Took a Day Off Yesterday, Which Resulted in 14-Hours of Catching Up & Grading, so I'm Not Sure What We Mean by a Day Off Anymore

Truth. I made a salad and ate. Truth. I reheated rice and age. Truth: I took an hour walk. Truth: I spent an hour writing on my own contracts.

Rest of the day was grading: reading student work and giving feedback. It's only been a week and it's hard not to think of the economical, social, psychological, physical, and spiritual reality of teaching. And I have it easy; rather than 120 students a year teaching high school, I only have half as money as a college professor. That than 35 hours of contact time a week with students, I barely have seven. Yes, teaching in high education is a different profession, indeed, but if you have the memory and relationships with K-12 educators, you get the drift. I remember the one research article I read in my PhD program that said the most to me: in order to have K-12 educators develop the writers we expect of college education, we need to totally recreate the structures of K-12 schools. 

Boom.

But bring forward those of us in the academy who also work passionately in support of K-12 schools, the days can be 7:30 a.m. until 9:15 p.m.. Seriously. And if you take that reality and times it by 13 years in higher education with very, very few breaks, you can better understand my fascination of Ted Lasso (optimist with mid-life panic attacks) and Roy Ken (Oscar-the-Grouch, Athletic Grump).

Hmmmmphhh. Make it make sense. And when the Ted side of you meets the Roy side of you, the mental gymnastics are insane, especially when you're trying to be the supporter of teachers in K-12 education, who truly are emptying the ocean with a fork, one child at a time. The best of them love teaching and their students, but the it's hard to maintain sanity and American life in the career because of pay, top down politics, and societal misunderstanding over what kids want, need, and desire for their futures.

For those that don't know Ted Lasso (I'm so so so sorry), it is a show that I came late to. In fact, when I binge watched the entire series, it already won many awards and I was angry that its third year was slighted. I'm a book guy, but if I was to bet on any writing that had/has the pulse of the world and where we are right now, I'd make an argument for Ted Lasso. Also Roy Kent. Perhaps archaeologists of the future will have the ability to super-scan this internet phase of our lives and think, "maybe we should check out the series."

All of this is to say that I truly believe we are living through enormous paradigm shifts as the human species, in which NONE of us understand where it will all land. Technology has begun to match human intelligence, but humans still require/need/appreicate the power of humanity. 

And here we are. Ta da. A Friday post.