Category Archives: Employment

timing

Posted on August 3, 2015 by bakrawiec

July has given way to August. And I realized something about the passage of time during these countdown days. In the past, when I was counting down to the start of the school year, I did so at this half-way … Continue reading →

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not what, but who; joyfully (un)realistic!

Posted on August 2, 2015 by bakrawiec

The same undergraduate methods professor who introduced me to the Henry Adams quote, discussed in prior posts, that guided my teaching, gave the following words of wisdom, which he repeated often throughout our coursework, making them his mantra. I’m paraphrasing: … Continue reading →

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halfway out, and still fighting the bad rap

Posted on August 1, 2015 by bakrawiec

Halfway through the sixty days’ resignation to retirement, I’m thinking about the posts I’ve written as a map of where my mind has been. Surprised that I’m still reflecting so much on teaching–still infuriated over new teacher evaluation systems and … Continue reading →

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high-stakes testing hurts

Posted on July 30, 2015 by bakrawiec

It had been quite a six months for our son. His paternal grandfather had died twelve days before his ninth birthday in December; his maternal grandfather was hospitalized with misdiagnosed strokes in January; his father was diagnosed in February with … Continue reading →

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testing tunnel vision

Posted on July 29, 2015 by bakrawiec

Surprised to see the head high school guidance counselor walk into my classroom on a particular February morning, I was immediately puffed up when he explained the reason for his arrival, delivering, in hushed tones, a confidential message. A young … Continue reading →

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give-and-take compliments

Posted on July 24, 2015 by bakrawiec

It’s one thing to think complimentary thoughts about someone; it’s quite another thing to verbalize the compliment to that person. I hadn’t really considered the difficulty inherent in verbalizing compliments—maybe because I didn’t give many?—until a reading supervisor raised my … Continue reading →

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thanks for understanding

Posted on July 23, 2015 by bakrawiec

One of the interesting dynamics of being an elementary school librarian is the number of daily thank you’s received from students, with this clarification. Invariably at the end of each library session, as part of the lining-up departure protocol, classroom … Continue reading →

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congratulations…for what?

Posted on July 22, 2015 by bakrawiec

Them: “Congratulations!” Me: …knee jerk: “Thank you!” As you might imagine, I’ve heard my fair share of “Congratulations!” since I shared my retirement decision on June 30th. Now, three weeks later, the more resigned, comfortable, and grateful I continue to … 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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