Pete Tucker: The Coverups of the Rhee-Henderson Era in DC | Diane Ravitch's blog

Pete Tucker: The Coverups of the Rhee-Henderson Era in DC | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Pete Tucker: The Coverups of the Rhee-Henderson Era in DC

Pete Tucker, an independent journal is in DC,criticizes The Washington Post for its failure to cover the scandals of the Rhee-Henderson era.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_582f468ce4b08c963e343e70

Tucker writes in HuffingtonPost that the Washington Post has a long history of giving favorable treatment to Rhee (I would add,more in their editorials than their news pages).

Tucker is disturbed that the Post swept the latest scandal under the rug.

“The newspaper’s latest effort comes on the heels of Henderson being censured for soliciting donations from city contractors, including one accused of serving kids spoiled food and stealing millions. (That contractor, Chartwells, reached a settlement with the District in 2015, agreeing to pay the school system $19.4 million.)

“The donations Henderson secured were directed to the DC Public Education Fund, which she controlled. (The Post also contributed to the fund but failed to disclose that.)

AP’s Ben Nuckols broke the story in April. The Post then followed up with their story, tucked away on page B4 of the Metro section.

“This week’s story–on Henderson being censured by D.C.’s ethics board — was even harder to find. “The WP buried the story on the Obituaries Page B6!!!!” former DCPS guidance counselor Sheila Gill-Mebane wrote on Facebook.

“The Post’s story wasn’t just hard to find. While other news outlets highlighted the censure in their headlines (“Former DC Schools Chief Censured Over Ethics,” read one), the Post kept it in smaller script.

“This is just the latest example of the Post downplaying the Rhee/Henderson era’s serious shortcomings and scandals, which have included: widespread cheating on standardized tests; the widening of an already vast achievement gap; shortchanging ‘at risk’ students; and lead in schools’ water.”

Rhee was interviewed by Donald Trump for the position as Secretary of Education. Some of Trump’s allies oppose Rhee because she supports the Common Core, which Trump vowed to eliminate, but also because she would insist on testing and accountability for charters and voucher schools.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/19/michelle-rhee-supporter-heavily-regulated-school-choice-education-secretary/Pete Tucker: The Coverups of the Rhee-Henderson Era in DC | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Karen Wolfe: The Next Election for the LAUSD Will Be a Showdown Over Privatization

by dianeravitch / 1h

Karen Wolfe, a public school parent and blogger in Los Angeles, reports on the upcoming battle royal for control of the school board. The charter ndustry is planning a raid on the school board, and their candidates can expect to be showered with money from billionaires who want to privatize more of the public schools. As karen points out, most of the donors will be able to hide their names until

Stuart Egan: Will North Carolina Drop Arts & P.E. in Elementary Schools?

by dianeravitch / 2h

As I have mentioned many times, the highly successful schools of Finland emphasize play, the arts, and creativity. They don’t begin teaching reading until children are in first or second grade. The Finns want school to be a stress free, joyful experience for children. And it works. The schools have been described by international organizations as the best in the world. Stuart Egan, high school te

Anthony Cody: McCarthyism, My Family, and the New Trump Era

31by dianeravitch / 3h

My friend and colleague Anthony Cody tells the story of his family’s travails during the McCarthy era and links it to events of the present day. Not long after I first met Anthony, about five years ago, he briefly summarized the story of his parents and the hardships they endured because of McCarthyism. As a historian, I urged him to write about it. The events of the past week provoked him to do

Parody: Post-Election Scoring Rubric for Scoring Essays

5by dianeravitch / 4h

This is a very funny scoring rubric that incorporates the skills that separate winners and losers, starting January 20. It says it applies to grading college essays, but it would work well in the school grades as well. It does not reflect the Common Core.

