Teachers....always wanting more

As a teacher, the past week has been quite a whirlwind and it has nothing to do with my life in the classroom. Oprah, Hollywood and the National Broadcasting Company have all converged over the past seven days to shine a light on one of the most important issues of our time: education. It's a bit surreal to turn on the news and hear people talking about your job but over the past few days that scenario has been a reality. Hearing and seeing the way that many people have been reacting towards teachers has been both eye opening, confusing and upsetting. It seems that just because we have all been in a classroom as a student, it gives us carte blanche to speak about teachers. Most people who haven't been in a classroom in 25 years are now experts on how education should work. I find this amusing because although I've been to the dentist 50 times in my life, I don't tell the good doctor how to fill a tooth. As you can tell, all of this coverage has stirred up many emotions among myself and my colleagues. However, the one topic that has stirred up the most emotion in yours truly is the new dirty word on the lips of many New Yorkers (and Americans) TENURE.

If you were to just watch the news, with their talking heads and "man on the street" interviews you would think that tenure only exists to keep bad teachers in their jobs when in fact, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Now let me be clear, there are teachers who, through their practice or their behavior, have more than proven that they do not deserve to have their job. Does our current system protect these teachers? Perhaps. However, there seems to be a side of this argument that people either choose to ignore or are just completely misinformed about (I'm looking at you Waiting for Superman)and that is: tenure does not guarantee a "job for life". The only thing that our tenure system guarantees is due process for a teacher facing the prospect of losing his or her livelihood (and yes, I said livelihood and not "job" because for many of us, this is our LIVES.) Due process, what an absolutely crazy idea to have in the United States huh? Teaching is not a fly-by-night profession that you can just walk in and out of-or at least it shouldn't be. For many, including myself, working with students is more than a job, it's a commitment that takes up nearly all of our time between planning, grading and worrying about our kids, the least we should get is a chance to have our case heard.

Anyway.

If you're not sure where you stand on the issue of tenure (and even think if you do know where you stand on it) you should ask yourself the following: Would I want to walk into work one day and be told that I have no job? And when I asked why, to not be given a reason AND to have no recourse about it. If you answered "no" to this question then you, my friend, are in favor of tenure for teachers. NO ONE is saying that teachers who do their job poorly or hurt children in anyway should keep their jobs. As a teacher, I would love to have that dead weight gone so that my students could have a better learning experience and I don't have to hear how big of a "have a job for life" jerk I am from John Q. Public on Eyewitness News. But the reality is, without tenure, in the current "high stakes" world of education, an administrator could dismiss a teacher for whatever reason they decide. I know this, because this scenario plays itself out in our schools today. The group that seems to be forgotten in this "tenure is evil" argument are non-tenured teachers (those who have been teaching for less than three years.) You see, at any time, any one of the thousands of new teachers in our city can lose their job, not be told why, and do absolutely nothing about it.

I know this because this recently happened to a teacher in New York City, a teacher who I happen to be very close with. At the end of this teacher's second year, the principal informed them that they would not be returning to the school and since they were not tenured, this teacher had no recourse....ZERO. Without tenure, teachers could lose their jobs at any time for any reason.This should not happen to anyone, and especially not someone who has dedicated their life to working with children. When this teacher informed his students that he would not be returning, there were many tears shed on both sides. The kids didn't understand and unfortunately neither did the teacher. Were the best interests of those students served by their administration that day? If you asked them, I bet they would have a pretty clear answer. If we care about the well being of students, we not only need to think about getting rid of the dead weight but also keeping the good ones who love their kids and are loved right back.

All we want is the ability to have our story heard and let the chips fall where they may. I know that's all that my friend wanted, but he, along with many others, was never given the chance.

The Opening Night Stinker

Instant reaction to tonight's Jets game: a stinker that made Jets fans sick and thrilled the rest of the country who now hate the loud mouth Jets.


