Examples you ask? well, fine.
I work in special education . . . its not just teaching, its about making sure that those kids who could get lost don't. And so many of my students remind me of my brothers or my old friends. I didn't have the greatest school experiences and I feel that most of those resulted from just very lousy people working in the schools (the middle school teacher who would pull kids out into the hall, slam them into lockers, tell them they were worthless, predict their future failures, the high school teacher who didn't want me to come back after I left for a semester to have a baby).
I went into teaching thinking that I would at least be better and make things better than I had. Some days I feel like I'm not. I know of a student, not in special education, who seems "slow" when you talk with him, who is very disorganized and unmotivated, who never brings pencil, paper, book, notebook, to class. He also is very frequently in fights, often as a result of having been egged on by "friends".
I feel like he at least needs someone to look at him. If not a learning disability, he has SOMETHING going on. I sent an email to the school psych outlining my concerns. Her response was that since his failing in school is dues to either being suspended or due to not turning in homework and he passed his KSAs, she didn't feel he needed evaluated.
So I see a kid who has lots and lots of log entries, discipline issues, who's failing in school and social life, and because he passed his state assessments, he doesn't need someone to step in and see what's going on. Before NCLB the kid probably would have been evaluated. Maybe he doesn't have a disability, maybe he's on drugs, maybe he's been abused at home and had no positive socialization, maybe he has some other thing going on causing this behavior, maybe he's just bad ( but I don't believe this, because I don't think there's any such thing as a bad kid), but what ever the deal is, doesn't a kid deserve more than "well, he passed his assessments, so he's doing ok?"
Like I said, Bizzaro world.
Then there's this old friend of mine (actually one of two in real life friends who know of this blog, and I'm typing about him . . . . weirdness) anyway, wants me to think about moving to where he lives. (don't even want to seriously consider all the implications in that, but new places, I like them). So I research a little about the local.
This is a place that has had to legislate developers build low and middle income accessible housing. And by accessible, they mean available to buy for $300K.
What?
A place so swanky and expensive that quarter million dollar homes, that people buy, don't rent, have to be legislated or it would all be much more expensive. Where the very opportunity to buy such a home is won by lottery? (but financing is on you after ward)
what must such a place be like? I know my friend likes it . . . and its probably a great vacation spot. But I'm a teacher and a single mom. I need a big place for my boys and my pets (and probably Tom), I can't imagine what a pain it must be to find housing in such a place.
But then, I've lived my whole life in a part of the country that no one wants. They can't get professionals to come here to live and work.
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