First Blog

It’s in the DNA of both political parties.  When the Republicans lost the Presidency in 2008 and 2012, they blamed the candidates.  These two, McCain and Romney, were blamed on all fronts for the debacles.  Reps learned their lesson, through Trump, who was off the charts of the same-old-styles.  He was different; he was new breath of hope for many. The same brew-of-blame has been fermenting on the Democratic side, now for more than half a decade.  Lately, when Hillary lost, the blame was directed toward President Trump, not Democrats.  This persisted through months of various charges, particularly the Russian collusion investigations with no actual evidence.  Now after four straight loses to Republicans in special elections, the Democrats, true to their predilections, have turned blame upon their own Congressional leader Nancy Pelosi.  Many blame her for these loses. Her tenure is at risk.  Poor Nancy.  She may be a bit ruthless, but lately was trying to do what was expected:

We have... a. The most difficult profession on earth. b. The twisted, torn, and tarnished profession - that pays little. c. The profession with a half-life of about five years. The current goals places teacher between a multiplicity of forces. Many just don't know what to do.  To teach, to monitor, to reflect, to test, to teach values, to act as an alternate parent?  Whatever are teachers to do? Nature of teaching:  It is a profession for very caring folks that enjoy human interaction, that are pleased to see a youngster learn, that get juiced on meeting and learning, that value education, and that see themselves as students. Yet: " The more students fail to perform, the more teachers are asked to do ." Overall: The blame game covers a gauntlet of components, many of which have little to do with classroom teaching. High stakes testing, yes or no.  yes, but it must change; yes, but it must better reflect what is taught; yes, but multiple choice testing is unf