Steven Harper's Blog, page 26

Another Take On the Teacher Shortage

So the Manistee school district is complaining about the teacher shortage. They go on and on about it in this article: https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/news/article/Manistee-County-schools-concerned-by-statewide-17136799.php
But they also have this:
"Ron Stoneman, superintendent of Manistee Area Public Schools, said his district has continuous job postings open all year 'not necessarily because we have immediate vacancies, but we're trying to develop a candidate pool all the time.' "
So the district posts jobs that don't exist and collects applications, getting people's hopes up ("They have an opening in my area! Great! I have a shot") when actually there's no hope at all. Additionally, it takes FOREVER to fill out an application to be a teacher. Schools always demand your resume and then have you fill out an extensive questionnaire that exactly duplicates your resume. Then there's the background check and fingerprinting and other shit that the applicant has to pay for--all for a district that actually HAS NO OPENINGS. They're selfishly putting applicants through this tedious, hope-filled process just so the district can have a pool of applicants.
The Lansing school district does the same thing. Their web site lists more than 60 "openings" for a district of 10,600 students. There's no way a district that size will have that many openings all at once. A closer look shows they have several listings for "middle school teacher." In Michigan, middle school teachers are specialized by subject area, just like high school. You are certified to teacher, say, English for grades 6-12. Or science, 6-12. There's no such thing as a generic "middle school teacher" license. The district is obviously trolling for applicants.
These districts clearly do not respect their employees. I can see why they're feeling the pinch of the shortage. I certainly would never consider working at either place.



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stevenpiziks @ 2022-05-21T17:12:00

So the Manistee school district is complaining about the teacher shortage. They go on and on about it in this article: https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/news/article/Manistee-County-schools-concerned-by-statewide-17136799.php
But they also have this:
"Ron Stoneman, superintendent of Manistee Area Public Schools, said his district has continuous job postings open all year 'not necessarily because we have immediate vacancies, but we're trying to develop a candidate pool all the time.' "
So the district posts jobs that don't exist and collects applications, getting people's hopes up ("They have an opening in my area! Great! I have a shot") when actually there's no hope at all. Additionally, it takes FOREVER to fill out an application to be a teacher. Schools always demand your resume and then have you fill out an extensive questionnaire that exactly duplicates your resume. Then there's the background check and fingerprinting and other shit that the applicant has to pay for--all for a district that actually HAS NO OPENINGS. They're selfishly putting applicants through this tedious, hope-filled process just so the district can have a pool of applicants.
The Lansing school district does the same thing. Their web site lists more than 60 "openings" for a district of 10,600 students. There's no way a district that size will have that many openings all at once. A closer look shows they have several listings for "middle school teacher." In Michigan, middle school teachers are specialized by subject area, just like high school. You are certified to teacher, say, English for grades 6-12. Or science, 6-12. There's no such thing as a generic "middle school teacher" license. The district is obviously trolling for applicants.
These districts clearly do not respect their employees. I can see why they're feeling the pinch of the shortage. I certainly would never consider working at either place.



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Complex Problem, Simple Solution

This problem has a simple solution: https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../fairfax-streets.../
The TL;DR version is this neighborhood is named after a Confederate general and has streets with a Confederate theme (Plantation Parkway, Confederate Lane, etc.). A proposal to change the name of the subdivision and the streets has the support of half the neighborhood and has freaked out the other half.
 The solution is easy! Tell everyone that, as part of the deal, one person living on each street will be selected at random. That person will have the street named after them. One grand prize winner in the drawing will get the neighborhood named after them.
 Hold onto a piece of history, or BECOME part of history. Your choice. I'll bet a whole pile of residents will support the idea.
 Now someone just needs to tell them.

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Noir!

I have a story in this one. It was so much fun writing noir fantasy, and a great challenge to write a workable murder mystery that involved magic. I'm really proud of this one. Have a look!

