Reading for children

 

This blog is not about the horrific killing of the children of Uvalde, Texas at Robb Elementary School. After watching this horror happen over and over again, I cannot write about it without becoming so upset, I begin crying.

This leads me to write about another pet peeve of mine, the mistaken idea from some parents that their children will somehow suffer if they read material which has sex, religion, relationships, murder, and most other topics which are deemed unsuitable for children.

Do you see this magazine cover? This is a pretty calm one. No one is half naked and there is no blood on the cover. Compared to some, it is very tame. Of course, the headlines are straight out of the book of  inflammatory language. "New Year's Killing of the Boy-Girl Stripper" and "all he wanted was to chop up Carol."

When I was in fourth grade, I spent the summer in Florida, going back and forth to my grandparent's houses. At my Grandmother Sloan's house, which was in the city of Lakeland,  I was surrounded by romance novels of every kind. From the streets of Paris to London and even Charleston in the beginning, I followed women around in all their escapades where they normally ended up with the prize. (according to the book) 

At my Grandmother Watkins' house, which was in the middle of an orange grove with no air and hot as hell in the summer, I would lay around during the hottest part of the day and read whatever my Aunt Shirley had scattered around. She was the youngest of my father's siblings and she normally had a supply of the above mentioned magazines to read, a few 16 oz. Pepsi's in the refrigerator and plenty of bologna to make fried bologna sandwiches for lunch. 

I had never been told I could not read something that was in either house. Never. So I read everything. Now, before you say I must have been raised in a non-political, non-religious household, where anything went. Not true. I was raised as a Southern Baptist, church every Sunday and Wednesday and I always won the dollar in Sunday School for knowing the book, chapter and verse of every lesson we had. We also had separated classes between boys and girls. 

By the 9th grade, I was reading on a senior in college level. Perhaps parents today might factor in interest when they are determining all the books they deem unfit for  their children to read. Because the schools had just integrated and the students from the black high school had been trying to learn with subpar materials, Civics proved to be a difficult class for them. Because of my reading skills, I surpassed most of the students and was given extra work to do to stay busy. Mrs. TenEyck, my teacher, caught me reading the above book during Civics one day and took it away from me because she said it was not fit for a 9th grader to read. She was going to call my mother. 

My Mom very respectfully told the teacher that I had gotten the book from her bookshelf and her children had never been told they could not read something in the house. She asked for Mrs. TenEyck to please return the book to me and she would make sure I was not reading for pleasure in Civics again. 

I have never forgotten that. I am also still a voracious reader. I believe children should be allowed to flex their reading muscles on things which may interest them whether it is true crime or romance as in my case. Just a side note: my father read westerns. Those bodice ripping, good guy rides in on a white horse, gets the girls and kills the bad guys. I never found interest in them but Daddy carried one in his back pocket all the time. 

Stop limiting your children. They are the ones who then stop reading. They are the ones who end up having to take reading classes because they are so far behind their peers. 

Just another rant to keep my mind off the horrific, unnecessary murder of elementary school children because of politicians who can be bought.

What the end of another school year brings

 

Receiving a graduation announcment from one of my first students, a lovely young woman who is doing great stuff, was another bright spot in the end of this school year. We must grab those bright spots when we can.

When I began teaching, I had no idea of the change which was coming in the political arena. I could not imagine teachers having to deal with even more challenges to their authority, much of it coming from entities which should not even be involved in the process. This includes the new laws concerning things which must be taught and things which we are not supposed to speak of. The threatening of changing a  graduation speech to trying to stop a group of high school students from receiving their yearbooks. 

There are too many things we are supposed to do in school now according to our governor, I cannot list them here because he keeps adding to the list. I continue to be surprised that any of us adults who actually went to public school in Florida received an education since we did not have to worry about things like learning. Our teachers simply taught us. Our parents sent us to school. We did not have these infernal and on-going tests to have to deal with.

But on to great news. The invitation up top was the last thing I received this week. My teacher evaluation came in and although I always feel like I have done a good job, validation is always a good thing. Mine was very good this year.

I, along with our yearbook teacher, have five of our students, who are very deserving, be accepted with full scholarship to a summer journalism week at the University of Florida. I cannot say enough about the director, who has worked with me this week to get applications in and try and keep these students, even ones who turn in things late, on track for acceptance. When I began searching for summer programs for my journalism students, the cost for many can be overwhelming, especially for the students at my school, which is a Title I school. I encouraged them to fill out the scholarship application and see what happened. When they were accepted with full scholarships, these kids were in tears, calling their moms and walking on air. 

I encouraged another student apply for the Close Up Foundation's summer program to spend a week in Washington, DC and apply for a scholarship. She did and received the news she was accepted and would spend a week studying our democracy. She was very excited when she received the news she would get to have dinner with some of our congressional representatives. For a 17 year old, from a small town in Florida, this is a very big deal. 

I try to show my students what is possible if they just apply. From the invitation to the acceptances and all the passing of tests, my students rocked my world this week. I am glad I have a full summer of PD planned, so I don't miss them so much. 

