The thing has already taken form in my mind before I start it. The first attempts are absolutely unbearable.
I say this because I want you to know that if you see something worthwhile in what I am doing, it is not by accident but because of real direction and purpose.
Vincent van Gogh
About Me
- marybeth
- Since 1987, I've taught high school in the inner-city public schools of Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Municipal School District is a system fraught with the challenges inherent to a large district and an impoverished city. I am publishing this journal in response to those who are quick to criticize "those lazy, greedy, teachers". I offer you a glimpse into my world. I have always been a student of behavior. As a child, I would tame wild creatures and befriend strays. When I grew up, my natural empathy helped me become adept at observing, understanding and predicting human behavior, as well as discovering and studying what inspires and motivates people. Especially fascinating, are relationships; who we choose to associate with, and why; how we interact with one another, and how we affect each others lives.
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4 comments:
Holy mackeral!
Many thanks tor this fabulous quote! What a thrill to hear that van Gogh and I share this feeling of having stuff rolling around in one's head, mulling, pulling on it, tweaking it, asking all the what-if questions so that once work begins, there's almost a sense of rendering a complete idea.
Sometimes the fear is more "what if I can't match the work that I see in my mind's eye?" Sometimes that challenge is the fun part.
That's not to say that the work cannot change once it's actually begun. Sometimes it does. But for me, most of my design work has been done before I actually start to shape fabric. Sometimes people have the notion that I start to work and these ideas just pop out. Not so at all. They develop over time, sometimes with a lot of note taking along the way, until starting them is, what, irresistable?
Hi MaryBeth. I read your article in the PD last week. I too enjoy blogging. Your blogs are a rare and wonderful treat as they are written from the heart. Your enthusiasm for your job shows through your written words. Your world is fascinating.
I work just outside of Cleveland myself. I write about my job sometimes. I write about the things which have changed over the 29 years I have been employed there. Mostly I write so I might never forget the paths I have chosen which allowed me to arrive at this happy place I find myself today.
MB,
RAMTEC needs you back. You have done so well the last month for RAMTEC, what gives? I know, you have said there are only 24 hours in a day! I could not imagine you slowing down, At just past 28 years old, you can’t possibly be slowing down! There are eight days or more in a week, at least in the manufacturing industry. So, anyone interested in having more than seven days a week come over to the manufacturing industry. We do not have Easter breaks, snow days, teacher conferences, and most certainly we do not get the summers off. But we get to have fun 365 days a year making the widgets that non-manufacturers get to play with in all their spare time.Your RAMTEC idea would provide us with the well deserved seven day work week and perhaps the summer off, while we still make sure that all the non-manufacturing types have plenty of toys to play with. So many of your readers are making comments on your blog and yet you say nothing about the "important" thing "RAMTEC"
It reminds me of your meeting at REI, at Case Western University, speaking about RAMTEC. Ladies and Gentlemen, there was a certain person at this meeting that I will try to describe. The person comes into the room LATE, a coke can in one hand a bag of chips in the other, with a mouthful of crunching potato chips as she was making her way to a seat. As she was late, she did not hear what Marybeth presented. Towards the end of the presentation, in an open forum, she starts by saying that she is very "disturbed". She has an arrogant, body language that assumes a "yoo", while she is munching on the last of her chips directed at Marybeth even though she has not heard Marybeth’s presentation, and obviously had not read the proposal. The most distressing thing about this person was that everyone in the room gives their name and, in addition, what they do. She was an administrator at CMSD.
Marybeth is letting us know how ‘easy’ it is to teach in public schools, whether it be in Cleveland, Chicago or any other big city. Keep up the great work (and let people know about RAMTEC also.)
Thank you Marybeth.
Hi,
Just an FYI: some/most of your article was also in the Sandusky Register this past Saturday. That's how I found this blog.
Who knows where else it was picked up?
Hang in there, every little bit counts, even if you have no idea at the time that it's working!
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