Where Are We Going With Our Current State of Teaching?

(Originally posted 2002/10/5) I keep asking...
I don't want to engage in a battle of statistics. They only tell a fraction of the story, and when it comes to issues of how things are perceived by the various constituencies within a school environment, they may only tell things people want heard.

On Getting Stuck Without Having What You Need..

(Originally posted August, 2002)
Ever happened to you - getting stuck in the middle of nowhere and trying to get back? It happened to me just last week when my Saturn's rear tire decided to blow out from heat and age near the little town of Firebaugh, California. (Don't worry, I didn't know where that was, either!)
Sure, I changed the tire along the edge of Interstate 5, getting whooshed by passing cars and thrummed by passing trucks. I had one of those mini spares, of course, which meant that I had to choose between a daredevil trip over the remaining 150 miles to the Bay Area, or a prudent 2-mile trip back to the previous off-ramp with roadside services. I chose to be prudent. Of course, prudence has its price, too - in this case, it was just over $190.
The point of this is that proper preparation is always a good thing. My car had the necessary tools and I had the necessary know-how (and money). Life threw a momentary obstacle in front of me, but I was able to negotiate it.