-OFFENSE. And I thought the Mets offense sucked. While they looked terrible during the preseason, the Jets offense tonight was just disgusting. Practically nothing thrown down the field all game (the only completion to Keller was of course called back on a penalty) and Shonn Greene was ineffective and couldn't hold onto the ball. Plus, once he was benched he seemed to lose focus as evident in the dropped pass in the 4th. LT had some nice plays but we shouldn't be relying on the back up RB for offense. Hey guys, I just suffered through 6 months of a team that couldn't score in baseball please don't give me 4 more months of the same shite during football season. And to close it all out, the last drive was a complete JOKE. Every ball was thrown 6-10 yards down the field and to finish it, Keller goes out of bounds one yard short of the first down on 4th and 10.

-PENALTIES. Are you kidding me? How many times did the Jets commit a brutal penalty tonight? Running into the kicker, pass interference, holding and more. For God's sake Braylon Edwards had penalties on offense AND special teams. The worst was probably Wilson's pass interference that led to the touchdown before the half although Edwards's illegal formation hurt as well (the aforementioned penalty that took away the Keller completion inside the 10.) Either way, when you have almost ten penalties lead to first downs and over 100 yards of penalties you're never going to win.

-DEFENSE. It's tough to get on the defense tonight but a good defense gets off the field on 3rd down especially 3rd and long. Tonight that failed to happen about a dozen times. The MNF crew made it sound like it never happens to the Jets and while that might be statistically true, there were many key 3rd and longs last year where the defense didn't get the job done. It might not have cost them tonight but it will down the line.

-THE CB'S. Kyle Wilson did not look ready for prime time (pun intended) and the Ravens took full advantage. Between penalties and just looking plain lost at times, opening night was not one to remember for the rookie from Boise State. Luckily
Antonio Cromartie was brutal as well (and no, I don't care about the interception) Holding, pass interference and being beaten time and time again helped me forget about the interception and return. I'm dying to make a comment about his proclivity for procreating right now but I'll pass for tonight. I find it amazing that the guy who missed all of training camp and showed up a week ago was the most effective corner back tonight. Unreal.

Overall a disgraceful game from a team that has been running its collective mouth for the past 8 months. On top of tonight's stinker they have the Pats (who looked pretty good against the Bengals yesterday) rolling into town on Sunday and I'm sure they're just dying to get their shot to shut up Rex and Company.

Better get it together boys because 0-2 going into back-to-back road games at Miami and Buffalo is not going to look too good.

New Beginnings

Last June, I lost my job.

I haven't told many people about this partly because it's a little embarrassing and partly because I'm still not too sure what happened. While I wish I could say it was something like budget cuts that led to my unemployment, I can't. In fact, I don't know why I lost my job. I worked hard, I cared about my kids and I took my responsibilities very seriously. For a while, I could not accept the fact that although I had met the criteria for a "good" employee I was still shown the door. I carried these feelings with me until I returned from my trip to the Appalachian Trail last week. A weekend of hard work (both mentally and physically) and strong experiences with my new co-workers/friends let me know that it was time to move on.

The aforementioned trip was a part of my new job teaching high school in the Bronx. I was lucky enough to get the new job (which almost didn't happen due to MORE unreal drama) which I will officially be starting tomorrow. This teaching experience is going to be very different from my previous school. Instead of being in quiet, tree lined Queens neighborhood, I'll be right in the heart of the Bronx, the place where I learned the most and where I grew up the quickest. Most importantly, I'm going to be out of my "comfort zone" which on the surface seems like scary thing but if you look a little deeper....

I was working at a great school with high achieving students whose biggest problem a lot of the time was whether they would be getting a new IPod touch. Now, don't get me wrong, I worked with a lot of students from many different backgrounds who needed a lot of help and support(I'm a NYC Public School Teacher for God's sake!) but at the end of the day I don't know if those kids needed me in their lives. I don't say that from a selfish point of view as wanting to be needed but more from what I feel I can offer my students as their teacher. I'm excited because after talking with my new colleagues, I get the sense that a positive educational experience as well as a strong adult influence might be what some of them need to point these kids in the right direction and at the end of the day that's what teachers are there to do.

