What America does *bestest*
Making power drunk bureaucratic decisions, affecting thousands of people and fulfilling millions of racist/classist thoughts.

Partying like its 1876

SAT: Standardizing Aptitude of Teachers

Teach For America is a non-profit organization that gears it’s efforts toward closing the “achievement gap” by training professionals from all backgrounds to teach in the poorest schools of America. Recently, TFA is getting lots of press because their cohorts have included lots of young people with impressive resumes and an Ivy-League educational background thus making TFA a lot more competitive and selective. Opponents of TFA dislike the org for serving America’s young elite with “priceless” teaching moments rather than the ill-educated children they are supposed to be teaching. Teachers in TFA are required to teach for two years and after that they have the option of leaving or staying, and stats prove that most of them leave. Now I understand this creates a number of issues. Is TFA really just a strategic career move for self-seeking, elitist, rich people trying to gain “life experience” before moving on to a “better” more lucrative opportunity? Maybe.

Or maybe we need to step aside from the “blame-the-rich-people” argument and realize the greater, underlying issue with: a. the quality of education in America, b. organizations like TFA, and c. the school board system.

If we can all agree that as a whole our education system is lagging we can definitely agree that we see an even bigger discrepancy in inner-city educational systems. The quality of education in the inner-city is definitely subpar to that in our suburban neighborhoods. What are the qualities that make up an education? I would say teachers, parents, socioeconomic standards, textbooks, federal funding, etc…. so why are we attacking Teach For America for bringing in rich young adults to teach poor kids? While we can buy new textbooks for inner city schools we still can’t buy them new socioeconomic circumstances. If Teach For America teachers are to leave teaching and eventually becoming lawyers, politicians, lobbyists, corporate CEOs then those are the same people we will need rallying for our cause to better the educational institution in this country. Naysayers of TFA need to realize that they aren’t a political non-profit organization, they don’t take sides, but simply they are using an age-old tactic that has always worked best: networking.

The attack shouldn’t be on Teach For America, attack the education system and the standards for which teachers are penalized and awarded for their success; or lack of.

The New Teacher Project Inc., another non-profit org. much like TFA, is more focused on changing education policy and standards. Every year (I think) they publish a white paper on the failures of the education system and what needs to be corrected. In 2009, TNTP published “The Widget Effect”- the title comes from the idea that teachers are treated as interchangeable “widgets”. Quoted from their paper, “a teacher’s effectiveness- the most important factor for schools in improving student achievement- is not measured, recorded, or used to inform decision-making in any meaningful way.” We have standardized the hell out of teacher performance to the point where school administrators can’t determine what makes a poor teacher from an effective one. The implications of that being below-average and excellent teachers are still allowed to pass the third grade.

And I know that if you took any standardized test throughout your schooling you understand what a fail standardized exams really are. Don’t we all hate the SAT for equating us with the pothead in our class who took the exam high and got the same exact score? Now I know that pissed you off.

My point is there is more than one way to skin a cat. Teacher For America, The New Teacher Project Inc., Unions, Arne Duncan, Bill Gates- all using different tactics to combat the same cause. And if you realize that TFA is not worse than standardizing teacher effectiveness then the rant on TFA should stop and you should hop on the train, join the cause.

Talent: LeBron

Top Five Thoughts about LeBron.

1. And people wonder why African American boys have no African American males to look up to...
2. I think Bush got less time announcing we were going into Iraq and Afghanistan then LeBron
3. What did LeBron James do for Cleveland? I really want some hard facts/numbers. I have been tricked as a Clevelander into thinking he brought millions of dollars in revenue to Cleveland. Supposedly 100million dollars. But didn't we pay him like 90million dollars. Which would come out to 10million dollars (which is pocket change to a city).
4. And even if he brought in 100million dollars, where does that money go? Did it go into the Cleveland Public School System. If it did, I will be the first person to demand/write a petition for him back.
5. How long will we allow ESPN to give the most airway time to Black men/people then any other station. Its sad that people of color only get this type of attention when they are in the entertainment industry. This is a age old issue of the media's ownership of black bodies and other groups but its becoming very reminiscent of tap dancers of the 1920's, 1930s in those old Fred Astaire movies. Given 5-10 minutes to showcase their "talent" and made to feel really important. As long as they smile at the end its okay.
Smiling is good.

The glass ceiling has stopped women from reaching their climax

Do you remember some of the top stories in 1998? Clinton & Lewinsky, Marjory Stoneman Douglas died (ugh, RIP marj), ....Viagra

Yes, Viagra- in 1998 the pharmaceutical company Pfizer developed and marketed Viagra to "treat" erectile dysfunction in men- and angina (chest pain, who knew right?). In 2001, the drug had already made over a billion dollars in sales and the scientists who developed the drug shared a Nobel Prize for their extreme efforts. Men awarding men for their "extreme efforts" in helping male sexual dysfunctionality. [The alliteration wasn't intended, men just actually love themselves that much.]

Now almost 12 years later, one pharmaceutical company almost succeeded in distributing a drug called flibanerin- considered the Female Viagra- which is supposed to act on brain chemicals to stimulate female libido. A couple weeks ago the FDA rejected the drug for approval after their "health experts" on the reproductive panel, unanimously agreed, that the side effects (fainting spells, fatigue) outweighed the benefits of the drug- high levels of female sexual satisfaction. Well, the FDA really fell short of the mark this time (no, I don't mean their manhood)- I mean really, since when do they care about the side effects of drugs? Wasn't Viagra causing blindness in some cases?

