Author Archives: Jay B. Snyder, Author

Make the Nation Better Again

I’m definitely not the most patriotic person in this country. It’s not a matter of disliking it as much as it is disliking the lies the country is built upon and what it has become since Reagan.

The idealized “American Dream” is only truly attainable by folks born on third base. The rest of us have been brainwashed into thinking we can get there, but in reality, we can’t. The odds are stacked against us by the wealthy oligarchs who run things. Sure, some people may be able to save enough to retire after a few decades of work; however, many of them end up trying to find work just to make ends meet after retirement.

We are one of the few countries where healthcare and mental healthcare is not universally available.

We still have rampant poverty and racism and sexism along with xenophobia and homophobia.

Our education system has broken in so many ways that it’s actually scary. I say this as a teacher who sees this firsthand as students receive 50s on their grade reports in many districts, regardless of whether they do the work or even show up for class.

We idolize the wealthy at our own expense as we buy from corporate owned businesses and pass the locally owned businesses and artists complaining that they cost too much. In reality, if we supported these locally owned businesses and artists, then we’d actually have quality items purchased and lasting longer than the cheap stuff bought at the big box stores.

We accept planned obsolescence in our big ticket items rather than demanding quality items that last, unlike our forebears who demanded quality over cost.

We place each other into boxes rather than talking and finding common ground. This goes beyond political beliefs and permeates all levels of society from religion to politics to national borders and boundaries.

We allow the people we elect, regardless of party, to govern without our input into what they are doing and so many of us fall for their rhetorical gymnastics rather than question them. Part of this is how we allow media to manipulate the news. This is thanks, in part, to Reagan allowing the fairness doctrine in news to dissolve which gave rise to opinion based news and not the reporting of facts without commentary.

We have lost civility, respect, and compassion for our fellow human beings. Sure, it occasionally surfaces in times of natural disasters or if the cause is hyped enough by the aforementioned news commentators. But the everyday civility and manners that once were common are now becoming increasingly rare.

I could continue, but won’t.

If you have the ability to peacefully protest today, please do so and do so safely. It’s not against the country, but against what this country has become and is heading towards.

Two More Things about Teaching

Two More Things about Teaching

 

There are two more things that I think need said about teaching as we arrive at the middle of the 2020s. The first centers around the subject I teach, English, but more specifically reading skills. The second is student achievement, not just in English, but in academics in general. These come from observations, both from myself and others who teach and others who teach English.

Student achievement in reading, and in writing as it follows closely with reading, is declining at a rapid pace. I started noticing it just before I left teaching for a few years back in 2013 and saw what I have now concluded as the continuing trend in reading when I returned to the classroom in 2023. Students are not reading as well in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom. It is rare that students read anything aside from social media posts on a voluntary basis outside of the classroom. Our classroom curriculum has done almost nothing to remedy this either as most schools no longer issue textbooks nor have classroom sets of good novels to use. Aside from when I taught Advanced Placement English and International Baccalaureate English, most reading done by students consists of short stories, at best, and very short articles at the least. These are usually available in easier formats where students are not pushed to learn higher levels of vocabulary or handle sentence complexity as what was once taught. Students are mainly required to answer multiple-choice questions or short answers of no more than a couple of sentences when using these texts.

Worse yet, their ability to read is measured by computerized programs that allegedly test students reading skills to place them into remedial reading classes called RTI interventions. The focus is not on whether a student can read, understand, and grapple with a text with any complexity, but rather on data from these programs that supposedly show whether a student has progressed with building the skills necessary to read. The reading passages in these programs are supposed to be high interest to students, yet most students find them boring or even condescending. Three times per year, students are subjected to having to complete a reading diagnostic using these computer based programs that consists of multiple choice questions and short answer questions involving no higher level thinking skills and that lack the ability for a student to bring in their prior knowledge of what is being read.

The teachers, as well as their students, are then subjected to being evaluated on the data from these programs. The data is more important than the learning that is supposed to be occurring in our classrooms. The data is flawed from the start though. The data does not measure the true ability of the student to interact with a text. Student interaction with a text is more than the ability to answer multiple choice questions or write one to two sentences to respond to a question. Students should be challenged to engage with a text and formulate their own answers which they can defend and which utilize higher level thinking skills.

