Skip to main content

The First Day

The house is quiet. It is the first Monday morning of summer vacation. In a house with one student and two teachers, we should all be asleep. The precious, delicious extravagance of sleeping as late as one wants on a Monday may be one of the finest delights summer has to offer around here.

I am drinking my coffee iced instead of hot. My head is filled with ideas for household projects, not lesson plans. And one more thing. I am looking for a job.

After twelve years teaching music and movement to preschoolers with special needs in the Howard County Schools, I am moving on.

I'm grateful to the Office of Early Intervention for all of their support through the years and for the amazing work of RECC team members with whom I have worked. If teaching music for the RECC Program could be a full time job and, dare I say, in only one location, I would never, ever leave. Music has always been my first love and working with these students has been a joy.

I created the RECC Music program with the support of two colleagues who worked at the Waterloo RECC where my daughter was a student. It grew from one school in the first year to sixteen schools this last year. While I have put my whole self into it, the program has always been a part time endeavor since billable teaching hours are logistically much less than travel, planning, and preparation.

I have no complaints. I have been treated well and paid fairly. I have done a job I love. But now I am on a journey to find a full time job that will both use the skills and talents I have and contribute more to the college fund for the little girl who started her academic career in the Waterloo RECC. She's starting high school in the Fall--hardly little anymore.

I am doubtful that one person with the crazy dream to lift up the lives of special needs preschoolers with music and movement would be able to make any headway in the current environment in the Howard County Public Schools. I was extremely fortunate to have people who believed in me and what I was doing. And I was blessed to work with the most beautiful students in the world. I'll carry them with me in my heart forever.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more