The Charter Threat & Back to School

The day dawned extra-dark, I thought. What about those supposedly longer days?

There is a showdown coming in the WA state legislature, with a bill pending that will open the door for charters in this state. To most of the country already infiltrated with a growing number of charter schools, this probably seems like a so what.To the nine states like Washington that do not allow charters, it is a very BIG deal.

Here's a decidedly one-sided (the right side) discussion:
http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/category/charter-schools/

Wanting to do something to stem the tide, I can't seem to find the right place, given my time restraints. And I am definitely hamstrung from easily communicating with my colleagues, because I need to be ever so careful about "political" discussions carried by district resources, i.e., email.  Twitter is ok, but it's pretty much preaching to the choir. So I keep adding to my delicious category, and thinking.

Meanwhile, teaching goes on. It was a heavy load on my back this morning, with 2 XO laptops in addition to the usual... I had them at home over the Break to help with the setup and configuration of these three newcomers, which I "debricked" a couple of days ago. I'll haul them in over the next couple of days. 

My brakes were great today, even in the rain. Best of all were the kids. I have a wonderful class. Happy New Year!

Starting

January 1, what better time to start up this blog? I set it up a few months ago, inspired by and shamelessly stealing from, Mary Tedrow's Walking to School. No way will this space ever become a place for writing as literate as hers. I think that's because I've been teaching 8 and 9 year olds for so long (31 years). I talk like a third grader, tell jokes like a third grader, and write like a third grader. I'm good at it. Oh well. See what I mean?

I am looking for a place where I can express my thoughts and feelings about what's going on with education in the US right now. Lately, that's been Twitter, but it's not satisfying enough to simply retweet somebody else's thoughts or try to squeeze my own ideas into 140 characters. I've got Facebook, a personal blog, and a student blog - but none of those is the appropriate place to talk about the edreform mess we are in.

I have done enough blogging and web page building to know better than to set goals - like for how often I'll write here, or how much I'll write. Those sorts of plans just don't work for me. I will say that I have a LOT to say, and I hope to be able to get down plenty right here. I am a slow writer, hoping to pick up some speed...

School starts up in a couple of days, and I have left, as usual, too much  school prep for the end.  Part of my last minute work will be lubing and adjusting the brakes on my bike. It's supposed to be a rainy week, and being able to stop is important. Happy New Year!