five.  Yes, there is summer vacation, and I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty great.  During the school year my social life resembles one of a hermit, so it’s nice to have time for a date night, or spend some time with friends.  And I get to try out new things because I work two jobs over the summer to compensate for not having my regular pay check.  It’s about the kids.  And they’re not products, they are really and truly the future.  Having a small part of that is the most gratifying feeling in the world.  I can’t imagine doing anything else.  (And I’ve tried.  I had various jobs before becoming a teacher!)  So next time you read an internet troll calling teachers lazy, or if you come across inflammatory clickbait articles online, please think of where the author of the article/comments are coming from.  They may have had an awful school experience, maybe they don’t understand education, or they’re jealous that they don't have the honor of working with students every day.   If you see them, give them a hug, because chances are a teacher taught you that compassion is always the route over rhetoric.  

Why Does ProJo Villify Teachers?

The front page of the Providence Journal ran an awful headline about teachers in Rhode Island.  Once again painting us with one swoop while having no regard for the hard work we do each and every day.  I instantly wrote a letter to the editor- a much shorter version of what is below.  I know many teachers who were outraged at the article, yet still two weeks later-not one letter has been printed showing our side of things.  Although I don't have proof that other people wrote to support teachers, I am fairly positive someone did.  They did post an op ed that once again said teachers are what is wrong with the public school system.

So here is my (long form) version of the letter that Projo obviously doesn't want to publish as it turns the mirror on something that we don't discuss enough...

I’m sure I am one of many writing in response to your front page article entitled “Absent teachers; RI worst in region.”  Like many who have undoubtedly written, I am a teacher.  It is a job I love.  I never feel the approaching dread of a Monday, because it means I can see my students again, and hear about their weekends.  I never complain about the days I am at school until very late (7pm some days) because no matter what the work has to get done, after all I have 80 students counting on me.  I never complain about the pay, because I’m not there for the income, it’s the outcome.  I’m writing to ask you to raise your standards as a paper.  Frequently, the ProJo is seen as bashing teachers, and never showing the positive.  And it’s out there, just ask WJAR who frequently shines a well-deserved spotlight on teachers, or the Providence Teachers Union who through their campaign of #PTUPositivity, their members hear of all the great things happening in our Providence schools.  Yet, the ProJo feels free to write inflammatory headlines in the clickbait fashion we see littered throughout our social media feeds.  We expect more of a newspaper.

You wouldn’t write this headline about firefighters.  Why not?  They save lives.

You wouldn’t write this headline about the police.  Why not?  They save lives.

You wouldn’t write this headline about nurses.  Why not?  They save lives.

You wouldn’t write this headline about doctors.  Why not?  They save lives.

You shouldn’t write this headline about teachers.  Why?  They too save lives.

Now I am sure you are shaking your head thinking that this is yet another teacher employing hyperbole to get her point across.  In response I would ask you to visit my classroom those last few days of school.  Finals are over, at that point if you’re failing there is nothing you can do to bring that grade up.  Many students don’t show up.  Last month, I witnessed many students show up to school these last two days.  They would show up to an un-air conditioned, stuffy building.  School lunch was reduced to sandwiches, and not even movies could be shown as we all handed in our technology.  So why show up?  Because teachers save lives.  For some students, the only words of encouragement they receive is Monday-Friday in their teacher’s classrooms.  We continually tell our students that they’re good enough, and they’re worth it.  And before the naysayers remark that I only feel this way because I am fortunate enough to work in the city, let me tell you how teachers saved my life.

On paper, I was charmed.  Skinny white girl in the Scituate school system, both parents still married, extended family that I would see weekly.  Access to technology.  (And this was in the nineties!)  It doesn’t get much more privileged than that.  However I grew up with one parent telling me that education was important, and the other telling me to rely on my looks.  One parent who would beam with pride if I dared to say I liked math, one asking me what was wrong with me.  One who would pull me out of school based on my childish whims, one parent who worked night so this was done without his knowledge.  Sadly, as with many girls, the words of my mother rang true for me; I couldn’t excel at math, college wasn’t a priority.  In my mind I wasn’t good at anything, and I certainly wasn’t smart enough. 

