Finally Making it

It's hard to believe another terrible snowstorm is bearing down on the east coast this week (has been compared to Hurricane Juan which devastated Nova Scotia in 2003!!) as I look out onto the back patio where the snow is receding, the sun is shining, buds are on the trees and many birds are flitting about. But then snow is in our forecast too so I better not get used to this!

Where was I?  I went on quite a tear yesterday detailing the number of jobs I've had over the years. Everyone thinks teachers are highly paid and well off but that's not always the case. I didn't begin my teaching career until I was 36 years old and for 7 years I made just an hourly wage as an "occasional teacher."  I started off at $30 an hour which was twice as much as the highest salary I received  working for the Royal Bank. HOWEVER at the bank I was paid for a 37.5 hour week, at the Adult Education Centre I was paid for 25 hours a week. They paid only for teaching time, no pay for prep work or marking. That was still WAY more than I had ever earned before!

There were lots of days that I wasn't paid for. If I stayed home sick or if I stayed home with my sick daughter I didn't get paid. So I found a nursing service that cost $15 per hour. When Kazi was ill I had peace of mind knowing a nurse was caring for her and I still cleared $15 per hour which was better than nothing. Holidays were not paid for and the days in between 10 week contracts were also unpaid. I was able to get some unemployment during the down times @ 60% of my hourly wage. And of course there were no benefits. I didn't go to a dentist for 7 years. Because we were connected to the Ministry of Community and Social Services Kazi's dental and medical needs were covered. We also received a subsidy on daycare which really helped. I have to say that the "safety net" was there for us and I appreciated it sooooo much!

At this point in my life I had never yet owned a home. Every weekend I would scour the real estate ads and dream. I didn't think it was possible for me to get a mortgage. Then I read "The Wealthy Barber" by David Chilton.  What I learned from that book helped me to get approved for a mortgage. I didn't know you could take money from an RSP to use as a down payment without a penalty - and you were given 17 years to pay it back into your RSP!! I think I had a whopping $1700 in my RSP at the time. He also advised cashing in on life insurance and buying term insurance instead. I had had two life insurance policies from when I started in banking so I cashed them in. Now I had about $4200 to use as a down payment. I also borrowed money from my dad as there were legal fees and moving expenses. (my dad loaned money interest-free to all 5 of his kids from time to time with the expectation we would pay him back and we always did! We called it the Bank of Dad!)

I discovered the condo complex we live in in the weekend paper. The units had been rentals and someone had purchased them all to renovate and sell as condos. The price was right so i went to the bank to see if I could qualify for that amount. The wait was excruciating but eventually I was approved! After giving birth that was the highlight of my life!!   Kazi was 4 and I can remember jumping up and down screaming with joy ' "we're owners we're owners!" I don't know if she understood the concept but if mommy was overjoyed so was she! We wandered around the complex to look at the available units - none had been renovated yet so i was just looking for the best location. We picked an end unit that had a gorgeous crabapple tree in front of it. There were lots of mature spruce trees and they planted a lot of maples which are now 40' tall. I got to pick out the kitchen cupboards, all of the flooring, the countertops etc. It was thrilling! It was also a bit of a risk as the condo corporation had to sell 80% of the units to be considered a corporation but they soon did.

Finally in 1999 teaching positions started to open up. I applied and was interviewed for a Curriculum Resource Teacher. I didn't get that position but my resume crossed the desk of one of the Directors of Education. He gave me a call and offered me a permanent .5 position. I replied that was great but I needed full-time, not part-time work. So he found another .5 position and hired me over the telephone!! (This would not happen today!!) The first half-time position had a LOT of turnover in teachers. He asked me to commit to 2 years minimum. Both .5 positions were in special education and luckily I had taken Special Ed courses in previous summers.

The learning curve was straight up!! I never worked so hard in my life! But I enjoyed the challenge - I was 43 and still had lots of energy. And the board sure got its money's worth from me - the position in the morning was a highschool position and the afternoon job was an elementary position - that meant travelling from one school to another on my lunch. I started an hour earlier in the morning and the afternoon job went an hour later so all in all I worked for free for six months over the 3 years I worked those 2 jobs!! My instructional day wasn't the usual 5 hours, it was 6! I was told by my elementary principal I could go to my union with a grievance but I was just damn happy to have a permanent contract - I wasn't going to make any waves! I had benefits, I had a bump in salary, what more could I ask for?

