VICTORY!!
After 6 months' wait, the Social Security Administration Payment Department has paid me what it owes me! There was no letter of explanation to inform me of this. In fact, I found out only when I logged in to my checking account online to find its current balance, and it was thousands of dollars higher than I expected. I clicked the account number and scrolled down the page, and there it was: the most avidly awaited deposit in memory. Oh, happy day!
I think this deserves a nice glass of wine!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
Plus ca change, plus la meme chose
(The more things change, the more they stay the same.)
About three weeks ago I had medical concerns, Social Security concerns, and general complaints. I'd love to say that they've all been resolved, but that's not the case. There have been some changes in the details, but the three categories still exist.
"Nothing sinister," pronounced the ENT doctor, so three suspicious lesions on my face are no longer of concern although one will be treated to make sure it stays harmless. That leaves the usual concerns about cholesterol, high blood pressure, and all the typical issues of those who are firmly entrenched in Middle Age. Unfortunately, my PCP blithely orders blood draws "just to see what's going on," refusing to acknowledge that I'm what they refer to as "a hard stick" which means good luck finding a blood vessel in my arms or hands that will suffice for the task. I'm thankful that the nurses are careful, optimistic, and patient so we can usually get through the ordeal successfully. On another positive note, visits to the chiropractor are helping my back and allowing me more restful sleep. Unfortunately, some meds I'm taking are giving me vivid dreams that stay with me even after I'm awake. As someone used to say, "It's always something."
Social Security is still FUBAR. At this point they owe me over $8k and counting, and no one can figure out why the mystical place called Payment isn't paying me. I've filed enough paperwork for three people, even submitting 8 typed pages of chronology to substantiate my claim. My Congressperson's office has become involved, and a formal Request for Reconsideration has been submitted to the SSA, and still I wait. It's clear that my county case manager is not my advocate but a go-between or messenger, and the wheels of any government agency grind slowly, so in another four weeks, I may have an update.
And now for the general complaints: Why is David Letterman's Friday night show a rerun from two weeks ago? This is the night of the week when the tv volume doesn't have to be barely audible and I can stay up to watch late night shows in bed without compromising the quality of the next day's activities. You'd think they'd play the repeat shows on Mondays or Tuesdays when there's less of an audience for them, at least in this house. Give Dave Mondays off if he wants his three-day weekend.
What's with winter cucumbers? Yes, it's silly of me to use them in salads this time of year but they look so edible in the grocery store, and a tossed salad needs a few slices of cucumber to be complete. Either they're punky, they're sour or, even worse, flavorless, or, if I shell out the extra for the long seedless wonders carefully sheathed in plastic (after I quash the giggles about the similarity with condoms and carefully place one in my basket), they last long enough to be half used in one salad before the remaining half turns slimy and gooey. Perhaps my next quest should be for a small indoor greenhouse that can house ever-bearing cherry tomato and pint size cucumber plants so my winter salads somewhat resemble their summer counterparts.
Why are we coddling and enabling teenagers now more than ever? Many aren't being held accountable enough for their own actions or expected to be responsible as part of becoming a trustworthy adult, so when they continue the irresponsible behaviors and actions for which they pretend they're not accountable, they're shocked that the world outside their protective cocoons (I'll let you fill in where or what institutions those might be) doesn't agree with them. There ARE rules and there ARE laws, and son of a gun those rules and laws actually DO apply to them! Police! Court! Fines! Jail! At the age of 19 they still have the naivety of a pubescent child of 12 or 13, expecting to shift the blame or pull the wool over someone's eyes, and assuming that they'll be able to walk away clean to play more games. Why not gently but firmly and consistently hold them responsible from the onset of puberty for their actions? No long series of additional chances or exceptions will help that process. The best way to prepare for life in the world outside the cocoon is to practice living the way you need to in order to be accepted as a successful adult. (That's the goal, anyway, because even adults make mistakes, and then there are fines and jail time which take away that "successful" descriptor.) Not calling them on the lies you know they're telling about tasks done or undone or obligations neglected only encourages them to do it again, and that's not my idea of being responsible, for either the teenager or the adult trying to help the kid on the path toward adulthood. It's a real shame when an almost-adult ends up on the pages of social media or print media or on television as a result of one of those immature decisions. What a terribly public way to learn the hard stuff.
