Saying that Teachers Should Be Valued Shouldn't Be This Controversial

Recently, Key and Peele took on an extremely controversial topic. If you’re not familiar who Key and Peele are, they’re a pair of comedians that have a pretty funny sketch show on Comedy Central. One of their recurring sketches is an “Anger Translator” for President Obama. That one can get controversial, I guess, if you don’t like President Obama. Or anger, I guess. But no, they tackled another subject... Teachers. 

In a recent episode, they showed what the world would be like if we valued... you know, teachers instead of athletes. It was complete with Teacher Center, set up exactly like Sports Center, complete with a Teacher draft and a car commercial at the end where a teacher was doing the driving (and took a bite of an apple... nice touch.) They were paid millions of dollars for their teaching ability. Plays were shown where they showed teachers getting involved. 

In short, it was a pretty good sketch. I know it’s been shared. Then I made a cardinal mistake of the internet. I looked at the comments. 

Yes, I know that I shouldn’t look at the comments of just about anything. But I was curious to see what people were saying about this sketch. Listen, I’m also very aware that the internet, because of it’s anonymous nature people are crueler than they need to be, because nothing makes you braver than zero consequences. 

But I was surprised at the sheer amount of vitriolic comments being lobbed at teachers. They were nothing that I hadn’t seen before... 

“Teachers get three months off!” 

“I thought that teachers said that parents were supposed to be important! Why aren’t we saying the same about parents!”

“Teachers are lazy!” 

“They just teach to the test!” 

“Football players have talent!” 

I don’t know why it got to me so much this time, but it did, and I posted something about it on my personal Facebook page. Then I realized I had a blog, and I have my own forum to post these things. Plus I went through the teaching program, so I have a better insight than some guy who finds the time to post their hatred for teachers on a video shown by a pair of comedians. (Who are talented in their own way. And as of this video, smarter than many of the people who commented on it.) 

Let’s start with my favorite myth: The myth of the three months off. I know this is the go-to on the “lazy teacher” crowd. What they don’t realize is that is a majority of teachers don’t, in fact, get three months off. Some of that is spent keeping up with the constantly changing requirements to maintain a teaching license. A majority of it is spent planning for the new year, once again changing plans based on random changes that are being made. (More on that in a minute.) And who do you think teaches Summer School? You know that school that is filled with kids that don’t want to learn? Yeah. Lazy. (That was sarcasm. Ask a teacher what that means.)

The problem is that we no longer value education anymore. We have politicians running for President on a platform of dismantling education rather than helping it. Not fringe candidates, either, actual, “hey put me on TV” candidates. Not the people claiming to be Jesus reincarnated or who are running their candidacy out of their parents’ basements. We have changes to school textbooks not suggested by actual scholars, but by people with agendas... and it’s being accepted. There are entire states that make teaching the least appealing job in the world, then wonder why there’s a shortage. (Thanks, Kansas!) It’s fun to scream about standardized tests or Common Core for some people, but did anyone stop to think about why this is a big deal? Is it because a bunch of people got into a room and said “we need to do this” without stepping into a classroom. (The answer is yes. I’m high on the rage and sarcasm today.)

In this country, we no longer value the ability to be smart or rationalize. And the people being demonized by this are the teachers. 

I won’t argue that all teachers are perfect. In fact, the opposite. We do have a lot of bad teachers, because the teaching profession isn’t designed to accept the best and the brightest. I don’t talk a lot about my personal experiences with why I quit the teaching field. But maybe it’s time that I should. 

When I first got into the classroom, I wasn’t filled with the delusion that I would change every life. And see, that’s the problem right there. I went in, already cynical from what I’d observed. And the problem is, no one wants to counter that. There’s a defeatist attitude that comes in a little bit with teaching. A sense that there are some things you can’t change... and mostly because teachers lack the support of parents and administrators. It’s tough to blame the administrators who are under severe pressure from a lot of different places. But parents? Not supporting teachers? Seriously? We’ve reached that point, and that’s sad. 

I have more, but like I said, that’s my personal experience. Not everyone had this experience, I’m sure. And I will say that most of the people I’ve kept in touch with from my teaching program have made amazing teachers. Probably a result of us knowing Zenkov, a professor who made sure we were amazing teachers. But at the end of the day, I can tell you that not everyone I was in class with was going to be a good teacher. A lot for these reasons. Some for others. I don’t know I’m ready to go into that part fully. Let’s keep this post’s focus on teachers, and how we need to encourage them to do their best. 

So, two comedians put out sketch where they decided we should all try valuing teachers. The thing is, I don’t know how we can disagree with them. Yeah, it’s cool that some guy can throw a ball really far. I love football. It’s fun, but when we get to the Coca-Cola Half Time Report Presented by Taco Bell’s Pepsi Half Hour... maybe our focus can be going elsewhere. Maybe our focus does need to be on this profession that is attempting to make another generation smarter than the last. The Cowboys lost last week. That’s a great distraction. But it doesn’t really tell me anything about the classics, how to analyze a math problem, or encourages me to go out and find a new discovery.

Yes, we should want the best of the best to be teaching our kids. But the knee jerk reaction to a video posted by two comedians shouldn’t be to pile on about how proud you are that you told your kid to not listen to a teacher. It shouldn’t be how proud you are of your ignorance, and how listening doesn’t help. 

Teaching is already one of the toughest things in the world. I know. Because I couldn’t do it. We already send them in with as little resources as possible while making them jump through impossible hoops while they’re being badmouthed by Politicians and Parents. Its like sending a solider into battle with half a gun and telling them they they have no support from anyone else. How can we allow that, in good conscience?

Let’s let not just let teachers teach. Let’s support their efforts. Let’s not actively attempt to discourage them from making this next generation smarter, from letting them grow. Let’s remember that we need teachers to make the world a better place. 

One Year Later...

So, it’s been about a year since I made my fateful decision to drop the whole idea of being a High School English Teacher, and made the switch to the far more lucrative Masters in English. Keep in mind, not a year since I made my fateful post, just a year since I made the actual decision. Roundabouts, actually, I know I’m a few days off. I just remember that I went to the Oscar Movie Marathon, and at some point in my sleep deprived, what the hell was Gravity state, I turned to my fateful companions and said, “I don’t want to be a teacher anymore.”