In short, these programs are only helping to exacerbate the problem and continue to perpetuate students not wanting to read either within or outside of the classroom. Their concern with data has replaced actual thought. Let me say that again in a different way. Data collection has replaced actual thought when it comes to what is important in schools and that is dumbing down our students and, in turn, our society.

The remedy is simple, tried, and true. Students must be imbued with the desire to read at a young age. They must be encouraged to read even before they have the skills to read. How?

First is that they need to be read to by caregivers, parents, grandparents, guardians, teachers, other adults, and yes, over conservative types, drag queens. Students must see adults reading quality literature, popular fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, nonfiction, and whatever good reading there is to be read. Ideally in the form of published, paper-based books, but even e-readers will suffice. Children will want to read first because they see others reading.

Once they have developed some reading skills, then read along with them. That reading along can be another person or, if necessary, an audiobook of the same one they hold in their hands and read. Hearing the words while seeing them helps to develop reading skills. Children can learn pronunciations and even some context clue skills when they hear as well as read a text.

Yet, this cannot be done in isolation. There must be someone, parent or teacher, to be there to discuss what is being read with our students. Not necessarily to tell them what something they read means, but to talk with them about what they read, asking them questions about what they read, and helping them build a connection with what they read based on their experiences, observations, or thoughts. This builds understanding of a text on an intimate level and that leads to the reader not only seeing words on a page but also being able to recall and connect with a text and make meaning from what they have read.

None of this can be measured through a computer-based reading program. It must be measured on a student-by-student, text-by-text basis with human interactions. It is not teaching for performance on a test nor even always for an essay being written, but for the gaining of knowledge in some way from the reading of a text. That is a foundational core for education. Reading for understanding and being able to articulate and inculcate that understanding long after the reading is done.

That brings me to my next point, that of academic achievement. One of the primary reasons why students, particularly students in the United States, are falling behind students in other nations is that education is not valued here in the United States like it is in other countries nor like it once was valued here in the United States. It has less to do with curriculum than it does with how parents and our society views education. We talk a good game about wanting to increase student achievement, but then we fall back on data centered, mandatory, standardized testing thinking that will actually measure student achievement. It doesn’t measure anything except how well a student can take a test or how well our schools have done in preparing students on how to take a test.

Yet even that doesn’t matter when the students don’t come to school or don’t come prepared to learn. A recent article in NEA Today (May 2025) shows that the rate of chronic absenteeism in schools went from 16.2% in 2018-2019 to 28% in 2022-2023 (NEA Today 15). The article concludes by saying that the “majority of schools still had a chronic absence rate of 20 percent or higher” (NEA Today 15).

 These are not pandemic numbers. These are pre-pandemic and post-pandemic numbers. We cannot expect our students to improve their achievement levels if they don’t show up for school. Chronic absenteeism is when a student misses at least “10 percent or more school days over a school year—or about 18 days” (NEA Today 15). Yes, students get sick and should be kept away from school if they are contagious. However, chronic absenteeism usually goes beyond student illnesses. Parent(s) or guardian(s) who don’t care if their child goes to school are the problem here. Much like as adults we need to go to work to earn a living, students need to go to school to earn knowledge. They cannot learn, even in this age of technology, if they are not there and if they do not make up the work they miss when they are not there.

But I will take this a step further. Students who come to school must also be prepared to learn when they are there. So many students come to school without paper, pencils, pens, and other school supplies necessary for them to learn. While sometimes schools can afford to supply these or even teachers have them in their rooms, that supply is not guaranteed nor should it be expected that schools or teachers supply students with these things. And additionally, students must come with an attitude for learning. While school has a social component to it, students must be taught by their parent(s)/guardian(s) that their primary job while at school is to learn. That means no phone out during class, not having their school supplied computers logged into video games and not leaving class unnecessarily. That means not disrupting class or interrupting a lesson or discussion. It means treating school like a job, a job to gain as much knowledge as possible in order to do whatever it is that they aspire to do once they graduate. Just as adults have to focus on their jobs while at work, students must focus on their learning while at school during those times when they are in class. Showing up means showing up prepared and focused on learning, not just being a warm body sitting at a desk.

Improving reading skills and overall student achievement is easy. It just seems to be the implementation of what is needed is lacking.

 

Works Cited

“Chronic Absenteeism Is Still Too High”. NEA Today. May 2025, pp. 15.

