Tag Archives: it’s the economy

>Dear Santa; a little assistance, please?

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>Dear Santa;

I know you are coping with a wildly increasing workload. Your working conditions are probably a lot like mine: more demands, fewer resources, fewer people (or elves) with which to handle more difficult tasks. We jolly old elves and not so jolly teachers keep facing the challenge of doing more and more with less and less.

Santa, I don’t ask for things for Christmas. I don’t ask you to fill my stocking. I put something out for my students so they can enjoy a little seasonal specialness at school. You don’t have to help with that part of the celebration.

But Santa, I’ve been feeling a little down lately. I could chalk it up to “Kids these days” or the worsening economy, and both are parts of the problem. My job is stable and employment secure, even though my salary is more likely to shrink than grow in today’s reality. No, Santa, I’m not asking for money.

You’re in your furs from your head to your foot, and your beard may be covered with ashes and soot. I’m clad in a holiday sweater that makes fashionistas cringe, but makes my students smile. The problem is this.

If an ice cream maker gets in a bad batch of blueberries, they can send them back to the plant.
If a television producer gets a poor script, it gets revised or rewritten.

When I add a student to my class, I teach that student. I can’t send him back home to re-learn how to behave, send him to his former school to learn to read, or simply say to the principal, “No, I’m sorry, this one just doesn’t measure up. I can’t take him.”

But the Joe Q. Public thinks it’s my fault if the kid doesn’t make it. Mine and mine alone.

Santa, here’s the point. All I desire for Christmas isn’t a new teacher mug or a package of caramels, although I’ll love those, too. Instead, I’d really appreciate respect. A little respect from the families of the children in my classes, a little respect from those who might not understand the challenges I face every day. A little respect from the energy-saving czar who keeps complaining that my computer uses too much electricity; a little respect from the parents who think their child is an angel, even though he’s probably getting a lump of coal from you, if you’re honest.

So Santa, you can bypass the World’s Best Teacher coffee mug for my stocking this year. I don’t even need a Congressional bail-out. I’ll take a new Public Relations director, one who can tell the world what I face each day, one who can let the lawmakers and community members know how much knowledge and passion I inject into my fascinating and exhausting work.

Thanks, Santa.

Respectfully yours,
Daisy

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>Big Words for the season

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>Dear Santa;

Every year you get letter upon letter saying, “I want this. I want that.” Some are more polite, saying Please and asking how you are. This year may be no different… or will it?

There are some Big Words out there in the world that strike fear into a lot of adults. Economy. Recession. Layoffs. Unemployment. Debt. Kids don’t always understand meanings of these words, but they feel the stress that comes from the situations. The younger the children, the more likely they’ll feel the emotional turmoil and the less likely they’ll understand it.

Santa, I know it doesn’t feel right to stuff a stocking with soap and shampoo. Those are supposed to be necessities, not gifts. But this year, the little gifts might be even more important. Crayons. Pencils. Markers. Paper.
I’m giving my students a little cup of goodies. They’ll each get a pack of tissues, a new pencil, a candy cane. If I can swing it, they’ll each get a white-board marker, too. The candy cane is the only frivolous item, but I know they’ll enjoy the others, too.
You see, Santa, the little ones in my class get colds whether they’re rich or poor. Germs don’t discriminate. And the tissues in my classroom are running out, with the generic scratchy products left to take us through the winter. If a kiddo has his or her own little package of something soft, maybe that will be a small pleasure for those noses that rival Rudoph’s in redness.
There’s a big gap between the haves and the have-nots in my school. Some families bought their kids big packages of white board markers. Some couldn’t afford to even buy one. When I’m working with white boards as a check for understanding, you can guess which kids need to beg or borrow markers. Santa, if you and I can help these kids out, they won’t have to feel depressed every time we get out the white boards. The students from less-well off families can reach into their own desks to get supplies of their own.
The other day I heard a teacher complain, “Flash cards? Who gets flash cards in their stocking at Christmas?!” I understand. It’s kind of like getting underwear for a holiday gift; what fun is that? So along with the marker and the tissues, I’ll give a holiday pencil. Plain yellow #2 just wouldn’t have the same impact as something in red or green or another festive design. It’ll let the kids get their schoolwork done and still make the season bright.

Money, Santa, is not a children’s problem. It’s a grown-up problem. But the problems inherent in today’s economic crisis trickle down to children’s everyday lives. When parents have to choose between buying shoes for their kids or paying the rent, kids feel the pain. When parents can’t afford healthy snacks for mid-morning, kids get hungry. When the car doesn’t start and the parents don’t have the discretionary bucks to fix it, the young ones have to walk to school in the bitter cold. It takes time for those little ones to physically warm up enough to focus on learning.