It helped that two of them were asleep and one of them was wearing noise canceling headphones. This meant she got to get the news later over ribs because I felt like giving ribs to people since I do that well. The other two got the news in the car on the way home.

As I’ve mentioned, it wasn’t an easy decision. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. I mean, I was good at teaching. I had gotten all A’s in one of my classes except for the very first one, which I’m not sure what that means but hey… I got all A’s. I worked hard for my position as an intern, which included taking that damn Praxis test more times than I care to count (4) because the Praxis is totally a measure of how good you are going to be as a teacher and not a money making scheme were a standardized test is required by the state, then the people that graciously offer to run that standardized test (for a fee) also happen to offer… what’s this? They happen to offer classes, books, and anything else you may need to PASS said standardized test. 

Wow, that sure is lucky that this company that graciously offers to run the state’s standardized tests (for a fee) also happen to offer all that stuff out of the goodness of their hearts and also for another fee. 

Some people have noticed, too, in my many retellings of my time as an intern/student/teacher that I’m not always as upbeat as the experience as I may have talked about on the blog. One day, I may talk about the whole story. It involves casting some people in a not as good light. But for now, that’s kind of my decision, and when I’m a little further removed, I may talk about some of the other concerns that I have as someone who viewed the teaching world from the outside but on the inside for a little while. The problem is that it involves casting some people in a not-great light, and I know they do not frequent but visit this blog from time to time. I’m not afraid of offending them, I’m just sort of… done with them. 

No, today’s post is all about… where are I now? (Also, I sometimes get people correcting my grammar on these posts, like human versions of the Microsoft paperclips that everyone hated. Yes, I know I wrote “are”. It’s a joke on the articles, “where are they now?” Yes, jokes you have to explain amn’t as funny. See what you made me do?)

I’m a pretty creative person. I actually have an entire novel written about Nicolas Cage trying to take over the world with magic to discuss that. But that’s neither here nor there. But part of this creativity is that I can’t always shut off my brain. From time to time, I’ll lapse into little moments where I try to think about whether or not something looks like a dragon, or whether or not that snow falling is actually little alien spaceships driven to take over the world. It’s actually pretty healthy. But part of this creativity, is that I wondered… what if I stayed with the teaching program?

I probably would be pretty burned out already… I’d be done with my Masters on the one hand, but I’d be stuck in a job I really didn’t enjoy. I wouldn’t have gone to England, probably not even for vacation, because let’s face it, I’d be too busy with finishing my masters and really wouldn’t be in a place to enjoy it. I wouldn’t have gone to see 11 plays, or seen London in so much detail that I can still navigate around certain parts of it like a non-tourist. (But will still take pictures of Big Ben if I get a chance to. Well, the clock tower around Big Ben, because… ok, I’ll stop now.) I wouldn’t be in my dream job advising students, I’d probably be stuck in a house I didn’t like. I wouldn’t have the time to get my creative endeavors done… little known fact is that the part that drove me over the edge was when I wrote my final Bad Shakespeare. Oh, yeah, this blog was ending. I wouldn’t have attended Awesomecon, met Billie Piper, and got her autograph on my arm. I also probably wouldn’t have had the courage to finally get my full sleeve tattoo that I love so much. 

You see, the thing is, for a while I was held back, and the only person hold me back was me. I wanted to go out and do fun things, but I needed to stick with my full time job, save money responsibly, buy a house, have 2.5 children, save for retirement, then… then I could pursue my dreams? But, then, as I grew miserable in my full time job - and this I’ll point out had nothing to do with the job since I loved everyone there… well, not that guy who smacked his lips when he ate. He I just liked. Anyway, I needed a way out, because I was getting burned out and I hated my life. So, I jumped on the teaching thing because I thought it was what I wanted, and it was far more respectable than the “English Majoring” thing I’m doing now. I mean, I don’t have a real office job. I swim coach. I tutor. I advise. I do any of the million things that come my way. It wasn’t until I realized that I was holding myself back was the problem. 

And we all do this. We take a look at people’s lives around us and we think, “why don’t I have a house? Why don’t have a job that pays a billion dollars a year?” The thing we never ask ourselves, “will this make me happy?” 

Turns out that it took about eleven years, but I learned the very important lesson that being happy is way more important than fitting in any day.

So, it’s been a year. I’ve had some amazing adventures… things I never thought I’d do. I’ve made some decisions about my life. Important ones. I’ve been able to admit to myself all those things that I didn’t think a responsible adult would be able to admit to himself. Is some of it selfish? Hell, yeah it is. We need to get over the idea that all selfishness is bad. A lot of selfishness, as it turns out, is pretty awesome, as long as you’re not hurting anyone. But my point is that none of my adventures or growth as a person would be possible if I didn’t sit back and say, “oh. I don’t like what I’m doing. Let’s move forward.” 

It’s been a great year. Now, let’s see what adventures the next year is going to bring. 

Banned Books Week: Trusting Teachers, Parents, and Kids

For information on Banned Books Week and what you can do, please visit the American Library Association’s page on Banned Books right here.

It’s the time of year again. That time when I dust off ye olde soap box and pull out ye olde megaphone and start dropping some awareness and knowledge about something that’s near and dear to my heart.

That’s right, everyone it’s Banned Books Week. Depending on where you stand on this issue, It’s time to bring out the pitchforks and torches, or to bring out the high fives and supermodels. Either way, it’s going to be an interesting week.

Since I first typed out the first few pages of Bad Shakespeare, I’ve talked about Banned Books, not just during this week, but whenever I find a particularly amusing story about book bans (or attempted book bans… more on that later this week) that have gone through for whatever reason. And the response has been interesting….

I have been called names. I have been emailed and attacked. I’ve bee called names that I personally thought people who wanted books banned didn’t want to use. But, I’ve been told that I’m doing a good job. i have been told this is an important issue, and I’ve been told that I’m bringing awareness to something in an amusing way.