Education Reform Again

Recently the read comments on a post about the cuts to education that will and have occurred since the beginning of this new administration. The number of people who have no problem with cutting out food programs and mental health services in our schools is appalling. These same individuals who also see no problem with cutting other services to our schools, including having teacher assistants who help with the most challenging students, the students who range from having simple learning disabilities to ones who have serious ones.

They’ve obviously never taught or only taught in a selective, cloistered private school that hand picks only the best students who have few if any disabilities or social disadvantages.

They’ve obviously never been a teacher like my sister and even myself who has purchased everything from school supplies to food to clothing for our students because our students had none or only had the bare minimum to exist, let alone survive and thrive.

They say our curriculum is dumbed down, but can’t see that’s occurred primarily because of Republicans who have shoved standardized testing down the throats of educators while cutting funding for education. Got money to test, but not for books.

Want to reform education? Then, fix the underlying societal problems.

Create jobs that pay a living wage.

Create and maintain affordable healthcare, including mental healthcare.

Create affordable, quality daycare for parents who must work.

Build affordable, safe housing.

Create/build grocery stores or other healthy food stores that are affordable within inner cities.

Fund education from pre-k through at least the first two years of college and provide scholarships and grants for students who want to continue their education. Include in this funding for special education programs in all schools and access to technology for all schools.

Create programs to teach new parents how to parent and manage their lives.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a start. Everything must start somewhere.

Wake up! It IS Happening Here

“[The presidential candidate] was vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his “ideas” almost idiotic, while his celebrated piety was that “of a traveling salesman for church furniture, and yet his more celebrated humor the sly cynicism of a country store. Certainly there was nothing exhilarating in the actual words of his speeches., nor anything convincing in his philosophy. His political platforms were only wings of a windmill…He would whirl arms, bang tables, glare from mad eyes, vomit Biblical wrath from a gaping mouth: but he would also coo like a nursing mother, beseech like an “aching lover, and in between tricks would coldly and almost contemptuously jab his crowds with figures and facts—figures and facts that were inescapable even when, as often happened, they were entirely incorrect.”—It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis.

Does the description above remind you of anyone? Does it conjure images of rallies where the phrase “America First” and “Make America Great Again” were often bellowed from an individual who promised his adoring fans that he would fix this nation and make it prosperous? The same person who convinced just enough feeble-minded individuals that “he’s on the side of the plain people, and against all the tight old political machines, and they’ll rouse the country for him as the Great Liberator (and meanwhile Big Business will just wink and sit tight!)” (Lewis) yet he is nothing more than a jealous, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic narcissist who cares nothing about anyone except himself.

Does that description ring a bell for anyone?

We have entered the convergence of so many dystopian novel plots that the list would fill a page. Yet, nothing is being done of any substance to stop it. There is a foreign national running amok destroying our government at the request of this horrible individual and his supporters. Yet, we see the opposition simply standing at the doors of locked government buildings asking to be admitted rather than summoning law enforcement to forcibly open those doors and retaking these agencies on behalf of the people of this country.

There are those who say we need to trust our courts to uphold the Constitution. However, as strong as some of the lower-level courts are, the highest court in our country is under the auspices of people who support this administration. Additionally, by the time any lawsuits get to that court, as we know that there will be appeals, it may very well be too late to stop the carnage and destruction of our Democracy.

Isn’t it bad enough that the administration has stated that “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law” in echoing of another dictator emperor Napoleon Bonaparte?

Isn’t it bad enough that the Vice-President stated that “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power” which in violation of the United States Constitutions checks and balances?

We are living in a time when we the People need to stop sitting on our collective asses and start acting. Why are we not rioting in the streets like people in European countries do for lesser violations of law? When France wanted to raise the retirement age, people took to the streets in mass protests and walked out of their jobs halting the economy. The people are protesting currently in Serbia about government corruption as well as in Peru. Yet, here we are in the United States pretty much doing nothing except doom-scrolling on social media and reposting sometimes minor level gripes and bitch sessions about what is going on in our country.

Yes, there are planned protests for tomorrow and in the coming weeks, but nothing at the level of the Occupy or Black Lives Matter movements.

So, what the hell is wrong with us?

Do we not care? If so, then we are an embarrassment to our ancestors. This nation was founded on protest of what was seen as a government who refused to listen to its constituents. That protest became the American Revolution.

Are we too fearful of government retribution? I realize that we do have much to fear for there are those who are in our law enforcement and military communities who, while they took an oath to the U.S. Constitution, will likely support not the Constitution but their own political views instead. Yet, we need to do something if we value our freedoms and our democracy.

