Senator Warren - The Leader I Want To Be

I’ve always wanted to be a leader.

My favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle was Leonardo, because he was the leader. He gave the order, and he knew what was going on. I figured that if I could become leader in some way it would make me feel better about myself. Through music I found a way to lead, as a concert master in middle school and high school orchestra. It felt good to have a title, and a position, but I didn’t really understand how to wield this power.

One of my jobs as concert master was to set the bowings for the rest of the violins. Instead of taking this opportunity to help others, I would arrogantly change the bowings on the fly. It felt good to be better than others and to have a way that I could feel power, because in most other measures of power in our society, through friend groups, through success as sports, I had no power.

In high school, the seeds of leadership as a position of service were planted in my mind through my fascination of Gandhi. This combined with the stories of the oppressed through the voices of John Steinbeck, and Maya Angelou helped me begin to see that there was injustice that needed to be addressed.

Over the years, I continued to be a leader in my college fraternity, as a conductor, as a teacher, and now as a department chair. Each position, each step on this journey, I begin to see the flaws in our traditional ideas of leadership.

We think of our leaders as needing to be the “best” at something, the kind of person who can consolidate power by proving strength through acts of personal achievement. Leaders are supposed to be flawless. And leaders are supposed men, older, white, and taller than me.

I came to realize that I can’t be that kind of leader, and now I know that now this is actually a good thing. Every leader I’ve met who has broken the mold, who has pushed against our traditional paradigms of leaderships has slowly created a different model for leadership in my mind.

A leader is not the “best” at a certain skill. They see the best in others. They are wise for being open about what they do not know, and seek to learn to from others. These leaders create power by empowering others and through the devotion of those they have served create a place where they can continue help others fulfill their potential. Leaders apologize, see flaws as areas to grow. And leaders can look like all of us.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is this leader, and is the most qualified candidate to defeat the current occupant of the White House, and help our country grow through this current moment of tension and strife into a greater America.

Yes, there are policies of hers that I like but my support of Senator Warren is about what those policies and her actions prove about her leadership. It’s about bringing a leader into power who sees the flaws in all of us, but believes that we can do better. It’s about being a leader who speaks the truth, not through anger but as a way to force us to see things more clearly. It’s about changing who we see as leaders so that we can better see the strength in those who have so much to give. but are do not get a seat at a table because they don’t look like leaders of the past.

It's about a leader who truly sees all of us as being human and deserving of dignity and respect. 

I was drawn in watching her holding bankers accountable, inspired when she persisted and would not stop talking, and made hopeful through her campaign that we will see our way to bring back dignity, true strength, kindness, and empathy to the White House.



I want to be a leader like Senator Warren, and I'm looking forward to be led by President Warren. 

Year 10: Week 19 – Teaching In The Age of trump

“Yeah, the place I used to live was pretty nice, but it was kind of trumpy.”

One of my sixth graders shared this reflection about the city that she used to live before moving to Chicago and coming to my school. She wasn’t wrong. The state that she used to live in has a lot of trump supporters. This clearly bothered her. The use of the term “trumpy” was dismissive of the president and the views that he espouses.

I felt no reason to ask her for clarification, or to challenge her to express herself in a different way.

The norm in the fourth year of his first term has set in. We have a president that I need to be careful to bring up. We have a president that cannot be used as an example of any positive character traits, and we have a president who does nothing I can bring up in class as an example of leadership, culture, or values.

I show videos of the amazing musicians that President Obama brought to the white house like when Trombone Shorty visited:


I use quotes in my class from other Presidents like Abraham Lincoln, but there are no quotes from this current president that can teach my students anything of value. Also, since he uses so much inappropriate language, he is not a model of communication that I want my students to imitate, or be exposed to. The lack of leadership is felt all the way down to the way that we speak to our students about the news, our communities, and how we should treat each other.

Should trump every be brought up in school? Yes. Students need to learn about the news and current events. However, we have to be extremely careful how to we do this as trump’s voice and image is triggering to people in our community who trump has described in sub-human ways. As educators it is our primary job is the physical and emotional safety of our students, which is why managing conversations about trump in our classrooms carefully is very important.

As a music teacher and trump offer nothing to me. He didn’t go to any of the Kennedy Center honors programs. He hasn’t invited any great musicians or hosted any musical performance at the White House as most presidents before him. He doesn’t release a list of his favorite songs of the year, and he has never in my memory spoken about the importance of art or arts education.

When students do bring up trump, it’s more often than not in a joking way. In these moments, I have no problem explaining to them how making a joke about someone who has said hateful, prejudicial, and racist things about facets of identity that exists in our classroom is inappropriate, is wrong.

Teaching in the age of trump means that every single choice I make as an educator from the songs I teach, to the way that I respectfully look my students in their eyes and greet them by name is done deliberately. All I do is an effort to resist his negative effect on society and actively prevent another rise of such an immoral person into a seat of power.

This means having anti-racist curriculum, not letting boys in the classroom interrupt the girls during discussions, bringing voice to oppressed artists, and demonstrating what it means to be a leader. I am kind, I apologize when I mess up, and I focus my energy not on my own glory but elevating others. We must show our students that there is another way, that he is not the norm, and we can, and will be better then trump.

Top 10 of 2018: Part 2 - The Elections & The Hearing Aid

8. Two Years Later

I knew it mattered that I voted back in 2016, but when I voted this past November, I understood what was at stake. After two years of the one of the worst Presidents in American history, a horrendous Senate, and a damaging House Of Representatives, it became painfully clear that the choices we made during elections mattered.

The government, for the people and by the people should work to expand the rights of its citizens. Instead of doing this the Republican led executive and legislative branch focused on their version of “economic growth,” and “small government,” setting up situations which would actually require more government involvement in the future to fix the devastating effects of their selfishness. Not doing anything about racism in America will make it worse, and in doing nothing, the President and the majority power in congress have made one thing in America “great” again, racism.

Was their doubt that the blue wave would come? Yes, but pessimism never served me well in the past and while it did lead to a devastating feelings of loss and disbelief in 2016, it was optimism that refused to let me give up on my family, my country, and myself.

So, I voted with Ollie doing our mail-in ballot together, I mailed it in, and then I hoped for the wave. As much as the right might want to claim this election wasn’t victory for the Democrats, they are wrong. The Left won in a big way and they lost in ways that many did not predict. Elections across the country which were supposed to be blow-outs because of systemic racist voter suppression were close, and established candidates on the right sweated.

Every election matters, every vote matters.  Things get better or they get worse and unless you take a stand, and work to make things more equitable, rights will disappear.  After the 2016 election, I initially felt devastated, after the 2018 election, I'm feel that I'm ready to get to work. 


