General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I am an older white woman, a retired teacher. [View all]BlueMTexpat
(15,349 posts)Among other things, I have been a teacher. I am likely even older than you though! LOL
Now that I am retired, I continue to teach as an adjunct ... but plan finally to bow out after the 2014-2015 academic year. I find that teaching, when not having to deal with seemingly senseless administrative red tape, handle every administrative "fad" or deal with parents wanting to micromanage (sometimes well-meaning, sometimes deliberately obstructionist), can be addictive. If anything, I keep learning for and from my students.
I only discovered DU in 2004 (a friend suggested it and EarlG's TTCI thoroughly "hooked" me) after desperately being in need of something to maintain comparative sanity after Bush II "defeated" Kerry, but did not actually sign up until 2008. I still do a LOT more lurking than posting. I am a lifelong Dem - and my actions, including lifestyle choices - demonstrate this.
Even so and considering my comparatively low-count # of posts, I have been lectured by those who have never walked in my shoes and who know nothing about me as to my "purity" because I occasionally try to provide perspective. Perhaps I am not always successful or perhaps some take well-intentioned comments the wrong way (always a risk when one speaks out, after all), but believe me, I appreciate the variety of Dem POVs expressed here. By all. What discourages me is to see GOP talking points, some better disguised than others, appear in order to sow dissension. Happily, I find those to be in the minority. May it continue to be so!
Anyone who consistently follows your posts, whether wholeheartedly agreeing with them or not, should NEVER EVER doubt that you are a credit to DU, whatever your age.