"Teach Me Tonight" - Dinah Washington

Good morning peeps!! I recently retired from teaching and I have been reflecting on my decision. I decided that the stress and day to day shenanigans of an overbearing, anal retentive (her own assessment of herself) supervisor; extremely disruptive and emotionally disturbed youngsters, and an inordinate amount of testing and paper work, was more than I could endure at this point in my life. So, even though I was receiving a six figure salary and was at the top of the salary scale, I left the profession.

For twenty seven years, I tried to do my best to teach, nurture, inspire, encourage, motivate and prepare young children for a lifetime of learning. I loved it at times and at other times, I felt overwhelmed; overwhelmed because I had to do more than just teach. Often, the children needed plain old mothering and understanding; someone to hear them. I was all that and more! I can say this because many students and their families told me this...and I appreciate it. Although I am a Special Education Teacher, I had parents of General Education students, asking to get their children in my class! They were often disappointed when I had to explain that their child didn't qualify because they hadn't been diagnosed with any disability. I've had former students return and tell me that their time in my class was some of their fondest childhood memories. I've had students slip and call me "mommy" very often.

I have letters: "crush letters", "I wish you were my mommy" letters, "thank you from parent letters", typical boy/girl letters, etc.; possibly enough for a book! I've experienced violent students who were intent on hurting (killing) other students and in some cases, teachers; I've had to talk a ten-year-old into giving me the butcher knife he had in his backpack, which he intended to kill another student with. I have had to console a student who was being sexually abused by her own brother; I had a student whose mother and teen-aged brother were murdered in front of his eyes when he was ten! I have never been assaulted by a student but I have been cursed at by a six or seven year old! Oh yeah, and bitten on my arm! I've had to diffuse many a volatile situation; confiscate weapons, pills, etc etc etc. I have had to deal with difficult parents, flirtatious fathers, and in the beginning of my career, a male principal who tried to hit on me and other teachers. He was eventually fired on allegations of sexually abusing an eleven year old female student, and was never heard from again!

I have few regrets though, because it must be what God intended for me. Even though I went to a school for fashion designing (I liked to draw and design clothing), as a child, I was always reading and teaching younger children trivia; my siblings can attest to this. So I guess I was destined to teach! I will never stop being a teacher.

However, my reason for writing this has less to do with my experiences, but more to do with what's been in the news about teachers lately. Shameful situations that, if  true, make teachers look bad and is not good for the teaching profession. I understand the stress of the job; believe me I do, but these recent incidents, if true, are beyond explanation! Two female high school teachers in Brooklyn, New York caught naked in an empty classroom by the school's janitor? Another female teacher from that same school accused of having sex with a male student! A Milwaukee teacher accused of cutting off a little girl's braid, with the explanation that she was stressed out?...what??? If that had happened in NYC...that teacher would have been sent to the infamous "rubber room;" a holding center for teachers who've been accused of wrong doing, but whose cases haven't been proven yet. I have a colleague who has spent the latter part of his career in the "rubber room" (sent there on two separate occasions) on full salary! And he has a PhD! Teachers...hang in there! What you are doing is so important!

Please, I know you are dealing with a lot of stress; but please, please, please...think about what you do and what you can stand to lose. A school is not the place to act out your sexual fantasies and you know good and well you should not touch any child in an aggressive manner! Cutting off a child's braid? Are you kidding me? If this is true, you need to be removed from the classroom, because this indicates some emotional instability on your part and you need to get counseling...quickly! Weigh in here my daughter, the psychologist. I'm putting on my Dee-jay  hat again, to dedicate these songs to my fellow teachers.

My play list for teachers

1. Teach Me Tonight - Dinah Washington's version

2. Wonderful World - Sam Cooke ( I taught this song to my class and the bilingual kindergarten class for their moving up ceremony, two years ago and they loved it!)

