Sanctimonious

 So now some folks in Florida are trying to prevent their kids from seeing Michaelangelo's famous sculpture of David because his entire body is exposed. A principal was even fired because allowed the renaissance sculpture to be seen by his students. This famous piece of classical art has been around since___ but suddenly in 2023, it is considered pornography by some overzealous parents. It is, no doubt, the offshoot of time people trying to ban books from school libraries.  

If you've wondered about the word sanctimonious lately since Donald Trump applied his invented word de-sanctimonious to Ron Desantis, the governor of Florida, this is a good example.  When a person or group of people are sanctimonious they are making a show of being morally superior.  That applies nicely here.  Of course, the way Trump uses the word is more of his nonsense as desanctiminoius is not really a word.  Trump could hardly be morally superior to anyone or anything, having a rusty moral compass himself.  

So, what is going on with these folks that try to prevent others from making their own decisions about art, music, and literature?  Are they afraid of the human body?  Is sexuality or sensuality something to fear or hide away?  What do they think will happen to their children if they see or read about other human beings who don't exactly believe or act the way they do?

    Often in these book-banning cases, we find that those most vocal have not even read the works under scrutiny.  Or if they have, they often misconstrue the author's intention or misread the meaning of the scenes in question.  When I was in high school, The Catcher In The Rye, was a very big deal.  You had to have your parent's permission to check it out of the library.  The big fuss seemed to be the use of the F word somewhere in the text.  Of course, everybody wanted to read it then.  A generation later, when I taught American literature to high school Juniors, the book was still banned in many places, but many schools, like the one I taught in, had made the text part of the curriculum.  It is perfect for adolescents grappling with personal identity, the corruption in the adult world, and of course the ever-present fall from innocence.  Ironically the part that caused the big kerfuffle was a minor reference to Holden Caulfield's grave.  He says that when he died someone will probably scribble "fuck you" on his gravestone.  A true sign of how awful the world has become that nobody can even die peacefully without some fool marring their eternal rest.  That's it.  That's what all the fuss was about.  As if 17-year-olds haven't heard the term before.  The fact is, you can go into any secondary school anywhere in the nation and find these words written on walls and stalls all over the place.  You can also find much worse if you know where to look.  

The Things You See

    I once knew an old Kentucky "good ol' boy" who was fond of saying,  "The things you see when you ain't got a gun." If he saw something outrageous like a poorly dressed person, or perhaps something truly ugly, it could be funny.  But the things you see can be a lot more than that.

      It's often said that the things you see as a young person set the tone for much of your later life.  These are usually things that initially came as either a surprise or shock or perhaps an affirmation of something you wondered about as a child.  Are there evil people in the world?  Does the society I live in treat all people equally?  Does money talk?  Does anybody really win a war?

    We know that people who grew up during the Great Depression forever retain that "Depression mentality.  They waste nothing.  They constantly worry about the vagaries and vicissitudes of the economy.  Having enough food, a decent place to live, and the ability to overcome unpredictable weather are lifelong concerns.

    In my formative years, I saw the Civil Rights movement and a very unpopular war in Vietnam.  It's no wonder much of my life has centered around social justice and working with those less fortunate.  I counted myself in that group as  well because of early experiences where I was considered "the other." Religion had always been a mystery to me because I was raised in a home that had a vague concept of God, but nothing to do with organized religion.  I knew I has a Jewish background because my parent told me, and they often spoke a word or phrase in Yiddish when they didn't want my sister or me to know what they were talking about.  But in school, it was rough.  I didn't go t church or synagogue like most of my friends and neighbors, so I always felt on the outside.  To this day, I think my sister longed to wear a pretty pastel dress on Easter Sunday and go to church with her friends.  

So, what have other generations seen, and how will that impact their futures?  The effects of the COVID pandemic, the mob attack on the nation's capital, and the numerous police brutality cases in recent years will no doubt affect a generation.  One can only hope that these young people will use these experiences and events to springboard their careers in medicine, social work, law enforcement, and the politics of civility.  That is something to be optimistic about.

Next time you find yourself in a discussion about current affairs or life choices with people, see what happens when you raise the question about what kinds of things did you see at a young age that left a significant impression on you?  

