Ultimate Fighting Curricula

The front page of yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle showcased the current debate over whether or not California should abandon the curricula that has earned high marks from the Thomas B. Fordham institute in favor of the Obama administration’s Common Core standards. The Common Core attempts to unify curricula across the states, some of which have been escaping the dire penalties of No Child Left Behind by assessing students according to fairly simple standards (which, naturally, inflates test scores).

First Visit to the Village

This entry is not about the health care system, but after walking into the pediatric care room at Valley Medical Center, I may have found the Achilles’ heel of the American education system.

I opened the door to the waiting room – an overflowing harbor of families. A Latina mother sat in the hub of nearly every cluster of children. The ambient din pulsed with the ritmo of español. In the foreground, a familiar face swung into view just as I turned the stroller past the doorway. “Antonio” had just graduated from the high school where I teach, and he was a student in my very first SDAIE English class.

You Say You Want a Revolution?

The United States of America became an independent nation on what date?

September 3, 1783.

The Treaty of Paris officially converted thirteen of the British colonies in America into an autonomous collective dubbed the United States. France and Spain were also parties to the treaty with negotiations resembling an imperialist version of a four-team trade in the NBA. (Florida to Britain, Louisiana to Spain, France gets half the Caribbean, and Pennsylvania gets an expansion franchise.)

Mr. Pinza, what's a lesbian?

This summer, I'm teaching basic debate to middle-schoolers. They chose to debate school dress codes, and one enterprising student stumbled upon the story of Natalie Young of Queens, who was sent home from her middle school in April, 2002 for wearing a T-shirt that said "Barbie is a Lesbian." That little story could prove very useful in his debates. Just one small glitch:

Mr. Pinza, what's a lesbian?

Graduation - the day after

Seems fitting to kick off this blog by recounting the last day of my 2009-2010 school year.

After fretting throughout Finals week about how I could possibly find time to upload my semester grades and clean the classroom out, especially after attending graduation Thursday evening instead of attending to final exams, optimism held sway by the time Friday rolled around. My checkout sheet for the year had been signed off by lunchtime, affording ample time for late Spring cleaning. I rolled home with that crossing-stuff-off-your-to-do-list-with-a-one-inch-thick-smelly-Sharpie bounce in my step and spirit. I didn't even have to pick up my son from day care for another two hours. 3:00 - I sailed into the house eager to bask in summer break.

Then the phone rang. My wife. "Did you get the email?"