My roommates are hilarious. Upon my safe arrival back in Los Angeles this evening, I returned to the comfort of my room only to find a lovely picture of A.J. Duffy, taped to the ceiling directly above my bed. For those of you who may not know, A.J. Duffy is the president of UTLA, the teachers union here in LA.

I have generally mixed views of our union, having realized that it is just as much of a bureaucratic behemoth as the district itself, albeit maybe only slightly less evil.

Out here in California, especially in Los Angeles, the charter school movement is in full swing. One of my roommates actually currently works for a Green Dot school, the poster-child organization for the Los Angeles charter school movement. Always trying to convince me to join their ranks as a teacher, I have to admit it’s awfully tempting, but I’m definitely sticking with the district for now. Regardless, I’m going to do all I can this year to encourage my students to apply toward a charter high school! Anything I can do to help them be more successful!