I have not been able to post much recently because of the burdens of the start of the school year. Yesterday ended our second full week of classes, and the day was a bit shorter because afterschool activities were canceled due to Ernesto. Thus I was able to leave school at 3:20 instead of 6:15 as would be the case had we had soccer practice. And I have managed to get to a 3-day weekend with no papers or tests to correct, so my workload is almost bearable over the next few days - only phone calls to another 130 parents!
This diary will combine thoughts since I last wrote about the first two weeks (including teacher prep week) 7 days ago with some observations on politics and life in general. I invite you to continue reading. I will explore Virginia and Maryland politics from the perspective of a teacher of government
First the school week. Our classes are not yet completely set, although half of mine probably are. We will not admit any new students to AP Government barring transfers after this week. But we still have students who have not yet appeared (perhaps parents haven't bothered to note that we start two weeks before Labor Day). Others will be removed as we discover that they are not legally at our building (our school is desirable, and others in the district are not, so people lie and cheat to try to attend, including occasionally people from DC!). Others are having schedules changed (the computer sometimes makes mistakes). It is disruptive to attempt to teach a full period when three students arrive for the first time and two show up with withdrawal papers or transfers out of class. By now they all have books which the students leaving must check back in and new students must receive. New students need copies of class policies, grading policies, student information sheets (for me, so I can talk intelligently with parents), and in some cases back assignments they need to make up.
My non-AP classes have had their first quiz, and now I know what I must address. On a very easy multiple choice test, one class had a median grade of 72%, one of 68%, and one of 52%. In the last there is a core group of 6 students that can function at a much higher level than the other 19. So I will have to plan to teach that class differently than the other two, and find a way to challenge the more able students while not losing the rest. The first of the other two classes is part of a special program (The American History Scholars) funded by the Gilder Lehrman institute, so they are taught somewhat differently. Thus these three classes now represent the equivalent of 2.5 different preparations. Fortunately my three AP classes all function about the same. Still, that is like preparing for between 3 and 4 different teaching preps for each day.
Next week we begin hall responsibilities. I have the first semester, so I will lose the first 10 minutes of my lunch period, moving kids along in the hall. I am assigned to one of the busiest places in the building, so it is a very busy 10 minutes. I do not like this duty, because it is primarily that of imposing discipline and order, and has the consequence of limiting one's interactions with students to things not conducive to positive relationships. But it is a necessary part of the overall order of the school.
Meanwhile our soccer teams will begin our season with games next week, in our case (boys varsity and my jv) on Tuesday. We have had two scrimmages. I have more size and speed and depth than I have ever had on a jv squad. We won our two scrimmages 3-1 and 7-1 and neither was that close, because I did not want things too lopsided. Our varsity is a bit more of a question mark, as we do not yet know where the goals will come - we graduated a player who was all-state and all-south last year, who scored close to two goals a game, and that is a lot to replace. Both teams have substantial numbers of new players, and even two weeks of preparation is not much time to get a real sense of teamwork. Fortunately we begin with several non-league, out of county games, which gives us a chance to sort things out.
I am feeling my age -- during soccer season I am at school at least from 7 AM until about 6:15 PM. My commute is between 35 and 45 minutes each way. I usually have several hours of work after I get home. I get up at 5 AM, and go to sleep around 11 PM on most school nights. In the intervening 18 hours I am doing non-school related things for perhaps 2-3 hours - I include my commute in the 14-15 hours of school-related items. At 60 it is beginning to be a bit much. Still, it keeps me going.
I cannot be as involved in politics as I might like because of my school commitments. Even the testimony I gave to the blue ribbon panel and the followup written statement creates an additional demand on my time that is difficult to meet. And I also serve on my neighborhood community association board and on the board of a Quaker Hostel and study center (William Penn House) in Washington DC. As much as I love what I do with soccer, getting to know kids outside of the classroom context, I am in some ways relieved when the season is over.
This year the political season is even more involved than normal. I live in Virginia, where we of course have the Allen-Webb race, in which I am as involved as I can find time - with the cancellation of yesterday's practice, I was able to spend 4 hours in hdqtrs helping stuff envelopes for a major mailing going out this weekend. In Maryland we have both a Governor's race and a Senate race. The primary is Sept 12, so we do not yet know who the Democratic nominee will be for the Senate (although it increasingly is looking like Cardin) nor do we yet know who will be the nominee in several other races - State Comptroller, several House districts, and the like. I have to find time to be able to talk intelligently with my students about the races in their state while I simultaneously feel a civic obligation to the races where I live (although neither Jim Moran nor the Democratic nominees for local office in Arlington face any serious general election opposition).
And of course, I have had some involvement with races elsewhere, and wish I could do more to help. I have no more money to contribute (I have given 4 figures to Jim Webb, and about an equivalent amount to other races around the country - the combination far more than I should have made on a teacher's salary - of course 500 of that when to my college classmate Peter Goldmark in WA-05). Barring a critical request I have no further time to research issues or write position papers. Even for Jim Webb, the best I can hope for is the occasional conversation in passing, such as he and I had in hdqtrs last night when he stopped by to boost the moral of the many volunteers working heard. I wear my button, put my sign in my car window when I park, write or volunteer when I have the odd moment. It seems so insufficient given the criticality of this race.