3. ABC - The Jackson Five ( I had my Kindergartners march in on this on their "moving up" day )

4. 1-2-3 - Len Barry

5. School Is Out -Gary "U.S." Bonds
6. School Days - Chuck Berry
7. Back To School - Bo Diddley
8. Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd
9. Be True To Your School - Beach Boys
10. Charlie Brown - The Coasters
11. Don't Be A Dropout - James Brown
12. Hot For Teacher - Van Halen
13. To Sir With Love - Lulu (gave me goosebumps when I first heard it!)
14. Teacher's Pet - Doris Day
15. Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly And The Family Stone
16. Swingin' School - Bobby Rydell
17. Rock 'n' Roll High School - The Ramones
18. I Love College - Asher Roth
19. College Drop Out - Kanye West
20. My Old School - Steely Dan

"Back Door Santa" - B B King

Good morning peeps!! Ever notice how R and B singers add their own soulful flavor to traditional Christmas songs? Some even redo traditional songs that become classics like, "White Christmas" by The Drifters, which in my opinion, is the ultimate R and B Christmas song! What? With Clyde McPhatter doing  his signature falsetto lead tenor, and the legendary Bill Pinkney coming in with a booming bass! One of my fondest childhood Christmas memories is of company coming over on Christmas Eve to party, and my mother and father always having the latest music playing. White Christmas was a sure 'nuff  tradition in my household! I can remember my singing uncles performing this and other songs, as my cousin Ernest played his guitar! Uncle Elmo sang bass as my mother did Clyde's part. Boy, those were good times! So, in the spirit of Christmas...here are my favorite R and B Christmas songs. Please as always, add your favorites! These are in no particular order.

1. White Christmas - The Drifters

2. Merry Christmas Baby - Charles Brown

3. Silent Night - The Temptations

4. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole

5. This Christmas - Donny Hathaway

6. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Whitney Houston

7. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - J5

8. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt

9. Little Drummer Boy - The Supremes

10.Back Door Santa - B B King

"I Wish" - Stevie Wonder

Good morning peeps!! There is something about this time of year that makes adults feel nostalgic. It often manifests as a feeling of sadness, a sense of loss, a desire to return to simpler times in our lives; or maybe even a feeling of elation for some, who anticipate reuniting with family or friends. For me, it is all of the above. Sadness because I'm reminded that time waits for no one and our lives are moving forward, into the realm of the unknown; global warming, financial uncertainty, ongoing warfare, threats of terrorism, etc. Not a pretty picture! Sense of loss because some of us no longer have our parents or other beloved family members, who were such a part of our childhoods, and with whom  we spent many a holiday season with. A desire to return to simpler times in our lives because someone else was captaining our ships and we had little to worry about. As Stevie Wonder sings it: "When my only worry, was for Christmas what would be my toy." A-h-h-h...I Wish! However, as Kool and The Gang sings: "Cherish The Loves We Have..." No, we can't go back to our simpler lives; our joyous childhood days; our blissful innocence. We can only make the best of our lives in the here and now, so here's to you all...Happy Holidays!!!

"Little Red Riding Hood" - Sam The Sham

Good morning peeps!! Did you know that fairy tales, nursery rhymes and folktales are some of the most violent, misogynistic, homophobic stories there ever was??? You didn't did you? After years of teaching and reading these stories to countless numbers of innocent children, I have now had the time to really analyze and dissect the hidden and not so hidden meanings in these beloved tales. I will now present my take on the meanings of those suspect fairy tales! Disclaimer: this is all tongue in cheek.

"Three Blind Mice, See How They Run, They All Ran After The Farmer's Wife, Who Cut Off Their Tails With A Carving Knife, Did You Ever See Such A Sight In Your Life As Three Blind Mice?" Now for the real deal:
The three blind mice were three black guys wearing shades. They were all getting favors from the farmer's wife, who was white. One day, the farmer came home and caught them in action, so the wife yelled, "they violated me" and she took off running after them with a carving knife! She was planning on doing a Lorena Bobbitt, but they got away...and that's the truth!

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, you know; the story of the young woman who ended up living with seven male "little people"; most of whom were old enough to be her grandfather! Give me a break! The real deal is that Snow worked for an escort service; was hired by these old geezers, and tried to take care of all seven at one time. She was paid handsomely for this by the way.

Cinderella: really about a dysfunctional blended family, headed by a domineering step-mother, two homely, frustrated step-sisters and an absent, weak willed father. But we knew this already.


Goldilocks and The Three Bears: Home invasion...plain and simple!

Little Miss Muffet: An innocent little girl eating her curds and whey was lured by a pedophile to sit on his lap! Sat on a tuffet indeed! Umm-hum; we know what a tuffet really is, don't we? The shame of it is that he was her own relative!