What can I say. They all hit up my ego, so I’m going to keep going with it. But I’ve already said a lot about Banned Books. I’ve said a lot about which books are banned that I felt shouldn’t be banned. I’ve said things about the ways some of the bans go about. So never fear, loyal readers, I’m going to do my best to repeat myself too much.

Disloyal readers, feel free to browse the archives. Also, I’m not going to really apologize to you because I feel if I repeat myself to you, it’s at least new.

You see, because I was raised not to just believe something and then roll with it (Thanks mom and dad) I actually don’t just do research by finding the five people who think like I do, read what they have to say, then congratulate myself on a job well done. No, I actually do research and I’ve heard some of the arguments in favor of banning books. Some of them are reasonable. Some of them are downright terrifying. And while I can respect the point of view of some of the book banners, I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree.

In any event, there are two arguments I read on pages of people who wanted to ban books that I wanted to discuss. One I’m going to discuss today. The other, I’m going to discuss tomorrow.

For today, I want to discuss the go-to for people who want to ban books (and one of the things that I’m really passionate about) and that’s “We just want the book pulled from the classroom, not from the school! The other students can read it in the library.”

I’m going to pull the curtain back for a second, and get real with all of you for a minute. (If this were a movie, this were the point that I’d prop my leg up on a chair, non-menacingly to let you know that I’m your buddy while you roll your eyes because I’m not your buddy.) I want to explain one of the frustrations I had while trying to get my teaching degree.

Imagine you’re at work. You worked very, very, very, hard to get where you were. Now, imagine that your job requires you to take extra training. In fact, part of your training requires you to do the job itself while being evaluated by three different people and not getting paid. When you’re done with your training, and you get a job in a field that’s rapidly losing funding, you have to re-new your training once every couple of years.

With all that training, including the current stuff, you should consider yourself pretty knowledgeable.

Now, one day, someone comes into your work and tells you that you can’t do something. The have no training, and their knowledge of what you are doing is limited to a few TV shows, some things they read online, and maybe a form letter they were asked to fill out. They don’t know what you do. They just want you to stop doing it, because it offends them.

That’s pretty much what it’s like to be a teacher in some places, especially ones where a book is being removed from the curriculum.

Teachers already have a limited resources when they pick a book. Is it a book being used in the county/state/area? Are there enough? Has it been through a vetting process already?  Which teachers are going to use that book? That doesn’t include the fact that books being used in the classroom, even if they are approved through everything else and being used, have to be justified to the school board, and plans to use the book have to be made well in advance.

But people want these books pulled for a variety of reasons. And (I’ve made this point time, and time, and time again) rather than discussing these reasons with kids, some parents just want to bury their heads in the sand. They want to yell at teachers. They want to teach their kids that teachers aren’t to be respected, and then wonder why test scores go down or kids act out in class. That’s what it comes down to. Respect, or lack thereof, that a teacher who has been through this training is unable or unwilling to pick a book “correctly”.

People (not just kids) need to be challenged. They grow and prosper when new things are thrown at them. But here’s the thing: It’s ok to disagree. It’s ok to sit your kids down and say, “we don’t use this word because…” or “we don’t believe this because…” Any GOOD teacher will take that into consideration when assigning a final assignment or grading. If there’s a problem with a teacher mocking your kids’ beliefs, THEN you should get involved. But what’s wrong with having some kind of challenge?

There’s also some book banning based on the “appropriateness” of the content. The thing is… who decides what’s appropriate for all students? I still laugh when I think about the documentary Bully that was rated R, keeping kids (the target audience) from seeing it… because of words that the kids used in the movie! If you want to teach your kids what is appropriate, then why not use this as a jumping off point? “That’s not something we do.” Discuss. Don’t bury.

Plus, remember the point I keep making: don’t teach your kids to disrespect teachers, and that’s what you do when you say, blow up at  school board meeting because the kids are reading something you don’t like. Don’t teach your kids that teachers are the enemies, then sit around and wonder “why aren’t they learning?” or wonder what happened to test scores or the American Education System.

Bottom line, rather than being reactionary when it comes to books, why don’t you try to work with your kids through it? Why don’t you trust not only teachers to teach, but kids to understand it? Why don’t you trust your skills in raising your kids to let them know what you believe is right or wrong? Don’t make kids fear something because it has a dreaded sex scene, or because it may contain… the F-word. (gasp.)

Trust and Respect. Important things to remember.

Life, Wesley, and Time Traveling Aliens

I’ve long chronicled my absolute love of Star Trek on this blog. I first got into it a little bit with re-runs of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, boldly going to gangster worlds or cowboy worlds. I reveled in the adventures of Picard and Riker. I really loved the complex writing and characterizations with Sisko, Odo, and O’Brien. And I certainly tolerated the adventures put forth by the rest. (Voyager and Enterprise weren’t as bad as everyone said, but that’s another post for another day.)

I also have been chronicling my adventures in figuring out just who I am. It started this year with the confirmed revelation that I didn’t want to be a high school teacher, something that I allowed myself to be defined by for so very long, whilst getting into graduate school (again) for more study in the field of English, getting my masters degree in Literature. I was surprised, the other day, when the two things dovetailed together in an interesting way, and I learned something I probably should have thought about a long time ago.

All of this introduction brings us to how my life was forever changed by everyone’s least favorite character, Wesley Crusher.

For those of you who don’t know, Wesley Crusher was introduced in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation as the son of the ship’s doctor, Beverly Crusher. His father had served with Captain Picard back when he wasn’t so-Captain-Picard, and well, some of his command decisions resulted in his father’s death. It’s also important to note that while Wil Wheaton is a very cool guy now, Wesley Crusher really wasn’t that accepted by a lot of fans. Let’s put it this way: Yeah, Star Trek is cool now, but there was a time when it wasn’t and you hid your fandom away. But even Star Trek nerds (back when nerd was a bad thing) made fun of Wesley. 

