Race to the Top

“Poor school conditions and student struggles will never truly be changed if funding is rendered a contest in which the many, many schools suffering under such deplorable conditions are competing against one another for limited resources that can not cover all the need" (Gleason, 2011). 

I can see why Race to the Top is a popular educational movement seeking to replace No Child Left Behind.  After all, the premise behind Race to the Top is largely capitalistic, much like the government we live in.  It is based upon competition between schools: whoever can adopt national education standards and tests and do it best, will be eligible to “win” grant money from the federal government (Sheffield, 2010). 

The standards in Race to the Top were developed not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors across the country (Obama, State of the Union 2011).  But why are we not asking our teachers? Why are we not asking our administrators? Why are we not asking our students?  Governors are not at the forefront of educational reform-schools are.  How can a school with limited resources even begin to compete?  On the flip side, why should an exceptional school be forced to conform to a set of national standards that may be lower than that own school’s expectations?  Because all schools want money.  Because all schools need money.  Having to compete for it on an unequal playing field tells our students that their education is only important if they can win it.

America was founded on an idea: The idea that each of us has the power to create our own destiny (Obama, State of the Union 2011).  But students aren’t even finishing high school.  Equality of education (i.e.-national standards) is not the same as equity in education (i.e.-equipping students what they need to be successful). Equity is unique to each school and each student.  Without addressing concerns equitably, the achievement gap will continue to widen.

It's Time to Take a Risk, Sweetheart

My whole life I have played the safe game.  I did well in school because it was what I was told to do.  I played sports because that’s what you did after school.  I went to college because nobody ever told me I had other options.  And I graduated-as if I even had a choice. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I love, love, love the education I have been blessed to receive and I wouldn’t have changed that for the world.  And yes, I wanted to do well in school, and go to college, and graduate, and get a Master’s degree, and yadda, yadda, yadda…so on and so forth.  But never in my life have I ever felt like I took a risk on anything.  Everything has always worked out and doors have always opened for me at just the right moment.  It’s almost as if I wasn’t in control of my own fate- which now that I think about it, seems ironic to consider that you could ever even control fate in the first place.  And now, at 24, I feel like the life that I was supposed to be living has turned into a life of mediocrity. 

Mediocrity?  That is not what I envisioned for my life at all.

The whole idea of taking a risk scares the shit out of me.  It’s that fear of failure that I dread.  Or maybe it's the fear of the unknown.  But, the more I ponder my life, I see it taking one of two directions.  Either, I play the safe game and go through life out of harm’s way, never really knowing what I could achieve, or, I take a risk.  A huge risk.  And achieve things I never in my life imagined possible.

Now, take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk (thanks, Dalai Lama).  Did Bill Gates know what he was doing when he dropped out of college?  Yeah, I know what you are thinking.  He’s pretty much a genius but while he was at Harvard, he had no definite study plans.  (By the way, Bill Gates and I have the same birthday. And Julia Roberts, too.  Coincidence? You decide.)  You see, the problem with playing it safe is that certain things aren’t allowed to be explored.  Human potential is limited.  And creativity is snubbed.

So, here I am.  Twenty-four years old.  Intelligent.  Capable.  Desperate for a challenge.  I think it’s time to take a risk, sweetheart.

The Imperfectionists

The Imperfectionists 

by Tom Rachman

A Review

One of the best books I have ever read.  I literally got to the end and the first thing I thought was, “I need to read that again.”

The book takes place in Rome and is centered on the lives of an English language newspaper’s staffers and the foibles that characterize each of them.  Every chapter, or headline, as it is laid out, tells the story of one employee or reader of the paper.  As to be expected, the people are all linked to each other throughout the book, and you will find yourself understanding a character more and more as you read into each of their separate but interlaced lives.

Journalism, a career perceived to be so glamorous, is exposed for the grime and dirt that is accompanied with it.  More importantly, the journalists and readers in this novel are seen for what they are, humans- with fault.  Each facing his or her own "imperfections," they go through life facing what they must and making the best of what they have.  Interestingly, their jobs and their lives are at the mercy of the- stay with me here- newspaper’s founder’s grandson, who could not care in the least about the fate of the empire his grandfather built and believed in.

What makes this book unique and particularly enjoyable is its ability to capture the essence of human flaw and emotion.  It digs deep into the souls and pulls out insights of the psyche- a profound understanding of human nature that sometimes we cannot even grasp in our own thoughts and of our own minds. But, Rachman never makes his characters more than what they are- ordinary people.

At times, I found my heart wrenched in the despair and loneliness of a particular character.  Other times, I was laughing at the ridiculous and haughty nature of another.  The characters became important to me because they were real.  Relatable.  I saw bits of myself in each of them.

The Imperfectionists, filled with humor and sentiment, is a true gem, a must read.  A novel so good that when you get to the end you will think, "I need to read that again."