I'll save my comments about Congress and all this February snow for another time.
About three weeks ago I had medical concerns, Social Security concerns, and general complaints. I'd love to say that they've all been resolved, but that's not the case. There have been some changes in the details, but the three categories still exist.
"Nothing sinister," pronounced the ENT doctor, so three suspicious lesions on my face are no longer of concern although one will be treated to make sure it stays harmless. That leaves the usual concerns about cholesterol, high blood pressure, and all the typical issues of those who are firmly entrenched in Middle Age. Unfortunately, my PCP blithely orders blood draws "just to see what's going on," refusing to acknowledge that I'm what they refer to as "a hard stick" which means good luck finding a blood vessel in my arms or hands that will suffice for the task. I'm thankful that the nurses are careful, optimistic, and patient so we can usually get through the ordeal successfully. On another positive note, visits to the chiropractor are helping my back and allowing me more restful sleep. Unfortunately, some meds I'm taking are giving me vivid dreams that stay with me even after I'm awake. As someone used to say, "It's always something."
Social Security is still FUBAR. At this point they owe me over $8k and counting, and no one can figure out why the mystical place called Payment isn't paying me. I've filed enough paperwork for three people, even submitting 8 typed pages of chronology to substantiate my claim. My Congressperson's office has become involved, and a formal Request for Reconsideration has been submitted to the SSA, and still I wait. It's clear that my county case manager is not my advocate but a go-between or messenger, and the wheels of any government agency grind slowly, so in another four weeks, I may have an update.
And now for the general complaints: Why is David Letterman's Friday night show a rerun from two weeks ago? This is the night of the week when the tv volume doesn't have to be barely audible and I can stay up to watch late night shows in bed without compromising the quality of the next day's activities. You'd think they'd play the repeat shows on Mondays or Tuesdays when there's less of an audience for them, at least in this house. Give Dave Mondays off if he wants his three-day weekend.
What's with winter cucumbers? Yes, it's silly of me to use them in salads this time of year but they look so edible in the grocery store, and a tossed salad needs a few slices of cucumber to be complete. Either they're punky, they're sour or, even worse, flavorless, or, if I shell out the extra for the long seedless wonders carefully sheathed in plastic (after I quash the giggles about the similarity with condoms and carefully place one in my basket), they last long enough to be half used in one salad before the remaining half turns slimy and gooey. Perhaps my next quest should be for a small indoor greenhouse that can house ever-bearing cherry tomato and pint size cucumber plants so my winter salads somewhat resemble their summer counterparts.
Why are we coddling and enabling teenagers now more than ever? Many aren't being held accountable enough for their own actions or expected to be responsible as part of becoming a trustworthy adult, so when they continue the irresponsible behaviors and actions for which they pretend they're not accountable, they're shocked that the world outside their protective cocoons (I'll let you fill in where or what institutions those might be) doesn't agree with them. There ARE rules and there ARE laws, and son of a gun those rules and laws actually DO apply to them! Police! Court! Fines! Jail! At the age of 19 they still have the naivety of a pubescent child of 12 or 13, expecting to shift the blame or pull the wool over someone's eyes, and assuming that they'll be able to walk away clean to play more games. Why not gently but firmly and consistently hold them responsible from the onset of puberty for their actions? No long series of additional chances or exceptions will help that process. The best way to prepare for life in the world outside the cocoon is to practice living the way you need to in order to be accepted as a successful adult. (That's the goal, anyway, because even adults make mistakes, and then there are fines and jail time which take away that "successful" descriptor.) Not calling them on the lies you know they're telling about tasks done or undone or obligations neglected only encourages them to do it again, and that's not my idea of being responsible, for either the teenager or the adult trying to help the kid on the path toward adulthood. It's a real shame when an almost-adult ends up on the pages of social media or print media or on television as a result of one of those immature decisions. What a terribly public way to learn the hard stuff.
I'll save my comments about Congress and all this February snow for another time.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Grumblings...
