This is an email my husband sent me back in July 2007. I held on to it in my in-box for some reason.
I am 53!As I look over my students taking a test, I don't know how much longer I can keep teaching.
After 9 chapters, some students have been successfully molded, others are, shall we say, missing essential connections . . .
Students will only rise about half-way up to the level of the teacher. If the teacher is not too high up in the level of understanding, then the students will not get very far.
Teaching, then, depends on learning by the teacher. Not past learning, but present learning. At some point, the teacher gets too tired to learn. Then, the students stop learning, too.
I think I can take attendance, shuffle papers, and make dumb jokes for a while, but I don't know if I can teach for much longer...
So that's the question: how long can one keep teaching before he's all tapped out?
I just discovered that I'm part of a new trend. New unemployment figures released this week say that 10% of American workers are unemployed. Apparently this is really bad news ("first time in 26 years!"). But another figure that doesn't get mentioned much is the under-employment rate, which has also reached a new high (17.5%). Underemployment represents people (like me) who want full-time work but have to settle for part-time jobs. This was a new term for me, though not a new concept. Apparently it's worse in California. Tim Rutten, writing in today's Los Angeles Times ("Jobs Must be Job 1"), says that California, with its $1.6 trillion economy, would be the eighth largest economy in the world if it were an independent country. Then he writes, "If you aggregate the unemployed with the underemployed, [California's] rate of what you might call job distress is 20%. Think about that: One in five willing workers in the world's eighth-largest economy is without full-time employment." These are not encouraging words. I knew I was having a tough time even landing interviews for jobs I felt qualified for--in some cases, over-qualified. Now I guess I understand why. There are just too many of us seeking, applying, praying for the same positions.
What a semester it's been. I wonder if other teachers are facing a similar number of absences, and if so, how they're coping.
Here's a smattering of email correspondence from my students this semester.
From Vanessa (11/4/09)
Hey Mrs. Minamide
sorry i had to leave early today
i threw up during break...
From Lauren (11/4/09)
I am still very sick, I have been on breathing treatments for a couple
days but am not able to do much without getting winded and having to
sit. I am trying to stay caught up with class work as best I can...
From Lauren (11/2/09)
This will be my last day of missed class, i developed bronchitis, but will be fine for Wednesday's class....
From Nicole (11/2/09)
I would like to apologize again for being absent so much. I'm on the last leg of being sick so from here on out I shouldn't have to miss any more class. When I return I will speak with you to get the information I need to catch up. I have been checking blackboard and getting what ever handouts and information so I am doing my best to stay up to date. I would like to also thank you for being understanding. I know it is a lot of extra work for you to grade papers separately, but I greatly appreciate it. See you next time! From Jon (11/2/09)
I can't make it into class today, last few days I have been really sick. any readings that need to be done before next class?
From Lauren (10/28/09)
I'm still terribly sick, this time i went to the doctors, and i got a note from him saying i should not be going to school. Luckily i don't have the SWINE flu, but i do have the flu. Today i finally got some energy to get out of bed and go onto my laptop, so i am going to try the best i can to get that rough draft of paper 2 to you. Thank you for understanding i'm sick and being flexible with me, i really appreciate it.
From Omar (10/28/09)
I won't be in class today, because I have been sick all of last week. So I would like to take today to get better. Sorry that I did not e-mail you sooner.
From Alisha (10/28/09)
Good morning Professor. I am not goin to make it to class today, I am not feeling well. Would u like me to email u my paper 2 packet or do you want me to drop it in?
From Allison (10/28/09)
Hi Mrs. Minamide, I don't think I'm going to make it to class tomorrow. I've been sick for some time but it's gotten much worse and I think I should stay home and try to fight it off for a day or two. If there's any important information I miss, you can email me here. Otherwise, I'll be checking blackboard and doing homework over the weekend. Thanks.
From Justin (10/27/09)
hello, i am just writing to tell you that i have the stomach flu and i will absent tomorrow. I would greatly appreciate it if i could get as much help as you can by giving me the work i missed or any assignments that were given. Thank you very much for your time.
