All posts by Emily

I’m Told I’m Not Allowed To Complain

Kids/Teaching, , , , ,

Barista: “The usual?”

Me: “No, I already had that this morning. Now I just want a frappacino. It’s a 2-coffee kind of day.”

Barista: “I hear ya. Monday!”

Me: “Yes! Ok, well, no. I’m on summer break. I’m told I’m not allowed to complain.”

Barista: “Oh please, teachers can complain all they want. Your job is HARD. And exhausting. You need the summer!”

Me: “Wow, thank you! I really appreciate you saying that. Most non-teachers don’t get that. Seriously. That made my day.”

Barista: “Absolutely! And stay tuned, Starbucks is doing a ‘Teacher Appreciation’ week when you guys start up again in September!”

And just when I was starting to like you, you mentioned September. 

Jackhole. 

You’re Welcome 

Kids/Teaching, , , , , , ,

A graduating 5th grader, who I taught in Kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd grades, stopped by my classroom, said hello to me, reached into a giant bag of thank you cards and fished around until he finally found the one he came to deliver. 

And then he promptly handed it to my classroom paraprofessional (who did not even notice him because she was, as usual, deeply entrenched in her erotica novel.)

Because the card was for her. Not for me. 

The kid made that very clear when he looked at me, looked at her, looked back at me and said “This is for Miss Mary.”

Then he left without saying goodbye. 

  

Racism is Not a Mental Illness

Mental Health, , , , , , , ,

On behalf of the Mental Health community, I would like to thank the general public for offering us the spotlight in the wake of the Charleston shootings, but we will go ahead and take a hard pass.

Let’s keep that light firmly planted on the Hate-Filled Racist community, where it belongs.

Because these are in fact two distinct, separate communities.

The mentally ill are far– FAR– more likely to hurt themselves than they are to hurt anyone else. They are also FAR more likely to be the victims of violent crimes than the perpetrators.

Racists are responsible for mass killings and genocide throughout this country, throughout the world, throughout our history.

I’m all for bringing awareness to the mental health cause, and encouraging the healing of a broken system, but let it be for the right reasons. Because taking action on mental illness only in the wake of mass violence just perpetuates the stigma– and stigma, without fail, is the greatest barrier to seeking help.

So back to this problem of racism, bigotry, and hate, please.

How are we going to fix that?

It’s Not About Mental Illness: The big lie that always follows mass shootings by white males.