Some perceptions about the races in both states. I have little doubt that O'Malley will be elected governor. Maryland is a Democratic state, and he has not made the mistakes that Townsend did. he has a black running mate, Anthony Brown from Prince George's County where I teach. He is in the state legislature, but also was called up to serve in Iraq. Parris Glendenning was elected governor 3 cycles ago by carrying only 3 jurisdictions: Baltimore City (where O'Malley is a very popular mayor), Prince George's County (hence the presence of Brown on the ticket), and Montgomery County. Also, last time Erlich had a black running mate (Michael Steele) while Townsend did not, which had negative consequences on Democratic black turnout. That dynamic is not present in the gubernatorial contest this cycle.
The Senate race is potentially a harder call. Michael Steele is already on tv with some decent ads. Cardin has had a spirited contest with Mfume, the latter being aided by being the only black in a 14-way primary. Most of the candidates will draw little support, but Allen Lichtman and Josh Rales have the potential of drawing support away from Cardin, although at this point I do not think enough for Mfume to squeeze things out - he lacks any media effort, and despite a campaign run by Trippi and support from the teachers I do not see the evidence that he has a sufficient ground game to pull things out. But Cardin will still be very much behind Steele in cash on hand. The worry is that resources may have to be put into the general election that could otherwise be useful in other places, including Virginia.
I am increasingly optimistic about Webb's chances. I think many people have misinterpreted the impact of the "macaca" incident. Even more than the racial aspects, which work by people such as Lowell Feld and others are now showing are not isolated aspects of Allen's temperament is the question of Allen's bullying Sidarth. This is still the South, where one is expected to behave properly in certain circumstances. Be as tough as you can on your opponent - that is considered legitimate. But picking on a 20 year old kid because you can is a big mistake, especially when you know there will be video. Much of the commentary in the in-state press has talked as much about this as about the potential racism. it also did not help that Allen's campaign has consistently mishandled the situation, and continued to do so even after Allen called Sidarth. The more recent flap over the proposed award from the Thurgood Marshall Foundation merely compounded the problem. When you are damned if you accept the award because it revisits the issue of your potential racism and yet your refusal still requires the papers to explore why you are refusing the award (because you are trying to reduce media focus on the issue of your potential racism) you have a problem.
Then there is this weekend. The Labor Day events are a traditional part of the Virginia political season (as is the much earlier shad planking). Webb will NOT, as planned, campaign with Kaine and Mark Warner, because he is spending time with his son Jimmy, a Marine Lance Corporal, who will be shipping out for Iraq next week. Somehow I think Webb will get more positive press because of being a good father than he would have gotten in normal circumstances. And how if at all can the Allen campaign turn Webb's commitment as a father into a negative? Webb's being with his son will also remind people that Webb himself was a decorated combat Marine who knows first-hand what his son will face (while Allen has no military service).
I am also seeing and hearing a lot of people turning off to Allen. And there is now some background discussion that Allen's supposed all-star team of political consultants (Wadhams, Gillespie, Matalin, etc.) may not be as sharp as people thought. They may know national politics, but they have made a number of errors that someone more experienced in the ways of Virginia would not have made.
I heard yesterday in hdqtrs that DSCC has financially committed to the Webb race, although I do not know how much $$ will be applied. I expect Webb to be on the air with ads by the week after next - I have also heard that there are ads in the can ready to go. Allen has been unable to go negative on Webb despite all his money because he has to first attempt to rehabilitate his own image. Going negative now would only further damage his image as a "nice guy" (which he in reality is not).
I wish I could be more involved in this campaign. I wish I could be of greater help to those I know and support running elsewhere -- Eric Massa, Charlie Brown, Barry Welsh, Rich Sexton, Pt Murphy and the like. Even though I will not actively campaign for or donate to Peter Goldmark or Nick Lampson because they did not publicly oppose the flag amendment (which is nonnegotiable for me) I like and respect both men and hope that they are successful, and look for every occasion to offer positive remarks or useful information to others, even as I will not actively work on their behalf -- it is a very tough call in both cases, one for which I understand others might criticize me.
It is now 8 AM. I have one hour to do things around the house. And then I begin the phone calls to parents. I always talk to my parents at the start of the year. It gives them a chance to express any concerns they may have about their children. It enables them to have a personal conversation that is not possible on back to school night, with 10 minutes per class. And since I am calling when there are not yet problems, parents are far more willing to make a connection. Since students know i will call, I also get far fewer discipline problems, which also simplifies my life. But I have 174 sets of parents (one set of twins). I know many already - I have taught the students or their siblings before, or I know them from soccer or musical theater - those will be the last parents I call. I will finish the process by the end of next weekend.
Well, that's enough. This is rambling. Perhaps a few people will read it. Offer comments as you will. I will keep an eye on it. I post it merely to keep my toe in the waters of dailykos.
have a nice weekend.
If people value it, they can always choose to recommend it.
I will be busy making phone calls to parents, so will not be closely monitoring traffic.
Have a nice weekend. Do something positive to help Virginia Democrats.