Miss Amanda Browne who first told me that not only could I write, but that I should.  Sure, it was 5^th grade and my stories were probably horrible, but she told me that it could be done.  Fast forward to 10^th grade and Mrs. Carol Mumford changed my life.  Not only did she say that I could write, that I had talents to offer the world, but she taught me that love, compassion, and free thought belonged in the classroom.  I bring Mrs. Mumford’s lessons with me every day I open my classroom door and greet my students.

I want you to think about your own schooling.  Surely there was a teacher that saved you.  That told you that yes you are worth it, that you could make your mark on the world.  I ask that you stop your clickbait worthy articles, not for me but for the teachers that saved my life.  Not for the thousands of hardworking teachers in our beautiful state, but for the teachers that saved you.  The teachers that told you that you were worth it.  Live up to their standards, because you’re worth it.

When Did the Internet Become so Mean

When Did the Internet Become so Mean?

When you look at that you may laugh.  Part of it is funny.  But there’s some truth to it.  How is it that the internet has become so bitingly mean?  And I say this as a very connected person.  I’m on Facebook, I tweet for my job, my professional development, and a personal Twitter account.  I have an Instagram for my class, and one for personal use.  I downloaded the Snapchat app.  (I still have no idea how to work it!)  I surf news sites, education sites, sites for writers.  Heck, I have a blog, and I freelance as a writer.  I like the internet.  I remember when it was so new we had the dial up modems, but there were so many possibilities!  We would be able to talk to people online, and get information online.  And that all came to fruition; because of social media I have been able to stay connected with friends, and I have been able to reconnect with friends who could have been long forgotten.  I constantly get information online.  And sometimes a news story comes along that unifies everyone; the ice bucket challenge for ALS, the teen who took his terminally ill mom to Prom, or cute lip syncing videos by Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. 

And then May 29, 2016 happened and the internet lost its mind.  I’m sure you’ve heard by now, there was a tragic incident on May 29^th at the Cincinnati Zoo.  A child got into the gorilla enclosure, and a gorilla was put down.  It was tragic because a little boy was traumatized and hurt, an endangered animal was shot, and I can’t even imagine what this mother was thinking as she watched her son be flopped around.  All of a sudden everyone on the internet became an animal conservationist.  And an expert on gorillas.  And an expert on parenting.  And began to call for the mother to have her kids taken away, shot, or called a list of expletives that I don’t feel comfortable repeating here.  (You know what I didn’t see?  Concern for the child.  Understanding for the parent.)

I could go into my thoughts on this.  Who is to blame and in fact I almost did.  But then I thought, why.  Why do we have this need to blame somebody?  The mom, the zoo, the child, society.  Why do we need to have an immediate answer and resolution?  Will it make everything better?  Will it change what happened?

Can’t we just read a story without the need to fill the comments section with hateful language about people we don’t know, and will never meet?  With stories like these, where people are thrust into the limelight, and never asked to be, why do we insist on giving them our two cents?

Why are we so mean?

Why don’t we take a minute and think about what we’re going to write?

(And why don’t we proofread-but that’s a different story!) 

I know there isn’t an answer out there for this, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to write this.  And maybe that makes me part of the problem, I don't know.  I do know that way back in the reign of AOL, I never imagined that the internet would be used to spew such hatred.  

Reflecting about this, I was reminded that there are good news stories out there so for your further reading…

Teen Takes Mom to Prom

Toto Lip Syncing Video

ALS Challenge

Art is Vital

Art is vital.  It is around us in the air we breathe.

“It’s okay to feel sad.  But when you do, make films, draw, make something.  It’ll make a world of difference.”  Pete Docter, one of the co-creators for Inside Out said this in his Oscar acceptance speech.  Ever hear something you know will be a classic quote?  It resonated with me that night, I carried it to work the next day, and it keeps popping up, every time we lose someone we value as an artist.

David Bowie.

Alan Rickman.

Glen Frey.

Harper Lee.

Gary Shandling.

Doris Roberts.

Prince.

