A few notes:

– Math skills suffering in the United States according to the NYTimes? Definitely.

– I’ve been so busy, I’m wondering if I built enough consistency with the kids to really affect real change.

– I saw one of my students on the train on my way to a training. She was supposed to be a junior, but she’s a sophomore now. I asked her why she was a year behind, and she said, “Math.” My head hung low.

– Yesterday, I saw, among others, Kelly Tsai and Meagan Ortiz, at Bluestockings Bookstores in my native LES. The ladies performing there definitely inspired us. For more info on the collection of women’s stories, please click here.

– Yes, I did catch The Express (The Ernie Davis Story). As an SU grad, I almost felt an obligation to see the story, especially because people like him made it easier for people like me to go to Syracuse. The movie itself honestly caught me off-guard in a good way, finding myself really emotional throughout his journey. And Dennis Quaid, who people may expect to be that “white person who made the player,” actually played a coach who cares more about winning than his personal views on Negroes. There’s a sharp difference and Quaid played that beautifully. Also hurt me to see that Davis died at 23. I will be showing this to my kids. (more on this tomorrow)

– Another sign that certain prejudices haven’t left us but simply transformed: Mexicans in Colorado have to pay 10% more for their groceries.

– Even Homer Simpson’s voting for Obama. Then again, you never know with those Diebold machines …

– Can we come to some sort of agreement on bilingual / English Language Learner education? Let’s hope so, and soon.

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OK, I haven’t done this in a while, but here are some questions for you, my reader. Yes you.

1. What would you like to see in this blog?

2. Are there any topics I should get more into? Less into?

3. For people reading it directly from the site, does the blog layout work?

I can only promise to be me as far as this blog’s concerned, but you’re reading it too, so please answer away. I’ll leave this up for a while, too.

jose, who wants to be the master of all his trades …