I am about to complete my teaching certificate. I actually have delayed completion because of the economy. Although I am a far better teacher than financial analyst, my university job is fairly secure. How do I justify quiting a secure job during an economic meltdown so I can do what I was meant to do. As a history teacher there is a high chance I would not find work locally. Hence I would have to sell my home in order to find employment. My mother is nearly blind and dependent upon me therefore she would have to sell her home and follow me. There is also a high probability that when I complete my certificate there won't be a job waiting for me. Then I am unemployed during one of the worst periods of economic history our nation has faced. To make matters worse the education department has fouled up my pre-teaching experience and with less than four weeks remaining in the semester I have yet to be assigned to a school. That experience is likely to be a problem since I am a full time worker.
I also need to register for certication testing. I cripple myself with procrastination because I don't want to take another bloody test. Standardized tests are not a good measure of anything.
I even worry about the nation. Will the Constitution survive the next ten years? Obama brings hope, but disaster (BUSH) has ravaged civil rights, our economy and our bearing in the world. It is much easier to destroy than create. Will everyday people demand the change they crave? Will the politicians listen? How far would you go to have the things your ancestors took for granted? Does it even matter to you or would you prefer to be lead to the slaughter?
I am an optimist as I think are many Americans. I am also lazy, but not in the way Americans are often portrayed. I work full time, go to school, volunteer, take care of an aging parent, try to keep the house from falling apart, try to keep deadbeat relatives and some of her deadbeat friends from taking advantage of my mother, and then I don't feel like doing anything else on work nights. I'm worn, but I am hopeful. I think the internet will help us remember democracy as long as the telecom companies are not allowed to kill it.
PAX