What hangs on your walls?

 

This tee shirt is hanging on my wall in my history classroom. I happened to win it at a history conference by spinning a wheel at the booth for the Reagan Library. I actually voted in this election and not for Reagan. He was not a favorite of mine, but being a history teacher, my classroom allows all different viewpoints to be discussed. 

This poster hangs in my journalism classroom. There is nothing wrong with it. It simply promotes one world. It came from Teaching Tolerance, the educational branch of the Southern Poverty Law Center. They are now known as Learning for Justice and can be checked out here.

Anything wrong with either of these? No. There is not. My classroom exists for learning for everyone. I have some of the most diverse students I have ever had. Should they be exposed to everything I can expose them to? Absolutely.

I had a little accident at a conference last week in which I managed to break my patella. The students with me and the other advisor were so caring and concerned. I wanted for nothing the whole trip, even though I was on crutches and laid up most of the time. These are tough kids; ones who work one and sometimes two jobs, have parents they may not be so proud of, come from very rough neighborhoods and trust me. They feel safe in my presence. They expect me to be honest with them. They expect me to tell the truth about the world. They live in a tough society and they don't want sugarcoated. 

When my district or my admins decide that I cannot hang on my walls, anything which may not be politically correct in their eyes, they had best not pull it off my walls or tell me to take it down. Shades of indoctrination. Isn't that what teachers are being accused of? 

If you want your constituents to grow up even more angry and bitter, who will become voters because I was their teacher, will change the world because they want a better one for their children, keep going on this war against teachers. In the end, you will lose and the students will win. 

Handling Disney all wrong

 I do not like Disney. I have not been to Disney since my son was a very small child and he will be 44 in June. I have never made any excuses about why I don't like Disney: what they have been allowed to do to the state of Florida; how Walt Disney sold his idea to the Florida legislature and the impact this one company has had on the destruction of our state. 

I have written about the book Florida's own Carl Hiaasen wrote about this travesty, "Team Rodent" and no one really cared. They have their own little dictatorship going and the state and the people who make so much money off the service people never raised an eyebrow. They developed land which should have been left wild, demolished beautiful rolling orange groves to have manicured lawns full of bushes trimmed to look like Disney characters and agreed to pay for roads and infrastructure as long as they were allowed to go about their business. They provided low paying jobs, most entry level, attracted other business who do the same and everyone loved them, including all the politicians. Trying to hold Disney accountable was certain death to political aspirations. 

Now here comes big business, let them eat cake, Ron Desantis and his minions in the Florida legislature who believe selling the soul of Florida and riling up his voting block about emotional issues to keep everything in the state influx, has decided to speak out against The Mouse. They don't agree with the new "Don't Say Gay" policy and asked him to not sign the bill. He is using his political office to punish a private business for disagreeing with his political policies. Shades of destroying our Constitution. 

Why do his cronies agree? Ever seen the people who are going to end of paying all this bill? Have you seen the demographics of Orange County? With Florida in the midst of not only a rent/mortgage crisis, we also have homeowner's insurance issues. This  thanks to another policy which the governor has allowed to happen and that gives the insurance companies even more power over what they charge people. 

Do I believe we should begin the process of taking some of Disney's power away? Absolutely. Do I think the governor has the right to punish a business for disagreeing with him? Absolutely not. Let's go about this the right way. Not the way of a dictator. 

 

1984 

This was a synopsis written by one of my journalism students about a banned book.

A book about a guy named Winston Smith who’s against the way of the government aka ‘the party.’ The party is an organization that basically watches over everyone in Oceania. They decide things for everyone and hold all the power. If someone does not agree with them, unimaginable things would happen to them, some including death. Winston doesn’t believe in this way of life; he doesn’t like the idea of being controlled and forced to stay silent. He proceeds to write about his ideas against the party in his diary. If his diary was to ever be found by one of the many spies around town, it would lead to severe consequences for him.  

This book was banned after people in Jackson County, Florida believed the book to be “pro-communist and mentions explicit sexual matters.” Pro-communist means being for the idea of a society where there is common control of all production, and everything is shared and belongs to all. Or in simpler terms; in favor of or supporting Communist policies and ideologies. Although, some people believed that this book spoke the truth and that it should not have been banned. That it was merely a book of fiction. 

After reading this book I don’t believe that this story is pro-communist. More so, that it’s a fictional book based on what if... what if society was truly like this?  Where you couldn't think for yourself; parties make all the decisions for you, leaving no room for you to think for yourself. A society where everyone is brainwashed into believing what the parties are telling you, and if you don’t agree you're punished. While in other parts of the world, some societies are described in the book. I don’t think this story is saying they are for a life like this. It’s a book based on things that do happen in real life, but with a twist to it.

For the most part, I thought the book was great, it’s a story that really gets you thinking. It also had an interesting plot and plot twist at the end.  

I thought the book was great. It's a story that really gets you thinking.

Isn't this what we are supposed to be teaching our children? To think?

