Who to vote for? None of the above

I have always considered myself a conservative and a Republican. I have had these beliefs since I was in high school and started following politics. My belief in a free market economy, smaller government, less government involvement in people's personal lives, a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. It has become painfully obvious that there are no longer any true economic conservatives left in American politics, and that is very unfortunate.

Looking at what choices we have in the upcoming election it really makes me worry about where our country is headed in the next 4 years, and it doesn't matter which party gets the White House. The differences are decreasing by the year and they are truly beginning to look like more alike by the day. Our choices appear to be either Obama or Clinton on the Democrat side and John McCain on the Republican side. There is only one clear choice in this election...vote for a third party.

My problems with the candidates are many. On the Democratic side it is easy for me to say I will not vote for them. They are for big government, tax increases, ending the war in Iraq without any thought about the consequences, socialized health care, and dismantling the Constitution.

John McCain, however, has led to many a debate with various people I know. Some have told me he is in favor of common sense changes, I disagree. He is not a conservative. He may be pandering to conservatives, but his voting record portrays the real John McCain...a common liberal. Yes, he is not a liberal as Clinton or Obama, but he is not a Republican by any means. He has consistently took a stand on the wrong side of the issues. He touts his McCain-Feingold bill which infringes on people's first amendment rights of free speech and petition. People have the right to petition the government how they see fit, whether that be with a letter, email, or campaign contributions. He supports No Child Left Behind which sets outrageous goals for schools. 100 percent pass rate is unattainable and school choice would only lead to mass chaos in the school systems and the loss of more quality teachers. His immigration policy rewards those who have broken the laws of America by coming here illegally.

I must vote my conscience in this election. Those who preach the "lesser of two evils" mantra need to wake up and face reality. I am tired of voting for the one who isn't as bad as the others. I am not throwing my vote away, I am voting for who I believe to be the best candidate. More that likely that will be the Libertarian candidate or I will write in someone. I will not vote for John McCain just because he has a R beside his name, and I will not back down on my belief voting your conscience is better than voting for the "lesser of two evils". If more people voted their conscience we might actually elect a third party candidate.

It is time to change America, but the Democrats and the Republicans are not the people to do it.

Choice for President

I have had a really hard time deciding who I should support for President in the upcoming primaries. Given my stance on the issues I would never vote for any of the Democrat candidates so I turned my attention to the Republicans. Here is my list of problems with some of the candidates.

1. Rudy Guliani: As mayor of New York he was able to clean up the streets, but at what price? He took away people personal freedoms to own firearms and started the trend of New York suing dealers in other states. New York has restrictive laws that prohibit people from choosing what they wish to do and how they want to act. He is too much of a cowboy and I don't see him listening to advice.

2. John McCain: A great war hero and probably a great foreign policy leader, but his domestic policy is no good. Anyone who wants to take away people's right to donate how they choose is someone who will also take away other personal freedoms. I don't seem him being an advocate of true conservative values.

3. Fred Thompson: A joke, Plain and simple.

4. Mitt Romney: Was my choice to be President and I would still probably vote for him if he was the nominee. I think his religion will hurt him and he really seems to be pandering to the far right. A little too much for me and what really made me reconsider my choice.

5. Mike Huckabee: My choice for President. He seems sensible and when he speaks he states his mind. All of his views do not necessarily fit with mine but he seems to really believe what he says. He comes across as someone genuinely concerned about America and he wants to do whats best for the US. Now as a teacher I must give him credit for being one of the few people (Democrats included) who believe that No Child Left Behind is restrictive and should actually be changed. He wants to allow the states to set their own benchmarks for scores. The federal government should have it's hands in education. That is a reserved power for the states according to a little document called the Constitution!

Back to school blues

Well it is almost that time. Parents are rushing their kids to the local supply store to get them the pencils and pens they will have lost in a weeks time. The binders that they will have drawn on and poked holes in by the second day of school. Prepare kids, the time for learning is almost upon us. The teachers are going back to school, setting up their classroom, making them ready for the return of the students, getting copies done, and sifting through the bull that the administration puts them through.....and on that note:

The new wonders of my Middle School 2007-2008:

1. Now we have a 90 minute remediation period on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is supposed to help those students that are behind. Doesn't that defy logic since there will be 90 minutes cut from regular instruction time?