Commonweal on Trump: A Time to Pray

17by dianeravitch / 5h

Commonweal, the Catholic magazine, published an editorial about the election of Donald Trump. The editors are deeply concerned about Trump’s lack of empathy for those in need. They hope he will govern with policies and attitudes different from those he expressed in the campaign. The editors wrote: “It seems unlikely, but perhaps the enormous responsibilities of the presidency will calm Donald Tru

YESTERDAY

A Reader on “the Trump Effect”

23by dianeravitch / 23h

Reader Vale Math posted this comment: “I read today, people trashed a woman’s car and spray painted anti-Muslim messages on the car with swastikas as they thought she was wearing a hijab. She was wearing a head scarf because she lost her hair due to lupus. So now, Trump supporters are attacking people with cancer and auto-immune diseases. “At a local school, a black student was told she should be

Michigan: Another Online Charter Scandal

12by dianeravitch / 1d

State police in Michigan are investigating online schools for financial fraud and inflating enrollment. https://www.tuscolatoday.com/index.php/2016/11/16/state-police-probing-possible-fraud-at-vassar-schools-mep/

Matthew Yglesias: Now is the Time to Hold Trump Accountable for His Cabinet Selections

5by dianeravitch / 1d

Mattew Iglesias has a dire view of the next four years. The federal government has vast powers with which to reward friends and punish enemies. And Donald Trump has made it clear that he will do both. A government that operates with these principles would be systemically corrupt, he says. The next 100 days are critical in demanding that Trump choose cabinet appointees whose qualifications are mor

In Final Months of Election, More People Read Fake News on the Internet than Real News

17by dianeravitch / 1d

Post-truth is reality today. Craig Silverman writes in Buzzfeed that more people linked to fake news sites than to real news sites in the final months of the election. “Of the 20 top-performing false election stories identified in the analysis, all but three were overtly pro-Donald Trump or anti-Hillary Clinton. Two of the biggest false hits were a story claiming Clinton sold weapons to ISIS and

The Cast of “Hamilton” Gives Mike Pence a Lecture; Trump Tweets Back

53by dianeravitch / 1d

Mike Pence attended the Broadway show “Hamilton” last night. The show is a remarkable re-imagining of America’s founding with a cast of actors of different races, mostly black and brown. I saw it a few weeks ago and was greatly moved by its vision of an inclusive nation. The cast and audience were aware of Pence’s presence. He received some applause but also loud boos. At the end of the show, the

North Carolina Virtual Charters Post High Attrition Rates, Low Grades

20by dianeravitch / 1d

North Carolina has two virtual charter schools, one operated by Pearson, the other by Michael Milken’s K12 Inc. Both have high attrition rates and poor student performance , as reported in state data. “Students at one of the state’s two brand new virtual charter schools are dropping out at a rate that exceeds the maximum allowed by state law, according to a report authored by the North Carolina O

NYSAPE Speaks Out on the Election and Our Public Schools

11by dianeravitch / 1d

NYSAPE (New York State Allies for Public Education) is the coalition of 50 organizations of parents and educators who have twice led successful opt outs from state testing, with more than 200,000 students refusing the tests for the 

“It is NOT your right to despair.” | Reclaim Reform

“It is NOT your right to despair.” | Reclaim Reform:

“It is NOT your right to despair.”

The despair we are experiencing with a sociopath, billionaire as the unelected President of the United States who is declared President by the Electoral College is palpable. Naming sociopaths of his ilk to his Cabinet is also enough to throw us into despair.

Bernie Sanders gives us all his sage advice, advice which is not for wimps.

Find others in your area. Unite.

Organize. Refuse to accept what we know is wrong. Get into the streets. Unite.

Never, ever be a willing victim. Unite.

“It is NOT your right to despair.” | Reclaim Reform:

Bill Gates and the Medal of Freedom: Obama Officially Recognizes the Right of the Rich to Impose Public Policy | Raginghorseblog

Bill Gates and the Medal of Freedom: Obama Officially Recognizes the Right of the Rich to Impose Public Policy | Raginghorseblog:

Bill Gates and the Medal of Freedom: Obama Officially Recognizes the Right of the Rich to Impose Public Policy

As if to officially acknowledge the insidious and tacit transformation of the remnants of democracy to not so subtle oligarchy, the Obama administration has announced that Bill Gates is to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a sense, as the Obama administration has done more to undermine public education than any in American history, it is right and fitting that Gates, the person who has bankrolled and forged that effort more than any individual in American history, be so duly honored.

For the past 15 years, Gates, a private citizen with zero educational experience and knowledge, has been allowed to use his virtually limitless fortune to impose his will on the public school system as he has pleased, an effort he has pursued with the same ruthlessness that he once used to obtain the intellectual property rights that have led to his immense fortune.