About halfway through my first year of retirement from teaching, I'm unexpectedly feeling discouraged by my life. People in the past have quipped, "Sucks, getting old!" and I chuckled as I nodded in agreement, but suddenly that message has taken on a more genuineness for me.
For years I've expressed the belief in balance, that things balance out in the long run, and I still believe that concept to be true. Lately, as soon as something uplifting or happy presents itself to my life, another something appears almost immediately to take away the sweet taste I'd been granted. And I'm not happy that this is happening.
Take retirement income: Social Security and NH Teacher Retirement, both of which I've contributed to for the duration of my 40 year career. Other than the $97 glitch made by the Feds providing the wrong chart to NH Retirement to determine January's pay, that benefit has been a flawless and easy process, and I've been paid on time each month. Social Security? Not so much. Since August 2012 I've received two paychecks from them, even though I officially retired on June 30, 2012 and requested that my SS benefits begin for the month of July. I have a folder more than an inch thick with bank statements, letters of verification, notes, and letters from SSA that continue to mistake my actual situation and that continue to deny me 4 7/8 months of benefits that are legally due to me.
Another issue is this aging body. Teeth, skin, blood pressure, spine.... the list is long of parts that are becoming difficult and needing special (aka time consuming and expen$ive) attention. I have to admit that I probably should have been taking better care of myself, even though I'm no boozer, druggie, or real abuser of food. Sure, I've eaten what I wanted, when I wanted, for most of my life, but now my aging metabolism giggles every time I stuff a chocolate covered cherry or an extra piece of pepperoni pizza into my mouth, and I'm finding that I'm wearing the consequences and carrying them around with me 24/7. Some of the current problems are linked together, so if I were to get up off my lardbutt regularly and be more physically active, I could cross an item or two off the long list, so I accept some of the responsibility. The rest.... well, I feel as though I don't really deserve it.
Being away from the workplace has opened my eyes a little wider than I thought would happen with retirement. I have a different perspective. I can see what I did and didn't do more clearly. Decisions and plans made by others for specious reasons seem even more like folly. People who expressed and lived friendship while I was there now apparently need my physical presence to remind them that I am.... or was... part of their lives. The fallacy of open and constant communication between schools and community is painfully noticeable.
Which leads me to the reason why all of the above has become so much more prominent: without the need of my brain to focus on the many and constant aspects of my job, it now has time to be aware of, register, ponder, and worry about each and every one of those aforementioned topics. Now I have time to make appointments unhindered by the 8 hour blocks of time spent at work five days a week. Now I have alone time to think about me, to look in the mirror, to notice the aches and the flaws that have probably been there for a while or even all along, but they'd been low on the priority list during my working years. There's no one here to bounce ideas off of, to interrupt a train of thought or offer mitigating or encouraging comments. I notice the people who do make an effort to stay in touch with me, face to face, through email or Facebook, versus those who expressed friendship in the past but who are surprised to see me out in public. (Once in a while, at seeing their reactions, I wonder if they thought I'd died when I disappeared from their daily view, even though logic, and their presence at my retirement events prove otherwise.) This virtual step back from the previous part of my life has given me the space to see and understand it and my current life with a greater degree of impartiality than I'd had when I was employed and among my peers on a daily basis.
The temptation is to withdraw further, not just to see who seeks me but to back away from the disappointments and the situations in which I was formerly essential but now am not. The other option is to throw myself with more vigor into what I love, what makes me happy, what's important to me. To do that, I need to acknowledge what those things are, and then embrace them with more vigor and determination. My excuse for not taking the second option has been the season. Winter, for me, is not a welcoming time of year: it takes more energy to dress for the weather, the daylight is shorter and paler than in warmer seasons, and I don't like being cold. They're all silly obstacles, but they're there. Or they have been. With the length of daylight increasing, and having vented about some of the irritants here, I think I'm more ready to cope with the days ahead in a more positive frame of mind. Yes, the government, my physical self, and other issues are giving me problems, but if I keep pecking away at them persistently, I can claim more control over them, experience some successes, and feel a bit more in charge. That's my goal.
