God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. 

~Jewish Proverb

Rumi-nations

When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men.

Rumi

Italy revisited

Italy - 40 years ago I last walked afoot in this part of the world. Snatches of memories include the details of Michelangelo's smooth white sculptures, such as the veins in Moses' sandled feet and David's enlarged hand that will hold the rock; the dark Sistine Chapel before the paintings were restored but still visible to see the near touch of man and God; the floorless Colosseum; and the water stained city walls of Venice. It is time to revisit - 19 to 59. Perhaps a different perspective?

Value-Added

Yes, "value-added" is now the measure used to rank teacher performance in LA. Whether the child attends are not, whether the teacher is on leave, whether the teacher was re-assigned in the middle of the year - no worries, you are still linked to a "classroom" of students and your value is added, ranked, dissected according to one test score. If the kids did well, you did well. If the kids did poorly, well, your value as a teacher is in the dumpster.

Remember when quality job performance was based on education, experience, dedication, going above and beyond what is asked, year-long evaluation and striving for quality in task completion? No longer. It's one size fits all. Well, one test fits all even if the kids aren't in attendance. In the end it comes down to dollars and cents (not sense). Can we buy a cheaper worker and then change the rules midstream so that we no longer have to pay for experience? Sounds like a factory worker, not a skilled professional. Yes, the kids are the product based on one test (not considering whether you even taught them all year) and you are the factory bee. Dedication, experience, Master's degrees need not apply. One test fits all.