Dear NC Dept. Of Education: It Only Takes A Year Of Teaching In NC To Kill A Desire To Make It A Career

 Dear Lit Loves,

I see from recent subject matter on my local television station that Tom Tomlinson, Senior Director of North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction's Office of Educator Preparation and Licensure, wants to know why we have first year teachers in NC leaving in droves.  Ten thousand teachers left the classrooms of North Carolina in 2023.  This is the highest amount in two decades and it runs across every subject matter.  And you want to know why they are leaving?  Get in the trenches with them and discover why.  For that matter, read my book, Brave Soul Rising:  Tales From The Trenches of An Uncharmed Life written under my pen name, Grace Sutherlin. In case that does not help in understanding why teachers are leaving, I will go ahead and list why this North Carolina educator gave up on teaching publicly and privately in the state of North Carolina:

 1) Teacher Pay Is A Joke.

 2) Lack of basic school security measures.

 3) Overwhelming extra demands on my time.

 4) Teacher Morale Is Low.

 5) Honestly, who wants to risk getting shot while on the job?

 6) Principals who cannot address delinquent student behavior for two weeks.

 7) Having to eat lunch with a room full of students.

 8) Number of credits needed for continued teacher licensure.

 9) No Bonus Money If Your Students Perform At A High Level On Tests.

10) Lack of instructional materials for every student and teacher supplies.

11) School buildings falling apart and potentially exposing staff to  harmful substances.                                                    

12) Lack of cleanliness inside and around the school.

13) Gangs entering school buildings and cafeterias illegally.

14) Serious lack of mentorship:  the only time I interacted with my teaching mentor came when I was being evaluated on my instructional methods.

15) My car getting keyed while parked on a school campus.

16) Students not getting to school due to transportation issues.

17) Apathetic parents and guardians.

18) Principals who forget what it is like to be in the classroom.

19) I can start in another career choice at a salary in the range of six figures.

20) Lack of respect.

21) Having to request someone to cover my classes in order to visit the restroom.

Is this enough for you Mr. Tomlinson? Oh, if you think virtual instruction is the answer to the NC teacher retention problem, I also have swamp land you can buy down in Florida, ya hear?!  

                Best,

                Amy R. Schmukler also known as Grace Sutherlin (pen name).                                                                                                                                     

              

           

                 

                                     

Review: The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters during Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN

 Dear Lit Loves,

Greetings!  And I am finally returning to review a recently released memoir written by a hospice nurse entitled The In-Between:  Unforgettable Encounters during Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos.  So why did I select this book to read:  I recently lost my mother to stage four esophageal cancer adenocarcinoma.  Mom moved in with me and my brother as the local hospice facilities had no beds available.

I do not know if I could ever take on the career of a hospice nurse.  To me, hospice nurses have to change their schedules at a moment's notice should one of their home-bound patients have an emergency.  Also, I hate meeting people under circumstances in which one of their beloved is knocking at death's door.  I have to commend Hadley Vlahos for her career efforts as she handles the job requirements and raises a son as a single mom.  

No one really likes to talk about death until BOOM!  It is staring you in the face and you do not have a choice.  Thanks to the hospice nurses that took care of my mom, I now know that even if a loved one chooses to die at home, there is always a transitioning phase for those dying.  For my mom, it was when she started to lose control of bodily functions and there came a point where even if I was speaking directly to her, there was a mystical haze in her eyes.  

Interestingly, those who are in the active phase of dying often are "seeing" loved ones or people who have already died before them.  Seriously,  my brother and I witnessed this with our dad at the hospital.  Right out of the blue one evening, dad started speaking to his younger brother, John, who according to dad was right beside his hospital bed.  Dad carried on a full conversation with his brother.  I just listened.

There also came a point when I witnessed my dad bargaining with God.  Dad really wanted to remain here with us, enjoy retirement, and ensure his youngest physically and mentally disabled sister was well-cared for through her lifespan.  Additionally, I have also witnessed what Hadley Vlahos speaks about when she says people who are actively dying can often predict something that will happen in the near future.  For example, one day I arrived at my dad's hospital room and he quite clearly directed me to go locate and secure a lot more chairs for the hospital room.  He said, "There are a lot of people coming and we need to be ready."  I kept asking him who was coming and he said, "Family, friends, acquaintances, coworkers, etc."  It was a week later that dad died and our church was filled to the rafters and sure enough, ushers had to go find additional chairs.  

Does everyone residing with or at a hospice die at peace?  Mostly, but not all do.  My dad simply drifted away while we were in his hospice room.  In other examples, Nurse Vlahos witnesses someone under her care who basically "bleeds out" when dying.  My own mom was always trying to find a way to sit or lie in order to feel comfortable.  And trust me, it is very difficult as a family member to administer pain meds to your own mother.  No one has to spell it out for you:  those meds are to assist with the pain during the active dying process.  Is their a death rattle at the end of life:  Yes, but not all patients exhibit it.  My dad's death involved labored breathing and an eerie death rattle.  My mom just appeared at peace in her final moments almost as if she had just decided to lie down and take a nap.