7. Baha

It wasn’t like one of those videos on youtube.com when a kid hears their parents’ voice for the first time. Ethan’s eyes didn’t light up the first time he had his hearing aid turned, he didn’t start giggling, or acting all that differently. I don’t think in the moment this meant all that much to Ethan, but it meant a lot to me.

We knew that this day was coming. Ethan’s unilateral hearing loss has been on our mind Ethan’s entire life. While it was once far in the front of my mind when I thought about him, it has become less in my thoughts as he grew older, but his disability never left me.

In my daily interactions with Ethan I don’t really notice his hearing loss. He reacts when I talk to him, he hears the front door open when we are upstairs, and his verbal skills are developing very well. I do see his right ear for what it is, smaller than his left and shaped different due to microtia, but it’s more of a cute feature when I gently touch it than a deformity. That ear really is the only outward sign of his disability, so putting on the head-strap and the Baha (hearing aid) in public comes with the knowledge that we are making public in the eyes of people something that we could easily hide.

Carrying him around family parties or at school when he is wearing his Baha, I have to careful to center him in front of me or carry him on my right hip to make sure the hearing aid doesn’t brush up against my chest. This is a challenge since I usually carry him on my left hip with my left arm, which is significantly stronger since I am left handed. I wonder if people are noticing his hearing aid, and I prepare myself for any comments people might ask say. Plenty of people come up and say hi to Ethan but very few saying anything about his hearing aid and the ones that do ask in the most wonderful and supportive ways. I’m sure that someone eventually will saying something rude or annoying about his Baha but it’s nice to know that this doesn’t have to be the norm.

The facebook groups I'm a member of for parents of children with hearing loss have filled my feed with pictures of children with all of kind of disabilities and stories of parents struggling with situations far more challenging than ours.  I've read the first part of Andrew Solomon's essential book Far From The Tree including his chapter on deafness, which has completely changed the way that I view and feel about people with disabilities.

We are starting to see more of difference when Ethan wears his Baha. He talks more and reacts to sounds faster. Ethan gets tired of wearing it sometimes and it’s easy to forget to put it on as much as we should. More than these things, I’m happy that we have this hearing aid for my little special little guy, and the world sounds a little bit more beautiful to him because of his Baha.

The 45th: One Year Later

One year later.

Here’s the thing. I don’t think that I have anything new or amazingly insightful about the past year with the 45th as president. But I think it’s worth taking a moment to reflect for myself, for my future self, and for my sons my thoughts during this moment.

There are many great people who do amazing things because they are seeking approval from unaffectionate, emotionally closed off parents. Can great things be accomplished with supportive, emotionally available parents? Of course. I would argue that great parenting doesn’t hinder accomplishments but also more meaning, and life-long satisfaction.

Did we need the 45th to win last year, and create a massive deficit in leadership, and embolden the worst amongst us, in order for us to have the results we had during last Tuesday’s elections? Does it take an accused sexual predator as president to give people the strength for others to come out about the crimes they suffered? Did it take openly racist, bigoted language by the 45th and policy proposals to bring forth a new awareness of racial issues, white privilege, and a clear need for socially progressive work? Did Americans have to be terrorized by the 45th with tweets that threatened proposals that would call into question their earned, and deserved rights as Americans for groups to mobilize and support each other as allies?

Did we need this guy as the 45th to motivate me to inject social justice as DEI work into every class I teach and take on the role as my schools’ DEI co-chair? Could all of the positive stuff happen in our country if he was not elected? Do we need to suffer oppression, and pain to reach a higher level of citizenship?

I don’t believe we need to experience the bad to achieve greatness. We could have made great strides forward without the pain, the fear, the threats, the gas-lighting, and the division. I don’t believe my students need to be made to cry to succeed. I don’t believe my son needs to be thrown into the deep end by surprise to learn to swim, and I don’t believe that whatever positive things happened in the past year, required the suffering of so many of us.

There is a trauma that we as a country are collectively experiencing, and that will take time to heal from. For those of us who acknowledge it and talk about it, we are on the important process of self-care. Those who ignore the trauma will have an even more difficult road ahead of them, and then there are those who truly do not feel what is happening.

There are people in this world whose opinions and world view will never change. When schools desegregated, many people fought this change, they eventually made private their bigotry, and these feelings died with them, while new generations see the light of truth and justice. There are people who will never change their negative viewpoints on racial equity, LGBTQ rights, social justice and feminism. However, there are many people whose minds can, and have evolved around these issues. This is where our focus needs to lie, not with the trolls, but the souls who care about our shared humanity, but don’t lack the tools and awareness to do this beyond their own communities.

In many ways it’s been a wonderful past year, despite the 45th.  As I write this, I see my baby boy sleeping next to me, and I smile when I think of my son at his wonderfully progressives, diverse, and inclusive school.  My wife and I are closer then ever.  I feel stronger, and more confident in who I and, more proud of the the different identities I embrace.

The biggest change for me in the past year is that everything that has happened in my life, and in this country has made me feel confident that I am an adult.  I'm 35 years old, but for the past fifteen years, I've felt like I was a kid faking my way in the world of adults who somehow know better than me, and have life figured out.  But now I know that I am right in my convictions.  I can take care of my family, and I can positively contribute to the various communities I belong to as a citizen.  I know this and I feel this because I'm know a better person, and a better leader, than the 45th.  And I know that I could be a much better President then that guy.  He may have the title, but we are the ones with the true power.

You do the best that, do the best that you can do
Then you can look in the mirror
Proud of who's looking back at you
Define the life you're living
Not by what you take or what you're givin'
And if you bet on love there's no way you'll ever lose
Take a stand, make a stand for what's right
It's always worth, always worth the fight.

2/17/17

I’m going to try to put all that is swirling around in my head in this post. I don’t even know if I can, but I’m going to try. I think this day, February 17th, 2017 may be the new normal. This kind of scares me, but I don’t know.

So here we go.

I’ve been sick in one way or another since November. NOVEMBER. I think I’m finally through it all. Being sick has reminded me of how much I appreciate medical science and how I have zero desire to every get in a time machine and live in the past. There is the fact that racism is SO much worse in the past but the medical thing is also important.

This sickness that I’ve had has varied. We are talking about head cold to mild congestion, to pneumonia, sinus infection, and general gross. It’s just all over the map. This has meant that I haven’t really worked out since November, which keeps my crazy at bay, so I’m really looking forward to getting that going again. I should register for a 5K and give myself a goal.

Fatherhood is alright (I just said that out load in a really high pitch voice as if it was a question). My boy is wonderful. He woke me up at 4:40 this morning. Climbed into my bed next to me and gently stroked my hair, and yanked really hard on my earring once or twice. Super-cute.

Oh, I got a story.

