The Plain Truth About Educators

The rumor has been spread around for hundreds of years, so long now that it has become fact in the minds of current and former students: Teachers do not have a sense of humor. Even Snopes has yet to debunk this particular urban legend. Some stories claim that teachers have their humor beaten out of them by nuns in teacher school, even if said teacher is not Catholic.  Some stories heard around summer campfires tell of surgical removal of the bone of funny, the poor teacher waking up in a bathtub full of ice.

A teachers' sense of humor shines, even at lunch.

The truth is that if teachers didn't have a sense of humor, they would be unable to do their jobs as well as they do. Kids have short attention spans, and the curriculum is at least a year long. Not every child is interested in learning what they need to know, which is ultimately how to problem solve independently when there's no one around to tell you what to do.  Teachers have to be entertaining in some way to garner the attention of up to thirty kids at once. A sense of humor helps with the creativity it takes to reel in even the most attention deficit child for their ten minute limit.

And teachers have to have a sense of humor to put up with parents.  Not the wonderful, supportive parents, who actually appreciate the school's efforts to create successful adults.  Teachers love those kinds of parents.  It's the parents who are not supportive, who send condescending and patronizing emails, or call the school superintendent 435 times a day to complain about anything and everything.  It's that nonexistent sense of humor that gets teachers through those frustrating meetings and phone calls.

Teachers also have to have a sense of humor to deal with the general perception that they do nothing of value, that their jobs are not worthwhile.  Nothing could be further from the truth. NOBODY got to where they are right now without a teacher, not even the Orange Rind in Chief, and everyone needs to remember that every single day.  For every person who thinks that teaching is so simple that an idiot like Dan Patrick could do it, there's a teacher who knows better.  For every Betsy DeWhatever who thinks that teaching is a business that should be privatized or chartered out to fly-by-night organizations to deliver mail-order diplomas, there's a teacher who has to laugh themselves silly, so they won't devolve into tears at the lack of respect and support.  Don't tell me teachers don't have a sense of humor. 

The evidence is clear: Teachers do have a sense of humor. We can put that legend to rest. Not everyone will get their jokes, it is true. The humor is there nonetheless.  Some days it may be a gallows humor.  I'm sure that all the teachers in Texas who are preparing to educate children who may have been uprooted by Harvey are very stressed and sarcastic right now.  And that is okay with me, because even though I have heard the jokes, I know that underneath the sarcasm and flip responses is the determination and the dedication to do whatever it takes to welcome every child, and to educate them, no matter what.

And that is the truth.

Harvey Is A Real Jerk

This past weekend the great state of Texas was visited by a weather system named Harvey.  Harvey was a hurricane, a Category 4 at landfall. We had a long time to watch him coming.  All the weather reports for the entire week prior to landfall were grim; Harvey was going to do some damage to my part of the state. It was expected to stall a bit north of Victoria after coming on shore at Corpus Christi, and then sit there for a bit. The rain predictions for my town, San Antonio, were for anywhere from 3 to 13 inches--they just couldn't say for sure.  Houston wasn't supposed to be hit as hard, as it would be east of the majority of the storm.

The entire city of San Antonio, and Bexar county as well, whipped into action like this was old hat, establishing emergency operations, gathering the needed supplies for the situation, opening shelters to welcome those evacuating from the coast, etc. Schools were closed early on Friday, employees were sent home, businesses closed.  Even SeaWorld and Six Flags closed for the weekend.  We all put on our big girl panties to deal with Harvey in an orderly fashion, purchasing food and water for the weekend, just in case.  And when Harvey hit the coast, San Antonio's invitation to visit was waiting.  We were ready.

When you are prepared for an event, almost everything you were worried about never occurs. Hurricanes are unpredictable, and Harvey was predictable in at least that regard.  And as prepared as the entire state was, nobody seemed to be prepared for the storm to hit Houston instead of San Antonio.  San Antonio had some rain, and gusts of wind.  I kept an eye on the skies, and an ear to the weather reports. Like you do  We got three inches of rain in the gauge, total.  I went to bed thinking that Harvey was just being coy, and would move into our area that night or the next day.

Instead of heading west,however, Harvey staggered east, right into Houston.  San Antonio was ready; Houston was not, I thought.  But FORTY inches of rain?  The only people who might even be remotely prepared for the amount of rain that fell in Houston would be those related to Noah.  Most of the fourth largest city in America is underwater. 

People have been displaced from their homes by the thousands.  The ones who were lucky enough not to have flooded, like some of my family members, are surrounded by water, and are trapped. Refineries and other essential businesses are surrounded.  And the water may not recede for weeks.  WEEKS, people.  Houston is essentially a lake right now, and the true destruction costs won't be known for at least that long.  Not cool, Harvey. You're not only a jerk, you bought the lobster dinner, and stuck Texas with the bill.

There are lots of agencies that are heading to Houston, and the coast, to help Texas clean up.  Everyone in America will do what they can to help, either by volunteering or by donating money.  We all seem to come together when catastrophes happen. Some people are saying not to give money to organizations like the Red Cross or the Humane Societies, because they pay their CEOs lots of money.  However, large organizations like the Red Cross have mobile response units at the ready and are likely already helping out in the Houston area. Give to the organization you feel comfortable with. If you want to donate items, buy dry socks and underthings. A variety of sizes. Wet socks and underpants cause chafing and rot, and nobody likes that. This isn't going to be a short rescue, and things are going to be messy.  Like Katrina, it may take years for the Houston area to arrive back at some sort of normal.  But get back to normal they will. We're not about to let some hurricane bring us down for long. 

Harvey is moving along, like jerks always do.

Stay safe, everyone.