Rainy Daze

I am FREE!  It's 20 degrees warmer than I expected it to be, and instead of snow we have rain, but I'm free!  Today was an awesome day for any classroom teacher that went "above and beyond" the land of CMAP.  I don't care what anybody says, public school teachers should celebrate the holidays with their students.  Not exclusively because it's fun but because we spend 8 hours with them 180 days of the year and we try to treat them the way we would treat our own children...at least we do our best without a pay-raise in God knows how long.   Wouldn't you celebrate a winter holiday with your own kid?  Even a Jehovah's Witness is playing a part in it all in some way, shape, or form.  Seriously, think about it. Whether its at a place of worship or even leaving school early to avoid the celebrations...is that not, in its own way, at the very least, acknowledging the holidays?  I mean REALLY.  And what central office employee or board member or superintendent did nothing, wore nothing, said nothing, exchanged nothing, baked nothing, or decorated nothing in light of the season?  They all have desks.  I know they've got something sitting on it that screams Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or rejoice for Ramadan, or Happy New Year or whatever!  BUT oh no, we are the only ones that have to go to battle with swords of objectives and target goals, benchmarks, and interventions against the government to have a holiday celebration that involves food, parents, and an educational movie to prove that we are not "wasting instructional time".... "wasting time with kids"????  Has anybody thought about that statement at all?  Why do we get the flack for wasting instructional time?  What about the parents that are not supporting student learning, or the laws that are keeping kids in classrooms where they aren't learning to their potential because it's not the best environment for them?  Where is the scare tactic litigation that is sent to these lovely citizens stating that if they don't start doing their job as moms and dads, or policy makers, that they will be given bad evaluations that effect their jobs as parents and employees for the school system?   I am a good teacher (there's data to support that claim so it can't be considered bragging if it's a factual statement that is supported with clear and consistent evidence), and I love my job. It's not even possible for me to be wasting instructional time with the kids.  Never. They are not just a job that I have to prove I'm good at.  I live and breathe in that classroom all day long and they are right next to me...looking at me, with hope, as their fearless leader that would jump in front of a bullet for any of them.  They are just kids that need to be lovingly taught how to be successful and confident life-long learners.  There are so many other factors that would make us "better teachers" or help the students learn more in shorter amounts of time... So many other factors that it begins to have nothing to do with time at all.... but once again, it's our fault, not the parents, not the government, and we have to own that or our jobs are at risk.