Santa, I’d love to ask you to deliver safety and warmth and some basics to each and every child in need. But I know that you and your elves can’t solve these economic problems any more than I can. All of us will just have to tighten our belts, give where we can, and most of all, understand. Let’s understand that when parents lose their jobs, kids suffer. And let’s take care of the small things, like markers and pencils and candy canes, so that their suffering is limited even a little bit.

Thanks Santa. Have a Happy Holiday. Hug the elves and reindeer for me.

Lots of love,
Daisy

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>Paper-wise and Paper-foolish

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>We’re under pressure at school to save paper. It’s a major expense, one we can’t avoid, but one we can adjust and minimize. Maybe.

  • I save extra copies or “oops” papers: the kind where the answer shows through on the page or I have two too many because kids moved yesterday. Those papers get re-used as scratch paper.
  • I copy back to back.
  • My colleagues and I use overhead projectors, small white boards and chalkboards, and other devices for keeping kids involved without requiring paper.
  • I copy straight from the blackline master book without making a new master copy.

But we’re stuck on other paper uses. Penmanship practice needs paper. Attendance is still on paper in our school, as is lunch count. Bathroom sign-out sheets are an unfortunate necessity.

Our district-mandated reading comprehension tests have bubble sheets to run off. My class’ bubble sheets took (are you sitting down?) 150 page. That’s 150 sheets of copy paper, more than one fifth of a ream. Multiply that by the five intermediate classes of similar sizes, and imagine the amount of paper and toner we’re forced to use. It’s like an unfunded mandate with the orders coming from downtown, but all the supplies coming from the existing site budget.

Running scores for the district-ordered Measure of Academic Progress test uses one page per child, three times a year. Multiply that times the number of kiddos in grades two through six and you get — a lot of paper.

If I run grade reports for conferences, there’s one page per student for Reading, for Math, for Science, for Social Studies…you get the picture. Multiply that number by five intermediate classes…we’re starting to look at red ink in the budget line for copy paper.

I haven’t even mentioned IEPs and other special education documentation, much less the daily behavior sheets for kids who need them.

So what do we do? I keep on looking for ways to be pennywise. My colleagues do, too. But there’s only so much we can do when the major paper usage comes not from us, but from record keeping and mandated testing that’s all ordered downtown at the district offices.

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>Eco-gifts: what are the limits?

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>Is it acceptable to give something secondhand as a gift? Homemade? Recycled or reusable? Something won as a prize, not purchased?

Second hand and thrift stores have decorative items and seasonal knick-knacks. I’m willing to buy these for my own use and for my family. But as a gift? I don’t know. Those cloth napkins: wash and press, and they’ll look new. But would the gift be tacky? I’ve given and received used CDs by favorite performers. These CDs play as well as new and provide hours of enjoyment. Sometimes they’re out of print, too, unavailable in regular stores. Now that the MP3 generation is here, my old CD craze might be irrelevant, but it’s a good starting place to consider the idea of second hand gifts.

Homemade? I’m not a very good artist or crafter, and I’m all thumbs with a sewing machine, so traditional personal gifts aren’t viable options. But let me in the kitchen and….cookies. Bars. Gifts in a Jar. I can wrap the gift jars in a re-used gift bag with a few lovely sheets of re-used tissue, and I have a nice gift for someone. Cookies are good for someone who might not bake for themselves or someone who is really busy. Is it okay, though, to give something consumable like this? Something that won’t last?

Now comes the other tough call: cheap or inexpensive items. Dollar store. Drugstore clearance aisle. Lip glosses, chapsticks, notepads, pens and pencils, and more — for less. Is it culturally acceptable to create a gift package with goodies like this? Or what about gifts won in blog blasts? They’re new, and even if they cost me nothing but time and effort, they will have value to those who receive them. Is that enough?

Well, blogging friends, what do you think? Times are tough all over. Would you be offended by a secondhand or homemade or inexpensive gift? Would you give one yourself?

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>Bake it yourself; I’ll Can it and Wrap it

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>”I’m going to Fleet Farm. I need canning jars.”
“Mom, you have a case of canning jars in the basement!”
“No, I used them up!”
“Can’t you wait?”
“No, they’ll be on sale now. And the real canners will buy them out if I don’t hurry.”

The truth comes out: My name is Daisy, and I don’t can.
I grow the vegetables.
I cook the vegetables.
I freeze the sauces and soups.
But I don’t can.

So why on Earth do I need canning jars?

For Gifts in a Jar, of course!!

I received a gift like this several years ago and I just loved the concept. I invested in two Jar books, one for cookies and one for bars, and I’ve given some of these every Christmas. It’s just the dry ingredients, layered nicely to look artistic, with the recipe attached. People always enjoy them. I enjoy picking out the recipes, making sure I have the right ingredients, and then putting the jars together. Wrapping is simple, too. I use a fair amount of (reusable) tissue to cushion the jar, then put it in a (reusable or reused) gift bag. It takes time, and time is precious. But time is also a gift, and this is one way I can show my coworkers I appreciate all they time they spend on the students we share.

