Testing: It's for the Birds

It is that time of year again.  The teachers at Lady Bird Elementary School are preping their student fliers for this years standardized testing also known as the CST's, or the California Soaring Tests.  Every year the young birdies of California are tested and measured against all of the other little birdies in California based on their ability to soar.  After years of debate, analysis, funding, and program improvement, many educated fliers have mixed ideas and opinions regarding the success of this practice.

A relatively new but enthusiastic instructor was overheard chirping about the matter with a more veteran instructor.  Both were questioning current practices and strategies, goals and results, and the effects they were noticing in their flying classes.

Miss Bluebird said to Mrs. Buzzard, "I just don't know what to do anymore.  No matter what strategies I use or how I motivate my little birdies, I just can't seem to get them all to that proficient or advanced level of soaring.  What is your secret, Ms. Buzzie?  You always seem to take it in stride.....I mean glide."

Mrs. Buzzard smiled and replied, "I've learned not to get my feathers too ruffled over the years when it comes to government mandates.  I've seen 'em come, and I've seen 'em go.  No matter what those eggheaded turkeys at the state level demand or change, one things remains the same.  The birds."

Miss Bluebird twittered, "What do you mean?  The birds.  How can they be the same?  They all seem so different."

"Exactly!" crowed Ms. Buzzie.  Every little birdie is different and has different needs when it comes to learning to fly.  That's what the state will never get."

"Believe me, Ms. Buzzie, I know how different they are.  They all want to fly........I just can't get them all to soar.  The eagles are fine.  It seems like they are ready to soar almost as soon as they hatch.  The ducks and the geese are great fliers, but they just won't soar.  And then, they just up and fly away sometime around October or November, just when they seem to be making progress. I don't see them again until the spring.  By then I just don't have enough time to teach them everything about soaring that they missed while they were gone!  The song birds can fly, but they are more interested in singing; the parrots just mimic what I try to tell them; the owls won't even look at me half the time, always turning their heads around backwards. The penguins can't even get off the ground.  No matter what I do they just waddle all over the place when they should be flying.  And the ostriches!  Don't even get me started on the ostriches!  I have called the parents of every single ostrich in my class and all they do is run home and bury their heads in the sand! What am I doing wrong?" Miss Bluebird screeched.

"It's not you, sweetie....I mean tweetie, it's the standards." Mrs. Buzzard calmingly tweeted.  "Every bird is unique and precious.  Believe it or not, they can all do something special.  The problem is those turkeys at the state! Every since they started focusing on nothing but soaring, we have had to force each little bird to try to be an eagle even if it wasn't.  The problem with that is only the eagles can be eagles and all the others never even get a chance to be great at what they were meant to be.  Many of them get burnt out and end up at the KFC, if ya' know what I mean.  Breaks my my heart when I think about the way it used to be."

"The way it used to be?  What do you mean?  It hasn't always been this way?" Miss Bluebird was as confused as a bird who had flown right smack into a window.

Mrs. Buzzard continued, "There was a time when flying schools were more locally controlled.  Parents and local officials made most of the important decisions when it came to educating their young hatchlings.  They knew what they needed and how best to get them to succeed."

"But how did that help them all to soar?"

"Oh, it didn't.  But every little birdie did succeed.  I know the state won't admit it, but birds can be successful, even if they can't soar like an eagle." Ms. Buzzie flapped.  "You see those ducks and geese?  They don't soar because they can fly thousands of miles at a time.  They work together and create formations that ease the burden of flying into the wind.  They take turns leading and always help the birds that fly behind.  The geese and the ducks go places that the eagles never go."

Miss Bluebird blinked and hopped around nervously.............

"The song birds all have different songs to sing, beautiful songs that make the world a better place; the parrots can imitate any sound and can even mimic human speech; the owls can see and hunt at night, noislessly, I might add," Mrs. Buzzard proclaimed from her perch.

"But the penguins?  What about the penguins?" Miss Bluebird trilled.

"Honey, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret.........penguins can swim!" Ms. Buzzie clucked.

"Swim?"

Mrs. Buzzard continued, "Yes, they swim. Expertly! No bird or other animal can keep up with them once you let them get in the water.  It is an amazing sight to see!  I'd like to see an eagle try that......even better, how about one of those turkeys running the state!"

