blogging for education reform

i have way more to say on this topic, as regular readers know...but here is where i am today:
-there is no magic bullet
-insisting that a group of kids be taught with only one method is wrong
-dictating to professionals how to do their job, and insisting they march in lock step with other classrooms leads to failure
-claiming that assessments are solely indicative of learning leads to kids who do not think for themselves
-eliminating personal relationships among students and teachers leaves kids feeling further disenfranchised and not engaged
-scapegoating teachers does nothing to make up for an epidemic of bad parenting
-you would not want your own child taught in the manner of which most of the current "ed reformers" are advocating.
-no matter how you try to parse it, every child in this nation will not be at grade level in 2014. that is just ridiculous, so stop it. take it out of NCLB and grow up.
-i am not a failure, neither is my school, neither is my district
-public schools take all comers and everything they bring into the classroom with them.
-teachers unions are not half as bad as you have been led to believe. in fact, without one, i'm pretty sure i wouldn't want to be in a classroom today.

solutions:
-let me do the task I was hired to do
-hold me to high standards and apply them equally to my peers
-don't micromanage my instruction
-stop tying federal dollars up with nonsense designed to co-opt public education and convince parents that charter schools are the only viable option
-recognize that there is more than one meaningful way to assess learning
-hold kids and parents accountable for state test scores
-stop trying to insult me with schemes like merit pay, which do nothing to change anyone's classroom practices, except make it more likely that someone might want to cheat on a test.

the only thing i ever wanted to be was a teacher. i'm proud of that. i could have done anything else, still could, but i don't. i am here for your kids, i bring my best self every day, i demonstrate respect for them by being prepared. prepared to engage them where they are. i build the bridge that gets them from "cat, bat, sat" to discussing a novel.i hold them accountable, correct,praise and motivate. i do it because this democracy needs citizens who can think and reason for themselves.i teach because as much as the kids may learn from me, there isn't a day that goes by that i don't learn from them.
-peace