Sunday, April 13, 2008
Little Lizzie
Well, it is Sunday night and I really should be getting in bed, but I've been uploading all of the pictures I took at Lizzie's wedding and now I'm wired! So... I figured it would be a good time to blog... Little Lizzie got married this weekend - she was breathtaking and even though she isn't my little girl, I watched her grow up, was her nanny for many years and feel as though a little bit of her is mine, if that makes any sense. As she walked down the aisle my mind rambled through the years of scraped knees, days when a kiss and a bandaid cured every ill to days of teenage drama and college adventures, to who she is now - an extraordinary young adult! Yes, I cried. Her other two nannies, dear friends of mine - Judi and Tammie - cried too! I was reminded how blessed I am to be a part of her life and what a joy it has been to watch her grow up - I uploaded a few pictures so you can share in this - special thanks to Lizzie's mom and dad - Jo and Dwight - for sharing her:)! (Yes, I have many run-on sentences in this blog entry - it's late - give me a little break!) Enjoy the pictures!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
TAG - I'm it!
Well, my friend Amy, tagged me to do "100 Things About Me" - so here goes...
1. I was born in Houston, TX.
2. I have lived in ten states: Texas, Illinois, Virginia, N. Carolina, Washington, Maine, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio, Kentucky and now I have been back in Texas for 19 years.
3. I have one brother, Sam.
4. He is married to Dianna.
5. They have two boys.
6. Brendan just turned seven and is in the first grade.
7. Connor will be five this summer and will go to Kindergarten this fall.
8. Sam says Connor is his "payback child".
9. That is very good because Sam deserves a payback child:)
10. My parents, Burt and Gale, live about three hours west of us.
11. They live in Boerne, TX, which is northwest of San Antonio.
12. They usually visit us here at my house because I have two dogs and they don't like my dogs to come visit them.
13. My dogs are Molly, a nine and half year old yellow Lab and Lillie, a three year old chocolate Lab.
14. I have two children.
15. My daughter, Megan, is almost 17. (Where does the time go??)
16. She drives a grey Mustang.
17. When she pulls out of the driveway, my heart goes with her.
18. She is a junior in high school.
19. This is our second year of homeschooling.
20. We enjoy it for the most part - there are some great benefits.
21. She is taking classes at HCC (Houston Community College) under the dual credit program - the classes count for high school and college.
22. She doesn't know where she wants to go to college.
23. I think she should take a gap year where she lives at home and waits a year to go to college.
24. Gap year is a European idea and phenomenon. I really like the idea!
25. My son, Wyatt, is six and a half.
26. He is in Kindergarten at Crosspoint Christian School.
27. I have no idea where he will go to school next year.
28. He makes me laugh so hard and so often!!
29. He has his daddy's sense of humor for sure.
30. My husband's name was Kyle.
31. He died three years and nine and a half months ago.
32. I still miss him.
33. I like it when I dream about him.
34. It makes me sad that I won't get to grow old with him.
35. His kids miss him too.
36. He was a very smart man.
37. He always said that he had the street smarts out of the two of us and that I had the book smarts.
38. From time to time he would have me read his gas reports and tell him what they were about - he really didn't like to read all that much.
39. We wanted to retire and grow old in west Texas.
40. He loved being outdoors.
41. He was so excited when we found out Wyatt was going to be a boy.
42. We went that day and bought a football, a pair of blue jeans and a ball cap for our baby boy.
43. I think he was more nervous when I was when I was in labor with Wyatt.
44. I'll never forget the look on his face when he held Wyatt for the first time.
45. He followed the nurses who were holding Wyatt right after he was born - he wouldn't let that baby out of his sight.
46. He called Megan his sweetheart.
47. He wasn't her biological father, but he was her daddy in every way that counts.
48. They used to sit in his leather chair and cuddle and talk and watch football.
49. Megan misses him a lot too.
50. He was her softball coach one year. She loved it!
51. We have great comfort knowing that we will see him again in Heaven.
52. Heaven doesn't seem so scary or far away anymore.
53. We're (Megan and me) going to a wedding this weekend.
54. My little Lizzie is getting married.
55. I was one of Lizzie's nannies when I was in college.
56. She and her parents are now dear friends of ours.
57. I can't believe Lizzie is old enough to get married.
58. I got very teary-eyed at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner last night.
59. She is going to be a very beautiful bride:)!
60. I love photography - I have a Canon 5D with two of the IS lenses.
61. My photography website is in the process of being built.
62. Two of my dearest friends, Amy and Amber, let me practice on their kids a lot! (Thanks guys!)
63. I think "Cheese" was one of Wyatt's first words.
64. Denis Reggie is my photography hero. (http://www.denisreggie.com/)
65. I love all kinds of music - I don't know who my musical hero is though - it's different everyday!
66. I am blessed with wonderful friends - I have three friends from high school that are very dear and we stay in close contact - Amy, Amber and Sheila.