So back to the beginning. Did I make it to Fleet Farm in time to get a case of quart-sized canning jars? Yes and no. I got the jars, but they were all out of wide-mouth. I had to buy the standard size. Wide-mouth is easier for packing in flour and sugar and chocolate chips and raisins. Next year I’ll get there earlier to beat the rush.

This post was not sponsored by Gifts in a Jar, but here’s the link if you’d like the books. I see they’ve expanded beyond the cookies and bars that I usually give. The blog blast is, however, based on a topic suggested by Klutz, publishers of activity and craft books, and the omnipresent Parent Bloggers Network.

I think I’ll browse the other blog blasts and sigh in envy at those bloggers with actual crafty talents.

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>NaBloPoMoPhoBia: overwork

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>I can say I’m happy to be overworked because it means I have a job, but that gratitude doesn’t create more hours in the day.

Class sizes get bigger, my clerical needs get greater, but clerical services (already slim to none) dry up like a puddle in the sun. Perhaps a more appropriate simile in this Northern climate would be to say that support services melt like a snowball in the sun.

So…I spend more hours at my desk doing paperwork. My pay doesn’t increase. My benefits don’t increase. Expectations, however, keep growing.

Special needs, medical and academic, increase. My expertise needs to grow to keep up. But training in ADHD, child and adolescent mental illnesses, specific learning disabilities, serving gifted students, differentiation, and more… well, training isn’t readily available unless I give up more of my own time and (you guessed it) money. The aforementioned money that didn’t increase with my growing workload.

So instead of blogging, despite the deep satisfaction of ranting through my laptop, I’ll log off for now and work on more of my own homework. Today it’s preparing a seating chart that takes into consideration state testing, pullout for English Language Learners, Learning Disabilities, students who are easily distracted (some medicated, some not), and more.

I enjoy the rewards of my career, both the tangible and the intangible. But I wish, really wish, that the general public would understand the challenges we teachers face each and every day.

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>Green up your Act!

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>

I’d like to convince Husband that we need to invest in some additional greening for our house. I don’t mean landscaping, although that would be fun; I mean a few simple additions to our yard and home that will save energy, water, or otherwise help us Green up our Acts.

  • Already in place:
    programmable thermostat
    small kitchen, concentrates heat in one place
    old chest freezer replaced with smaller, energy efficient unit
  • Could have an impact:
    thermal drapes on the french doors: would keep the sun out in the summer, heat in through the winter
    solar panels on roof
    water barrel in or near garden
    additional compost bin

What?! Another compost bin? Why? Isn’t the one you have doing the job?
Well, (as I told my nearest and dearest) yes and no. Yes, it’s doing the job. We create significantly less garbage when we’re composting. The fully decomposed matter makes the garden soil more fertile and easier to till. If we had two…well, if we had a second bin, I’d let one settle for a full year before spreading it in the garden. In the meantime, I’d fill the other with all the grass clippings and kitchen garbage and leaves and other organic materials that we generate in a spring-summer-fall season. We do look for places to toss the grass clippings in July and the garden waste in October because the bin is full to the top. A second bin would be useful, no doubt about it.

The water barrel? Our water bills are predicted to go up dramatically due to expensive repairs on our community’s out-of-warranty treatment plant. A rain barrel (or two or three) could save us money as well as use water more efficiently. Thinking back to recent history, there were weeks in June when there were floods all over the state. A week later, the weather was so hot the lawn and garden dried out. The sprinkler got a workout. That water could have come from the previous week’s rainstorms if we’d been ready.

I could go on and on. Husband is willing to go Green — to a point. I’d like to convince him to try the simple pieces and move from there. If the rain barrel works well, we could get a second one. If we generate too much compost (if there is such a thing!), we could build the berm we’ve been considering for the back of the yard.

For now, I think I’d better put the hoses and sprinkler away for the winter. And rake leaves. they won’t all fit into the compost bin, so I’ll spread them on the garden. But if we had a second bin…

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>Election Day Memories

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>Favorite bumper stickers:
“I’m pro-accordion and I vote.”
“Republicans for Voldemort”
“A Child is more than a Test Score”

The last one isn’t precisely election related, but it does make a strong statement on current policy.

Best sights to see:
Long lines at the polls (Active participation in Democracy! w00t!!
Campaign signs
“I Voted” stickers on multiple lapels
A thriving and busy campaign office

And this:


Update: Memories? This was the most amazing election day ever. I am so, so proud today.

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>Preparedness: but for what?