Wesley’s path was laid out pretty early on in the show. He started as a kid, fascinated with how a Starship ran. Things changed around the first season “Where No One Has Gone Before” where the Enterprise encountered a being named “The Traveler”, because his name was unpronounceable by humans. (Bear with me on this… I have a point.) In any event, there was some spaceship shenanigans and the Enterprise was thrown to the edge of the universe where everyone started suffering from space madness or something. Wesley was able to help get the ship back, and the Traveler told Picard, “He’s going to be important. Don’t tell anyone.”

Of course, then Picard told everyone, apparently, but that’s beside the point.

Picard, taking this to mean that he should encourage Wesley’s natural talent, promoted him to acting ensign where he had to wear an even dorkier sweater, but nonetheless was on the path to join Starfleet. Eventually, Wesley does join Starfleet, and does what everyone expects of him: tries to be the best that everyone thinks of him.

Here’s where I start to empathize. Later in the series, he comes back for a visit and he’s moody, depressed, and not really sure where he fits in. There’s an episode that features the Enterprise trying to remove a colony from a planet that had been negotiated back to an alien empire. Wesley thought it was wrong to remove these people, and resigned from Starfleet Academy. Against the expectations of well… everyone.

See, the thing is, he had a ton of support. I had a ton of support when I was going to be teacher. More support than I ever thought I would get. And I can understand how easy it is to get caught up in the “rah-rah” ness of it all. Just like in Star Trek, Starfleet is the ultimate goal for a lot of people, and it’s not easy to get in. Several times over the course of the series, Wesley would try to get into Starfleet but Wil Wheaton’s contract as a regular wasn’t up he would get rejected. This wasn’t easy.

Rewatching “Journey’s End” was important to me at this point. Wesley doesn’t quit Starfleet for some concrete reason. He doesn’t quit what’s supposed to be the best thing in the galaxy that millions of different aliens tried to get into for a solid purpose. He quit it because it “wasn’t for him”. But the important thing, and what I struggled with and couldn’t really articulate for a while, is that he quit for the unknown.

Teaching provided a clear path for me. I took XXXX class which fed into XXXX class, which fed into an internship, which fed into teaching, which fed into whatever. Like Wesley, I took a leap of faith when I exited the internship program. Granted, I wasn’t following a mystical alien onto other plains of existence, but sometimes it felt like that. I didn’t have a full time job, I didn’t have a real plan other than I knew that teaching wasn’t for me. And now, I’m enrolled in an English Program and I don’t have a full time job, but a series of part time jobs that are cobbled together into a full time job. (And I’ve never been happier, mind you.)

This episode just randomly aired one day while I was flipping through the channels. What was odd was that I don’t normally watch that much television during the day… this was an exception. But for the first time, watching Wesley remove his uniform, become his own man… I started to understand my own feelings about what I was scared of in my new path. Having something set in front of you that’s pretty stable then changing it for a wide open adventure… that’s the definition of leap of faith. 

I’ve often said that literature and inspiration come from many different places. It just surprised me that it came from this unlikely source. It surprised me that I was finally able to articulate what I wanted from life. It surprised me that something I watched so many years ago then put away would have this much influence on me. But it did. A lot. And I’m glad it did. And while I do wish that my new worldview came from the sooth baritone of Captain Sisko, or the Universal worldliness of Captain Picard… I’m glad it came from the guy who was trying to find himself. The guy who just wanted to do what was right. The guy who wanted to live up to his potential, and got caught up in what that meant. Wesley Crusher. 

Teaching vs... well, Teaching, I Guess

As some of you know, I recently decided to change my graduate school focus from “Teaching Secondary Education with a concentration in English” to “English Literature.” Or as some of you have let me know, “You selfish [something stronger than jerk but I’m going to go with jerk because it’s my blog and I get to write what I want], think about the children.” I’d like to say it was a long transition, filled with peril and adventure, but other than a few negative comments and needing to update my immunization record, I just had to reapply, then cross my fingers until I got into the new program. Then I was in.

Allow me to clarify real quick (I sum up): The decision to leave the education program was a long, difficult decision and I catalogued it all right here. That being said, the actual physical act of saying, “I want to be in the English Program instead of the Education program” just involved taking some paperwork and refilling it out. Mostly because I had been accepted to the English Program, back when I first thought that “hey, maybe I don’t want to be a teacher anymore,” but then talked myself out of it because, well, what I’m about to get into.

Being in the English Program now, I had to register for classes, and that’s when it truly and totally hit me that I was no longer studying to be a teacher. I mean, I obviously had inclinations before, mostly that I was no longer showing up at my internship anymore, and for some reason I got a lot less of the teacher jokes that were posted on Facebook. 

The biggest difference, for me, is mainly that I have such a wide variety of classes to choose from. Back when I was studying Education, it was a pretty clear cut path: You take this class, then you take this class, after that you take this class, then internship, then you’re a fully licensed teacher with all the rights, privileges, and access to Facebook jokes you can muster. It’s a strange feeling knowing that I can take “Introduction to Cinema” or “World Literature” and it’s all because I want to, and it’s what I choose to learn.

I keep telling people that for three years, I felt like I was in the world’s longest job interview. I’d take a class, then at the end people would ask me, “how was it? Do you want to continue?” Of course, the atmosphere is supportive, so it was more like, “How was it? You want to continue.” I don’t meant that in a bad way, necessarily, but it’s easy to get wrapped up in it all. I know at least one other person in my class that ended up dropping out of the Education program for a lot of the same reasons i did. I probably should have listened when she talked to me, and I had the same debate. 

But it was this long, focused job interview, and at the end, I knew what I’d be doing: getting a resume together and going off somewhere and teaching. The goal is pretty similar with what I’m doing now: I eventually want to teach, just at the college level with all my newfound college smartiness. Also, write and publish things that make people scratch their chins and go “hmmm.” As opposed to now when then scratch their heads and go “whaaaa?” 

I guess it just surprises me, the big change that comes with switching like this. I spent to much time focused on the one goal, having this option and control over what I want to study is almost overwhelming. I say “almost.” Because there really is an Introduction to Cinema class, and hey, I’m going to take it. Because I’m me. And have you not been paying attention?

       But it's an exciting new journey that's remarkably similar to the old one in some ways. I'm going to have to take classes, do my best, and probably have to finish a lot more reading. Like, a lot. 

