The End of Black Wednesday

For the last 198 weeks I've tried to wear black on Wednesday. Black Wednesday is a ritual that I developed after the 2004 presidential election. The re-election of George Bush meant the continuation of No Child Left Behind - not that that is the only shortcoming of the current Bush Administration. NCLB has been a horrible thing for public education, in my opinion. And I believe that its accountability provisions are an unachievable, cynical attempt to eventually justify federal support for private school vouchers.

I did okay with Black Wednesday. I wore brighter colors on the Wednesday after Democrat Tim Kaine won the governor's race in Virginia in 2005, and after the Democrats took back Congress in 2006. I missed it one day last year because I just plain lost track of the days of the week. And last month I forgot to back black clothes when we went to Myrtle Beach for a week. Otherwise, when I've gone out in public on a Wednesday over the last 45 months or so, it's been in black.

While NCLB is still technically alive, its heart was cut out recently when the Reading First program was cut to zero funding in next year's budget. That wasn't the place to start, in my opinion. But I think it signals the end of NCLB as we know it. And with the election season in full swing, so many issues are now around that I no longer see the point. So Black Wednesday is officially retired....