Mo' Money Less Problems

I spend a lot of time thinking about how things would work around here if only I were made Ruthless Despot for a Day. As I procrastinate from doing my own homework, I reflect that one thing I would certainly change is to have better communication between teachers about the standards we set for our students and the Performances of Understanding we expect them to complete. Then I remember that we already have a weekly meeting set up for that, and have had it set up for a month. We have actually met once, and it was for about 15 minutes. Much of that time was spent complaining about the administration's unreasonable expectations.

We have this crazy bell schedule on Wednesdays. It's not really a big deal, but it creates complications. Basically the class periods on Wednesdays are 10 minutes shorter than usual, and this creates an extra hour at the end of the day so that teachers can have meetings. Now, that time slot is usually filled by procedural meetings that kind of have to be taken care of but don't really benefit anyone, so the math department meetings (the ones where we really hammer stuff out and decide how we're going to... y'know... teach) get pushed to the 9:00-9:15 am time slot right before class starts. Why don't we meet earlier in the morning or even after school one day? Because legally the administration can't ask us to be at work before 9 am or after 4:30 without paying us extra.

Obviously I think the first solution here ought to be to pay us extra. Now let's move on to realism.

I think back to my time at ExxonMobil, and I reflect on how many times management announced "We're having a meeting at 6 a.m. Be there." There were also the phone calls on Saturday morning: "The pipe burst. Meeting in 20 minutes." There may have been some grumbling, but by golly people showed up to that meeting. I can't help but notice a difference here. I won't call it a lack of commitment because many of these teachers pour their hearts into this, I just think it's a different set of expectations when you pay somebody $100k than when you pay them $37k. At XOM the general attitude was that it sucks to sell your soul to the corporation, but they pay you too well not to go that extra mile. I've actually heard teachers complaining about voluntary, PAID training sessions on Saturdays.

In general, I get the sense that many public school teachers feel like they're doing the world a favor just to take the job in the first place and so any request for extra time is taking advantage of them.

So I've come full circle and have to conclude that the best solution here really is to pay teachers more money. You need to create an environment where the teachers feel grateful to the school system for the chance to participate. Currently the teachers think the system should feel lucky if the teacher shows up more than 20 minutes before school to get set up. This is backwards, but justified. They really don't pay us enough for the work that it takes to be a good teacher. They pay us enough to show up from 9-4:30, which is why after a few years potentially good teachers get sour on the whole enterprise.

They need to pay us more, but in return they need to be ready to ask us to earn it.

I had what feels like a great idea this morning. If I were to pursue a career in writing/comedy, I would create a show with the tone and feel of "Scrubs" except instead of being set in a hospital and following the lives of first year doctors it would be set in a high school and follow the lives of first year teachers. Believe me, there is a gold mine of material here. I seem to recall a few shows over the years attempt to follow the lives of teachers (Boston Public being a notable and sad example) but I don't remember any that were... you know.... good. The key difference that I see between Scrubs and my show is that in Scrubs the bulk of the adult characters' time is spent with colleagues, and they service clients (patients) almost as an afterthought. To be in any way realistic, the characters on my show would have to do the exact opposite. The vast bulk of their time would be spent with the clients (students) and they would get to interact with colleagues during only brief stints in between classes or after school.

I am a giant nerd

So I'm sitting at home on a Saturday night -- catching up on the ol' Tivo backlog -- and Molly and I ended up watching a little Jeopardy mini-marathon. I found myself pondering a question that I've often pondered on long car rides, in the dentist's waiting room, and at various times in the bathroom: How much could a person theoretically win in a single game of Jeopardy? Well tonight I had not only the free mental energy, I also had a calculator handy on my cell phone. When I announced the result to Molly, she was skeptical. The theoretical amount you could win is well out of range of what anyone has ever won. Long story short, I ended up making a spreadsheet to represent all the categories and values and daily doubles. I have attached a screenshot so you can see what I mean:




This got me thinking about that age-old student to teacher question: when am I ever going to use this? I'm gradually settling in on an answer: I don't know! I have no idea what problems you might be interested in solving! This problem doesn't involve anything more than simple arithmetic, it just makes you do that arithmetic in a deliberate, planned way. This is why I'm sure that if I gave my students this problem, they would look at it for a second (literally) and then throw their hands up in the air. In my experience they know how to solve single-step problems, the issue comes when they have to plan the solution. The attention spans are so short that even if they may honestly be curious about the original question they get bored with the solution. I think a good goal for the year may be to give them not obviously-math puzzles that require multiple steps, just to teach them to think more than one step ahead. Now I just need to find some not obviously-math puzzles...