67. Amy has three kids - Grant, Grayson and Greta
68. Amber also has three kids - Hannah, Emma and Joshua.
69. Sheila has two children - Noah and baby #2 is due the first week of May.
70. Sheila and her husband, Ryan, choose not to find out what the sex of the baby is before the baby is born.
71. This may be fun for them, but it is not for me:(!
72. I offered to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the dr so he could just mail me a little note and let me know, but Sheila vetoed the idea - thanks Sheila! (Just kidding!)
73. These three friends live far away - thank goodness for cheap cellphones, free email and blogs:)!
74. I have many wonderful friends in Houston - my college friends are Judi, Lara, Kristen, Candace, Suzanne, Tammie, Vivian and more. These girls are great - we get together from time to time and have such fun - we all went to Houston Baptist University (http://www.hbu.edu/) together - go Huskies!
75. I am also blessed to have many friends in Katy (where we now live) - Carlene, Andrea, Cyndi Megan D, and more - we have a Thursday morning group each week. I try not to miss it!
76. I also have some fabulous friends that are fellow single parents - we are such a wonderful support for each other - Gwen, Rob, Mali, Robert (Robert is riding in the MS150 today - go Robert!!), Rainy, Dan, Joel, Amanda, Tom, Brett and more - we love to get together and play Catch Phrase - the girls always win!! Really, boys - you must come to grips with the fact that you can't beat the girls:).
77. I had twenty of my single parent friends over Easter Sunday - we had such fun - we ate and ate and played Catch Phrase - I took pictures - I should post them here:)!
78. Katy has a dessert boutique called "Ooh La La" - it is totally fab - their cupcakes rock - if you ever come visit me, I will insist that we go there at least once! You will be glad we did!
79. I had to take a break from completing this post. While I did, Lizzie got married.
80. She was an incredibly beautiful bride.
81. Yes, I cried.
82. Several times actually.
83. Megan went to the wedding - she looked so very grown up.
84. Before I know it, we'll be planning her wedding - on second thought - she better wait at least 8-10 years.
85. I think I was emotional because even though a lot of kids have passed through my life, Lizzie is one who has been a part of it for almost twenty years now. I have literally watched her grow up - I remember putting bandaids and kisses on scraped knees, playing with make-up as she was learning how to use it, and watching her go from little girl, to young lady, to teenager, to young adult, to a beautiful and incredible adult. What an amazing process.
86. Only a few more things about me to go... Wyatt didn't go to the wedding - weddings aren't really his thing!
87. Lizzie and Marc left in a Rolls Royce - Megan just had to have her picture taken while leaning against the Rolls Royce - enjoy, sweetheart, that's probably the closest you'll ever get:)
88. If I could buy any car I wanted to right now it would be an LR3 - don't ask me why - no real reason other than I like them.
89. How's this one - I wish I had a smaller house - it would be so much easier to clean:)!
90. This is the third day that I have worked on this list.
91. I love to read - I literally have more books than pieces of clothing.
92. I don't have only one favorite author - for "non-Christian" reading I love Sophie Kinsella.
93. For Christian fiction I really like Deanne Gist and Cathy Marie Hake. They write in similar styles and their heroines always end up in hysterical messes - reminds me of my own life.
94. I'm teaching this weekend at church - I teach two classes.
95. We'll be studying Joseph, specifically we'll be looking at the time he spent in prison.
96. I titled the lesson "The Chair" and I'll be bringing a big chair from my house as the visual.
97. I can't tell you anymore because then it would give away a big part of my lesson!
98. I talked to my friend Sheila today - she still doesn't know if she is having a boy or a girl.
99. I'm hoping it is a girl - I think every family should have at least one girl!
100. Yeah - I'm finished - I love the feeling of a completed project!!
1. I was born in Houston, TX.
2. I have lived in ten states: Texas, Illinois, Virginia, N. Carolina, Washington, Maine, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio, Kentucky and now I have been back in Texas for 19 years.
