What this blog is about

During the October Break, several ideas converged to compel me to create this blog/website.

1) I read an article on Edweek - "Showing Your Work: How to Change the Public Image of Teaching." 
Changing the Public Image of Teaching

 It starts: "Ever tire of the portrayal of teaching as a "part-time job"—or of the stereotype of the heroic teacher who swoops in to save the day? Do ill-informed, broadstroked criticisms of "public school teachers” really get your goat?

You’re not alone. Five teachers (and many insightful commenters) spent a couple of weeks dissecting the teaching profession’s image problem—and identifying some solutions—" 

2) Though DOE has been bragging about how well Hawaii schools have been doing on standardized tests, I still am against putting so much focus on these tests, even if it does come out in our favor.  I think we need to toot our horns about the actual wonderful things that go on in our classrooms, the lessons and activities that we are proud of, that our students are excited about and will remember years later.  

3) I was inspired by a Ted Talk by a hotel entrepreneur, travel writer and expert on festivals, Chris Conley, who writes about how we need to count what counts (as opposed to the Einstein quote "What counts cannot be counted ... " or something like that). 
Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile

4) Our Unity Day Rally has been shaping up nicely and I look forward to spending time with colleagues I admire and appreciate. I wanted to continue the idea of the rally, which is to connect with the community about who we are and what we are going through. 

5) I told several people I was going to do something creative and I think this counts. 

So here's the idea of this blog, if I can keep it up post-October break. We will share stories of our struggles and our triumphs.