Turning The Other Cheek: A Strait Betwixt Two.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it 
~ The Apostle Paul, Romans 12:17-21
War at all times, whether a civil war between sections of a common country or between nations, ought to be avoided, if possible with honor. But, once entered into, it is too much for human nature to tolerate an enemy within their ranks to give aid and comfort to the armies of the opposing section or nation.
~ General Ulysses S. Grant
There is drama at work. I may lose my job, or leave at the end of the year, and a great deal of the staff may leave too. And at the moment I am thinking about all the cheek turning that I have done up until this point.
I have watched people be hurt; responded at times, and ignored at others. But I’m done. The guilty party has now come after me, so the gloves are off. Oddly enough, I generally only defend others, not myself, but now I can do both at the same time. Possibly at high cost. So be it.
“There is no condition one adjusts to so quickly as a state of war.“–Alice Sebold.
This feels so true. And while I try to balance the Bible passage above compared to the Grant quote, I am left feeling that part of stewardship is protecting what has been entrusted to your care, even at personal risk: this is what “a good shepherd” does.
I have four cheeks: I have turned the other three on behalf of my co-wokers, my kids,and my staff. I’ve been struck again. I’m out of cheeks.
“See to it, that at all times, you are wary of conflict and seek peace with all men, however, when the battle is joined, make your opponant fear your resolve.” ~MEH
Let the games begin. . .
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I’ve left out the specific details on purpose, though I will probably update this post with comments from time to time, if not a brand new post.
Well I still have a job. Big meetings. People bailed, others stood fast. Devos this morning made me feel as if I was handling things correctly. And then the repeated support of others help. Apparently I now live in infamy, but in a good way. Just no quite famous. +1
Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. -Sir Winston Churchill
Either war is obsolete or men are. -R. Buckminster Fuller
How I handled things: 1. an all school email, 2. meeting with the superintendant, 3. not killing fools.
Here is the email, which is making the rounds around the district. Apparently I’m approaching infamous icon status. It’s kind of nice. As a result I’m untouchable right now, but may get non-renewed at the end of the year. Such is life.
Email Subject line: “Reality Check”
I was going to ask this earlier, but I was advised to think about it first, cool off, and then decide if it was appropriate. However, I still need some clarification:
Did I die on my way to work yesterday and end up in an alternate universe’s version of Hell, or did I really receive in my box, and see in semi-strategic locations around the school, a poorly written, anonymous flyer, accusing good people of wrong doing?
Putting aside the possibility of said flyer containing erroneous information, the fact that the 6 trait rubric and any notion of “rigor” never entered into the mind of the writer, and this is a country where people are supposedly innocent until proven guilty (not just crucified in the public eye by a semi-informed media blitz), the supposed point of said flyer was to accuse these people of anonymously bringing division among the staff.
I find this interesting for two reasons. First this “response” has caused more divisiveness and division among the staff than the original issue. People walking around trying to figure out who said what, who did what, and why: seriously? We work in a high school, we’re not high school students.
Second, maybe I missed it, but was this flyer signed? If the anonymity of the original issue was such a problem, why didn’t the writer of the response have the testicular fortitude to sign his/her name? Maybe they felt the issue they were addressing supercedes the need for notoriety, and they wanted the readers to have an open mind and make an informed choice, rather than merely siding with friends. Or perhaps they feared some sort of reprisal if everyone knew who they were. I don’t know, but those both seem like good reasons; too bad the mystery mailer doesn’t seem to believe in equity.
Now I’m one of the new guys who does not have tenure, so I should keep my mouth shut about such things, but this is ridiculous. As a relatively new teacher (a meager 5 years under my belt) this sort of inane garbage takes away energy I could be spending on my kids.
I believe whoever sent out the original ballots had the interests of his/her/their kids in mind. This is regardless of whether they are “right” or “wrong.” The decision of whether they were in fact in error was the purpose of the ballot: vote your conscious and show who is correct. Otherwise, sit silently in your corner; there is enough in education to make us jaded and cynical without you adding to the rocks crushing down on us.
So unnamed, mystery flyer writer, congratulations on being a class A hypocrite on all counts: I’m glad you are touching the lives of our kids.
Signed,
MATTHEW _ HENRY, MEH, The ‘angry’ Black guy