The list goes on.  And thanks to social media, this generation’s answer to the water cooler, we see the memes, people post their tributes, news articles are shared.  You know what I’m not seeing on social media?  “I can’t believe (insert artist here) died!  They were so rich!” Instead it’s “Purple Rain is falling” or “Always”.  And why is this?  Why in these cynical times where people feel they can hide behind a keyboard, why are these the tributes flowing in?  (And yes, I am sure the posts are out there that say who cares, let’s talk about real issues” but I’m just focusing on how people are grieving.)  These tributes have one thing in common.  Art.  It is the one thread that ties us together as people.  Art.  Whether singing, storytelling, telling jokes, it is a gravitational pull we feel.  We thrive on storytelling, and as cliché as it sounds, there are performers who provide the soundtrack to our lives. 

We need art. 

We need it at home to enjoy.

We need it in our classrooms to learn about the world around us.  To learn about empathy.

We need music in our cars to get through the daily grind.

We need art on our walls to calm and soothe us.

We need stories so we can escape to other worlds, journey to lands afar, step into someone’s shoes.

We need poetry to express our love.

We need expression.

We need the escape.

This is what we need to remember in times like this when we lose another valued member of the arts world.  We need to mourn, we need to remember and enjoy their art, but we need to keep art.  Keep it in our homes, communities, our schools.  Keep it by remembering it, by discussing it, and by creating it.  Create art in your corner of the world.  Create it and don’t stop; paint, sing, write.  The world needs art, and more importantly, your world needs YOUR art.

Art is vital.  As vital as the oxygen that surrounds us.  Don’t believe me?  Look around at the tributes for a lost artist.  If not today, but the next time an artist is ripped from us too soon.  If you’re still not convinced, consider our money.  Let’s face it, Alexander Hamilton was going to lose his spot on the ten dollar bill, until a little musical came out and took Broadway by storm. 

Once more from Oscar winner Pete Docter “It’s okay to feel sad.  But when you do, make films, draw, make something.  It’ll make a world of difference.”  Go make your difference.

Out with the Old in with the New (and Vaguely Familiar)

I’ve been writing entries for my blog…I just haven’t posted them.  Why?  Pick a reason; too busy to proofread, the holidays are here and I worked myself into a haze of butterball cookies and cheesecake, writer insecurities…really the list is endless.  However here I am itching to write something, or plan something for my students and I remembered; I can do both.  I have the same survey I pass out each year to my student, and this year will be no different. 

But why Shannon?  Why write down resolutions when you know most are broken anyway.  And really what does it accomplish?  Simply put, it’s good to have goals.  It’s good to reflect on your life.  And why not do that during the time of year when everything is changing?  So without further ado…

Name: Mom, Shannon, Mrs. McLoud, Miss Shannon

Favorite Food:  Chocolate…this never changes!

Age:  36 (normally I don’t answer this, but the kids figured it out this year!)

Favorite activity: Reading/writing

Favorite color: Pink!

Favorite book:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Jane Eyre, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird…it changes with my mood.  This is not a fair question! 

Highlights of 2015

Greatest Lesson Learned:

Hmmm…to take a page from Elsa and “Let it Go”.  I have not achieved this, I do from time to time obsess over things.  This year I have learned that when I do let things go, I am happier, and my stress goes way down.  Less stress is a good thing! 

Hardest Thing This Year:

Finding the balance between work and life!  I haven’t achieved this entirely, however I have been doing more work at school, which gives me more time at home to enjoy my family. 

Favorite Memory:

I feel that it’s the same memory every year, but once again yes, the family trip to Disney makes the list!  This year we went for twelve days.  Twelve days in the family bubble, and the icing on the cake was time spent with Dave’s cousin and his family.  The guys didn’t grow up together since they live so far away from one another but you wouldn’t know that when we get together!  It was one of those moments that illustrate the importance of family.  I had a ton of those moments this year, but the Disney trip really illustrated that.

What I Loved About 2015:

Looking back, 2015 was a pretty great year.  There was a lot to love!  Some highlights…

Getting my own classroom!  Last school year I traveled rooms each period, and I found out in August this year that I would have my own classroom!  I was able to decorate it in my geeky glory, and it validated me as an educator.  I FEEL like part of the faculty this year, not just the nomad teacher!

I co-wrote a play that was part of the Providence Fringe Fest-that was an amazing feeling!  And I started writing for a newspaper writing about something I love-theatre.

I also staged a play in the most unlikely of places-a local bookstore.  I was in geek heaven!

Looking Forward to 2016!

Want to Learn:

I always want to learn more effective ways of teaching.  At this point it’s a given, but I feel that I should write it down each year as a constant reminder that I’m not done yet! 

