Pandemic effects will ripple through our future

Just this morning I found out that two young and talented English and journalism teachers are leaving the profession when the current school year ends. I know one of their stories, and she was clear that being forced to teach in-person all school year (at a school near the ski resorts) had put her in a difficult position concerning her own health and the health of her father, who has cancer.

I don't know the particulars of the other teacher but assume that leaving mid-career was a tough call for her.

I also know that most teachers are "hitting their stride" after teaching 8-10 years, as both these teachers are, and that the loss of such expertise and experience is nearly impossible for a school to overcome, at least in the next few years.

Both of these teachers have worked hard over at least the past 6-8 years to develop strong media programs at their schools along with strong bonds with students and the community. They will be missed.

Here is something I do NOT know, but strongly suspect: a large number of experienced teachers are likely having the same sort of thoughts as these two who have made their official decisions. And teachers who are in the last few years before they can max out their pension benefits (usually with 30 years of total experience) might be doing some calculations as to whether 100 percent of possible benefits or 90 percent (or less) is enough to provide a solid retirement.

Something else I suspect: if you happen to be a person just finishing up a college degree and considering public school teaching as your first career, the next year or two may provide a LOT of options and (maybe?) a bit better compensation. 

For every business that suffered during the pandemic there are businesses that grew or found new products and services to offer, but the overall movement has likely been to larger, better-connected businesses and away from smaller businesses (see Amazon, for instance).

Larger, better-funded school districts will offer some tempting opportunities for teachers in smaller, rural districts. Rural school districts are often like the minor leagues for teachers (not that there aren't plenty of educators who prefer that environment and who would never leave).

This is the time of year teachers have always announced retirements and made decisions about alternative futures, so I shouldn't exaggerate the effects of the pandemic just yet.

But who can doubt that changes are likely accelerating in all areas of life -- education, business, entertainment, and more?

I wish I loved liberty as much as native-born Coloradans

The latest column by George Brauchler in the Denver Post reinforced the lack of intellectual honesty  that surrounds most political "talk" today.

Here's a couple lines that capture the essence of the argument of this former district attorney and one-time Republican candidate for his party's nomination for governor: "Coloradans should not be reduced to panhandling for liberties. They are ours by birthright and we want them back."

A couple thoughts: Are Coloradans that unusual among American citizens in desiring liberty? After all, only about half of all Coloradans (as of last July) were actually born in the state. Logic would suggest that about 2.8 million Coloradans must have brought their backgrounds with them from elsewhere.

I am among the latter group of "non-natives." 

A second thought: Brauchler was demanding that all pandemic restrictions imposed by the governor be lifted immediately, just as Texas will do in two days. His assumption is that the pandemic is winding down (it probably is, by the way) and that people should be trusted to "do the right thing" without governmental orders (does anyone think that is a serious view?).

In a perfect world, I suppose his logic should apply. We should all be glad to do the right thing without any external push.

But the news around here is full of video and other reporting from the student riot in Boulder this past Saturday evening, with 800 or so of our "best and brightest" overturning and damaging vehicles, throwing rocks at cops, trashing a neighborhood... all without masks and with everyone jammed together in a sort of COVID mash pit. 

It's easy to shout "Freedom!" in this country. After all, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is in our DNA. 

What's hard is taking rational precautions to protect our neighbors -- even non-natives -- from a nasty virus that science still does not completely understand.

I would guess that there must be some rational middle ground that Brauchler supports, but he has appointed himself as a spokesman for the Republican party and compromise is not in vogue. 

A season that sprinted and challenged

Saturday is the final day of the JV basketball season for Arapahoe HS girls basketball. The season ended up two months long, which is about half the normal season length. 

I was disappointed to not be able to attend any games -- the perfect outing for us when Arapahoe is only three miles up University and we can be home by 6:30 -- but delighted that one parent with an iPad and a tripod was allowed to sit in the stands and livestream the games.

I often wished he would add some color commentary to the visuals, but he rarely broke his ghostly silence. I did appreciate a few moans and "get her off the back!" (one of my personal favorite referee criticisms) that made it to YouTube.

Unlike college players and most states, Colorado athletes wear masks to practice and play, and that just can't be very comfortable. I admire all the athletes who sacrificed a bit of freedom to simply play games, even in empty gyms. Well, two parents could attend but none of their friends or teachers or even grandparents could cheer them on.

The players will likely never know how much their efforts were appreciated. Kathleen and I are glad that Grace, our Arapahoe sophomore granddaughter, should have two full years of 95 percent "normal" high school in her future.

Just like those athletes who found a way to play a high-energy sport wearing masks, students will find ways to make whatever "new normal" is in their future work. I could get into the woods about testing and learning and whether kids are "falling behind" in the race to become adult citizens, but let's save that for another time.

I simply know that I will miss those two games a week on TV. 

Hoping to engage in important arguments -- no such luck

Yesterday I put on a suit and tie (for the first time in a year) and ventured up to the state capitol to testify in support of HB21-1103, which will provide resources for K-12 educators and add media literacy skills to Colorado state standards.

The bill is not really controversial, though all three of the Republicans on the committee of nine ended up voting against it. 

They did not make any arguments about media literacy itself -- in fact, they seemed in favor of it, and how could they not? -- but they clearly have bought into a narrative of teachers (controlled by teacher unions) being liberals and distorting children's minds. 

