Not going well.

It's a horrible thing to start the day with so much hate in my heart, so I am going to vent on my blog and hope like hell that gets it out of my system. It's so hard to be a patient, kind, and loving teacher when I feel like beating someone to a pulp.
I got my tax refund today, less the $900 I owed the IRS from a $400 mistake two years ago. After the penalties, interest, back-interest, etc. the $400 mistake ended up costing me more than $1,050.00. I have been making $50.00 payments since last summer, but the interest rate was so high that my payments barely made a dent. So, they took the balance out of my refund.
It is just so wrong. I haven't heard a single thing about the IRS cutting jobs. Those employees sit there in their recession proof offices and take money from people like me. They add as many penalties and fees to the debt as they possibly can. It is their JOB to squeeze as much money they can from my meager earnings. I don't know how they live with themselves. How do you justify spending your days taking money away from single parents who teach for a living? How can you possibly live with yourself, when your job as a tax collector is more valuable to our society than my job as a math teacher? I seriously think they are all in danger of burning in hell. They could be spending their time on the ENRON people of the country instead of near-poverty-level teachers. They could be working to close the loopholes that prevent G.W. Bush from paying less taxes, percentage wise, than I do. Oh, but he surely needs the money more than me.
It makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. I need that money to put away for this summer, when I will most likely be unemployed and looking for a job, once again. Today I am not proud to be an american.

Wednesday Bitchery

There are lots of really great things happening right now and only one not-so-great thing. Since it's still Wednesday, I can get some bitchery in! I have bronchitis. I have been sick for two freaking weeks. My lungs feel like they are on FIRE. So, I am taking tomorrow off work and staying in bed. all. day.

It's that time of year...

I dread this time every year. It's my least favorite week on the school calendar... third quarter parent conferences. Time to start thinking about who will be retained. Time to meet with parents who haven't been doing their jobs for years, and kids who haven't cared about their grades in years, and make them pay the piper. Ah, the wailing and gnashing of teeth! The excuses, the cop-outs, the laying of blame! In the end, it always comes out the same. I wish we could just cut to the chase. This is how it should go:

Teacher: You and your kid need to get it together or your kid is going to come back for another year.
Parent: Why is this the first I am hearing about this?
Teacher: It's not.
Parent: Why didn't anyone call me if little Johnny wasn't turning in homework?
Teacher: First, that isn't my job, and second, I did.
Parent, to child: Why aren't you doing your work?
Student: I don't know.
Teacher: Ok, so it looks like we're finished here. You have one shot: quit being a dumbass and buckle down for the next three months, and then we'll promote you because you are too big and we don't want you driving yourself to middle school. See ya.

Badda bing, badda boom. 3 minutes, we're done. Why the histrionics? Why the multiple opportunities for laying the blame elsewhere?
This is the week I hate my job.