In some respects, this has been a tough year for me. It has been a year of brickbats and insults: I have been called a hypocrite, insincere, dishonest, pathological liar, and a cherry-picker, but best of all: Bill Gates Chief Adversary; and Whittaker Chambers of School Reform. I would much rather be Whittaker Chambers than Alger Hiss!

But if you are a teacher or parent, you have had to take many more insults and real hits than I have.

If you are a teacher, you have watched as state legislature passed bills to