I have to apologize for getting behind on my posts here. Unfortunately the blog has been a reflection of my work and family life lately; things have not been getting done. Instead I have been consumed with trying, yet again, to preserve the school my youngest child attends.
I like to think of myself as a pretty calm, even-tempered person. There are few subjects where passion and bias are likely to throw me way off balance. But if there is one, it is the subject of gifted education. As a former gifted child with issues surrounding my own education, I have always had a hard time being objective. When my own children were identified as gifted, I was simply glad that there were better educational options. I didn't want to become an activist on the issue. What I didn't know was that preserving those options would become an ongoing battle. Every few years, some administrator would decide to alter or eliminate the program and we would have to fight again.
This time around, however, has been especially disruptive. I have said before that one of the hardest parts of being self-employed is that it can be hard to keep the two parts of your life separate. Disruption and stress in one tends to bleed over into the other. I am not especially temperamental about art; I don't need everything just so in order to be creative. But conflict and agitation make it difficult to maintain the focus necessary to do the kind of work I do.
So I am in the process of reasserting some balance here at work and at home. We will not know the fate of our school until sometime in November, but I believe it is time for me accept that we have done what we can to save it. My goal at this point is to spend less time in parent strategy meetings and a little more time in the studio. With luck that should restore a little bit of order and serenity!
4 comments:
My sympathies. As a teacher at both a publice and private schools I've seen the chaos and pain that can happen following some stupidity by an administrator.
Cheryl
And yes I can spell LOL just the ability to type eludes me sometimes.
Public not publice LOL.
The economic woes of our country are seeping into every part of our lives. Schools are on the line, my job is on the line, folks' houses are on the line---it is a difficult time. But it seems to me that in difficult times, we should push for MORE education, not less; it is the forward-thinkers that will get us pulled out of our tough times.
I couldn't agree more, Mel. I only hope as a country we begin to recognize this.
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