Monthly Archives: July 2015

role reversal

Posted on July 21, 2015 by bakrawiec

As unimaginably sad as it is when a teacher loses a current or former students, so unimaginably joyful it is for a teacher to encounter a former student who validates time spent in the classroom. I had that unexpected joy … Continue reading →

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retirement downer: outliving one’s children

Posted on July 20, 2015 by bakrawiec

Just as popular wisdom says that parents shouldn’t outlive their children, it strikes me that teachers shouldn’t outlive their classroom-children, either. (As an adult school GED teacher, as well as university adjunct, I have had students older than I, including … Continue reading →

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finally, ultimately (re)tired

Posted on July 19, 2015 by bakrawiec

Continuing the previous conversation… The only other time I ever heard the big “T” (as in Tired) word spoken filled with that much unspoken meaning, as I referred to in the previous post, the word was spoken by my mother, … Continue reading →

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r-e-t-i-r-e-d … It’s telling!

Posted on July 18, 2015 by bakrawiec

It never ceases to amaze me that every book printed in English—no matter how thick, no matter many pages or how many words– can be reduced to this common denominator: just twenty-six letters, albeit arranged and rearranged, used multiple times, … Continue reading →

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accepted and approved

Posted on July 17, 2015 by bakrawiec

I admit it. I’m still mining the implications of those three little words “accepted and approved,” as in resignation/retirement letter signed, sealed, and delivered. Since my resignation/retirement applies to education, I’ve been thinking about “accepted and approved” as it applies … Continue reading →

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exit plan

Posted on July 16, 2015 by bakrawiec

Am still reflecting on my resignation having been Board “accepted and approved.” First “a” word sounds welcoming and hospitable—could as well have been in response to my applying for the job, rather than resigning. Second “a” word sounds like it … Continue reading →

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Fait accompli!

Posted on July 15, 2015 by bakrawiec

It’s official! The Board “accepted and approved” my retirement! When I read the email notification to that effect, I smiled, peacefully and joyfully. In rehearsing the moment, I expected to do a combination victory and liberation dance. I imagined I’d … Continue reading →

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good to go? I hope so!

Posted on July 14, 2015 by bakrawiec

No miracle of streaming video last night, so, here I am today, hoping to learn from our HR Department what I did not hear or see with my own ears and eyes last night: the acceptance of my resignation-for-retirement-purposes letter. … Continue reading →

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lucky 13

Posted on July 13, 2015 by bakrawiec

Definitely not the superstitious type, having my resignation-for-retirement-purposes letter go before the Board tonight on the thirteenth of the month does not freak me out. In fact, being a bit of a nonconformist in matters such as yielding to superstitions, … Continue reading →

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retirement present

Posted on July 12, 2015 by bakrawiec

Today marks the eighteenth birthday of Malala Yousafzai, one courageous young woman, youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and tenacious children’s advocate. Whoever would have thought that her life on the other side of the globe would have anything to do … Continue reading →

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