Rainy days and Mondays

There's so much in the world right now that just makes me want to bury my head under my pillow.

There's small things, like the fact that my cat puked on my comforter this morning. I could just punch that stupid, jerk cat. Look at his dumb face:

There's close to home things, like this article. 
OK, fair warning...here comes a mini-rant. I have nothing against Catholic schools in general. However, I went to one until I was in 8th grade, and let me tell you, they are cost-effective in part because teachers do NOT need to have a certification to teach. I went to college for 6 years to be a teacher and I'm better for it. It was valuable. On-the-job experience is valuable, too...but that mindset, that teachers are nothing more than glorified babysitters and don't need to have a degree or state certification, is (in my humble opinion) one of the MAJOR problems of society's perception of education. There's a huge disconnect between what we are really doing, and what people think we're doing. That's not to say I didn't have great, inspiring teachers in Catholic school--what's up, Mrs. Weston, Mr. Weston, Mr. Lurenz--but I also had some teachers that had NO business having even a small hand in the education of children because they were incompetent and mean, and no amount of being a good Catholic made them a good teacher. End of rant.

There's also big, national things...like this. 
What the heck is going on? Since when did the lowest levels of state and public workers become the enemy? Especially with crap like this still happening, even in light of the dire financial straits we're in. Really, guys?

I mean, I get it. State workers and teachers have really, really amazing pensions. Our health care is unheard of these days. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, and I'm in it for the kids, but I would be lying if I said those things, that reliability for the future, didn't play a role in my career choice. But isn't that the point? I opted to choose a job that didn't pay a dramatically high salary so I could raise a family with a steady income, great schedule, and security. Some people opt to be in riskier careers to make more money, or travel, or rise up the corporate ladder. Others may not have the schooling, or opportunity, to even have those choices, and that's terrible, but should I be punished for that? I remember being in college, and friends giving me such a hard time about being a teacher. "Oh, you won't get rich doing that!" and on and on. Now, everyone is up in arms about how teachers are these "fat cats" living off the public dime. What changed, besides perception?

Sure, maybe the system isn't realistic, and very likely, it's unsustainable. We might have to re-think, consider the greater good, give back. But why the vilification? Why can't we all act like grownups here? And why are the wealthy getting tax breaks and raises? Am I crazy?

So anyway, burying my head under the pillow seems like a good option these days. Wake me up when it's over, when the world stops being mad in both senses of the word.