From Jon (10/26/09)
hey mrs minamide, very early monday morning i was admitted to the er because unfortunetly i have become ill. Im sending you this email to tell you why i missed class today and to let you know i will probably be missing class on wednesday as well.
From Lauren(10/25/09)
I have steadily been getting better, this swine flu thing really takes it out of you! Yesterday was the first day i was out of the house in nearly two weeks, i went on a quick Costco run with my husband, i had to take a nap after we got home.
From Sarah (10/22/09)
Sorry I missed class on Wednesday! I had a fever of 103.8 and my tonsils are swollen again!
But I went to the doctor already and got on meds as soon as I could. I am home sick today as well and plan to catch up as much as I can!
From Lauren (10/21/09)
I am really sick. I was up all night with a terrible cough and today i feel horrible. I'm sorry to miss out on class today. Ill make sure to check blackboard and get all of my missed work done.
From Amber (10/21/09)
I am not going to be able to make it to class tomorrow (October 21). I am pretty sure I have the flu. Sorry.
From Nicole (10/21/09)
Professor Minamide. I greatly apologize for not emailing sooner. My internet has been down for sometime and it just got fixed today while I was at work. I got sick again last week through a friend and Monday it was bad enough where I could barely move out of bed, which was the reason for my absense. I know I have missed a week of class already due to illness, and I wish that weren't the case, but I would still like to do all I can to keep up in the class. I'm doing my best to stay healthy, and I truly apologize for the inconvenience this is to you. I will talk to you more in class tomorrow about what I need to do to make up the work, but I will have everything I can ready for class that I can do based on reading blackboard. Thank you again for understanding.
From Aaron (10/19/09)
Hello. Despite my efforts in preventing myself from getting sick, I caught whatever it was that is going around. I had inklings of it yesterday and figured I could sleep it off and come to class today but It has gotten incredibly worse over night. Such is the flaw of my immune system, stong as an ox until I get something, then my body just shuts down : ( I have the assignment for today's class attached and will be checking Bb for any updates you post after today's class. I'll continue to rest and let you know on Thursday what my condition is. I hope you can understand. Thanks in advance.
From Lauren (10/18/09)
I am still pretty sick, My doctor said i can start thinking about coming back to class after Tuesday but judging how i feel today, i don't know if that it realistic, i has planned on turning all this into you on Monday , since that Isn't going to happen i am attaching as much as i can to this e-mail. Please let me know if there is anything else i am missing. Thanks again for working with me,
From Lauren (10/16/09)
i went to the doctor today and it seems i have the H1N1 virus. They have directed me to stay home from work and school until Tuesday, meaning i am going to have to miss one more class. I am going to keep doing as much as a can that is on BB. please let me know if there is anything else I can do or make-up as far and in-class work. I do have a doctors note if you need it! thank you!
******
Note: Those were the sick ones. I’m not including the lost wallet, the car accident, the funeral back east, the wedding in Mexico, the transportation issues, the sick child, the girl with anxiety disorder…and we're only 2/3 through the semester.
And now I'm sick! Sore throat, fever, coughing, laryngitis. Good thing I only have to come in 2 days a week. I should be better by Monday.
