Nightmare!

I dreamed about our Reading First program last night. But, instead of dream, I would call it a nightmare.

This is supposed to be the last year of a six year grant, and I am sooooooo ready for it to be over. In my nightmare, however, we were told, "Reading First is here to stay." I cannot tell you how displeased I was in my nightmare, along with most every one else. I kept thinking, "How am I ever going to make this fit with my new 'being in the now' attitude?" I could feel myself fighting it internally in my dream, making myself more and more upset about it. Maybe God was preparing me for something, making the dream my rehearsal. I am sure many bumps will appear in the road this year; after all, they always do. I am just looking at handling them differently when they do appear. Anyway, I woke up with a strange feeling..... I was glad to realize it was just a dream and not reality.

I played with my new laptop last night. It was weird because it was so different from a desktop, but I think I'll like it. I couldn't do much with it, as almost everything I do is via internet, but I just played around. I hope the Geek Squad guy gets it up and going. We have an appointment Saturday morning at 8. No sleeping in after a week at school for me next week, but it will be worth it in the end.

This is going to be a really busy week. In addition to school starting, I have a doctor's appointment in a city about 45 miles away on Monday, after school. On Friday, I have set up a visit with a spa in the same city. It just worked out I didn't move fast enough to get in before school started, so I had to go with the first week. Needless to say, I am looking much more forward to the spa than the doctor. The spa on Friday might actually work out great. What a way to end the first week of school!

Busy days ahead!

Here's Hoping There's No Reading "Second"

I teach at a Reading First school. This is a multi million dollar grant funded through the NCLB act. I consider GRANT a dirty word. Although RF and NCLB are wonderful in theory, they are totally out of touch with reality. I believe every child can learn, but not all children can learn the same things or amount of information. Every child will learn, but some will never go as far as others. Sad, but true, despite our best efforts.

Reading First mandates (non-negotiables in RF language)have sent me home crying many a night after staying at school until 5 PM trying to meet the goal of completing yet another set of paperwork that has been set before me. How many ways and on how many reports can you write the same thing? As with most federal mandates, there is always "add more" but never "take away." RF is very fluid, meaning what goes today may not go tomorrow. Or worse, what we put in place last year may not fly this year. Who knows? Constantly starting over is about the only permanent thing with RF. As soon as I feel comfortable with one thing, here comes something totally brand new, yet according to RF officials, better.

Legislators should stick to what they know best--politics. Leave the teaching to teachers. Or at the very least, ask the experts (i.e. educators) what is best before passing sweeping legislation that turns our lives, both in the classroom and personally, upside down.

Shame on you, Laura Bush, a former teacher/librarian, for singing the praises of NCLB and RF when you should know what it would entail for dedicated teachers. And shame on me for voting for your husband, who pushed NCLB. That's a vote I will regret for the rest of my career!