What's good for the goose is good for the gander

Education at it's best. I went to a job fair for teachers a week ago only to crushed by the overwhelming majority of college seniors, most of which were pretty young girls, wanting to teach elementary school. My admiration of these young teachers is quite huge because I know what it's like to teach one subject much less five at one time. Still as I was bouncing around from table to table talking with principals dressed like Robin Williams from Pink Cadillac, I was amazed at what I kept hearing.

"Unless you have a Texas teaching certificate you are not going to get a job in the public school system. Per NCLB, we have to hire certified teachers."

My response, "Whether they can teach or not?"

Sure there are plenty of good teachers who are certified, but there are also plenty of teachers who aren't certified who can teach just as effectively. What bothers me most is that even though I have taught in a classroom before that waivers none on the teaching ability issue. So as long as have a certificate than you have a job. So no matter how low a schools needs are for a teacher they must have a certificate to teach.

NCBL is the biggest joke in the teaching world. Even in the great state of Texas where they push this crap like it's free gasoline everyone sees the flaws. It'll be gone as soon as Bush is gone. Accountability is the hot term in education in which every parent blames the school system or the teacher if the student fails. School systems will not be able to advance and become better if they can't diversify the talent that comes through the interdepartments. I don't have all the answers for this major problem, but I can tell you this getting all teachers certified isn't going to make it better. Teachers get paid well below their means, and if you were to balance out the weight a teacher has over that of any profession you can see they are not justified in terms of workload. Then again that's why school boards throw accountability around in the hopes of scaring teachers into passing all their students. And teachers can all throw back in thier face, well you made get certified so that means I must be able to teach.

Futbol is not football.

So what? That's what I say about U.S. Soccer team losing in the opening round of the World Cup. You can't expect the other nations around the world who live and die on the sport to give up and just let us move on to the next round. I remember working the 2002 World Cup and being excited by the play of the U.S. team. Watching both of the forwards (Beasley and Donovan) sprint up the field and score at will. I was swayed into watching this World Cup and to say I am disappionted would be an understatement. The team looked like they were stuck in the Mississippi mud with the tires spinning.

What's more important to us as a nation isn't that we can't be a third world nation like Ghana to advance, more importantly that we even care. Really, how many people are going to wake up tomorrow with a soccer hangover? Most of us will turn our attention to baseball or the "REAL" football or the watch the head chef from Hell's Kitchen bitch slap somebody. It's just too bad the U.S. lost so quickly because no one and I really mean no one in the U.S. will watch the rest of the World Cup. So, I think it's about time to refocus ourselves as a nation to realize that the World Cup is unattainable for us. We won't win it for the sole fact that we care so little about the sport. It may be our kids favorite sport to play growing up, but as we mature it becomes what most of us really think of it...Mundane. The sport has drama, action and speed, but what it lacks is the natural progression of a sport. So many of the athletes in this nation are taken in by sports that you must use all of your body. Hands, feet, head, and upper body. Plus they are pushed by society to play the 3 majors (baseball, basketball, and football). I think if you took our best athletes i.e. Lebron James, Randy Moss, Reggie Bush, Dwayne Wade, Jim Edmonds, or anyone that is playing one of 3 major sports.

So, this is it. The last time I speak of futbol or the little known sport in our country. We are not a soccer nation, but we sure do love our football. Bring on training camps. Preseason scrubs playing all 3 quarters, college football hype that begins to boil over by the beginning of August, and the hope that this might be the year that we win it all.

Home Sweet Home

I never thought it would feel like this. Sadness beyond the bayou. The road rolling beneath us as our weary eyes gazed into the distance. Rain pelted from up above as the tears rolled down her face. I grabbed her hand, but her face couldn't hold in the pain. It had been two years since we took the road traveling into the city that care forgot. I knew it wouldn't be an easy transition, but we made it our home. Everyday became a new beginning for the both of us in our new life together and the city became ours.

Tiny traces of Sunday mornings at our little home with the dog and the paper resting not far from my hand. Lazy weekends, festival weekends, family functions, and the late night poker nights. Sweet remembrances of what our first home. The tears and rain was away the last day we spent living on the bayou.

As luck would have it....

The Red Sox's need pitching. I am changing my middle name to "Middle Relief" because that is what's been on my mind since watching the Red Sox slowly implode. There is just something about this year's Red Sox team that befuddles me. They haven't quite put it all together. The starting rotation is about as iffy as a Paris Hilton STD. Still they keep trying to make believers out of me and the rest of the blindful Nation. If only we could blame it on the damn curse instead I have to rely on the fact that it's all because so many people cash in their checks two years ago when we won it all. Every lucky penny, rabbits foot, indian feather, magic stone, wishing well, birthday candle wish, and any other faceless acts of luckitude that we used up that year has now come back to haunt us. It's like Dr. John would say, "Da Mojo lady put dem' gris gris on us."

As if it would be a bigger slap in the face to see Benedict Arnold himself playing for the Yankees in centerfield, than it would serve us right to trade away a decent pitcher for a Willy Mo that has the "potential" to become the next Manny. Give me break. Yinka Dare had potential, so did Brain Rose, and Jonathan Sullivan, and Marcus Dupree, and Troy O'leary. Just give me something that is proven, someone who will get the job done. It's only a matter of time and loses before the Sox starting pulling up there next group of potentials: Jon Lecester (who will pitch Saturday) and Craig Hansen to get some big league experience. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't trade anything for that 2004 World Series, but I would like to get rid of some more of my lucky underware for a chance to go back to the Series.