I think one of the most important aspects in the book is that no one die alone.  Hearing is the last sense to go.  You can talk to the dying person and they quite possibly can hear you, but may not be able to respond to you.  Nurse Vlahos knows eventually she will lose each of her patients.  Until then, she visits with them, learns from them, advises them, and assists the rest of the family with processing the death.  

One of the most poignant moments in the book is when Nurse Vlahos is assigned to care for a patient who is homeless.  He lives in a tent under a highway or bridge along with other homeless folks.  It was touching to know that Nurse Vlahos went out of her way to help this man obtain food, medicine, and even someone who could contact her should this hospice patient need her.  Trust me, it is a privilege to be present with someone as they are leaving this world for whatever is next.  And when you lose your final parent, I can tell you with absolute certainty, you life will be forever changed.  And with that kind of change, a son or daughter will grieve at their own pace and in their own way.  

I highly recommend this book especially for readers who do not know of hospice or those who have told me they are frightened of hospice.  These are the folks who are the specialists.  They deal with death each day and continue to help folks who are transitioning from this life to whatever you believe comes next.  

Till my next review,

Grace (Amy)

Review: Go As A River: A Novel by Shelley Read

 Dear Lit Loves,

April's selection for the book club I belong to is Go As A River:  A Novel by Shelley Read.  Let me just say from the outset that it is based on a young woman who grows up on a peach farm in Iola, Colorado.  Iola, Colorado in this book, is a real place in Gunnison County, CO.  And the town was flooded to make way for the Blue Mesa Reservoir.  Interestingly, now that this part of Colorado is currently experiencing significant drought, the town of Iola, CO can once again be seen or remnants of it at least.

This is a sweeping book centered around Victoria Nash, a seventeen year old young woman, who resides on a peach farm in Iola, Colorado with her father and brother, Seth.  Her mom, an aunt, and a cousin died when she was twelve in an accident.  It shook the family to lose so many at one time.  Now, Victoria has basically become the caretaker of the home, garden, and family.  

When Victoria meets Wilson Moon by happenstance in town one day, she realizes quickly that he is a Native American and unlike her, he makes his home wherever he goes.  The folks in Iola, CO do not particularly care for Wilson Moon mainly due to prejudice and surely not because anyone other than Victoria has taken the time to get to know him.  Victoria grew up helping her family raise peaches on their orchard.   A rather interesting woman named Ruby Alice Akers lives near them, but most people are scared of her because she lives alone and rarely speaks to anyone.  Interestingly, she becomes one of the characters I most liked in the book!  

When Victoria decides to take off in search of Wilson Moon, she finds him and then also finds herself in a predicament whereby she has to decide whether to bring shame upon her family or leave and live on her own for several months.  In the meantime, Wilson Moon is killed and Victoria's brother, Seth seems to know quite a bit about how it happened.  There is really no full scale investigation into the death and who is responsible. 

Victoria finds herself living in a camping hut in the mountains, giving birth to a son, and trying to keep her baby and herself alive.  Eventually, Victoria becomes desperate and makes a decision that impacts her life and that of her baby forever.  And the remainder of the book basically is a rendering of what happens to Victoria, her baby, her remaining family, and the peach farm.

There were times I had to put this book down and just stop reading.  Some of the events were difficult to read about and periodically the book became emotionally overwhelming.  Generally, that is the sign of a good author.  A lot of readers pointed out the themes in the book as being the concept of "home" and can you really ever go back "home"?  Others pointed to the concept of displacement due to the uprooting of many families once Iola, CO was to become a reservoir.  The topic of prejudice is front and center in this book. 

Personally, I thought the book showcased the impact and significance of daily decisions as well as monumental decisions.  Decisions have consequences and in this book several major decisions effect the life trajectory of Victoria and her son along with a family who finds Victoria's son and decides to raise him as their own.  The ending of the book is heartbreaking.  And for me there were questions that are left unanswered at the conclusion of the book so if you like a tidy ending to a novel, this is not a book where that occurs.  

I gave the book four stars out of five.  I am not a reader who likes a lot of poetic, frilly description. This author paints a portrait for you in terms of the landscape and people. For many readers that is what makes a book beautiful for them.  For me, it is the content and plot of the story that either make or break the book for me.   And right in the middle of this book, when Victoria is moving to a new town and having her family's peach trees transplanted to a new farm, I just felt there was a lull in the plot. Otherwise, this book proved to be a much better read than I was expecting.

I would definitely recommend this book.  Be aware that there are triggers in this book particularly around death, prejudice, and war.  

Til my next review,

Grace (Amy)