Saturday, Oct. 16, 2004
I know you want to leave me, but I refuse to let you go, posted at 10:02 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Yesterday was a statewide professional development day. My department head's wife just had a baby, and although he had left a plan for us, we were left a little to fend for ourselves. It turned out that yesterday was one of the most inspiring days I've had in a while, and has pretty much cemented the fact that I want to stay in Baltimore for a while still.I just really feel like I wouldn't be able to find a school or department that does what our department does. Yesterday, we just stepped back, looked at our teaching practices, and our primary focus was how we could get kids from this level to that level. Nothing else. Do our baselines work? Do our milestones work? How do they align by grade level? How can we manage the paperload? What responses should we have about our schedule? My department is more than just collegial. We all have a common purpose and help each other achieve it, and it feels really good.
This isn't a utopian school. But I don't want that. Other than teaching 170 kids at once, I wouldn't change much of anything (especially since my three year crusade of getting the boys' bathroom on the second floor unlocked has finally been successful).
And the kids... no silver spoons in mouths here, and many are raw. But they don't mind getting molded. Many will be first generation college students. Others will get the first year of college taken care of through A P and I B. All city kids. I don't know of many other schools in an urban environment that achieve that.
So, yesterday, after work, as I was on my way out to Ryan's Daughter, I almost teared up thinking about my department and my job. There was a moment of clarity that reached me, that not many people I suppose feel the sort of satisfaction as I do with their job, and it's something that wouldn't necessarily be present at all other schools. I hear about other school systems that make sure teachers are at the same point in the same lesson every day. I could not imagine working in a system like that, and wouldn't last a month. I realize that's the other extreme, but I feel like I have instructional autonomy and departmental collegiatality here.
While I still often feel like I live in a cocoon of corrosive loneliness at times, I don't see any evidence that this would change upon a move. I'm dragging my feet on buying a house simply because the thought of buying a house alone is sort of depressing. But I shouldn't. My friends have done it. And, at this point, I can tell it's mostly about me and my busy schedule as much as anything else.
So, we went out Friday night to discuss Peace Like a River at Ryan's Daughter. Seems like a really good book, it made me wish I had gotten much farther in it. I will. Yeah, we have a monthly book club in which we read a book we're thinking of adding to the curriculum. We're thinking of adding this to sophomore year. Cool.
Remind me never to go to Ryan's Daughter again, okay? After it was panned in this week's City Paper, I thought the paper was being too tough. I had enjoyed my two previous engagements there. But, first off all, this visit the food sucked. I got a spinach and salmon salad, which purported to have sundried tomatoes and Artichokes. Well, it did have one of each, both limp and marinated heavily - the same kind you could get in a jar in a grocery store. Then, the spinach had no dressing on it at all, and the hunk of salmon was just that - a hunk they threw on top. I asked for some dressing, and the waitress brought back mustard. I didn't want to bitch any more, so I just I just ate the spinach dry - something I do at home when I want a gross, but healthy, snack. Anyhow, the food was pretty bad.
Then, the prices were outrageous. I got three pints of Guinness, during Happy Hour, and they were $5 (!) each. Because I covered a co-worker's meal and drinks as well (it was her birthday), my tab was up over $65 for a light meal and drinks. Not fun. It has a cool atmosphere, but the place really needs to get some kitchen help and lower their prices to be a success.
So, yeah, I started the evening off with three pints of Guinnes, and stayed out until 1am. Rose and I went to Friends Tavern in Fell's Point for a spell (I couldn't find a direct link to link to from here by googling, but I did find out that Billie Holiday used to hang out there), and then eventually over to Dimiti's Tavern for some karaoke. I sang "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." Weird ass place, though. The stop the karaoke singing in the middle of it, at random, and start playing rap music. I thought, wow this is strange, because the bar on the inside doesn't appear it belongs in Baltimore. It's all white, they all sort of look like the folks I encounter in southwest Michigan - conservative, working class, salt of the earth. I kept imagining my parents would walk in. Then the rap music starts, and a couple of old ladies start bopping their head. Hmmmmm, I think. This is strange. Then, five of them get up and dance a highly choreographed line dance to the rap music. All women over 50 or 60, all a bit soft around the middle, all with a cigarette in their hand. After twenty minutes of it, it was back to karaoke. Weird.
I was so exhausted by the end of the night, though. Going out on Friday afternoons is fun, but I don't think I need to go out on Friday nights as well. This is two Fridays in a row. I need to be better about coming in on time so I don't sleep in until after 9 on a Saturday morning.
Off to the gym...