Two Year Old Girl from China, Yue Yue

Outrage. Sorrow. Appall. Sickening. There are so many words to describe the reactions to China's hit-and-run girl, the two-year-old named Yue Yue who was left for dead after being run over twice by separate drivers and then ignored in the middle of the road by 18 passersby.

Yue Yue attended to by hospital staff

I feel all of those emotions, but to be honest, I'm also very confused. I don't know what to make of it. I can't wrap my brain around why it happened--why so many people saw her injured body and just walked away. I can't understand it no matter how hard I've tried, and it's really, very bothersome.

You see, I'm the type of person who needs some sort of logical, scientific explanation...such as "The human body, when confronted with a situation such as this, will naturally do this or that as proven by several studies done by so-and-so." But you know what? None of that would even come close to explaining the apparent apathy of the passersby or the drivers of those two vehicles. Because for once, a scientific explanation just doesn't work (I never thought I'd say that). Simply put, it is just an excuse.

I have been reading news stories to see what the passersby and the drivers have to say for themselves, and all of their explanations are again just excuses. Bullshit. And then I've been reading about the world's reaction and China's reaction, and again, more excuses and bullshit.

The little girl died yesterday (Friday, Oct. 21). Some people are saying she died to teach the world a lesson. But about what? That we're cruel and that the world we live in is evil? That we need to change? All of this we knew already. Furthermore, so many of the reactions to this story are negative ones that I'm not sure what kind of lessons we are learning. It's instead bringing out racism, hate, fear, anger...all the negative things. We are so quick to make sweeping conclusions. I don't think it's any one person's fault. 20 or more people could easily be blamed. An entire nation could be blamed. But mostly it's humanity that's failed. How sad.

I say that humanity has failed because regardless of nationality, race, religion, government, income level, etc., there is still right and wrong. There is a universal moral code, isn't there? At least I once believed in that but perhaps it's now been superseded by our environment. The old argument of nature vs. nurture. We have a natural disposition of responding to certain moral situations, don't we? Isn't that what makes us "human"? What has happened to our moral code?

There are so many explanations as to why nobody stopped to help Yue Yue. This article, We Are All Yue Yue, tries to explain. But in the end, all of these explanations do not suffice to me. Not one bit. And that is so perplexing.

Perhaps, however, we're asking the wrong question. Perhaps we should be asking: Will Yue Yue's death make a difference? I can't say for sure, but I am left with the feeling that I must go hug my kids close to me. Because I now have a reaffirmed love and gratitude for my children. And yes, also because I'm damn afraid of letting my kids go out into a world that evil. But they say that kids are the future, and clearly this problem with morality will not be solved quickly or easily, even if laws are enacted on behalf of Yue Yue. So I will start there, by holding my kids close, by loving them, teaching them the right things, and hoping that they will prove to be a better lot of adult humans than we currently are. One small step and a lot of hope for a changed future.

Why are protestors occupying Wall Street?

The question I repeatedly hear and read about is this: What do those protestors at Occupy Wall Street and other cities want???

A few resources that I think are worth viewing/reading:

Why #OccupyWallStreet? 4 Reasons

Occupy Together

We're Not Broke, Just Twisted

and the We are the 99 Percent blog as well as the Occupy Wall Street website.

It's not a Republicans vs. Democrats thing, or a conservative vs. liberals thing. It is just people trying to live and wanting a fair shot at life. That's all. But it's becoming increasingly difficult to do that. The economy is extremely skewed. Big corporations and the super-wealthy use their money to buy the favor of politicians and influence policies that are a huge disadvantage to the common person. I don't think enough Americans understand that this is the problem with our economy.

So why Occupy Wall Street? To draw attention to the real problem. That's a big step in the right direction for our country and it will start the process of looking for serious resolutions to these issues. Unlike big corporations, the common person doesn't have the power of money on his side. But with millions of others just like him--standing together--there is power in numbers. And that is something the big corporations will never have, no matter how many billions or trillions of dollars they hold.

Bad Time to be a Teacher

Wouldn't it suck if you got a pay cut that would have otherwise paid for your monthly electric bill, phone bill, internet bill, and water bill? And wouldn't it suck even more if your boss tells you that not only do you get a pay cut but you have to put in more time at work?

That's exactly my husband's situation as a public school teacher in Wisconsin. He recently got his first paycheck of the new school year, and that was when we realized exactly the extent of how Scott Walker's Act 10 will affect our family's finances. We will have to pay for those bills somehow and try to also save some money, if that's possible.

