game changer

It's a mental health kinda day... Last weekend, I went to an organizing workshop to learn about the fundamentals of community organizing . While the information was great, I see that going wasn't the best idea. I need time to decompress from people and going from work to attending a conference with people for an entire weekend left me drained.

Earlier this week, I found my retirement savings account statement and discovered something that floored me. ok, so public school employees in the state of Texas pay into Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS). Your contribution is required and is automatically deducted from your check and employers also contribute a portion. Anyway, the annual statement shows the highest earning years. Apparently during the 2008-2009 school year (which was my last year in the classroom), I made only $1000 less than I did in the 2013-2014 school year. Y'all... I was a 2nd year classroom teacher, employed 9 months out of the year and I made nearly as much I do now, working 12 months out of the year, with a doctorate. (Well, actually in '08-'09, I received a stipend and worked summer school, and I'm working for a different school district, but still...) When I read that, I felt like throwing up. I even called TRS to confirm and they said it was accurate. My lack of satisfaction with my job stems in large part from the pay. To say I feel undervalued is a gross understatement. But, until now, I really thought that at least I was earning more than I did as a teacher. If you're wondering why I just figured this out, it's because the previous statement showed the 12-13 school year, when my salary was low because I was only working part time. Statements are provided at the end of the calendar year, although the school year is officially from September 1-August 31.

This was my wake up call that it's time to do something differently. I'm not saying that I'll go back to the classroom, but hell, at this rate, why not? lol... Teaching is hard, but I'd prefer it over sitting in a cube all day. Or, maybe it's time for me to leave public education all together. idk, but I need to figure something out soon.

I'm planning a Black Lives Matter event for next week and while I originally planned to have it at UT, one of the other conference attendees mentioned that maybe I should think about having it at a Black church in Austin, to hopefully encourage more community participation. I belong to a church here, but I'm not an active member. So, I don't feel comfortable asking to hold it there. I asked a friend of mine if she had any suggestions and she reached out to the church where her brother is a youth pastor. She then informed me that she was informed that the church generally avoids all things political. Uhm, what?! A Black church doesn't want to host an event around Black Lives Matter?!! And... they want to avoid all things political even though the Black church was at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. I looked at their church calendar and it looks like all they're having on that date is Bible Study. Not to detract from the importance of Bible Study, but... uhm, when your church's written focus is to "love God, love each other and love others," don't you think providing an opportunity to discuss that and how it applies to REAL life is important? UGH... It's disappointing, to say the least. But, not really all that surprising. People in this city tend to shy away from racial discussions. They conveniently sweep them under the rug and act like this is the greatest city in Texas. I fully expected to be told no because I don't have a relationship with the church. But, not to be told no because they avoid political things... that impact the members of their congregation. *blank stare*

At any rate, I hope the event is successful. It turns out organizing people and getting them to come to events that aren't happy hours is difficult. go figures... anyway, let me go enjoy my day off... until next time...