Doff your fedora and step into NOIR, an sff mystery anthology PREORDER from Zombies Need Brains edited by David B. Coe & John Zakour!
 A missing intergalactic artifact valuable enough to inspire murder. A cartoon gag gone bad that leads to a gruesome death. Greek deities unraveling a divine mystery in New York City. A human detective navigating the temptations of Faerie in pursuit of a magical killer. Call them sleuths, call them gumshoes, call them shamuses or dicks or beagles—these private investigators prowl the back alleys of imagination, explaining the unexplainable, seeking answers and justice for two hundred dollars a day plus expenses.
 In Noir, speculative fiction authors Hal Bodner, Jessie Kwak, Esther Friesner, Travis Wade Beaty, John Zakour, Alex Bledsoe, Erik Grove, Andrija Popovic, Julie E. Czerneda, Aprilynne Pike, D.B. Jackson, Justin Jordan, Steven Harper, R.S. Belcher, and Eve Golden Woods spin tales of intrigue and danger, introducing you to worlds where information is currency and life is cheap. So put on your fedora, raise your trench coat collar against the evening chill, and come explore the shadows. But remember, in this seedy business, you can trust no one…sometimes not even yourself.
 NoirKindle: https://amzn.to/3vkjdm2

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Darwin's New Job

Darwin has a new job! He's Village Manager for Stockbridge, Michigan.

Stockbridge hasn't had a manager in several years. When their last manager left, the village president said, "We don't need a manager. I can do the job!" and took over running the village. That was a couple-three presidents ago. The current village president and council didn't want to run the village this way anymore, so they started a search for a new manager.

Enter Darwin.

He started work on Thursday. As you might imagine, there's a lot to do! And the commute . . . it's more than an hour away from our home. Each way. It makes for an exhausting week. However, we're moving, and that's a different set of posts.

And congratulations to Darwin!

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For the Terry Prachett Fans

We're nearly done with the Carpe Jugulum unit in English 12. Just for fun, I've posted the questions I created to use in class discussions. Are you a big enough fan to answer them? :)

CARPE JUGULUM DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

 

Themes: light vs. darkness; vampires vs. witches; two minds or single-minded?; faith vs. practicality; old ways vs. new ways; "in the blood"

 

PART 1 (pp. 1-65)

1.         What bird do the vampyres try to kill at the beginning of the book, and how does it fit one of the themes?

2.         What is special about Agnes, and how does it fit one of the themes?

3.         What happened to the highwayman and who does he hold a conversation with afterward?

4.         How is Mightily Oats, the preacher, similar to Agnes?

5.         What decision (judgment) must Granny make with Mrs. Ivy and why does she make the choice she does?

6.         What are the invitations for, and how are they especially important to the vampyres and to Granny?

7.         How is Nanny changing, personality-wise?

8.         What does Oats declare the baby princess’s name to be, and why does this happen?

9.         What is Agnes’s attitude toward Vlad, and what is his attitude toward her?

10.       What is Igor’s attitude toward the new vampyres?

11.       Why does Nanny dislike Oats so much?

12.       What odd object does Hodgesaargh find, and where did it come from?

13.       How do Nanny and Agnes try to find the vampyres and what do they find out as a result?

14.       What is Hodgesaargh looking for in the forest and how does he try to find it?

 

PART 2 (pp. 66-117)

1.         When Agnes and Nanny arrive at Granny’s cottage, what is striking about the objects Granny has left out and what do they all mean?

2.         Agnes accidentally makes a bawdy reference to buoys. How does Nanny Ogg respond to it, and why does this worry Agnes?

3.         Why do people generally call on Nanny for the births and Granny for the deaths?

4.         What are the young vampires doing these days with their names, and why are they doing it?

5.         What is the vampire family’s attitude toward Igor, and why do they think this way?

6.         Oats is encountering a problem when he tries to preach in Lancre. What is it?

7.         Oats says there can only be one phoenix. Hodgeasaargh privately disagrees. Why? And how does this fit one of our themes?

8.         According to Oats and Nanny, what do you always have to do to kill a vampire, and why is this funny?

9.         How do Agnes and Oats sneak into the castle, and why are they able to get away with it?

10.       How does Agnes persuade Magrat to leave the castle?

11.       When Magrat takes charge of the situation and gives orders, Agnes realizes what is happening to her (Magrat)?

12.       Where does Nanny think Granny has put her mind, and why?

13.       What’s the problem the witches have with crossing the bridge in the gnarly ground, and why is Agnes/Perdita able to solve it? (Side note: Terry Pratchett was a big fan of Lara Croft.)

