It's Testing Time!!!!

Today as I embark on day four of my testing adventure I am greatly saddened. I can remember a time when the only test I was required to take was the good old CAT(California Acheivement Test). Oh CAT how I miss thee. I don't know what the current incarnation of that test looks like, but I know that the old one was awesome. CAT didn't take forever and I liked scoring well on standardized tests. (So maybe the childhood me's attention was biased.)

You see my teachers did not do a lot of teaching to the test. We learned quite a bit in school, but we did fun things like activities for every holiday. We also had art class for more that a few weeks, and we had the option to learn lots of different things. I can remember planting plants, learning how to make jewelry, and I even had the option to learn cosmetology or woodshop if I so desired. College prep was indeed the highest class level I could take, and if I wanted to learn a vocation, I could do that too.

Now everyone has to be college prep or you are stuck in an occupational course of study. Sadly enough not enough vocational education is going on. I wish I had the option of learning computer networking when I was in high school 15+ years ago. It would make my job as a tech teacher much easier, but alas that wasn't happening then, and it only happens in limited places now.

Let's get serious about education reform, and ask teachers what they really want, and actually listen to what they are saying. Let us prepare our students to do professions that will earn them a decent living and help them become innovators and job creators. Pre test them and post test them and let the teacher teach the curriculum.

Testing a child every 3-4 weeks on a standardized test is not gonna get us much of anything in terms of valuable productive citizens. It's just going to get us more paper pushers. No offense to paper pushers, but you guys have the market cornered. Let's do what we need to do to get some innovation. ( Oh yeah, and they will be able to bubble in a mean answer sheet or take a mean online survey!)

When keeping it Christian goes Wrong.

You see I am a Baptist, not a Southern Baptist cause they are not fond of my color, but a Baptist from the South. I had to ask myself, what would a good Christian do in the wake of this Haiti disaster? Well this is what I came up with:
1. Pray----Prayer is free, and quite honestly it is the best thing I can do in this situation because I believe that prayers are necessary.

2. Donate Money, time, or clothing—I can’t really donate money right now, but payday is next week so I will. And I will carefully choose a way to donate my time. I am sure they probably don’t want my clothes, but I may reconsider that one.

3. Be mindful of how I discuss this situation with my children, my students, and my social networking sphere.
Not one time did I ever consider blaming the Haitian people for their plight. Who does that? Oh wait, Mr. CBN himself does that. Because he knows that the Haitian people made a deal with the devil, and apparently they are getting what they deserve because they are voodoo practicers and have a demonic religion. Well, let’s just kick a man when he’s down because it is the Christian way and why don’t we just not give food or shelter to the homeless, or healthcare to the unemployed. I wish I could say that I am surprised. Le sigh. Alas I am not. I do have a suggestion for Mr. Robertson’s progeny: Please come and get your daddy. His age is showing. He is reacting like a man that is still living in a bygone era, and he has forgotten that Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed the poor.

Seriously please donate to Haitian relief. Below are things you can do and places you can donate! H/T Black Snob Blog posters!

Go Free Ministries (www.gofreeministries.org) - Click on 'donate' to give by Paypal or credit card - Mail: Go Free Ministries Intl. PO BOX 163108, Fort Worth, TX 76161-3108. - Email inquiries to: gmain@gfmionline.org (you can direct it to go specifically to Hurricane relief efforts)or Hope Foundation International Ministries, Inc. 2822 54th Ave. South #229, St. Petersburg, FL 33712 or
ii. Partners in Health
www.pih.org/inforesources/news/Haiti_Earthquake.html or mail Partners In Health, P.O. Box 845578, Boston, MA 02284-5578
iii. Doctors Without Borders
www.doctorswithoutborders.org, or toll-free at 1-888-392-0392 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)USA Headquarters 333 7th Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001-5004.
b) Good for longer term support
i. Food for the Poor: http://www.foodforthepoor.org/
ii. The Lambi Fund: http://www.lambifund.org/
iii. World Vision: http://www.worldvision.org/
c) Unsure of time-table to get aid on the ground
i. YeleHaiti
http://www.yele.org/ (Wyclef's org)
ii. Red Cross (although unclear how to direct the funds to specifically Haiti):
http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_subsrc=RCO_ResponseStateSection
iii. For more complete lists of options, see:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/kindness/post/2010/01/how-to-help-victims-of-the-haiti-earthquake/1http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Haitian-Earthquake-Relief/288681741232d) Clothing Donations
http://www.hopehaitifoundation.org/
e) Donate Relief Goods
http://matadorchange.com/haiti-earthquake-update-donations-list/
2) What actions can I take
a) Contact your Congresspeople (to get your Senator & Representative's number to MAKE A QUICK CALL, visit http://www.contactingthecongress.org/) to support IMMEDIATE RESCUE EFFORTS to Haiti; and
b) To request TPS for Haitians, not just "halting deportations"
The Obama administration should grant Haitians Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is regularly granted to the people of other countries who've suffered much less disasters than Haiti; by DHS's own definition, even with the hurricanes preceding this earthquake, Haiti is overqualified. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=319c96981298d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=828807b03d92b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
c) If you want to help & go the extra mile, please WRITE in to media outlets like your local newspaper, and/or newstation's website.
3) VOLUNTEER
i. Plans are coming together for a trip of Matador volunteers to go to Haiti to assist in earthquake recovery and relief. http://matadorchange.com/ ; NOAH is also gearing up to head to Haiti.
ii. Hope for Haiti is looking for medical personnel & donations:http://hopeforhaiti.com/volunteering.php
iii. So is: nationalnursesunited.com

Know Your Role (and shut your mouth)

Much is often made of our roles. How we as women are defined. And to some degree I agree with the feminists/womanists. I want to define myself. Why should I let a man or anyone else define me?

Unfortunately this train of thought hasn't crossed completely over to the mainstream. When people see me, I am someone's wife and someone's mother. So my accolades, my degrees, and all the things that I think make me unique and an individual don't really matter a bit. Kinda sticks me with the herd. Add to that the fact that I am an African American woman.... You get the picture.

Now I chose to be those things so when I complain people probably give me the side-eye. Simply because I should know my role and shut my mouth. At a point there probably is some truth to the statement. Knowing one's role is important. Letting one's role define you.... may not be a good thing.

Any thoughts?