My husband already works three jobs. He teaches high school during the day, teaches on Saturdays at the technical college, and does home presentations selling knives on occasion. He is now thinking of being a referee in the evenings for volleyball leagues as a fourth job. As for me, I adjunct for three colleges and I'm constantly keeping an eye out for any new openings. I used to advise after school clubs and work at the local newspaper too, but with little kids at home, it became too hard to balance. Next year, when my youngest child is old enough to go to school part-time, perhaps I'll get another job to work during those few hours each day when she's at school or try to add a fourth college to teach for. We'll have to see how things go this year with our finances. It's stressful and we have to make every dollar stretch.

But what else are we supposed to do?

True, it's nothing new. My husband and I, as educators, are used to working multiple jobs. We're used to being underpaid (despite both of us having masters degrees) and having to always supplement our income with other jobs. We do it and have done so for the past 10 years. Why? Because we enjoy teaching. It's a fulfilling career, and personally, I don't know many people who can say that about their job.

But after seeing my husband's first paycheck of the school year, the first since the implementation of Scott Walker's budget bill, I'm beginning to wonder what other sacrifices we can possibly make.

What more can be taken from us? What more do we, as educators, have to give up in order to keep teaching and doing what we love? And of course, the underlying question...at what point do we give up being educators?

**sigh** Just had to complain for awhile there.

9/11

On 9/11/01, I was on my way to my morning college class and then I would be heading over to the nearby school to put in some teaching practicum hours. I turned the radio on in my car and some guy was talking about airplanes hitting buildings in New York, and I thought, "What the hell? This has gotta be fake." I flipped to another radio station only to find that ALL of them were reporting on the twin towers being hit. I walked into my classroom and it was dead silent. People were gazing off with the hollow, distant look of confusion, fear, and sadness. I remember my professor getting up in front and trying to start class, but within 15 minutes, it was clear our minds were elsewhere. He dismissed us and sent us home.

I still did not really grasp what the situation was, but I remember later that night, the full force hitting me as I watched the video clips of the planes hitting the towers, another one slamming into the pentagon, and one burning in that field in Pennsylvania.

I remember the goosebumps rising on my skin and crawling to the back of my neck as the video footage played over and over again on my television screen. Later in the darkness of my bedroom, it would play over and over again in my mind. Part of what hit me the hardest was that an attack was actually happening right here in America. But another part of me thought, "So this is what it feels like to be all those other countries."

Let's remember those in America who have been impacted by the attacks of 9/11. But let's also remember those all over the world for whom war and attacks are a regular part of life.

That good, ol' "back to school" feeling...

I miss it! I've been out of the physical classroom as a teacher for two years and I miss the feeling of back to school.

The excitement and anticipation of students coming back.

The burst of new ideas for lessons and activities.

The arranging and re-arranging of desks, tables, and chairs, and trying to make the most of classroom space.

The creation of bulletin boards.

Getting school supplies and books stored and ready for use.

Writing beginning-of-the-school-year letters to parents and students.

Seeing colleagues, catching up on what's new, and exchanging ideas.

There is just something about this time of year that I've always enjoyed as a teacher. It feels like the start of something new and great. Such an optimistic time of year full of energy, excitement, and sense of renewal.

Good luck to all of you who are going back to school--teachers, students, young and old!

GREAT Blog Post by a Teacher: I Ruined Everything

Brandi Martin, an art teacher in Illinois, wrote a blog post that's worth sharing and reading ten times over. It's called I Ruined Everything and is about the barrage of negative and often outright despicable comments aimed at teachers.

I live in Wisconsin, where the governor, Scott Walker, declared six months ago that teachers and other public workers are the enemies of society, that public workers are the reason for the state (and the nation) being in so much debt. Walker essentially encouraged others to believe in this notion as well, and ever since then, I have heard and read countless cruel and bitter comments aimed at public workers, especially teachers. It seems Walker made it suddenly okay to treat teachers and public workers with open disdain.

Last week, for example, I was in my backyard grilling and overheard my "nice" neighbor in his backyard talking to someone and completely ripping on teachers. He went on a rant for a long time about how teachers get the summers off, get paid so well, have such good benefits, get in-service days to "train" when they should really be with the students instead, and have the easiest job in the world--anybody could do it. Teachers are "assholes" and "leeches," according to my neighbor.

I have heard these types of negative comments so much in the last six months that it's at times disheartening and very sad. I give public school teachers who continually go into the classroom with a smile on their face all the credit in the world.

