Those Were the Days

Saturday Paul, Emma, and I went to a cookout at a military recreation spot near us. It's for military and their dependants and it's on the beach in Cape Cod. We'd never been and wanted to check it off our New England bucket list so when I found out they were having a surf and turf cook out I signed us up.

I wasn't sure what to expect because military stuff is sort of hit or miss...either great or awful. Surf and turf cook out was GREAT! It was a beautiful day, the covered picnic area overlooked the ocean, and for $25 you got a whole lobster, a steak kabob, a baked potato, a corn on the cob, a roll, cole slaw, clam chowder, watermelon, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. And it was sooo good!

I think we were the youngest people there, but we sat with the nicest couple (he was retired army) who were staying in a cabin there. They let us use their cabin to use the bathroom and get changed into our bathingsuits after we ate which I thought was amazingly nice. Of course they were from Atlanta and it was felt so good to have lunch with some good ole southern folks. And explains the letting strangers use their cabin.

I am wicked nosy and was curious to see the inside of the cabin. It was definitely nice and I think we'll be trying to go for a weekend at the end of the season.

The beaches up here leave a lot to be desired. I guess if you're from the north and it's all you know then they are good enough, but if you're from Florida then they are disappointing. They are very small (no miles of white sand), you have to cross a rock barrier to get to the water, and the water is full of rocks and it's cold! Did I mention the great white sharks? That's why we want to go back at the end of the season. We figure we aren't swimming anyways and the cabin has a fireplace.

So, when we were sitting on the beach with all our beach toys, playing with Emma, fat bellies hanging over our bathingsuits, me in my tankini there was a huge group near us playing corn hole. They were probably in their 20's, all fit, all tanned, drinking beer, having fun, and as I watched them I thought those were the days. I remember those days! Where did they go?

Then I look at my Emma, covered in sand, with her swim diaper making her bathingsuit into a thong, eating whatever she can find on the ground (yum sand) and I know with all my heart that I wouldn't go back to those days for nothing. And I was so happy for those 20 year olds because they are having the grand time that they are supposed to be having right now, but I was even happier at the grand time I'm having right now.

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Congratulations to Katie Kent for winning the Mission Possible giveaway! She is a teacher who is returning to teaching after being a stay at home mom the last 5 years. Enjoy your end of the summer reading!

Mission Possible

When asked to answer the following "Stagnation, being unable to accomplish one's job at a high level, is one of the greatest sources of low teacher morale. Why do you think this country treats teaching so differently than other professions?", I really had no idea how to answer. I hadn't ever really thought about the question before. Yes, I have many friends who are teachers. Yes, I had worked within the school system as an academic instructor at an alternative school for kids who are expelled, as an outside consultant teaching substance abuse, and as a school social worker. The experiences I had working within the system were varied. I saw good teachers, mediocre teachers, and teachers so burnt out that working retail may have been a better option for them than teaching.

And so I read Mission Possible by Eva Moskowitz and Arin Lavinia. I'll admit that at first I was wondering what I'd get out of this book. I don't work anymore. I'm a stay at home mom, but I am concerned about what kind of education my daughter will get when she is old enough to attend school. Even though I was compensated for this post, all opinions expressed are my own.

I didn't expect to be so blown away by what they are accomplishing at Success Academies or so appalled by the state of education in our country. We often think of failing schools as belonging to those districts filled with minority or low income students, but the Success Academies clearly show that economics and race are NOT a factor in education or they shouldn't be anyways. These are schools in the Bronx and Harlem and for the 2012-2013 school year they expect 15,000 parents to enter a random lottery for 1200 spots.

What do they do that is so different from a traditional education? They hold parents accountable. Parents are required to sign a contract promising to participate in their child's education. They believe strongly in rigor, not only for their students, but for their teachers as well. They wear uniforms and believe everyone has the right to respect for self and others. They believe their students are much more capable than a traditional education does and their dedication to literacy and writing demonstrates that. Students as young as kindergarten are participating in science experiments! Principals are involved in ensuring that their teachers are well trained and feedback is immediate.

I can tell you that I didn't see many of these things occurring in the schools I worked in. To be fair, I did work with challenging populations of students, but we allowed them to skate by academically and I never felt supported by my principal. She seemed so overwhelmed and stressed by the pressures put on her by the school district that there was no way for her to provide helpful feedback. Most teachers work hard and want to do a good job. Our society's value of them should reflect that. A school system should value its teachers enough to help them excel.

I think change is possible within our education system. I think, as a society, we need to value teachers more, and I think teachers need to value themselves more. I think we need to stop allowing states to force teachers to teach to the test and to come up with new and innovative ways to engage teachers, students, and parents in the education process. Teachers need to stop hiding behind the unions and start standing up for what is fair by demonstrating they are capable of excelling. Principals need to be supportive of their staff. The state education system needs to stop feeling threatened by the charter schools like Success Academy and start learning from them.

Anyone who works within the education system needs to read Mission Possible. Within 3 years of opening Success Academy Charter Schools, they have emerged as one of the top schools within New York City and State. Mission Possible describes what happens when teachers, students, and parents are held to high standards and when they work together for the benefit of all involved. If you have seen Waiting for Superman or The Lottery then you know how much is possible when teachers are allowed the resources they need to excel. There are also take aways at the end of each chapter for principals, teachers, parents, and school reformers as well as a DVD.

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