I couldda ranted about my job today but really it was just that it was extremely b-o-r-i-n-g today. I was pasting screenshots (gazillions of them) into user guides and the application I use to take screenshots was being persnickety in a way I didn’t like. I suspect part of *that* problem is that I’ve been ignoring the app’s repeated exhortations to upgrade to the latest version.

This is a boring part of my job but I have to do it once in a while and I just suck it up, put my brain on autopilot, and chug through it until it’s done.

Nevertheless, I was feeling kinda punchy at the end of today… Until I read a NYT article that Teacher in a Strange Land tweeted. (I’m sorry, it seems to be behind a paywall.) I actually know (or once knew) Teacher in a Strange Land. She is a flutist that I crossed paths with in college. I doubt she remembers me but years ago I stumbled upon her blog, recognized her and started reading it.

The job I wouldn’t want for any amount of money in these excruciatingly hard times? TEACHER!

When I was in second grade, I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I was good at “school” but what I think entranced me the most was the planners! Mrs. Bishop was my second grade teacher and I loved watching her use her planner. And don’t get me wrong, Mrs. Bishop was not ALL about her planner. I have had many good teachers in my life but if I had to name my best, it would be her. More on that some other day if I can ever articulate it.

I did NOT become a teacher. I wouldda been a TERRIBLE teacher. More on that some other day but maybe I’ve already written it. And I have never successfully used a planner in my adult non-teacher life. I bounce wildly between lists, apps, post-it notes, and letting my brain wing it.

Anyway, what kind of HELL are we putting our teachers through during this f*cking pandemic? Teaching a hybrid of in person and remote classes? Really? Who the hell can DO that? Some of these people are teaching kids IN school, risking their own COVID exposure while managing proper mask usage and “No you can’t share your eraser with Jimmy.” And what happens if “Jimmy” steals *your* eraser? And some of them are ALSO dealing with remote “learners”, meaning that they are basically doing TWO jobs every day. Well, read the article I linked to if you can get past the NYT paywall. What are teachers getting paid? A lot less than me and today I mucked around with frickin’ SCREENSHOTS!

Jeebus Fricking H Mackinac Kee-reist! I do NOT know the answer here but somehow we have to take care of our teachers. We will LOSE them if we don’t. Maybe education “as we know it” needs to step back until we get the pandemic under control. My kids could have missed a year (or whatever) of “regular” school without ruining their overall education. I do know that there are kids who need school to escape horrible home conditions. How can we help those kids get through this? We have to find a way and those of us who can afford to pay a bit more in taxes should help. I certainly will if I have to.

We have to pay our teachers better salaries than they currently receive. They are essential front line workers even when there isn’t a f*cking pandemic going on.

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