14.       What strange object does Granny keep in a bottle, and how does it fit our themes?

15.       Why does Agnes think Nanny is wrong about where Granny put herself?

16.       What does “from can to can’t” mean, and how does it fit our themes?

 

PART 3 (pp. 118-163)

1.         What is Nanny’s suggestion for how Agnes could stop Vlad, and what is Agnes’s reaction to the idea?

2.         What are the pictsies like and why are they in Lancre?

3.         How do the pictsies steal cattle and how does Nanny prove to Agnes and Magrat that the pictsies are dangerous?

4.         What does Igor keep doing in the castle that annoys the vampires, and how does this fit one of the themes?

5.         Vlad says his great-uncle lived in Don’tgonearthecastle Castle. What is the joke here?

6.         How is Oats of two minds about his faith? (Look at p. 132-133.)

7.         According to the Count, why does Oats have no power over the vampyres?

8.         What happens when Granny challenges the Count? What does this say about the Count’s power?

9.         What is the reason Nanny and Magrat abandon Agnes in the castle, and what is her attitude toward this?

10.       What do the vampyres do to Granny?

11.       What happens to King Verence in this section?

12.       What happens when Nanny and Magrat meet Igor, and what is Igor’s reaction to Nanny?

13.       How does Granny stop herself from changing into a vampire and what does the process do to her?

14.       Who does Agnes wind up with at the end of this section?

 

PART 4 (164-201)

1.         Magrat and Nanny have Igor take them into Uberwald. What event from the beginning of the novel does this parallel and how does it fit one of our themes?

2.         When Agnes refuses Vlad's offer to become a vampire, she says, "I won't know good from evil." (p. 166)  What is Vlad's response to that, and how does it fit a theme?

3.         What do the pictsies and the Kelda do for Verence, and how does it fit a theme? Also, what do the pictsies want in return for this favor?

4.         What is Granny's attitude toward faith and gods, and how does it contrast with Oats's view?

5.         How do we see the theme light vs. darkness in the attitude of the other birds toward the phoenix?

6.         Oats gets a mule for Granny to ride, and she says, "Neither one thing nor t'other, eh?" What does she mean by that? (You may need to look up mules.) Also, what biblical reference is Pratchett making?

7.         What is the only way Granny accepts Oats's help and why does it work?

8.         Multiple times, the text points out that Granny and Agnes would both make "a good vampire." What's the pun here?

9.         Describe the arguments Granny and Oats have about the nature of faith.

10.       How does Oats try to save Granny's life when she collapses, and how does he actually do it? How does this fit a theme?

11.       How does Magrat shock Nanny (it's about Igor), and how does it fit a theme?

12.       What was the old Count (the old Master) like, and why does Igor admire him?

13.       How does Granny's attitude toward Oats change at the end of this section?

 

PART 5 (pp. 202-end)

1.         What arrangement does the Count have with the town of Escrow and how does this year's visit end?

2.         Oats says, "And [Om] said that we should take light into dark places." How does this fit a theme? What is the light and the dark place Oats (symbolically) is talking about?

3.         What kind of prophet does Granny say she would make?

4.         Before Agnes wakes up on page 215, she has an internal moment reminiscent of Granny. What does this foreshadow (since you've finished the book)?

5.         Where does Agnes wake up, and what has happened to her?

6.         What happens when Verence returns to the castle?

7.         According to Agnes and Granny in this section, what is the definition of evil or sin?

8.         The Magpyres argue quite a lot among themselves in this section. Also, on page 219, the Count asks for tea. What is this similar to, and what does this foreshadow?

9.         Nanny, Magrat, and Igor use the old methods of fighting vampires--and they win. What does this say about old ways vs. new ways? 

10.       Why doesn't the phoenix's fire burn Granny and Oats, and what does this say about both of them?

11.       What is making Agnes act more assertively on pages 229 and 230?

12.       How does Magrat defeat the Countess and how is this symbolic? (Think chess.)

13.       So how did Granny defeat the vampires after all, and how does it fit multiple themes?

14.       What attitude do the villagers have toward the old Count?

15.       Describe Oats's moment of triumph.

16.       What is Granny's sentence for the young Count, and what theme does it fit?

17.       In the end, what way is proved better: the old or the new? What examples do we see of this?

 

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Yow! and Whee!