I’m not a perfect parent, but one thing I do well is get dinner on the table and most of the time it’s home cooked and nutritious. And a lot of the time, Ollie doesn’t eat a lot of dinner. We’ve learned to not always fight that fight, we did a little last night and he did actually eat dinner.

We went to the hardware store after dinner. He loves Home Depot. Ollie goes to the refrigerator section and opens each fridge and says “oh, awww.” It’s super cute. We get home, Ollie asks for a snack and then declares to Diana, “we didn’t have dinner.”

I can’t even.

SIGH.

Buffy got groomed earlier this week. She’s lovely after getting groomed (she’s always beautiful, but less stinky post-grooming). If I call the groomer and let them take the lead on the conversation, they will try to make an appointment and then ask for the name of my dog. This process sometimes means they don’t have a time in their schedule to see her. However, if I call up and immediately say “My dog is Buffy, the Sheltie, can you groom her?” they will immediately find a time for her, pretty much whenever we need it done. I understand, Buffy IS an amazing dog, I just which some of that preferential treatment transferred to me.

So let’s talk politics. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t on my mind. It’s tough, because I want a break from all of it. But then I think of all the people, my friends who are Persian, Muslim, Gay, immigrants, women . . . human. There are so many people who have legitimate fears, not for others, but for themselves with the 45th in office, who cannot take a break from the very real trauma that this is occurring. If they don’t get a break, well neither do I.

I have more respect than ever before for journalists. It’s a marathon that they are running, every day. On little sleep they are makings choices of what to cover, how prioritize the news and putting very complex things together in ways and is acting as one of the important checks in our government right now. If I had to make a list of heroes for 2017, like I did for 2016, it would have full with reporters. The other half would have a lot of comedians. They are proving to be an important branch of our government, just like journalist.

It’s hard to not get angry and frustrated all of the time, but like President Obama, kept reminding us, we need to stay focused. That’s the biggest. What do I focus on? I got my wife, my boy, my dog, my house and my job. Somewhere in that list, I need to find time to focus on myself. I actively try in every facet of my life to be a feminist and to be anti-racist. I can do that with the people in my life, but it’s so hard to know how to push that energy outside my circle and whether it will really benefit anyone or really help anything.

There are people far smarter then me doing the work that needs to be done to make sense out of what is going on with the 45th and somehow within all of this, get us to a better place. Things will probably get worse before they get better and that’s scary, but no one said that optimism was easy.

I remember hearing in a lecture in college that a book is a mirror. You see what you want to see. The author only has so much power. The reader’s interpretation is what brings it to life in and this interplay that transforms the authors words into something that can be feel very different than what the author intended.

The 45th is like a book. People see different things in his words and his actions. The reactions, the feelings people have are often more about themselves than what the 45th is saying. The extremism, the immaturity, and the lack of tact he speaks with only makes this mirror, this reflections of our own ideas about what it means to be American that much more clear.

What are those who refuse to see what’s wrong with him, refusing to see about themselves? What does it mean to refuse to listen? What does it mean to refuse to see yourself in the mirror?

What do I see in the 45th that reflects who I am? I see my own bias. I see my privilege and I see the conflict between prejudicial and misogynistic thoughts and feelings that exist within myself despite my best efforts. I see my failures to step up to be truly anti-racist and feminist in the past and I see the potential for harm in thoughtless expressions of my insecurities.

I also see the best in myself. I see the progress in my growth as a leader. A leader who is not afraid to apologize, who is willing to do the hard work to get buy in and actively validates the opinions of those who do not agree with me. I see in his flaws, the man the flaws I have worked pass and potential for growth in myself.

That’s today. Let’s see about tomorrow.

The Challenge Of Atticus Finch

When Atticus Finch told Scout “you never understand a person until you consider things from his point a view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” he was challenging his daughter and the rest of the world with an impossible task.

Yes, we can consider things from another person’s point of view but this is limiting because try as hard as we can, many of us cannot climb into another’s skin. A man will never face with the choice on whether or not to have an abortion, someone without children will never understand what it means to be a father, and most Caucasian people will never know what its like to be discriminated on the basis of their own race.

We live in a world where we live in constant tension over critical issues that remain unresolved in our society. There’s marriage equality, health care, the death penalty, abortion, welfare, rape culture, religious discrimination, gender issues and racial inequality.  These issues seep into every facet of our society. They are so present and so pervasive, sometimes we forget that they lie in the back of our minds and the conversations with people we encounter every day.

We play nice with family member and know better than to talk about religion and politics but things come up. We try to steer the conversation to another place or simply walk away but it’s tough, because as much as we try to understand someone else’s perspective, often we fail at this challenge

There is a place in our discussions for accepting plurality and acknowledging that all viewpoints are valid and should be respected. However some opinions that lack reason, that embrace a complete lack of consideration for opposing viewpoints themselves do not deserve the tolerance that they are often afforded.

Almost all modern Americans will not accept Nazis' view on exterminating the Jews as reasonable and the Priest arguments based on Bible quotes that advocated slavery leading up to the Civil Wars. People went to jail, fought wars and died because they would not tolerate the existence of these paradigms.

Are there opinions in our current debates that we will look back on generations from now and will not accept like we do not accept the practice of slavery? I’m sure there are, but it’s difficult to know.

When do we try the impossible and walk a mile in someone else’s skin and when do with do we give up, pick up arms and wage war?  Can we understand those who are unreasonable? Can we accept what we can’t understand? How do we know when to stand up and fight with the courage of our convictions and how do we know what to walk away?  Some look to God for these answers, while others look to history.

There are no easy answers but that's no excuse to not struggle with these questions, but we've got to try.  There are battles being fought every day and we've got to do what's right for ourselves, our family and our country.

Why I’m a Democrat (as opposed to "Why I’m Not a Republican")

I believe that we are defined by what we do, not what we don’t do. In the same way, our political choices should be made on who we support, not whom we dislike. In the wake of the government shut down this week, I began to question: am I a Democrat because of what I don’t like about the Republicans or is there something about the being a Democrat that relates to who I am in a positive way?

My parents have more often voted Republican than Democrat. Part of this had to do with the fact that my father was had a small business and Democrat tax policies seemed to hit him harder. Lately in my discussions with them, they have been increasingly annoyed with the Republicans stance on homosexuality and woman’s rights. I doubt that they would call themselves Republicans at this point, but I don’t think they would put an Obama bumper sticker on their car.

It was never clear in my household where my parents felt I should be on the political spectrum. In high school I started developing views that social welfare and public services were essential to our country and I remember my dad arguing these points with me. But at the end of it, I always felt he respected my opinion.

In college, I would say, I was pretty apolitical. I wouldn’t get into discussions about politics with friends and even though most of my friends were Democrats, it didn’t make me lean towards that side any harder.

The first time I felt truly proud to call myself a Democrat was during Obama’s first presidential run. People joke about “so how’s that ‘hope’ working out for you?” For me, the spirit of that election still energizes my passion for this country, my interest in politics and my belief on America.