So to my neighbor and to all the other angry, resentful people out there who are blaming teachers for society's ills, I give you Brandi Martin's blog post entitled I Ruined Everything.

Read it. Because it's true.

Kids and Technology Dependency

My oldest daughter has become more and more dependent on her iPod and laptop, just to function. She will also hole herself up in her room and probably never see the light of day if she isn't forced to.

It's been an ongoing problem for quite awhile.

Originally, the deal was that she could have her iPod from 5pm - 9pm (after homework and chores were done). And she could have her laptop from 4pm - 6pm (earlier than the iPod for homework purposes). However, it didn't turn out that way. Sneaky bugger!

So my husband and I made the decision to take both of those items away from her.

She hasn't had them for over a month now. And let me tell you, there was much pain and misery in our household as she went through what appeared to be withdrawal syndrome. Major anxiety and depression. Tears, and shouts, and anger, and happiness for awhile, and then back to tears and shouts and anger. Again and again. Up and down.

It was enough to make my husband and me pause and wonder, "What the hell did we get ourselves into?!" Still, we didn't give in. If there's one thing about me, it's that I'm stubborn as hell, and even that kind of bad behavior doesn't get me to back down.

Thankfully, she's adjusting better now. It took about two weeks, but things have calmed down. A lot.

She now hangs out with us in the living room and kitchen. She talks to us. She talks to her little sisters too and plays with them. She's nicer to them. She practices her dancing. She takes walks to the parks with us. She swims in our pool. She mows the lawn. She helps to clean the house.

It's beautiful. She's my girl again. Thank God.

But now what? Questions of when to allow her to use her iPod and laptop again, and how to manage/monitor her use of them lingers in the air. And no, I am not anywhere ready to begin contemplating her having a cellphone. Nope.

Lesson Learned from the Wisconsin Political Chaos

So much of 2011 has been dominated by the political chaos in Wisconsin since Scott Walker took office as governor. I've learned many valuable lessons since then. Perhaps I'll write about more of them, but for now, there is one lesson that sticks out most to me. It is one of the hardest and most disappointing realizations I've had: that it seems most people don't really care about others. I'm not sure why (probably naivety), but I had always been under the impression that everyone cares about the general well-being of others--that people want others to be happy, healthy, and to have a fair share of opportunities in life. I'm not talking about wanting the best for your family and friends, but wanting it for ALL people.

One time, I was having this conversation with someone and I said something along the lines of, "All those cuts to education is going to really hurt your kid's school." And the person said, "Not really. I don't think it affects me or my family at all." And I said, "But you have a son in a public school. How can it not affect you? Some of the programs, like music and advanced placement classes, will likely be cut or dramatically reduced. Your son loves music and is really smart. Don't you want his school to have those programs available?" And the person shrugged and said, "Well, I'll just pay for him to take music lessons after school then. Or I'll transfer him to a wealthy school, because those parents will donate and fundraise to make up for all the cuts." I was shocked to hear this, so I said, "But what about all those other kids whose parents can't afford to pay for private music lessons? Or kids who can't attend a wealthy school far from home because they'll have to find their own transportation and their parents can't provide it?" The person just simply shrugged as if to suggest it didn't matter at all what happened to other kids.

There have also been conversations in which people have told me, "Why should public employees be better off than me? It's not fair. I have to suffer through this bad economy, so they should suffer as well." This idea that if one person suffers, then all others need to suffer too just doesn't make sense to me. I understand that public employees are easier to blame rather than the big corporations or the very wealthy who seem far away and untouchable, but it does no good to have all people in the middle class suffer. It only leaves the corporations and the wealthy to gain more out of our unfortunate situations.

When I have conversations like these (and there have been many), it makes me really sad. Maybe it bothers me so much, because as an educator, I'm used to thinking about everybody else's kids too, not just the three that are my own. I'm used to thinking about the adults in those kids' life also, because they directly impact my students. I think about whether those homes have proper clothing, food, healthcare, jobs, education, etc. I've always thought everyone else had these same concerns for the well-being of others. It seems, however, that most people only think about themselves and the people in their immediate circle.

I hope though that I'll be proven wrong on this sad realization and that the recall elections coming up will show that there are plenty of folks out there who care enough about all people to vote for the candidates who will more likely take care of the common people and not just the wealthy. We shall see what happens in this next stage of Wisconsin's political chaos. I hope for the best.