Three years later the same director gave me a call. He was being relocated to another school board and before he left he wanted to offer me a highschool position which would mean only working at one school - no more driving during my lunch hour. He had asked me to stay in the .5 position for 2 years and I had stayed for 3 - so I think this was my reward. (Again, this would never happen today - I would have to apply along with anyone else who wanted the position). I don't know how he managed it but he did and I came to my current position which I've held for the past 13 years. It's made a huge difference to my life and i like to think I've earned it by giving it 110%.

Oh, forgot to mention the glitch when moving from an occasional contract to a permanent contract. Yes, there was a glitch of course, when isn't there? Although I had worked for 7 years as an occasional teacher that only equated to 3.5 years on the teacher's pay grid. Why? Some courses I taught in addition to visual arts didn't qualify (basic numeracy and literacy) and the courses I taught at night didn't count either. I was pretty downcast about that as it took almost 7 more years to reach the top of the pay grid!! Well, that's my life - work hard for my money! That means I was 50 years old by the time I reached the top of the grid. Now I'm 57 - so I've only been earning top dollar for 7 years. In May I'll be 58 and I'll be retired at the end of June.

HOW is that possible you ask?

The main reason is because we never moved out of our condo which was paid off at an accelerated rate. Another "Wealthy Barber" tip - ALWAYS PAY MORE THAN YOUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT!! And don't buy your home based on 2 salaries which is the big mistake people are making today. One person loses their job and they're screwed!

So while other teachers bought bigger houses, new cars, cottages and had tropical vacations during Christmas and March break Kazi and I stayed put in our condo, I bought used cars and our vacations were based on her highland dancing career (which I could never have afforded if we had moved to a bigger house!) We've vacationed in Alberta, Montreal, Nova Scotia (first time Kazi was on a plane!), the Gaspe Peninsula, Cape Breton and Ottawa. Our big "extra" purchase came in 2005 - I bought a trailer in a Bayfield trailer park (on Lake Huron) for $10,000 which I paid off in a year. It was paradise - we loved it - a more luxurious form of camping complete with campfire and nearby beach.

And in 2007 I began to seriously think about retirement. I created a 7 year plan based on retiring TWO YEARS EARLY on a reduced pension. Yup - I'm not eligible for  a FULL pension until 2016 but I would rather have two extra years of LIFE than a little extra $$ per month. So I worked towards becoming debt-free and saving as much as possible. We live on half my income and I bank the rest. Once I'm retired I'll already be used to living on my pension amount. I'll have savings, I'll sell the condo and I've already purchased my retirement dream home in PEI where you can still get property at a reasonable price.

That's where I'll end today. I know there are a lot of missing pieces in my story but I'd be sitting here writing for weeks to TELL ALL so it'll have to be a bit at a time.

It's a gorgeous sunny day here in London, ON, hope you enjoy your day!

OK, funny story.....sort of.

So, once again the 7 EAs that work in and out of my classroom have polarized into 2 camps: 3 do nothing clock watching union calling lazybones and 3 do everything non-whining 110%ers and 1 neutral (the only man!) 

Well over a week ago my dep't head created an alternative schedule for today because there was a field trip involving 3 of my students. They are taking religion this semester and the field trip was to the local cinema to see the new movie "Son of God." One EA was going to go with the 3 students and the dep't head (Fil) left it up to 2 EAs to decide which one was going to go.

Still with me?  It starts to get really murky now....

After school yesterday Fil asks if they've decided which one of them is going to go. "Well, neither of us because it's a health and safety issue - what if one of them has to go to the washroom?" "You should send both of us...we called our union this week and they agreed with us!" 

Of course Fil was gobsmacked and explained that due to our Crisis Response Plan which requires 3 EAs to be close by to a certain aggressive student only 1 EA could be spared. "Well then neither of us are going." 

They waited for over a week to let this bomb drop. So the students, who have paid and have their tickets, aren't going to be able to go to the movie? Poor Fil didn't know what to say so she told them to go speak to the principal, he would have to decide.

Well, the principal really let them have it. He told them their union does not tell him what's safe or not safe in his school etc etc. He left it that he would discuss with the Admin team and let them know in the morning.

Well, I had an idea as I was a witness to this gross act of insubordination on the part of the EAs toward Fil, who is their supervisor. I quietly emailed the principal and said simply "send me, I have no safety concerns whatsoever with these 3 students." 

These 3 kids are good kids - one has ADHD, Tourettes AND CP (bless him) and walks with an awkward gait.  Another has neurofibromatosis but is just a really great kid, the other has a developmental disability and OCD but again she is an incredible young lady. 