Today, I am proud to call myself a Democrat, and here’s why:

The Platform: The 2012 Democratic National Platform is a fascinating read. Anyone who claims to be part of either party really needs to read the party’s platform. The foundations of this platform are based in the idea that everyone deserves a quality of life if they work hard and play by the rules. Gender, sexual orientation, access to health care, and education should not hinder people’s ability to fulfill their American dream. It is our collective responsibility as a people and a government to ensure that everyone is given a fair chance.

The platform recognizes critical programs like Head Start, values the roles of great teachers and the rights of workers to organize. It asks for equity in law so that a minority because of money and influence cannot get away with crimes and acknowledges immigration not as problem, but as part of the American tradition that has made our country great.

For the Democrats family values are about allowing people to have flexibility in their jobs to care for their children and protecting children in foster care and adoption programs. In one of the most touching parts of this platform, the Democrats continue to work to offer men support to be good fathers and help them create stronger bonds with their children and their families.

The part of the platform that hit home the most was about women. From making sure women have fair pay to having access to protecting reproductive rights, the Democratic platform addresses one of the most important social issues of our time. Gloria Steinem’s words echo in this document:

Whether or not woman can determine when and whether to have children is the single biggest element in whether we are health or not, whether we are educated or not, how long our life expectancy is, whether we can be active in the world or not.

The Heroes: Hillary Clinton is taking on global changes with optimism. Dan Savage is the most important voice in human sexuality tirelessly spreading the idea that sexual expression is a freedom and universal right. Oh yeah and you can’t forget Bruce Springsteen. Many of my heroes, the people, I respect most in this world are Democrats. These are people who understand facets of our society in deeper ways than I can comprehend. I respect their work and in this way, I honor their beliefs and support the causes and the party they hold dear.

The President: I am proud of President Obama. As a political leader he has weathered a storm of political turmoil with grace and honesty. His instinct is to take the high road without being afraid to point out the truth, which while is sometimes unpopular is necessary. As a Commander-in-chief he has navigated some of the most challenging conflicts of our time while representing the best in American diplomacy opening lines of discourse without compromising our safety and security. As a legislature he has made steps forward to protect the rights of American woman, workers, families and children through economic acts like the Libby Ledbetter act and the Affordable Care Act.

And as a moral leader President Obama epitomizes the best in the American spirit embracing the plurality of the citizens of America with his statements on Gay marriage, Civil Rights and immigration.

The reason I’m a Democrat is because my optimistic belief in the American people is the same belief I have in the American government. The government is not some demon out to destroy our society; it’s an expression of our shared beliefs. To say that government in the problem is to say that our values are the problem, and I simply don’t believe that.

The Democratic Party is not flawless. However these flaws are not in the philosophy of the party or the values that are defined by this philosophy. The flaws are in the choices that are made by politicians. As frustrated as I get when Democrats make bad choices, I know that their motivation lies in the values that are important to me politically and in my personal life.

If the reason you are a Democrat is because you hated Bush or the reason you are Republican is because of your disdain for Obama then you are not what you claim to be.  At best you are simply being a contrarian.

Go beyond the headlines and the talking points and find the party that resonates with your beliefs.  Be with the party that lays out a path that will make for a greater America and challenges you beyond your fears to be a better American. 

 

Election 2012: The Land Of Hopes And Dreams

When George W. Bush was reelected as President in 2004 some of my friends who were Democrats were quite upset. By that time President Bush’s leadership he demonstrated after 9/11 had faded in people’s minds and many liberals expressed significant issues with his leadership. It wasn’t just my friends were angry with Bush being re-elected. A lot of people were spreading doomsday scenarios resulting from four more years of President Bush.

But we survived and none of my friends who said they would, actually moved to Canada.

Now the tables are turned. The same liberal negativity towards President Bush is coming from extreme conservative voices towards President Obama. The doomsdays scenarios and the criticisms are just as crazy as the far left liberal complaints about President Bush.

Is there a lot at stake in this election? Yes, but it reaches far beyond just the president. While the Electoral College renders some people’s voices moot, local elections and referendums count on every single vote, every single voice. So please do your research and vote.

I vote because even with Politics, I’m an optimist. Are their corrupt self-serving politicians out there? Of course. There’s corrupt self-serving people in every part of our society, from schools to churches, from books clubs to waiters. But we still go to these places. We don’t’ just give up on institutions because they have problems.

We are the American government. It’s not some alien entity, the government is a reflection of who we are, with all of our great traits and some features we’d rather not think about sometimes. It is the collective expression of all our greed and selfishness, but it is also an expression of our greatest hopes and dreams.

A couple months after President Obama was elected someone I knew who was conservative asked me how that “hope and dream stuff” was working out for me.

After four years it’s still working out great. I still believe in President Obama.

I don’t believe Mr. Romney is a horrible person or that he’d lead our country into an apocalyptic zombie wasteland of capitalism run wild. In many ways he would be a very similar president to President Obama. To accomplish his goals he would have to move towards the center with many of his views like President Obama had to. Any major changes he would try to make would take time to implement.

Am I worried about the economy? Yes, am I sure either Mr. Romney or President Obama have significantly better plans to fix it? Not really. It’s not like the President can literally make jobs. I don’t think President Clinton doesn't deserve the credit for the surplus, and President Bush doesn't the blame for the recession. The consequences of economic policies are passed down to latter presidents. It’s difficult to place blame or credit for something as immensely complex as the economy on one person. I trust that there are smarter people then me trying to figure this stuff out on both sides of the aisle.  Regardless of who will be elected, our economy will continue to improve, not because of one man but because of our collective will.  

The main reason I voted for President Obama is that I believe he along with the Democratic party is on the right side of history when it comes to LGBT rights and women’s rights.

Democrat Stephen A. Douglas was on the wrong side of history when it came the issue of slavery when he lost to President Lincoln.  Southern Democrats as well as some Republicans were wrong fighting against the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act.

While slavery and Civil Rights were extremely contentious issues of their time, no reasonable person in our society now would argue that our country did not move into the proper direction of protecting more people’s rights.

We are now at a similar impasse. The Supreme Court is deciding which case to hear this year about the issue of Gay Marriage. Women’s rights have once again come to the fore as a political issue. At this critical time, more than ever, we need a President who can lead on these issues, fighting to expand rights to all citizens.

Can President Obama make these changes all by himself? No, but his voice, on these issues brings comfort to those who feel disenfranchised and reminds us of the compassion within us that we sometimes forget. This is the part of us that puts aside stereotypes, and insecurities and acknowledges the basic human rights that we all deserve. Right now, every single voice that fights against hate and bigotry is literally saving lives.

