NSW Teacher's Union Strike

Growing up in the North Eastern US, as a descendant of employees of the Pennsylvania Rail Road and Western PA coal mines I was brought up to be a moderate Democrat with very pro-union feelings. Wasn't too much worse than a scab in my parents house. Picket lines were lines written in blood and pain.  They were to be honored and supported...at all costs.

Now having those same thoughts and beliefs while living in Texas made me a granola-munching, tree-hugging pinko commie, good-for-nothing soldier hater.  In fact, I used to shock many native Texans when I said how humbled I was by those in military service and how shameful it was how poorly our vets were treated. They could never reconcile that I didn't blame immigrants for poisoning the well but but still argued for vets rights. I do that a lot I think, I confuse the Hell outta people. I'm ok with that, in fact, I may put that on a t-shirt.

I mention this to try and establish some street cred for myself before I start talking about the Aussie way of striking. Let me also add that some of my very best friends are teachers...ok, that was a bit of a joke but both my parents were teachers. My father, a natural born instructor, had to leave the profession in order to provide for his family. That is an honest to goodness crime in my book.  Humanity lost something spectacular the day Frank Welch couldn't afford to teach anymore.  Well, Humanity's loss was my gain.  My mother was a principal at a Catholic school and never earned more than $25,000 a year. I know all to well what it's like living on a teachers salary and the nicest way to put it is that it sucks. You just don't get the expensive senior prom dress on a teachers salary. Yes, I'm still bitter. Leave me alone.

Trust me, I am PRO teacher. I'm such a closet socialist that I think all organized education is doing it wrong. Instructors should be rock stars and all kids should demand knowledge as their birthright.  The idea that the quality of learning is dependent on on wealth is truly obscene to me.

Yea, yea....I know, in what REAL world Che? But if you don't visualize Utopia how can there be any hope of it becoming reality? Hmmmm, yet another shirt idea...I am on a roll.  May send that bad boy off to Thinkgeek.com  Yes, I know it's not really Geek but what the Hell?  Worth a shot....

That being said, the Aussie way of striking confuses the HELL out of me. Back home union and management scum disagree. They yell at each other at a few meetings. Management says no, union says try to work without us. They strike. They leave work. Management may or may not hire loser scabs to try and do work. Strike lasts a day, a week, months or years until one side caves, resolutions are made, both sides claim victory and work resumes. The end.

Here inOz the NSW government does something to piss off the teachers. The teachers union rallies the teachers and they announce...in advance...that there will be a work stoppage... Usually 2 hours. During this 2 hours teachers have a union meeting and discuss why they are pissed and then.... now get this...they go back to work....at the time they said they would.

For tomorrow they must be extra cheesed because they have called for a 24 hour stoppage-essentially the whole day. Then they will go back to work on Thursday.

From what I can piece together the idea is that parents will be so hacked that they will demand that their government reps , called PM's, will acquiesce to whatever the teachers want.

Um...why the Hell would they do that? YOU'VE GONE BACK TO WORK ALREADY. Yes, the teacher's  didn't like what the government said they were going to do, duly noted. So what?

Let me say this again - I am PRO teacher. I'm keeping my kids home tomorrow and I have nothing but positive feelings towards my schools teachers. Let me put this in print:  I love and cherish all the teachers at Normanhurst Public School.  I think you are wonderful. You are grossly underpaid.  You are tragically under-appreciated for the work you do. If our teachers actually walked out I would support them. I would walk the picket line with them, drop off dinners to their families and bitch to every damn parliament member there is demanding that they get our teachers back.

But this kind of striking just pits the teachers against the parents. Working parents despertly trying to find extra child care for 2 hours while trying to earn a living. Parents trying to juggle the normal every day schedule of the week...this causes stress for parents...not for government.

Teachers, I love ya, but you are pissing off the wrong group. In the end teachers and parents are on the same side- quality education.  Parents want it and need it.  Teachers want it and need it. Happy educators mean quality education. We want this, I swear, but if you keep jacking with us you will force us to be against you and I promise you, the wrong people will win.  Most of all, the children will lose.