Gates’ efforts have led directly to the expansion of publically funded, privately managed charter schools, the creation and imposition of idiotic and grossly unfair teacher evaluations, mass financing propaganda like Waiting For Superman, and the purchase and acquiescence of long standing education organizations such as the national Parent Teacher Association. In addition, Gates has funded the creation of a seemingly endless amount of freshly minted “grass roots” advocacy organizations (Educators for Excellence, for example) the sole purpose of which is to deceive an unknowing public into believing that a campaign to privatize the school system by the richest people on earth is rising from the streets. (The usurpation of the language and iconography of the Civil Rights Movement has been both beyond shameless and disturbingly successful. ) It has also led to the immiseration of teachers from coast to coast as well as the weakening of the power of teacher unions – who foolishly tried to dance with this monopolist — across the nation. Gates’ crowning achievement thus far is the imposition of the secretly written, deceptively named, disastrously received Common Core State Standards which, as they were written with standardized tests in mind, in turn have led to a reduction of education to test prep.

His success at” reform” has led education historian Diane Ravitch to sardonically dub Gates “ the superintendent of American schools. “

That this unelected, unaccountable and largely hidden figure has been allowed to forge his will on an American institution as vital as the public school system should fill every American who actually believes in participatory democracy with abject horror.

Instead, Gates is being awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor. And so it goes. Allow an individual man to accumulate the wealth of a state and it is only a matter of time before that individual begins to act like the state and a short time after that the state recognizes said individual as proxy for the state.

May the kind of freedom President Obama is awarding here be clearly recognized and seen for what it is. It is the freedom of the private citizen to make public policy for millions providing that private citizen is super rich.

The rest of us be damned.

What a sad, sad time in which we live.Bill Gates and the Medal of Freedom: Obama Officially Recognizes the Right of the Rich to Impose Public Policy | Raginghorseblog:

How Hungry Kids Will Fare Under Trump | Civil Eats

How Hungry Kids Will Fare Under Trump | Civil Eats:

How Hungry Kids Will Fare Under Trump

President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress will likely walk back most of the progress made on school food and nutrition programs in recent years.

In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s surprise victory on Tuesday, all the things I’d planned to write about this week—a review of a new cookbook, an informative article I recently read—suddenly seem exceedingly trivial. Instead I can only think about the many troubling ramifications of this election, including what it may mean for the millions of children who rely on federal programs like school meals for critical nutrition.

At one end of Pennsylvania Avenue, we’ll have a Republican-controlled Congress taking up the long-overdue Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) next year. House Republicans have already shown a willingness—indeed, an almost vengeful eagerness—­to roll back the improved school nutrition standards championed by the First Lady.

They want to get rid of the “Smart Snacks” rules that cleaned up on-campus junk food fundraising, slash the number of schools able to use the Community Eligibility Provision to serve free meals without paperwork, and allow schools to sell “a la carte” items like pizza and fries on a daily basis. They’ve also proposed a three-state block grant pilot for school meals, an idea which could cripple school meal programs in the event of an economic downturn, and which is seen by some as a precursor to dismantling the entire National School Lunch Program.

Of course, school meals are not the only federal program on which hungry kids rely. Forty-four percent of supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) recipients are children, but the current Republican party platform advocates divorcing the program from the farm bill, thereby making it far more vulnerable to significant budget cuts. Indeed, House Speaker Paul Ryan has already indicated he hopes to drain $1 trillion from the program over the next ten years.

Then there’s President-elect Trump himself. While the fast-food loving candidate didn’t talk much about food policy on the campaign trail, what little he did say was rather alarming, including a plan to eliminate many food safety regulations, along with the nonexistent “FDA Food Police.”

As for school food in particular, Trump didn’t join his primary opponents Ted Cruz and Chris Christie in mocking Michelle Obama’s school food reform efforts on the campaign trail. (See: “If Heidi’s First Lady, French Fries Will Return to the Cafeteria” and “Christie on School Food: “I Don’t Care” What Kids Eat.”)

