Whaddya Wanna Bet...

Here we go, another round of "Whaddya wanna bet...?"

...That 3% of the vote in the Best of Blogs Education category did little to improve my self-esteem.
...That even though my self-esteem took a hit, it could be worse.
...That if President Bush and other NCLB supporters had a clue how to help failing schools, they would both understand that NCLB does punish schools that don't succeed.
...That when Central Offices become too centralized, they lose touch with the reality that exists in the schools.
...That when a Central Office looses touch with the reality that exists in the schools, it ultimately loses touch with its teachers.
...That when a Central Office looses touch with its teachers, it ultimately forgets the human element.
...That I can think of at least 5 individuals from my Central Office that have lost touch with common sense.
...That had I had the option of never writing in cursive, my quality of life in third grade would have rose exponentially.
...That Ms. Mudgett's "N" for "needs improvement" on virtually every report card that year still haunts my dreams.
...That had she not forced me to persevere that thorn in my side, I would be exactly like all of the pampered, self-absorbed students I find annoying.
...That a good debate about Whole Language and Hooked on Phonics took place over at Edspress.com.
...That Dennis Fermoyle has caused me to lock my daughter in a room until she's thirty.
...That you should head over to A Shrewdness of Apes--I promise a better read than whatever it is I have been writing so far.
...That when a student surprises you with some moment of grace or beauty, it is often a student you would never expect.
...That those moments keep every teacher sane until June.
...That teaching absitinence at school is a failure, thus proving that anything moral ought to be left out of schools because it is not our place to try and help students socially or emotionally--those concepts are not on the test.
...That most people don't care that we spend all those hours beyond our contract to help their children; at least they don't have to watch them.
...That I have struggled with the disparity between where my Pre-College seniors are, and where they need to be, all year.
...That I can't wait until the Spring sports season is over so that I can actually spend quality time with my daughter instead of watching my players try to steal third without receiving the steal sign.