Anti-Teacher? Seriously?

Over the past couple weeks I have been paying much attention to what's been happening in Wisconsin, and unless you live under a rock or just don't give a shit, then you know what's going on. I realized last week that there are two types of people in this world, those who are pro-teacher and those who are not (apparently I like to classify the general public and put them into tables based on what I see "out there." Ha.).

Maybe I'm somewhat biased because I have been pro-teacher all my life, as my dad was a public school teacher for about 38 years. He was also union member with collective bargaining. From everything I can recall about his years of teaching, they only went on strike twice, and, he really didn't trust the public school administration because they screwed teachers over many times, himself included. I also have had SO many wonderful teachers in K-12 and in college. People who absolutely loved what they taught and got kids excited about learning. It's quite an amazing thing for a teacher when a lightbulb goes on in a student's head and they finally get "it." Yea, I know there are a lot of bad teachers out there too, who became that way for a host of reasons but, you have to know, teachers don't go into their profession for money. 

Teachers on the whole don't make much money. In WI, for example, in 2009-2010, on average, elementary school teachers earned $51,240 and secondary school teachers earned $49,400, while the entry-level teacher's salary is in the low $30's. Of course this all depends on the school district, the degrees (B.A., M.A., etc) and credentials the teacher has plus the years of experience. Also, what many people don't know is that teachers need to take courses (at their expense, there is no tuition reimbursement as there is in many private sector jobs) to remain certified. 

Another contested area of public opinion about teachers on the whole and in particular in WI is their pensions. No, the taxpayers do NOT pay public employees' (teachers included) pensions. Those pensions are 100% employee contributions, and are part of their compensation packages (as is true for many states) that their union negotiates on their behalf. David Cay Johnston, an economist and professor at Syracuse University College of Law and Whitman School of Management, has a really excellent article that points out all the misinformation in the media about WI teachers' pensions here. Contributions for pensions are a percentage of their salaries that the employees have deferred until they choose to retire. From Johnston's article:

"...state workers are not being asked to simply "contribute more" to Wisconsin' s retirement system (or as the argument goes, "pay their fair share" of retirement costs as do employees in Wisconsin' s private sector who still have pensions and health insurance). They are being asked to accept a cut in their salaries so that the state of Wisconsin can use the money to fill the hole left by tax cuts and reduced audits of corporations in Wisconsin. 

The labor agreements show that the pension plan money is part of the total negotiated compensation. The key phrase, in those agreements I read (emphasis added), is: "The Employer shall contribute on behalf of the employee." This shows that this is just divvying up the total compensation package, so much for cash wages, so much for paid vacations, so much for retirement, etc."   (Tax.com, 2/24/11)

WI is one of 34 states that require collective bargaining for public employees, 11 states permit collective bargaining, while 5 states flat-out prohibit it (http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/public-employee-bargaining-rights/). (It was the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) that gave people in private industry the right to join unions and participate in collective bargaining. In many states this right was extended to public employees.)

If I have to hear another person whine about how easy teachers have it and how they are overpaid I will scream (actually, I've already done that many times over the past two weeks). To them I say, "stop watching Fox and start reading tax.com and educate yourself."

The WI public teachers have agreed to a cut in pay and increased contributions to their retirement, the one point they will not give up is their right to collective bargaining. Governor Walker has completely ignored these concession points and wants to take away their collective bargaining. Now, Walker has notified the unions of future layoffs if his budget isn't passed. Answer this, if you were a public employee, wouldn't you want a union to protect your job and interests? (I certainly would. Hell, if my company had a union then perhaps all the employees they laid off and whose jobs they sent to India wouldn't have happened).

Stay strong Wisconsin teachers. There are a lot of people on your side. Trust me. 

Random Thoughts on This Anti-Mosque Movement

This whole anti-mosque movement has me really ornery as of late. I keep seeing people expressing their hatred and negativity and anti-Muslim stereotypes on TV (and soon to come, MTA bus ads)....and I'm tired of it. You cannot make sweeping generalizations about an entire religion based on the radical actions of the few. Shall I marginalize all Catholics and Christians as home grown terrorists who blow up women's clinics and kill doctors who provide abortions? No? Okay then. How about if I say all white Baptists are members of the KKK? No? See what I did there? Educate yourselves about the Koran and what it means to be a Muslim and stop with the ignorant commentary. Also, just basically shut the hell up. 

-First off, if you don't live in NYC, you have no say what private development happens here. Period.