So....the principal took me up on my offer. He booked a supply teacher for me and when the EAs asked me in the morning who was going to go with the students I simply said "ME." (I kind of enjoyed that moment, I'm not gonna lie."

Two of the three students had been to this theatre many times in the past and knew where the washrooms were and all could use them independently. The theatre was only open to our school's students and teachers. They sent us in a cab and then we went back to the school in a cab. I took a flashlight just in case but didn't need it. We got seats in the back row so we could go in and out if necessary. Again, not necessary. I brought snacks but the kids had money, lined up and bought their own at the concession stand. All it takes is a bit of planning and forethought. 

Needless to say we had a great time. They stuck to me like glue, rode the escalators like pros, were well-mannered and well-behaved and I enjoyed getting out of the classroom for a few hours. 

I love my kids, I really do. But I am so done with the politicking, the calls to the union every week about stupid stuff and putting the kids last. Alas, I cannot speak my mind because that would generate many more calls to the union and no doubt I'd once again get charged with bullying, racism and what have you. So I am keeping my lips zipped except when working with my kids, god bless them. They are a treat.

The Love of my Life

 You'all know who this is...right? Well, I betcha didn't know that Bart is THE most excellent teaching aide a spec ed teacher could have. Confused? No doubt, but in my shoes we have to think outside the box once in a while pretty much all day every day.

In September I met a new student named Amanda. Amanda had come for several transition visits in the previous April, May and June which seemed to go well. But mom was really nervous about the transition from elementary to secondary school. I am well used to that - most parents are more anxious than their kids. Especially when those kids have special needs.

Well, the first day of highschool arrived and we began to understand why mom was anxious. Amanda refused to eat, refused to engage, refused to NOT SCREAM BLOODY MURDER, refused to do just about anything. Hmmmmm  We tried all of our usual strategies - no go.  The educational assistant, new to my school tried every trick in the book and I mean everything. I could find NO fault with anything she was doing.

 So, we enlisted the help of Bart. I found Bart, years ago, stuffed in a box in the school basement. I had a student with autism who liked the Simpsons so I brought Bart to my classroom but the student wasn't interested, in fact, he didn't even want to look at Bart so he sat untouched in my office for several years. I brought Bart out and soon Amanda was carrying him everywhere. She still screamed, she was still stubborn and she still wouldn't eat. BUT, she had found something she liked and she dragged Bart with her everywhere.

I thought let's set Bart up doing the things we want Amanda to do - like sit at the table and eat her food, sit in her rocking chair and listen to a story on tape....

 sort "eggs" into an egg carton...

 spell her name...

 play games on her iPad...

deliver mail to the teachers' mailboxes....

Oh look!! Bart's in my mailbox :) I love his sheepish grin!

Bart became indispensable, working with Amanda on all of her tasks. Whatever Bart would do, Amanda would do.

 Here's Bart using Amanda's specially adapted computer - he looks like a real pro!

Fit dominoes through a small slot? No problem - Bart makes it look easy!

Oh no.....not the pennies again! BORING!! Don't they know we don't even use the penny anymore in Canada...DUH!!

 Oh, alright - if it makes you happy I'll do it - keep your shirt on!

Ohhhhh, that's the way you do it...easy peasy!

Shredding?? - it's a no-brainer!!

Bart is now a full-fledged member of our classroom. He goes everywhere with Amanda. There is no more screaming, she eats her snacks and her lunch with no issues and has pushed beyond all previous skill levels. Amanda doesn't speak except for a few sounds, signs and gestures but her eyes speak volumes and her laughter fills the room with joy. We are giggle buddies. She'll come over to my desk, lean in and whisper "ho ho" at which point I give my heartiest Santa laugh which sends her into fits of laughter. Yes, she has learned how to "prompt" the prompter!

Leaning in close for a barely audible "ho ho" - Amanda - we love you so much!

Thought I'd say hello...

so.....HELLO!!

See, that's me!  I do exist.

I've missed you guys. I mean, REALLY missed you guys. I thought I should give you a little update on my situation....the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY.

The Good:

• last weekend Michael and I went to Chatham to help a friend celebrate her 50th birthday. We had a great time, so many laughs and so much dancing my knees are still recovering!

I'm with the band :)

• my daughter is now officially a graduate of Western University!! One more year of post-graduate work and hopefully she'll then be gainfully employed.  She is gainfully employed, don't get me wrong, just not using her degree yet!
• only 47 days til we hit the road to PEI!
• only 778 more days til I retire!
• both my electricity and natural gas were only $45 each!!! I budgeted $55 each so saved $20
• I paid $83 interest on my now non-existent line of credit - the last interest payment and now I can close the account!
• made my 4th $88 payment to my mastercard to cover my half of the cost of our new TV, only one more payment to go! 

