Had a great time at tutor training last night.  The people are warm and it was refreshing to be able to recall some of the things that I had learned in the past.  With 26,000 people in need of assistance in this county alone, our nation has a problem.  I only hope that one of the politicians steps up to the plate and finds a way to bring the budget into line while not having to gut education to do it.  The problem is that teachers don't produce a product that can easily be measured or counted.  Sure, you can test the students, but that really is no measure of the efficacy of the classroom teacher.  There are too many extraneous factors that are outside the day to day control of the teacher or the school staff in general to use that as the only measure.  Plus, every time the politicians want to make a cut, the hue and cry doesn't go up from anyone other than the teacher's unions, ergo the push back against the bad legislation isn't heard beyond the small circles of the educated elite and the unions are labeled as activists.  Just how did all those leaders get educated.  Maybe they had their own personal genie.  Education and learning are both hard work, and both take a long time.  Often they can't be measured by a test, they have to be measured in the work a day world.  Oh well, I'm ranting.  I've often said that the next time your car is broken or you need a nurse, EMT, or other immediate assistance, call a politician.  Time for tea.