Apathy

Let us begin with apathy, since apathy is often the beginning and end of
good and honorable ideas. My personal goal this week was to get my desk organized -- this of course was a failure since "goals" must be attainable.
Perhaps it is apathy which keeps my room in disarray although I do like to pretend it has more to do with entropy. But this focus is supposed to be on apathy: which according to "The American Heritage Dictionary" is 1. Lack of emotion or feeling; 2. Indifference. And apathy seems to be the end product of entropy -- especially with teachers.

A school is likened to a ship. All hands onboard need to work together as one continuos machine. What is that saying: "you are only as strong as your weakest link"? These machinations often break down as staff members, long time friends and acquaintances move on to different avenues within their lives. And more often than not: principals and other administrators change. This leaves that bond of the educational family to slip into an exponential entropy effect And with entropy comes apathy.

A statement was posed to me by a peer: "Why is it everyone thinks
that they can be a teacher? We are the most watched, regulated profession
out there and everyone thinks they can walk in and do what we do!" Perhaps
this is what is wrong with our profession: we are too regulated -- we are
no longer teachers. This past week in defiance to the apathy about
me I have chosen not to be regulated, certified, stamped, quantified, numbered
-- (my inner child recalls "The Prisoner" number 6 yelling out "I am not
a number -- I am a man!"). Regardless of the stoic presence within the typical
classroom atmosphere. This week we had fun not as teacher and student but
as learners, explorers, experimenters.



Often our apathetic attitudes reflect in our daily teaching and behavior.
We as educators need to model the behaviors we want from our students.
And if our students see indifference, or lack of emotion then they will model
this behavior in our classroom. Yes, this opens up the argument then that
teachers need to be model citizens! (And we all thought that anyone could
grow up to be a teacher!) Not only do we have to be model citizens, who are
always happy and shining but we need to teach others how to be their
own advocates against a system that disrespects us because of our profession.
More simply put: we need to educate those people who on any given day would
rather stone us.



I am enraged when I hear educators complaining -- well that is another rant
in itself --but what is ironic is how teachers, especially Special Ed teachers,
fall into apathy when it concerns the advocacy of students and parents. Often
we become sheep or worse lemmings and follow the directions given to us by
our system instead of doing what is right. But then it is difficult to do
what is right. My father used to say: "Doing the right thing is never an
easy choice." And this is the choice that we as educators face morally on
a daily basis. Do we stand up for what believe in knowing that we may lose
everything that we have struggled for? Or, do we stand for the status quo
and forget everything we struggled for?



This week we took a trip to a "Buckskinner Encampment". What was different
about this trip as opposed to other years was that one of our classrooms
put together a scavenger hunt for all of the other students that went with
us. While scavenger hunts on field trips is not new it was rather refreshing
to see students scrambling to find out information posed to them by their
peers. This then was not a "school assignment" but rather a problem solving
session, a competition of one's self against one's self and for one's self.
This year I also purchased my skunk pelt. This is an item I have wanted for
years but I always talked myself out of it then later regretted my decision.
I now have my skunk. It's sitting on my desk. Which, of course, needs more
tidying up this week than last.

It is with "knowing" our own limitations that we begin to know ourselves.