3. I have one brother, Sam.
4. He is married to Dianna.
5. They have two boys.
6. Brendan just turned seven and is in the first grade.
7. Connor will be five this summer and will go to Kindergarten this fall.
8. Sam says Connor is his "payback child".
9. That is very good because Sam deserves a payback child:)
10. My parents, Burt and Gale, live about three hours west of us.
11. They live in Boerne, TX, which is northwest of San Antonio.
12. They usually visit us here at my house because I have two dogs and they don't like my dogs to come visit them.
13. My dogs are Molly, a nine and half year old yellow Lab and Lillie, a three year old chocolate Lab.
14. I have two children.
15. My daughter, Megan, is almost 17. (Where does the time go??)
16. She drives a grey Mustang.
17. When she pulls out of the driveway, my heart goes with her.
18. She is a junior in high school.
19. This is our second year of homeschooling.
20. We enjoy it for the most part - there are some great benefits.
21. She is taking classes at HCC (Houston Community College) under the dual credit program - the classes count for high school and college.
22. She doesn't know where she wants to go to college.
23. I think she should take a gap year where she lives at home and waits a year to go to college.
24. Gap year is a European idea and phenomenon. I really like the idea!
25. My son, Wyatt, is six and a half.
26. He is in Kindergarten at Crosspoint Christian School.
27. I have no idea where he will go to school next year.
28. He makes me laugh so hard and so often!!
29. He has his daddy's sense of humor for sure.
30. My husband's name was Kyle.
31. He died three years and nine and a half months ago.
32. I still miss him.
33. I like it when I dream about him.
34. It makes me sad that I won't get to grow old with him.
35. His kids miss him too.
36. He was a very smart man.
37. He always said that he had the street smarts out of the two of us and that I had the book smarts.
38. From time to time he would have me read his gas reports and tell him what they were about - he really didn't like to read all that much.
39. We wanted to retire and grow old in west Texas.
40. He loved being outdoors.
41. He was so excited when we found out Wyatt was going to be a boy.
42. We went that day and bought a football, a pair of blue jeans and a ball cap for our baby boy.
43. I think he was more nervous when I was when I was in labor with Wyatt.
44. I'll never forget the look on his face when he held Wyatt for the first time.
45. He followed the nurses who were holding Wyatt right after he was born - he wouldn't let that baby out of his sight.
46. He called Megan his sweetheart.
47. He wasn't her biological father, but he was her daddy in every way that counts.
48. They used to sit in his leather chair and cuddle and talk and watch football.
49. Megan misses him a lot too.
50. He was her softball coach one year. She loved it!
51. We have great comfort knowing that we will see him again in Heaven.
52. Heaven doesn't seem so scary or far away anymore.
53. We're (Megan and me) going to a wedding this weekend.
54. My little Lizzie is getting married.
55. I was one of Lizzie's nannies when I was in college.
56. She and her parents are now dear friends of ours.
57. I can't believe Lizzie is old enough to get married.
58. I got very teary-eyed at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner last night.
59. She is going to be a very beautiful bride:)!
60. I love photography - I have a Canon 5D with two of the IS lenses.
61. My photography website is in the process of being built.
62. Two of my dearest friends, Amy and Amber, let me practice on their kids a lot! (Thanks guys!)
63. I think "Cheese" was one of Wyatt's first words.
64. Denis Reggie is my photography hero. (http://www.denisreggie.com/)
65. I love all kinds of music - I don't know who my musical hero is though - it's different everyday!
66. I am blessed with wonderful friends - I have three friends from high school that are very dear and we stay in close contact - Amy, Amber and Sheila.
67. Amy has three kids - Grant, Grayson and Greta
68. Amber also has three kids - Hannah, Emma and Joshua.
69. Sheila has two children - Noah and baby #2 is due the first week of May.
70. Sheila and her husband, Ryan, choose not to find out what the sex of the baby is before the baby is born.
71. This may be fun for them, but it is not for me:(!
72. I offered to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the dr so he could just mail me a little note and let me know, but Sheila vetoed the idea - thanks Sheila! (Just kidding!)
