Canned

Well officially, it's been since March that I've known I would not be rehired by the school that I spent 5 years working for. It's funny, people usually have hurt emotions and things of that sort when this sort of thing happens. I don't feel that way. Of course, there is a little bit of resentment that goes along with the fact that someone says that they don't want you around anymore, especially after the time that you dedicated to establishing something that has become special. For the two (out of five) of you that are reading this and don't know me, I was a music teacher at Willow Glen High School and Willow Glen Middle School for the past 5 years. With the total buy in of the students, I built the program from decomposition to something that is of substantial quality. We had maybe 12 high school students in the program and last year we had around 80 students participating in the high school program, not including the 30 that were in a guitar class. The middle school had the same growth and the program grew from barely having enough students for two band classes, to having 4 fully enrolled band classes.

Now, some of you might say, "Well that's can't be true. A school would never fire someone who's done that much work." I would have to say that up until March 11, 2011 I would have agreed with you. But I feel confident that if you were to speak to any of the parents of the students I taught, they would confirm this story. Others might say, "Well you must have done something to make the principal not rehire you." And I guess fundamentally, at some point you are correct. There must have been something that the principal didn't like. However, I ask you this, what's the most important thing: a teacher that is doing their job with the students extremely engaged, or the principal not liking something about my personality? Now, I don't want people to think that I am saying I was perfect. I am definitely not that guy, however, the issues that someone might have with me is easily fixable, nor are they even close to the scope of other issues that principals have with other teachers.

So now that we know what happened, it's time to deal with the issue at hand. My status, as of right now, is non reelect. I have done a little research and most people who are deemed this way are given the option, suggestion, to resign their position at the end of the year. Due to the economic situation, I can't find another job, unless I am prepared to move out of the state, as a result of there being absolutely no jobs for music teachers, especially music teachers that have been deemed non reelect. So basically, I was screwed. Not saying this to have people march on the district office, or the principal's office for that matter, but just so that people can understand what really happens in education and why so many people get out of the profession altogether. Now, here's the kicker...had I elected to resign, by doing so, I could have forfeited all claims to any unemployment benefits.

So I'm not sure what's going to happen in the future. I'm either going to become financially independent, or I'm going to go hungry. I am not going to let anyone else have that much control over my future anymore. I was told that I needed to go to school and get good grades so that I can have a good job. Well if that is what a good job is, I don't ever want a job again. It's time for me to start doing the things that I've dreamt of. All of those who are with me, come on there's room for all of you. Time to get to work. It's time to stop thinking out loud and start living out loud. See you all at, or from, the top.

Osama's Dead...Now What???

In the days following the announcement of the death of Osama Bin Laden, it seems that America is a much safer place. I don't feel the stress I felt a week before when I knew that Osama was still out there plotting the demise of my freedom. Now that he's gone, I don't have to worry about the threat level because it's returned to green. I don't have to worry about taking my shoes and belt off in order to get on a plane. I can even carry large tubes of toothpaste in my carry on bag and not worry about having to suffer through a body cavity search. Yup, it seems like everything is gone away, except for the chants of U-S-A echoing in my ears as thousands of baseball fans celebrated after the news of Osama's death was learned. It just seems like things can't get any better.

Wouldn't that be amazing if it were true. Unfortunately, we still don't have enough jobs for millions of Americans. We still have a trillion dollar deficit. We still have troops fighting in wars that we need not be involved in. We still have a dependence on foreign oil, which has been linked to Osama's funding. We still have Osama's buddies hanging out waiting for the next opportunity to attack. And I still don't have my flying car.

In a time where we should be rallying together in an attempt to fix our situation, we still stay divided on issues. This divide only exists as a result of political ideology. Unfortunately, can't see past the donkey or the elephant in order to get things done. The whole political arena is designed to divide us common people in order to keep those in power with power. It would be amazing to see what happens when we get together and start demanding that congress do what's best for all of us. Perhaps, instead of cheering for the death of someone, we should demand a change in the way that this country is ran. We should demand more from our leaders and how they lead and govern. This isn't me being unAmurrican , I'm just thinking out loud.