The Screen

You learn something every day if you pay attention. ~Ray LeBlond

Today, I won a huge victory. I got an overhead projector screen for my room. I wanted to dance with glee. Now that I've achieved this unreachable goal, I don't know what I'll set my eyes on next. I can take down the square of white paper that's been what I've used for so long.

Yes, this is hyperbole, but not by much. I have been waiting for so long for something that most people probably wouldn't even spend money on. Such is teaching in America.

I heard a piece on NPR this morning talking about the lawsuit Connecticut is filing against the government for No Child Left Behind. I don't know all the particulars, but from what I heard, I am saying GO CONN!!! The Federal government and their ivory tower bastion of edu-experts (and I use the term loosely) can't possibly have any idea of how much pain their mandates create.

I'm a teacher in a state that doesn't really make much of a priority of education. In fact, I'm a citizen in a nation that spends vast amounts of money on everything except education. The only time politicians seem to worry about those of us in the trenches is when they need numbers to throw at each other to get this pet project pushed through or that candidate smeared. I'm sick of it.

I wish that TPTB could see that we are fighting a war with no equipment other than raw courage. I wish that TPTB could spend one full week substituting in one of our classrooms and understand some of the realities of dealing with teenagers.

I am not criticizing our kids. For the most part, they are doing the best they can. I am saying that if our governments (national, state, and local) don't quit padding their own pockets and pointing accusatory fingers, the war will officially be lost, and worse still, there won't be any replacement troops coming up to try to turn the tides. After all, none but the truly dedicated would be excited over the prospect of getting a bright, shiny, new overhead screen.