Mary Had A Little Lamb: "and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go, he followed her to school one day..." The real deal is that Mary has a stalker, who wore a lamb's costume. Unfortunately, Mary's order of protection didn't prevent him from stalking her. Mary eventually hired a body guard!

Hansel and Gretel: Child abuse and pedophilia...she wanted to eat them!

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater: "Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her, he put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well" First of all, Peter was a philandering husband; as in Tiger Woods trifling. What does it mean that "he had a wife and couldn't keep her?" He was rich!! The Pumpkin shell is a metaphor for the mansion in the gated community he put her in, so he could carry on with his other women. He just knew his wife was none the wiser, but she was on to his exploits. Little did he know that his wife was having her own trysts...with Little Boy Blue!" Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn was a code for, Tiger isn't home, so come on over..."

Little Red Riding Hood: Home girl was a fast little thing, who used to dress up in a red cape with a hoodie. She would sneak out of the house and go across town to meet up with her boyfriend, Wolf. When her mother became suspicious, Red claimed she was going to visit her sick grandmother. Her mother wasn't stupid, so she had Red followed. When confronted, Red threw her boyfriend Wolf, under the bus. He got arrested for kidnapping, home invasion and other charges. Little Red got over once again!


Wee Willie Winkie: "Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown"...come on now, isn't this one self-explanatory y'all?

And finally, Jack and Jill: you and I know they did not go up that hill to fetch any pail of water!


And may you live happily ever after!

"The Christmas Song" - Nat King Cole

Good morning peeps!! "Silver Bells, Silver Bells, it's Christmas time in the city"...New York City at Christmas time is a sight to behold! In the hood you see festive decorations, signs in store windows luring you in with the promise of 50% off something that was marked up 400% in the first place; people rushing around trying to pick up that elusive toy that they probably really can't afford, but their child has got to have. You leave the hood; go downtown...there you see the wide-eyed tourists looking shell shocked! Macy's windows decorated cleverly; mesmerizing you...enticing you to come in and shop till you drop. Fifth Avenue. Park Avenue. Lexington Avenue. Grand Central Station. Penn Station. Rushing, pushing, shopping, gazing, wandering, meandering, spending. Crowded streets, street vendors, pick-pockets, hustlers, homeless. The only thing missing right now is snow! What? No, wait...I hope it doesn't snow! Gone are the days when I marveled at the beauty of pristine, white snow! Now, I worry about having to clear it from in front of my house! Ahhhh...Christmas in New York!

"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" - Jackson Five

Good evening peeps!! "It's the most wonderful time of the year...with the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer, it's the most wonderful time of the year". What are some of your fondest childhood memories of Christmas time? How old were you when you stopped believing in the myth of Santa Claus? Who exposed it? I don't actually remember when or how I stopped believing in the myth of Santa Claus. I don't recall how old I was either...I think I was about 25! No, just kidding! As hard as my father worked to put food on our table, clothes on our backs and  a roof over our heads, it still made perfect sense to me that an obese, white bearded, red suited, black boots wearing caucasian man, would come into my ghetto neighborhood and bring me toys!!! We didn't even have a chimney! Even stranger to believe (in hindsight), is that he would come pass midnight! I grew up in Harlem and The South Bronx afterall! Boy! Kids are so naive! Those should have been the red flags! But my ignorance was so blissful, that I even imagined that I caught a glimpse of Santa's black boots coming down my basement stairs, as I stealithly peeked out my bedroom window! Phew! Mama, daddy...please accept my gratitude to you for allowing me to revel in my fantasy...I appreciate you, love you; miss you both dearly...RIP.

"He's A Cold Hearted Snake"- Paula Abdul

Good evening peeps!!If I felt sympathy for that Cablinasian male before, I certainly don't now...there; it's off my chest. So how's everybody today? If it sounds like I'm fishing around, that's because I am. I might quite possibly be at a loss for a topic today...I know y'all are tired of hearing about you know who, right? Huuummm, I've decided not to call what I do a blog; I'm thinking of calling it a "sog" as in sassy old gal, or it could even stand for sorry old gossip. Reason? I think blog is passe! I have copyrighted the term "sog" so if you are thinking of using it...don't! Lol! That's all for now folks.Haven't eaten yet... had a long day at the doctor's office, dealing with some annoying, bureaucratic insurance issues. Did get a flu shot though...have you gotten your's yet?