Tuesday Twitterdeesickos

Call it the "sick palace."  That's what the Lovestead appears to be today.  Bill has whatever that flu is that has been going around the Northwest.  

He came home with it last night and has not been able to shake the chills. No pun intended.

So, he'll be hanging out at home, trying to feel better.   Then, I read on Facebook that Debbie was up at 3:30 a.m., cleaning up after pups with sensitive tummies. I hope they're feeling better by the time they arrive here today.

Now, my challenge will be to avoid the germs Bill brought home.  So far, so good, but no guarantees.  

Whatever the ailment, it seems to be knocking folks for a loop and not just for 24 hours.  My brother had it last week, and Annie is still getting over it.  My sister Barbara was complaining this weekend, so she may be ailing too.

Weatherwise, today is not a great day to be stuck in a house filled with flu germs.  There's a wind blowing out there, and intermittent snowflakes flying around. We're supposed to get another cold snap,starting today also.

So, getting outside and escaping the germs could be tough. Maybe I'll head out there to the new old motor home and work on that jigsaw puzzle.  

I was telling Mother the other day that my progress on the puzzle clearly indicates that this winter has not been a bad one.  

Puzzle work in the motor home---which is inside the shop---was reserved specifically for those days when the winter blahs made me feel like crawling out of my skin.

So far, I've been out there once, and that was just to lay out the pieces.  Having an in-house infirmary may call for a puzzling situation today, even without the blahs.

~~~~

I was glad to see some letters in the paper defending and supporting teachers who do work more than six hours a day.  

All the communication gizmos in the world have not yet cracked the perennial brain barrier that education skeptics seem to have about the amount of work that teachers do---or the hours that they put in.

For decades, the common perception has remained: six hours a day, nine months a year. 

We had a letter appear in the paper last week talking about the snow days and how teachers should be required to be in their classrooms doing their work on these snow days. 

No consideration was given to the fact that those days involved dangerous driving conditions.  

Nor, was any thought given to the fact that many teachers could have been in their classrooms working.  I don't know if the writer drove around on the icy roads to each school, to do his homework of seeing if teachers were at school or at home working.

Teachers often view these snow days as a much needed catch-up days. Surprisingly, most are constantly trying to find time to catch up with the work involved with their teaching load.  

My son, for example,  is usually at school by 6:30-7 a.m., and when he comes to pick up the dogs at night, it's usually 8:30-9 p.m.  And, then he does it all over again the next day.  And, his weekends are seldom his own.

I often said that if I did not have to prepare for my classes each day, I probably would have taught another ten years.  

Week days required rising at 2:30 each morning to prepare lessons and dropping in to bed around 9 p.m. (only to have insomnia because of stress two or three nights a week). 

Weekends involved more preparation and more paper grading.  I often spent a good part of the summer updating my general lesson plans, taking classes or getting acquainted with new textbooks, computer programs, etc. 

It was hard work that never really ended until I retired.  I'm proud of what I was able to do as a career educator and especially proud of all those students who went through my classroom.

That brings to mind another discussion occurring here in Idaho where the Superintendent of Public Instruction is finding ways for laptops to replace up to 700 teachers in the public schools within the next few years. 

I'm sure my statement above is simplistic, but I do know what the notion of such a plan is doing to my friends and family who have been and are proud, hard-working teachers.  

The plan from Idaho's perceived "head teacher" is demoralizing the state's public-school educators, to say the least.

Again, being simplistic, I wonder if the day will come when our students look back on the positive influences which have helped mold their lives. 

Will there be a day when shiny, red apples go out the windows in favor of electronic Apples, etc.

Will we see bumperstickers that say, "If you can read this, thank your laptop?"

Good question to ponder.

~~~~

On that, I'll call it a day.  Happy Tuesday.