Perry has been teaching for over two decades. All the years we've been married, I've never known him to walk through the door at the end of his school day and continue working...until this year. Somehow he seemed willing or able to compartmentalize. When he's home, he's home. This is his second year teaching AP Environmental Studies at Poway, and somehow things are different. Either it's his own high standards, or some kind of internal or external pressure to compete with other AP teachers (PHS AP classes have a high pass percentage, apparently), Perry now not only will sit at the kitchen table grading papers ("these math problems go faster than reading essays," he says, as if to cheer himself), but now he spends weekends (yes, that's plural: Saturdays and Sundays) hunkered down in his crowded, untidy, disorganized office, planning and grading and making PowerPoint presentations, just to keep up. Does anyone even know how ridiculous this all sounds? These additional hours don't even begin to make a dent in what a teacher is expected to accomplish, on top of being prepared to manage five periods of 35+ adolescents, five days a week, with a thirty minute "lunch" (during which time he'll run to the workroom to make copies while munching a hard-boiled egg) and barely a minute to run to the toilet during the day. It would be remarkable if most teachers in the public school weren't constipated. There's no time to sit... Why do teachers put up with this? It's inhumane. When will someone sit down and figure out that this time-sucking, life-sucking, joy-sucking, sanity-sucking job needs a radical make-over? Someone with a head on her shoulders (yes, it would have to be a "she" because women tend to be more attuned to the the mundane aspects that contribute to a saner life...like going to the toilet when you need to go) needs to really sit down and analyze how to create a more humane approach to teaching. For instance, here's a thought: Built into every teacher's contract should be a mandatory "Seven Year Sabbatical" (I'm modeling this after something I recall reading in the Old Testament, something called a Jubilee, where every seven years in Israel is a year of rest). Anyway, it would go like this: all teachers are required to take a year off, with pay, to rejuvenate. They can travel, they can study, they can take college courses, whatever. But the year would be fully compensated at their normal rate. Teaching is both an academic and a creative profession. Creativity can get exhausted and depleted. If we expect our teachers to perform at optimum level, forget the threats, forget the pressure (Race to the Top). Let them rejuvenate and revitalize. Reward them monetarily. Restore humanity to what has become an insanely inhumane profession.
One week, early in the semester, both classes were depleted. I had 9 students (out of 20) one day. Finally students return and I try to catch them up. Then another different group of students is absent.
This is bad enough in my regular semester-length (17 weeks) class, but with my late-start class (11 weeks), it's a disaster. Not sure if we're dealing with swine flu. At least one student emailed me to say she'd been diagnosed with H1N1. She missed both (late-start) sessions last week and will miss this Monday. She says she's trying to keep up by reading Blackboard. But in a class like this, which meets for 2 hours and 45 minutes twice a week, it's a bit like missing 2 weeks of school if you miss one week. I emailed her back and suggested she consider dropping and starting fresh next Spring. Not only will she have to catch up with missed work, she also will need to keep up. And even if she's permitted to come back to school, there's no guarantee health-wise she'll be back to full strength.
Too hard. I wonder how teachers around the the rest of the country are dealing with this year's flu season.
Back to the controversy of whether or not the Obama Administration bungled in its earnestness to give face time to the President during school hours. I seem to hear more about the "outraged parents" whose children were "deprived," if not by racist, then by partisan school officials. What I don't hear enough of (why are they silent?) is the reaction of teachers themselves. What did they think of the administration's suggested lesson plans? As a teacher at the community college level, I enjoy a certain amount of autonomy and independence. I am at once both principal and instructor of my classroom. There's very little oversight, other than a five-year evaluation in which someone (either a fellow English professor or the head of the English department) sits in on a class, takes notes, sends me out of the room and distributes student evaluations, and then meets with me later to discuss her observations and give me a printout of the student comments. I'm not told which text to use for my classes. I'm provided information about the standards my course is expected to meet but given freedom and latitude in how to meet those standards. I am gloriously free from the "hot breath" (down my neck) of oversight. How would I feel, then, if some higher-up--a department head, say, or worse, the college president--sent out an announcement saying he had prepared a speech and would like all professors to air the speech to their classes, and oh, by the way, there are accompanying lesson plans as a follow up assignment. Which of us--be honest now--would actually welcome such an intrusion on our space? Remember, this is my carefully crafted world. My "lesson plans" are constructed around certain outcomes, specific objectives. To what degree would the administrator's speech and supplemental lessons fit within that construct? This, to me, is what's at the heart of my aversion to the Obama Administration's recent foray into the classroom. Those who are protesting or crying "foul" over school boards' decisions to delay or not air the speech seem to assume that classroom teachers all around the country welcomed the intrusion. I can't imagine why they would welcome it, especially if you mentally substitute "Principal Smith" for "President Obama." Would classroom teachers really welcome the idea of their school principal "suggesting" lesson plans as a follow up to their motivational speech? I'll go on record of saying, Of course not. It's inappropriate, it's intrusive, and it's insulting, just as it was when the Department of Education did it. My best and only reaction was then and still is: A firm but polite "Butt out."
