Oooh!!! A SPUTNIK moment!!!!!

Yeah right. And Schools Matter hits it right on the detonator again. You should go read this.

Go to this link to read the take on President Obama's remarks on education in the SOTU address.

Thanks to NYC Educator for pointing the way.

Really, once again, I know President Obama thinks he means well, but when your education dilettante advisors have nothing but contempt for those of us in the trenches, you DO just get tired after a while of the same ol' playing to stereotypes.

You a parent of teens too? Then read this....

I love Dooce. I even love Dooce when she has a guest poster. Sarah of que sera sera wrote a absolutely perfect and hilarious post of fights she had with her mother.

Here is the post, entitled "Mom v. Me."

Here is Sarah's regular gig.

Since in my house "mother" is just an emoticon that means "embarrassing frump who's ruining my life forever and ever and can I have 400 dollars worth of clothes if I pick up five dog hairs from the floor as a sort of swipe at these outrageous insane demands you make upon my precious Facebook time known as chores," this post resonated with me. And made me laugh. Which I needed. As well as a stiff Irish whiskey.

Go! Read! Laugh!

Linky sausage o' the day

1. Thirty percent of Americans may claim affinity for the Tea Party.

But that means that seventy percent of us know they're nuts. And last I checked, that's, um, a majority.

2. Now this is a REAL American hero.

3. Ewwwwww. And I'm generally okay with insects and arachnids. But-- yuck.

4. No recusal? Yeah- because then he wouldn't be able to put his own personal finances in front of justice for those who DON'T own petro-stocks.

5. There are fears of resegregation in North Carolina. And once again, if our neighborhoods were not segregated, our schools wouldn't be.

How can this be?

A wounded warrior is just that-- a wounded warrior, someone who has placed everything dear to them on the line to protect our country.

So how can THIS happen?

Or THIS?

Outrageous. Please pray for Dragonlady and her husband.

Linkety-link-link-link

Some amazing linky goodness:
1. IB a Math Teacher presents us with the ultimate enabling parent.

2. Bob has an evil knife problem, and a Les Nessman-ized thumb.

3. Teachergirl tells us that Pittsburgh, the home of those damn' Steelers, actually delayed school on Monday. The reason why is nuts.

4. Phantom Professor tells the tale of a college instructor who sued her students. Word.

5. Millard Fillmore's Bathtub relates that Harry Truman never advocated bamboozling people.

6. Jay Matthews at the WaPo points out the value of high school athletics, of which I often need reminding this time of year, now that the wrestlers are all running around eating bizarre concoctions-- if, indeed, they are eating at all.

Go have fun now!

5 Blogs that make me think

Darling Elementaryhistoryteacher chose me as one of her five blogs that make her think, and I am indeed humbled by her support.

The original idea for this award was from ilker over at The thinking blog, which is a site I had never visited before and I am so glad that I did-- this looks right up my alley.

One of the greatest things that I have enjoyed since entering the blogging world has been the conversations that I have had with all kinds of people all over the world. I really appreciate the free exchange of ideas, the polite back-and-forth and give-and-take that has so enriched my life.

Although it will be incredibly difficult to limit myself to a measly five, since I am a serial blog-reader, here are five blogs that really make me think, besides the ones that have already been tagged that I read all the time, such as elementaryhistoryteacher's site, Californiateacherguy, Mamacita, and From the trenches of public education:

1. Educationwonks is my blogfather, the person who inspired me to stick my boat in the water. He is the gravitational center of the Edusphere, the creator of the Carnival of Education, that weekly smorgasbord of the bests of educational blogposts, and besides that, he is a really great guy. But he always finds the most interesting nuggets relating to education anywhere. There's always something good to read over at the Wonks' place.

2. NYC Eduator is another blogger who really makes me think. I know a LOT more about NYC schools since I added him to my blogroll, let me tell you. Even if your situation is different than NYC's, you can see the best and the worst of the urban educational landscape here.

3. Scott Elliot at Get On the Bus reports on education for the Dayton Daily News. This is a great place to find out what the world of education is like from a non-teacher perspective here in the Land Between the Coasts.

4. Quaker Dave over at The Quaker Agitator has such a refined sense of ethics and morality-- you know he really believes in practicing what he preaches in the classroom and in his life. This is a man with a real moral compass, much like California Teacher Guy. A moment at his blog refreshes my soul, and provokes much soul-searching.

5.Polski3 at Polski3's View from Here is one of the wonderful examples in the Edusphere of someone who is so invested in public education and who is continually reflecting upon his practice as a teacher. When he threatened to stop blogging this year, I panicked. We've lost a lot of good bloggers this year, and I am so glad that Polski3 decided not to be one of them.

And there are a hundred more people upn whom I depend to help me reflect upon my practice and beliefs as an educator. If you have a chance stop by these blogs and see what I mean. Thanks so much for coming by to my little corner of the world every day!

Frankenstein toes (insert evil laugh here)

Forlorn? Disgruntled? Gruntled even, but still grumpy? You need a laugh, honeychile.

Go to A Series of Inconsequential Events and read about the Singing Pig's misadventures with a falling sink, a Mexican restaurant, and a big toe.

At least the prehensile toes of this lazy blogger still work. You rock, Piggy, just when I thought that I was too tired to laugh.

She's got the goods. And the shredded toe.