Or unless her mama somehow manages to write some kind of cult hit best seller in the next few years.

Or you guys find a perfect house just north of 145th, and wind up in Shoreline Schools.

The nephew's education in Seattle School District seems to be going just fine, so I figure there's no real need to move to the 'burbs for her sake. I'll be more concerned if we're still down in the south end of the city when Lillian hits school age and for some reason have to put her in one of the local to us schools, though, as they haven't improved much since Dad was student teaching a half mile from here.

Plei, you don't need to apologize. I was rantypants girl.

Also, Plei:

See, I don't know if it's the district he taught in or what, but this was par for the course for teachers in Dad's school district. So I always boggled at the idea of teaching-to-have-the-summer-off.

Oh, absolutely, for my parents too. Good teachers have always worked their asses off. And yes, grading and professional development etc. always took up a lot of their "free" time--I meant more that it was easier for the not-good teachers to get away with NOT doing those things than it is now.

Also, I do think that the day-to-day paperwork (and especially the advent of email) has added a lot to the load.

Have I mentioned that teachers also like carrots?

Hands Kristin a bag of carrots.

Happy Birthday, Jilli! Enjoy the good drugs while you can!

I still remember my 5th grade teacher. His enthusiasm was so fun to watch, I ended up having a small crush on him. I don't think I really had any teachers that were into teaching for the long summers off, but I think I had more than a few who were just plain burnt out. The younger ones were always the most fun, they hadn't gotten cynical yet.

cum finals in Spanish

Ahora! Ahora! Mas Firma! Mas Rapido!

Yet the very process of application to select colleges undermines both the goal of education and the inherent strengths of young people. "It makes kids sneaky," says Anderegg. Bending rules and calling in favors to give one's kid a competitive edge is morally corrosive.

Got a point there. Though not what I'd call a new problem.

I wonder. For a long time weren't now-super-compeditive colleges mostly populated by who you were and not what you'd done?

Oh, and Debetese gets Roscoe's. And I am jealous.

The younger ones were always the most fun, they hadn't gotten cynical yet.

It makes me sad that I've crossed that line. Luckily I'm still very passionate and excited about my job, but I am a lot more cynical than I used to be.

I just think you have to really WANT to be a teacher to stay in the profession now. Weekends off? Ha. Vacations? Lots of take-home work or continuing education or professional development. It used to be that someone could get away with being a shitty teacher who did the job for summers off. Those people still exist, but I think they are far more in the minority. There's a reason that 50% of all new teachers leave the profession within 5 years, never to return.

Wow. Teaching is so much like nursing in all of these regards. I think both careers are struggling to have the public understand what they do and how much it's changed in the last 30 years.

I try not to have a chip on my shoulder about it, but if one more person says, "Oh, you're so smart! Why didn't you become a doctor?", I won't be held accountable for my actions.

20-30 years ago?

I had two 'bad' public school teachers. One was mean and liked to paddle kids. One was mean and liked to ride (to the point of tears) her non-favorites... but I don't think either one of them was academically harmful. Incurious maybe, but not incompetent.

if one more person says, "Oh, you're so smart! Why didn't you become a doctor?", I won't be held accountable for my actions

Yikes. My mom has lupus, and has had more experience with the medical profession than anyone should have, and she's always said the nurses make such a difference. I felt the same way every time I've been in the hospital -- I value my doctors, but the nurses are out there on the front line, so to speak, and they've got a tough gig.

The nurses who helped me through labor with Sara earned my lifelong respect.

Hallo everyone! I shall catch up in a moment, but I wanted to spread some joy and happiness, as I feel plenty to share, at the moment. I had turkey luncheon for work, got to go home early, instead went to see "pride and prejudice" (which was AWESOME), hung out at Barnes and Noble, ran into a friend on my way home, and made dinner from scratch! All kinds of yay, so I shall send contentment-vibes-ma all around.

And now to catch up and see who needs them.