Where were you during the Virginia Earthquake

Hello everyone, I am sure by now you have seen all of the news coverage and interviews of people and their accounts of the Earthquake that happened in Virginia today.  I want to know where were you and what were you doing when the earthquake struck.  This is my second earthquake, the last one was in Virginia in 2004, near the same location.  That day I was in my office at Lee-Davis high school at my desk working on my computer when I though 100 tractor trailers drove by at the same time.  Today, I was again, sitting at my desk working on my computer.  I thought I was going crazy because my computer started swaying ever so slightly from side-to-side.  I didn't hear anything until a whiteboard I had started shaking against the wall, it was them I realized it was an earthquake.  When I checked online, my thoughts were validated with another earthquake in central Virginia.

So, where were you and what were you doing when the earthquake hit?

Obama announces debt agreement - politics - Capitol Hill - msnbc.com

Obama announces debt agreement - politics - Capitol Hill - msnbc.com

I am baffled at the time it has taken the two party worthless government to settle on an agreement, that still isn't settled. I am curious if anyone in Washington remembers this brieft statement:

" . . . endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

A little thing called the Declaration of Independence. The last time I checked, lawmakers were supposed to be working for all citizens of the great United States, not those who are the wealthiest of the wealthy that will have a fit an cry if they have a meazly 3% taken away from their constant inflow of old money cashflows. It is sickening. Never mind that the country is about to be embarrassed beyond belief. I guess the tea baggers don't consider themselves a part of this country and I guess if the country defaults and it's credit rating falls, and interest rates skyrocket, they just don't give a damn. Must be nice to be protected. I almost cried when the republicans tried making the argument that if President Obama raised taxes as a part of the debt deal that jobs would be lost. I bewildered, if you are taxing people on personal income over $250,000, what jobs are at stake. As a gentleman on NPR put it one day, what jobs will be lost if the CEO of GE gets taxed on his personal income. What in hell does that have to do with jobs? The man is a gazillionaire, you mean that little bit of tax on his personal income will shut GE down, WOW!!!

Washington needs to wake up. They are playing chicken with the government that I don't like it. Can you imagine, I have debts out of the wazu and if we go into default I can see what little paycheck I get now just go up in smoke. But the wealthy boys don't have to worry, they gon be alright. Interest rates can go up, just as long as long as I don't have to sacrifice my country club membership or my Lamborghini or my 17 mansions or my teeth whitening appointments or my . . . .

What's up with Chris Brown?

I am not sure how many of you are still Chris Brown fans after his drop from fame after the Rhianna situation.  Let me preface this by saying that I enjoyed listening to Chris Brown's music.  I wanted him to be very successful.  Being from a small town myself, I know how hard it is to make it in a huge industry like music.  I am disappointed that he has taken a turn as a bad boy.  Lately since his return to the mainstream, his music is starting to surface with a lot of cursing and vulgarity in it.  I am not a big fan of curing and dirty music, I like good melodies, harmonies, and beats.  I don't see the need for Chris Brown to change, I feel like he is perpetuating everything the media dubbed him as when he physically assaulted Rhianna.  He adamantly defended his character when all this broke out that he was not a violent person, he was good, he made a mistake.  I don't judge the man, I don't know him at all, just what I see on the TV and radio.  He needs to remember this when making his music.  "Deuces", I like, I dig the beat and the melody.  I can do without the cursing, the darkness.  He has a couple of other songs that he collaborates on and the drops the MF's, F bombs, etc.
I hope I am not the only one who feels this way.  I just don't like to see people, especially brothas, perpetuating stereotypes that are forced on them by the media.  Be true to who you are, if that is you, where was it before the Rhianna incident.  If it isn't you and you are just trying to fit this mold now, "STOP"!!!

Listen to these songs and you will see.
Yeah 3x (Explicit Version)Yeah 3x (Clean Version)F.A.M.E. [Explicit]F.A.M.E.

