Do not remain silent.

My generation, ones who were in their teens and 20s back in the hippy age, Laugh-in, and Star Trek, remember Simon and Garfunkel as voices of our conscience. Paul Simon has such a gift for pulling language together. Such talented young men, writing brilliant meaningful lyrics, Simon and Garfunkel reach into my memories.

YouTube with Simon and Garfunful

written in 1963 and 1964

My granddaughter Lily recently queried me if I knew "Silence" by a group, Disturbed.  And, "Grandma, have you ever heard of a song, 'Sound of Silence'?"

What?? Sound of Silence? You betcha--Simon and Gar...

"No, Grandma!  By Disturbed?"

I grew silent, as she did magic on my computer and pulled up this video.

YouTube

 Paul Simon endorsed this album. "Really powerful performance on Conan the other day.  First time I had seen you do it live. Nice. Thanks."

Few songs have stirred up goosebumps recently.  This performance nailed me to my chair and my eyes to the screen.  As Lily moved to close the site, I pushed the play arrow once more and then once more. 

Simon and Garfunkel's version was one of my youth, where it wove gently through my opinions.  David Draiman, vocalist of Disturbed, sang this version of my adulthood, where my emotions reflect the knowledge acquired.  

All that had been seen through decades was reflected by his voice, singing this song.

This was a post from April 2017. Just heard it played in an ice skating competition. The people in the bleachers watched, gasped, then stood, and then clapped.

...and he's safe!

Word Cloud for teacher contracts

Teacher Unions are powerful and one cannot discount what they do and can/will do.

This is a follow-up on my previous post about how coaches dramatically wreck lives of students whose injuries resulted in a horrific change in their future: some have died and some are permanently disabled.

Coaches establish their journey into a coaching career through their teacher credentials. Their membership to the teacher unions ensures their protection from losing their jobs. 

Coaches usually teach health related subjects, like health, sports sciences, PE, and civics. This allows a segue into coaching.  

This said, coaches and other teachers are union members. And the union will protect the coaches with legal forces. Coaches are tenured and protected by the Union umbrella.

Protection for teachers and students

A teacher NOT belonging to a union is vulnerable. Her/his position can be compared to standing in front of a wall and being plastered with buckets of mud over and over...

All that said, coaches have the protection of the union. No matter what. 


The purple underlined words underneath the images are the sites from where they came and the information.