2. On Fridays we will see all eight of our classes. Now for those who don't understand, we only teach 3 classes so they alternate periods each day. Why must I see each class twice in one day?? So they can have a 50 minute "activity" period at the end of the day to reward the students. Again a cut into instructional time.

3. Along the lines of this "activity" period they are now requiring us to have some activity we do for the students. So it looks like intermural softball for me.

This year is going to be a long one with all of these changes. Since we missed the NCLB standards the state government is going to be up our rears. Another fun year at SMS!

We're coming to your city!

Watch out Arlington because the Tri-city teacher is coming your way this weekend. Look out for the path of destruction that will follow. Arlington is in for a real party.

Left wheel. ON THE DOUBLE!

This past week I took a class entitled "Diverging Americas: Antecedents of the Civil War" at Pamplin Park. The class was most enjoyable and I really learned a lot about the time period preceeding the Civil War.

The real story comes from class this past Thursday where we took the roll of a Civil War soldier. Our instructor took us out side and drilled us as though we were a regiment of soldiers. Considering that this class was filled with all middle aged women and myself one can guess how well this went. Had we been in the war I believe our regiment would have been routed in less than 5 minutes. We spent about 20 minutes training and learning the movements of a Civil War regiment. We marched in columns, battle lines, and in road formation. We about faced, double quicked, and wheeled, and once we were trained the real fun began...

Now it was embarassing enough to be doing this in front of the teachers of the course and those who work at Pamplin, but then in marches a "regiment" of 10 year olds. Now these kids were on point. They had their movements down and had come to crush the teacher regiment. These kids showed us up and made us look bad. We were messy and could not hold our line, and had those kids had bullets most of us would be dead.

I am proud to say we lost the war to about 20 ten year olds..

Oh the joys of Richmond

This week I am taking a class about diverging Americas, the pre-Civil War era. We took a trip to Richmond today and I must say it was an adventure. Having lived in the Tri-City area my entire life, I have been to Richmond many times in my life. I have heard of many of the different places we visited today on our bus tour of Antebellum Richmond, but have never gone before....and for good reason. Some of the places we went to I would never go to alone or at all.

Gilpin Court...One of the worst places in Richmond. Murder, Drugs, Rapes and other assorted crimes take place there. I know it is historically relevant, however, I don't consider this a safe place. I could only imagine what the place looked like before today because I was afraid to go there. Now I realize it is just as bad as I had thought. It is one scary place....for whatever reason do not go to Gilpin Court.

No Child Left Behind

So there has been a lot of talk about NCLB and its consequences for teachers and students alike. Like most teachers I am not pleased with NCLB, and unfortunatly I do not see any change on the horizon.

So what is so bad about NCLB you say? First, it puts undue pressure on teachers and schools. There is always this fear that the government is looking over your shoulder, and they are. If your school does not make AYP (adequate yearly progress) you are forced to be reviewed by the state and county government. Also the school loses thier accreditation meaning that the public sees the school as a failure and in turn the teachers as well.

Second, NCLB puts unrealistic requirements on school districts for the pass rate of their students. It is impossible for 100 percent of students to pass all tests unless you make the tests so easy that no one could fail (yet some will still fail because of their apathy). Also some students can count against you in numerous categories because each ethnicity, socio-economic status, and special education designation causes the student to count in a sub-group. This can lead to one student counting against your AYP numbers 3 times.

Finally, I believe that NCLB is in violation of the United States Constitution. The Constitution gives control of public education to the states. When the federal government stepped in and passed NCLB they were trying to take away some of this power. By putting stipulations on NCLB (if you want the money, you follow the law) they forced many school systems and states to agree to NCLB. The federal government says it is legal because states do not have to opt into NCLB, but when education is underfunded anyway and you dangle a large sum of money in front of states, they are inclined to follow NCLB.

In conclusion NCLB is unconstitutional and should be repealed post haste!