So sad...

This is definitely that time of year when some things end and others begin. And there is much change right now.
I'm a little scared of what will happen when I leave my store. Not so much for me, because I know I can handle it, but for everyone else. The place will be turned upside down. And I feel mostly to blame for it. This is what happens when I surround myself with a crew that I trully love, and, I feel, loves me too. There is a certain level of devotion. And though I wish I could take them all with me, wherever I end up, it isn't an option. So once again, we are scattered to the four winds.
I just hope they all realize how great they have been to me, and how easy my job has been because of them. Even when it was remarkably stressful, it would have been a thousand times worse if they weren't all behind me.
What will happen next? It remains to be seen...

Issues

I stood and chatted with Holly last night for her last hour of work. I should have been the tough boss that told her to get moving. Instead, I listened to her rant for a while. It seemed like she needed it, and she had some eloquent things to say, mostly about the absurdity of the block scheduling, to which she is presently being subjected.
She has CALLAHAN for a guidance counsellor. She was bad enough as a teacher and now they have her in a position to GUIDE students in the choices that will affect the rest of their lives. That is unthinkably cruel and torturous. When will that school system realize that people like her were never meant to be educators?
The problem with that school is that so many of the teachers there hate children. And that's a big problem! Why would you choose that career if you are so opposed to being in contact with the youth that will lead us in the future? It isn't a lucrative job, so they certainly aren't in it for the money.
I would love to be a teacher, but I'm not sure that the title adequately describes the theory behind my ideals. It is ineffective to try to cram knowledge into a brain like stuffing into a turkey. You cannot FORCE a person to learn. The most you can do is create a setting that is conducive to learning and then supply all the resources and knowledge. A child that does not want to be in school will not learn effectivly until someone gets them to open their mind to the idea. They have to want it, or there is no chance.
I also don't subscribe to the mistaken notions that a teacher must either be a trained military leader plucked from the base, still bellowing, or a pal to each and every student, who teaches through games. School was never meant to be punishment or a joke. It is work, but it needs to be clear that it is worth it.
My favorite teacher never raised her voice once, in all of the three years that I had her. We also never had a single disciplinary problem in the class. We were controlled by the respect we had for her. She knew our potential and we knew her expectations from us, and every one of us was happy to oblige. She went above and beyond her station in the school to promote understanding on every level. I have her on video during a school trip, the very last time I went to Canada with her class, uncharacteristically making a fool of herself dancing, because we begged her to join us. Later, on the same video, she said "I must trully love my students." And to us, there was never any doubt that she did.
And she is no longer a teacher.
What a shame.