How to have a life while enjoying my career.  I don’t think I realized what a hermit type life I live during the school year, until this week.  I don’t make the time to hang out with friends, or sit and write, or sometimes do laundry.

And yes, cooking is still on the docket.  When my child is frightened when he sees me go to the kitchen, it’s time to learn how to cook!

Want to Get Better At:                                      

Time management and organization.  Every year I think about this, and every year I am optimistic that it will happen.  This year, I’ll be a realist.  I would like to get better at organizing a corner of my life, not my entire life.  And I would like to get better at time management when grades are due!  Baby steps!

Goals for 2016:

Before I make goals, I have to look at last year’s goals.  Did I make them?  After this year’s production of Carol’s Christmas, I can certainly say, with confidence that RTC is growing.  Watching an audience enjoy something that literally takes a village to build, is amazing.  I’m really proud of it.  But there is still much work to be done!

I did NOT run my third 5K.

I did NOT publish my novel.  (Although I did have my students participate in NANOWRIMO so that was amazing!)

So my new goals? 

Certainly to continue making theatre.  It’s time consuming, and stressful at times…but I can’t picture my life without it!

To run a 5K.  I enjoy running.  It helps me think, and obviously it helps me fit into my clothes.  And I haven’t done any running in about six months.  There aren’t any excuses there except that I’m not making the time for it.  And I know you can’t just jump up and run a 5K…so I need to get my butt in gear and return to running!

Publish my novel.  It would be really nice not to see this under my goals next year.  I’m not looking for an agent, in fact I really feel that self-publishing (similar to my plays) is the way to go.  So what am I waiting for?  (Besides a good editor!)  So this is it.  I am going to publish my novel this year.  If it’s in writing it will happen right?  Otherwise I’m going to have to have this picture follow me around.

I can’t just start 2016 with the same goals from last year however, so let’s add to these shall we?

Professionally:  I would like to begin next school year OWNING my position. 

Academically:  I finished my MA in 2015, so you would think academics would no longer be a goal.  However, I wouldn’t mind looking into my NCTE Certification.  And begin to pay off my loans!

Personally:  These are staying the same…run, write, create!

So there you have it….2015.  You were a good year!  Looking forward to 2016 with hope and optimism!

My Dad

I know I post this every year, but it's my yearly tribute in memory of my Dad...

How exactly do you eulogize a man like James Vescera?  He was many things to many people; husband, Dad, father in law, uncle, brother, brother in law, friend.  All roles he performed with the utmost of importance.  I could stand here and tell you what a horrible disease this is, that took my Dad from us far too early, but when I look back on my life, and when I tell stories about him to Brady or any of mine and David’s future children, I will not focus on HD, I’ll focus on all the little things that made my Dad so great.  Like Halloween.  Every Halloween he would put on this ridiculous old guy mask, to take us trick or treating.  Every year.  
I’ll remember the father and daughter dances where he would do what I called his Frankenstein dance, and I would get annoyed.  Not at his lack of dancing ability because as we all know, I can’t dance either, but I would get annoyed that every other Dad at these dances had to come up and talk to my Dad.  Or how every Christmas it was hard to see who was more excited, Jay and myself, or our Dad.  And how much he loved to tease my Mom every year for Christmas or her Birthday with the worst wrapping job known to man.  Or how he would make up little annoying nicknames for my Mom.  How proud he was whenever I was in a play, no matter how bad some of them were.  How he coached my brother’s T-Ball team, and never was the Dad to get ultra competitive, he would just laugh when instead of looking for fly balls Jay was looking for bugs.  How even though he had to take a night job, that was far below his qualifications because he was getting sick, he still took the time to take me out driving so I could learn to drive, which is probably why I can parallel park, and have a huge love for the Doors and Classic rock.  I’ll think of all of our family trips, North Conway where we would cross country ski, go to the Polar Caves, our trip to Disney, Dad loved amusement park rides, and to this day I can’t think of Disney without picturing his face after the Back to the Future ride.  
 I’ll remember the wood car he and my brother made for Boy Scouts one year, he was so proud to have done that.  I’ll never forget how he even designed our house in Scituate, did so much of the construction, the electrical, and even the painstakingly hard job of hardwood floors, plank by plank with my grandfather.  How every Sunday at my Grandparents, we knew if there was a new recipe, Jimmy would like it.  Or how he was teased by his friends earning him the longest nickname in history “Jim V as in Victor e-s-c-e-r-a.”
I’ll remember having chocolate cake or cold pizza sometimes in the morning for breakfast, and how he used to let my friends tease him about his minor beer belly.  
I’ll remember his fabulous sense of humor.  Even at times where most parents would be aggravated, we could say something and he would find humor in the situation.
I’ll remember times where he stood up for what he believed in, when it came to his brother Danny, or Tommy, or even once a friend of mine in Elementary School
I’ll remember how much he loved his grandchildren, Jay and myself, David and Courtney, and my Mom.
I’ll remember how he never once complained about his illness, how he took it on like he took on everything, with courage and strength.