    This just might be a good way to find common ground with people you think yu might have nothing in common with.

Class Size Matteers

 I recently saw another news story about the current teacher shortage.  The lack of qualified professionals is only one dimension, another is that young or beginning teachers are leaving the profession at an alarming rate.  Lots of one-and-done careers. As a retired teacher who went the distance(34 years), I am concerned and outraged that the powers that be don't do something drastic.  

We need to maintain the notion of a public school system that values equality and adequately provides the type of education that our kids deserve.  Who would want to enter a profession that undervalues all the time and effort it takes to educate a person?  If we vetted and tested candidates for public office they way we attempt to vet teachers, we'd have a Congress that could pass some legislation that would properly fund school systems.  

Everybody agrees that teachers should be paid more, especially given the demands and the time required to effectively do the job. Yet nothing happens.  Wealthy communities have the highest salaries, and poor communities have lower pay aside from fewer resources.  What else is new.  

Class size is always among the reasons that teachers quit.  Don't let anybody tell you differently.  It matters.  It makes a difference.

So offer some solutions.  OK, I will.  What's the old saying that applies...Desperate times call for desperate solutions?  Daring solutions. Rather than desperate let's use radical, out-of-the-box, don't let anybody tell you differently  Here's one.  Create a program for retired teachers to come back and teach one class.  Yes, one class.  Pull 5 students from an overcrowded classroom and create a new class of 15 and give it to a veteran teacher who comes in for just one class.  15 students are manageable and won't create the enormous paper load that 37-40 does.  Pay a salary of 1/5 the full one and you don't even need to worry about benefits because retirees have those already.  

I cannot guarantee that this would work, but it should make an impact on those teachers with a full-time schedule and could open up other benefits for an entire faculty.  I might be tempted to return for a part-time gig like that.  

The point is that we have to do something, given the current state of affairs.  If the forces of segregation at work in this divided country should prevail, we'll lose all hope of a culture that truly values diversity.  Private and charter schools will attract and pull kids and parents of privilege to fund and run their own schools and leave those born into generational poverty to fend for themselves.  We're better than that.  I hope.

That our public school systems have taken a big hit by COVID, there can be no doubt.  Let's turn some things around with some dynamic solutions.  

Footnote: As a young teacher with 10 years of experience, I was laid off for the third time.  When I returned the following year, I was ultimately assigned to my old school because the class sizes were ridiculously high.  A  program was put together for me that included 4 preps in two departments.  The dregs... but nevertheless, a job!  One of my classes was a 9th-grade World History class.  The teachers of the largest overflowing 9th grad World History classes were allowed to pick 3-5 students that would be transferred to my newly formed class.  I knew that they'd probably pick their most challenging or troublesome students.  No matter, as I was often reminded, "You're lucky to have a job." So this new class was formed and to it was added a smattering of students who transferred to my school later in the year and students that enrolled later in the year or came from other placements like Juvenile Hall.  I think the total enrollment of this new history class was about 16.  On any given day about 12-14, students attended.  That was so uncommon those days.  Yes, there were behavior problems in that class.  Yes, many of those kids were not the stellar students that any teacher would love to have.  But they were so small a group by the standards of the day that it made for an unusual and memorable teaching experience.  It was the last class of the day.  The first thing I did was tell the students to make a large semi-circle, a kind of half-moon-shaped seating arrangement.  I pulled a student desk and would sit in front of the crescent-shaped class.  There was nowhere for anybody to hide.  It was more intimate and relaxed than most classrooms.  It worked, too.  This class was not the difficult situation I originally expected given the nature of the student population.  Yes,  many of these kids had attendance problems, they'd get suspended now and then but not for behavior in my classroom.  9th-grade kids do a lot of stupid things, like throwing spit wads, and sneaking looks at comic books, cell phones, or notes passed.  That still happened, but rarely in this little group.  I truly think the size of the group and the seating arrangement helped me accomplish many of my objectives and ultimately led to a better experience for all.  We read literature as a group, viewed photos, artwork, films, and videos as a group, and shared ideas as a group.  I swear, some of these kids never had that experience before.  I don't want a medal, just some acknowledgement that class size matters and we can do something about it.