But, as many say, it’s only been a few weeks. So what? Look at the damage that has been done in just a few weeks.

  • Thousands of workers laid off or fired on a whim.
  • The stoppage of important health information even as we are in the midst of a few epidemics (Measles, bird flu, and tuberculosis)
  • Immigrants being arrested, deported, or even sent to prisons in foreign nations.
  • The threat to “buy” an entire nation and throw the people out to make a resort area on the Mediterranean.
  • Our allies ignored or told to basically kick dirt while cozying up to dictators and far-right political groups.
  • Tariffs raised against our largest trading partners, at least two of whom—Canada and Mexico—are our allies.
  • Threats to undermine our actions that help millions of people in developing countries which not only help people live but also serve to hinder the rise of anti-American groups through our goodwill.
  • Our private information being stolen by a foreign national in the name of reducing government spending.
  • The erasure of laws that prohibit discrimination against people within our own country.

These are but a few of the damages done under this administration. But they are not finished unless WE the PEOPLE do something meaningful to STOP THEM!

A Congressman threatening impeachment is not sufficient as the same party that controls the Executive branch controls both houses of Congress and there are no members of that particular party who have the backbone to do anything to stop them. We have seen this as cabinet appointees are being approved because these same politicians fear having to run against someone in a primary, someone who will likely be bankrolled by the same foreign national who is helping to destroy our nation from within. (And who likely also had a hand in rigging the elections to begin with).

So, what are WE going to do?

Act or fall into the abyss?

Faith Abandoned

As someone who thinks too often and too much most of the time, I’ve come to yet another conclusion about the human condition. In this case, it’s the human condition when it comes to religion, particularly organized religion. As I have a few friends who are religious, I actually hope they read this, think on it a bit, and comment.

There is this lamentation among churches about how people are abandoning religion on a large scale, particularly here in the States, and becoming more worldly. According to an article by NPR just this year, “16% of Americans surveyed said religion is the most important thing in their lives, according to” a study done by the Public Religion Research Institute, “down from 20% a decade ago”(Morning Edition, 16 May 2023). Also interesting, at least to me, was this same study finding that part of this study showed that “more than one-third say they were formerly Catholic.”

Now, I’ve heard quite a few reasons why people leave from their busy lives to more faith-based reasons such as their being lured away by temptations of society (which sounds rather like a Puritan reason).

I believe people are leaving organized religion, particularly the Church (aka Catholicism) and other organized religions groups/churches because the churches have abandoned what they were meant to be, communities of people who gathered together in fellowship and a common belief in something greater than themselves. What they’ve become instead are select groups of people who share common political beliefs, racial identity, often similar socioeconomic status, and have bound those together under the guise of religious belief.

Now, I’m not saying that all churches are like this; however, there are many churches that are. Many churches have become extended arms of conservative political groups, and frankly, most people are tired of it. They don’t feel accepted for a variety of reasons whether it’s because they are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, a certain race, divorced, or some other reason. Many simply don’t want to be held to rules that were created centuries ago or by a select group of individuals (primarily old, conservative men) who are likely pushing their own agendas. (Yes, I’m pointing primarily to The Church as in the Catholic Church). Many people also don’t want to attend church because many churches have abandoned the whole idea of one element that once was important, Grace.

Grace is one concept that seems to have been abandoned by churches. By grace, I’m talking about the acceptance of our fellow humankind as they are, where they are as fellow human beings.

Rather than requiring an adherence to sets of rules, laws, or creeds, why not accept everyone for who they are and where they are in life?

Why not accept people in love for who we all are as individuals sharing this third rock from the Sun?

If there truly is a Higher Power either controlling things or at least monitoring things, how can it be that this Higher Power is supposedly found only in one, two, or three pieces of literature assembled by a group of men thousands of years ago and amended by decrees, edicts, councils of other groups primarily made up of men whenever they see the need to inject their ideas?

Even worse, how can people believe that only select individuals somehow have the right or power to discern what this Higher Power thinks and dictate everyone else to think the same way?

People are leaving churches because churches have left Grace and Love behind. Most churches have traded them for politics, laws, and rules. Most churches have traded them for human-created ideologies and theologies.