- The attacks didn't happen in KS, or MS, or MI. They happened HERE, in NYC, to us. Have we gotten over it? Yea, pretty much we've all moved on. Will we forget? No. Don't try to co-opt this city's grief to benefit yourself or to help your political career (I'm looking at you Palin and Gingrich). To the people who live in and around NYC who don't want the mosque built: I'm sorry, but think about what you're rallying against. You're being just as closed minded as the people who attacked us. They attacked us *because* of our differences and Constitutional freedoms (well, and much more, but you get my drift). Open your eyes. Yes, ADL, I'm looking at you. 

-Building a mosque two blocks away from the WTC is not "pissing on the memory of 9/11." No one will forget that day. But let me remind you: Christians, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Hindis, etc. all died that day. That day was caused by the radical terrorist actions of a few, not an entire religion. 

 See? I told you I was fed up and ornery. Why can't we celebrate our diversity? Can't we all just get along? Whatever happened to tolerance?

 As I was running this morning I witnessed something that I've seen a million times before, living in this city for 11 years. Let me recount.

A Chinese couple was stretching and exercising (I see them every time I run), and seated not too far away on a bench was a Muslim man, staring off into the distance, while a Hasidic man with a prayer shawl walked to temple, while a red-faced white girl passed them while running. All of this was within one block in Brooklyn.

*That*, my friends is the real America. 

And to me, that is beautiful.

Spring

I leapt, I jumped and then fell and got hurt. But I got back up.

Resilient.

New beginnings.

New eyes.

Different.

Fresh start.

Clean slate.

Bob Dylan and Tom Petty are on my mind as of late.

"I’m walkin’ down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I’m bound, I can’t tell
But goodbye’s too good a word, gal
So I’ll just say fare thee well
I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don’t mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right."*

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Time to move on, time to get going,

What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing..."**

*(Dylan, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," 1963, Warner Bros)

**(Tom Petty, "Time To Move On," 1994, Tom Petty)

Running

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

This is the quote that I thought most applicable to when I started running over two years ago and one I've kept reminding myself of when it comes to running. I became "one of those people" who got up early several days a week and got my blurry-eyed, half-awake ass out the door, all seasons and ran. Then, last fall I suffered through a pinched nerve in my neck. Any sort of movement was excruciating. Running was out of the question. I listened to my body, and my body said, "Uh, no. Take a break." So, after a couple months of seeing a chiropractor, stretching, riding my stationary bike and feeling totally recuperated, I ran on my parent's treadmill over my Christmas stay. I realized, "Hey, I can still run!! I'm back baby!!" I was elated. I ran for several days until it was time to come home to Brooklyn and back to my bike. It was still too cold outdoors for me to run (not sure how I ran all last winter in 10 degree, howling wind and snow. Was I crazy? Yes.), and honestly, I was kind of scared. Random thoughts plagued my brain, the major one being: "Could I still do it??"

Cue yesterday (Friday). I said to myself, "I'm going running tomorrow morning." I felt good making that promise to myself. And so, I made sure I got to bed early and got a decent amount of sleep (a whole seven hours!!) so I could get up at 5am. I laid in bed just before--or what I thought was before--my alarm went off and was actually giddy (I know, weird, right?). So, I get up, make coffee and check the weather (it was 30, but felt like mid 20's) and my email. Then get dressed and out the door at 5:55am. I wanted to get out before the sunrise at 6:22am, so I could enjoy the dark and see the sunrise. I had a smile on my face as I passed the mirrored wall in the lobby of my building. Opened the door, and the crisp, cold air hit my face and nostrils. Breath. In.

As I walked to the bike/running path on my street, I looked up and saw the moon, it was a half moon. It was beautiful. You'd think it was the first time I'd ever seen the moon. As I was running my first length block, a few tears came. I was so happy to be outside again...being a witness to the early morning happenings I had missed for months.

My feet hitting the pavement: clomp, clomp, clomp.

Random squirrels crossing my path.

The stillness of my surroundings (when loud trucks and speedy drivers weren't passing me by).

My breath, somewhat heavy.

The cold air *burning* my throat and lungs. (I had forgotten what that *feels* like. Wow!)

Pure joy.

No one else was out running (where were the usual suspects?), though I did see a couple walkers, both men. One of these men was pushing a walker (you know, one with four wheels, that doubles as a seat?) I said to myself, "If that guy can be out walking, then I should be out here running."

On my return I started to cry. I realized what it was about running (and running outside) that I missed all these months: the nothingness and being in the present. I have random thoughts while I run, but they're fleeting. For the most part I'm just there, in the moment, running.

I didn't go that far (which isn't the point), but I did go to the avenue that I set to go to. I got motivated, put on my shoes, and got out the door.

If....

Churches are going to be politically active in this health care debate, then the legislature needs to revoke their tax exempt status.

NOW.