Generational Connections: A Pay It Forward Guest Post On The Nerdy Book Club

This week Rockin' With Grams! will be on The Nerdy Book Club where I am a guest. 

Come join us as we discuss the importance of generational connections!

Anyone Can Be A Teacher...What's The Big Deal

I posted this a couple of years ago and sadly nothing has changed. If you support teachers and the hard work they do, please tweet and share this post. 

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     What on earth can teachers be whining about? How difficult can it be to work only nine months out of the year and get off work at 3:30pm? Right? 

     During the last 30 years I have spent hours volunteering, working and spending time in the education system. My children have graduated and now my grandchildren have entered the public school system and I'm taking time out again, to lend a hand.  I find myself in awe of what a teacher is required to do on a daily basis.

    These challenges would never be tolerated in a normal work environment. The amount of extra time and money spent outside of school in any other profession would be reimbursed or rewarded by overtime pay or merit increases and bonuses.

What would happen if people in other professions faced the same realities teachers do on a daily basis...

1. You manage 28 employees that all talk at once, won't stay at their desks, aren't catching on to the expectations of the job, stop you every 5 minutes to ask a question completely unrelated to the project at hand or don't finish their work. What happens? THEY'RE FIRED.

Teachers don't choose their students nor can they terminate being their teacher. 

  2. You're a doctor and you have 28 patients that all need to be screened, evaluated and appropriate treatments found all at the same time in the same exam room. 
RIDICULOUS?  Teachers do it everyday. 

3. You are an hourly sales employee and a big event is coming up that requires extra preparation and training which means you are working longer than 8 hours. YOU'RE PAID OVERTIME.
  Teachers on average spend two hours each evening correcting papers, calling parents or planning curriculum.

 4. You're a lawyer and you have a client that insists on discussing the progress of their case on a daily basis through email and phone calls, another client needs to be coached for tomorrows trial, you win a settlement for one of your clients. HOURLY CHARGES APPLY AND YOU TAKE YOUR PERCENTAGE OFF THE TOP.

Teachers may receive an apple, coffee mug, maybe even a brownie,  usually they are lucky to receive a thank-you. There's no bonus for students that are successful on tests or graduate.

5. You work for your company long enough to earn six to eight week paid vacation so you plan a trip to Europe and maybe a cruise. YOUR VACATION IS YOUR TIME.
Teachers summers are filled with learning new curriculum, continuing education(at their expense) and running summer programs. And besides, who can afford a cruise on a teachers salary.

6. Banks take our money and invest it, create a sub-prime crises, shatter the economy and create the highest unemployment rates in years.  THEY GET A BAILOUT. (Still our money.)

  Teachers spend at least 10% of their own income supplementing their classrooms: paper, pencils, art supplies, hats and gloves, books, lunch money, materials, snacks, student awards, special programs...where's their bailout?

7) The average salary in the U.S. is $52,029 the average teacher salary in the U.S. is 42,225.  
      NO ONE GETS RICH ON A TEACHERS SALARY. 
  More and more quality teachers are leaving the profession in order to support their families. 

I challenge anyone to spend an entire week in the classroom and see how easy-breezy it is. When was the last time you visited a public school? 

MMGM: Audio Book Review—Wonder by R.J. Palacio

About The Book: August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school?until now. He's about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you?ve ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? R. J. Palacio has crafted an uplifting novel full of wonderfully realistic family interactions, lively school scenes, and writing that shines with spare emotional power. Wonder is a book with such a big, wide heart? it shows how we are all fragile, imperfect, and perfectly beautiful creatures. —Goodreads

First Line: I know I'm not an ordinary ten-year-old kid.

One Great Line: “The best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average-- though those things are important, to be sure. It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”

What Others Are Saying: “Palacio makes it feel not only effortless but downright graceful, and by the stand-up-and-cheer conclusion, readers will be doing just that, and feeling as if they are part of this troubled but ultimately warm-hearted community.”— Starred Review, Booklist, February 1, 2012

"While one bully manages, temporarily, to turn most of Auggie's classmates against him (Auggie likens this to becoming the human equivalent of "the Cheese Touch," a clever Diary of a Wimpy Kid reference), good wins out. Few first novels pack more of a punch: it's a rare story with the power to open eyes--and hearts--to what it's like to be singled out for a difference you can't control, when all you want is to be just another face in the crowd. " —Starred review, Publisher's Weekly

What I Thought: Wonder is probably the most honest book I've read in a very long time.The short chapters 
written from different points of view. Palacio has developed these characters with real depth, so much so that I'm sure if I met any of them on the street I would instantly recognize them. I was impressed with how Auggie isn't defined by his face and you get a glimpse of his inner pain. The contrasts are vivid through the juxtaposition of the different characters during the same scenes. The reader is led through the small nuances that are the savory meat at the heart of the story.  I believe that until we conquer the fear, elitism and prejudice at this primary level, how can we believe that the world will know peace anytime soon. Anyone who reads this will be forever changed and "wonder" at its profound impact. It is a must read!!

If you're looking for a great audio book, Wonder is one of the best I've heard. Each character has their own voice and they are full of expression and lively inflection. 

Awards:   A School Library Journal Best of Children's Books 2012
A Publishers Weekly Best of Children's Books 2012A Kirkus Reviews Best of Children's Books 2012
A Booklist Best of Children's Books 2012

About The Author: 
R.J. Palacio
Website
Twitter

Blog

Who: "I live in NYC with my husband, two sons, and two dogs. For many years, I was an art director and book jacket designer, designing covers for countless well-known and not so well-known writers in every genre of fiction and nonfiction. I always wanted to write, though. I kept waiting for the perfect time in my life to start writing, but after more than twenty years of designing book jackets for other people, I realized that the perfect time would never really present itself. It's never the perfect time to start writing a book. So I decided to just go for it. Wonder is my first novel. And no, I didn't design the cover, but I sure do love it." —R.J.Palacio

This wraps up my reviews for 2012, if you missed one be sure to check out all my reviews here. 

You can find links to all the MMGM reviewers in my sidebar. There have been some wonderful books reviewed that are now on my 2013 TBR list!

On Wednesday, join me for an in depth interview with The Book Doctor, Jason Black where he reveals some of his secrets to great writing!