Those Who CareTeach

There is so much in the media currently about teachers.  From teachers in Wisconsin having there bargaining rights taken away to all Providence, RI public school teachers being given termination notices. There aren't too many positive news stories about teachers and the teaching profession.  The general view of teachers is that we make too much money and have too many vacations.  Yes, I work 181 days a year from September to June.  I also teach summer school, bring home all kinds of student work to review and grade, do most of my lesson planning at home, and most importantly, mentor the 24 students in my classroom.  I am a teacher, a nurse, an entertainer, a counselor, a mom, the list goes on and on... 
I have a degree in Early Childhood Education from Rhode Island College and am currently getting my Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics with a concentration in English as a Second Language at UMass Boston. I have had to take Special Education classes, Phyco and Socio Linguistics classes, even classes on Physical Education and Art and Music Education.  I am also currently taking a Professional Development class called The Skillful Teacher from which I hope to get tips and ideas on how to refine my craft.
 All teachers hold specialized licences which we have to pay to keep current.  In order to keep these licences current we have to take classes and professional development courses, many of which we have to pay for out of pocket. 
I love what I do!! The bad teachers out there do not!!
Do we deserve pensions, health care packages, bargaining rights??  Come do what I do for a week, then answer the question.

To Accept or Not to Accept, That is the Question

So recently two of my second grade students sent me friend requests on facebook. I explained to them that I did not think it was appropriate for me to be friends with them on facebook.  I can't believe that two little girls are on facebook!! Am I crazy or is it not a good idea for 7-year-olds to be on social networking sites? Why would any parent allow their child to be on facebook?  They both told me that their moms knew and thought is was OK for them to have  FB page.  I just think of all the things that can be accessed on the internet not to mention the predetors that on here looking for easy prey.  Am I making too much out f this or not??

When I started EducatorMomOnAMission, I accidentally misspelled my e-mail address.  So, I have created this blog to take its place.  Sorry about that.  I tried all weekend to fix the mistake with no success.  Look for more posts coming soon.