Instead, the only time Trump spoke about school food (to my knowledge) was when he appeared on the Dr. Oz show in September. According to The Atlantic, a teacher in the audience asked about childhood obesity and Trump responded: “That is a school thing to a certain extent. I guess you could say it’s a hereditary thing, too. I would imagine it certainly is a hereditary thing. But a lot of schools aren’t providing proper food because they have budget problems, and they’re buying cheaper food and not as good of food.”

If you squint a little, that rambling response could actually be construed as supporting healthy school meals served by well-funded districts, but I’m not holding my breath.

After all, Trump is the same person who tapped Sid Miller, the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, as one of his advisors on food policy. Miller caused an uproar just last week by calling Hillary Clinton the “c-word,” but well before that incident (and before a whole lot of other outrageous and despicable behavior in my state), Miller’s first act in office was bringing back soda, deep fat fryers and birthday cupcakes to Texas schools.

Now, Politico‘s Morning Ag newsletter reports that Miller is actually on the short list as a possible (if unlikely) pick for Agriculture Secretary, the official who, among other duties, oversees all federal child nutrition programs. That Miller is even being considered for such a position tells us all we need to know about the relative importance of these issues to Trump and his advisors.

I unwittingly launched The Lunch Tray right in the middle of the last CNR, in the summer of 2010. Back then, it was thrilling to have a devoted champion like Michelle Obama in the White House, willingly spending her political capital to push for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. For advocates like me and for concerned parents around the country, it’s going to be excruciating to watch the likely dismantling of many of those reforms in the days ahead.

For hungry children, the impact could be devastating.How Hungry Kids Will Fare Under Trump | Civil Eats:

What It's Like Teaching '1984' After Trump's Election - The Atlantic

What It's Like Teaching '1984' After Trump's Election - The Atlantic:
Teaching 1984 in 2016
Every year, one high-school educator converts his classroom into a totalitarian state to teach George Orwell’s book. This year, the lesson feels different.

My classroom becomes a totalitarian state every school year toward the end of October. In preparation for teaching 1984 to seniors, I announce the launch of a new program aimed at combating senioritis, a real disease with symptoms that include frequent unexplained absences, indifferent reading, and shoddy work. I tell each class that another class is largely to blame for the problem and require, for a substantial participation grade, that students file daily reports on another student’s work habits and conduct; most are assigned to another student in the same class.

We blanket the campus in posters featuring my face and simple slogans that warn against the dangers of senioritis and declare my program the only solution to the school’s woes. Last year, my program was OSIP (Organization for Senior Improvement Project); this year, it’s SAFE (Scholar Alliance For Excellence). We chant a creed at the start of each class, celebrate the revelatory reports of “heroes” with cheers, and boo those who fail to participate enthusiastically. I create a program Instagram that students eagerly follow. I occasionally bestow snacks as rewards.

After a week, new posters (and stickers) speak less to senioritis and more to, well, me. The new slogans are simpler: my name, mostly. My image is everywhere. I change the rules, requiring students to obtain more points in order to pass. I restrict previously granted privileges, like the right to leave the room to use the bathroom. I subtract points for subjectively noted lapses in conviction. I fabricate a resistance movement and vow to stamp out the ignorant opposition to our noble cause.

Occasionally, a kid groans in exasperation and I fix him with a long, nasty, meaningful look. If a student asks about the point of it all, I ask him why no one else seems to have the same concern. I get louder. I get meaner. I give students points for alerting me to the sources of dissent. Eager to shore up their grades, gleeful at the chance to tweak friends and possibly enemies, a few students furtively hand over notes after classes. I collect the reports two weeks after they start the book, pronounce the experiment over (with language paying tribute to Orwell’s telling appendix), and ask them what they learned.What It's Like Teaching '1984' After Trump's Election - The Atlantic:

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Yikes, There's Snow Edition (11/20) + Deasy To Start Newest New Conversation

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Yikes, There's Snow Edition (11/20):

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI

As always, share the originals for anything here that you like. And in the meantime, let it snow.

TFA Wants My Money: Why I Said No

Perhaps Kevin Huffman shouldn't have sent his fund-raising letter to one of the TFA alumni who published a book about the abusive scamming of TFA

Pat and Fred Cody's American Story: Resistance and Resiliance

Anthony Cody tells the story of his parents, the fifties, and HUAC's abuses

ELOs- How Community Based Learning Advances the Cyber Education Agenda


One more thing to watch out for as we stay alert for further moves to replace schools with screens.

