Take A Load Off Annie

Parents versus teachers: we’re sort of on the same team, and sort of not.  When we clash, it’s ugly. I didn’t go into teaching to sabotage or attack students. In fact, it hurts like the dickens when you suggest I haven’t done a good job.  When left unsupervised, about 1/4 of my brain obsessively catalogues […]

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The Look

Jacob Riis is famous for having photographed the tenements in New York City. Real estate rules about rooms having windows, and indoor plumbing, and fire escapes, did not descend upon us from angels.  The relative liveability of modern cities was won by Mr. Riis and other activists.  Today is his feast day in the Anglican calendar. […]

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Teachers and Undertakers

I was not invited to the economic meltdown.  I went to work in a field with little prospect for financial advancement and infinite job security.  (Teachers and undertakers remained solvent during the Great Depression.  I’m the former.)  Even worse: I didn’t invest.  My only retirement savings has been through the state pension fund.  I own my car, and […]

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