Testing, Basic Skills, Behavior, and Blame

Mamacita says:  Testing, you say?  Don’t get me wrong.  I believe in testing, to a point.  I do not believe that a student who can’t pass a simple test of basic skills should be promoted at all, in fact. That … Continue reading

The Time of the Season *

Mamacita says: Remember those scenes in You’ve Got Mail where Meg Ryan is talking about how, even at her age, she still loves the time of the season when the leaves are colorful, the weather is divine, and every store … Continue reading

Our Ancestors Were Immigrants. Live Up To Them.

Mamacita says: Oh please, society, let us learn from the past, just a little bit?  Because those in charge of those in charge of the education of our children are doing it all wrong.  Real education has nothing to do … Continue reading

Conversation from the Teachers’ Lounge

 Mamacita says: Have you ever wondered what teachers talk about in the lounge? It depends on who’s in there and what time of day it is, of course, but the conversation really doesn’t vary much from building to building, or … Continue reading

Those Who Burn Books Will, in the End, Burn Human Beings. . . .

Mamacita says:  Banned Books week makes me sad.  It’s a sad reminder that that there are such huge hordes of ignorant masses in the United States; we don’t like to remember it, and yet, sigh, there those blank minds are, forbidding … Continue reading

Stuff Students and Parents Say To Teachers. Etc.

Mamacita says: I only wish I could include the really great stuff, but until some people are dead, that wouldn’t be appropriate. And you all know me: ever appropriate. Then again, if they continue to annoy me, I might even … Continue reading