Happy Easter

My family spent a relaxing time at the Sandy Point Beach yesterday. And there's so many things to enjoy today on a glorious Easter. A nice and cool sunny weather, blooming flowers, it's a very special time of family togetherness...church of course, a big Easter lunch, and then egg hunting, romping around with kids and a walk at the park would be nice.
.

I gave up a lot of treats this Lent, and I had no problems with that this year. I had no appetite to eat, I wasn't bursting with energy, I just felt so uneasy and weird. I did some reflection.

I spent my preschool, gradeschool, and highschool years in a Catholic School with the Augustinian Sisters. I know that Easter is all about dying and rising, and the book that I read over the past few days is all about that...The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch (I will go into the details of the book later). The book has validated what my mind and my heart has been telling me for quite sometime now. Coming from a different educational system from another country, I have learned so much about education reform and public education in the US from this book. As a passionate teacher and a union member, I have found this Lenten Season very depressing. Just a few reasons...it has been disheartening to see the inaccurate attacks on the teachers unions; distortions are dominating the news and the blogs about how education should focus on test scores; and I am outraged that the students are caught in the middle of these pointless rhetoric.
.

The DC CAS is coming up in just a few days. The administrators and the teachers in my school have been working very hard, going above and beyond the call of duty, relentlessly giving the students all the skills and strategies to meet AYP this year. Will the students do well on the test? Why yes, why not? And if they don't, are we still going to have our jobs next school year?
.

For this obvious reason, I am just so glad that I am a member of our teachers union. And being a resting, silent member is never enough...it's time to rise.
.

Happy Easter, everyone!