Signs of Hope

It is unlikely for me to go optimistic on anything, but there were some glimmers of hope this past week and I thought I'd share.

(a) 80% of NJ School budgets passed this week including the one for my district. This is UNPRECEDENTED and I will take it as a sign that people DO care about their kids public education and do NOT like what Christie is doing.

(b) More people with more clout are writing about how we as Americans are approaching education in the wrong way, treating it as a business and making teaching a profession that is NOT attractive to smart, dedicated people. This should seem obvious, but it isn't and now writers for major newspapers are taking sides and calling people out who are wrong.

(c) Race to Nowhere is still touring and playing. Though i have not seen it yet, family members of mine, including my wife, have and it sounds like it has the right message to get to parents, educators, administrators, and politicians: good education means quality of work not mass quantities of work and we need to pay attention to our children and allow them some time to rest and play EVERY DAY.

So, maybe things will get better in the future, hopefully sooner than later.