For years I've expressed the belief in balance, that things balance out in the long run, and I still believe that concept to be true. Lately, as soon as something uplifting or happy presents itself to my life, another something appears almost immediately to take away the sweet taste I'd been granted. And I'm not happy that this is happening.
Take retirement income: Social Security and NH Teacher Retirement, both of which I've contributed to for the duration of my 40 year career. Other than the $97 glitch made by the Feds providing the wrong chart to NH Retirement to determine January's pay, that benefit has been a flawless and easy process, and I've been paid on time each month. Social Security? Not so much. Since August 2012 I've received two paychecks from them, even though I officially retired on June 30, 2012 and requested that my SS benefits begin for the month of July. I have a folder more than an inch thick with bank statements, letters of verification, notes, and letters from SSA that continue to mistake my actual situation and that continue to deny me 4 7/8 months of benefits that are legally due to me.
Another issue is this aging body. Teeth, skin, blood pressure, spine.... the list is long of parts that are becoming difficult and needing special (aka time consuming and expen$ive) attention. I have to admit that I probably should have been taking better care of myself, even though I'm no boozer, druggie, or real abuser of food. Sure, I've eaten what I wanted, when I wanted, for most of my life, but now my aging metabolism giggles every time I stuff a chocolate covered cherry or an extra piece of pepperoni pizza into my mouth, and I'm finding that I'm wearing the consequences and carrying them around with me 24/7. Some of the current problems are linked together, so if I were to get up off my lardbutt regularly and be more physically active, I could cross an item or two off the long list, so I accept some of the responsibility. The rest.... well, I feel as though I don't really deserve it.
Being away from the workplace has opened my eyes a little wider than I thought would happen with retirement. I have a different perspective. I can see what I did and didn't do more clearly. Decisions and plans made by others for specious reasons seem even more like folly. People who expressed and lived friendship while I was there now apparently need my physical presence to remind them that I am.... or was... part of their lives. The fallacy of open and constant communication between schools and community is painfully noticeable.
Which leads me to the reason why all of the above has become so much more prominent: without the need of my brain to focus on the many and constant aspects of my job, it now has time to be aware of, register, ponder, and worry about each and every one of those aforementioned topics. Now I have time to make appointments unhindered by the 8 hour blocks of time spent at work five days a week. Now I have alone time to think about me, to look in the mirror, to notice the aches and the flaws that have probably been there for a while or even all along, but they'd been low on the priority list during my working years. There's no one here to bounce ideas off of, to interrupt a train of thought or offer mitigating or encouraging comments. I notice the people who do make an effort to stay in touch with me, face to face, through email or Facebook, versus those who expressed friendship in the past but who are surprised to see me out in public. (Once in a while, at seeing their reactions, I wonder if they thought I'd died when I disappeared from their daily view, even though logic, and their presence at my retirement events prove otherwise.) This virtual step back from the previous part of my life has given me the space to see and understand it and my current life with a greater degree of impartiality than I'd had when I was employed and among my peers on a daily basis.
The temptation is to withdraw further, not just to see who seeks me but to back away from the disappointments and the situations in which I was formerly essential but now am not. The other option is to throw myself with more vigor into what I love, what makes me happy, what's important to me. To do that, I need to acknowledge what those things are, and then embrace them with more vigor and determination. My excuse for not taking the second option has been the season. Winter, for me, is not a welcoming time of year: it takes more energy to dress for the weather, the daylight is shorter and paler than in warmer seasons, and I don't like being cold. They're all silly obstacles, but they're there. Or they have been. With the length of daylight increasing, and having vented about some of the irritants here, I think I'm more ready to cope with the days ahead in a more positive frame of mind. Yes, the government, my physical self, and other issues are giving me problems, but if I keep pecking away at them persistently, I can claim more control over them, experience some successes, and feel a bit more in charge. That's my goal.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Pre-Monday Blues
from 2011...
Two different stacks of paperwork wait for me. I have a list of things to do for myself today that's typical for a Sunday. And yet here I sit, staring at the computer screen, listening to the clocks in the house ticking and the wind whistling through tree branches and around the corner of the house. I'm a lump of inactivity today because I have the pre-Monday blues. I'm not talking about music. I'm talking about being down in the dumps.