At 2:30 this morning, I woke up with a double whammy: pain in my shoulder and a full-blown migraine headache.

I haven't had a migraine in months, actually, and this surprises me. I tend to get them after a period of stress has ended, and by all rights, I should have had more than one after the surgery. But . . . nothing.  I haven't missed them.

So it was a bit of a surprise when little dwarfs started pounding the inside of my head while little demons started gnawing on my shoulder.

I took pain meds for my shoulder and a double dose of migraine meds for the headache, then sat up and waited. (There was no point in trying to sleep, not with double pain.) I waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. The meds weren't kicking in. The headache dug in like a cat sinking its claws into your lap. No sign of it letting up.  About an hour later, the pain in my shoulder eased, and I decided to try sleeping. I managed a fitful doze. When my alarm went off, the pain was gone, but I was seriously high from the meds. 

It's now near the end of first hour, and I'm still floaty. And sleepy. Gonna be a long day.



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Rally of Writers 2022

Yesterday, I was a featured speaker at the Rally of Writers conference in Lansing. It's a good one-day conference that has been put on hold for two years because of the pandemic, but now it's back. Yay!

I was asked to give a workshop about YA fiction. This was a new speaking topic for me--although I've written a great many YA books, I haven't actually spoken about this topic in a workshop before. But I'm a teacher, and making lesson plans is what I do. So I put together an interactive, one-hour workshop about YA fiction, drove up to Lansing, and presented it. The workshop went over quite well, I think, and I had some wonderful conversations with other writers and conference attendees.

And then home.

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The Bi-Annual House Hunting Rant

What with one thing and another, Darwin and I are house hunting. We've seen a bunch of houses. Naturally, we're running into the current seller's market problem. These days, you don't look at several houses, then say, "You know, I like the one on James Street. How about we go see it again? Maybe we'll put in an offer."

No, these days when a house goes on the market, you become part of a barbarian horde. You need to storm through the house and follow up by flinging offers within an hour of the place it hitting the market, only to learn it already has competing offers.

Darwin and I attended an open house for a place that had gone on the market at 8 AM that morning. We arrived at the open house at noon, exactly when it began, and the realtor told us the place had three offers on it. Makes house hunting a challenge.

But I'm not here to complain about the market. No, I'm here once again to point out problems with people who are trying to sell their houses.

--Clean your freaking house! I mean, REALLY clean it. I can't tell you how many times I walked into a house and the floors were gritty, the cupboards crumby, the baseboards grimy, the bathrooms mildewy. Yes, I know I'll be repainting and recarpeting when I move in, but when I see a gross house, it makes me think, "If they can't keep the place clean--or make it presentable to buyers--what else have they neglected? And . . . ew!" Next house!

--Dump the clutter! Clutter is awful. And I don't mean the junk-lying-around clutter or stuff-not-put-away clutter (though I've seen plenty of that). It's the over-decorator clutter. Piles of pillows on every sofa. Hundreds of plants. Knickknacks on every surface. Walls covered with photographs. They make the house feel closed-in and claustrophobic. Strip it down and stash it away.

--Cut back on the furniture. Yes, I know you live there. But not even the Brady Bunch needs four couches and six easy chairs. One house we visited had living room sets in the dining room and the den as well as in the living room, a family room, and a rec room. I felt like I was visiting Ikea. If you don't use it on a daily basis, put it in storage.

--Get rid of any hint of animal smell. If I walk into a house and smell animals, I turn around and leave. If you have animals but can't keep them from smelling up the house, heavens only know what else you've neglected. And anyway, I don't want to live with previous owner animal smell. I have animals, and work very hard to make sure you can't smell them. If you've lived with your animals for so long that you can't tell anymore if they smell, get a non-resident family member or friend to be honest with you and check. Then clear it out!

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The Lost City

Just got back from THE LOST CITY with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum (and Brad Pitt). It was extremely funny, adventurous, and romantic all at the same time. Best line: "It's a rock sphincter."

Well, you had to be there.
Highly recommended.

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