This also ties into what I was wondering back in March about the direction of Bad Shakespeare. So much of it has been tied into my becoming a teacher, I wondered where it was going to go. Some of you have even noticed less posting, and that’s because I was wondering what I was going to do with it. I love writing this blog. 

I’m looking forward to figuring out what wacky adventures I’m getting into next. 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T... Let's Start Doing it!

Back when I decided to leave the teaching program, I wondered how much more time I was going to spend on this blog talking about teaching issues. Yes, it’s sort of morphed into a science fiction/comedy/whatever I feel like writing that day blog, but the original intent was going to explore my thoughts on teaching, as well as my thoughts on the state of education today. Originally, I wasn’t going to discuss it anymore. Then I had a thought… everyone stare out into space with me for a minute with this thought, as you sure envisioned me doing… but I thought about if for a second… I’m the perfect person to talk about some of the issues affecting classes today, because part of my frustrations are tied up in what’s going on out there now. So I’m going to cover what I feel I need to cover.

Second little caveat: The following post contains opinions on not one but TWO controversial topics. I believe these are different opinions than most, but since it’s already caused a problem when I announced I was going to write about them, I’m giving you that caveat. Feel free to disagree. Feel free to agree. But as with anything, I don’t want you going away from this blog post angry. I just want you to go away.

Recently, two big news stories have hit the internet that not only involve education, but hey involve reactionaries commenting without thinking about it, and ultimately, fighting and name-calling. I’m  not against any of these, but in a more enlightened fashion. Also, all of the fighting and name calling miss the big picture of what’s going on.

Firstly there’s the story out of New Hampshire, which, depending on which website you decide to read, a brave father was bravely handcuffed for fighting the smut his child had to read. Or, if you read another set of headlines, a dad violated the speaking time while protesting a book, continued to speak, and eventually had to be taken away and was charged with disorderly conduct. If you want to know which side a website is on this issue, just go to google and check out the headlines. It’s actually kind of hilarious.

Now, a lot of people are standing up and cheering the father as a brave crusader against forcing kids to read a book. Now, by this point everyone knows where I stand on the issue of book banning (it’s bad. It’s always. Bad.), on the issue of censorship (also: bad.), on the issue of difficult topics with children (if you tell them it’s bad, they’ll think it’s bad, and think they can’t talk to you about it) and on the issue of discussion (it’s always good.) Sorry, boys and girls fo the jury, this dad was in the extreme wrong here, but not for the reasons you think.

I’ll start off with the fact that I’ve not read the book in question: 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult, thus I’m not going to speak about the appropriateness of the book in question. (See what I did there, everyone… I didn’t know, so I didn’t pretend to know, and then force everyone to listen to my opinion!) The one, highlighted section seems pretty bad, but nothing worse than what I’ve seen on television today. The book itself, about bullying and a school shooting seems like a heavy topic, but one that is pretty relevant, so based on that, I’d like to say kids (and some adults) should check it out. But since I don’t know, I’m not going to advocate for it.

The problem is that people are getting behind this father because of his brave opposition in the face of a despotic school board that is forcing kids to read trash. My problem with this is that he wasn’t pulled away because of his protest. He was pulled away because he violated the speaking rules of the school board. He wanted people to know his opinion, and then essentially threw a temper tantrum when asked to stop speaking. My guess: had he lost out on time because someone else did the same thing in support of the book, we’d be reading different headlines.

This problem further gets compounded by the fact that now his daughter is stepping forward, and making this an issue of the teachers and the school, and saying how she can’t trust them.

It’s NOT AN ISSUE OF THE BOOK, WHICH THE SCHOOL BOARD ALLOWED HIM TO SPEAK ABOUT. It’s an issue of LISTENING AND RESPECTING THE RULES THAT EVERYONE ELSE HAD TO LISTEN TO. The hilarious part of this story is that the School board realized that in the 7 years since the book was used in schools, the teachers sent out letters informing parents this was being read. And then the school board agreed: yeah, they should have sent it out. This guy threw a temper tantrum for essentially nothing. 

So, basically, what this father did was teach his daughter not to trust or respect teachers. Then, later, we’ll all sit and wonder why teachers can’t teach. He was willing to yell and scream and throw his hands up… while violating the rule that everyone before him followed out of courtesy so he had the chance to speak… and everyone focuses on this “brave crusader.” He’s not brave. He’s a coward who tried to bully his position into place, and thought nothing would happen to him. And then he taught his kid that people with different opinions aren’t worthy of your respect. And that’s so sad.

This was a disturbing trend I’ve noticed: Everyone has spent time in a classroom, so everyone thinks they know what and how to teach. I started this blog to chronicle my time learning to be a teacher. The key word here: LEARN. I had to spend extra time in classrooms, I had to spend time figuring out what I was going to teach, the right way to teach it, the right way to teach it FOR specific learners, and just how it’s all going to change tomorrow because someone who hasn’t spent time in a classroom since June of their senior year has decided they wanted it taught that way.

Nothing seems to be setting this off more than the dreaded… Common Core. Depending on your take on this, you read it in a scary voice, or you read it in a normal voice. Either way, keep going. A smart man once said, “you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but you sure can piss everyone off pretty quickly.”

The thing is this. Common Core was developed by a bunch of people who did spend time in schools, did spend time thinking about things, and did spend time figuring it out ways to teach people. It was put into place by a bunch of people haven’t had any extra training, think that there’s only one way to do things, and doesn’t have a clue.

It’s almost as if the planet doesn’t operate under strictly black or white rules, but a world where… I don’t know, if you do research and take a look around, things might be a little gray. Just a little. 

Throw out the words “Common Core” and you either get told how you’re an idiot and questionable remarks made about whether or not your parents may or may not have been related before the marriage, (Like a Lannister, and Joffrey turned out… never mind…) or you get clapped on the back like a rising hero, just like Joffrey before… never mind on that, too. 

The thing is, Common Core has some GREAT parts to it. And it has some SUCKY parts to it. And for some people, those sucky parts are great, and for others, the great parts are sucky. Confused let me ‘splain. No, this post is going on kind of long. Let me sum up.