73. These three friends live far away - thank goodness for cheap cellphones, free email and blogs:)!
74. I have many wonderful friends in Houston - my college friends are Judi, Lara, Kristen, Candace, Suzanne, Tammie, Vivian and more. These girls are great - we get together from time to time and have such fun - we all went to Houston Baptist University (http://www.hbu.edu/) together - go Huskies!
75. I am also blessed to have many friends in Katy (where we now live) - Carlene, Andrea, Cyndi Megan D, and more - we have a Thursday morning group each week. I try not to miss it!
76. I also have some fabulous friends that are fellow single parents - we are such a wonderful support for each other - Gwen, Rob, Mali, Robert (Robert is riding in the MS150 today - go Robert!!), Rainy, Dan, Joel, Amanda, Tom, Brett and more - we love to get together and play Catch Phrase - the girls always win!! Really, boys - you must come to grips with the fact that you can't beat the girls:).
77. I had twenty of my single parent friends over Easter Sunday - we had such fun - we ate and ate and played Catch Phrase - I took pictures - I should post them here:)!
78. Katy has a dessert boutique called "Ooh La La" - it is totally fab - their cupcakes rock - if you ever come visit me, I will insist that we go there at least once! You will be glad we did!
79. I had to take a break from completing this post. While I did, Lizzie got married.
80. She was an incredibly beautiful bride.
81. Yes, I cried.
82. Several times actually.
83. Megan went to the wedding - she looked so very grown up.
84. Before I know it, we'll be planning her wedding - on second thought - she better wait at least 8-10 years.
85. I think I was emotional because even though a lot of kids have passed through my life, Lizzie is one who has been a part of it for almost twenty years now. I have literally watched her grow up - I remember putting bandaids and kisses on scraped knees, playing with make-up as she was learning how to use it, and watching her go from little girl, to young lady, to teenager, to young adult, to a beautiful and incredible adult. What an amazing process.
86. Only a few more things about me to go... Wyatt didn't go to the wedding - weddings aren't really his thing!
87. Lizzie and Marc left in a Rolls Royce - Megan just had to have her picture taken while leaning against the Rolls Royce - enjoy, sweetheart, that's probably the closest you'll ever get:)
88. If I could buy any car I wanted to right now it would be an LR3 - don't ask me why - no real reason other than I like them.
89. How's this one - I wish I had a smaller house - it would be so much easier to clean:)!
90. This is the third day that I have worked on this list.
91. I love to read - I literally have more books than pieces of clothing.
92. I don't have only one favorite author - for "non-Christian" reading I love Sophie Kinsella.
93. For Christian fiction I really like Deanne Gist and Cathy Marie Hake. They write in similar styles and their heroines always end up in hysterical messes - reminds me of my own life.
94. I'm teaching this weekend at church - I teach two classes.
95. We'll be studying Joseph, specifically we'll be looking at the time he spent in prison.
96. I titled the lesson "The Chair" and I'll be bringing a big chair from my house as the visual.
97. I can't tell you anymore because then it would give away a big part of my lesson!
98. I talked to my friend Sheila today - she still doesn't know if she is having a boy or a girl.
99. I'm hoping it is a girl - I think every family should have at least one girl!
100. Yeah - I'm finished - I love the feeling of a completed project!!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
on a happier note...
I really became intrigued with blogging this winter when a blog was forwarded to me. It is the blog of a family that we go to church with - the mom, Kenzie, was Megan's beach retreat counselor last summer. She is a precious lady and Megan thinks the world of her. Her blog has links to other blogs and one in particular has really touched my heart - "Confessions of a CF Husband" - Nate is the author of this blog- he is in his early 20's and his wife has cystic fibrosis. In January they had their first child - Gwyneth - she was born more than fifteen weeks early. (Those of you who know us well know that almost seventeen years ago, Megan was a 12week early baby - so preemies have a special place in my heart!) As soon as Tricia (Nate's wife) recovered from having Gwyneth she was placed on a lung transplant list - last week she got a new set of lungs - not just one lung but two!!! Their blog is to raise awareness of God's goodness, His provision as well as the need for organ donation and research for Cystic Fibrosis. If you need something to make you smile this morning, I promise "Confessions of a CF Husband" will do it for you!! Check out his blog - http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ - you'll be glad you did!!
on my soap box;)
DISCLAIMER: Yes, I work for a public school district, but the views purported below are my own and not reflective of the district that I work for:)!