I've suffered from this affliction most of my adult life, but I didn't give it a name until about a dozen years ago when I finally realized what made me cranky 40 Sundays out of 52 in the year. (40 weeks = one school year) It's almost like my personality rather than my body feels sluggish, like being hung over, and I just do NOT want to do what I know needs to be done.
"Blah blah blah.... okay so get over yourself. Suck it up and get going, you silly goose."
Yeah....well, no. I'm going to wallow in it for a while before I grumpily do what needs to be done. Bah humbug!
Two different stacks of paperwork wait for me. I have a list of things to do for myself today that's typical for a Sunday. And yet here I sit, staring at the computer screen, listening to the clocks in the house ticking and the wind whistling through tree branches and around the corner of the house. I'm a lump of inactivity today because I have the pre-Monday blues. I'm not talking about music. I'm talking about being down in the dumps.
I've suffered from this affliction most of my adult life, but I didn't give it a name until about a dozen years ago when I finally realized what made me cranky 40 Sundays out of 52 in the year. (40 weeks = one school year) It's almost like my personality rather than my body feels sluggish, like being hung over, and I just do NOT want to do what I know needs to be done.
"Blah blah blah.... okay so get over yourself. Suck it up and get going, you silly goose."
Yeah....well, no. I'm going to wallow in it for a while before I grumpily do what needs to be done. Bah humbug!
Why reward mediocrity?
One reason I know it's time for a change is that my philosophy of acknowledgement and reward no longer fits the tone where I work. From the perspective of most adults, they realize that if you put in some effort to do a good job at whatever your task, you'll only have to do it once and then you can move on to the next challenge. Time and energy aren't wasted, and you can savor the accomplishment as you move forward. That's no longer the view at my workplace.
The current plan is to provide instruction, to present a means (or a variety of means) by which to discover whether each participant understands and can use the skills and content introduced and practiced, and if a participant isn't successful for any reason at all, that participant can request private tutoring and another, personally designed means of assessing his/her understanding and ability to use those skills and content. The participant who makes the request and completes the second assessment earns the higher of the two grades. If the participant simply does nothing, the participant is given a grade of 50%.
Given.
A participant can earn a grade of 0% if he or she does no work whatsoever during a quarter or fails to appear to take one of the two cumulative exams. Otherwise, if a participant puts forth minimal effort - like attempting an answer or two on an assessment, even if the responses are clearly wrong - the grade of 50% is required to be awarded.
What has this policy taught? That there is no need to pay attention the first time or to put in effort at the time requested because there will always be another chance with no penalty. That, as with sports teams for very young children, if there's even a hint of effort to show skill, everyone will be rewarded. That the burden is on the instructor to personalize the teaching rather than on the student to learn. Until very recently, a student was encouraged to develop the skills of advocating for him/herself by asking for extra help before an assessment, and of becoming aware of his/her own learning style and tailoring the effort toward learning to be done on his/her part. Do flashcards work? Does conversation with a peer or the instructor individually help? Will recopying notes or extra practice be beneficial? That policy has changed.
There are learners who do enjoy learning, who do strive, who recognize that their efforts toward achieving goals DO matter, and I've been fortunate to have many of them around me in these past few years. However, many more learners have developed what I would call a dangerous laziness from our current mandated practices. Mediocrity is good enough for them, in fact a low enough bar, an easy enough goal to be widely achieved and one that's not only truly possible in our current environment, but also the only one for a large portion of our populace.
Years ago we had a day-long training with a man named Todd Johnson who verified for us that in the balance of teaching and learning, the teachers shouldn't be working harder than the students. He offered a few very simple classroom guidelines, clear expectations, and firmness (and fairness) in adhering to them. Excuses were acknowledged but they didn't eliminate the responsibility of the students to do the work. We have finally moved 180 degrees away from that philosophy. Since this platform reflects my belief about training adolescents to become resourceful, intelligent, and reliable adults, I no longer fit in where I've spent my whole career.