Please don't get the wrong idea. I don't think of myself as some savior who's going to change these kids lives in one fell swoop, but I would like to think that the terrible things that happened to me last June can result in a positive. I know that at times it is not going to be easy but I truly believe that I have the skills, talents and life experience to help make a difference for my new students.

Sometimes it's just too easy to be comfortable. Sometimes we need a kick in the ass to jump start the lives we are meant to live as well as the ones we are meant to influence. I got my kick in the ass and it hurt....for about two months. Now it's time to move on. It's time for new beginnings. It's time to help a new group of students.

Game on.

Two Words

I went on an adventure this weekend and not only did I live to tell about it, I loved the whole damn thing.

In a few weeks I'm going to be taking a group of students from my new school out for an 2 day/1 night backpacking trip through the backwoods. In order to prepare for this trip, I backpacked down the Appalachian Trail for four days to learn the skills I'll need to lead my students. I'll be writing about this experience more in depth sometime over the next few days but for now I just want to list two words phrases that tell the story of this amazing adventure. While some of them may not make sense others represent the nature of this trip. Enjoy

*very nervous
*six strangers
*sore hands
*real tired
*bear bag
*hot spots
*getting "lost"
*tough riddles
*the leader
*reading maps
*scuba woman
*raising tarps
*truckers hitch
*fire tower
*red trail
*head lamps
*hurt back
*green trail
*packs on
*raccoon ridge
*work late
*up early
*always learning
*green window
*walking sticks
*hot sauce
*micro-trash
*forest fire
*no water
*orange moon
*white trail
*everybody poops
*packs off
*morning stretch
*orange trail
*scenic point
*the woofer
*power clap
*challenge & support
*blue trail
*six friends
*so proud

Are You Ready For Some Football?!

So here we are with September fast approaching and the upcoming fall sports season on the horizon.

NFL preview?

No.

NCAA?

Nope.

The desktop football with the triangle shaped paper that you used to play back in grammar school?

Not even close.

All of the above sports are considered mainstream sports in the United States yet I'm not talking about any of them. Today, I write about the English Premiership! (Waiting for reaction......waiting....waiting....oh never mind I'm going to write it anyway)

If you've read this blog before you may recall that I've developed an affinity for soccer over the past few years, specifically the English Premier League (EPL). Even though it's outside of my favorite sports, I find it very easy to watch and write about soccer. I attribute this to my lack of emotional investment in both the game and the league/teams that I follow. (The flip side of this is that even though the Mets/baseball are my favorite team/sport I have almost never written about them. I think living as a Mets fans is bad enough, I don't really want to re-live it through my writing.)

Anyway.

Soccer has made some strides on this side of the Atlantic recently and I'm not looking your way David Beckham. Many people seemed genuinely enthused about Team USA during the World Cup and with the exposure the English League is getting on ESPN now (2-3 televised matches per week) maybe soccer is about to make the jump from total obscurity to kind of total obscurity. The EPL just finished it's second full week of the '10/'11 season and it's time to take a look at what has happened so far.

The summer brought a lot of action. Benitez is out at Liverpool, Man City spent nearly $200 million on the transfer market, Chelsea remained relatively quiet after winning the Double and Man United is in the midst of a youth movement.

Week Two ended with a match up of the new hot shots on the block and the weary, beat up veteran as Man City hosted Liverpool. Plainly stated, City showed the dominance that a billion dollars should buy, but very often does not. They dominated possession, Adam Johnson shined and Joe Hart was sharp once again in net. Liverpool on the other hand had glimpses of the team that was once mainstay in the Top 4 but were undone by sound defense and some great saves by the aforementioned Joe Hart. You knew it wasn't the Reds' day when their best span of play at the beginning of the second half ended with a goal by City.