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>Over supper we talked about expanding garden again. If we do, we could take in another 10 feet by 8 feet. What would we (I) plant there?
I’m talking about adding asparagus to the garden, but the area may not be wet enough. I’ll look into it. Peas will do better if I place them better. Beans, well, if I get the right seeds, we’ll be in luck. I picked up herb seeds already; hope they last through the winter! I have a new planter that will hang on the deck so the fresh herbs are easily accessible for cooking.
Then there’s my desire for a rain barrel and a second compost bin…

But why? That’s the question. There’s an election coming up in two days, a Packer game today, and Major Test Season starts in school on Tuesday, too. I don’t need to deal with the garden until spring. Well….

The outcome of the election will have a huge impact on our economy. Before the new president even takes office, I predict wild fluctuations on Wall Street and major losses in retirement accounts. No, it’s not what I want, but what I want doesn’t matter. Reality is what matters.

If the economy goes (ever farther) in the dunk tank, my job will become harder and my salary will lag. We in the public sector sometimes enjoy job security; not this time. Our salaries, our workloads, and our benefits are all up for negotiation in times like these. Producing a little more of our own food, improving our diet, and saving a few bucks are all important.
The county has already cut garbage pickup to small businesses. Small companies who used to get garbage and recycling picked up by the local govt. now have to contract privately for this service. When will our residential pickup be cut back? Compost cuts back significantly on the amount of garbage we put on the curb. If service gets cut to biweekly or if we need to pay extra for it, the additional compost bin might pay for itself, not to mention provide me with material for many blog posts.

Our local water treatment plant has expensive repairs due, all out of warranty. This will cost big $$$ that will be reflected in our quarterly water bills and our annual property taxes. a rain barrel (or two!) will cut back on our use of water for the garden and lawn, and contribute to keeping that bill down.

Facing reality isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Planning ahead to make the garden a significant factor in our lives, not just a fun hobby, could be a very good move.

Oh, yes. I mentioned the Packer game today. There’s always a Packer connection. I’m not making my own cheese, but I do grow Packer Beans. 🙂 Aaron Rodgers, get out there and earn that new contract extension!!

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>Money makes the world go round…and voting decides who will control the money

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>”How’re you?”
“Overworked! But that’s good. It means I’m working.”

Indeed. While my salary isn’t keeping up with inflation, is anybody’s?

Health insurance costs are skyrocketing. We’re still negotiating a contract, working under one that expired last summer. Site budget costs increase, leaving us to cut back even further or pay out of our own pockets, out of our lagging paychecks. But at least I still have a paycheck.

I’m getting more vigilant about freebies. Whenever I send in a book order, I look for coupons and bonus items. If I can get a few more books into my students’ hands, it’s always good. I’m reusing paper for copies, assigning more textbook pages than worksheets, increasing my use the overhead and my class’ set of white boards. In a small way, we’re going back to the days of kids and slates.

I’m a scavenger. If another teacher retires and lets us pick through her materials, I’m there.

On the family side, I clip coupons and watch the sales. I’ve used online discount codes to buy ahead for holiday gifts so we don’t have major debt in January. I feel grateful that my husband doesn’t have to wear an expensive suit to work, racking up dry cleaning costs. He and Amigo dress casually, very casually. La Petite is a sale shopper like I am; she’s a frugal college student (is there any other kind?).

And yet I feel pressure, both Husband and I feel pressure, to bring in extra if we can. Our incomes are not growing anywhere near the rate of inflation. Despite our efforts to cut our food budget, we can’t control gas costs, electricity, or heating fuel increases.

The only way I can raise my salary is through earning additional graduate credits, which (you guessed it) costs money. I have to pay for 6 credits every five years to renew my license, but beyond those 6 I have to calculate how much it’s worth. Will the tuition costs return in the form of increased salary or not?

Husband’s 401k went way down in value. He set his head in his hands when the last statement came. My retirement account is fluctuating as well. We’re feeling lucky we’re not retiring anytime soon; our retirement funds have time to regroup and recover (crossing fingers and knocking on wood).

This election has a lot riding on it. The morale of the country has a direct impact on the economy, and the economy has a direct impact on morale. If people aren’t confident about spending, holiday shopping goes stagnant. Retail outlets fail, large companies fail, employees lose their jobs. Those employees don’t have money to spend, spending goes down, morale and confidence sink and the problems spiral larger and larger.

Money? It’s not about the cash or the numbers. It’s about security, stability, knowing that the roof above will stay above our heads and our table will be set tomorrow and the next day.

My workload grows as our budgets get tighter. My job gets more difficult as my students move in and out, can’t do homework because they’re hungry, can’t find shoes to wear in the morning.

Overworked? Yes. But at least I’m working. I’m grateful for that.

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