Adventures in Resolutions

The New Year is a tricky thing.

I remember growing up believing everything that the ministers would say during our New Year's Eve service - that no matter how difficult the previous year had been, that at midnight on January 1st - every stressor, every flaw, every thing that had been wrong just moments early would somehow make itself right.

I remember making resolutions. This year I will eat healthy. This year I will be more kind. This year I will decide what the best version of myself looks like, and I will do everything in my power to be that person before December 31st rolls around again.

I've had a nearly 0% success rate when it comes to keeping my New Year's Resolutions, with a small margin allotted for those who consider such a stellar record to be in keeping with my resolution several  years back to be more consistent.

This year - no resolutions.
I've already had some pretty amazing days.
I've already made some pretty significant mistakes.
And I'm looking forward to more of the same going forward.
I think it's going to be a pretty great year.

 Peace Be

Adventures in Twilight

So.

I will admit that I've told the story of how I came to read the Twilight series, so many times that even I have believed that it's true. In fact, I didn't even realize that it was a lie until last night, as I was walking away from the theatre, having finally seen the last installment of the film adaptation. Truth is - we gulity pleasured our way through that series together. I remember finding it at the corner of your bed, immediately launching into almost merciless teasing, and being walloped over the head with a pillow several times until I finally agreed to read the first chapter at least....

I will admit that walking away from the movie without you on my arm, felt a little like being unfaithful - and I still don't know what to do about that. These days you are like a splinter in my mind that there aren't tweezers strong enough to extract.
--

*sigh*

I'm sitting at my friends's house, staring at a picture of a boat on a dock in a town that looks rather New Englandy, and I'm really wishing that I painted. I feel like I could knock out some pretty angsty post-modern abstract expressionist something or other with a black stripe and a lot of swirls or something.

Peace Be

Adventures in Education Reform

So.

The school where I work is one of three in the county that serves the at-risk communities in the area. To paint the picture: more than 90% of our kids are on free/reduced lunch; more than 75% have performed below grade level in math & reading during their entire middle school careers; more than 50% learned English as a second language....and other statistics that send most teachers in the other direction....

At some point, I'll talk to you about the complete failure of the American public education system - how the people that make educational policy have no idea what the implications of their policies are on what happens in a classroom; how the push towards "equitable" education, specifically the way we handle students with physical handicaps or learning disabilities, is doing a disservice to students without those challenges and an even greater disservice to the students we're supposed to be helping; how zoning within a district and tracking within a school limits the perceived potential of a child and dictates the quality of education a child is going to receive; how nearly 30% of the school year is devoted to standardized testing; how testing is a multi-billion dollar industry; how passing/failing a standardized test is not a true measurement of how much material a student knows, nor a measure of whether or not they are prepared for the next grade/course; and how "teacher accountability" cannot mean the same thing as "good test scores". 

But there's no time for that today. Today's educational travesty is centered around these children believing the hype of the American dream, without understanding the reality of American struggle.

And of course these kids understand struggle. Some of their daily lives are horror stories that most folks couldn't stomach long enough to read,  but they see no connection between scholastic success, and success in their lives as adult. Case in point: Asked the question, hat do you want to be when you finish high school?" to one of my Seniors (pause - I teach (9th grade Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1) - his very sincere answer, "Either like, a real estate agent, or an accountant." Others chimed in: "Lawyer," "Pediatrician," and other such occupations, because at some point, some adult in their lives told them, "you can be whatever you put your mind to," which is very true - but then the education system gives them the okie doke by convincing them that they don't have to work for it. Why would you?

Here's the part where I admit to having an above-average level of laziness. So if I figured out in 5th grade, that I was going to go to 6th whether I passed or not...I would have set my mind to "coast" and doodled all day. (Well, no I wouldn't have....because Mom and Pop would have taken a foot/belt/frying pan/extension cord to me until I did better...but that's another conversation).

We tell students they have to complete a task in one hour, and if they don't - we give themm two additional hours without penalty. We tell them that they have to make certain grades to pass on to the next grade; when they don't - we pass them anyway with no explanation. Students are passed through from exam to exam - grade to grade, perceiving that every standard set for them is a vague suggestion at best, at worst, a complete waste of air and energy, and so they believe that they can make failing grades in every course, every year of high school....and somehow still graduate on time, attend college, and obtain the advanced degrees necessary to move into high-powered careers.

The need for education reform is real. The need for education reformers who actually understand education is even more real.

Peace Be