Saturday was the big end-of-camp Tennis Bonanza at Randolph Tennis Center (soon to be named the Jim Refkin Tennis Center).
G., my wandering boy who likes to pretend his racquet is a machine gun when he is in a certain mood, did really well with the 7 a.m., 5-week camp. Well, for him. He participated in warm-ups, tried hard on most games, and socialized pretty well with the other children (minus the machine guns.) For him, this was big. He spent most of last spring in Little League counting how many players were on the field. When his team returned to the dugout, he would keep running through the dugout, out the gate, and into the stands to check in with us. He couldn't remember his teammates names, for the most part. He spent many music classes this year, when the students were supposed to sing or do movements in unison, rolling on the floor and refusing to participate. It was good to see him, for the most part, checked in. The biggest issue was that he wanted more stars for the star chart, but still wasn't a completely focused team player, not a top star-earner.
When, during the second half of the Tennis Bonanza, Coach Megan announced that each site would be awarding three trophies (one for stars, one for improvement, and one for sportsmanship), G. immediately started crying. He knew none of those were for him, and boy, did he want a trophy. I scootched him close to me and whispered in his ear that he would get a t-shirt, whispered how well he had done and how much fun he had had, how most of these kiddos would not be headed home with a trophy, and how what was really important was that he knew for himself that he was learning a lot about tennis and getting better. I reminded him that I worked really hard as a teacher, and hadn't gotten one trophy, but that what was important was what we knew we could do, and what we decided to do better next time. He tried so hard to be a good sport, but he couldn't manage to clap and be happy for the others who had won.
He cried all the way to the Parents' Lounge where we stood in line to pick up his T-shirt, pointing out along the way all the bouncy children holding trophies, unable to see the other dozens of children without trophies.
As we stood in line, a mom came up behind me, surreptitiously holding a star trophy: "Would he like to have this?" I said, "Are you sure?" She said that her son was big, and didn't care at all about the trophy. I turned to find him and make eye contact, and found the friendly face of a 15 year-old who clearly loved tennis, and had learned that the little 4-inch trophy was not what it was all about. He waved off the trophy, and I mouthed a thank you and hid it behind my back while G. got his T-shirt. He turned back around, and I held the trophy up.
"What's that?" he asked, still teary-eyed.
"It's for you." I handed him the trophy and the tears dried up. A look spread across G.'s face: happiness, relief, accomplishment. Two thoughts swirled in my head: "Miracle" and "Cry and get what you want." I had decided to allow him his moment and get what he wanted.
He commenced with a long list of questions designed to tell him exactly how this trophy came into his hands.
I asked him, "Do you think that you deserve it?"
He said yes.
I said, "Then it's for you!"
We passed another 7-year-old perched on a wall, wearing his new NJTL shirt over his other clothes. "Lucky!" he called out to G. That boy would go home with no trophy.
What stays with me is the sweetness of the teen boy and/or his mother who had the thought of making G.'s day, without even knowing if he deserved it. They may not realize that they helped to recognize the growth he made this summer. I do hope that G. will learn that it is not all about the trophy, and that he can't always expect trophies when it is a competition, and that he needs to focus on himself, what he can do, and what he can do better, but for the moment, he feels acknowledged and validated in a way that apparently ice cream and t-shirts can't do.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Boisterous education rally briefly shuts state House doors
Boisterous education rally briefly shuts state House doors
Click above and check out what happened in Phoenix today! I wish I could have been there...
Now if only we could keep the equalization tax and get rid of the sales tax increase, I think that would be real progress. There are a lot of bad compromises in this budget, but I am relieved to see "only" a 5% cut to education vs. the worst-case scenario 18% we heard about earlier this year. Right now I am not sure if that 5% is k-12 or K-university.
To all the Republican legislators out there who are using the budget crisis as an opportunity to continue to chip away at the entire public education system: Public Education definitely needs reform, but what alternative is there ready and waiting in the wings, people? Even vouchers, charters, etc. are publicly funded. Hello! Look at the corporate-sponsored charter schools. Sure, some are excellent, but the vast majority are mediocre, a factory approach from the school end, and a product chosen by consumers looking for a way to "get credits" for graduation. In the public schools in which I have taught, the vast majority of the teachers and administrators I have known have worked to get much more out of their students, and to provide more for them. I just don't see a business model working well in an area that requires mostly altruism, idealism, hard work in good faith, and the belief in the democratizing power of education.
We need to work toward a long-term, stable commitment to funding a successful public education system in Arizona, including the charter school system. And the funding needs to come not just from sales taxes, which are fickle, and which burden the already-stressed working class. Businesses need to shoulder more of the tax burden, and the state equalization property tax wouldn't hurt, either.
One more comment: The idea that teachers and those in education "feed from the trough" of state funding is f-ing sickening. So do the legislators! So does the Governor! So do Highway Patrol officers! So do Child Care Protective Services workers. Why do legislators beat up on school teachers and not land developers, payday loan sharks, etc., etc.? That is a load of crap. Forgive my little trip to the gutter of the English language. It will get worse if I go on, so I will stop now.
Just my two-cents based on the information I have.
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Click above and check out what happened in Phoenix today! I wish I could have been there...
Now if only we could keep the equalization tax and get rid of the sales tax increase, I think that would be real progress. There are a lot of bad compromises in this budget, but I am relieved to see "only" a 5% cut to education vs. the worst-case scenario 18% we heard about earlier this year. Right now I am not sure if that 5% is k-12 or K-university.