Tried something new this semester (Fall 2009) on my first day of English 100. After going over the regular spiel--introducing the course syllabus, demonstrating how to use Blackboard, discussing assignments and projects, and talking about required materials, and so on--I ended class (early) by asking students to take a few moments to reflect on what they'd learned so far by writing a "First Day Haiku." I reviewed the haiku form and read mine aloud (already on the chalkboard), and then invited them to write their own haiku. Here's a sampling of some of the better ones (mine's at the very end): Sitting and waiting. First class came and went quickly. Enjoyable time. (Sarai V.) After many years I sit here, hungry to learn. Do I still have it? (Martha M.) English is a rose Where words bloom from pen, and grow To life on paper. (Michelle K.) Better topics here, Much easier than last class. I am in my place. (Sammy S.) When I go to class I try my best and listen. Sometimes it pays off. (Makenna W.) The school year is here. Summertime is over now. Time to get in gear. (Keegan D.) Students did not show While others waiting got in. Let the class begin. (Jacob H.). Sign in to Blackboard. Read the assignment today. Create your journey. (Jonathan V.) My first day of class. I wonder if I will pass. Hope and pray I will. (Jon B.) Many students come. Some stay; some will disappear. Who is here to learn? (Elaine Minamide)
Note: thanks to Perry for this great idea that I stole!
Big uproar emanating from the La Mesa-Spring Valley area, apparently. Today's San Diego Union-Tribune writes about how two school board trustees have now publicly apologized for voting not to air Obama's pep talk live to students in their district (they instead recorded the speech for later viewing), and a group of angry parents plans to confront the board at its next meeting. One board member (Penny Halgren), reacting to a parent's accusation that the decision was racist (sigh...will use of the race card never end?) actually broke down in tears during an interview. One can't help but wonder if this reaction is "organized." To have a school board buckle under the tirade of indignant parents whose children were deprived of the opportunity to hear the president's speech the second it was delivered is pretty impressive. Nice PR for our poor, maligned president who only wanted to inspire and motivate school children. Yet I still maintain it's the president who's to blame for all this fallout. School boards across the nation were having to deal with the question of how to "require" (or not) their teachers to interrupt regularly-planned scheduling and carve out a spot in their curriculum for the president's message and accompanying lesson plans. There was very little time to analyze, evaluate, and decide. I agree with Trustee Rick Winet who stands by his vote, arguing that "public school curriculum is supposed to be reviewed and approved at the local level." The parents need to calm down, and the school board needs to stand by its decision. The mistake is the Obama administration's, not the school board's.
This first entry may as well be our first joint unpublished Letter to the Editor since the L.A. Times didn't publish it. The letter was in response to an op-ed by Tim Rutten on September 5th (here's the link Calls to Boycott Obama's Speech Offer a Disturbing Lesson in Paranoia). This whole issue definitely spiraled out of control, and in the end, the conservatives who objected did begin to look a bit foolish. Our letter focused not on the fear of indoctrination but on what precipitated the outrage in the first place. Here's what we wrote:
Dear Letters Editor, Enough with the "tsk, tsks" about conservative reaction to Obama's scheduled speech to schoolchildren nationwide. Their backlash is justified. Tim Rutten conveniently forgets to mention what precipitated the reaction in the first place, which was not the speech per se but the timing of the speech (the middle of a school day), the presumption of participation, and the accompanying lesson plans supplied by the Department of Education (children would have been asked to respond to prompts like, "Write a letter to yourself about what you can do to help the president.") These questions have since been "revised" to appear more innocuous, but the damage was done. It's bad enough that classroom teachers are now in a mad "race to the top" in order to meet federal education standards. But to ask them to set aside class time and adjust their lesson plans for an "inspirational message" from the president says more about how out of touch the Obama administration is with what's going on in the so-called trenches than what it says about conservatives.
Now, of course, any of these original concerns have been eclipsed because Obama, back-pedaling in response to the conservative outcry, gave what amounted to a pep-talk to students, so harmless that even rabidly partisan conservatives like Newt Gingrich commended it. I feel our comments reflected the views of the average classroom teacher and it would have been nice if the Times had included at least this perspective rather than focusing on the "paranoia" aspect.