3 girls busted for illegal lemonade stand - US news - Weird news - msnbc.com

3 girls busted for illegal lemonade stand - US news - Weird news - msnbc.com

Wow, have you ever heard of such (I will say it) nonsense. You mean to tell me that police have nothing better to do than to drive around the neighborhoods and tell these little girls that they have to shut down their lemonade stand because they didn't know where it was made, how it was made, and what it was made with. Well let's explore this: First we need lemons, the last time I check and made lemonade, it can only be made from lemons (even the artificial stuff is from lemons), second, we need sugar (probably real sugar, not the high fructose stuff because it is a residence) and water. When you mix them all together, Shazzam!!! you have lemonade. I think I would almost be embarrassed if I were a cop telling these little girls to "shut it down", the very least you can speak to the parents and tell them that they can sell today but not anymore after that (until they get a license from Kellogg). Wow, this is all I can say. There are people trying to blow up airplanes, kidnappings everyday, but this is what gets law enforcement attention. Only in America.

No child left behind, How about no dentist left behind

Hello Everyone,

I was given this article by a colleague and I thought I would bust a gut laughing but at the same time was thrilled to see this article.  If you have been following the whole "no child left behind act" and the fact that politicians want to tie teacher compensation to student test data, you will see the relationship in this article.  I do not agree with tying teacher performance to student test scores, simply because you do not have a controlled population.  There are so many dynamics that are at play with students that it would be an unfair practice.

So, check out this article and you take a stand for you local teaching community.

Share you thoughts. Click this link for the article: NO Dentist Left Behind

A Vice Principal's World

Hello everyone,

I used to make fun of my vice principal when I was in high school, I know it wasn't nice but we did.  Never in my life did I ever think I would wind up in education, yet alone, be an administrator.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Now I am getting payback for all those times I made fun of my vice principal in high school.   I work in an urban district, punishment #1 and there is never a dull or mediocre day.  Punishment #2 is that I work in a middle school setting, grades 8 and 9.  What was I thinking? There is not a day that goes by when maximum decibel levels of my eardrums are not tested.  I wouldn't mind so much if the students were far away and screaming at each other.  No they stand 2 feet from each other and scream and yell at each other, standing right next to me (now I know why they don't do well in class, the teacher doesn't scream).  It is so bad, when I get in my car I immediately turn off the radio, which is tuned to NPR from the morning; now how bad is that.  I have to turn off NPR.

Needless to say, I will be wearing hearing aids by the time I am 40.  Well, I guess that is what I get for making fun of my assistant principal in high school.

Lean On Me

Impressed with Teach for America

WOW!!!!  This was my experience when interviewing candidates from Teach for America.  I, along with two administrators from our sister high school, were charged with interviewing candidates for the upcoming school year.  I had little knowledge for Teach for America, and was asked at the last minute to go in my principal's place.  However, after this day of interviews, I have a new found respect for the job they do and the people they shape and mold.  We interviewed candidates White, Black, Indian, Afghan, etc.  When I looked at their resume' I asked myself, why are they here.  After talking to them, I realized they have a passion for what they are training to do.  Most impressive, I did not get the feeling that there was a fear of working in urban districts and dealing with kids who will curse you out on minute, threaten you another, and ask you for a dollar in the same breath.
These candidates are highly motivated, they want to be a part of a collaborative environment, they bring a lot of ideas and creativity to the table.  I was also very impressed with the content knowledge of the candidates; especially those who were high school certified.  This is a big problem that you find a lot with regular teacher preparation programs.  You have to know what you are teaching.  There were candidates who majored in Molecular Biology, Bio-chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, etc and as we interviewed them and asked them how they would challenge students in the classroom they were amazing.  In our school we are heavy on real-world connections to engage students in the learning process.  Many of the candidates were describing ways to engage students using real-world scenarios without being prompted to do so.  One candidate played football and was interviewing for a physics position and he made a correlation between football and laws of physics.

I can't say enough how impressed I am with them.  I plan to look into this organization more to see just how effective their program is.  If all teachers in this program are as passionate as the candidates we interviewed, and if they can be mentored properly, given good support to nurture and cultivate that interest, then I can see major milestones begin met in urban education.

Video courtesy of Teach for America