I will return to teach another year

 As the end of the school year is fast approaching, I felt some final thoughts on education might be fitting for a column. I use teaching among other things for ideas to write about. Just my own personal take on the world according to Jean. As always, if you don't like it, don't read it. I do it for personal satisfaction. 

I have been teaching for 9 years. Teaching, as you all know, is my second career but I have been teaching one way or another since I can remember. I will be 65 this year. I do not feel 65 but do understand that there are things I cannot do any longer. I still keep trying. Those things, like teaching keep me young. 

I am also single. I have no one to help take care of monetary obligations should I retire. It will all be on me. I have a small, actually tiny retirement from my second husband's work, and it helps, but it is very small. Everything I do financially is for my comfort in retirement. I do not want to struggle when I am in my 70s because of stupid decisions I made in my 60s. 

So I plan on continuing to teach until I hit 70 years young. Now, that could always change but I don't foresee that happening. I know lots of people who are counting the days until retirement. Many of those people are choosing to not teach any longer. Some of those people have set themselves up to be able to retire at a younger age than me. I had all that planned out as well, but situations don't always work out the way we have planned them. 

Do I see the government of Florida, much less Manatee County ever treating me like I am a valuable commodity and worth more money? Nope. Not gonna happen in my lifetime. Do I feel like part of a team, actually working together for the greater good of the students? I do at school, but not so much with others within the system. Am I totally crazy? Some would argue that I am. 

But they have not experienced the joy in a student's eyes when they discover something really cool or learn something new. They have never had a kid tell them that they never thought they would enjoy my class but now it is their favorite. They haven't listened to a group of girls giggling about prom dresses or, in my case, packing 6 outfits to have something to choose from for the journalism banquet in Orlando they are attending next weekend. 

How about the student who came to class with the biggest smile on his face because you had let his mom know he was one of your best students?

Do I get discouraged? Yes, I do. Do I think the education system is in trouble? Yep, I agree with that as well. Am I concerned with some parent coming after me because their child is learning in my class. Nope. Do I think I have all the answers? Nope to that as well.

I do have passion and I do love my students. I think we have to keep going. All things are cyclical, including education. I will be here for the kids. That will be my part but it would be a little easier if they state would pay me a little more. 

Parental Rights

 I watch with disdain, the circus in Tallahassee that concerns these bills which are supposedly designed to give parents rights in the classroom they apparently feel they don't have. This is an anomaly to me. Since when do parents have to have some kind of bill passed for parents to have rights over their children? 

As I type this, I also would like to remind parents that schools still must have rules and regulations. This prevents chaos. Or it should. In today's classroom, I have had students throw things at me. I have had them tell me to fuck off. (I wonder where they heard that from?) I have had them tell me that if I took their cell phone, which students are not permitted to operate on campus, they were going to run home and tell momma that I took her phone away. Now, this is high school. 

I have had parents pull students from my class when they were caught cheating and put in a class with a teacher they knew and would apparently give the cheating student a little more leeway. I have had parents who don't even know me, call for my firing because I said I would teach the truth in history. I have had parents up in arms because they thought they knew best for their student, regardless of what the school district via the state was told to teach. 

I have a son and I had certain rights when he was in school. I had the right to expect he would be taught. That is it. If he did not cooperate, which he was not the best at, I would deal with him at home. His teachers could always contact me at home or while I was working with any concerns. Trust me when I say, I did spend many hours with teachers while I was trying to get him raised. 

I never,  not once, worried he was being instructed to be gay. I never worried about what books were in the library for him to read because I was too busy trying to get him to read something, anything. I didn't worry about if he knew about slavery because I taught him what was what. I did that, I did that having conversations with him. I did that showing him historical things. Was he the best student? No. Did he always listen? Do your teens listen to you?

When did it become okay for parents, any parents, to tell teachers they did not do their job? Isn't that the job of their boss and their bosses boss? When did it become okay for parents to determine what was "proper" curriculum for their student in public school? What about me? My taxes also pay for public school. What if I want certain books in the library? Do I get to scream at a school board meeting and talk about what right do "they have to indoctrinate my students." Most certainly not. 

School is supposed to teach students to examine facts and then decide what side of the issue to come down on. Where did we lose our sense of diplomacy? What happened to civil discourse for students. Just because a parent says something is white, but it is really gray, should we be forced as teachers to teach all the students that is is white? 

I continue to be concerned about the state of public schools today. Want Christianity? Send your kid to a church school. Want to teach the Koran. Send your kid to  school that specializes in the Islamic faith. Practice Judaism and don't want your child exposed to any other religions? Send your child to  Jewish School. Want your kid to learn about all three? Send your child to public school. Oh, wait! We can't teach he different religious philosophies because some parent might think we are indoctrinating their student. 

What's a teacher to do? Well, you see them leaving. You see the mass exodus. I am still here. I keep thinking that if they run off all the teachers, they can instill people who really do indoctrinate and not teach. That will be a sad day. Let us hope it arrives later than sooner, or not at all.