February 2013 – michael jarmer

Of Furlough Days

I’ve been laid off today with all of the employees of my school district, and, by proxy, all of the students in my school district. The school doors are locked. Do not enter. Sorry, we are temporarily closed. We do not have enough money in the coffers to pay for a full school year, soContinue reading “Of Furlough Days”

Of Fatherhood: The Most Difficult Job Ever Invented

Outside of motherhood, that is. The way I see it, the three most difficult jobs ever invented, in this order, are motherhood, fatherhood, and teaching in an underfunded public school. I’ve taken on two out of three. I find fatherhood exceedingly difficult and this perturbs me. Whose big idea was it in the first place,Continue reading “Of Fatherhood: The Most Difficult Job Ever Invented”

Of Moral Perfection

This is the assignment I gave to my students this week in American Literature. I wrote it on the board. “For homework, arrive at moral perfection. You have one week.” A few of them looked at it right away and were puzzled and slightly amused, but as we worked through the lesson of the day,Continue reading “Of Moral Perfection”