One representative stated that his discomfort with fact that the compiled resources that the bill references did not include input from any farmers (!). He claimed to value common sense and salt of the earth reactions. The bill's sponsor pointed out several times that the study committee completed its work late in 2019 and that she wasn't sure what the guy's objections really were (other than time-traveling).

The rep had no response when asked if he favored "people off the street" to consult on a patient's medical condition. After all, shouldn't everyone have a chance to chime in?

But logical arguments are on the table much, at least from one group of politicians. In Colorado, Republicans have so little power that the only tactic they have to even be heard is to drag things on while trying to create fears among as many people as possible. 

Hey, it worked for Trump.

We did get to hear a passing reference to cancelling Dr. Seuss, which will clearly be a reference we will hear from Republicans for months. Again, there was no true argument, since anyone seeing the offending pages from just a few books would recognize the racist images and language. Heck, even Seuss recognized that.

A foundation controls the 45 books Seuss wrote and illustrated himself. The remaining 39 will continue to be available. 

The Republic will stand.

Keeping score with money is tricky

My first regular paid job was as an Airman when I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1971. There is a long, twisted tale about how that came to happen, but my point today is that I was paid $100 per month. Uniforms, housing in a dorm, and food were paid for by Uncle Sam, of course.

I'll just mention that again: $100 per month.

Imagine the joy I felt when my pay was TRIPLED in January of 1972, part of a large military pay bill signed by Richard Nixon. He briefly became my favorite president when I heard the news. Things were about to go very badly for the guy, that's for sure.

I suddenly was raking in $300 per month (plus $100 per month for my wife as her dependent allowance). 

In April of 1973, when Kathleen gave birth to Lesley in the RAF Lakenheath base hospital, the total bill for the delivery was under $8 (for food, I think).

This lengthy preface is to my observation this morning about the controversies about exactly how much annual income a person or couple could have and receive the full $1,400 emergency checks ($2,800 for couples). 

And my first thought was that our ideas about the economy and about who "deserves" what, and how much have changed quite a bit just within my lifetime. Part of that is due to something most people under age 25 don't know much about: inflation. For reasons that no one is able to fully explain, inflation has napped for the past few years, and the Fed doesn't expect that to change even with nearly $2 trillion about to be "printed" by the government.

Here's something else I can't really explain: No matter how how money my wife and I have earned over nearly 50 years of marriage, it was always enough. 

Except that one day in December of 1971 when I drove to Gatwick Airport south of London to pick up my wife who was flying in to join me in England. I arrived with only a few pence in my pocket. Not even enough to pay to exit the car park at the airport. 

Kathleen tells me the story of my first words when she stepped into the hall of Gatwick: "Do you have any money at all?"

She did, as the government had mailed her a couple dependent checks while she was still in Iowa. So we were able to pay the parking fee and drive to our temporary home in Newmarket, in a building that was about to be condemned. 

I guess I have always been a romantic.

Country over profits can serve us well

I am so tired of always having the pandemic on my mind and constantly modifying or eliminating "normal" behavior to not only stay safe and healthy, but also to demonstrate solidarity with the larger community.

But people should approach life differently during a war, so I persist.

The language of war has been used somewhat loosely when government officials discuss programs and policies to combat the virus, but the "war effort" does not seem to be uniting people against a common threat. In fact, millions and millions of Americans are finding they can't even agree on the enemy.

But today I saw this story about Merck and Johnson & Johnson agreeing to work together to up the amount of the newly approved J&J one-shot vaccine. Merck's own vaccine ideas didn't work out, but the company has lots of production capacity and pausing the competitive nature of pharmaceutical companies makes perfect sense.

In a real war effort (like WWII), there would be no competition between, say, tank manufacturing companies. The competition would have been with the enemy and in blasting past previous limits on how many tanks or planes or guns or tires could be churned out each day.

The 1940s were not some paradise, now lost, and people treated one another at least as poorly as they do today. But that concept of suspending rivalries and striving for riches that allowed Fortress America to be created almost overnight is what is missing from our current "war."

A guy can dream, can't he?

If you have been paying attention to the constant updates on the pandemic, how vaccinations and hospitalizations and deaths and everything that stems from the plague are going, you could be forgiven for feeling a bit anxious.

All the bad indicators are dropping and there are some guesses that the entire adult population of the U.S could be vaccinated by mid-summer. 

Shouldn't that produce joy and unbridled GOOD news?

Nah. Health experts are reluctant to be unreservedly optimistic about any health information. After all, doctors and other health professionals are eventually going to lose EVERY patient -- and they can't save themselves, to boot. So we get a lot of warnings and caveats and hedging. Things COULD be great, but we can't let our guard down. You look healthy but don't get too cocky. 

I, on the other hand, am just one guy, concerned with a very small corner of the world, and I prefer to think that this summer is going to be great. 

Yes, I will be happy (?) to keep wearing a mask and distancing and generally not putting those around me in danger. I myself have had my shots and even at age 70 don't worry about personal safety. I do wonder how I will react sometime down the road to simply getting a stomach bug or a cold. Will I freak?

But until then, I don't see the down side of planning for some fun, social activities this summer. If everything goes south, so to speak, I have plenty of experience in staying home.