Certifiable!

As soon as Mari got home from work today, we put on our fancy, church-meetin' clothes and took a taxi to the downtown Sheraton, where Mari and about one hundred other Chicago Public School teachers were to be honored for achieving National Board teaching certification (in addition to Mari, three other teachers from Belmont-Cragin were so honored: Demaris, Jamie, and Julie, seen with Mari in these photos at right on the back row of the risers during the photo shoot). Emilio stayed at the house to help Jack with his voice training. When Julie got off work she came over and she and Emilio hung out while Jack went to the Improv Olympic, where he is now taking classes (it's officially known as "I.O." now because the Olympics sued them!). It's really great to have good friends who are so willing and apparently eager to hang out with Emilio. Thanks again guys!

The big draw of the awards ceremony was the fat check that the Chicago Education Fund (a "venture philanthropy organization") was distributing to all the winners, but I was also curious to hear the seventh scheduled speaker of the night, Richard M. Daley, who has been mayor of Chicago since 1989 (other speakers included Chicago Public Schools superintendent Arne Duncan and the Superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education Randy Dunn).

Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were the entertainment from five to six, and at six the award winners were invited to take their assigned seats near the front of the ballroom. Daley was about a quarter of an hour late, and I spent that time talking to jazz pianist Steve Million (http://www.stevemillion.com), who had been hired to play for the event (he played while we talked). I really enjoyed watching him work the keyboard (he agreed to pose for this photo at left).

Turns out it was a good idea to wear our fancy, church-meetin' clothes because once the scheduled speakers started delivering their sermons, I felt like I was in church. Most of what was said was intended to congratulate "the profession that makes all other professions possible," and there was some evangelism: "go ye, therefore and preach the good news to your colleagues--they, too, can get National Board Certification (1000 CPS teachers took the test this year; approximately 100 passed). Daley delivered a real fire and brimstone number, though, and while I appreciated the fact that he was saying things that were controversial (and, therefore, interesting), I was actually stunned by the crudity of his xenophobia. He did his best to strike the fear of China and India in the crowd. According to Daley, India and China are poised to destroy the United States in an apocalyptic, winner-take-all education war, after which, we can assume, they will enslave us. I overstate the case (slightly), but he did say that China's commitment to education made it a a "frightening" place to visit. Eek!

Anyway, Mari worked very hard to get National Board Certification and I am very proud of her success. She deserves to be feted and I was glad I could attend the event with her. And if she ever runs for mayor of Chicago, I'll give her my vote.