Who's Looking Out for Your Children?

Parents in Morton, WA are speaking out against the rehiring of a teacher who plead guilty (albeit an Alford plea). One would think that the teacher’s union would see the folly in their support of such a criminal. Well, maybe they will once they consider the fact that the teacher called in sick the first day of school due to protestors outside of the school. Oh, did I mention that parents have been calling the school prior to the start of school in order to pull their kids from his class? Yeah, parents do care but there are still those in the teacher’s union who believe that parents are misguided and prejudiced when it comes to their children…duh! What do they expect and would they really want any less?


This point was driven home today as I listened to NPR on a little portable radio and had to resist the temptation to just throw it out the window in utter frustrations. What would cause me such distress you ask? Well, it started with the host discussing the LA Times article regarding an investigation of teacher performance data with the reporter who was involved in studying and writing about their findings. He broke it down and explained how the data was taken over a 7 year period in which they analyzed the data with a value added formula. This allowed them to see who were the effective teachers, the middle of the road teachers, and the ineffective teachers. You can guess which group was having the biggest issue with their findings.
 
Hallelujah! What a great way to evaluate and recognize the good and the bad, make changes, acknowledge the obvious, and improve the education of thousands of children. But hold on, the teacher’s unions are upset. Notice that the headline says “Teachers” are upset but read the article and it says “Teacher Unions” are upset…is anyone surprised? Not really and especially the teachers, the good ones at least.

NPR then brought on a representative from the teachers union to offer a counter point and one of her main reasons for these results being made public not being a good things was that it would allow parents to make decisions for their children in the school based on information. This in turn would give them the power to make informed decisions when requesting certain teachers over others. Again, what is the problem? She went on to explain that this is a problem because parents don’t see the big picture and are unable to recognize the needs of the schools, administration, and the district when placing kids each year. The one group not listed in her rundown of who matters was the children. I just thought to myself, “Keep digging lady!” As a parent who does homeschool their children, I believe she was making an excellent case for parents who do care about their children’s well-being and education …this is the definition of parent, in my mind! Why would anyone NOT want to homeschool their child after hearing this? Children, as individuals are not their (Teacher Union's) priority.

The Downside to Homeschooling...

While on vacation in Canada without the kids my husband and I saw this commercial. Let's just say we both thought it was wonderful and that for anyone who has children we think you will be able to find the humor in it while your kids just glare at you. Enjoy!

Apple Pie Recipe

You might consider the request to make an apple pie a simple one, but when you've seen this video, you will realize that it is not that easy. So, the other day when Nathan suggested that we make an apple pie, I suggested that we follow the directions as instructed by Carl Sagan and friends, and as a result, we needed to make the universe first. Even that was not as simple as it first appeared. I'm one of those people who refuses to read the directions first and then in the end does it wrong at least two different ways. It is only after these first two attempts that the directions even begin to make sense! Regardless of the difficulties involved, it was a delicious afternoon. Below the video is a photo of Nathan and his universe.

Google It!

Going Tribal

Yesterday morning we took a field trip to go see a matinee of Where the Wild Things Are. We all enjoyed it and towards the end as I was double pumping my fists because I had made it through without shedding any tears, they slammed me with a one-two punch. Ouch! But so touching...mom's are a sucker for this kind of thing. So, as I thought about how I would share this movie I thought it would be fun to play word association (I do take the liberty of using two words occasionally). Here we go!

Intro = Little Turd!
Max = Adorable
Behavior = Therapy
Cracks = Double Recracker
Chicken = Prothsesis
Bob = Terry
Billy Goat = Hilarious/Gay?
Location = Gorgeous
Carol = What?
Music = Fun

So there you have it. I hope it stirs your interest and you consider check it out. I will mention that the movie moves along smoothly on a superficial level but also supports a 'heavier' underlying storyline that the parents will pick up on. There are definitely intense scenes of potential peril for our little actor, a dog, and the monsters but I will assume that they had green screens and stunt men. I just had to take lots of deep breaths with wide eyes and enjoyed the movie on both levels.

First Day of School

Our school year is starting on Tuesday, September 8 and we will NOT be listening to the president's address to our nation's children.

Not Our Kids...

Watch the video, we homeschool, 'nuff said!

Creativity

No Way! Way!

Okay, it's kind of an old throwback reference in the title that I won't go into but check this out. If it's new to you, believe it. If you've heard it before and have chosen homeschooling, way to go!

Wonderful Reminder

This guy tells it like it is, you get what you put in.