The Common Core is a different way of teaching things that emphasizes understanding over memorization. So, for instance, someone like my brother who was always good at picking things up like math problems or equations, the Common Core is pretty terrible. He doesn’t need to have it explained to him why y fits into the x axis then z will make you travel back in time. My brother is smart, and probably could have built a time machine out of a Delorean by now if they were still readily available. 

However, as the previous example shows, someone like me, who can understand something pretty easily but has a difficult time with memorizing, the Common Core is pretty great. Break it down for me. Allow me to understand it. Allow me to spend time figuring it out. 

The problem is we’ve reached the point where everyone immediately likes or hates it, without understanding why it’s helpful to people. And those that hate it mock it constantly (don’t believe me? You don’t have a friend with kids in school on Facebook. Google that sucker and see all of the complaints.) And the thing is, when we say, “I HATE IT ALL AND THE WORLD SHOULD BURN” what we’re saying is “Hey, you who can’t understand it… the way your’e learning is wrong, and you should probably be beaten with a pool cue until you learn it the right way.” Ok, I’m exaggerating, but people really hate this to the point that I have seen people talk about how their kids won’t learn this crap, without understanding those moments where it’s really helpful. 

**Quick note: They probably won’t. In about four years, someone else will take that work those professionals have worked on, condense from 500, loving, thoughtful pages to 5 lines of sound bites, and pass that off as the brand new way all schools ever will be saved. Trust me.

My point with both of these examples is that we’re taking power away from the people who actually do the teaching, and telling kids, “hey… don’t listen to those teachers that have spent time learning and exploring their craft. You don’t have to listen to those people who had extra time in school, had to pass tests, and are constantly being re-certified. No, listen to the guy screaming because he doesn’t like the fact that he has to adhere to the same two minute time rule as everyone else. Hey, listen to these guys who say it’s SO EASY… never mind you don’t understand it.”

We need to stop shutting down teachers. We need to stop acting as if teachers and people who work in a school are somehow exempt from basic human respect. Let’s take that father in New Hampshire. Let’s say I went to his place of business that was having a “complaint day” where everyone can air their problems with his company. Let’s say I’m so outraged over something, I demand to go over the allotted time I’ve been given - the same amount of time given to everyone else - and they have to escort me from the premises - how many supporters do I have? Probably not many. 

I also love to eat. Let’s say I walk into a restaurant and start demanding things be done a certain way… my way, and only my way, for EVERYONE. How many supporters do I get? I’m going to guess probably not a whole lot.

So, why do we do this to teachers? Why do we do this to schools?

It’s easy, actually, let teachers teach. Let’ teachers do what they need to do without complaining every five seconds about useless things. Let’s follow the rules of decorum. Let’s stop teaching our kids that teachers don’t matter. 

It's a Great Plan. I'm Excited to Be Part of It.

“I’d rather be happy than right any day.” 

-Douglas Adams

I’ve told many different versions of this story, depending on the listener. For you, gentle readers, and in some cases those that have heard a different version of this story, I’m going to give you this version. Which one is correct? The one that you prefer, I guess. What I’m writing here is as accurate as I’m choosing to be.

I don’t remember the date, but I remember that it was sunny out, one of those few days in late February that lulled the Washington, DC Area into believing that we were going to have an early spring before being sucker punched with a few more feet of snow. (The kids call it the  DC Area “ the DMV” for DC, Maryland, and Virginia, forgetting that the real DMV is a miserable place that no one wants to visit, which I guess is true of the DMV in late August.) I was using the daily half an hour afforded to me to race between my teaching internship and work when I was stopped at one of the many scenic stoplights that “The DMV”  has for people to wait at. As I looked over to my left, carefully calculating out how long it was been since I was last late to work and thus if I could stop for that sub at Wawa or if I could wait until dinner, when he entered my field of view.

This gentleman was not a man I had seen before. Given the number of people that are crammed into the DMV, it’s no surprise it’s someone I haven’t seen in the past; it’s actually more surprising to find someone you have seen before. The gray in the beard hinted at his age, but I wasn’t 100% certain. I couldn’t see his hair or eyes, as they were covered in a motorcycle helmet. Which made sense, since he was currently sitting atop of one, tattooed arms on both of the handles, one briefly moving up to his bearded face to remove the cigar that was clenched in between his teeth. He puffed out a cottony gray cloud of smoke. The motorcycle made a loud rumble to announce that that he had arrived. He placed the cigar back into his mouth, saw that I was looking at him. It must have been a look that demonstrated the awe I felt in that moment, because he let out a little nod, then took off into the daylight, ready to go wherever it was he felt like going at this moment. If you pardon the expression, this was a gentleman that clearly did not give one single fuck. 

I did not get a Wawa sub. 

Carefully checking the time to ensure that I was not going to be late (as if I had some control of the traffic which on a Wednesday afternoon went between “light” and “oh my God press the gas pedal why don’t you press the gas pedal why are we stopped?”) I mentally made a plan for the next day in my head. Continue to listen to a book on iTunes the class was “reading”... check. Make sure everyone was ready to work on the upcoming seminar... check. Think about an introduction to Julius Caesar... check. Get ready to write 7 page paper on school demographics... check. Get ready to write another paper on learning for my internship... check. Get motorcycle, cigar, and grow beard... 

My mind kept drifting back to this gentleman. I don’t know why, and it wasn’t until later that I even realized that had been thinking of him so much. And then I realized why it was. That man was happy. That man was enjoying himself in a way that I don’t think most of us know how. He could have had a terrible, crappy, miserable life, but at that moment, he was happy.

Then I started thinking about me. I was now doing what I had fought, studied and sacrificed for. I have spent a while chronicling my adventures on this website in my effort to become a high school teacher. I talked about my successes in class. I’ve talked about my desperation at not passing the Praxis 2. I talked about my excitement at finally, finally getting to be an intern. I even reminded everyone that I was somewhat realistic, knowing that I wouldn’t reach every kid. I started my internship...

... And I was miserable.