Maybe the truth is found in those views seen by organized religion as pagan. After all, we all come from matter created eons ago, whether by the Big Bang or by the work of a Higher Power. There is a sacredness in nature and the cycle of birth, growth, and death which connects everyone. It’s something we all share. Think of how one feels when one sees the waves crashing upon the shore, or the changing of colours on trees in Autumn, or the barren beauty of Winter,or the first green buds of Spring, or feel the warmth of a Summer’s Sun. The energy of nature and our connection with it as well as our inherent connection to our fellow humankind. That’s the meaning of life. That connection is what we truly were made to worship.

Why Can’t We Just Be?

Why can’t we just be?

When I was a teenager, I wanted to do one thing most teens do, date. Now, with dating, particularly in high school with all the cliques and such, it’s always difficult. In the 80s in a small Midwestern town, it was even more challenging.

First, there was the covert prejudice between Protestants and Catholics, or as was commonly said, “Christians and Catholics.” I went through that issue for three years, but that’s a different issue.

Next, there was the issue of race, particularly with parents as old as mine. Now, my mother used to tell me race didn’t matter. She’d add how everyone deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. She also used an old line how people were different colours because “God left some people in the oven longer than others.” (How horrible that image is on so many levels, but I honestly believe she never meant anything bad about it).

As it would have it, I really came to like a girl at school who I wanted to ask out for a date. That’s where this issue came into play because she happened to be Black. I already had a hard enough time trying to ask a girl out and I just had this feeling my parents would have a problem with it. I asked my mom about it. Unfortunately, my father heard and commented that no N- would ever be welcomed in his house, let alone have his kid date one.

I saw this girl as my friend. She was funny, smart, and pretty. Sure, she was Black, but that didn’t matter to me. I liked her and wanted to get to know her, spend time with her. Yet, I couldn’t because of my parents. I often wondered if Black kids got the same thing from their parents if they wanted to date White kids. Would her parents have reacted the same way? Obviously, I’ll never know. What I did learn was the hypocrisy of my parents and that I’d not be that way when I grew up.

Even in my adult life, I’ve had acquaintances comment negatively if I said I found a non-Caucasian person attractive. I just don’t understand it. If I find someone attractive, why should skin colour even matter? If I want to be friends with someone who is a different skin colour or religion or whatever, why should it matter?

Seriously, why can’t we just be?

Music Connections and Influence

It’s interesting, at least to me, how early in life music can have an influence on someone.

One of the first memories I have is of my mother singing. It’s was never in a choir, but as she went about her day. Doing dishes or other housework. Along with the radio in the car or even if there was a tune on a program on tv or in a movie. She rarely sang loudly, but sometimes it seemed as if she was always carrying a tune with her.

While I was laying in bed this morning, the clock radio played. The program was a repeat of the “American Top 40” that was hosted by Casey Kasem. In this case, it was the Top 40 from 1971. I was just 3 years old that year and each of the songs I heard were ones I could pretty much recall every verse from. Songs from groups like The Carpenters and even the title song from the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Yet also songs from a group called Ocean (“Put Your Hand in the Hand”) and from Jerry Reed (“Amos Moses”). It just struck me how music stays with people, or maybe it’s just me, from a young age.

I can recall riding along with the younger of my two older sisters in her VW Bug. We were driving probably over to Columbus, OH and it was summer. The sunroof was open and her new Paul McCartney and the Wings 8-track tape was playing. (Some reading this may have to look up what an 8-Track even is). I can still recall hearing “Band on the Run” for the first time on that warm day as we made our trip. Every time I hear that song, I recall that trip, at least that part of it.

I often watch movies and sing along like my mother used to do. Funny how it can be a movie from the 1940s or one from my teen years and how easily I can recall the song whether it’s “Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral”, or “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)”, “Symphony for Unstrung Tongue”, or “Don’t You Forget About Me”. Sometimes I’m fairly certain it annoys my wife and children, but I simply can’t help it because the memory is just that strong.

Music is such a powerful influencer on our lives. And, this is where I’ll comment a bit politically and about our society, as music influences us so much, I find it troubling when it’s music programs that are some of the first to be cut in the schools. It makes it difficult to have future musicians and performing artists without music education.