So tomorrow while our teachers are meeting and trying to develop strategies to improve school conditions and I will be trapped in a showing of Brave with at least 9 munchkins - the people who can sign off on making the changes you want?  What will they be doing?  They will be sitting on their asses, in their offices, just as they did today and just as they will tomorrow and 2 days from now. Twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the worms to turn until you are back at work. Only now,  teachers and students are a day behind in their term work, parents are frazzled and pissy about the extra work on them and the powers-that-be?  What will Mr. Barry O'Farrell and the leaders of our state government be doing?

Sitting on their asses, in their offices, on the phone telling every media agent they can what selfish prats the teachers are... all while NOT making the changes you need.


Please, re-think this plan.

Oh Thinkgeek, Thy Geekness Comes Through Again

When you are married to a geek, raising a geeks and have some geek tendencies yourself you have to find different ways of expressing love and affection than most people choose to employ. Unfortunately that can require a lot more creativity than most geeks are able to handle.  Fortunately there is a website that picks up the slack.  Of course you know that I am referring to ThinkGeek.com - the holy land of bizarre things than only very bizarre people can appreciate.

What I like most about ThinkGeek is that it appeals to all kinds of unusual.  IT geeks, Gamer Geeks, Science Geeks, Pop Culture Geeks, even some Historical Geeks.  Basically if you've ever looked at the t-shirt that someone was wearing, saw a poster or a tv show replica item in someone's house or a toy at a work place and said, "Dear God, where the HELL did you get that?"  It was from ThinkGeek.  I've been a proud customer of theirs for years.  1/2 of Ted's shirts come from ThinkGeek, the other 1/2 from his work, Atlassian.  A t-shirt company thinly disguised as a software design company.  I myself am a prideful wearer of the "Han Shot First" shirt from ThinkGeek - if you have to ask then you don't truly appreciate Star Wars and if you don't, well maybe you shouldn't be reading this anyway.  I bought Teddy a fine selection of Portal 2 fun stuff and of course Tessi's "Soft Kitty" shirt and stuffed animal all come from there.  That's just how we roll in our Geek house.

I write this today because FINALLY after almost 3 weeks my shipment from ThinkGeek arrived.  I tried their new economy shipping to Australia and DAMN!  I was really scared it wouldn't make it.  With 2 mailing days left it came!!!!!   I bought some things for Connor's birthday in May and the rest for Easter.  I have outdone myself this year.  Not 1 but TWO chocolate zombie bunnies.  One for Ted and one for Teddy.  A Han Solo frozen in carbonite chocolate bar for Connor - our star wars groupie, she is worse than I am...I love it. and for our princess chef... magic wand spice dispensers.  Here's a picture I just posted on Facebook.

It's ok a to be a little jealous.  It is amazing.

 I am riding a high that I just can't describe right now.  It won't last.  My kids will squeal with joy for about 30 seconds on Sunday and move straight onto the "What have you done for me lately?" but right now I don't care.  I have provided them with a coolness that is hard to come by.  I'm going to take a few minutes and just revel in this.  I don't get too many moments like this.  Usually my life life is broken down into moments between snarls, screams, whines and death threats.  Well they aren't threatening me but I hear them turning on each other.  My point is that if it weren't for my ear buds I would seldom hear anything nice.  But now I know that I have coming to me my due.  A FULL 10 seconds of kid war cry screaming my praises.  Maybe to you that's not much but in my world that's a God Damn Lifetime Achievement Academy Award and I'm not even close to being dead yet.  HA!!!


By the way, I TOTALLY NEED THIS COAT.  I'm serious. I'm serious.  See the secret compartment for the ear buds?  This is a MUST have to survive the school's Education Week Concert.

  But I'm not selfish, this coat is pricey, I can do with this one -

No, not as many pockets but it does but the ear buds close and keeps the iPhone handy.  ThinkGeek, I love you.  Seriously, I have a major crush on you.  Thank you for making Easter AWESOME!!! 


So Women's Weekly , Martha Stewart Living, whatever damn thing Rachel Ray has come up with for Easter that is so damn clever and only requires 48 hours of prep time, 3 yards of tulle, a staff of 12 of glitter in places that are just wrong - HA!  I'm AWESOME MOM and I only had to click a few buttons on the keyboard.