Stay Strong @JCPSKY @KentuckyWP @LouisvilleWP. The Nation Sees You. #TeacherStrong

Disclaimer: (1) I can't help but be rhythmic with a Seussian Prose (as every student I taught it KY already knows). (2) I once did the math for how much I made an hour while teaching in the state. I figured it was below minimum wage, but after factoring nights, weekends, after school obligations, holiday hours, and summer work, I learned I was mistaken. I made about $6.35 an hour...at the time, it was above minimum wage. (3) Teaching is a beautiful profession, but too few respect it as such. (4) We don't ask for much, but when they duct tape our mouths, tie our hands behind our backs, cut us at the knees, and expect us to swim across the Ohio River in record time, then there's a reason to fight. (5) I'm shaking my head. This is not the America I believe in. Every vote matters.

On Reading Yesterday's Paper About KY Legislation

I write this for the Blue Grass,

for the White Boards, notebooks, & teaching pizazz

     that sparkles across classrooms in the state….

            Put simply, Kentucky teachers have always been great.

Yet the political, nefarious fate brought forth

by the political ingrates

is what I have come to hate

(how do they not understand why the counties are so irate?).

                  Ah, because they haven’t a clue

                  of what educators do

                  each and every day.

So, I write proudly, hooray,

for those choosing to fight the inane.

Let me explain.

They hug, they listen, they plan, and they feed,

choosing a life for others, most they care for in need.

They study, they lose sleep, they collaborate & expand,

they’re always on duty AND always in demand.

They read, they make phone calls, they coach and they cheer,

they challenge, raise standards, question, & make clear.

They worry, they love, they show pride, & celebrate,

Put simply, Kentucky teachers have always been great.

It is a calling, what they do, and they do it with pride –

as for politicians, no surprise, once again they have lied

to the voters, the workers, the young people & families,

they act without conscience and they do as they please…

chasing egos & dollars while cutting teachers at the knees.

For over a decade, Kentucky was my home, 

& I soaked in the brilliance of the stellar palindrome
where students were first, teachers not far behind,
A state known for education & the way it was so kind
to its writers, and readers, mathematicians & scientific minds,
to artists & to dreamers - schools could simply shine.

But now, they have forgotten the men & women who deserve much applause,

the magicians & warriors who chose teaching, a life-calling cause.

They suited up, grew shady, became a well-known Faustian tale,

forgot their population, & lost themselves in the belly of the whale.

So, I write this for the Blue Grass,

for the White Boards, notebooks, & teaching pizazz,

for the exceptional scholars and all their intellectual jazz

for Wildcats, Mustangs, Racers, Big Red, Colonels, & Cards,

for all young people across Kentucky school yards.

Put simply, Kentucky teachers have always been great,

            yet the political, nefarious fate -

                        brought forth by these political ingrates

            is what we all should hate

(how do they not understand

            why the counties are irate?).

                 They haven’t a clue of what educators do

                 each and every day.

For teachers in KY,

I am with you…

although a few states away,

loving what you do for kids.

& celebrating: Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Get thee to the polls! The kids deserve it.