By that I’m not saying that music will end without music education because I feel people who are drawn to sing or play an instrument will find a way to do so. Yet, their exposure to the wide range of music through history is often stymied by the lack of a solid music education foundation. I was fortunate to have a mother who sang and a number of teachers who exposed me to a wide range of music, both historically and in scope from Gregorian chants to classical to blues to jazz to swing to country to pop to rock and even to Broadway and movies. I can see the influences of the older forms upon the newer ones. Some students, even music students, today cannot. Some are left to discover that history on their own and many times after they’ve gotten out of school.

Music, like language, conveys history of humankind. An understanding of that musical history, I believe, can foster unity in our humanity. It can show the influences of the wide range of cultures in our world in a way that fosters a connection between people who might not otherwise see that connection.

And that connection can start at a very early age. Even as a 3-year old sitting on the couch listening to his/her parent singing a tune from long ago.

NYE 2020

Wearied. Worried. Worn.

Three words most of us feel as 2020 comes to a close. Here in the States, it feels like it’s been an additional 4 years of turmoil and tragedy on top of the 4 years of chaos under the current administration.

We are weary of the deceit and evil of the current administration.

All the racial issues re-ignited.

All of the lies told.

All of the double dealing and hate.

The internal destruction of our society brought upon us by an individual and a party who care only for power. That will come to an end in a couple of weeks.

We are worried about a virus that has killed over 350,000 of our friends, family members, and neighbours. A virus that is even mutating into one that may spread faster. Finally, we have a vaccine, yet will it get to enough people in time? We hope. So far, it’s been successfully given to a few. Unfortunately, there are many who refuse to be vaccinated due to ignorance and possibly arrogance. Hopefully, most people will choose the path of science and wisdom and get vaccinated as soon as they are able.

We, as a whole, are worn.

We are tired of precautions.

We are tired of wearing masks and social distancing.

We are tired of people who refuse to wear a mask or social distance.

We are tired of people who deny science, especially at the cost of other people’s lives.

We are tired of not being able to be with those we love.

We are tired of the racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and hate.

We are tired of politicians who serve their donors and corporations instead of us.

We are tired of not having access to affordable quality healthcare for everyone.

We are tired of our educational system being inadequate and poorly funded.

We are tired of many other things.

Yet, we cannot give up.

We cannot lose hope.

We cannot let the powers and individuals who continue to try to divide us, degrade us, place us into boxes, or defile us ever be able to win.

We must band and bond together in ways we are capable of as humankind yet have failed to do as a whole.

We need to see colour, but only as pigmentation like the colours of a rainbow.

We need to accept religious beliefs as equal in value for we are all on our own journey through life and our beliefs or lack thereof are our guide.

We need to see women and men as equals and even gender as fluid.

We need a newfound respect for education and science.

We need to see love between two people regardless of whether they share the same birth gender.

We need to see our diversity as strength and not weakness.

We are embarking on a new year. Another 365 1/4 days around our sun. It’s time for a new Age of Enlightenment, a new Renaissance. It’s time to look outside our comfort zones, outside our communities, and outside our countries to see the value of all humankind.

A new year with new choices and a new hope.

Happy 2021

Yes, the incoming First Lady is Dr. Jill Biden

All of the idiotic brewhaha over Dr. Jill Biden using the title “Dr.” has me rather upset and retrospective feeling. I admire anyone who spent the time and money to earn a PhD. You deserve to use the title “Dr.” as you’ve earned it.

A PhD was once a goal of mine. I’d been fortunate in my young childhood to meet a college professor, Dr. Lillabelle Holt, who made a great impression on me. She was one of my sister’s college professors. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in contact with her through my high school years. I admired her wisdom, wit, and passion for teaching. I wanted to be like her. Yet, life often has other plans.

I did manage to earn a BA and 2 MA degrees; however, I’ll likely never earn the PhD that was my goal due to putting my own daughters through their undergraduate degrees and setting them off to conquer the world. (Worth it).

Besides, I’m 53 and there’s simply not a place for a 53-year old English PhD student nor a job to pay the mountain of debt I still owe or would accrue in my getting a PhD or EdD.

If you earned a PhD or EdD, use the title “Dr.” It’s been earned by you through the sacrifices you made to accomplish it. Certainly, do not allow anyone to diminish that, especially if you are a woman because you overcame a heck of a lot more crap to earn it than a man.

I’ve tried to instil upon my daughters the love of lifelong education and the chutzpah to be strong in the face of adversity and ignorance. If either one ever earns a PhD or EdD, I’ll sure as heck tell them to use the title “Dr.” and tell anyone who tries to say they can’t to shove their opinion deep into where the sun doesn’t shine.

