After 13+ plus years of teaching, I came across two situations today that I never learned about back at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. One would think, having spent SIX YEARS of my life at UW-0, I would have learned everything there is to know about teaching. Well, think again…
Situation #1
Politically…things are not going so well in the district that I am currently teaching in. The teachers union (yes, California still has teachers unions) has just declared an impasse. From what I’ve read…bargaining began in earnest last March. Since May, the district has made NO improvements on issues such as salaries, benefits, or class sizes. So today, before school, we had an informational picket just off the school grounds. Next Tuesday, there will be a community rally to show support for the teachers when the school board meets (some kind of fireworks are expected). Hopefully, some progress will be made in the near future because the word STRIKE (yikes!) has been thrown around rather loosely. This type of situation was never discussed while I sat in classes in Clow, Halsey, or Nursing/Education.
My picket sign I held in support of my fellow teachers. Festive…or a little CG?
Situation #2
Today was the Great California ShakeOut. Yes, we had earthquake drill practice. Drop! Cover! Hold On! More than 10 million Californians (is that a word?) participated…event organizers said it was the largest earthquake drill ever this morning (can I put this on my resume?). The Great California ShakeOut was held at 10:15 AM, as people throughout the state participated in simultaneous earthquake drills…practicing safety and learning ways to prepare in the event of a major earthquake. Thankfully, my class already meets outside (as Mike McCarthy would say…pawsitive) so we didn’t have much to do. While I have yet to feel an actual earthquake here in California…I don’t need my first to be like this. Again, Oshkosh, did you expect all of us to teach in just Wisconsin?
Just like Florence + The Machine…Shake It Out¡
It’s a good thing I have off tomorrow, because after today’s unique events, I’m gonna need the extra day to recover. And Oshkosh, I want some of my money back…NO ONE mentioned strikes or earthquakes during those six glorious years…but if you’re looking for a guest speaker, I think I could help you out (for the right price, of course).
U-W-O! U-W-O! U-W-O! (hey, it’s Homecoming week).