Video Saturday: Pulling the Heartstrings Makes You Think

With housework, playtime, gardening, and more housework thrown in for good measure this weekend, the length of these videos is just right for my schedule.

But I also greatly appreciate the messages:

Embrace Life: Always Wear Your Seatbelt



The Power of Friendship



Kleenex, anyone?

Communication, Not Rhetoric

I appreciate the efficient communication of information... communication, not rhetoric...especially when it comes to education. I'm a teacher. It makes sense.



If you feel the same way, perhaps you'll venture around BlogLand to read and think about the following:

~ Jim Horn, Schools Matter, in Why Doesn't This Feel Liberating, quotes Art Costa (professor from CalState) regarding the end result of No Child Left Behind:

"What was once educationally significant, but difficult to measure, has been replaced by what is insignificant and easy to measure. So now we test how well we have taught what we do not value."

~ Doug Noon, Borderland, What We Measure. Doug's a scary-smart teacher (the perfect reason to like him) who knows just the right quote to include from Robert F. Kennedy:

And this is one of the great tasks of leadership for us, as individuals and citizens this year. But even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and dignity - that afflicts us all. Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product - if we judge the United States of America by that - that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

~ Figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure. Read more about Campbell's Law, the phenomenon that, as far as students and testing are concerned, explains how "scores always rise when you put high stakes on a particular test, whether or not students actually know more." (emphasis mine) Jim Horn, Schools Matter, Remember the Achievement Gap?

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Happy Inauguration Day America, Mr. President.

Tulle Time/Americana/Think

What to do with leftover tulle, red and blue fabric, and red polka-dotted ribbon?



Make a new wreath to go with my updated patriotic decor, of course!



I had enough fabric and tulle left over to make a mini-wreath as well:



It's small enough to fit inside the opening on the larger wreath, but it looks a bit overkill on the tulle, if you ask me (so no, they won't be kept like this):

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SallyJean has posted her April Celebration List...CakeSpy posts a tribute (with history) to one of my favorite treats, the macaroon cookie (what do you mean it's "ugly?")...

mbartdesign has some cute altered art charm bracelets (patriotic even!)

Linda Bertino at Charming Trinkets also has too-many-charms-are-never-enough jewelry that include brooches and barrettes, sorted by category: Patriotic; Tea/Java Joy; Fish and Sea Life; and many more. Though many of her pieces are marked "sold," it appears she takes custom orders and can come close to duplicating what you might find on her site.

And if you want to immerse yourself in Americana decor, try The Country Porch...

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Here's an idea...Why not visit the presidential candidates' official web sites instead of listening to biased pundits, talk-show hosts, spin doctors, and celebrities who would like to do your thinking for you? I know the sites are professionally produced as well, but for those of us who won't be able to meet (much less chat with) the candidates in person, this might just be the best way to get as close to each horses' mouth as possible. Review their ideas, check their voting record, listen to their messages and form your own opinion:

Barack Obama

Hillary Clinton

John McCain

Not on the Test by Tom Chapin

After a heads-up from Schools Matter, here's a song from Tom Chapin:

Catching Up and Clarification

I've been home since Monday evening. I have re-cleaned areas of the house that the family *thought* they had cleaned before my return (our techniques for dusting, mopping, vacuuming, laundering and disinfecting don't exactly match), and I finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl last night. I baked some cookies that are perfectly accompanying my coffee this morning, and I've just made it through all of the blogs I missed reading while I was away. Wowzer, was NetNewsWire *full*! I've emailed friends and family, sent photos of my trip, and fast-forwarded through most of my recorded t.v. shows on DISH. Catching up, catching up.

I'm not certain what inspiration will find me today, but I'm guessing grocery shopping and re-thinking the seasonal decor in the house will occupy some of my time this morning. Of course I'll be working up tomorrow's Show and Share blog, with more photos of some of the goodies I bought while in Oz this past weekend, and will keep my fingers crossed that our internet tech is able to find the source of our internet connection woes sometime today.