Prep week

We had our first curriculum setting meeting today. The big issue at hand was whether to increase the relative weight of tests as part of a student's overall grade. I enjoyed it! Lots of good discussion on all sides of the issue, the teachers in the room were all obviously invested in making the right decision. One thing I especially enjoyed was that, when asked a question, the AP leading the discussion immediately reframed the issue and put the onis back on the teachers instead of letting the questioner put all responsibility for success onto the students. The professionalism of the other teachers and administrators here has been impressive so far.

I also accompanied a married couple to a local non-profit called "A Gift for Teachers", which is an agency that, in a very controlled way, distributes free school supplies to local teachers! How cool is that?! You just walk in the door, show them your badge, and they give you a checklist of supplies that you're allowed to pick up. And you can go back every month for refills! I was amazed. I think most teachers are here out of at least some sense of community service, and it's great to feel support from the community you're trying to serve. Honestly, I was really touched.

Now I'm off to (hopefully!) my first Tae Kwon Do lesson in Orlando. Molly's parents are in town and they want to watch us beat each other senseless. Yay!

Welcome to Orlando

Well, I did it.

I have officially quit my job as an engineer for a large oil company and have moved to Florida to become a public school teacher.

That sentence has seemed at times both inevitable and impossible. Even though I had been dissatisfied with my job for quite a while, it was still a big part of my self-identification. I was Jeb Britt: Engineer. Had a nice ring to it. But I have to remember that the only reality is that which we make for ourselves, and that "Mr. Britt: Math Teacher" will no doubt grow on me.

Logistically, the move is more or less complete. I have transferred my car's title to Florida, gotten a Florida driver's license, even registered to vote. Really, the only thing left to do is *ahem* sell my house *cough!*. Ok, that seems like not-so-minor an issue. But so far the move has gone smoothly! Everything fit into the U-haul, nothing got broken in transit, and everything fits into my new apartment. OK, so the trailer I was using to tow my car KIND OF got stolen on my first day here, and I MIGHT HAVE heard gunshots outside my window last night... but the trailer was found and the gunshots weren't directed at me, so what else can you ask for, really?

Now I'm off to go eat, because I realized recently that between T/A and moving I've lost about 10-15 lbs over the last few months. Time to start packin' it back on. I'll leave you with a copy of the last e-mail I sent out before leaving work at the refinery. Have a good one:

To all my friends,
As most of you know, I have decided to part ways with ExxonMobil and pursue other paths for my life. At the moment, that means teaching 9th grade algebra at a public school in Orlando, FL. I've gotten mixed reactions when I've announced this, everything from congratulations to inquiries about my sanity. I've made an effort over the last few weeks to reassure people that I'm not leaving out of anger or frustration, that this is something I feel like I have to do.
To quote the great philosopher Peter Gibbons: "It's not that I'm lazy... I just don't care!" As I wake up each morning and ask myself why I should come to work, I increasingly find that my only motivation to work hard is to earn the approval of others. The problems we solve are not that entertaining, which I could tolerate if I felt like it was important. Unfortunately I don't, and I find myself worrying that if I let that fact slip out it will affect people's opinions of me. When I realized how often this was on my mind, I knew that I had to go. I have spent too much of my life worrying about what others think of me to make that the primary driver in my professional life. So I'm leaving the upkeep of the refinery to more interested parties, and I wish all of you the best of luck with it. Meanwhile, I'm off to find my passion.
I find myself wondering not only how I will be remembered but how I want to be remembered. How I will be remembered has already been established. How I want to be remembered is a more interesting question. I hope that I have entertained you. I hope that I have challenged you. I hope that you think I'm a little weird, but that maybe being weird isn't such a bad thing. I hope I lightened up your day. I hope that you see the world from a slightly different angle after having met me. Lord knows I have a different perspective having met you.
I have learned that relationships take conscious work and that sometimes it takes some real digging to get to the source of differences. I have learned that it can be satisfying to write off those who disagree with me as stupid or crazy, but that it's almost never true. I have learned that the greatest source of disagreement is a refusal to get inside the other person's head and see what they see, and see that it's legitimate. I have learned that conquering others may boost the ego, but it never gives you what you want. I think I learned some stuff about valves, too.
Be well, do good work, and take care of each other. We're all we've got.
Thanks, everyone. I'll miss you. Throw some frisbees for me.
John E. Britt (Jeb)
Former Fixed Equipment Engineer

