"Doing Undercover Work"

Just couldn't resist sharing this picture with everyone today....this picture portrays exactly the way I feel: I know what I am but, I am sure that people may view me as an imposter.....

For any student that believes that being a part-time writer is a glamorous job....it isn't...there is nothing glamorous about being alone 99% of the time--although I , myself really like being alone most of the time because my thoughts allow me to make my own reality --when I don't have the phone and the door bell ringing and I can let thoughts ramble into the "whys", "whats" and "whereforearts" and back again. It is not very glamorous, however, to be in your flannel pajamas at 1:45 in the afternoon, trying to articulate thoughts and feelings in writing and within a context that the outside world might want to read. It is not very glamorous to check your bank account everyday to see if you can eek out another cent or so...it is not very glamorous to have to answer your friends' questions: "gee, what do you do all day...." so there you go, I feel as if I am doing undercover work each day. I know what I am, but I don't appear to be that to the outside world.

One of the things I am really monitoring lately is the PACE program. This program is the product of a national "think tank" with renowned educators, industrialists, higher education academics, politicians and scientists whose aim is to attract more young people to Math and Science and therefore, be able to maintain the USA's competitive edge in those areas. I watched Charlie Rose (PBS) last week and one of premises of the program is to get outstanding teachers into these areas in the public schools who are not only experts in their field but who are MOTIVATORS!!! I almost stood on my chair and applauded when I heard this!!! Someone gets it, someone gets it!!! maybe this is a move in the right direction. but wait.....we need this in all areas of education, in every area of education!!!

American public education needs a "Sputnik" type initiative in education in every area. We will lose our competitive edge if we don't create an interest in education GENERALLY....maybe we need to recruit MBA's to go into education. Maybe we need to recruit the best salesmen and saleswomen from every commissioned salesforce in every FORTUNE 500 company and recruit them to teach at least ONE class in the public schools. Perhaps this could be an idea for a new charter school...totally run by the community's business professionals--small teaching stipends for professional's to give back to the community. This was an idea that "flew" a long time ago. In really poor areas that needed a teacher--they didn't pay them money, they gave them a place to live and an occasional cow or chicken. Hmm...an old idea reborn??

that's why I am working undercover....