New Kind of Tired

It is 2:26 (even though the clock says 1:26). I am at the Campaign for Change office. I feel like I am asleep, but I'm working sometimes with my eyes closed.

Letter to the Editor

It's 5:23 am and I am preparing for another long day. I get to school by 6:00 to gear up to teach 7th grade social studies, stay for after school tutoring, then rush to my second job as canvass manager for the Campaign for Change.

I see these two positions as absolutely linked, especially in light of the tone and character of vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin's latest rally, where supporters were worked up into a racially charged frenzy climaxing with a reveler's call to kill Senator Obama; a suggestion that was not condemned by Gov. Palin. The fact that the McCain campaign is stooping this low, playing on the ugliest of human tendencies, shows their desperation and intentions for this country. At a time when the entire country is suffering in so many ways, they attempt distract and divide us with racist innuendo. So that fear of the other rather than hope for the future will inform our decision on November 4th.

I am choosing to believe that we have come farther than that. That the unchecked sentiment chanted at that rally represents a minority of the country. I have to. I teach 100 middle school students who had a very difficult time wrapping their head around racial segregation, perplexed by the idea that there would ever be a time that their co-existence in the classroom would not be possible. This innocence is the future. And it is for them that I am working these long, taxing days – to lose this election is to embrace the ugliness, the hatred and fear that has separated us. It would take us a thousand steps back from the distance this nation has come in dissolving the racial divisions that have plagued our history. We cannot afford that.

Sincerely,
Maura

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday: Doctor's appt, gym, grocery store. Home for ravioli and the Office with Matt. Off to my aunt's house to watch the debate and drink wine.

Saturday: Up early - hung around house for a few hours then took my car to the shop to repair damage from hit and run. Headed downtown to stand in line for three hours:

Then in the rain for three more:
To see Barack Obama and Joe Biden:

The last time I was on that field, I heard Newt Gingrich speak (it was my grad school graduation). We left the field soaked to the bone and completely exhausted and came home to eat cheap pizza and watch Flight of the Conchords in our bathrobes.

Sunday: Up at 7 to write lesson plans and do laundry. Volunteered at Obama headquarters for several hours (I've been drafted as a volunteer recruiter/organizer), then jetted to the gym. Came home to make potato leek soup and hang out with Matt. More planning, then drove around to find copies of today's local paper.

GOP Fan Club President

Today we started our elections unit. I told each class how I volunteered this weekend for one of the candidates, but I refused to reveal who. In my last class of the day the consensus was that I had volunteered and was planning to vote for McCain.

Their suspicious, they claimed, were confirmed when I allegedly "blushed" every time John McCain's name was mentioned.

I offered that I was either utterly embarrassed that they would assume I was a Republican or totally in love with John McCain. YOU BE THE JUDGE.

Update: Civicism is STILL Sexy

Last week I participated in state politics at a State Board of Education public hearing (wait, there's more than voting?!?). I'll admit this blog's title is deceiving, there was little about the process that was particularly "hot"; but being part of the political process - even a part that occurs in a dank half-filled high school recital hall before a panel of two (2) representatives from the Virginia School Board - kind of does it for me.

I went up to Fairfax to make a statement in opposition to the proposed elimination of Social Foundations of Education in the teacher licensure program (admit it Mr. Smith, I'm giving you goosebumps). I'll give you the gist of it - SFE is the only required course in the already barebones licensure program where teacher-hopefuls are given the space to think about the broader implications and purposes of education. Examining the practice from a variety of perspectives is the only way we can ever hope to make it better. And, blah. What follows is the statement I made (first of the session!):

In a little over a week I will complete my work towards a Masters of Education from the University of Mary Washington. While I will not be an official practicing teacher until January, I do have experience in the classroom and I believe I represent an important voice in this debate: that of the licensure candidate.

I took Social Foundations in the first semester of my teaching program and I cannot imagine succeeding as I have in my other courses if it weren’t for that class. Foundations offered me the chance to step back and consider the fundamental theories, broad implications, and major purposes of our practice. It is the only course that demands we think critically about the role school plays in our community, our society, and our democracy. This high-level investigation inspires debate, research, and innovation – components which are vital to ensuring we are providing high quality, demanding, and appropriate education for the children of our Commonwealth.

Eliminating Social Foundations would deny us the opportunity to think fully and critically about the system we are entering. Initially, this will limit our performance in other licensure courses. Ultimately, this will cripple our ability to think critically about both the work we do within our classrooms and the role of our broader profession - having failed to develop a strong sense of purpose, we ensure that our system will not evolve, will not improve, and will not succeed.

We will compile our tool-kits of useful teaching strategies but we will lack the direction offered by a thorough understanding of the theoretical components of education. You need a hammer and nails to build a house, but you also need a blueprint. We’ll have all the HOWS of teaching but none of the WHY.

The No Child Left Behind Act demands that our nation’s over 6 million teachers be “highly qualified” – denying teaching candidates the opportunity to engage in the critical examination of the social foundations of education also denies us that label. To be fully prepared for the classroom - to be highly qualified - we must step back and scrutinize our practice and articulate our purpose. Only then are those methods and strategies we acquire through our program truly meaningful.

Did you read it all? Wow, you are a trooper! Today is the last day to submit statements for or against the proposed change. If you're interested it contacting the VA Department of Education, let me know. Hearts!