And that, my friends, was some unexpected expert alliteration. Follow that with that fantastically fancy consonance. Look at this roll!
Back to the blog. You may be wondering whaaaaaaaaaat we could be celebrating. Well, we are preemptively celebrating that the public is going to have teachers' backs. This blog is not political, but with both Matt and I employed as public school teachers, we have had a hard week. Since this is my only platform to organize and express my thoughts, I need to seize this opportunity. If you are insulted, skip to the first picture and ignore this, but I urge you, what I say is important.
We have had a hard time with our contract negotiations for a variety of reasons, but my biggest insult has been the media. Every time I hear about the collective "us", I am told we are "striking" for a 15% wage increase. This is not the case AT ALL, and is, frankly, a fraction of truth spun so far, it is simply a lie.
Yes, a wage increase of 15% is part of what we asked for in out contract NEGOTIATIONS that were the equivalent of trying to bargain a rock or sharp stick out the baby's hand (also the equivalent of bargaining a steak out of a dog's mouth, also the same as bargaining with said steak, stick or rock), but that is such a small part. Right now, I am fighting for my rights as an employee, and the rights of YOUR children and MINE. If a parent doesn't know what is happening at his or her child's school, he or she can simply log on to the school website or pick up the phone. And if he or she is not receiving marks sent home directly by the child's teacher, a phone call or email will rectify this. We must be one of the only professions that is in the midst of strike action and ends up doing MORE work than previously.
I love my kids (ie students). LOVE. But there are certain aspects of my profession that I am not willing to just roll over and give up. It hurts me that the public, parents specifically, would believe a liar like George Abbott. My eyes are tearing just thinking about this. How can people not have our backs? How can people believe the untruths he spews? The fact that some people side with him and this terrible example of a union-busting government makes me feel like a failure as a teacher. Clearly, we are not teaching critical thinking as well as we think and hope we are.
All this being said, if certain things are stripped from our contracts, I will find a job and leave this profession, as it will simply be turned into another job--although, really, how many other jobs are out there that have no consideration of seniority? I could work at The Bay, as another teacher pointed out, and still be given shifts based on how long I have been there.
Anyway, anyway, I digress. I am emotional over this. I feel our livelihood, and therefore, our small, young family is threatened.
So, we are celebrating. We are celebrating a clean, happy, fair end to these negotiations. Are we hopeful this will happen? Yes. Yes, because we have to be. What else can we be?
Cost: under $10, believe it or not. Here's to sales!
Prep time: like teachers, minimal. Here about 45 minutes.
We ate steak. What kind of steak? It was flavored. "Marinated" flavor. Just kidding. It was a burgundy pepper marinated steak. Very tasty, although I am not sure of the cut and also not willing to search the garbage for the package.
I, in a decidedly advanced move, made twice baked potatoes. We had green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and about a table spoon of shredded cheese (keeping it healthy on accident!). I didn't mash the filling much; my arm was tired and if you wanted it smoother, you should have done it yourself, and it was good anyways, so whatever, Complainer, whatever.
For the veggie, I steamed asparagus, then sauteed it in garlic, pepper, and butter. How much butter? The amount that got stuck on my knife three times. Measure that, sucka! It was delicious.
So, here's to hope! And here is to the last time in a long while we are able to afford steak.
Back to the blog. You may be wondering whaaaaaaaaaat we could be celebrating. Well, we are preemptively celebrating that the public is going to have teachers' backs. This blog is not political, but with both Matt and I employed as public school teachers, we have had a hard week. Since this is my only platform to organize and express my thoughts, I need to seize this opportunity. If you are insulted, skip to the first picture and ignore this, but I urge you, what I say is important.
We have had a hard time with our contract negotiations for a variety of reasons, but my biggest insult has been the media. Every time I hear about the collective "us", I am told we are "striking" for a 15% wage increase. This is not the case AT ALL, and is, frankly, a fraction of truth spun so far, it is simply a lie.
Yes, a wage increase of 15% is part of what we asked for in out contract NEGOTIATIONS that were the equivalent of trying to bargain a rock or sharp stick out the baby's hand (also the equivalent of bargaining a steak out of a dog's mouth, also the same as bargaining with said steak, stick or rock), but that is such a small part. Right now, I am fighting for my rights as an employee, and the rights of YOUR children and MINE. If a parent doesn't know what is happening at his or her child's school, he or she can simply log on to the school website or pick up the phone. And if he or she is not receiving marks sent home directly by the child's teacher, a phone call or email will rectify this. We must be one of the only professions that is in the midst of strike action and ends up doing MORE work than previously.
I love my kids (ie students). LOVE. But there are certain aspects of my profession that I am not willing to just roll over and give up. It hurts me that the public, parents specifically, would believe a liar like George Abbott. My eyes are tearing just thinking about this. How can people not have our backs? How can people believe the untruths he spews? The fact that some people side with him and this terrible example of a union-busting government makes me feel like a failure as a teacher. Clearly, we are not teaching critical thinking as well as we think and hope we are.
All this being said, if certain things are stripped from our contracts, I will find a job and leave this profession, as it will simply be turned into another job--although, really, how many other jobs are out there that have no consideration of seniority? I could work at The Bay, as another teacher pointed out, and still be given shifts based on how long I have been there.
Anyway, anyway, I digress. I am emotional over this. I feel our livelihood, and therefore, our small, young family is threatened.
 |
| The smallest member of my family in disbelief over these "negotiations". |
Cost: under $10, believe it or not. Here's to sales!
Prep time: like teachers, minimal. Here about 45 minutes.
We ate steak. What kind of steak? It was flavored. "Marinated" flavor. Just kidding. It was a burgundy pepper marinated steak. Very tasty, although I am not sure of the cut and also not willing to search the garbage for the package.
I, in a decidedly advanced move, made twice baked potatoes. We had green onions, sour cream, salt, pepper, and about a table spoon of shredded cheese (keeping it healthy on accident!). I didn't mash the filling much; my arm was tired and if you wanted it smoother, you should have done it yourself, and it was good anyways, so whatever, Complainer, whatever.
For the veggie, I steamed asparagus, then sauteed it in garlic, pepper, and butter. How much butter? The amount that got stuck on my knife three times. Measure that, sucka! It was delicious.
 |
| Deliciousness cooking. |
So, here's to hope! And here is to the last time in a long while we are able to afford steak.
I apologize for errors and typos. This took me much longer than usual to write and I need to go "clean up"...or eat strawberries, which were also on sale and never last long 'round these parts.
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