"And the ostriches?"

"They run!" Ms. Buzzie whistled!  "Run like the wind!  They are one of the fastest land animals of their size!  And speaking of size.......have you ever seen the size of the eggs they lay?  It scrambles my mind just thinking about it."

Miss Bluebird pecked around before she spoke again, "I don't understand, Ms. Buzzie........why do the turkeys want every bird to soar like an eagle when they can individually do all of these amazing things?"

Mrs. Buzzard smoothed her feathers and spoke, "I know.  I have spent many sleepless hours in my nest wondering when those turkeys are going to see the light.  But you know what they say..............................?"
"How can you soar with the eagles when you surrounded by turkeys?"

"Good point. Mrs. Buzzard, good point."

Down Hill from Here

Well, I guess playtime is over.  Like it or not, Easter Vacation has come to an end.  I must admist that it was a very restful break.  That of course is only because I didn't do anything productive or useful!  Oh, I had big plans......I was going to clean out the closets, vacuum the dust bunnies out from under the couch, finish my taxes (ooopps!), rearrange my sock drawer.......you know all that Spring Cleaning stuff.  Instead, I slept in late every day and caught up on Days of Our Lives.  At least I got some last minute laundry done, the kitchen cleaned, and the floors swept and mopped before going to bed tonight. 

Starting tomorrow it is all down hill.  Just a couple of weeks and it will be testing time.  After that the kids pretty much know the game is over.  Teachers are lucky to get their attention long enough to collect lunch money and say the flag salute.  It is good time time to start those "end-of-the-year" projects that kids love so much! 

Then it will be June!  Maybe I can get some of those house related projects done then........

Wish me luck!

The Great Divide

"Americans have never been more divided."  I hear this quote often and it always makes me stop and wonder two things:  Is that really true?  If it is true, then why?

I think of the first question:  Is this really true?  Yes, in some respects, Americans are very divided on a number of issues:  healthcare, immigration, entitlements, the environment.  But, those are just issues.  Are Americans really divided against one another just because they don't agree on certain issues?  And, does that mean they are more divided than ever?  I don't think that it is true at all.

I mean honestly, do you really believe that Americans are more divided now than they were during, let's just say, oh, The Civil War?  Seriously, during the Civil War, Americans were so divided that several states actually voted to leave the Union and start their own government!  Now really, have things gotten that bad?

Some would lead you to believe that is the case.  Recently we have had debates over who is reponsible for healthcare.  Is it the government, the insurance companies or the individual?  Ask three different people and I'm pretty sure you will get three different answers.  Legal immigration versus illegal immigration -  that is guaranteed to fire up a debate. And now we have the "Mommy War."  Who works harder?  Stay-at-home moms or working moms?  It seems to me that the biggest war we are fighting right now is which group of people will claim victory over "I'm the biggest victim" status.  Class warfare and race warfare divide us even deeper.

All these manufactured "wars" meant to keep people from uniting over their commanilties is what divides the nation.  Are we all really that different?  Of course we are!  We are each and everyone of us an individual!  No individual is exactly like another.  As an indiviual I represent many different groups.  I'm a mom, a wife, a woman, a teacher. So I guess I have nothing in common with dads, husbands, men, and people outside of education. I'm a Christian, a conservative, a Republican. I couldn't possibly have the same hopes as a non-religious, liberal Democrat. I'm a consumer, a taxpayer, a government employee.  I'm in a union, I support free markets, and public education.  Those just don't make any sense at all.  I am actually in groups that oppose each other.  So which special interest group am I?  Other people might be in some of these groups, but many others make up other types of groups.  How do you decide which group most defines you?  I say NONE!  No one group can define or meet every interest of any one person!   

I guess it is impossible.  We are all just too different to come together.  There isn't any one group that shares all of the same interests.  Is there?  What happened to just being an American?  Let me see.....yep all of my special interests are part of being an American.  The spirit of the individual is what makes America great!  All Americans believe in the right to life.  We expect our lives to be safe and protected by the government as well as the lives of others and their property.  Liberty......do we have to give that up to be protected?  No.  Americans crave freedom!  Freedom of speech, religion, assembly.  Freedom of choice!  Freedom to pursue that which makes us happy! 