That's a true fact

So yesterday this guy walks into my office with an angry and determined demeanor, and says in a tone of voice that suggests he longs for demagoguery, "You boys have cell phones, right?" Without waiting for an answer he throws a piece of paper down onto my desk and says "That's a true fact" and starts to walk out. I yell after him "What's a true fact?!" and he just says over his shoulder "That's a true... FACT"... and then he's gone! The paper turns out to be a printout of an e-mail warning me that:

6 days, from today all cell phones numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.....you will be charged for these calls. To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone.

888-382-1222. This is the National Do Not Call List.
It will only take a minute of your time. it blocks your number for five years. You must call from the phone you want locked
You can not call from a different phone number. Pass this on to your friends an associates. it takes about twenty seconds.


I have recreated this e-mail in as much accurate detail as possible, because there was just something about it that struck me as wrong. I don't know if it was the grammatical errors or the pushiness of it, but I immediately thought it was a hoax. Actually, it occurred to me that it might be a scam and that calling this number might be hazardous to my wallet. I decided to bypass Snopes and go straight for the horse's mouth, so I went to the Federal Trade Commission's website and tried to look up the number for myself. Turns out that IS the number for the Do Not Call registry, but they've also got a whole page called " Despite Re-Circulating E-mail, It is Still Not Necessary to Register Cell Phone Numbers".

What I really find fascinating about this is how CERTAIN this guy was that "That's a true fact." His certainty was based not on his knowledge, but on how fired up he got over believing that it was true. Almost operating by the maxim "If it offends me enough, I'd rather assume it's true so I can go ahead and be angry." He really was "looking it up in his gut" as Stephen Colbert would say. The funny thing was he could tell I was skeptical when I asked what it was about, and he repeated "That's a true fact" with a lot of emphasis the second time... almost trying to pressure me into believing him. I think it says a lot about the desire for "recreational conflict," as my father would say. It's no good being mad at something if you can't get other people on board with you. Being an oppressed individual just sucks, but being a member of an oppressed CLASS of people that you can commiserate with... now that's entertaining.

I've seen the same tactic deployed against accused murderers on cable. A lawyer with the ACLU will start defending the accused with some flimsy thing like DNA evidence or some such nonsense and Nancy Grace will interrupt with "A CHILD IS DEAD, AND YOU JUST WANT TO LET THIS MAN WALK?!?!" See because whether the guy actually did it is besides the point. The real goal of the entire show is to work viewers into a nice angry lather over the outrage of the day. Not so angry that they actually get involved and, you know, investigate this apparent rash of outrages (because it's invariably part of a national trend, isn't it?). Juuuust angry enough to provide a nice emotional release and remind viewers that they are among the few people left in this world with the brains or decency or sanity to come to the proper moral judgement on this and any other issue after a 30 second summation.

It seems I have wandered from my original point. And yet, somehow, I don't care....

It's So On

Right now I'm watching a discussion on PBS on the realistic possibility of impeachment proceedings against either or both the president and vice president. On one side of the table is John Nichols of the Village Voice arguing in favor of impeachment. On the other side is Bruce Fein, author of the articles of impeachment against Clinton and consultant to the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation... arguing IN FAVOR of impeachment. WTF, mates?