I am 100% confident that future Republican candidates and Republican platforms will have very different things to say about LGBT Rights and Women’s Rights. It will take some time and there will be people like the ones whose insecurities resulted in the need for National Guard Members to escort students to school in Little Rock. But we will get through this, and America will continue to expand rights to all of its citizens.

So vote. Vote with the best inside of you. Don’t vote for a “lesser evil.” Put aside the gaffs, the jokes, and the headlines.  Think about who represents the best inside of you, the best inside of all of us. Believe in our system as we believe in ourselves. Place hope in politicians through your vote. If you don’t believe in anything or anybody, you will never be disappointed, but then again you will never know what its like to feel the glory of a dream fulfilled.

How To Define Marriage

When people ask me for marriage advice, or when I have to sign a guest book at a wedding, one of my favorite piece of marriage advice is: "Make your marriage what you want it to be."

 A lot of people these days are trying to define marriage. My issue with this is that people historically and even in our modern society have very different ideas of what a marriage means. I'm not even talking about the issue of gay marriage. You don't have to look to that deep into "traditional" heterosexual relationships to find wide variations in marriage.

My great grandfather had a concubine. This was an acceptable social practice at the time in Taiwan. While there are historical and literary accounts of wives having issues with concubines, my great grandmother had no issues with this issue. As she put it having a concubine meant that her husband "bothered her less." This was part of their marriage and they were fine with it.

A couple that I know who have been married for about four years has no intention to have kids. This is a position they both feel strongly about and discussed before they got married and they are fine with that fact.

Another one of my close friends spent the first year of their marriage living across the country from each other. And one of my uncles commuted from Tokyo to Texas leaving his family for months at a time for work. For these people, marriage was not something that meant they had to be physically in the same space all of the time.

My marriage to Diana doesn't involve a concubine, we are committed to having kids and it would take something pretty extraordinary for me to live apart from my wife. We've chosen to define our marriage a certain way that works for us. Who am I to say that a marriage that doesn't have children in the future is less legitimate?

Marriage means so many different things to different people. What's important is not that you subscribe to a type of marriage defined by other people but rather one that is defined by the spirituality, love and values that you share with your partner.

We've come such a long way accepting plurality in marriage. Last weekend I was in Nashville, at a cafe with my wife. Sixty years ago, if I walked into that same cafe holding hands with my wife, people would look at us with disapproval and today, no one even looked twice.

Divorce, wider age gaps, interracial relationships, interfaith unions, long distance relationships, changing gender roles, number of children, are all variations in marriage that our society have accepted in a wider definition of marriage.

Some of these things may not work in your marriage and you may disagree with some of these variations in marriage, but they are there and it's important we learn to not judge different definitions of marriage and accept them as reflections of the diversity in our culture.

So make your marriage what you want it to be. Don’t get bogged down by people telling you how their marriage works. Figure it out for yourselves and make it what you want it to be. As the priest said in the sermon I heard at my friends wedding I recently attended, marriage is a sacrament that is ordained by the people getting married, not the church. You are in control of your marriage.

The definition of marriage has evolved for thousands of years in different cultures all across the world and will continue to change. Everyone deserves to define marriage the way they want to, without prejudice and judgment.

The slippery slope is not "let gay people get married and then people will want to marry animals," it is "if you ban gay marriage, then you can ban marriage between people of different religions, and races." Providing more freedom for people begets happiness and more rights for all. And as we've seen in the darkest periods of human history, taking away rights leads to atrocities.

Let's stop trying to define marriage as a list of requirements, a cage.  Instead, let's define marriage with the fundamental framework of human companionship and build upon it with our own individual expression of who we are and what we believe.

Politicians Singing

We need a talent portion for the upcoming presidential election.  Let's see what we got:

We have Santorum singing "Strangers In The Night"



Mitt Romney singing "America, The Beautiful" (which I have mad respect for):



Recently Obama sang some blues:



I'm not being sarcastic. I really like seeing candidates do musical things.  One of the things I liked about Cain was how much he loved singing.



That's cool stuff and former presidential candidate Huckabee often plays bass with guest on his show.



The guy can actually play, this isn't a joke.  Americans love music and we love seeing the people we like to elect people who enjoy the music the way we do.  Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, show us a little about what music means to you, it could only help your campaign.

Iran So Far by Andy Samberg and Adam Levine

Is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad harboring a secret love affair with Andy Samberg?



Now there's an important distinction to make with this video.  Andy Samberg is not making fun of Ahmadinejad for being a homosexual.  The implication is not that Ahmadinejada is an inferior person because he's a homosexual.  What this song is saying is that Ahmadinejad is horrible human being because of his hypocrisy, the deplorable way he treats his people and the lies that he continues to spread.

By making fun of his sexuality Samberg is saying that Ahmadinejad is hiding something from us and is a coward.  He deserves our scorn because of his inability to acknowledge the most basic of human rights and sometimes the best way to deal with this anger is to laugh.

What It Means To Talk About Politics-Part II

It is often said that you should not talk about politics and religion at social gatherings. Why is that?

I’ve made wrote this other political discourse and what it means. This last post talked about how talking politics is of such importance that it should not be discussed the way sports are discussed because we are talking about people’s lives, not some inconsequential dramatic event for us to live vicariously through.

That’s just the first step.

Most political issues are not questions of absolute right and wrong. Take the economy for example. You can find experts in economics, people who spend their entire lives in the field who both support Obama’s economic policies and others who are against them. These people who understand the intricacies of our economy in ways that most of us can barely comprehend cannot come to a consensus, so how can we talk about this issues like we have it all figured it out? Are you really smarter about this issue then all of these people who disagree with you?

If you are holding an opinion about something that is highly debatable, then you really are holding an “opinion” which when discussed is a very different thing then arguing a “fact.”

The President Of The United States’ job is to make difficult and unpopular decisions. If something was a no-brainers and easy issue to address it would never reach the president’s desk. The decisions Obama has to make include information and subtleties that most people never understand, so is it fair to form opinions without knowing all of the facts?

Have you ever read a bill that that a president has signed? I got about two hundred pages into the No Child Left Behind Act before giving up. Try this sometimes, read a bill that you are passionate about and then you will really know what you're talking about.

I’m not saying that in order to have an opinion about a political issue you have to know everything about it and read all of the policy. What I’m saying is that when you discuss a political issue more often than not people who are smarter than disagree with you, you do not have all the facts and you probably haven’t actually read first hand what you’re even talking about. That’s ok, but what that means is that you can’t discuss a political issue with a “I’m right, you’re wrong” mentality.

What about the other issues, the ones that are black and white? Let’s just say that you are actually have a Master’s in economics and have read the tax code. Or like me feel that the equal rights of homosexuals is about right and wrong. Well, just because someone is wrong doesn’t mean you get to be a jerk about it.

