Teacher Appreciation Week and gurufrisbee
As gurufrisbee has pointed out, this week in America is Teacher Appreciation Week. Without giving too much away, gurufrisbee deserves all the accolades you can throw at him. Yours truly no longer teaches at the same school as gurufrisbee because I got fed up with America and moved to Europe.I teach at a private international school with class sizes of 16 and average family income of greater than $100,000 a year. I've got a nearly bottomless budget for supplies and technology upgrades. My biggest problems are kids chewing gum or if they did their homework. I have the choicest gig I'll ever have. I don't sacrifice anything by teaching in London.
gurufrisbee teaches in a run-down area of Seattle to students with many needs. Many of the children come from deprived backgrounds and qualify for free or reduced lunches. His biggest problems are things like fighting, unstable families, weapons, etc. It ain't a horrible place to work, but it isn't what we trained for at uni. gurufrisbee has stuck it out with joy, even though he could have escaped with many other white folk to the safe suburbs or private enterprise.
On this Teacher Appreciation Week, I appreciate gurufrisbee. He is worthy of recognition and praise. Let's heap it on him! He is a real American and a real hero.
posted by Expat Teacher @ 2:33 PM