A battle has been brewing at the State Board of Education for years - the media calls it "Liberal" vs "Conservative", but I call it something totally different - it is a powerstruggle and unfortunately the real losers are your children and mine! Let me back up for those of you who aren't in the loop on this one...
Every so often the documents that tell teachers what objectives to teach must be examined - Are they reflective of current best practices? Do they provide rigor and challenge? Do they push our students to be the best thinkers and learners possible? Do they adequately prepare children for a post-education future? Refinement is a necessary process. Scrapping the whole thing and starting over under the table is not. (This is what has happened to the Language Arts objectives in the state of Texas.) Enter E.D. Hirsch - you should be leery of this man - in print he advocates a "one size fits all" curriculum - according to him, there is a body of core knowledge that is essential for all children - doesn't sound bad, does it? Hold on... Joining E.D. Hirsch on the stage is Chairman of the Board Don McLeroy - not an educator but because he went through school and college and knows teachers, he feels particularly qualified to say what should and should not be taught and to unequivocally state that Texas teachers are not currently getting the job done well enough. McLeroy is a huge fan of Hirsch. He thinks we should all be huge fans of Hirsch. He thinks the Language Arts objectives need a complete overhaul due to their repetitive nature and a couple of other unsubstantiated reasons. Hmm... repetitive... according to McLeroy, teachers should teach complex processes such as inferring, one time in one grade level and move on. No room for continuing to teach complex thinking processes - you either get it or you don't. Too bad, so sad. So, let's think - I went to the dentist as a child and because I had my teeth cleaned back then, I don't need to have them cleaned anymore - right? Wrong! Or, better yet - I ate dinner yesterday, so I don't need to eat dinner ever again - right? Wrong! (Yes, you do hear a touch of sarcasm, but just a touch because we all know I would never seriously consider giving up food!)
You should also be leery of a woman lurking behind the scenes - Donna Garner. I can tell you that I have read emails written by her and she attempts to discredit Texas educators and basically anyone who doesn't agree with her alternative document that McLeroy thinks is so fabulous. Here's a thought - Chairman McLeroy - Donna was pushed off stage more than a decade ago, her document was buried and seen as developmentally inappropriate and not reflective of anything even close to best practices for students then- why in the world would you invite her to the stage now?
So... you say, "Monica, why in the world should I care about this drama? It doesn't effect me." Here's why - you live in this state and you work in this state. You have children that will go to school in this state. If McLeroy and his conservative cronies win this battle, your children and mine lose. It is that simple. As an employer you want to be able to hire workers who can think, reason, problem solve and create. Under the document that McLeroy is pushing your students will become robots who are required to read and write simply through rote processes. Thinking not required. Problem-solving not necessary. I've always wanted my children to be robots! Yikes - I hate it when sarcasm comes sneaking through!
Let me say for the record, I've lumped the conservatives together in this particular instance and I've made it clear that I don't agree with them, which probably surprises most of you. Well, I haven't switched to the other side - the field of education should be neither Republican nor Democrat, Conservative nor Liberal. It should be about doing what is best for kids - anything else is cutting our noses off to spite our faces. Let's face it, today's students will be paying our Social Security in years to come. BUT, aside from that - education is about kids, to make it about power and money is ethically and morally reprehensible.
Let's keep moving... As parents you and I want the best possible education for our children - we want them to go farther and learn more than we have - the world is constantly changing and they need to be able to change with it. McLeroy doesn't think so. He thinks one size fits all. Tell me, where in the world does one size fit all?? At the doctor's office - if you have cancer, I don't think so! In the courtroom - if you're on trial, I don't think so! Truly, there is no place in this world, except maybe church - and that's a whole other discussion - where one size fits all.
So... I've "soap-boxed" enough - yes, I can tell you're glad, but you need to know that being silent and uninformed is not a choice if you want your children to thrive in public school. Check the Chronicle, check TEA's website - http://www.tea.state.tx.us/, check out what national organizations have had to say about this debacle - http://www.internationalreadingassociation.org/ and http://www.ncte.org/. It is a scary time for Language Arts educators as well as for all students and their parents who expect the best. Trust me on this one, the State Board of Education - the very people that we elected, do not want the best - they want the publishing perks and bonuses. Your children and mine simply don't matter! Their pride and pocketbooks are their priorities.
