Letter to the Governor

Dear Governor McCroy and NC General Assembly,

I have been a teacher for six years, but my passion for education goes back many years before that.  My mom was in education for 33 years, so you can imagine that I grew up in the classroom.  My first friends were made in school, my first role models found in that building, and my learning was established all those years ago.  Fast forward to 2003, when I was deciding my college and major it was a simple decision.  I knew in my heart that I had to be a teacher.

I tell you all of this not to provide you with sympathy, no - that's not it.  I just want you to understand that education runs deep in my blood.  My whole life has revolved in and out of public education - and I have loved it.  I love the feeling of sitting in a classroom, whether it was years ago as a student or currently as a teacher.  It is my safe haven.  You are desecrating my safe haven, and not just mine, but my colleagues and more importantly, my kids.

Yes, my kids.  Did I birth them?  No.  That would be a lot of birthing.  However, in a mere five years, I have taught over 700 students.  That's a lot of students.  Now I ask you, would you have wanted these over 700 students to have had a bad teacher?  A bad education?  I'm not saying I'm this fabulous teacher, but I certainly do try.  You are forcing me to reconsider why I'm a teacher.  You are forcing me to think about leaving these kids.

You are increasing my class size, forcing me to become a more innovative teacher with less space.  You are still piling on new curriculum, forcing me to figure out new material.  You are keeping my pay the same (five years running!), forcing me to budget until my head hurts.

I love this state, I love teaching, and I love my students.  You clearly do not care.  If you cared, you would give us, my strong colleagues and fellow NC teachers, more support.  You wouldn't constantly take and take and take, just to give us more and more headaches.

And you know what?  Fine.  Take it out on me.  Don't increase my pay.  But do you realize that you're not just hurting me?  You are hurting your future.  You are hurting all these kids.  Public education has its faults.  No one is arguing with that, but I don't think tearing it apart is the solution.  Instead, help those kids.  Give them teachers who love what they do.  When you freeze our pay, take away incentive to further our education, and hinder programs for strong, rising teachers, you are hurting your kids.

Look back in your memory.  Didn't you have a teacher who cared about you?  Who inspired you?  Who gave you faith that you could do anything!  Who supported you, loved you, taught you, mentored you, and cheered you on!  This is education.  I am in education because of the teachers who inspired me.  Teachers who held me up when I was falling.  Teachers who took a genuine interest in my life.  I became a teacher to pay them back.  Why did you become what you are?

I love North Carolina.  When I leave this state and visit other states, I realize how lucky I was to grow up in this beautiful state.  Please, I beg you, stop making your teachers hurt and left feeling not valued.  We love what we do, and we clearly don't do this for money, but you are forcing us to reconsider what we love.

Catch Up #1 - Rando Late July and Early August

I have been trying my best to keep up with the blog.  I have some drafts written, but haven't published/posted anything in awhile.  I've been traveling quite a bit and trying to soak in the last bit of summer.  I've had a wonderful summer, and I can't believe that it's almost time to go back to school!  I've really tried to make the most of this summer and spend time in all the places I love with all the people I love.

Going back to school won't be easy, but I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude about it.  I'm fortunate to be in a profession that allows me to have my summer off.  I'm looking forward to seeing my students again and getting back to my regular schedule.

Being a teacher sets your mind on a different yearly schedule.  My "new" year is always in August versus January.  With that said, I have set some goals for myself during the school year.  Some I'm keeping to myself, but some I'm happy to share.  I want to continue to blog, but blog more about my lessons within the classroom.  I'm learning so many things with every year I teach, I want to share them.  I want to continue to keep up my reading!  I've read 2-4 books every month, which isn't a ton, but I've really enjoyed keeping up this simple pleasure.

So part one of this "catch up" is just some random pictures through the end of July and start of August.  I have been traveling, spending some time with friends, holding Rex (my new favorite thing in the world), and just enjoying the days.  Here are some pics:

Workshop life

Out to dinner with Kim for an entertaining meal!

Seriously, how cute is he?

Ohhhh Target. Ohhh beginning of school.

Monkey feet!

How we feel during workdays...

Happy 80th, Granny!  Holding her 3rd great-grandchild!!

Cake!

Grammy, Pop, and Rex

Cutie!

Mom's oasis

A rare pic of my family!

To be continued!

Philly Trip - AKA - Southern Girl Goes North

A few years ago, my dear friend, Courtney, moved up to Philadelphia to go to the University of Pennsylvania and work on her masters in becoming a nurse practitioner.  I am extremely proud of all her accomplishments and successes.  We have been friends for over 20 years, and it is truly wonderful to have a friend whom knows you so well.

A couple months ago, I decided I needed to make the trek up north to visit my dear friend.  I booked the flight, made the plans, and got excited.  Fast forward to last week, and it was time to venture up to the city of "brotherly love"

I traveled up last Thursday.  2 planes, 1 train, and some walking later, I arrived at Courtney's apartment.  Even from my first few hours in the city, I knew it was going to be a fun trip.  Cities give you something to look at every second you spend in them.  I noticed this from the very first walk.

Day 1 -

We went to lunch at The Shack, which is  a little fast food place featured in "Something Borrowed" (the NYC location).  It was sooo good.  It also has a really cool vibe and atmosphere.  We then ventured out and walked across the city, stopping at cool fountains, statues, and buildings.  We attempted to visit the famous "Love Park", but when we got there, 500 dancing people greeted us.  We decided to attempt that another day.  It was however, a really neat park and sign.  City hall was also beautiful!