I don't understand the rewarding of mediocrity. "Well, you tried...or you made it look like you tried. That's good enough," just doesn't fly with me, and I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of employers and heads of organizations feel the way I do. I will be watching - in fascination or in horror - from afar to see how this current school of thought plays out and for how long. My hope is that the pendulum swings far, and soon.
The current plan is to provide instruction, to present a means (or a variety of means) by which to discover whether each participant understands and can use the skills and content introduced and practiced, and if a participant isn't successful for any reason at all, that participant can request private tutoring and another, personally designed means of assessing his/her understanding and ability to use those skills and content. The participant who makes the request and completes the second assessment earns the higher of the two grades. If the participant simply does nothing, the participant is given a grade of 50%.
Given.
A participant can earn a grade of 0% if he or she does no work whatsoever during a quarter or fails to appear to take one of the two cumulative exams. Otherwise, if a participant puts forth minimal effort - like attempting an answer or two on an assessment, even if the responses are clearly wrong - the grade of 50% is required to be awarded.
What has this policy taught? That there is no need to pay attention the first time or to put in effort at the time requested because there will always be another chance with no penalty. That, as with sports teams for very young children, if there's even a hint of effort to show skill, everyone will be rewarded. That the burden is on the instructor to personalize the teaching rather than on the student to learn. Until very recently, a student was encouraged to develop the skills of advocating for him/herself by asking for extra help before an assessment, and of becoming aware of his/her own learning style and tailoring the effort toward learning to be done on his/her part. Do flashcards work? Does conversation with a peer or the instructor individually help? Will recopying notes or extra practice be beneficial? That policy has changed.
There are learners who do enjoy learning, who do strive, who recognize that their efforts toward achieving goals DO matter, and I've been fortunate to have many of them around me in these past few years. However, many more learners have developed what I would call a dangerous laziness from our current mandated practices. Mediocrity is good enough for them, in fact a low enough bar, an easy enough goal to be widely achieved and one that's not only truly possible in our current environment, but also the only one for a large portion of our populace.
Years ago we had a day-long training with a man named Todd Johnson who verified for us that in the balance of teaching and learning, the teachers shouldn't be working harder than the students. He offered a few very simple classroom guidelines, clear expectations, and firmness (and fairness) in adhering to them. Excuses were acknowledged but they didn't eliminate the responsibility of the students to do the work. We have finally moved 180 degrees away from that philosophy. Since this platform reflects my belief about training adolescents to become resourceful, intelligent, and reliable adults, I no longer fit in where I've spent my whole career.
I don't understand the rewarding of mediocrity. "Well, you tried...or you made it look like you tried. That's good enough," just doesn't fly with me, and I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of employers and heads of organizations feel the way I do. I will be watching - in fascination or in horror - from afar to see how this current school of thought plays out and for how long. My hope is that the pendulum swings far, and soon.
Freshmen?
A former colleague of mine and her husband will be blessed with twins, probably in late August, to join their three other children, making a large and happy family. She will be on child-bearing leave for all of the first term of the upcoming school year. This much is true. Unfortunately, the educator who was signed up to be her substitute for term 1 has backed out due to the success of a business that she and her mother started earlier in the year. I know you can see what's coming.
The phone rang while I was out on my back deck, and the answering machine picked up before I could get to it. Floating through the air came the voice of my esteemed department chair, explaining that he had some very sad news. Thinking that it might be about one of the others in the department or another former colleague, I picked up and listened to his news (above) and his plea for me to consider taking the position.
My heart didn't sink to my toes, but I didn't jump for joy either. It's been more than a decade - in fact it's been two decades - since I last taught freshmen, and then only one class of them. At the time, I told anyone who would listen, "Never again," and was promised that would be the case. And now I'm being asked to consider a full schedule of them? Hmm.
Pros: As jobs go, I'm someone who wouldn't need training in classroom management, chain of command, daily routines, or anything that a newbie would need, so I wouldn't need to attend those pre-pre-student days in August being brought up to speed. Normal sub pay applies during the first week, but after that a larger stipend as long-term sub would add to my little stash of funds for travel and, I'm pretty sure, not exceed what I could earn as a retired educator drawing teacher retirement. It would probably remind me viscerally, on a daily basis, why I retired, so it would make me overjoyed at the start of November when the term ends and the liberation resumes. I'd get to schmooze with my former colleagues for a while longer. The freshmen would certainly begin their high school careers with a steady educator with some clear, strong, and fair expectations. I could participate in STAPLES' Teacher Appreciation Day in early August. Wooo hoo!
