Hey peeps...I decided to retire. This is my last year teaching in JPPSS. I love my job however I am tired . I have been in a wheel chair , walker and finally a scooter since the spring of 2005. We all know what happened in 2005. I lost the use of my knees right before Katrina...bone on bone. In 2009 I had my knees replaced , recovery months ...then realized my knees were good but my back wasnt. So here we are in 2014...I love my kids at Haynes, I love my classroom and the great new young administration. Im just T I R E D ! Thanks to all of you whom helped me along the way especially my sister Laurie. If you know me I never looked for sympathy . I do have to get this off my chest though once and for all. I was always surprised from the lack of empathy from the many administrators who lacked it ,making my life harder, but still I was determined to finish to retirement age. If somehow this gets to you and ,if the shoe fits.( then I guess it fits) I am not bitter as I was strong enough to take the abuse and through God I have for given you. In the old days before testing maybe my words here would mean something. Today however, if it doesnt involve testing , it doesnt matter. Thank you to my present administrators Paula and Andrew, my former boss Patricia Blanchard and Brenda Breithaupt who saw beyond the wheelchair and saw me the teacher/artist/person I have to say person because while a few people did include me the majority did not. I have forgiven all these people guilty or not. I hope people in wheel chairs fair better in the business world... I guess what I am saying ..if someone is in a chair and everyone splits for lunch...ask that person to join you... if they can figure out how to get to school , sometimes two schools a day then they can get to the place you are going for lunch. The gesture would be nice. ON art, so many have pushed the artists down , given them no support...still I am very proud of the core group of artists I worked with for years . We argued, we fought but we were family. We were family because most of us had a passion for teaching art to children. We spent out own money, some years our support came in a a hundred dollars for the year. LOL ( shaking head) Still we dug in our own pockets more than any of us should. We loved art ! The kids....OMG one of my 6th graders stared blankly into space for like 30 seconds and then a tear dropped from her eye when I told her class about my retirement. Its tears like hers that absolutely break my heart.I hugged her and told her there would be a great new teacher to take my place. Although my retirement isnt official until I sign the papers I am packing and bringing my stuff home. Haynes is a great school .great kids and has a large talented program in visual art, theater and music as well as an awesome band. The school will be looking specifically for an artist with a K-12 certificate. Please pass the word to anyone you know whom has a k-12 certification. Ill see where this new road leads me with God at my side.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 18:38:15 +0000
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