A battle has been brewing at the State Board of Education for years - the media calls it "Liberal" vs "Conservative", but I call it something totally different - it is a powerstruggle and unfortunately the real losers are your children and mine! Let me back up for those of you who aren't in the loop on this one...
Every so often the documents that tell teachers what objectives to teach must be examined - Are they reflective of current best practices? Do they provide rigor and challenge? Do they push our students to be the best thinkers and learners possible? Do they adequately prepare children for a post-education future? Refinement is a necessary process. Scrapping the whole thing and starting over under the table is not. (This is what has happened to the Language Arts objectives in the state of Texas.) Enter E.D. Hirsch - you should be leery of this man - in print he advocates a "one size fits all" curriculum - according to him, there is a body of core knowledge that is essential for all children - doesn't sound bad, does it? Hold on... Joining E.D. Hirsch on the stage is Chairman of the Board Don McLeroy - not an educator but because he went through school and college and knows teachers, he feels particularly qualified to say what should and should not be taught and to unequivocally state that Texas teachers are not currently getting the job done well enough. McLeroy is a huge fan of Hirsch. He thinks we should all be huge fans of Hirsch. He thinks the Language Arts objectives need a complete overhaul due to their repetitive nature and a couple of other unsubstantiated reasons. Hmm... repetitive... according to McLeroy, teachers should teach complex processes such as inferring, one time in one grade level and move on. No room for continuing to teach complex thinking processes - you either get it or you don't. Too bad, so sad. So, let's think - I went to the dentist as a child and because I had my teeth cleaned back then, I don't need to have them cleaned anymore - right? Wrong! Or, better yet - I ate dinner yesterday, so I don't need to eat dinner ever again - right? Wrong! (Yes, you do hear a touch of sarcasm, but just a touch because we all know I would never seriously consider giving up food!)
You should also be leery of a woman lurking behind the scenes - Donna Garner. I can tell you that I have read emails written by her and she attempts to discredit Texas educators and basically anyone who doesn't agree with her alternative document that McLeroy thinks is so fabulous. Here's a thought - Chairman McLeroy - Donna was pushed off stage more than a decade ago, her document was buried and seen as developmentally inappropriate and not reflective of anything even close to best practices for students then- why in the world would you invite her to the stage now?
So... you say, "Monica, why in the world should I care about this drama? It doesn't effect me." Here's why - you live in this state and you work in this state. You have children that will go to school in this state. If McLeroy and his conservative cronies win this battle, your children and mine lose. It is that simple. As an employer you want to be able to hire workers who can think, reason, problem solve and create. Under the document that McLeroy is pushing your students will become robots who are required to read and write simply through rote processes. Thinking not required. Problem-solving not necessary. I've always wanted my children to be robots! Yikes - I hate it when sarcasm comes sneaking through!
Let me say for the record, I've lumped the conservatives together in this particular instance and I've made it clear that I don't agree with them, which probably surprises most of you. Well, I haven't switched to the other side - the field of education should be neither Republican nor Democrat, Conservative nor Liberal. It should be about doing what is best for kids - anything else is cutting our noses off to spite our faces. Let's face it, today's students will be paying our Social Security in years to come. BUT, aside from that - education is about kids, to make it about power and money is ethically and morally reprehensible.
Let's keep moving... As parents you and I want the best possible education for our children - we want them to go farther and learn more than we have - the world is constantly changing and they need to be able to change with it. McLeroy doesn't think so. He thinks one size fits all. Tell me, where in the world does one size fit all?? At the doctor's office - if you have cancer, I don't think so! In the courtroom - if you're on trial, I don't think so! Truly, there is no place in this world, except maybe church - and that's a whole other discussion - where one size fits all.
So... I've "soap-boxed" enough - yes, I can tell you're glad, but you need to know that being silent and uninformed is not a choice if you want your children to thrive in public school. Check the Chronicle, check TEA's website - http://www.tea.state.tx.us/, check out what national organizations have had to say about this debacle - http://www.internationalreadingassociation.org/ and http://www.ncte.org/. It is a scary time for Language Arts educators as well as for all students and their parents who expect the best. Trust me on this one, the State Board of Education - the very people that we elected, do not want the best - they want the publishing perks and bonuses. Your children and mine simply don't matter! Their pride and pocketbooks are their priorities.
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