Cons: Freshmen? Really?? This is the group that was described to me two days ago as "half dream, half nightmare," in which there are several "high profile" students who will be part of the new discipline protocol from day 1. There are no honors students among the five classes to be taught, those students going to another more fortunate teacher. Classes will meet in the smallest of the English classrooms, right beside the noisy, dynamic science teacher. I haven't read any of the material in the freshman literature book. As much as I appreciate my former department chair's confidence in me, I'm not so happy about giving up September and October of my first year of retirement.
I'm going to have to ponder this and bounce it off my husband, even though he'll probably respond with, "You do what you think best."
Freshmen?
--------------------------
Follow-up: Back in 1992, eight years after I'd quit coaching basketball cheerleading, the newly hired coach quit and I agreed to coach for one more year. A week into the season I knew I'd made a mistake. The next three months were long and unhappy for me. Today's proposal feels way too much like that, so in the name of learning from past experience, I've declined, and I feel fine about that. : )
The phone rang while I was out on my back deck, and the answering machine picked up before I could get to it. Floating through the air came the voice of my esteemed department chair, explaining that he had some very sad news. Thinking that it might be about one of the others in the department or another former colleague, I picked up and listened to his news (above) and his plea for me to consider taking the position.
My heart didn't sink to my toes, but I didn't jump for joy either. It's been more than a decade - in fact it's been two decades - since I last taught freshmen, and then only one class of them. At the time, I told anyone who would listen, "Never again," and was promised that would be the case. And now I'm being asked to consider a full schedule of them? Hmm.
Pros: As jobs go, I'm someone who wouldn't need training in classroom management, chain of command, daily routines, or anything that a newbie would need, so I wouldn't need to attend those pre-pre-student days in August being brought up to speed. Normal sub pay applies during the first week, but after that a larger stipend as long-term sub would add to my little stash of funds for travel and, I'm pretty sure, not exceed what I could earn as a retired educator drawing teacher retirement. It would probably remind me viscerally, on a daily basis, why I retired, so it would make me overjoyed at the start of November when the term ends and the liberation resumes. I'd get to schmooze with my former colleagues for a while longer. The freshmen would certainly begin their high school careers with a steady educator with some clear, strong, and fair expectations. I could participate in STAPLES' Teacher Appreciation Day in early August. Wooo hoo!
Cons: Freshmen? Really?? This is the group that was described to me two days ago as "half dream, half nightmare," in which there are several "high profile" students who will be part of the new discipline protocol from day 1. There are no honors students among the five classes to be taught, those students going to another more fortunate teacher. Classes will meet in the smallest of the English classrooms, right beside the noisy, dynamic science teacher. I haven't read any of the material in the freshman literature book. As much as I appreciate my former department chair's confidence in me, I'm not so happy about giving up September and October of my first year of retirement.
I'm going to have to ponder this and bounce it off my husband, even though he'll probably respond with, "You do what you think best."
Freshmen?
--------------------------
Follow-up: Back in 1992, eight years after I'd quit coaching basketball cheerleading, the newly hired coach quit and I agreed to coach for one more year. A week into the season I knew I'd made a mistake. The next three months were long and unhappy for me. Today's proposal feels way too much like that, so in the name of learning from past experience, I've declined, and I feel fine about that. : )
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Not a happy gal
Step 1: Purchase an iPad 2 with Wifi + 3G to be able to use it where no wifi is available.
Step 2: Add apps and download iBooks; learn to use and depend on the iPad 2.
Step 3: Use the iPad 2 at my second job, especially to be able to use Square, a credit card reader.
Step 4: Lose free access to wifi at second job; plan to start Verizon Wireless service for iPad 2.
Step 5: Hold online chat with someone (seemed like an ESL helpdesk) to determine how to make my iPhone a hotspot and/or start my 3G service on my iPad 2; after 48 minutes, there was no useful information and no answer to either question so I was advised to call Verizon Wireless.