Now, let me pause in this self-journey to let everyone know that I had no problem with my mentor teacher, the administration, the classes, the students, the professor in charge of the class I had to take, or the school. In fact, I will still point out to this day that  I was extremely lucky in getting my Mentor Teacher - he clearly cared about teaching, the students, and making sure I had a great experience. I was lucky in the school. For privacy purposes I’ll leave out the names, but I clearly had a great school in a great area with some great students. The administration took an interest in my, ensuring that I got the opportunity to do what I wanted. The professor in the class I had to take ensured that everything was comfortable. 

Basically, I want to make sure it’s 100% something to do with me. Not anything to do with anybody. We good? Any other questions? No? I’ll continue.

...And I was miserable. I really had to think about why. The thing was, it was stressful. I mean, I was interning what amounted to a full day of “work”, then I’d go work as a Swim Coach which is time consuming, but not extremely taxing in terms of having a lot to do. The thing is, it’s still nothing I haven’t done before. I’ve worked full time while having classes or things to do in the evening. I’ve had full day presentations, sometimes in front of generals and audiences not as forgiving as high school students. Which, despite a lot of what you might hear, are pretty forgiving. I mean, to an extent, but that’s just human nature.

The thing is, you can only be so miserable for so long before realizing that this isn’t the path you’re meant to be on, no matter how hard you fought to convince yourself to be on it.

Now, after seeing Motorcycle Cigar Guy, I started to think long and hard about why I was miserable, and why I worked so hard to be on a path that ultimately made me miserable. Then I realized I had tried to get off the path a couple of times before. I even found an old email I had written after a class that went well, asking about transferring out of the Education Program onto something else.  The phrase I kept using was, “this just wasn’t for me.”

“It wasn’t for me” is probably the second most confusing phrase you can use in the English Language right behind “I didn’t enjoy Joss Whedon’s Firefly.” With that one, it’s just a simple matter of trying to understand why someone didn’t enjoy the best motley crew of space outlaws the world has ever seen. But with “it wasn’t for me” it raises all sorts of questions people that I don’t have the answer to. What does that phrase even mean? I used it and I’m still not entirely sure. I just knew that teaching Secondary Education “wasn’t for me.” 

For me, the phrase, “wasn’t for me” simply meant that while I believe Teaching to be a noble profession and I having nothing but respect for teachers... in fact some of my very good friends are high school teachers... I wasn’t enjoying teaching the way I thought I was. The thing was, after doing it, after standing in front of a classroom, I just knew that this was something that was no longer for me. It was something that I didn’t want to do, and I knew I hadn’t want to do for a very long time. It was something that I thought I wanted to do, and when I wanted out I listed to everyone’s encouragement. Well needed encouragement. Encouragement that I needed, encouragement that I at the time I wanted... but encouragement in the wrong direction.

Again, I want to thank everyone who gave me encouragement. I certainly needed it. Without it, I probably would have left this path sooner and probably would have been found wondering if this was my path, because it was something I was always curious about.

Which is why, after motorcycle guy and several long discussions that I should have had oh, let’s say a year and a half ago, I made the decision to leave my internship, leave the education program, and head off onto another path.

Whew. That’s a lot of buildup to what this post is even about. Almost a full post and a half. 

To outsiders, this looked like a spur of the moment, wow-you’re-overwhelmed, hey-what-are-you doing? decision. But it wasn’t. I have this problem, and I’m fully aware of it. No matter what I’m doing, I throw myself into it almost too fully. Bad job? No problem, let’s see what I can do to make things better. Bad relationship? Hey, nothing’s perfect, I need to make sure I commit myself to this. Bad TV Show? I need to find out what’s going to happen next week on an all new Revolution! It’s my deal and I’m aware of it. And when I got involved with the Education Program, despite the fact that after the first class was done, I started to identify myself as a teacher and nothing else, and that made it very difficult to find out what I wanted.

The truth is, I know what I want to do. I want to be a writer. I want to study literature, because I really enjoy it. I enjoy reading something that someone has written - anyone be it a centuries old novel about a guy that fights windmills, or a modern, futuristic, post-dystopian young adult novel novel about a girl that fights space windmills.  (I shall call it, Donna Quixote, make it a trilogy, and get Jennifer Lawrence to star. I’ll make a billion dollars.) And it’s taken me a long time to admit this, mostly because being a writer isn’t as noble a profession as teaching, and wanting to study dusty old works doesn’t really sound like a viable career choice when so many around you have found themselves at this point, have fancy homes, 2.5 kids, great jobs. It was hard enough going back and doing an internship then, but having to mention that you want to spend the time reading books, then writing great things about them.

The big question I’ve had to ask myself is why don’t I continue with the internship, get a job teaching then run off and do then teach while I get another degree to study? Because it’s not what I want to do, and I’m tired of waiting to do what I want to do. I want to walk into next semester and study English. I don’t want to delay anymore.

And this whole thing has been a positive experience. If I can study hard and figure out a Praxis test for something I only marginally want, how much harder am I going to work for something I really want? I had a good time with my fellow classmates, and I still learned something, even if it was just about myself. Plus, if It allowed me to start this blog, which will continue even if the focus is off teaching for a little bit.

So, what’s next? A lot of studying. Applying to graduate school again, this time for the English Program, where I’ll study all the great works, and past and present. A ton of reading. But that’s the plan. And it’s a great plan. And it’s the one that I want to do. I’m reinvigorated. 

It’s been a long journey. Not one that I intended to take. I strayed off my path for a little bit. But I saw a quote that I absolutely love, from an old TV Show called My Name is Earl. “That’s the great thing about having a path. Even if you stray off of it, it’s waiting for you when you get back.” I know that I strayed for a little bit. I had some good experiences. But it’s time to get back to what Michael B. Hock was meant to do. Study great works of literature while writing about them while being so awesome that it’s hard to stare directly at me without sunglasses.

Time to put on bike helmet, light up the cigar, and hop on that motorcycle, and get my life back on track. 

Reflection on my Reflections.