We walked on and went through the "Your Move" park which has huge game pieces throughout it.  Afterwards, we walked to Reeding Terminal Market and looked at all the food, people, and shops.  It was an open market with tons of vendors selling food and items.  Lots of culture within one place.  I had a delicious smoothie to cool off, and then we headed back.

I hopped on my first Philly bus and went back to Court's apartment to rest and make evening plans.

For dinner, we met up with one of Courtney's nursing school friends, Susie (who is hilarious).  We ate at Dock's Brewery and had really good pizza, however, there was no AC - so it was a bit steamy in there!  We cooled off with some ice cream from a neat little shop called Scoop Deville's.  Delish!

Day 2 - 

We woke up EARLY and made plans for the day.  Muffins and juice were the first items on the list.  We stopped at this cool little coffee place called Saxby's and had a quick breakfast.  We hopped on the bus and headed to the historical part of town.  Long lines and tones of tourists greeted us at the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  I got to peek in the window and get a glimpse of the famous bell.  Walking through this part of town was beautiful.  It is full of rich history and beautiful streets.

One of the main things I HAD to do while in Philadelphia was try and authentic Philly cheese steak.  Evidently, the only place to do this is either at Geno's or Pat's.  I got mine at Geno's and Court headed over to Pat's and got one of theirs.  It is very tricky to order these, because you want to sound like you belong and know what you're doing.  Do you want one "whit" or "whit out" - onions that is.  The two eateries are right across the street from one another and are evidently in constant competition over who has the BEST cheesesteak.  We decided that in our humble, southern opinion, we preferred Geno's!!

We walked through Little Italy and saw the sights and culture.  Tons of authentic cuisine and culture.  Catching the bus, we rode over to the Univ. of Penn., where I was instantly smitten with all the Ben Franklin references.  I have a little crush on him.  There was also a replica of the "Love" sign!  It was a beautiful campus.  

We caught the underground trolley and rode back into the city.  We made a couple stops and then went back for our AC'ed siesta at Courtney's place.

For dinner, Courtney wanted to take me to her favorite Mexican place.  We had dinner and margaritas.  It was a really good place and the waiters all knew Courtney!  I spoke a lot of Spanish I didn't know I remembered and in turn also made friends with the waiter.

We hailed a cab (and I officially marked off all modes of city transportation) and beat the storm back to the apartment.  We facetimed Leah and reminisced about old times - she even got to ride in the taxi with us!!  It was an awesome day!!

Day 3 - 

We slept in after a fun night and took our time getting ready for the day.  We went out for Dunkin Donuts - my first (I am from the land of Krispe Kreme) donut.  Pretty good.  I approve.  We then walked over to the art museum.  It was such a gorgeous walk!  There were beautiful trees and statues and of course some fountains - there are a ton in that city!!

In front of the museum was the famous "Rocky" statue and the steps leading up to the museum.  The view from the city there is simply stunning!  We went into the museum and walked through all the many halls.  So many beautiful, historical paintings, rugs, statues, and collections of artifacts.  Some of the pieces date BC!  I loved the modern art and looking at pieces from my favorite artists: Monet, Picasso, and Van Gogh.  Stunning.  Simply stunning.

We left the museum and looked at some of the outside pieces.  There is also a cool park in front of the museum.  It had life size checker, chess, and twister boards, along with food trucks, music, and even a fire truck.  We got an Italian Ice and rested a while.  

We headed out and walked back through the city, stopping to take in some cool art (my favorite was the Holocaust statue).  We went back to Love Park and actually got a pic!  It wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been when we first went by there.  We also went into the Macy's.  It is a very old building and had a gorgeous organ in the middle of the store.

We headed back and walked through the city.  I was enthralled by the grandness of the city.  It's so big!!

We went back for our daily siesta and took a much needed nap. 

We were refreshed and energized for dinner and went out to Devil's Alley.  Good burger and awesome vibe.  We walked to Court's favorite cookie place, Insomnia Cooke, and took our cookies back to the park to eat them.  All was well until I noticed what I thought was a small squirrel...alas, it was a rat.  My first sighting of a city rat...I thought my country mice were big!  We quickly walked back to Courtney's and watched a movie.

Day 4 - 

For my last full day in Philly, we debated over what to do and where to go.  We started out by eating breakfast at a really cute, tasty, little place.  The pancakes were delicious! 

We decided on going exploring through the Ben Franklin Institute.  Lots of things to look at and do within the building.  Very hands on and science based.  Several exhibits, pictures, demonstrations, and even a planetarium!  We caught one of the shows and it was very entertaining...but being the old ladies we are...we might have fallen asleep through the last of it.  Oh well!!

We stopped for lunch at The Shack - because I had to go back - and then back to Courtney's for a rest.  We rested and then walked up to Barnes and Noble.  It was three stories!  Great store!

We went back to the apartments and waited and decided on dinner.  We ended up going to a bar called "Mix".  Good food.  But then, oh but then...we went for dessert at Max Brenner's.  It was so good!  The restaurant itself is precious!! Lots of chocolate and treats!  Best of all, the presentation of the desserts were a piece of art in themselves!

Tired, we headed back and went to bed before our early morning!

What an awesome trip!  Already want to go back next summer and visit again!  I can't thank Courtney enough for being my patient, knowledgeable, and dear hostess/tour guide!  You are so awesome and I am so happy I was able to visit!!