Nobody is out to get you

Quickly think of a villain from a childhood movie.  Got one?  Good.  Now try to sympathize with him or her.

Most likely you can't.  This is because children's movies try to keep things simple.  The good guys may have one or two flaws, but those turn into lessons for the audience.  The bad guys are pretty much that...bad. They kill their henchmen without blinking, they are rude, they are arrogant.   All in all, no body cries when the villain loses. 

They're all good at heart...right?

Do you ever wonder if this idea of a "bad guy" has stained our adult minds.  I have no doubt.  Just look at a few political posts on Facebook:

(Actual examples have been removed out of respect for privacy on FB.  Below are a rough idea.)

*They're all out to take away my (1st, 2nd, 3rd...etc) amendment rights!
*They just want to make it so only they can have (jobs, power, status)!
*Can you believe them?! This law is obviously targeting (me, my social class, race, religion)!


Do you see the common factor here?  Each person believes that the other side is the epitome of evil.  Each Democrat views Republicans as greedy business men who want to strip them of any personal freedoms.  Each Republican views Democrats as self-centered hippies bent on killing babies and wasting government money.


This may be a wake up call, but the "other side" is not a Disney villain.


Each person is doing what they think is best in life.  People who push for government funded programs are not being self centered; they often are hoping to help others.  People who are pro-life are not trying to restrict women to gender roles or trap them, they are concerned about the life of a child.  I'm not saying there are not a few bad eggs in every group but, give me (most) any of the popular political movements, and I bet I could give you a good intention behind it.

This is true for any rival groups: the young and the old, religious followings, the North and the South....the Sharks and the Jets.

One day, we'll solve all arguments with dance-fighting!

If we remember that, we may actually accomplish something in this cut-throat political game.  We're all just humans, trying to do what we think is best. This is not a fairy tale; it's much better than that.

Your First Day of Teaching

 You’re tired, and I mean seriously tired.  The previous week was full of professional development days, preparing your lessons (because, hey, you’re starting from scratch), meetings, setting up your classroom, and a shit ton of requirements that your school decides you need to accomplish AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!  Then, all of a sudden, the day arrives. The students are here. Now you have the plans and materials for maybe two or three days, but you did not think of how to present any of it.

With all of that preparation, you know what to teach but not what type of teacher you want to be.  Any ideal vision of your "teacher self" has been blurred beyond recognition.  And, at that point, it doesn’t matter because, like I said, you’re tired.  So you go through the lessons, switching between strict and understanding like a drunk taking a sobriety test.  

                                          Nobody is giving you an apple.  Leave that dream behind now.

All of that preparation seems to have gone out the window as well because the class period never is the right amount of time.  You are either out of plans, staring at the clock, trying so so hard to move it with your mind while you make up a review game, or you hear the bell ring before you had time to fully discuss the meaning of participle (not to mention give the homework assignment).  

Then your saving grace arrives- planning period.  This is a moment for you.  A time to organize the over-copied syllabi on your desk, to take care of grading, to evaluate your mistakes and tell yourself you will not do that again next period.  It sounds great doesn't it?  But you don't do any of that.  

You run around the school looking for the tech guy because your laptop won't connect to the projector.  You go sit in on another teacher's class in order to see how she does it.   You get lost because you are basically a frightened freshman all over again.

The end of the day arrives.  You survived!  You sit at your desk, more exhausted than you ever thought possible.  You take half an hour to do all the things you had hoped to do during planning period.  Then you stare at the pile of notebooks, plans, and textbooks that must be ready for tomorrow.  Nobody expects you to take that all home right?  Grabbing the lightest things to accomplish that night, you decide to come in early for everything else.  

And you are home at last.

Nothing has changed there despite your hectic day, and, to you, that is the most beautiful sight.  You let your bag drop on the kitchen floor as you stare at the fridge.  A light dinner, a bit of grading, a glance at tomorrow's lesson plans.  That's all you have time for before your body takes over.


Then you sleep like you have never slept before.