stinkin' racket!

i'm very upset. okay, yesterday i was more upset. today i have the emotions under control, even though today i found out i have a bigger reason to be upset. hooray for control! as the good friend plewe has advised, i patted myself on the head and told my ego everything was okay.

anyway, i still want to vent about the stinkin' racket going on taking advantage of teachers! back with the fabulous president we had earlier, a law was passed that caused much outrage among people in my profession. maybe you're familiar with it - nclb? at first i figured it wouldn't affect me negatively - i could handle the requirement - afterall, i'm a professional! well, i've since learned my lesson. somehow long ago i got teaching reading which led to me teaching english. only once in all my years have i managed to teach even one period of social studies. but, because of this fabulous law, i'm legally able to teach social studies, but not english. i'm considered highly qualified to teach social studies, but not english. quick parents - send me all your children needing a quality education in history and geography - i'll give them the best the state has to offer! but don't you dare let me go near your students when it comes to english - they might come out stupid and lacking in reading and writing skills. i know what my regular readers are thinking, "wait sarah, didn't you just finish a degree in english? didn't you just fight tooth and nail to get weber to acknowledge that you've successfully learned enough english to have a real live degree?" and the anser is yes! i did and i have the transcripts and the pretty certificate to prove it! but.... nclb says that's not enough. nclb says unless i have a master's degree then i'm not highly qualified. excuse me, i mean a master's degree in english - my master's in education with an emphasis on teaching reading doesn't count. oh, wait, nclb, in all its good wisdom, has allowed for an alternate way of proving my qualifications. i can take a test. yes! i can pay 130 dollars to some "education testing SERVICE" for the opportunity to take a test (that everyone says is stupidly easy) to prove that i am highly qualified to teach english.

yesterday i wanted to stand on principle and refuse to take the dumb test and just force my school district to find a job for me teaching social studies. forget that i've served as a literacy specialist for the district, been a coah/mentor to other language arts teachers, acted as a yearbook editor - i'm not highly qualified - i need to be in a classroom teaching history and/or geography. that's what i'm most qualified to do. that's the best way for me to serve our nation's children. i tell you - it's a racket! i know, because just the other night i watched "on the waterfront" - i tell you i could have been a contender! but instead i gave in and just paid my stinkin' 130 bucks to the stinkin' "service" so i can continue to teach the stinkin' english.

did i ever tell you about the english teacher in high school who told me NOT to major in english? i listened, then i let the system convince me otherwise.

(i wish i weren't so tempted to agree with nclb about my qualifications - but really maybe i'd be better suited in a social studies room.)