What Are You Doing To Teach Students To Spot Sketchy News Stories

One of the stories to come out of the election is the widespread dissemination of fake news. Bill Ferriter offers some concrete methods for teaching your students to be smarter than that.

Doing Well By Doing Good: For-Profit Schools

Larry Cuban takes a look at the not-very-successful history of for-profit education.

Trump's 20 Billion School Choice Plan-- Is It Doable?

Alyson Klein looks at Trump's education plan ("throw money at charters") and tries to see how or if it could be done.

A Beacon of Excellence

Charles Sahm of the Manhattan Institute, usually pushers of charters, writes a glowing review of a public school.

Evidence for the Disconnect Between Changing Test Scores and Changing Life Outcomes

Jay Greene is planted firmly in the reform camp, but that rarely keeps him from calling bullshit. Here he attacks one of the basic assumptions of reformsterdom-- the idea that raising a child's test scores improves that child's future.

Here Are Corporations and Right Wing Funders Backing Education Reform Movement

From back in April, a handy little resource from Media Matters, this is a fairly large list and set of charts showing some of the drivers on the right-tilted side of ed reform. We can quibble about what was or wasn't included (does DFER get to be counted as left-leaning just because they say so in the face of all evidence to the contrary). But it's still a handy guide to some of the players. CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Yikes, There's Snow Edition (11/20):

CURMUDGUCATION: Deasy To Start Newest New Conversation - http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2016/11/deasy-to-start-newest-new-conversation.html

Big Education Ape: Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Charter Teacher Fired for Assigning Reading + The Faux Progressive Polka - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/11/catch-up-with-curmudgucation-fl-charter.html

More lawsuits against public education coming from charter school industry - Wait What?

More lawsuits against public education coming from charter school industry - Wait What?:

More lawsuits against public education coming from charter school industry

In addition to spending tens of millions on campaign contributions and lobbying, the charter school industry is fond of bringing lawsuits in their never-ending effort to privatize public education in the United States.

Now the corporate interests behind the charter school industry is taking their strategy a step further with the development of a “charter school defense fund,” to help charter schools and their associations engage in more legal maneuvers to divert scarce public funds to their privately owned, but publicly funded entities.

As Politico, the national news website reported Friday,

NEW FUND FOR CHARTER SCHOOL DEFENSE: The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has launched a Charter School Legal Action Fund to serve as a “national watchdog and resource” when it comes to legal threats against charter school growth, funding, autonomy and constitutionality across the country. The legal action fund plans to help defend charter schools in lawsuits and get involved with “carefully selected offensive litigation to improve the statutory and regulatory environment in states that stand to impact the national charter school community,” the organization said in a letter to its allies. The Walton Family Foundation provided $500,000 in seed funding to help launch the legal action fund.

— “Legal cases can be very costly — most nonprofit [charter management organizations] and independent charter schools don’t have financial reserves to address these cases,” NAPCS President Nina Rees told Morning Education. “We started the Fund to protect students and families, and their right to keep attending a school that’s working for them. Most of these battles are being fought in the courthouse, not the statehouse through legislation.” The legal action fund will provide financial help for defending and advancing cases as long as local partners provide matching funds.

According to their website,

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (National Alliance) is the 

More lawsuits against public education coming from charter school industry - Wait What?:

Moskowitz and Rhee: A Teacher’s Viewpoint

Moskowitz and Rhee: A Teacher’s Viewpoint:

Moskowitz and Rhee: A Teacher’s Viewpoint

Many educators and parents have expressed concerns about Eva Moskowitz or Michelle Rhee becoming Secretary of Education. Moskowitz has declined the post, but Ivanka Trump visited her charter school, and some fear she is still being courted. They seem to value her input.

From a teacher’s viewpoint, I wanted to document why so many resent the appointment of either of these women.

Other candidates for the post are worrisome too. Betsy DeVos is a huge voucher proponent in the State of Michigan, although the voucher amendment she peddled there failed. And Jerry Falwell Jr. would likely change the face of public schooling and religious liberties.