Are you discussing your opinion to help someone understand your side as being right or see their stance as being wrong? And yes, those are two different things.  Sometimes the best of us fall in the latter category and ti's really not a great place to be.

The strength of a political argument is in showing respect and understanding of the opposing position and starting with their perspective to help them understand yours.  Condescension does not change people's minds, but a willingness to listen and learn can change the world.

The Rising by Bruce Springsteen

This morning I sat in room of fifth graders, most of which were barely a year old on 9/11, watching one of my fellow teachers explain the significance of the death of Osama Bin Laden. To these children the events of 9/11 might have well been the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even though they were alive during the times of the attack, they have no memories of these events. It feels strange to me that there is a whole generation of people who do not have the first-hand experience that was the pivotal experience for many people in my life.

As I watched this discussion, the words of President Obama came into my head as he quickly made real the effects of 9/11 to the country during his speech last night.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace.

That was the most powerful statement he said last night and I’m glad that the speech wasn’t a flag-waving celebration but rather a thoughtful, solemn and deliberate message of unity and thanksgiving. While I understand the need to exuberantly express patriotism, it’s not the most meaningful way to make events relevant in our lives because it doesn’t really reflect the true depth of our feelings

After 9/11, one of the most famous songs recroded was “Courtesy of the Red, White And Blue” by Toby Keith which featured a line about sticking boots up certain orifices as being the “American Way.” At the time it came out, I thought the song was fun, but driving to work this morning a more personal song, much like the message The President gave last night came to mind: “The Rising” by Bruce Springsteen.



The Rising stands as the most significant and important album in popular music about 9/11. It’s centerpiece is the title track which tells the story of firefighter rushing up the steps of the World Trade Center, dying and rising to heaven.

Can't see nothin' in front of me,
Can't see nothin' coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness,
I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed ...
On my back's a 60-pound stone [oxygen tank]
On my shoulder a half mile of line [fire house]

It is not clear in the song when he dies but in the third verse, Springsteen describes the journey to Heaven.

I see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of the line

Through the sadness of death there is comfort and beauty in the afterlife. This brings meaning to the actions of the firefighter and to us as the sky changes from the ominous to hopeful.

Sky of blackness and sorrow (dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (dream of life)

Listening to this song this morning the world made just a little bit more sense. The death of Bin Laden doesn’t change everything in our lives and for me, neither did 9/11. Yes, the world felt different and the sky seemed a slightly different shade but life continued.

After 9/11, I remember my mother telling me that the way we honor those who have passed is to continue to live our lives and go about our daily business in the best way that we can. That’s the same thing we need to do with the knowledge that Bin Laden is dead. We continue and honestly, I don’t feel like celebrating. I feel sad remembering those who we lost and hopeful that his death will prevent the suffering of others.

"The Rising" is a personal story in which we find ourselves, our fears, our hopes and our dreams.  We do our jobs every day, work to make a better tomorrow and Rise up together in a dream of life that we all share.  That is the American way. 

Round 5: Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers Vs. Pras, Mya & Ol' Dirty Bastard

Can you imagine if this was an actually fight?  My money would totally be on Dolly Parton.

Anyways, in 1983 Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton released "Islands In The Stream."  At this time Dolly and Kenny were two of the most popular celebrities in America.  The idea of them singing a duet was a dream come true for many fans.



This love song written by the Bee Gees exemplifies the genre of Country Pop which permeated the 1980s.  Wholesome, optimistic and catchy, "Islands In The Stream" may not be a well known song nowadays but for people who were around when this song first came out, they have never fogotten it.

Vs.

"Ghetto Superstar" by Pras featuring Pya and Ol' Dirty Bastard is my favorite rap song of all time.  Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying it's the best rap song ever recorded, there's just something about this song that has always stuck with me.



From the soundtrack of the film Bulworth, this song sampled the chorus of "Islands In The Sun" which Mya sings (not very well, mind you) and has rap verses from Pras of the Fugees, Wyclef Jean's breakout group and the late 'Ol Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang Clan.

Adding an awesome infectious bass line and an undeniably funky beat, this song really gets you grooving.  Pras and 'Ol Dirty do their thing rapping about paranoia, power and life in the ghetto.

The Winner:

"Ghetto Superstar" is one the great examples of sampling done right.  The chorus is not simply lifted but is re-interpreted to create a completely different emotion.  "Islands In The Sun" is a beautiful song but it really sounds dated.  While the lyrics of "Islands In The Stream" are universal and timeless, the raps in "Ghetto Superstar" are relevant even now in our society more than ten years after its release.   

Next Week: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terell Vs. Amy Whinehouse

Week 15: What Do We Say About Tucson?

Everyday at school, I explain things to my students in a way that they can understand. I love this challenge because it forces me to distill concepts and events to their core and help my students find meaning in the world around them.  While I usually revel in this challenge, right now I feel completely lost.

I have no idea how to explain the shooting in Tucson, Arizona resulting in wounding of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords along with thirteen others and the death of six others including a 9-year-old girl who was born on September 11, 2001.

I know that we want to find out who’s to blame. The thing is though, that knowing isn’t going to change what happened. And the most important thing I learned from my first boss was that in a time of crisis the single most important thing is to figure out how to move forward and only when there is a clear path forward through a tragedy should be look back and begin to examine who should be held responsible.

Right now, pointing fingers and placing blame is not going to help us move forward. All we can do is make sure that we are doing the best we can to be the best people that we can be in our jobs, in our communities and in our personal lives.

Is this a turning point that will steer us away from the negative political rhetoric that I’ve complained about that is coming from all political sides? I don’t know, but I hope so. What I do is that if we get hung up on pointing fingers nothing will change. We cannot let that happen.

So what do I say when one of my students ask me about what happened? Well, I guess all I can be honest about how I feel and hopefully that's enough:

There's a feeling I've experienced only a couple times in my life. I first felt it when my maternal grandfather died, I felt it again after the attacks on September 11, 2001 and I felt two more times when my paternal grandparents died. Last Saturday I felt it again reading about the shooting in Tucson, Arizona. It's a feeling of hollowness and confusion. It's like someone took away part of yourself that you didn't even know was there. At these times we're reminding that we are connected as human race and that the pain of even one person in a world filled with billions effects every single one of us.

I know you want to know why this happened and who's to blame but like most tragedies, we never will.  That's frustrating but like Elton John sang “The hows and whys aren't important now, all that matters is they came around and brightened up our lives.”

At these times in our lives we need to move forward and live our lives to their fullest, going out and doing what we planned to do, what we are born to do as if this tragedy never happened. Because that is what the people effected by this tragedy would want. I don’t know the reason why those people aren’t here anymore to share life with us but what I do know is that you are here, alive.  So live, really live.

