DEAR ALIZARIN: Who is teaching? Who is learning?

Spent the last two days in training for the reading intervention curriculum I teach. At lunch, when I commented how we had a fun group at this training, my literacy coach responded, "Yes, we put all the troublemakers in the other training session and will send the assistant principal to that one."

Though not the troublemakers and actually enthusiastic about the program (or at least willing to give it a try), we were still quite rambunctious, often falling into imitations of our most annoying and trying students. Our table definitely excelled when the trainer would model teaching the lessons in a classroom and asked us to pretend to be the students. My colleagues and I offered up helpful replies to her questions, such as, "But I don't want to be a better writer." Or, the always applicable, "This is boring, Miss!" Thankfully, our trainer was patient and has a sense of humor.

In addition to learning the new curriculum, we had a great time relieving stress from the first few weeks of school. If only our students were so adept at modeling the lessons we teach each day.

DEAR ALIZARIN: Highly qualified in gloves and scarf

Supporting beginning teachers receives a lot of money in the school system. Too bad it comes at the beginning of the third year. Two years ago, assigned to a room in the top furthermost corner of the school, as a new teacher with no student teaching experience, not one person, except my students hell-bent on breaking me in the hard way, stepped into my room. Now, after a year and a half of university classes and two years of figuring it all out on my own, I am told I have to sit in a four-hour seminar to help support me as a beginning teacher. I am told to be quiet and polite, as they have paid some excellent speakers. Despite my yoga training, I boil with frustration as I am forced to ‘listen’ to a PowerPoint presentation going over the minimum information about special education in my classroom – information I live each day and paid a good amount of money to learn about in a university course required to get my credential. I went to work at 6:45 am, taught 6 periods of classes, drove an extra 15 miles, and then had to suffer glares as I impatiently waited for the presenters to condescend to us about how important their presentation is for us beginning teachers. Paid speakers and dinners.

Meanwhile, back in my classroom, I am told that the air conditioning cannot be turned off and my thermostat on the wall is for the heating system that will be installed in March. March is still spring, even in Los Angeles, you know, that season AFTER winter. Two years ago, when I was in that building wearing a hat, a scarf and gloves while teaching, I was told that the heating system would be installed in March. Huh? Already, my students are freezing each day. Average temperature in our room is about 70 degrees. Many of my students do not have (or are too hip to wear) proper winter attire. Regardless, I wonder if Arnold or George has to work all day in non-heated buildings in winter. What about you, Alizarin, how do you like writing and reading when you are freezing cold?

I am glad that as a culture we hold education as a high priority.

Lychee

DEAR ALIZARIN: Worship of the cell phones

Very eerie Brave New World experience: sitting in the Hollywood Bowl longing for the end of an excruciatingly soulless concert of Hawaiian music surrounded by thousand of people waving glowing cell phone during the Freebird-esque finale. Makes even this avid non-smoker long for the date of smoke filled concert hall and lighters.

DEAR ALIZARIN: Saving the Saviors

Headline:
Impoverished Afghanistan donates $100,000 to Katrina victims

Yet our born again Christian president and his staff spent the first days continuing their vacation.

Afghanistan, a non-Christian nation, a poor nation, gives to the country that came in, killed innocent civilians, and destroyed much of their cities.

Yet, in the U.S., people calling themselves Christians bomb abortion clinics, condemn unwed mothers, and work to keep honest sex education out of schools. Many Christians travel the world to save people living in poverty yet roll up their windows and point fingers when driving through parts of town like the ones that became an ocean tomb for many in New Orleans.

I hope this act of Afghanistan, this $100,000 (not even enough to by a shack in most of Los Angeles), is not lost in its exemplification of the true meaning of Christian giving, which, in essence, is not about Christianity or religion, but about humanity and compassion.

The 'Christian' charity of Afghanistan, this non-Christian country, stands in sharp contrast to the egotistical, bigoted, and self-serving policies of our self-proclaimed Christian leaders.

I consider myself a Christian. I often fall short of what that means, though lately, and more so, over the past week, I have questioned what it means even more. At my own church, there has been a divide over hiring a spiritual but not Christian person to lead our music ministry. In fact, the behavior of some has called into question exactly who is the ‘Christian’ in this situation.

I wonder if this is a title that fits me and really reflects what I believe. The Christian God no longer seems big enough to hold the power and mystery of the greater spirit that connects us and binds us to each other, to all living things, to the universe.

In deep contemplation and humbleness,
Lychee

"I urge you to commit an act of civil disobedience and SPEAK UP"

From my dear friend, who expresses this so much better than I can at this time:

Dear Friends:

I'm sure many of you were shocked and appalled by the ghastly images parading on screen for the past five days: corpses littering roads and being eaten by rats, elderly sick women gasping for medical help that they have no chance of receiving, and children wading through pools of urine in a darkened "relief center".

The accompanying stories have been no less horrific: absence of food and water for survivors for five days, 10 year olds raped and murdered amongst huddled crowds at a relief center, the glaring absence of federal or local law officials, and fianlly, and most disturbing, the smirking visage of a smug president who told hurricane survivors after four days of suffering to BE PATIENT, and that "help is on its
way", and then told the rest of the nation to be quiet and send money.

I urge you to commit an act of civil disobedience and SPEAK UP. Please contact your congressional representative and demand the formation of a commission to properly investigate this second disaster in mismanagement and assign accountability to the complacent parties.

Who knows? The way things are going with this administration, the life you save may be your own.


Thank You,

Priya

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