Step 6: Call Verizon Wireless to start service only to find that the manufacturer of the iPad 2 assigned duplicate MEID numbers to my device and at least one other (someone who lives in NY and had already registered with VW to use the 3G) so they can't establish an account for me to use it, and I was advised to send my iPad 2 back and ask for a replacement with a new MEID number. I'm upset.
Step 7: Call Apple and talk with tech support who puts me on hold, with lame Muzak for company, for 15 minutes waiting for a senior account advisor; the senior account advisor makes no apology and phrases the explanation in such a way that it sounds like a) Apple isn't responsible, and b) this almost never happens, although he can see from their records that it has. (note: at least one of my students also had this identical thing happen with his iPhone) He says that Apple will replace my iPad 2 after I backup files and apps, wipe the device clean, and send it back via FedEx. He's told that I will not be driving 45 minutes to a FedEx store, so he agrees to send a prepaid box to my home address. I am not happy.
Step 8: I realize a dilemma - this error on Apple's quality control part not to check the MEID numbers to make sure each is unique (were they thinking that no one would notice? or that people wouldn't actually use the features they paid for?) is creating a major inconvenience for me, but I've been a very loyal Apple user since the late 1980's. If I threaten to publicize the error that's clearly theirs, I can't claim to be an Apple supporter, and the time and effort to press the issue in the legal system might prolong my inability to have and use my iPad 2. On the other hand, if I just let them walk all over me, that's certainly not right either.
Step 9: Write email to the senior account manager detailing the great inconvenience that Apple has caused me due to its negligence; receive pacifying email in return requesting phone conversation.
Step 10: After playing phone tag, the senior account manager calls and asks what kind of compensation I had in mind. I suggest upgrading the memory and he says no, he can't do that, but let's talk with a consumer support rep to see what might be available. I'm put on hold and 10 minutes later he offers me an accessory like a new smart cover or one of the cables that connect iPads to other devices. At first I'm somewhat satisfied, but then I realize how little that represents. The senior account manager says for me to think about it and we'll talk again when I've received my replacement iPad 2 (with duplicate engraving from the first one) to see if it's satisfactory to be used with Verizon Wireless.
Step 11: Two days later the shipping box arrives; I back up files and apps carefully, reset (wipe clean) the iPad, and pack it securely in its box, sending it back to California via a local store that's a FedEx pickup spot. The replacement will take 4 to 6 work days to reach me.
Step 12: Wait. Miss reading the iBook I was halfway through (yes, I can read it 10 lines at a time on my iPhone, but... no). Miss making a sale at my second job because I don't have access to my Square account. I am NOT a happy gal.
Step 13: Trying not to let this eat at me but refusing to let it drop until a satisfactory resolution is reached.
I wonder how many Apple product users have been affected by this shortcoming on the part of Apple, and if a class action suit has been or might be made. I suspect that Apple's attempt to minimalize the problem and to assuage the discontent of their customers with replacement (which is part of their warrantee anyway) or fairly insignificant trinkets is keeping quiet the extent to which this problem has occurred.
Look forward to Step 14....
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Step 14: The new iPad came, the trinket arrived, and all is well. In fact, I've purchased a bluetooth keyboard/hard case for it, used its 3G capabilities to sell items at craft fairs, using Square to allow customers to charge items, and I've finished reading the iBook. In fact, I've downloaded a few more, too, and I've enjoyed helping others who have bought or who might buy iPads to see the sense in doing it and using it. The annoyance dissipated not long after the new iPad arrived and did exactly what it was supposed to do with minimal fuss. So much for my hissy fit!
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Step 14: The new iPad came, the trinket arrived, and all is well. In fact, I've purchased a bluetooth keyboard/hard case for it, used its 3G capabilities to sell items at craft fairs, using Square to allow customers to charge items, and I've finished reading the iBook. In fact, I've downloaded a few more, too, and I've enjoyed helping others who have bought or who might buy iPads to see the sense in doing it and using it. The annoyance dissipated not long after the new iPad arrived and did exactly what it was supposed to do with minimal fuss. So much for my hissy fit!
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