Lisa-ma-leese

   The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.  One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.  He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"  He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers:   "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."   To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie.  Be honest. What do you make?"   Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...) 

      "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
       I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.    

       I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time whentheir parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie
rental...
   You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)
       I make kids wonder.
       I make them question.
       I make them criticize.
       I make them apologize and mean it.
       I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
       I teach them to write and then I make them write.
       I make them read, read, read.
       I make them show all their work in math.
       I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
       I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
       I make my students stand to sing O Canada becasue we live in the best country in the world.
       Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

   (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.) "Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and

pay no attention because they are ignorant...
      

   You want to know what I make?

   I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  What do you make?"
       
   THERE IS MUCH TRUTH IN THIS STATEMENT:
   "Teachers make every other profession"

  Well, much to my surprise, the travel bug has bitten once again.  I've been trying to ignore the urge to travel because lets face it, economically it's just not a good move right now.  Apparantly I didn't learn from my last trip that teachers make a shitty wage, especially in the summer.  Summer = no income for me.  Even with the odds stacked against me, I just can't shake the urge to do more travelling.  I think the only option here is to win the lottery and do all the travelling I possibly can.

 

  I'm just not ready to hang up my walking shoes yet.  Matt made me an interesting proposition earlier this week and it has been weighing heavily on my mind.  If there's one life lesson that I've been knocked over the head with repeatedly lately, it's that life is way too short.  And to me that's a good an excuse as any to do some more travelling. 

 

  However, being my father's daughter, the monetary issue is still a major concern.  In writting this I've mde a decision; if I get the job in February that I'm hoping for, then I'll take the proposed trip with Matt. A trip to Perth in July, with a jaunt over to Bali Indonesia for a beach holiday.  Sounds pretty sweet to me!

I've been sitting at home for the past hour and a half trying to work up the energy to rewrite a cover letter.  There are a couple of jobs I want to apply for on Wednesday, but I need to update my cover letter to do so.  For some reason the task seems daunting.  Last night I came to the conclusion that my exsisting one is totally crap and needs to be redone.  Tonight however, this simple task seems to evade me.  I can't for the life of me seem to put a coherent sentence together regarding why I want these jobs.  The truth is that I'm so tired of putting out application after application, and getting no results.  The only thing I can possibly control is my cover letter.  Oh, the pressure of it all!!  Yeah, now I'm just being dramatic.  But it sure beats the hell out of crying and screaming at my incompetence over the whole situation. AARRRRGGGGGGG!!!!