Quite literally though, males in this country are still using their *ahem* and not using their vision. I think this is way more than an issue of protecting society from the detrimental side effects of drugs. Doctors prescribe Adderall and Ritalin to our CHILDREN- and those drugs cause side effects like hair loss, anemia, heart palipations, changes in liver function?! The FDA's decision to strike down female viagra was actually influenced by the male ego and his primitive view on gender roles. We can create two types of male views on sexuality for female viagra's sake. There is the Puritan view and there is the Playboy view.

Why should a woman get pleasure out of sex? This is all too 1800s Purtanist view on female sexuality. The idea that woman should be able to experience sex just as satisfying as a man does is out of the question. A woman's role is to cook dinner for husband and then satisfy him at the end of the day, of course male contraception is out of the question, and as a result females bare the weight of a man's sexual desires for 9 months afterward. And then what does approving female viagra actually imply? That men can't satisfy women? This sounds all too, "yeah, babygirl, you haven't had it till tried me"- of course men just need to cradle their egos. The fact that some little pink pill is responsible for their woman's pleasure and not them is just too much for some men to handle. Which is why we could argue some women have to fake it. And as a result, women must continue to fake it in this world. The glass ceiling has quite literally stopped women from being able to reach their peak.

Road to Success

In sixth grade I remember entering the Afghanistan war, completely unaware or interested in the depth of the situation. I, like every other American, understood two things:
1. September 11th, 2001
2. We have to do "something" about it.

And just like thousands of Americans, my family proudly but the American flag on display and any other clever place to "out-patriotize" the next. People were going to church more, whole congregations and groups were grieving, but Americans almost found solace in the idea that "we could do something about it."

Now almost nine years later, we still only understand two things.
1. September 11th, 2001
2. We have to do "something" about it.

And after the Obama administration's recent decision to accept General Stanley McChrystal resignation over his "offensive" remarks in a entertainment magazine I still question our understandings or priorities. General McChrystal since 2009 has been advocating troop surges of 30,000-40,000 troops publicizing to the white house and the American public "success is still achievable." Now McChrystal is being replaced by General Petraeus, the Thomas Andrews of the Iraq war. Obama reiterated the fact that "This is a change in personnel but it is not a change in policy," last week. It seems that after nine years of war and issues of grief over September 11th and always wanting to do "something" about it, we are still failing. As General Petraeus and the Obama Administration are still planning to continue previous Afghanistan policy, what was the point of even switching generals. General McChrystal was flown from Afghanistan to have a personal meeting with Obama during war time. During war time when do the troops ever have time to be flown home for their "remarks," let alone Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's day, ect.

And then it ocurred to me.

The President Obama's electoral campaign was centered around activating a clear cut deadline to troop withdrawal and a plan for a centralized government in the area. But they, just like most Americans strayed away to what American's know best: addictions. Our very problematic obsession with excess and immediate solutions to our problems is almost parallel to many of our rich members of society addiction to psychiatry. We ask these "higher up officials" to solve our issues, deep rooted issues of self worth and grief while they doodle in their leather note books. But the reason why we let them come up with little solutions for our big problems is because they always deliver. This war is reminiscent of almost every other contact we have had with the Middle East: face masked colonialism. But they misdiagnose us over and over again to give us whatever they want because they themselves are influenced by higher ups (corporations who sell drugs). Even having the audacity to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and defend war because:

"I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people."- President Barack Obama

And as we continue to refill our prescriptions of self-victimization, our own issue grows. This idea of some eminent threat that can only stop by total and complete control of the region. Our self-victimization is rooted out of the media only telling us how many American troops die while ignoring the thousands of Afghani civilians lost in the conflict. This self-victimization is further grown when we feel like only the administration can do something about the war. We quickly have become sedated and numb with the pain, turning that numbness into complacency. Because as the baby boomer generation has become forgetful of their flower days and more concentrated on 401ks, we have grown complacent. And just like the military has become some very viable option when many teenagers have no other option, we have taken more pills. And while our family, friends, and loved ones have risked and continue to risk their lives on the battle field to "do something about it," we keep storm of pills swallowing. We never established the something. And as even many Americans plea with the administration to finish the war, the administration tries to convince us we can be healed. Just wait a little longer. Take some more pills and hushh.

But hope is not lost. Just like any addiction, our foreign policy plunders can be fixed just like any other worthy addiction.

1. We must start negotiating/coming to terms with our demons, accepting the reality that we are not invincible. Everyone does not have to like America, but maybe we could curtail some of these threats by refusing to be the world's problematic white savior.

2. Start accepting the reality that it is okay to be hurt by loved ones or its okay to be stressed out. We can find healthier ways to grieve over these issues of terrorism.

3. And then proceed to take a step to suck out the poison and remove our troops. Every life style can be corrected or improved. But to continue to be numb with complacency, risk more young lives on both sides and wallow in self-helplessness on the idea that "Evil does exist in the world," will continue to hurt us.

4. Recovery- fixing these troops- health care, education, family, mental health state and fixing ourselves- prayer, exercise, a new haircut, a new job, a new boyfriend, celibacy. etc whatever it takes.

5. Fire the doctor? or throw away his prescription.

“Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary's life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime.”- Mother Angela.