While the "Other Guys" (SUMMER MOVIE PUN!) of Manchester looked amazing today, I think we need to wait and see what the rest of the year hold for City. A victory at home against a Top 4 team was seen last year (Chelsea and Arsenal). The real test will be what they do on the road as well as if they can turn some of those draws from last year (13 in all) to wins that will help secure them the Top 4 or better.

Liverpool on the other hand have to be on notice. After a rough 2009/2010 campaign which ended with them finishing out of the Top 4 for the first time since '04/'05, they sacked their manager and started this season by giving away two points to Arsenal in the first game and being dismantled by City in the second. Either way, the next three games are crucial with two against West Bromwich and Birmingham City followed by a trip to Old Trafford and Manchester United.

Other random thoughts about the Premiership so far:

-Chelsea looked dominant in their first two matches with back to back 6-0 wins. Although the opposition may not have been the best (newly promoted West Bromwich Albion and bottom dwellers Wigan) it's never a bad thing to have your coach compare your play to that of a video game.

-I adopted Man City over the past few years as my team (and will continue to support them) but they've lost many of the players that made me a fan of the team in the first place specifically Richard Dunne, Craig Bellamy, Stephen Ireland and now possible Shay Given. For this season I will also be following Fulham. They have American favorite Clint Dempsey, pesky Irishman Damien Duff and a possible transfer of Shay Given from City.

-Nice to see Newcastle back in the Premiership. When I first learned of English football in the mid 90's, Newcastle was one of the top teams lead by Alan Shearer. They crushed Aston Villa 6-0 on Sunday after an opening loss to United. Speaking of Aston Villa....

-They're season might have ended before it started when their manager, Martin O'Neill, resigned. After a few top 6 finishes in a row, '10/'11 might be one to forget for Villa. Rumors of US national coach Bob Bradley taking over could add some excitement to a (possibly) tough season)

So that's about it for now. If you made it all the way to the end then you must really like me or really like soccer. The EPL is the perfect way to start a weekend with matches on Saturday mornings on ESPN and Fox Soccer (check your local listings!) I'm sure I'll write about the league a few more times before the end of the year.

Next blog up: The summer wrap up with the Best and Worst of the summer of '10.

Desserts (that's with two S's because you want more of it!)

Like many people, I love the establishments around where I grew up. The diners, delis, movie theaters and malls all provided great memories from my youth that I still remember today. One of those establishments was Friendly's. Whether it was after a St. Anne's Christmas Concert or a Chaminade dance, Friendly's was a place where we would usually end up between the ages of 11 and 14--not old enough to do something cool (well I wasn't anyway) but too old to want to be at home. While it may not be considered 5 star cuisine, Friendly's always hit the spot, especially their desserts. The Reese's Pieces and Peanut Butter Cup sundaes were always a must during any Friendly's visit. However, the one dessert I always remember seeing but not getting was the Wattamelon Roll. For those not familiar with the Wattamelon Roll, it is basically lemon and watermelon sherbet shaped like a piece of watermelon with chocolate chips acting as seeds. See picture below.



Although I like sherbet, I was never interested in having the Wattamelon Roll but, like many things in my life, that all changed when I met Kate.

When talking about Friendly's one day, Kate began extolling the virtues of the Wattamelon Roll. The only problem was that there were no groceries that sold them around Kate's place in Woodside. One Sunday, we were on our way back to Kate's when we realized that we could pick one up in Stewart Manor and bring it back to Queens. Although it was a muggy June night, we were both confident that we could make it back without any serious melting. We were wrong.. Once we hit traffic on the LIE we went into crisis mode. We jacked up the AC and Kate held the Roll next to the vent. but it didn't do much to help. Traffic eventually broke up and while we didn't have Wattamelon soup in the car, our dessert was just about ruined.