        When I started this blog roughly two years ago, it was going to be primarily a blog about my journey from mild mannered whatever I was doing, to becoming a teacher. As I doubted that I was going to become a teacher, and I was unsure about my future, the blog became a little bit more about me - science fiction (I still have a Doctor Who post waiting in the wings for me to unleash on you all), books, Nicolas Cage, writing, and whatever I really felt like posting. Then I had a really bad experience with a job - probably one of the worst experience I dealt with - and I realized that yes, I did want to be a teacher. I guess as much as I dislike this particular situation, I owe them all thanks. They’re not going to get it, but I owe it to them.

Yes, for a little bit during my education process, I doubted that I wanted to even be a teacher. Between the horror stories about the internship, the constant reminder that I’d be working with kids all day (and the way some people said it that made it sound like I’d be working with convicted murderers all day), and the constant stream of parents, politicians, and various pundits all reminding me about how lazy I was for picking my future career, it hasn’t been easy. But sometimes, doubt creeps in, and you just need to be reminded what the right path was. 

As noted, a mere week ago I started my internship at a High School near or around the county in which I live. If you’re wondering if I’m being vague, then yes, you’re absolutely correct! There are moments I want to be specific... in fact if you want to know where I’ll be on March 1st and 2nd, that’s contained in this blog. You can probably figure out my name, and this entire thing is linked to a Facebook page. But I’m going to be somewhat vague when discussing this out on the blogo-info-whatever-sphere. 

That brings me to my next dilemma. And I’m not talking about the underrated song by Nelly and Kelly Rowland. How much of my internship do I want to discuss here, on Bad Shakespeare. I mean, up until this point this has been an education blog with occasional moments of insanity. This blog has been about me and my pursuit to become the world’s greatest teacher, or in the very least, a teacher. So, how much of the original stuff should I avoid?

Turns out the answer is: Most of it. You see, as I’m getting more and more information about just what it is I’ll be doing, I’m finding out that I’m going to have to write roughly 4 papers about my experiences a week. That’s more than I write about Bad Shakespeare, if you can’t tell. And I was wondering how much I should put down, and whether I can work on it for the blog, or whatnot... the thing is, I can’t. I want the reflections to be an honest portrayal of what I’m doing and how I’m feeling, and I don’t know that I can put all of that up here for everyone (re: future employers) to see. I mean, while I’ve had some awesome experiences, I’ve had some ones that I need to discuss and work out in my head. Nothing so terrible that I’m rethinking my future career, just little things that I don’t want to get completely out, and I don’t want to get out of hand. 

Plus, at some point, I’m going to need a break from thinking about this teaching stuff. The Student Teacher thing is an odd duck if you think about it: on the one hand I get to pay over $5000 for the honor to get to work a job I won’t get paid for and I can’t have another job to pay the rent, on the other I have to constantly think about it to the point that I had a dream where I had to go back and teach people from a previous job - people I liked - and they all made fun of me. 

Stress Dreams! Hooray!

I’ll occasionally update this blog with stories about what happened, and at some point I may even throw in one of those reflection papers if I can find one witty enough, or one that lives up to the high standards set by the Nicolas Cage referencing department of Bad Shakespeare, Inc. But we’ll have to see.

So, continue to wish me luck on my teaching. I hope to update you all soon. In the meantime, continue to read this blog, and continue to enjoy what I have cooked up for everyone!

Bring It On. The Internship. Not the Movie

As of today, I have completed my first official week as an intern! Let’s hear it for 34 year old interns! Woooo! And where am I interning: At a school, to help achieve my ultimate goal of becoming a High School English Teacher. Which granted, isn’t everyone’s goals, but it’s mine and that’s what’s important right now: me. (This is my blog. Want to make it about you? Write your own blog!)

This wasn’t always my goal, even when I was in school. For a brief period, I debated switching my program and becoming a college professor. I even got accepted into the English Program, and all it required was for me to sign on the dotted line, but after some pesky life events, I decided to continue because what I want to do is teach, and I’m tired of delaying. (Remember what we talked about on Monday? Carpe YOLO, which would have been a better title.)

Being an intern is interesting, especially at this age when I’ve been working for a good portion of my life, and I’ve been a working professional for this portion of my life. I mean, at some point you don’t think you’re going to be interning ever again, especially for zero pay and college credit. The plus side: intern-teachers aren’t expected to bring coffee and hang out while the important stuff is going on. 

I have to admit, this is one of the more scarier things I’ve done. As I’ve mentioned: I was comfortable. I was able to relax; I had a decent job that paid well, a cool office, people that I worked with were pretty cool... I really could have survived for a long time as a Government Contractor, and not had to even once deal with not having a full time job for five months. But we return to that idea of comfort.

Once again, I’m sort of posting a “signpost” for myself for me to look back upon at the end of my internship in a few months. I always think it’s interesting to look at how you feel when something starts vs. how it ends. Hopefully I’ll have a whole new perspective on things when all of this is over (I feel that if I don’t, I may have failed a little bit..) So, what do I hope to get out my student teaching internship:

1. The feeling that I made the right decision. Going back to school was a HUGE leap for me. It’s kind of blunt, particularly since I know that a few people have dropped their internships halfway, but I really hope that I making the right choice here. Look, this isn’t dipping your toe into a new career, deciding you don’t like it, then jumping out. This is a HUGE CHANGE that alters everything.
2. An appreciation of what I’m doing. I think that’s important: To truly appreciate what you do. We all have jobs but do you appreciate it? Is it what you want to do? Or are you just there for a paycheck?
3. Survival: The next few months are going to be tough. Long hours, classes, research papers. Imagine you’re in high school, and your after school job is more school. That’s what I’m going to be doing. 
4. A license. This is seriously it, people. This is what I’m going to be doing.
5. An end to the, “Is that what you want to do?” jokes. Seriously. They’re not funny anymore. I’m not in it for the money. I’m obviously in it for the mad respect I’ll get, especially from the politicians who are constantly commenting on teachers what with their vast education experience. 

I’m hoping for this to be an interesting experience. I don’t use the word “rewarding” because I kind of feel it’s overused. (Like “shaming”.) I mean, the ultimate reward is going to be finishing up. I want this to be interesting. I want this to be eye opening. I want this to go well, so I know that I can do it.

Here we go... 

Boo-ya.