in which i canoodle with superman

It's Friday and I couldn't be more delighted. The weekend is supposed to be glorious and I can't wait to partake of some seriously summery activities!!

(shorts/shirt: thrifted; socks: uo; shoes: seychelles)

I feel like a ridiculously obnoxious ice cream cone today... one of those weird flavors involving bubblegum (funnily enough, I think I most resemble the 'Superman' flavor, which will become relevant below, I promise. Speaking of ice cream, I've been trying to get back on a healthy-eating kick, and this was my dinner last night:

But then, I also inhaled a "small" creemee (which was actually about six inches tall, not including the cone) and all was lost. Oh well, it's not like it's bathing suit season or anything...

...

Last night K and I watched Waiting for 'Superman', and if I wasn't already in a panic about the educational system in our country, I'm sure this film would have been even more devastating. I think I cried for about five straight minutes at the end of the film. The wild-eyed leader of the Teacher's Union absolutely enraged me, and I was completely baffled that the DC district teachers wouldn't cooperate with the plan for an educational overhaul that would eliminate tenure but make it possible for good teachers to earn twice as much. By refusing to even vote on the issue, they were basically admitting that they valued their own job security (regardless of whether or not they were actually impacting their students in a positive way) over the (incredibly necessary) improvement of our education system. This may be a sensitive subject for some, but as a person who has been tentatively considering entering the teaching profession, the sort of all-for-one-and-one-for-all mentality was, to be frank, frightening. I definitely support labor unions for manufacturing and the like, but teachers are responsible for molding the minds of our future generations! That is no small task, and should absolutely not be left in the hands of lazy or incompetent educators. The importance of public schooling is that the forefront of my mind right now, because my elementary school was almost shut down this year due to low enrollment. I went from a small elementary school in my hometown (12 kids in my class) to a regional high school the next town over that was (at that time) considered one of the worst in the country because of poor test scores. When I was a student there, my class dropped from 85 students to 50 over six years (7-12), but I was "tracked" in the accelerated class and actually got a pretty decent education. Most of the kids did not. By the time my younger brother entered high school, things had changed dramatically. The tracking system had been eliminated, and the school had actually risen in status to become a "Bronze Medal" school. I could go on and on. Basically, I just think that it is so important that we find a way to transform our floundering (or just plain failing) schools and give kids a chance to make something of themselves. It's very much within reach if we just TRY. It's just like the health care system! We are living with a system that worked in the 1950s, but times have changed and our systems need to change as well. American stubbornness is so endlessly frustrating.

Anyway!! I didn't mean to rant at you on a Friday afternoon (I've been doing a lot of ranting since I've been back... sorry about that). To lighten the mood, here are a few things currently making my smile a little brighter:

*pretty bouquet of just-because black-eyed susans from this pretty cool boyfriend I know*

*farmer's market menu planning*

*blue sky and fluffy clouds*

*sunshine nail polish*

*red wine or ice cream on the 'stoop' on a summer evening*

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!