Tuesday, January 12, 2010

don't be mad

don't be mad, don't be mad, don't be mad.

Because, seriously, when my mother found out how I was planning on spending my upcoming weekend she had my dad tell me, via facebook, that I was disowned. And in a comment responding to my post about my root canal no less. So, I can't even imagine how others will react. (Jenny, I can't even look you in the eye!)

It all started with the stupid candidate the dem's elected to run for governor in va. I just couldn't get excited. I wasn't impressed. Not that I was any more impressed with the republican candidate. So, after extensive research (that included going to early morning, cold campaign rallies for the republican candidate with my republican husband) I decided I couldn't make up my mind and I wasn't going to vote.

I know.
I hate non-voters.
I am not a non-voter.
but I couldn't do it. I decided casting a vote for one candidate because of his political affiliation was wrong if I didn't support his issues, and voting for the other one felt equally wrong because I didn't support his issues either. I could have gone and written someone in, or voted for some obscure 3rd party candidate. But it would have been a cold walk to the polls and I wanted to be green and save gas. Or something.

Anyway, I thought this was all past us, until the invitations started flooding in. The pretty invitations on beautiful cardstock, asking us to come down to the capital city and join the celebration. Yes. The inauguration balls.

Please remember I said don't hate me.

I love dancing.
I love putting on fancy clothes and dancing.
We have good friends in Richmond.
(Right now I kind of feel like the pigeon begging to be allowed to drive the bus)

And I just tried on my one formal dress left from college- beautiful, blue, raw silk- the one I bought at an incredible sale at Filene's, but when I wore it to the ball there were two girls from Kappa Kappa Gamma in the same exact dress (I'm sure they paid full price)- and it still fits.

I know, I hate that I'm writing this at all. In fact, if I hit publish on this post I will think less of myself.

This on the day that I learned our governor elect has nominated Gerard Robinson to be our secretary of education. A man whose bio includes starting numerous charter schools, serving as president on the board of Black Alliance for Educational Options. "He is a nationally recognized expert on the modern charter school movement and serves on the Policy Advisory Council at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and on the board of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Charter School Resource Center."

We are in trouble.

Our state has no money- our county has no money- our schools have no money. Why am I now nervous that we will have even less money once our no money is divided to include supporting charter schools?

I use to be opposed to all charter schools- the idea of taking money away from the public schools horrified me. My second year out of college I lived with a friend who taught at a charter school. I was constantly horrified to hear what they got away with just because they were a charter school. And the decisions her principal made- her principal who went to Wharton's business school but never stepped foot in a classroom.

But then, on the other hand, as I've come to admire my own principal more and more, and watched her fight with our district to get what's right- I can't help but wonder what it would be like if we were a charter school. If our principal got to make decisions herself without answering to the county...

But I digress. I'm nervous. I was nervous about having no money- now I'm more nervous about what will happen to our schools- what cuts will be made in order to support a charter school system.

And so, in preparation for my weekend of invading the Republican social scene I will be preparing my notes on charter schools. I will be getting up to date on my education facts, recalling exact studies that support positive education improvement and make good financial sense, reviewing my arguments, and getting prepared for my stealth behind the scenes mission. You see, I have a history of slipping on my republican pearls, smiling politely while sipping my wine, and then getting into policy discussions that either end with me revealing I am a teacher (at which point I end up banging on the table to make my point), or never mentioning my profession, but asking a lot of questions that ends up leading my conversation partner to question their own thesis (that's my favorite because I get to play innocent while Mr. Lipstick watches with amusement/horror)

Send me information, facts, data, research you think I should have as ammunition as I slip on my pearls and my ball gown and prepare to mingle with mingle with the "Whose who in the republican party of Virginia".

And please don't hate me. Because even though I'm going to a republican party, I will be going in all blue.

2 comments:

Jason Buell said...

These two posts are in my Reader. They specifically relate to math/science but are generalizable to the achievement scores = whatever future success argument. There's a link to the actual study.

http://www.artofteachingscience.org/?p=2316

http://www.artofteachingscience.org/?p=2302

Good luck. Try not to laugh if anyone says the word "teabagger."

They say that word a lot. I don't think it means what they think it means.

Mary said...

Sometimes it is best to infiltrate behind enemy lines to learn what they are thinking. And why not have fun doing it?