The goal of the Trump administration appears to be to destroy democratic public schools.

Do Republicans really want this? Do Democrats? Where have the teachers unions been on this issue? Do they feel they have no say?

From a teacher’s viewpoint, I thought I’d write about how difficult it is to observe the promotion of a Moskowitz or Rhee in this position because both have been up close and Moskowitz and Rhee: A Teacher’s Viewpoint:

Russ on Reading: What Is Research-Based Instruction?

Russ on Reading: What Is Research-Based Instruction?:

What Is Research-Based Instruction?

Did you ever wonder about the term "research-based"? We all want to make sure our instruction is research-based. But every commercial program for reading instruction on the market advertises itself as research-based and professional developers always preface their talks by saying their recommendations are research-based. We are told the Common Core is research-based. What exactly does "research-based" mean?

The conventional definition of research-based is instructional practice that is "founded on an accumulation of facts that have been established in research." Let's take that Common Core favorite close reading as an example. Close reading is research-based. It is founded on some things that we know about reading instruction. For example, research shows definitively that reading comprehension and fluency are improved by repeated reading. Research also shows that focusing on vocabulary and sentence structure strengthens reading comprehension. Since close reading deals with these factors of reading comprehension proponents can say that close reading is research-based.

What close reading is not is researched. According to the Common Core's own review of the literature published here, "close reading was not a widely practiced method prior to the adoption of the Standards, [and so] it has not been studied directly through rigorous academic research." There are no studies that demonstrate that close reading accomplishes improved reading. There are no studies that show that close reading makes you more college and career ready. There are no studies that demonstrate that close reading is a better use of time than other instructional strategies focusing on fluency, vocabulary, and syntax.
Is this a distinction without a difference? I don't think so. Let's look at an instructional strategy that has been proven to improve reading comprehension - reciprocal teaching. Reciprocal teaching is an integrated strategy approach where students are taught to use several reading Russ on Reading: What Is Research-Based Instruction?:

Dear Tired Teacher Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

Dear Tired Teacher

November 18, 2016 Andi Schiappacasse

Originally posted here https://firethejudge.com/2016/11/18/dear-tired-teacher/

Dear Tired Teacher,

I want you to know I see you.  I mean I really, REALLY SEE YOU.

I see the look in your eyes in the morning when you greet me in the hallway.  Your voice and tone are pleasant but your eyes?  Oh, your eyes reveal how tired you are.

I see you in IEP meetings and RtI meetings and Behavior Plan meetings and meetings that parents request.  I hear your professionalism and your desire to do what is needed.  I admire how you take a deep breath when another task is added to your unending, overflowing, insurmountable pile of things that has to be done.  And I see you.  I see a flash that goes between disbelief and panic.  I know that it means, How will I ever be able to do this TOO?

I see you in the classroom.  I see you with students who are coming to you with such a range of skills that you must orchestrate lessons that address the needs of all.  Students who can barely read all the way to students who finished the entire series of Harry Potter over the weekend.  Students who can multiply and divide and “fractionize” the first time you teach it and students who require weeks of reteaching and practicing.  I hear your sincere encouragement and recognition to all your learners.   I see your joy when the lightbulb goes on.  Please know, I see your defeat when it doesn’t.  I know what it means.  You’re trying everything you know.   Dear Tired Teacher, I know you are.  I see it.

I see you with “those kids” Tired Teachers.  I see you when I come to help with the student who is running laps around the class, or tipping chairs, or stringing curse words with poetic ease.   I see when you take him for a walk to cool off.  I hear your calming tone as you try to diffuse the situation.  I see the look when you’ve tried everything you know and the student is still on the floor shouting insults.   I know what it means.  I know you hurt for him.   I know you wish you could’ve said the right thing or done the magic trick that snapped that student out of it.  I have a feeling, Tired Teachers that this is The One Thing.  This is The One Thing.  If you could wish away One Thing it would be you would wish away the pain behind the behavior.

I see you with parents Tired Teachers.  I hear how you are professional and honest.  I admire how you can celebrate success and express concern all in the confines of ten minute conferences.  I see how it hurts when an angry email arrives in your Badass Teachers Association: