Various RAGES

HI everyone,

I'm enjoying all these voices. So varied, so fun. I can't help but dovetail on Donna's post (I think a week ago) on certain rages. This was a great read, and I had to respond with some of my own. Some of them take into account several of the posts so far:

Weather Rage: What possesses people to talk endlessly of the weather? It's in our southern bones, I think. Weather is a rage, in its own way; I could watch The Weather Channel all day long and never tire. I secretly harbor a fantasy of doing this as my mid-life career...I could wear those stretchy plain button downs, have my hair fixed just so every day, and look like a deer in headlights as I pronounce the rain in Minnesota!

Strip Mall Rage: Enough said. It is very strange to eat Thai food next to a LA Nails or Dollar Tree.

Holiday Rage: Okay, enough all ready. We get decorations out the wazoo for three months in advance of every holiday. We are advertised to ad nauseum about every holiday and suffer this weird "guilt" for not spending hard-earned money on Oversized teddy bears and huge boxes of candy. What is this Hallmark Holiday culture we are in? The church is all but lost...and its sacraments and festivals and feasts...but I was in Wal-Mart the other day and I swear, half the people buying most of that stuff didn't really have the money for it. So sad. And while I'm on that issue, how about CANDY RAGE? My children, who are 3 and 2, came home from their pre-school with a bag full of candy and junk from their Valentine's Party. This was a full bag, folks, not just a lollipop or anything. I think to myself, who spent all this money to buy this junk? Most of it went in the garbage can....sad to say...I'm not a candy nazi or anything...just wanting my kids to not get sick. They are too young to be eating such large amounts of sugar.

Credit Card Nation/Rage: Some of the poorest people I know (namely college students) are the most in debt. Here's what's happening at my house: My credit card bill (to which I owe nothing, which makes them mad) has come to me on average a day later every month. They send it at the last minute, hoping against hope that I'll lose track and have to pay the late bill. Plus, they come up with fees that are for this-and-that...and I've had to call and get these fees taken care of. They are literally making millions off people who don't pay attention. Credit cards will sink us, to be sure. And this comes from someone, who long ago, got sunk pretty bad in debt.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND RAGE, RAGE, RAGE. Here's the deal, folks: No Child Left Behind, in theory, has some really good points. It is data driven and based around accountability. These are good, right? But what about our growing population of special education students who are taught in the same classrooms as others (to which I agree with...) but are tested on the same level, too? These test scores are put with the others and guess what? The school doesn't make AYP. The school continues to lag behind because these students are held to the same standards as everyone else. Again, sounds good, right? But totally unreal. Totally failing the students and the systems...and where is the money to help these programs? In Iraq. At War.

Teacher Rage: I know all about this, as I work with teachers every day. These are the real deals, working in the trenches of our schools. They do so much work and feel so underappreciated. For all you teachers out there in blogville, I just have to stress to you that you are making a difference. And that each time you are positive and supportive to a child, you are helping them do better and be better. Whatever you do, though, please encourage your fellow teachers to keep their cynicism to themselves. It is unprofessional and bad form to have our students hear our gripes and complaining. They hear enough of that already. But teachers should be accountable. They should be properly trained (Go writing project!) and they should be paid more.

I'll think of more rages as the day goes on...