Why I Still Believe In The Power Of Voting

Tomorrow across our country, Americans go to vote and I am as proud to be an American and participate in our government as I have ever been in my life.

How am I hopeful and optimistic about our governments when there’s so darkness in our political discourse right now? Because I simply don’t accept the negativity that people preach and I don’t believe it’s productive for our political process.

There’s no need to put down the other side to build you up. It’s not informative, it doesn’t really say much about what actions people will actually take and it transforms an election from a choice of hope to a choice of fear.

I refuse to accept that as how I make my choices in life.

Both the Republicans and the Democrats have had times in recent history when they had not only the Presidency but also power in the House Of Representatives and Congress. During these times, neither side convinced the population that this was the one true, “right” approach to government for the entire country. What this tells us is that there is not a “right” way of governing but rather a difference of opinion that reflects more individual’s philosophies than what is truly most pragmatic.

I refuse to accept that there is one side that has all the answers.

Lately some crazy people from both sides have gotten a lot of coverage in the press. These people are unreasonable, unrealistic and simply, as Jon Stewart pointed, have too much free time. They do not represent the majority of American they should be ignored. You cannot reason with unreasonable people so don’t bother trying.

I refuse to accept “crazies” in my mind when I think about politics.

If you put aside the negativity, the idea of one side being “right” and all of the insane people who speak louder than the rest of us, what are you left with? You are left with people who are trying to make a difference.

Governor Crist of Florida has made some incredible steps to improve education in Florida. He has acted independent of his party (to the point that now he is running as an independent) to fight for what he thinks is right and you can assume he’s just doing this to get teachers' votes but I think he’s honestly trying help future generations.

President Obama has made a lot choices that aren’t popular. Some people have claim he has ignored the will of the American people and is simply feeding his own agenda. Well, what is agenda as with any other first term president? Getting reelected and right now with his approval ratings he’s clearly not making the choices he is for that reason.

Either you can look at the glass as half empty and think that he is trying to get public opinion by pushing his agenda and just failing pathetically or you can look at the glass half-full and believe that he is truly trying to make a difference for all Americans.

Please vote.  Get people in office that you believe can make our country a better place.  Don't vote by fear, by party or through extremist, vote through hope and optimism.

BP Protest song: God’s Counting on Me, God’s Counting on You by Pete Seeger

“The oil spill makes me wish for the first time that Superman actually existed. It would take him approximately 10 minutes to plug it up and another 30 minutes to clean it up the spill . . . sigh . . .”
-my facebook status during the second week of the oil spill in the Gulf.

One of the most disheartening sites in recent memory was flying into Panama Beach, Florida and seeing oil floating on the top of the water. At first, there was a sense of disbelief and then a sinking feeling of horror.  Diana’s cousin was getting married down there.  In all the excitement, I almost forgot about the whole oil spill until walking on the beach and seeing tar balls collecting on the sand.

It’s hard for me to know how to feel about all of this. Being angry at BP, politicians and whoever else we can blame this catastrophe on really doesn’t get us anywhere. Where do we look for guidance? Yesterday I found some answers in a man who has acted as the consciences of America for generations, Pete Seeger.

Pete Seeger is 91 years old and one of the most influential American musicians.  Without him there would we wouldn’t have Bob Dylan, Springsteen, the conscience of rock music and the spirit of hip-hop. Continuing the tradition of Woodie Guthrie, Seeger is a cultural treasure carrying on  some of our most important songs like “We Shall Overcome” . . .



 . . . and composing some of the most powerful songs like “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?”



What does this old man have to tell us about the oil spill? Simply that we can get through this if we join together.



There’s some political shading in this song,  “drill baby drill turns to spill baby spill."  But it's more humorous then critical and “it’s time to turn things around trickle up, not trickle down,” isn’t so much political but a call to all of us to change our way of thinking.

Like “We Shall Overcome” this is a song for the people, and it warms my heart how Seeger teaches the song to the audience as he performs.  Sometimes we forget that protest music isn’t so much about anger but calling people to change and there’s no better way than to encourage people to change through optimism: “Don’t give up, don’t give in, working together we all can win.”

The chorus ends with the statement, “hoping we’ll all pull through” and if after 91 years, Seeger is still believes in all of us, than who am I to become disheartened?

My favorite part of this song is the last verse: “when we sing with younger folks, we can never give up hope.” It’s so true. Sharing music, songs and life with young people rejuvenates you like nothing else and maybe that’s why Seeger is still active in his 90s. 

I don't know if we're all to blame for this disaster but as Seeger suggest we all have a role in the solution.  When Seeger opens the songs singing "God's counting on me, God's counting on you,"  he's not talking so much about God but about us counting on each other.   If we come together and face our problems not with anger but with hope we will pull through.

Thanks for the hope Pete.

American Heart by Jonathan Kahn aka Jon David

The Wall Street Journal is good at a lot of things, reporting about music is not one of them. Neil King of the WSJ transformed the fascinating story of Jonathan Kahn, the artist who composed and perform "American Heart" the anthem of the Tea Party movement into a one-sided criticism of liberal intolerance.  Could I do better job?  Yes, read on. 



What is story "American Heart" really about music, politics, or something different altogether?

A couple days ago a friend of mine e-mailed me about the song "American Heart"  He also sent me this link to a Wall Street Journal article about this song.

Here’s a quick summary of the article: Jonathan Kahn, a Hollywood screenwriter, director and songwriter has been performing his song “America Heart” at Tea-Party conventions. Until recently he has been hiding his identify with a hat and sunglasses and performed under the pseudo-name “Jon David.”

Because Kahn was afraid of being “ostracized in a the town where he peddles his songs and scripts,” Kahn created identity because as he states “In Hollywood, being a conservative is the kiss of death.”

Music producer Afanasieff (responsible for hits like "A Whole New World") is quoted in this article stating, "I mean, he's a member of a huge, Democratic, liberal organization called the Los Angeles entertainment business."  Of course, this is a gross over-generalization. 



Is this any different than when the country music community reacted to the Dixie Chicks by blacklisting them off radio stations when Natalie Maines criticized George Bush?

Should the Dixie Chicks have gotten as much heat as they did for expressing what they thought? No, and should Kahn be criticized by his peers for having a political belief that doesn’t line up with people in his industry, of course not.

What’s fascinating about all of this is there is nothing inherently conservative, Republican or “Tea Party” about “American Made.” (Follow this link to the lyrics). Except for the second verse, this song rings pretty true to my own personal liberal-tilted political viewpoint.

Musically this song has a nice “Bob Seeger” sheen. It works well as an anthem balancing out the more introspective verses with a more declarative chorus. However, there’s nothing “Tea Party” the melody or the harmonies.

This isn’t a knock against the quality of this song but rather an observation that the political nature of this anthem has less to do with the song itself and more to do with the phenomenon of musical meaning coming from outside the music.

