Natter 57 Varieties
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
I am so glad that I spent eight years in public school before switching to private. I get paid less, but in a school where we teach four classes as a full-time load, people fret at their "big" classes...of 18 students. Very glad I have some perspective.
There's a reason parents pay such a ridonkulous amount of money to send their kids to private schools, but it make me crazy that they have to do so. The thing is, as a high school English teacher, I have
never
been able to be the reading and writing teacher that I am now. Having a total student load of 60-80 allows me to give writing feedback and individual attention I could never have done when I was still teaching in public school. We teachers (and I am no exception) get scornful about how easy private school teachers have it and how we can handle huge student loads when we have to...but if everyone English teacher could have this situation, imagine what a difference it would make to literacy in America.
Sorry, ranting.
Kat, have you guys started a 529 account for the kids? We've had some luck with steering family towards deposits with one of those. We get periodic mailings from the account manager with small deposit slips that we can give people, if they ask.
Most of the time, when people ask what my kids "need" or "want" for birthdays or Christmas, I will say, "we have an established college fund if you'd like to contribute," and give them the choice. I hope I haven't sounded horribly tacky in doing so but they really have plenty of clothes and toys. My MiL is especially good about doing stuff like this, rather than loading them up with more birthday loot.
At traditional chinese birthdays, people give little red envelops of cash, but there is, alas, nothing like that in our culture.
We just got a really cool cut-out red & gold envelope in the kids' Nick, Jr. magazine last month for Chinese New Year celebration for the new show Ni hao, Kai-Lan. It's very pretty and the red envelopes are for the New Year stuffing money tradition.
Coffee:
The reality is, though, that a shitty teacher with only 16 kids (and I know of one who is teaching that many kids now) is actually much worse for those kids than a very skilled teacher with 30.
Very true, but I would argue that a very skilled teacher would be even more successful with 16. I am, at least. (And not trying to sound vain, but I do consider myself a skilled teacher, as Kat is.)
I'm really done ranting now and am going to go back to comment-writing any second.
Noah and Grace have stuff galore
In our house we can barely fit some more
They'll be grateful when they turn 18
If you'd like to donate some college "green"
Kat, I love that poem idea.
The poem idea is good.
Both my DH and his brother might be teaching if they could make 'more' money. BIL has a family of 4 to support. DH and I couldn't live in CA if he didn't make what he makes. At least not and own a house. And back in CT a starting teacher's salary wasn't much more that he made as a grad student. I think if tomorrow our debts were gone - including the house debt-Matt would think very hard about heading back to teaching. Sadly, for the future, that isn't likely to happen
Yah, most teachers I know are working their asses off anyway. So paying them $125K isnt' going to put more hours in the day...
Kat, I think it's weird what tangles our culture has gotten into about gift giving, but I think the poem idea is very charming.
I think I have found a way to get some balance. I'm going to try the 100 strangers project. Which means approaching 100 strangers (over no specific time period), introducing myself, and asking to take their picture.
Yikes.
How can they do this? I'm assuming it's real, but it boggles.
I wish I could be there March 27. I really do. Alas, work is thwarting that (build that week stupid ass steve who fucked up, damnit.) In the meantime, I'm all about the red envelopes.
You know what's funny? Stylist asked about Noah and Grace. She did a little happy dance when I told her Grace was off the ventilator for a period of time. She's just my haircutter, once every couple of months, but over the past 10 years. But she too has been drawn into their lives. It just tickles me sometimes how this whole human thing works. Sometimes, it is all about who we connect with that makes us who we are.
Were the twins born on March 27th? Really? If so, they share a b-day with my almost 18 year old.
Kat, the poem idea is perfect. It takes the weird awkwardness out of asking for something specific. (I alway wonder about people who'd rather give what they choose versus what the recipient needs or wants...how is that 'giving'?)
I have just one suggestion for meter:
Noah and Grace have stuff galore
In our house we can hardly fit more.
They will be grateful, when the time comes
If, now, you'd help with their college funds!