The Bad:

• unfortunately those are the only GOOD numbers! I would advise you that if you take a week or so off from posting don't also take a week off from keeping track of your money or if you're like me the money will grow wings and fly away!!  I have made the following purchases - the lovely "fire burner" as seen in my last post (it arrived safely via UPS); two fans, a frying pan and a pair of sandals from our local Zellers - it is going out of business (it's been bought up by Target!!), a few much needed (not really) clothing items from Talize (a little retail therapy - $40 worth), lots of stuff for school which will be reimbursed to me eventually, and I paid my May installment of PEI property taxes - $288.  I guess that's not so bad. I'd rather use fans than the central air since electricity is so pricey these days.
• I only have $76 of misc $$ left to last the month plus $30 in my wallet. This isn't going to be enough as we are going away for my birthday weekend in two weeks.  I didn't plan that too well now did I?
• Michael has had his hours cut back at the shoe store and at Jambalaya
• I have yet to pay the $74 for my car's license sticker...grrrrrrr.....looks like I won't be saving as much as I thought this month!

The Ugly:

• the work situation I'm in continues to be UGLY!! Although I have an additional educational assistant it hasn't lessened the violence. I don't think I have any other choice but to do a work refusal.  In the words of the Health and Wellness person I have contacted:

"It sounds like you are working in a land mine with

explosions ready to happen at any minute and I don't know how you have
done it!"

     I have the option of taking a stress leave and while that would help ME it wouldn't do anything about                      the classroom situation.  Unless a miracle happened.  So it looks like I need to bite the bullet and take a stand. I wish I didn't have to do it, being the introvert that I am I hate to have the spotlight shone on me but once in a while you have to go outside of your comfort zone to enable change to happen. 

So here goes....

Humanness: Giving and Receiving Love

Fellow blogger, Sam from It's Me, Sam, made a comment recently on a post I wrote relating events that had occurred over the course of a day in my special needs classroom:

"Jane, do you teach children with Autism or special needs in their own class, or are they mainstreamed like all children with special needs here? I'm just reading about your day and thinking to myself, if my nephew could be in a classroom like yours, he might be able to manage the school routine better than he copes now."

I promised I would speak to this and other comments so here goes. There is a ton of controversy out there over the benefits of full inclusion of children with special needs in the regular classroom. For me it all boils down to this: inclusion must be meaningful for everyone in order for it to be worthwhile. This is my own philosophy and not everyone agrees with it. But I am not going to get into arguments - I just want to let you know how it works here.

Every student is an individual - we can't just lump them all together and expect things to work out - elaborate planning must take place. What works for one doesn't work for all. In elementary school all students are included in the regular classroom; however, some are withdrawn to work on alternative goals from time to time, and the amount of time depends on the needs of that particular student. Levels of support from educational assistants also varies depending on the level of need.

In highschool I have more leeway in developing individual plans for each student. My classroom is called the School to Community room because that is the "path" my students are on. Over the years we have called the various "pathways" by different terms like "streams" etc but in effect they mean the same thing. Every highschool has a School to Community classroom and we consider this to be "home base." My students range in abilities from non-verbal, extremely low intelligence to those who have a mild intellectual disability and are able to achieve a few credits.  ALL students leave the classroom throughout the day - some just for a few minutes of exercise and some for up to the WHOLE day! Quite a range!

Currently I have 5 students with Autism which is a record for me. The 2 Gr. 9 boys only leave the classroom for lunch (which they eat in the cafeteria), for physical activity and 1 of them has started helping out at our candy store. In the second semester the boy who is helping at the store will also start going to a physed class now that I know him better.

My students with autism all follow visual schedules and have the same routine day in and day out. There are of course days when there are changes like last Friday there was a musical being put on by the drama department and we all went to that. As long as students are prepared in advance for the change in schedule they usually manage ok. We are always prepared to bring any student back to the classroom if need be.

Sam - it could well be that with a more structured program and a "home base" your nephew would cope better. Inclusion isn't for everyone all of the time. The classes I choose for my students to be included in are geared to their interests - I am totally against putting a special needs student in a class where the content would be over their heads and thus either cause them to be embarassed or non-participatory- the time could be much better spent on other activities geared to their interests and needs.

