Sufjan Stevens – Sister Winter

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It’s finally winter here in Los Angeles, and for those of you who don’t know what winter is like, imagine a cold and rainy October day in the Northeast or Midwest. That’s basically it.

In the meantime, the steady trudge towards Christmas break and the end of 2009 continues. Current on the docket is the overwhelming efforts of folks in LAUSD to simultaneously fight off a 12% pay reduction, furlough days, and even the possibility of a charter takeover (the latter being the most temporally remote). The situation does look pretty grim, yet there are sparks of hope in the midst.

Today after school, I had planned on working for a few hours in my classroom, grading papers, planning for test review, and generally getting on top of things. Yet, much to my surprise, I had a former student (from my first class ever as a teacher) who is now a senior drop by with some questions about applying to Fresno State. We caught up a bit, worked on the application, delved into some upper level-math problems. Gotta say, despite all the negative stuff that goes on in the systems of school and LAUSD, it is the people who continue to make me hopeful and the difference that is made in individuals that makes the day-to-day grind and bureaucratic frustrations more than bearable.

Yay!