bitch, rant. moan.

A few things are bugging me this morning. The first being about the teachers in BC whom are refusing to administer the FSA testing. I am sure that this is a loaded topic, and everyone has their own opinion about it, and I know my kid(s) aren't school age yet, BUT, right from birth kids go through all kinds of assessment testing to see if they are on track. Even the (not so) simple stuff, gross and fine motor skill functioning, language skills, hearing, sight, all the basics. Those foundational skills and the testing of them is pretty important to see if there are any obvious shortfalls. Early intervention is truly the best way to cut these kinds of things off at the pass. I believe people enable and disable themselves all the time, and there is something to be said about knowing where you fit on the spectrum of things, doing an honest assessment, and then following through with what needs to be addressed. None of us develop equally, but hey, if you are ahead in some areas, and falling behind in others, what can you proactively do to give yourself the best chance?

Now, these tests for our kids. The teachers say it isn't in their job. WTF? Why are you so paranoid about your one corner of each individual kid's learning that you are scared of what the tests reveal? What about for the kids themselves? What if kids are slipping through the cracks in our system that doesn't really want to come out and say "your kid needs to be in this grade another year??" or, you didn't really put an effort in, but we'll reward what effort you did put in because it was better than last time. I want to know how my kid is doing - how is their reading and math skills, etc, and what do I need to be proactive about. I have worked in post secondary long enough to see what kind of skill sets kids are graduating with and they need all the help they can get!

And then the other thing. Our hockey team. You can hear the thumps of people jumping off of the bandwagon from miles away. I must admit, I am pretty lackadaisical about how I feel about the 'Nucks. I am thinking that the Giants kick ASS and are a way better product that the "big guys" in town. Much more entertaining, more charisma, more heart, and way way cheaper.

The walls are getting painted that the obvious head to roll is the coaches'. Everyone is lining up with their opinions, and what has happened to the team, and should we have gone for the big Swede. Well, it's farther than that. This team hasn't had charisma for a while. It isn't exciting to watch. Yes, there are sell out crowds, but is that crowd having fun? They are pretty damn quiet if they are! I laughed when I watched the interview from #55 last night -he spoke his mind and I am sure he will pay by warming the bench for a few games after coming out and calling out the coach. Then the big Swede - well, it is like when we brought the Moose in before he headed over to NY. Not really the next big saviour we expected him to be was he? I don't know. What do we need? Passionate coaching. Players that feel passionate about playing, and play for themselves and for the coach. Gritty play, following through with checks, consistency, and not relying on just one guy to make that difference. You win and lose as a team, and this team seems to have forgotten about it.

Now that I have that off my chest, I can continue on with my day.