Perspective

Yesterday, I was informed that, effective immediately, my school system has placed a moratorium on the hiring of substitutes for support staff. This means that if I call in sick, no one will replace me for the day. For a teacher assistant in an ED classroom, this is not only inconvenient, but a recipe for disaster. When one child has a problem, it is "all hands on deck," and it takes the entire team to maintain order for the other children. Now, I know that the team will be okay without me. They will manage just fine. But those poor kids are the ones who suffer.

Then again, maybe our kids don't know what suffering is. As I watch the news coming out of Haiti, I am struck by how the whole world has been turned upside down for the Haitians. Forget substitutes, those children don't even have a school anymore, much less, a home, clothes, food or even clean drinking water. Many will be left orphans, and many have died or will die.

And here I sit, complaining about our schools not taking proper care of our children. A little perspective, please.