And it’s really Friday
It’s been such a long week. Would me saying TGIF be too cheesy? I think it would be, especially since it makes me think of Full House *shudder*.
I really don’t have much to say tonight. I feel completely brain dead. I did have a very nice day today, so no rants shall be forthcoming. I was in the same first grade class again and they were wonderful. There were four girls and FOURTEEN boys, but only a couple of them were naughty. They looked like little angels compared to what I had been dealing with.
Since I ended up doing a big education rant last night with no planning or forethought, I didn’t really put forth a few key points, mainly that teachers are highly educated professionals. In most states teachers are required to have a master’s degree. Sometimes they can start with a plain bachelors, but they usually need to earn a masters within a certain number of years. In addition to the master’s degree, they are required to earn tons of ongoing professional development credits. These credits come from graduate courses, workshops, seminars and so forth.
Some people seem to think teachers are all stupid folk who are only in the profession because they have short work days and summers off. They seem to think anyone can do the job. Actually, any teaching program worth it’s salt has rather stringent admission standards. States also require certification tests before issuing a teaching license. It is amazing how few people seem to be aware of the rigors involved in becoming a teacher. It’s not like in the old days when any 16 year old who’d been through 8th grade could become a school marm.
The treatment of teachers in this country makes my blood boil in my veins. Despite years of education and experience, politicians and parents with no experience at all think they can teach us how to do our jobs. If we only worked harder every child would be a little genius, regardless of their native intelligence or home life. When a child has a cavity, do we take it out on the dentist? When a child has a serious illness do we point our fingers at the doctor and threaten to take away his practice?
Last night Mike decided that he should watch Dubya’s big press conference. Don’t ask me why. Dubya’s reasoning and logic defies my understanding. I won’t get into all of it, but I will comment on the one thing I heard him say about his oh so wonderful No Child Left Behind program. He stated that teachers everywhere thank him for giving them a way to measure their student’s progress and deficiencies. Thanks to him, teachers are now able to detect said deficiencies early. What a crock of horse shit. How many education courses deal with assessment, which is the means for detecting student deficiencies? Almost every single one, with a few being dedicated to the matter exclusively. Does he really believe that until he came along teachers had absolutely no tools to assess their students? The mind truly boggles.
On a side note, I was very pleased the other day with the results of my “How Much of a Republican Are You” quiz meme thing. I rarely post results, but still have to brag that I was only 7% Republican. I wear my liberal label with pride. I really don’t see why recycling is a dirty word. I don’t understand what is wrong with companies taking responsibility for the messes they make. I can’t comprehend why our country allows a single child to go without health insurance. I am repulsed by laws based on religion instead of logic and freedom.
And I really need new underwear. Mine are all too tight.