Here we are in 2010, again living in Queens without a Wattamelon Roll to be found. When we came back from Ireland last week, we crashed at my parents house then drove home the next morning. We stopped to pick up groceries at Key Food and there she was in the Frozen Foods aisle. A cool, refreshing Friendly's Wattamelon Roll--and on sale no less! We were both a little bit hesitant about trying the drive again (this time in sweltering July heat) but we both believed it could be done. We got the Roll out of the freezer (last stop on while shopping to maximize "frozen-ness") and just to be safe we did what any rational, dessert loving couple would do: we bought a Hot/Cold bag and threw it right in. I'm happy to report that the roll made it home safely and was enjoyed by the aforementioned rational, dessert loving couple.

I've always loved memories. I'm still amazed by how the sight of a house or the smell of food can bring me back to a place from my past. Things like Wattamelon Roll are what I love about life. Ok, maybe not literally, but I do love what that simple dessert represents: great memories from my youth and new memories with my wife.

God Save the King

So I realize I'm about a month late on the whole LeBron thing but better late than never. Here goes!

When we were over in Ireland, Kate and I would always end up watching the World Match Play Darts Championships. It was on in every pub as well as our various hotel rooms and we completely enjoyed watching it. We were just reminiscing about dart watching, specifically about a player named Phil Taylor. Although he is the fifteen time world champion, we somehow never saw him play. When I told this to Kate I wanted to make a sports analogy to show how huge this guy apparently is in the world of competitive darts (maybe the worst two word phrase I've ever typed).

My first instinct was to call him the "Michael Jordan" of darts but I figured that comparison might be a little dated. I wanted someone from the modern day who was equally as feared and dominant in their sport as Phil "The Power" Taylor is in darts. I eventually settled on "He's the Kobe Bryant of darts." What does this have to do with anything? This statement not only lets you know how dominant Phil Taylor is, but it also says alot about the legacy of LeBron James. When I tried to come up with a non-Jordan athlete, the name that popped into my head was LeBron. After all, since 2003 (and before if you want to count his high school days) we've been told how "King" James was the heir apparent to Michael Jordan; the man who was going to do things that nobody had done since #23 left Chicago for the second time (we're going to erase the Wizards MJ from our collective memory). Hell, he even took the same number as Jordan and proceeded to win Rookie of the Year, a scoring title and now two consecutive league MVP's. Although he had yet to win a title, the future was bright for King James, especially with his upcoming free agency

While all this was happening, Kobe Bryant was winning championships. Sure, his first three rings were won when he had Shaq in his prime but he's now won back-to-back on his own--not with any other superstars (like say Dwayne Wade) but with a three time All Star in Pau Gasol and a cast of complimentary pieces. Kobe is a winner. With their backs to the wall, athletes will show their true colors. Down 1 with 25 seconds left? Kobe will clench his teeth, break out the "Kobe Face" (which hilariously enough has its own Facebook page) and bury an impossible fade away three that closes a game. By signing with the Heat, LeBron has proven that he doesn't want to do that. Come next June, if the Heat are down 1 with 25 seconds to go, LeBron won't be burying that shot. It's not his team, it's Dwayne Wade's team. LeBron gave up that shot when he told Jim Gray that he would be "heading to South Beach" There will be no "LeBron face" and the only teeth being clenched will be the ones of abandoned Cavs fans as they burn their #23 jerseys and curse their televisions. LeBron might win his ring (no guarantees there at all) but he won't have done it on his team.

I think we all should have been on notice about what LeBron's summer plans might be back in November. It was at this time that he submitted the paperwork to change his number from 23 to 6. Maybe the weight of that immortal number was starting to get too heavy for him to carry around for 40 minutes a night. Maybe he realized that he wasn't the player that he was built up to be or maybe he just didn't want to be "the man" anymore. You can't blame LeBron for wanting to win a championship but you can question the way he's going to try to do it, especially since we've been force fed his "greatness" for the past 7 years.

God save the "King".