The saying is a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.  After last night and today, it is obvious our Dad had a large heart.  Thank you for loving our Dad.

So, just how do you eulogize a great man like my Dad?  By going out and living like he did, hug your loved ones, never let a minute go by to tell them you love them.  Laugh every day.  Be courageous, strong and above all be selfless.  That is the kind of daily tribute you could all give my Dad.

Don't Read That-It's For GIRLS!

I’m a Mom of a funny, adorable, smart, little boy.  He likes soccer, hockey, the Patriots, Legos, trucks, radio controlled planes, riding his bike, making a mess, art, musicals, and television.  He likes watching cooking shows that feature Bobby Flay, cartoons like Star Wars Rebels, Scooby Doo, Wild Kratts, and yes Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First.  GASP!  Aren’t those shows for girls?  As parents, we have never classified anything as “for boys” or “for girls.”  You like what you like, and that’s the end of it.  There are no “girl colors” and there are no “boy jobs.”  We have done this for two reasons.  One, I don’t want him to feel that there are things he can’t enjoy because he’s a boy, and two, I don’t want him to treat women as if they, and their interests, are inferior.  

I am doing my best to let him make his own choices.

I am doing my best to teach him that men and women are equal.

I am doing my best to not raise a chauvinistic man.

Unfortunately, sometimes the outside world doesn’t help.  Since entering the public school system, my son has come home from time to time asking if something is “girly” and if he is allowed to like something.  When it comes to t.v. shows I explain that they are written by writers, just like Mommy writes plays.  I then ask him if my plays are only for girls, or only for boys.  The answer generally satisfies him and he goes back to doing whatever he was doing.

This week a friend shared an author’s blog on Facebook.  The blog shared was Shannon Hale’s, author of the Princess Academy series.  This is not a series I am familiar with, but after reading her blog, I have to pick up one of her books.  The blog entry that is circulating is about the troubling phenomenon that happens at her appearances, mainly schools.  It seems that when she visits a school, the boys are not invited to the assembly.  Shannon does not write books about the female body, or books that are anti-boy.  Apparently her faux pas is far worse; she uses the word princess is in the title of her books. 

As a society, we seem so worried about how girls perceive themselves.  And rightly so.  I was raised by a mother who constantly told me that only my looks mattered during my most impressionable years.  (Luckily I’ve always been a bit of a rebel and didn’t abide by her backwards school of thought!)  I understand the importance of empowering girls.  I hope I do so as an educator, and if I ever have a daughter, I hope to do so as a mother.  However, it seems that boys get lost in the mix today.  Where is the movement to let our boys know that it is okay to use a pink Easy Bake Oven, or watch a television show that has a girl as the protagonist; or God forbid, a book?  Telling boys that some colors, shows, or books, are not for them and are only for girls teaches them that there is a difference between the sexes and should be treated so.  If we really want to empower girls, let’s tell the boys that it’s okay to like whatever it is that they like.  We often hear of women getting less pay than men, but we start out telling boys that their interests are superior to girls, as long as they don’t share a common ground.  Because when you do, it’s “girlie” and “not for boys” which undeniably sends the message to our impressionable boys that girls, then women, are inferior.

I attached Shannon Hale’s blog.  Her story is a good one.  She made me think, and I bet she’ll make you think as well!  I haven’t blogged in ages, in fact this is the first time I have done so in 2015.  Her words made me jump up and start writing.

Shannon Hale's Awesome Blog