To quote that great Southern philosopher, Gomer Pyle: Well, surprahze, surprahze!!
Cranmer is on the warpath. His reader are drawing knives on one another.
It's the blogosphere, ya'll. Ever'body calm down a tech.
OldSouth admires Miss Birbalsingh no end. What a brave lady, to graduate Oxford, lovely and attractive, with the world at her feet, and to choose to teach kids in forgotten neighborhoods of the UK. She could have taken up a very comfortable post at a private boarding school anywhere in the Commonwealth--Bermuda's nice, British Columbia's lovely, or any number of comfortable spots in England. She made a brave decision, and stuck to it, for well over a decade!
She made another in choosing to speak to the Conservative Party Congress. OS is not surprised to find that this forced resignation transpired. People who tell the truth to people allergic to truth find themselves in the crosshairs of the allergic peoples' anger. Don't ask how OS knows this, just trust he does.
We haven't heard the last of her, and the real debate, on both sides of the pond, is just about to get underway.
The painful part for this lovely lady is to be wrenched involuntarily from children to whom she has inevitably become attached. It's one thing to leave at year's end, with a plan in place, and to be able to say 'goodbye and Godspeed'. This is something else entirely, and it can truly, truly hurt. OS hopes the parents get in touch, and slather some love on her in the next few days. That helps ease the sorrow.
That being said, time to go forward.
OS lives in a county where 50% of the ninth graders never make it to the graduation line at the end of the twelfth grade, and of those who do, only about 10% ever graduate from university with a bachelor's degree, and about 10% of them pursue grad school. The schools here, well, suck. But we're assured they are wonderful, because at least it's not Chicago, where over 200 school-aged kids were shot last year, according to a recent article in Time Magazine. OS is happy his kids have graduated, and are long gone from this place, much as he loves living here. He doesn't want to see his grandchildren attending these schools.
It's time to really, really have that public discussion about how badly we educate our children, and what must be done to set things right. The guv'mint, at all levels, is out of money, so the typical union rant of 'Send us enough money, you ingrates, and we'll do a better job' is no longer an option.
They've been in the business of doing less with more for years, ya'll. That approach has proven to be a failure.
We now have to decide how to do a credible job with less, much less, and do it all much more credibly. Korea, India and Singapore are about to eat our collective lunch.
Miss Birbalsingh, OS thanks you from the bottom of his grumpy heart. You have done the world a great service, and he predicts you have great days ahead of you. Someday, before too long, he'd like to fly you over to our part of the world and let you talk to us. He knows a few folks who might be very interested in listening.
If you read this, young lady, and would like to get in touch, Cranmer has my contact information.
God bless you, comfort you, and strengthen you as you undertake 'all such good works He has prepared for you to walk in.'
This ain't the end, young lady. It's jest the beginning!
As Gomer would exclaim: ShaZAYuhm!!!
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