It’s weird to do an introduction about myself on a public platform…I would very much like to stay anonymous. I shall henceforth be known as PastaCat on this blog.
Ok, so start again. Let me formally introduce myself.
HI 
Readers! Hi Teachers! Hi Parents! Hi Students! Hi Prof! My name is PastaCat.
I’m not American; not born in the US, not raised in the US. It is in fact my first time in the US, but it’s definitely not my first time being exposed to the US. Y’all are a big country with a big influence, gotta be living under a rock to be influenced by the US.
By now, my dear reader, should have already realized that you’re in an education blog. Sure it’s not VERY interesting or is it VERY eye-catching, but I think we can all agree that it’s important, yes? And yet something so fundamental is always under controversial debates in the US. That is not to say that my country doesn’t have debates on education, every country has their own problems, and some of those problems may never be solved because they’re not black and white. When a problem is based on personal beliefs, you’ll never get a clear cut answer for it. For example, “Should we put such a big emphasis on grades?“, “Are parents placing too much pressure on the kids?“, “How else can we train our teachers to be better at their job?”
But oh no *shaking my head*, the debate in the US is on big things like “What should we teach our kids?”, “Should we even fund public schools?” And that baffles me as an outsider.
So I guess that’s why my group and I are writing about this topic. I believe in a strong centralized (but flexible) public education system and its opportunities for everyone, and this is my attempt to understand US education system through a smaller lense by focusing on Maryland.
Public Schools Matter 