Back to the divide.  Why are we divided?  Because we let them divide us!  To many people have given away freedom just to be controlled by those who will give them the most freebies.  In 200 plus years we have managed to go from "Give me liberty, or give me death!"  To:  "Gimm-me!  Gimm-me!  Gimm-me!"  We are divided by envy and jealousy of what others have if we don't have the same thing.  Feelings drive people to do and say horrible things to those who are different because they are focused on their differences.  Why?  Our leaders are only focused on those differences.  They use those differences to divide and conquer.  To conquer the American spirit.

We can learn a lot from the Civil War.  People were divided more then than ever.  And for good reason!  Slavery was a wicked practice!  But are things so wicked now that they cannot be restored?  Absolutely not!  Abraham Lincoln said at the time, "A nation divided against itself shall not stand."  He united our nation after one of the most perilous times in our history.  Now it is up to Americans.  It is time to unite.  Stop the great divide!

Do I Hunger for the Hunger Games?

To read or not to read?  That is the question.  My daughter is just about to finish reading Mockingjay, the last installment in the Hunger Games Trilogy.  She has been hounding me to read the series myself.  I haven't decided if I hunger for the Hunger Games or not.

I remember when the Harry Potter series came out.  All of my students were reading them and proclaiming their greatness.  My step-son read them all, and I remember buying the Goblet of Fire at Target for him as soon as it came out.  I even took him to see the first Harry Potter movie as soon as it was playing in theaters.  After that I only saw the next two when they were playing on HBO.  To this day, I have not read any of the books in the series or seen the other movies. 

Fast forward a few years, and I found myself buying my step-son the second book in the Twilight series; I know de ja vu, right?  My best friend called and told me I should read them and that I would really like them.  Vampires?  Not really my thing.  I never read any of the Ann Rice vampire novels and I didn't care much for Interview with a Vampire, even if it had both Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt (before I decided that I didn't much care for Brad Pitt) in starring roles.  So, I still haven't read any of the Twilight books, nor have I seen any of the movies.  No Team Edward or Team Jacob issues for me.

So now, we have the Hunger Games.  My daughter just had to go see the movie.  Because I knew it had violence and teens killing teens, I was just a little concerned.  But, she had already read the first book and she pulled her "all my friends' parents are lettling them go" sulk.  I talked to others who had read it and was told that a twelve-year-old would be fine seeing the movie.  So we made a date, and she and I went to see it together.  By the way, some, not all of her friends were there.

After all the hype, I told her we better get there early in case they were sold out.  Turns out they weren't sold out and there wasn't even a line.  We bought our popcorn and sodas and easily grabbed our seats.  She was simply beside herself.  I figured if it impressed me as much as it impressed her I would probably read the book.  I thought it was a decent movie.  I still can decide if I want to read the book/books.

When it comes to recent trends, I have found that I'm just not much of a joiner.  It took forever for my vampire loving friend to talk me into joining Facebook.  I finally did.  That is a whole-nother story by the way.  I have never tried to tweet; I never planked; and, although I respect the guy imensely, I still haven't Tebowed. 

When you think about it, I have become a bit of a nerd in my old-age.  Which is funny because I was quite trendy in my youth.  At least I thought I was.  Now I just like to find and do the things that I enjoy simply because I enjoy them.  Lately, I have developed a passion for reading history and political books.  I love to watch the news and listen to talk-radio.  When it comes to music, I have turned into my father.  We both think our generation had the best music ever.  I have learned that we both may be right.

Anyhow, back to the topic.  Do I hunger for the Hunger Games?  Not yet.  We will see if I develop an appetite for them or not.  For now, I am satifying my literary appetite with a great book on American History.  Who knows, maybe this summer I will read them, not because of the trend, but because I feel like it........

Because I Feel Like It

So I said I wanted to start a blog.....so I started a blog.  Why did I start a blog?  Because I feel like it.  Sometimes I just feel the need to speak out.  Sometimes I just have random thoughts.  Sometimes I have a lot to say, but not enough time or room to say it.  Now I do.  And so Because I Feel Like is born.