The trouble with not blogging often is too much to blog about later.  The Super Bowl has come and gone, a number of news items intrigued or infuriated--but I didn't sit my anatomy down and write.

The economy--you know, the much-improved one?--is playing havoc with education.  As a teacher, a mother of four teachers, and a grandmother of lots of little ones--I care very much about the situation with its economic, political, and social impacts.

Many think they recognize the problems--but the root causes might, in some cases, be surprising.  Some may not be fixable.  Admittedly, the easy and popular answer is to blame teachers--but I hope to show that's likely the least of the concerns facing today's students.  My personal take is that teachers are the new Salem witches--unable to prove innocence, burned at the stake for others' satisfaction--it's bad out here.

Someone recently told a teacher friend of mine we (educators) should quit whining.  These articles are really an effort to address that comment without seeming defensive or childish.  So--hope you'll look for those soon.

Meanwhile, like many, the new year has settled in.  Opportunities abound, with pitfalls and triumphs.

Didn't we do all this before?

Thank God we get a chance to do it again --not everyone does!

Take care,

Leslie