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Showing posts from May, 2009

Leaving Finland

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Lake Jyvasjarvi I have never lived anywhere for 5 months other than Jyvaskyla, Finland. As my Fulbright journey concludes, there is so much to still digest. It will take months, if not years, to truly assimilate all the learning. Before I left Southern California, I wrote about the what I would miss the most from home and what I  looked forward to experiencing in Finland. It is safe to say I met my goals. Top 7 Goals 1. Discussing Education Helsinki Workshop Through professional development programs, Fulbright Finland connected teachers with scholars and researchers, for the purpose of putting inquisitive minds together. The Making Democracies Resilient to Modern Threats seminar provided participants with fascinating research and presentations. 2. Nordic Model Bus station in Espoo What does an efficient and earnest country look like?  It looks like Finland. Yes, people pay higher taxes, but get so much in return. I for one appreciated the well-maintained ro

Protest After Protest: Does Anyone Really Care About Students in South Central?

LA Academy Community Fights to Save Public Education

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100 Teachers, Students, Parents, and Community Members Participate in Informational Picketing on Friday, May 15, 2009 Teachers from all over California are desperately trying to bring attention to what we know will be the devastating impact of teacher layoffs which will result in drastic class size increases. We know, as parents in public schools do, that quality public education cannot survive when students are piled into classrooms at 45 students per teacher. We are not asking for raises. We are not asking for concessions. We want to be able to teach your children, touch their lives, and make a difference in this world. Public, please don't let the LAUSD school board cut classrooms as their way of balancing the budget. Let them know that teachers in the classroom should be the last prescious resource to go, if anything must go at all. Look closely at the teachers below. These gentle, dedicated teachers have less than six weeks left to work with the students to which they have de