I am at a different point in my career than most of the people in this class. I am planning for retirement. The date has has been set - June 2010 and the cruise has been planned. And then what?
Perhaps this will sound like someone who watches too much Oprah, but I believe that each of us has the obligation to leave the world a better place than we found it. We need to leave our footprint. It shouldn't be a footprint in the sand which will wash away with the first tide but one that is lasting. The difference we make in the lives of the children we meet is paying it forward. I believe in paying it forward.
I don't think teachers in the suburbs or outstate truly understand Detroit teachers. Whenever I go to workshops I feel a disconnect. They don't get it. They don't know how much we grieve for our students. They don't see our tears. They don't see how fast and hard we pedal with the environmental winds blowing us backwards. I have worked for principals that I am sure studied under Adoph Hitler and learned economics from Enron. Then I have worked for some (like the one I have now) who bear the attributes of Mother Theresa, the fortitude of Nelson Mandela, and the audacity to hope of Barack Obama. There is always hope.
I know retired people who spend their days going to Meijers and "doing" lunch. That's it.
Retirement truly scares the crap out of me. It will be the first time in my life since I started kindergarten in the Fall of 1954 that I haven't either been in school, been working, or raising children. Sometimes all three at once. It will be a clean slate. A clean slate requires some fresh chalk and a good eraser.
Virtual schooling is something I can do. It is something that I can use to help "our broken-winged" children find a place they can soar. I won't need a room key. I will just need my laptop and that can follow me anywhere.
Thank you, Michael, for inviting me into that virtual "live" classroom. Neither of my millenium daughters, both in college, had ever been in one. I one-upped them. That felt kinda good.
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2 comments:
Hi Marge,
Nice post and it was wonderful and refreshing to read your blogs. Your analogies to famous or infamous individuals was dead on:) I just love reading your stuff. Have you ever published a piece or considered writing a book? Good luck with your future endeavors and may God be with you.
BTW...I loved that movie that was about "Paying it Forward" and I believe that too.
Tracey
Hey Marge,
I have enjoyed reading your blogs. They have been enlightening and from the "heart." There are few "veteran teachers" like yourself who still have a passion for teaching and caring. I wish you well and like Tracey said, you should consider freelancing. Also, I want to say, go for it and apply for a virtual teaching position. You could probably work for any of the virtual school universities. I hope you do because you will continue to "break the mold."
Luv Ya Bonnie
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