Happy New Year!

I hope 2009 brings you joy, love, and happiness! (and increased CST scores...)

Huh?

Today I spent the day at school trying to catch up on work. I've been procrastinating big time. Actually, I've been enjoying every second of this vacation. But, I think I'm ready to get back to work. There's so much to do and I really do miss the kids (the good ones). After work, I went to It's a Grind to get coffee, like I always do. The lady in front of me ordered water with no ice and a side of cream cheese. That's all. Water and cream cheese. Huh? Who goes to It's a Grind to buy water and cream cheese? I guess the lady in front of me does. Not to judge, but that was a bit strange.

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to you!

Half Way Point

Well, we're at the half way point of our vacation. The time has flown by! I've accomplished a few tasks, but I still have tons to do. I've totally been procrastinating! I'll worry about getting stuff done next week! I've really enjoyed doing nothing. Some days, the highlight of my day is driving to Signal Hill to get coffee. That's the life! I've managed to see three movies. Four Christmases...loved it, didn't think I would. Milk...absolutely loved it! What a great movie. Sean Penn is amazing in the movie. Slumdog Millionaire...best movie I've seen in a long time. A few friends and I saw Kathy Griffin at the Kodak Theater. She is HILARIOUS! She could have talked a little less about Nancy Grace though. It was a great show and the Kodak is beautiful. I hope everyone is having a great vacation!

New Secretary of Education

Today, President-elect Obama nominated Arne Duncan to be the next Secretary of Education. I happened to catch the news conference on C-SPAN. I found it interesting that during the president-elect's opening remarks introducing Mr. Duncan and during the question/answer session, parent accountability was mentioned several times. The president-elect challenged parents to turn off the video games and read to their kids. He also said we needed to "change our culture to value educational achievement." Wow! Who would have thought that a president-elect would be talking about holding parents accountable and valuing public education? I think it would be a good idea for President-elect Obama to call the California "governor" and "legislators" and encourage them to NOT cut school funding. From what I'm hearing of the budget proposals offered by both Democrats and Republicans, the proposals include major cuts to school funding. I think it's time for the state legislators to give up their per diems and car allowances. In fact, why do we need both an assembly and a state senate? Think of all the money we'd save if we got rid of one. I'm a fan of unicameral state government. I'm more of a fan of building and sustaining a culture of educational achievement.

Sunday Thoughts

First of all, I must congratulate Poly on their victory against Lakewood. It was a sad loss, but Poly definitely deserves the spot in the CIF final. Go Jackrabbits!

In the current issue of Time magazine, the cover story is about the D.C. schools' chancellor, Michelle Rhee. She is one of my favorite people in education. She's a no nonsense, no excuses, lets get the job done now kind of leader. I love that. She's definitely made a few enemies during her tenure in D.C. You have to respect the passion she has for making sure D.C. kids get a quality education. I think we can all learn a lesson or two from Chancellor Rhee's work. Check out the article.

Got Happiness?

There is an interesting story in the L.A. Times. Happiness is contagious, research finds. Not having to deal with discipline issues or the daily stress of school has sure made me quite happy! I'm totally enjoying these do nothing days. I'm enjoying doing nothing so much, that I haven't even looked at the trimester 1 data yet OR even started reading Twilight. I'll look at the data on Saturday. I'll probably start reading Twilight on Sunday. I guess I need to start looking at the data soon. There's a principals' meeting on Wednesday that I have to go to. We'll be dissecting all the trimester 1 data. I know, fun. You know you wish you were me.

Check out the article.

Go Lancers!

I used to be into football...before the Rams moved to St. Louis. Not so much now. As a proud Lakewood grad, I must show some school spirit. This Friday, Lakewood and Poly are playing for a spot in the CIF Finals. I'm sure Ruselle will be devastated if Poly loses. Good thing she'll have four more weeks to recover from the trauma. Go Lancers!