RADICAL SUGGESTION

If you have been NEAR a newspaper, television, or radio, you have no doubt heard that public schools are in trouble! "What kind of trouble?" you ask. Test scores are down; AYP is down; funding is down. And you have probably heard many remedies for these problems -- from remediation, teaching the test, paying for grades, replacing administrators, firing teachers, cutting programs......
None of these ideas is popular; maybe they would work; maybe they won't. As a 38-year veteran employee in the public school system, I offer yet another radical, and probably unpopular, suggestion to help improve our schools:
IF YOU WORK AT A PUBLIC SCHOOL,
LIVE IN THAT DISTRICT.
Now, you might be surprised how many school employees do NOT live in the school district they serve. It seems logical that the superintendent, administrators, teachers, secretaries, aides, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and so on SHOULD live in the community that provides their paychecks. The School Board members are required to live in the district they serve; the kids are required to live in the district they attend; the parents have to PROVE they live in the district. I LIKED living in my community; I liked going to the grocery store and knowing the clerks; I liked knowing the neighbor kid was in my 2nd class; I liked being able to ask the mom next door if her child was feeling better; I liked watching a potential gang fight end because the students recognized my car coming around the corner [of course, me waving and saying, "Hi!" to the "gang members" by name defused some activity!]
Living in the community meant that MY tax dollars were paying for MY school; it meant that I cared what the building looked like; it meant that I COULD run home at lunch and get the paper I left on the table; it meant that if I couldn't get to school in the snow, no one could; it meant that the boy across the street could run over and get help on the worksheet due tomorrow and stop worrying; it meant that the parents knew that this teacher would NOT do ____ or say ____.
Of course, it also meant that I lost a little privacy [when my parents came to visit, I wouldn't get the six-pack of beer they'd drink over the weekend for fear of someone seeing me at the liquor store, even though I was 2x the legal age to buy beer!]
And the kids lost a little privacy. It was hard for one who had missed school "sick" to be outside riding a bike after school knowing I would see him or her. But I also knew if he or she had been up half the night after the ambulance took grandma to the hospital and, I could be a little lenient about the paper that was due.
Chicago Public Schools require that their employees live within the city limits. Can you imagine if the Hobart teacher who lives in Valparaiso had to live in Hobart or lose a job? There would be A LOT fewer empty houses in Hobart! He or she would be helping the economy of Hobart. He or she would probably shop in Hobart. He or she would probably spend money in Hobart. And if a teacher has a school-aged child and lives in another community, what message is being sent? The school you teach for is not good enough for YOUR child? We often hear that
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD.
I would want it to be MY village.

BE SATISFIED WITH SUFFICIENT

Sometimes we have to be happy with SUFFICIENT. It's hard, but we're busy, we've got so many things going on, and we can't do it all. No one is perfect, so if sometimes what you did was SUFFICIENT - be satisfied with that.
I've learned that it's OK to ask for help; a "B" is NOT a bad grade; the pie crust can be tough; the turkey is good dry; the laundry can stay in the dryer. My mom said it was easier to clean when she didn't wear her glasses; I think she was on to something! My grandma made biscuits out of a can; she said someone else worked hard enough getting them in there. She was a feminist before they were called that! She told all us girls to make sure we had our own money, use cake mix, and vote! She voted the first time women could and every election [except one - she gave birth to my mom on an election day!] after that!
I was on the Dean's List; one semester, I wasn't; I was still a good teacher.
Kiss and hug the babies [no matter how old they are; no matter if they're fur babies] and get our priorities straight! ♥
Remember BEES achieve the impossible! Aerodynamically, they should not be able to fly--their bodies are just too heavy for their little, gossamer wings--but they DO fly! THAT'S why I always wear one! ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE DAILY - bees do - so can YOU! BUZZ! Now that I’m retired, I don’t have to “Achieve the Impossible” – I get to fly free like a butterfly!
AND THAT’S SUFFICIENT FOR ME!