There are a very few students who will never take a class outside of my room due to their behavior and/or intellectual level. However they are included in many other ways (who said inclusion is just for academics anyways?): they go to all of the masses, assemblies, concerts, the cafeteria for lunch, to the mall, on all sorts of community outings, to various parts of the school for vocational tasks, to the library and footballs games etc. We also have a club called Best Buddies wherein my students are matched (by me - do I sound like a control freak??) with mainstream student volunteers. These kids are amazing - they love to come in and interact with my students. Remember my tupperware boy? The volunteers will squat on the other side of a doorway and pass the tupperware back and forth to him. Some of the friendships that have been formed over the years are still active.

There is so much to be said for meaningful time spent with peers.

See "Norman" up there at the top of my post? He is graduating next June and I will be absolutely heartbroken. And I won't be the only one. I once overheard Norman's EA say to him - "you light up my world" and he truly does. Norman is non-verbal and mentally is at the level of an 18 month old. He can walk but not well enough to get too far, hence the wheelchair. A hero of mine, Jean Vanier, once said that if the only purpose a person has on earth is "to give love and receive love" then that is purpose enough. This describes Norman's life: he "hugs" us all day long by walking up to us and putting his head on our shoulder. One time he put both arms around me and "patted" my back so hard I was off for 3 days lol! Doesn't know his own strength.

Norman will approach even our hardest-to-serve aggressive students and they are putty in his hands. He hugs them, pats them, and laughs and laughs. He doesn't speak but he understands just about anything we say to him. One day he was patting Michael and they just instinctively started to roll around sort of wrestling on the floor. I don't think either had any previous "roughhousing" experience and Todd (although getting the worst of it) couldn't stop laughing. (And yes I got some pictures). 

Another wonderful thing about Norman is how he allows us to give him our love. You know how there are days when you just need a hug? Just need some physical contact? Norman's our man. I don't think I can put into words the benefits to all who know him of his affection and love. The more love and attention you want to give him the better he likes it. (Now, just to be entirely truthful Norman does have his days when he is a real grumpus but usually comes around after a while.)

I took the photo above when I spotted Norman and his mom sitting on the corner of the street where they live. Norman just loves to watch traffic go by - he loves anything with wheels. Every day after school Norman's mom takes him to the end of their street where there is a busy intersection. They sit for hours and have become a well-known fixture at this spot. When I saw them I quickly parked the car and went and had a chat.

You can bet that when Norman graduates I'll be making more trips to that part of the city so I can get my "Norman-fix"! What I have learned from that boy is too enormous to be completely captured in this post - he has taught me about humanness - there is nothing greater than that.

Norman deserves his own chapter in my future book. Heck - maybe the entire book!

In Need of a Wife: Part Two

Sometimes I think the women in my family aren't very wifely. We are opiniated, independent, career women, uncompromising, do-it-yourselfers. And of course, by "we" I mean me!

That being said I wrote the post above "In Need of a Wife" a year and a half ago. Being a special education teacher and a single parent (due to my unwifely nature) has been a balancing act with certain tasks falling by the wayside as a result of a tight schedule of working long hours and being in constant demand as a chauffeur to my daughter's wide-ranging activities which included early morning and after school choir practices and a highland dance career that took us all over the country.

It has been a rewarding journey although I feel I fell short in a number of areas. Housekeeping and cooking and laundry received a minimal amount of my precious downtime. I much prefer to pick up a book, rent a movie, do something artistic or even balance my budget than to vacuum, clean or cook meals.

Hence the desire for me to have a "housewife" of my own!

Well, the good Lord answered my prayers but in His own unique and humorous way! He sent me a lovely Jamaican man who LOVES LOVES LOVES to do all of those things that I hate doing. And as he works mainly from home he has the time to cook up large pots of soup and stews, curries and sweet potato fries, fried plantain and stirfrys, even dumplings!

He washes every dish as soon as it lands on the counter, he vacuums and rearranges the furniture, he organizes the cupboards and the pantry, does the laundry and hangs up the delicates, he shops for groceries carefully selecting the best peppers and avocados even if it means handling every single one in the bins.

He makes our granola from scratch and gets up early in the morning to cook our oatmeal.

Besides all of that he drives me to work and picks me up everyday, drives my daughter to university and to her two jobs and all the while keeps up on his own work. Oh, and did I say he is a life coach? Yes, all of my baggage from previous relationships is being opened up to the light in a positive and gentle way.

I must have done something right in my life to have my wish for a "wife" answered with such abundance and joy. Sounds like there's a song in there somewhere!