So some might wonder what have I been up to for the past four years, and it is not all that easy or simple to answer. Remember that in my last post I mentioned that I have not exactly followed a simple or predictable arc. I suppose what has been the foundation of the second half of my life has been teaching and education, and that has continued, though I have had detours working for the U.S. Census, a grocery store, and even a go at Starbucks. And I have the green apron and a pay stub to prove it in case I run for office.
For most of the past four years I have been teaching in one way or another in the high schools. That has been a pretty dramatic change from years working in the colleges. It has not always been an easy transition. I started subbing all over the metro area during the COVID year, and then I was lucky enough to take a long-term sub position for six months. Last year, I accepted a full-time assignment at an alternative credit recovery high school. This school year I am back to subbing pretty much full time or at least every day that I want to or can.
As for the transition to working with high school students, all I can really say is wow. There have been some incredibly rewarding and fun moments where I truly felt/feel that I made/make a difference. Then there are the days that I spend my time telling the boys to stop making farty noises and issuing bathroom passes,
On balance, it is a pretty rewarding, positive experience, and at the least, I have great stories to tell during post-work cocktail hour!
One advantage of teaching all over is that I get to see all variety of high schools and the variety of students. Last week I subbed at Edina, no doubt the crown jewel of metro area schools. Other than perhaps Purdue University, Edina has the nicest physical plant of any college or university that I have taught at and that list is pretty long. It is the land of straight teeth and designer clothes for sure, and certainly most if not all are hoping for a spot in some Big 16 or Ivy League institution. If I am to believe my informal observational poll based on sweatshirts, Harvard seems a popular choice as does Indiana for some reason. No one was wearing Purdue wear…sigh.
Some other schools are not so lucky to have that same tax base. Columbia Heights where I frequently am at and where I love to sub, spends less than one-third of what Edina spends on each student. It is a nice school, but the students are far more likely to be English-language learners than SAT stars, though I have found that there are academic all-stars everywhere and in every single school.
Working at Edina or Southwest or Washburn makes you notice that some students start on their path to academic success at different places and with vastly different resources. Here is a simple test to show this is the case. Ask a class what they did during summer vacation. At some schools, you will hear tales of trips near and far and time at the lake or tennis camp, and they often are wearing sweatshirts that memorialize the trip or experience. Ask that same question at some other school and you hear tales of work or video games or taking care of siblings. There clearly is a resource and opportunity gap that is sometimes unimaginable.
My eyes, and certainly my heart, has been made far more aware of all that students have to deal with. In Minneapolis, almost 15% of students experience housing insecurity each year, and at the school where I taught all last year, the figure was closer to 25%. Imagine, one out of four students wonder whether or not they have a consistent , safe, place to stay. Food insecurity is even more prevalent. Our Communist-Socialist governor, Tim Walz, THANKFULLY signed a bill over strenuous protest to ensure that students got a free lunch and breakfast. I have seen first-hand significant numbers of students who wait to ingest every available calorie during these meals because that is the only food that they have for the entire day. Yeah, what a terrible thing to do, making sure that students have something to eat. No wonder we want him out of the governor’s mansion—what a terrible man. He should be vice-president or something.
So I get up every morning and am on the road about 7AM to be on the pointy end of the education system. Today I am teaching business, last week I taught science, history, French, English, and one class of Chinese. Teaching might be a bit too strong of a verb, but I am in front of a classroom, a spot where I think that I belong.
More pictures and a more personal take on what’s up with me in the next episode.
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