It helps to be a political appointee.

I wanna know everything. About everything. And that includes what it's like to teach in a high school in Sardinia. Which means that my Italian true love has to open up. And tell me everything. Because she teaches English and English literature to Italian teen-agers. And she's in school at least 5 days a week. But six days this week. Because she's gotta attend meetings. A 3-hour meeting on Monday. And it didn't get finished. So she had to return to a continued meeting on Tuesday. Didn't exactly put her in a good mood. Because many meetings are a waste of time. One could be doing better things. But I tell her that's part of life. One must take a certain amount of crap. And turn it into something nice. By the way, much of a teacher's day is spent outside the classroom. Preparing lesson plans for class. It's not unusual for my true love to spend several hours a day in preparation. And that might even include weekends. Depends. Some weeks are busier than others. Often, my true love comes home frustrated. And she'd rather not talk about the school day. But I keep suggesting that it's good to talk. About frustrations. About everything. Especially to me. Because I'm a good listener. She'll put me off. Until the next day. But the next day, she might ask for another day. And then still another. Endlessly. But I try valiantly to learn what's going on in school. It's my responsibility. To educate myself. To know what her day is like. I often try to make it a topic of conversation at supper. But anytime, really. I like conversation. About any and everything. Silence is good, too. So I'm willing to go for proper balance. Anyway, I have insights into schools and education. Because when I was a journalist -- a writer for newspapers -- my beats often were schools/education. And it also helped that I was on a school board for three years. And in that role, I was pro-teacher. Yes, I'm pro-labor. Now I have an opportunity to make comparisons between the American school/education system and the Italian one. There are similarities and marked differences. But the teacher frustration level is high everywhere. In America. In Italy. In Sardinia. Especially in time of budget reductions. In Sardinia, teachers often take the brunt of the cutbacks. By losing their jobs. And losing pensions. And they might even have to bring their own toilet paper to school. Because the school system no longer provides ass-wiping rolls in teachers' restrooms. How's that for frugality? Italy has a minister of education in prime miinister Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet. But she's considered a joke. Unpopular with teachers. At least with the teachers I know. And I'll bet she has an abundant supply of toilet paper and her own private restroom. Yes, she's privileged. It helps to be a political appointee. --Jim Broede