Livin' on a Prayer!
I love a parade. Especially when I get to march along! Today I got to march with the United Federation of Teachers down 5th Avenue, NYC. The sky was blue, the weather mild, and the UFT marching band played a very decent adaptation of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” The thought behind that song choice for the NYC teacher’s union was pure genius, let me say; and I hope some important bigwig somewhere got the hint.
While I enjoyed the music and the free lunch, I must admit the very best portion of the parade was when a very kind older woman who taught in a Manhattan school chatted me up cordially. We spoke about my new teaching assignment for a while after introductions, and then she places a Communist newspaper in my bewildered hand.
Apparently, I am now an honorary Pink-o Commie or some-such-what. Isn’t communism a bit outdated? It just goes to schow you that any faction with a printing press can get plenty of recognition. What baffles me the most is that the lady who spawned her communist tracts on me was so blatantly nice. I kept thinking of the character, Liz, from John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold: Sweet, misled, and destined for destruction at the hand of the Communist Party. But I digress.
With aching feet and a free t-shirt it was a pleasure to support my fellow teachers and stand up to be counted. I was surprised that so few younger faces showed up, though. It seems like the bulk of the UFT supporters were old-hat teachers who had taught long enough to know the score. Made me all the more glad to have gone, the feeling that so many other young and new teachers were missing out.
That’s all from me tonight, I’ll have more info on my first school week on Sunday. Until then…
Goodnight, Comrade!
While I enjoyed the music and the free lunch, I must admit the very best portion of the parade was when a very kind older woman who taught in a Manhattan school chatted me up cordially. We spoke about my new teaching assignment for a while after introductions, and then she places a Communist newspaper in my bewildered hand.
Apparently, I am now an honorary Pink-o Commie or some-such-what. Isn’t communism a bit outdated? It just goes to schow you that any faction with a printing press can get plenty of recognition. What baffles me the most is that the lady who spawned her communist tracts on me was so blatantly nice. I kept thinking of the character, Liz, from John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold: Sweet, misled, and destined for destruction at the hand of the Communist Party. But I digress.
With aching feet and a free t-shirt it was a pleasure to support my fellow teachers and stand up to be counted. I was surprised that so few younger faces showed up, though. It seems like the bulk of the UFT supporters were old-hat teachers who had taught long enough to know the score. Made me all the more glad to have gone, the feeling that so many other young and new teachers were missing out.
That’s all from me tonight, I’ll have more info on my first school week on Sunday. Until then…
Goodnight, Comrade!
posted by Ms. C at 7:49 PM
2 Comments:
Hey, thats just the maoist communist news paper I believe. There are like three other communist groups that sell or give out their papers at such protests/marches...
Glad you had fun. I already had plans by the time they bothered to tell us about it, so that's the main reason I wasn't there.
Good luck this next week. I guess I'll see you on Tuesday...from the roster, I think they kept the same classes as the summer.
Joe left the program. :( I'm very sad about that. But he seems at peace with his decision.
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