I've hit a wall...

I am in the midst of writing my second round of Teacher of the Year essays.  They are due Friday, and yes my bad habit of procrastination has taken over once again.  Here's the thing...I am not procrastinating because I don't want to do it.  I'm actually quite excited by the opportunity.  Unfortunately, I am having a hard time voicing my feelings on the topics they have given me.  They are so broad and invite so much controversy even in my own line of thinking.  

My words seem simple and out of place.  I almost feel as though I've never had to write a paper before.  This is all very foreign to me as, most people will tell you, I have never been one to hold back on sharing my opinion.  The problem here is that I have TOO MANY opinions!  

For example one of the prompts is:  Education Issues and Trends - What do you consider to be the major issues in public education today?  Address one in depth, outlining possible causes, effects, and solutions.

Where do you start with that?  Teacher salaries, teacher accountability, student performance, school funding, inclusion of special education students in the regular education classroom, and the fact that we are falling behind an ever growing number of foreign countries?  That's just to list a few!  So, I decided to go off of the beaten path to discuss technology in the classroom. Only to discover that really my qualms with technology are a result of poor school funding.  So really my entire essay is off topic!  AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Writing these makes me feel completely undeserving of the honor that has been bestowed upon me.  And then I think...why do some essays get to determine if I am the best teacher?  Why not come into my classroom and watch me do my job...how I teach, how I relate to my students and my co-workers?  Or, maybe recommendation letters would be more appropriate.  

I guess at this point I'm just frustrated and am having a bit of writers block.  Not to mention there's grammar as well.  Grammar has been completely spoiled for me with the use of a word processor.  So, with that in mind here is a perfect quote as to how I'm feeling right now:

Along with a manuscript he was submitting to a publisher, Mark Twain attached a note:  "Gentlemen:.,;?!()"---*'..  Please scatter these throughout according to your taste."