I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.

How far does this statement really take us?

Although I am a little out of the loop and tend to receive news a few days or weeks after it happens, the Save Our Schools march led in Washington a few days ago led me to do a little research on what is happening this summer with education in America.

I watched this video of Matt Damon and was empowered by his words to the teachers of our great nation. I am happy to know there are "millions of ordinary people" supporting teachers.




The Save Our Schools march was held a few days ago as a protest on Washington to give control of public schools back to the public.

I also recently read about Atlanta's cheating scandal which really comes as no shock to me. I believe that as long as testing determines a state's, city's, school's, teacher's, student's success... there will always be some form of cheating. I would like to know when in life it is accepted to evaluate someone's performance by having them bubble in a sheet of paper. I thought learning was supposed to be shown through action, motion, application. How is it possible to apply knowledge by coloring in a bubble on an answer sheet? Furthermore, I would like to know which of the writers and supporters of standardized testing were ever actually bubble-tested themselves.

Matt Damon got it right when he said the past decade has been a bad one for teachers. With the passage of No Child Left Behind the federal government made sure to promote the ideology of teaching to the test. And now with Race To the Top, America's education is being run more businesslike than ever. There are too many hands in public education right now which do not belong. People who have never taught a day in their lives are making decisions for the future of our country which they have no right to make.

I understand that it is obviously easier said than done, but America is headed down a slippery slope and with the rising bubble-test generation of leaders, I am not so sure we will come out on top. America's public education is supposed to create democratic citizens and responsible leaders for tomorrow. Instead, we are running schools like offices. We are promoting business executives to fund charter schools and saying that there is money to be made at the expense of a few local schools losing funding. Teachers are given monetary incentives to ensure passing percentages on standardized tests. Students are carrying the burden built by a failing bureaucracy.

I do believe in accountability in your profession. I believe in meeting standards and accomplishing goals. I believe in incentives, rewards, positive feedback, negative reinforcements for a wrongdoing. I do think their should be consequences when a teacher is no longer doing their job to the best of their abilities. I do think students should receive remediation when falling behind. I do believe we live in a world of great competitors and that we should strive for our nation to be the best.

I do not believe we should meet these expectations by closing schools, firing hundreds of teachers, creating more tests, or punishing children who have been wronged by the system. Why shouldn't we move to a method of testing which encompasses the whole child instead of just part? Portfolio-based testing could provide evidence of a child's abilities and would show the improvement made throughout the year, could focus more solely on the areas in which the child needs to work on, and would give us a better picture of the child's abilities. I am not going to get into the details of other modes of accountability. I am, however, going to say that the way we are grinding our students and our educators today is not working.

The public schools in America are supposed to help raise generations of children with firm ideals in democracy, freedom, independence, and citizenship. I am learning from living in a country that does not promote these beliefs in any way, that America is a country of great value to the world and we are lucky to call ourselves Americans. Why do we drill and test students so harshly in a country that was founded by free-thinkers? I am seeing that education in America and education in China may have more in common than I originally thought. The difference is that education in America is supposed to produce creative citizens in a free world and education in China is supposed to produce pawns in a government-controlled society.

Something to think about.

Mandarin lesson:
Kàngyì 抗议 (protest)

Bedroom Inspiration Board

So you saw the dreams of my living room last night. Here are some products of my dreamland future bedroom. Still sticking to the same color palette. I think I want the whole apartment to match! How neat would that be?

Note that the chaise is shown in both rooms. If the bedroom is big enough (in my non existent home) then I think it would be nice to have a reading nook. Also, those final two items could make up my vanity. The TV stand can lose the middle shelves and I can insert cute bins and the mirror can rest on top of the stand. IKEA was recently bookmarked on my favorites if you can't tell. I know that you do not see any yellow here... I am thinking gray walls still... but yellow accents in the room. Some frames, pictures, pillows, a throw blanket. Yellow, gray, and white- basically my favorite palette ever.

By the way, a post that actually has to do with my life will be coming up tonight. You know, my real  I am living, breathing, sleeping in China kind of life. Not my apartment dreamland that will be in a little less than a year kind of life. But I love my apartment that has yet to come.

Apartment Inspiration Board

I have been thinking a lot about my future back in the states next year. I am looking forward to living on my own and being able to decorate any way I please. Now that I will basically be starting from scratch I am thinking of this color combination. What do we think?

I wasn't lying

I really just don't have much to blog about. But I did force myself up and out the door yesterday. Even if I did end up coming home to a 99 degree temperature which continued to rise through the night =(

Before leaving the house, I snapped a fab picture of myself with the cutest part of the apartment: The amazing yellow wall, of course! Check out the fact that my hair is straightened and I have on makeup! Oh, oh, oh and a semiplucked my eyebrows! Ooh la la!

I decided to get a pedicure at Yashow Market and then do a little bit of gift buying for my family. I am pretty pleased with my nail color. I chose purple, the usual.

After a bit of retail therapy and meandering through the aisles of the bargain market, I grabbed a Starbucks and walked around outside for a bit. I watched the kids playing in the fountains again. Apparently there are lights that make the water look like cool colors at night!

I also walked through Bar Street since everyone is always talking about it. Considering my camera sucks at night the pictures are not so spectacular. But I swear the street was actually very cool.

So I ended up with three days off work since I have been feeling a bit under the weather. My temp is totally back to normal but my throat seriously hurts. I am a little worried that I may have strep. That does not exactly sound like the kind of China adventure that I want to have right now. But honestly, it seems about to par with how things are going for me as of late.

I have been a little bummed. I am trying not to be but it's hard when you're lonely. Theresa will be back in 12 days and I cannot wait for her arrival. We already have a dumpling dinner planned for her big welcome back to Beijing. We will be going to Inner Mongolia in 25 days and my mom will be here in 31 days. And in case you were wondering, I still have 316 days left on my contract. Holy cow. I will have to make a coming home for Christmas countdown soon. Once I know the date there will be a gadget added to my desktop.

Maybe I will actually have something to blog about soon? I may try again tomorrow. Good night/ good morning world, depending on where you are reading from.

Mandarin lesson:
Hóulóng (throat)