Meg and I watched Everything Must Go this weekend. This movie was barely in theaters and didn't make much of a splash, but I loved it. Will Ferrell, very toned down, plays Nick Halsey, an alcoholic who loses his job. His wife leaves him, locks him out of the house and dumps all of his things in the front yard. Halsey has a yard sale and with help from two strangers, starts the road to recovery. The movie was based on a Raymond Carver short story, and it definitely had a literary feel.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Things on my Mind
I feel like writing, but my mind is a bit scrambled. I usually have a specific topic in mind when I sit down to write a blog post, but a unifying theme is eluding me right now. I do have some things on my mind though.
Meg and I watched Everything Must Go this weekend. This movie was barely in theaters and didn't make much of a splash, but I loved it. Will Ferrell, very toned down, plays Nick Halsey, an alcoholic who loses his job. His wife leaves him, locks him out of the house and dumps all of his things in the front yard. Halsey has a yard sale and with help from two strangers, starts the road to recovery. The movie was based on a Raymond Carver short story, and it definitely had a literary feel.
I was flipping through channels last night, and I came across Greta Van Susteren interviewing some guy about the state of education. It was hardly surprising to hear more teacher-bashing, but it got me pretty riled up. According to Fox, and quite frankly, way too many liberals in this country, teachers have become the enemy, the evil teachers' union and exorbitant teacher salaries the sole reason the American education system is struggling. I try to ignore the anti-teacher rhetoric that seems de rigueur these days, but sometimes it can't be avoided. At least Matt Damon has teachers' backs.
On a final note, today is the day "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" finally goes away. It's about time. I was very disappointed in Obama for not getting this done earlier, but I'm glad he finally came through. In my book, he has a few more promises to live up to, but this is a big one.
Meg and I watched Everything Must Go this weekend. This movie was barely in theaters and didn't make much of a splash, but I loved it. Will Ferrell, very toned down, plays Nick Halsey, an alcoholic who loses his job. His wife leaves him, locks him out of the house and dumps all of his things in the front yard. Halsey has a yard sale and with help from two strangers, starts the road to recovery. The movie was based on a Raymond Carver short story, and it definitely had a literary feel.
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Teachers are frequently used as scapegoats.
ReplyDeleteYeah this was a huge day for gay rights. Teachers don't get paid enough and there needs to be more money for education. The conservatives demonize education because having a stupid population allows them to push through their legislation, rob people of money, and brainwash everyone with religion.
ReplyDeleteAs a student myself, I say they need to recognize just how much of an asset teachers are and stop trying to pick on the easy target.
ReplyDeleteJust think how great our country could be if we valued education, teachers, and people of all faiths and lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteTeachers are always getting blamed for poorly educated students. This is a lack of accountability which isn't taught at school but rather at home and through society.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a household where I was expected to do well in school but being that my Mom was from Thailand, she didn't participate in my education. However, she demanded that I did.
Teachers are a student's inspiration and guides to education. They are tools for a student to use to educate themselves.
Like I explained to my own children, school is what you make of it. The teachers are there to help but it's up to you to learn.
I guess your unifying theme is our educational system and how we shouldn't ask anyone or tell anyone about it? Just kidding. Great little post!
ReplyDeleteFox is a scary parallel universe but it does seem to be true that this country doesn't value teachers much.
ReplyDeleteIn loco parentis. Remember that phrase? THAT's the problem. Not that teachers don't teach or are bad or lazy. It's that parents have abdicated much of their role as parents to other organizations. When a teacher has say, 26 students in a class and five classes a day, that's over 100 "children" for one person. Teachers are expected to instill manners, insist on sartorial standards, play psychologist, diffuse potential violence, find ways to keep kids from dropping out or using drugs or bullying each other, supply extra classroom material often with their own money, and oh yeah make sure the kids pass the state-mandated standardized objective multiple choice tests. Forget that at one time, some teachers were able not only to give facts and figures and names and dates but also impart a love of learning and the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's sake.
ReplyDeleteI watched my father, a teacher, deal with students whose families had little interest in their children's education other than as a sentence to be served until they graduated or turned 18, whichever came first. The way teachers are vilified makes me wonder where all the hatred comes from.
Now I'm riled up. Oh, dear. I feel a screed of a blog coming on. :)
Good teachers are worth thier weight in gold. And that is a lot these days.
ReplyDeleteTim - well you know how I feel about teachers. You are doing extraordinarily valuable work. You can't put a price on it. And ignoring the anti-teacher rhetoric is a good strategy. Ignoring FOX--even better.
ReplyDeleteGood on Obama! Took us right out of the dark ages. Boy did we need that. ;)
Teachers are not paid enough.
ReplyDeleteIt was fantastic to see the end of the horrific DADT. I remember being so disappointed in Clinton back when that was enacted.
ReplyDeleteI can't bear to listen to any of the talking heads. Calling teacher salaries "exorbitant" is as comical as it gets.
I think that teachers in North America are not respected and appreciated enough.
ReplyDelete