quiet and loud

Much, much to say, pretty much none of which will be said here. But reading the Times this morning, an article on the so-called "reading wars" and the force-fed methodology that, in fact, rests on tenuous evidence whilst stressing that it is grounded on scientific research. Bah. This line leapt out, "Madison officials received a letter from her and the center’s director, saying that because the city’s program lacked uniformity and relied too much on teacher judgment, they could not vouch to Washington that its approach was grounded in research." (http://tinyurl.com/2gf26f)

Relied too much on teacher judgment? We've stopped trusting our teachers. With good reason, I imagine, in some cases, but surely not all. This is a trust-based economy, and one not subject to the standardization some might like. When manufacturing human minds - not brains - the options for successful standardization are somewhat limited. Trust my judgment motherfuckers, as it's likely better than yours. As is the case with most teachers out there, sweating, suffering, meaning it, and working their asses off.