This situation is less a political issues but rather a symptom of a general lack of acceptance of political pluralism in certain people's minds. It's sad that both liberals and conservatives have displayed this insidious lack of acceptance, which I do not believe characterizes the majority of people in both of these groups.

What's going to be the most telling part of this story is whether or not Kahn revealing his identity will actually have similar ramifications as it did for the Dixie Chicks. If it does and Kahn is ostracized in a business sense then there is shame on the film industry.  If not then this is a story more about the feeling of political victimization rather than the reality of political intolerance.

Gov. Crist Takes A Stand

Last week Florida Governor Crist vetoed Senate Bill 6 which was the first bill in the country to use a "merit based system" to determine teacher salary (follow the link for the news story). This bill based teacher salary on student performance as opposed to advanced degrees and years in the classroom. This bill also took away the possibility of tenure for new teachers.

There is idea that the only thing a public school teacher has to do to reach tenure is to show up for a couple years, fill out some paperwork. Then they will get tenure and never be able to be fired. Because of a lack of a merit based pay scale teachers in America are not motivated to do a good job which is why we have problems in our education system.

Let me clarify a couple things. If you are teacher who has tenure, you can be fired. Teachers on tenure tracks often have different evaluations than non-tenured teachers but they do have them and if tenured teachers slip in the job performance they can be fired. I've seen it happen.

As a non-tenured teacher every year I have more formal and informal evaluations than friends of mine who work in engineering, sales, publishing and non-profit charity work. The only people I know who are evaluated as often as me are my friends who are graduate students.

Now these evaluations are usually done by a principal or at the high school level a department head. Before these observations a meeting occurs before hand in which the teacher and administrator discuss the lesson and things that the principal is looking for in the teacher's instruction. The administrator observes the teacher teach and then there is a debriefing meeting.

These evaluations mean something; they just aren't put away in a file. They are looked at when districts decided whether to rehire teachers and they do measure the quality of work that teachers do. This is why when people talk about a merit-based teacher salary system, I'm a litle puzzled because it actually exists. If you are doing a great job, you are asked to come back, and you get a raise. There's your merit pay. And if you don't do a fantastic job your contract is not renewed.

I know this for a fact because I have teachers friends who have been not had their contract renewed, who basically have been fired.

Here’s the thing, I agree that student performance should be considered when evaluating teachers but it shouldn’t be the only thing. For example, let’s say that all third graders should know their times tables. If a group of student’s doesn’t than the teachers pay is reduced. Yeah, this will make a lazy teacher work a little harder to get their kids to learn but what if a different teacher has a classroom in which two of the students are mentally retarded. A teacher working really hard with these students may only get these students to learn basic addition facts. In Florida’s plan there is no accommodation for taking these special needs students into account. That's not only unfair to teachers but also their students.

As of now how much test scores are considered in evaluation is up to the district and in all of the 5 districts that I student taught or worked in as a teacher have taken into account student test scores in evaluating teachers.

For me this isn’t about politics. Governor Crist made a decision that was logical and reasonable. He wants a bill that not only takes into account students with special needs but gives more independence to districts to evaluate teachers. And really is created more bureaucracy at the state level going to help schools at the local level?

Are there teachers out there who have mediocre principals that let them slide by doing horrible work? Yes and I’m sure these teachers are scared of being held accountable for what they do. But those teachers I believe are symptoms of mediocre administrators or principals who have unreasonable work loads. Think about it, if you go to a restaurants and the wait staff is incompetent, the manager is the one to blame, they hired them and set the expectations, same thing with a school.

I’ve never met a teacher who actually feels this way, who is against a merit-based system because they don’t want to work harder. We are just worried about its effect on the students and having an evaluation system that not only holds teachers accountable but also helps teachers improve as educators so that we can better serve our students.

What It Means To Talk About Politics

As the House of Representatives, prepare to vote on the Senate health care plan, the political debate over this issue is reaching a critical point. This blog is not about politics, it’s about my reaction to the world and the positivity in our culture that brings up hope. However, I feel compelled at this critical time in our country’s history to speak out against the negativity threatens our belief in our government.

If you are fighting and arguing against the current health care bill because you think defeating this piece of legislation will help improve the quality of life for the majority of Americans then by all means, please continue to argue. However, if you are fighting against this bill for any other reason, for the love of God, stop.

Sometimes people argue against something that you fear will make something worse, without providing alternative solutions. Hmmm. . . so I don’t think you should take this medicine because the side effects might be bad, but I’m not going to research any alternatives at the same time, I’ll just sit hear and let you rot.

I agree with Obama that not offering alternatives and just arguing things down is unacceptable. It creates a false image of a “party of ‘no’” while at the same time provides fodder for people to argue that Republicans are only arguing against Obama and Democratic to be vindictive and that they do not have the best interest of the American people in their minds. I strongly do not believe in the same way I don’t believe that all Republicans are right-wing moral conservatives.

Some of the negativity towards this bill has to do with our popular culture's negativity Bush. I never supported irrational George W. Bush hate. He is not the worst president in the history of the United States. He is not evil and he doesn’t live on the brains of puppies. Yes, he may have mislead America about the War In Iraq and spent more money than I can comprehend but really which president didn’t mislead the American people on some major issue and mess with the budget in a way that one party can argue is negative.

No matter how insidious and annoying criticism against Bush were it doesn’t justify applying that same attitude towards Obama and the current Democrats. It’s like bringing up something Diana did to upset me four years ago when we have an unrelated disagreement.

Next time you get into a political argument, ask yourself: are you simply arguing to win and prove that you're right about something? If that's the case, argue about something else, like sports or movies are who could win in a fight: Hulk or Superman.

Political issues are people’s lives. The budget, military conflicts overseas, health care, these topics are not theoretical subjects that exist to exercise your mental muscle. Government decisions about these issues change people’s lives, often for the better but sometimes unavoidably for the worse.

If you need to feel good about your knowledge and that you are smart, stop arguing politics and get in a field where the discussion doesn't effect the well-being of the people in this country. Selfishly motivated political discussions pollutes the political environment and distracts from people from the truth and people who are truly working to make our country a better place.

If the health care bill passes than let’s hope for the best. Being proven wrong and losing an argument is more than worth seeing people have a better quality of life through better health care. And if the legislation fails, then let’s take this as an opportunity to start with a clean slate and create a better plan that more of this country can believe in.

What we fighting for in politics is ourselves and each other with the hope that we can improve our lives and our country. Arguing about politics without this hope is fruitless, cynical and annoying.

The government isn’t some alien institution, it’s an extension of every single one of us. A lack of faith in our government is a lack of faith in ourselves. For if we lose hope, we are not only giving up who we are and this dream we call America.