To all the Republican legislators out there who are using the budget crisis as an opportunity to continue to chip away at the entire public education system: Public Education definitely needs reform, but what alternative is there ready and waiting in the wings, people? Even vouchers, charters, etc. are publicly funded. Hello! Look at the corporate-sponsored charter schools. Sure, some are excellent, but the vast majority are mediocre, a factory approach from the school end, and a product chosen by consumers looking for a way to "get credits" for graduation. In the public schools in which I have taught, the vast majority of the teachers and administrators I have known have worked to get much more out of their students, and to provide more for them. I just don't see a business model working well in an area that requires mostly altruism, idealism, hard work in good faith, and the belief in the democratizing power of education.
We need to work toward a long-term, stable commitment to funding a successful public education system in Arizona, including the charter school system. And the funding needs to come not just from sales taxes, which are fickle, and which burden the already-stressed working class. Businesses need to shoulder more of the tax burden, and the state equalization property tax wouldn't hurt, either.
One more comment: The idea that teachers and those in education "feed from the trough" of state funding is f-ing sickening. So do the legislators! So does the Governor! So do Highway Patrol officers! So do Child Care Protective Services workers. Why do legislators beat up on school teachers and not land developers, payday loan sharks, etc., etc.? That is a load of crap. Forgive my little trip to the gutter of the English language. It will get worse if I go on, so I will stop now.
Just my two-cents based on the information I have.
Shared via AddThis
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Urgent Budget Letter to State Legislators
Please write your state legislator (whom you can find at http://www.azleg.gov/) in support of funding public education without a sales tax increase. Republican leadership refuses to hand over the budget they passed June 4 to Governor Brewer because she said she would veto it. They have totally stalled out budget negotiations. Here's what I sent today.
Message sent to the following recipients:
Representative Bradley
Representative Farley
Senator Aboud
Message text follows:
Amethyst Hinton Sainz
3xx xxxxxx
Tucson, AZ 85XXX
June 25, 2009
[recipient address was inserted here]
Dear [recipient name was inserted here],
Thank you for your ongoing support of public education. Through my
experience of moving to TUSD after 13 years of teaching, becoming RIFfed,
having the opportunity to lobby, and keeping more up to date on the budget
process at the state level, I have learned SO much, and have finally
learned a little bit about who represents me at the state level.
I am proud to be able to say that you are my representative. So often
throughout these battles, we are hearing about the ideology of many
senators and representatives who do not believe in public education and
truly do not care to fund it. In the face of this complete ignorance of
the role of public education in this state, I applaud you for holding true
to this most democratic and equalizing of ideals: an educated citizenry.
I am beginning to despair, but please do everything you can to fund
education without relying on an additional sales tax. To me, this is
allowing businesses to continue to retain unfair tax advantages while the
strapped middle class is being asked to shoulder more and more of the
burden of educating the future employees and customers of these
businesses. It is just too much.
Please do whatever you can over the next week.
Sincerely,
Amethyst Hinton Sainz
Message sent to the following recipients:
Representative Bradley
Representative Farley
Senator Aboud
Message text follows:
Amethyst Hinton Sainz
3xx xxxxxx
Tucson, AZ 85XXX
June 25, 2009
[recipient address was inserted here]
Dear [recipient name was inserted here],
Thank you for your ongoing support of public education. Through my
experience of moving to TUSD after 13 years of teaching, becoming RIFfed,
having the opportunity to lobby, and keeping more up to date on the budget
process at the state level, I have learned SO much, and have finally
learned a little bit about who represents me at the state level.
I am proud to be able to say that you are my representative. So often
throughout these battles, we are hearing about the ideology of many
senators and representatives who do not believe in public education and
truly do not care to fund it. In the face of this complete ignorance of
the role of public education in this state, I applaud you for holding true
to this most democratic and equalizing of ideals: an educated citizenry.
I am beginning to despair, but please do everything you can to fund
education without relying on an additional sales tax. To me, this is
allowing businesses to continue to retain unfair tax advantages while the
strapped middle class is being asked to shoulder more and more of the
burden of educating the future employees and customers of these
businesses. It is just too much.
Please do whatever you can over the next week.
Sincerely,
Amethyst Hinton Sainz
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
21st Century Writing Skills and Job Searches
I want to share a recent NPR story about how employers expect applicants to have moved beyond the paper resume. The interesting thing is that I don't think this is true in the teaching field. When I go to school district websites to look for job openings, most of what we must submit is in hard-copy, such as a six page common application for Pima County schools which is distributed as a downloadable .pdf file. Without a full version of Adobe Acrobat, an applicant must print the form and then either type it on a typewriter (and, seriously, who has one of those anymore?) or hand write it. And I don't know about any of you out there, but my handwriting just gets worse and worse as I become more dependent on typing.
At any rate, this story confirmed to me as an English teacher that I do need to have students publish online and become part of online communities. We need to have conversations about internet legacies and the rules of engagement online. Students need to create online profiles and learn to market themselves. There are definitely risks with this type of online activity, but it seems to me that we need to find creative ways to deal with these risks and to create classroom communities where students learn to support each other in these endeavors.
At any rate, this story confirmed to me as an English teacher that I do need to have students publish online and become part of online communities. We need to have conversations about internet legacies and the rules of engagement online. Students need to create online profiles and learn to market themselves. There are definitely risks with this type of online activity, but it seems to me that we need to find creative ways to deal with these risks and to create classroom communities where students learn to support each other in these endeavors.
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