Thank you for reading.

Peace-Salaam-Shalom-Namaste-Blessed Be

Value vs. Cost when buying from local artisans

“Oh my, that’s expensive. Can you lower the price?”
“Goodness, you charge so much for this. Can’t you sell it for less?”

I and countless other local artisans and small businesses hear this almost every day. Our prices are not as unreasonable as some people think if they’d stop and look at the reality of it.

I recently saw a meme about if someone buys a gift for some else that costs X amount of money how it should be seen in terms of how many hours they worked to afford to buy that item. So, a $30 gift costs a person who makes $12.50 per hour roughly 2.4 hours of work. It wasn’t meant as malicious, but rather to help people understand that the cost of a gift is more than a price tag.

As a fibre artist, writer/copy editor/baker, it got me to thinking about how people always want to have artisans charge less for an item than the marked price. I recall people griping about prices for my handmade items when I worked craft fairs, including someone claiming she could go to a major discount retailer and get the same item for less. (Good luck with that).

Here’s the thing when it comes to how items are priced by local artisans or even local businesses, it usually costs you less than it should be priced. Most artisans, myself included, do not over-inflate our prices. We have to build in our cost for supplies and, most of us, then add in a cost per hour to make it. That cost per hour is far less than minimum wage. Add to this that we have to collect sales tax for some items as well as pay taxes on what we earn.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you ask for a shawl made in a pricey yarn such as Noro. If I can make it with only one skein, the skein itself costs me $50, plus tax. Here, that’s about $54. It takes me about 15 hours to make that shawl if I’m crocheting it because I hate mistakes and take care in making that shawl. My price to you is about $60.

I’m making about $6. But that’s before I deduct the 8% tax I have to pay the state. Now, that $6 profit is now $1.20. That’d be about $.08 per hour as a wage.

Would you work for $.08 per hour?

Note that I’m not charging you for my time to make it. If I did, and charged the going rate of $12.50 per hour, then I’d be charging you $241.50 for that shawl. In that case, I’d make $168.18 after paying taxes and for the materials. That also makes my hourly rate around $11.21 per hour, less than minimum wage where I live.

Would you work for $11.21 per hour?

I have a craft pricing app and have tried to use it to determine a fair price. I rarely use it because it would also raise my price. Using the same scenario, it says I should charge $243.91 retail for this same shawl. The wholesale cost would be $241.50. So, minus the tax, that’s $224.40. Subtract the $54 for materials, that’s 170.40. My $12.50 per hour is now $11.36 per hour. About the same as my outcome not using the app.

Would you work for $11.36 per hour?

But, you may say, that I’m just sitting around crocheting, so I should reduce my hourly rate. Okay, let’s say I reduce it to $5 per hour. That then lowers the wholesale cost to $129. The retail, at a 1% profit by the way, then goes to $130.29. Which makes my profit $65.87, after I pay out taxes and materials. My hourly rate has now dropped to $4.39 per hour.

Would you work for $4.39 per hour?

Another way of pricing is to take the amount of materials and multiply it by 2, then that becomes the price. In this scenario, the shawl then costs $108. The artist then makes $45.36, minus taxes and materials. The hourly wage is then $3.02 per hour.

Would you work for $3.02 per hour?

Again, I understand everyone wants to get a good deal. Yet, things cost what they do because of a number of factors, particularly the cost of materials and the time it takes to create something from those materials. Plus, is your lower priced item really a good deal? How long might it last? Are the materials of a good quality?

Local artisans and business owners are not trying to make enormous profits. They certainly don’t make profits like big corporations or big box stores make. Most of us are simply trying to pay our bills and maybe have something for a rainy day.

You don’t tell your mechanic or physician what they should charge you. You don’t try to haggle a better price from Amazon or a big box store when you purchase from them. (And even if you do, then they’d likely tell you off).

So, why are you saying something costs too much to buy from someone who takes the time and care to make something for you by hand? And, please ask yourself if what you’re spending in the big box retail or online store contributes to your local economy. Also, ask yourself if the quality of what you are buying matches what you expect. Last, using the scenario of the time the item cost you at work, is the item truly worth the time it took you to earn the money to buy it? Chances are, if it’s mass produced, it probably isn’t.

Just food for thought.

Shop local and at small business/artisans near you and online.