I suppose one reaction to this is to bemoan the lack of balance on PBS. Whatever... I really don't care. At this point I tend to view anyone defending Bush as pretty unbalanced themselves. All I'm looking for are interesting arguments from interesting people. MY reaction was actually one of relief. At the admittedly young age of 24, I've come to see the Republican party as a pack of power hungry mobsters who will back each other to the end, because their solidarity is where their strength comes from. To my mind the most destructive thing to happen in politics in the last 50 years came in 1966 when Gaylord Parkinson issued the 11th commandment as part of Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial campaign: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. Man, did those guys ever internalize THAT one!



I've seen vote after vote go down party lines over the last 5 years (which is about as long as I've been paying attention to anything). Well... ALMOST along party lines. I'm thinking here of the narrow votes with Republicans amassed like a monolith on one side, and just enough Democrats to solidify the decision. You simply cannot say that Democrats vote in a block the way Republicans do. Count the votes, it's an observable phenomenon. Part of it is surely the strongarm tactics of figures like Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay, but a large part of it also just seems to be the cultural fabric of the Republican party. Republicans understand at a very deep level that each vote is not one of conscience, although I imagine the two frequently coincide. Each vote is an opportunity to stand with your allies, and if you come through for them then they'll come through for you when your time comes. There has not been an effective equivalent of Tom Delay or Newt Gingrich on the Democratic side. It's all Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can do to call a meeting to order, much less enforce party orthodoxy.



Is it simply that Democrats are too stupid or weak-willed to realize their shortest route to power? Sometimes I wonder, but I think a better answer is that they lack the groupthink that the Republican party imposed on itself so long ago and has never really made an effort to shake off. Personally, I hope the Democrats never acquire it. It will take another 40 years to shake them of it.



The most recent example of the 11th commandment came today when the House Judiciary Committee ruled (surprise!) along party lines that Harriet Miers was not entitled by executive privilege to disregard a subpoenae. To me, there could not be a more clear-cut case for contempt of congress. You get subpoenaed, you show up. That's the point. I can understand maybe one or two members of the committee having qualms with with the privileged advice between a president and his counsel, but the fact that EVERY republican in question seemed consumed with this tricky questions seems HIGHLY suspicious to me. Ask yourself: Do you really think that's what happened? Do you really think that every republican on that committee voted to disregard a woman's blatant neglect of a legal order for any reason other than that she's on their team?



Sadly this is what I, and it appears most people, have come to expect. I have literally heard people get confused about what's so wrong with Bush firing U.S. attorneys at will. "They weren't doing what he wanted them to do! Of course he fired them!" Somehow the concept of separation of powers has gotten muddied. This is why I was so refreshed to hear Bruce Fein endorse impeachment. Finally, an honest to God republican true believer sees the light. There is hope after all.



What infuriates me more than anything else about Congress over the last 6 years is its continual refusal to exercise its own power. All they need to do to hold Harriet Miers accountable is... do it. They have the power to hold someone in contempt. The primary reason put forward by John Conyers not to do it? It would be a long, drawn out process likely lasting until well after George Bush has left office. Seriously? They're thinking about not doing it because it would be a hassle?!

Part of the damage that Bush/Rove/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Gonzales/Ashcroft/etc/etc/etc have inflicted is that that have operated on the assumption that they are accountable to no one -- and all they have to do to get away with it is just be stubborn enough and eventually they can walk away. Well so far, they've been right. Whoever the next president is needs to understand that this will not be tolerated. For all the popularity that Bush has lost, for all the conservative commentators that have deserted him, he hasn't really been touched by any of the scandals he's been caught in. That needs to change.

The reason impeachment is important is not only symbolic. As the commutation of Scooter Libby shows, Bush and Cheney still hold very real power. The neutralization of their political influence does not equate to the neutralization of their threat. Each time I thought I've seen everything they can throw at me, something new breaks. Who knows what they'll do in the next year and a half? Let's take this option seriously.

If you've read this far, you're obviously interested in the topic. If you haven't watched the video I linked to at the beginning that started me on this rant, take 45 minutes and do so. It's worth it. It's important.