I'm looking forward to Shannon's visit next week as is Dear Daughter. Having moved four times in five years by this summer, time spent with our family and friends who are family helps us to stay connected in between our travels hither and yon. No, still no news on where we'll be stationed next- I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that we will NOT be staying here in the Bordertown. Thank you for your good thoughts!

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Clarification:

For those of you who followed the link in my Knowledge is Power post, and were wondering if I was advocating that all parents pull their children out of school during mandated assessments, the answer would be "no." I do encourage and am an advocate for parental involvement, LOTS of parental involvement in the lives of their children, but I believe that in our country's present state of turmoil, not many parents have taken the time (for whatever reason) to really sit back and look at the long-term effects of decisions they've allowed others to either make for them or scare/convince them into making themselves in regard to NCLB. When I provide links that I've found interesting and thought-provoking, I share them in the hopes that their content will somehow engage others, get them thinking from another angle, or provide another detail or interpretation that will help with the bigger picture for those readers who are spending time to survey the terrain outside of their own backyard.

Remember, I'm not only a teacher (who has the year off, is not presently employed and is therefore not representing any state or any school district) but a parent as well. I don't believe that my own children will get "do-overs" once NCLB and its testing malpractice(s) are shown to have succeeded in obliterating both the pros AND cons of our public school system. My children will be out of school, and hopefully in college, surrounded by other problem solvers, knowledge-lovers and big thinkers who survived in spite of NCLB, while younger students still in junior high and high school will be doing all they can to just make it through. How many students that reach basic proficiency through today's drill and kill testing practices are really going to be motivated to attend or adequately prepared for a college's or university's rigorous curriculum?

Looking to the future, it's probable that should my children decide to study Education while in college, they'll take classes on the history of education, education reform, testing and assessment, etc. I suspect that college professors and other education analysts will tell future teachers that NCLB (and all of its programs, those based on punitive measures AND rewards) was one of the biggest and most successful tools used to control our country. Maybe my crystal ball is a bit cloudy, maybe my vision is a bit off, maybe I've had too much coffee... but WHAT IF...

What if the NCLB machine was engineered to make sure enough children failed? No, not every school, or every child. When enough students fail, the school puts canned programs into place that are not only endorsed but mandated by NCLB. When students continue to fail (and some always will, sorry to burst your Pollyanna bubble), for whatever reasons, school environments are taken over and restructured completely, and parents, if they so choose, can move their children to schools that have made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). "But what about those schools that have received accolades and rewards and who proudly advertise their school's report card that PROVES they've made adequate yearly progress? Doesn't that mean that at least those schools are succeeding thanks to NCLB?" Uh, maybe.

Let's assume those beribboned and shiny gold star schools are accurately reporting their test scores. That doesn't necessarily mean that the teachers are providing your child with the most comprehensive and well-rounded educational experience possible: it means that students have been taught enough to pass a single test. And guess what, if that gold star school honestly continues to do well while neighboring schools fail, the students from the failing school get to overcrowd Gold Star Elementary, increasing class size, bringing their less-than-proficient scores with them, thus increasing the chance that the school will lose ribbons and gold stars in the future. Yep, in giving schools those fun little awards, the government goes out of its way to make it more difficult for those schools to continue to succeed, though somehow most parents feel placated when told, "don't worry, your child can go to the good school now," and don't think too much past their own reassurance. For those who need an analogy:



Imagine a weight lifter. Strengthening his body, monitoring his diet, trying to make it to the next competition. He pushes himself, hopefully safely, by adding more weight, making his muscles stronger over time. He can bench press two hundred pounds, two hundred twenty five, two hundred fifty, three hundred, three-fifty, four hundred, success after success. Five hundred, six hundred, more. Believe it or not, there will come a time when someone puts enough weight on the lifter that no matter his training/development or his previous successes or trophies, he will not be able to lift it. Ever. Pick up the truck. Pick up the house. Pick up the weight equivalent to a neighborhood block. You can't. You failed! YOU FAILED. Gee, how did *that* happen? Guess you need us to take over.

Tsk, tsk.

Another thought that today's intake of cookies and coffee have fired off in my brain is this: If the NCLB machine has indeed been created to guarantee that all schools eventually fail, wouldn't those beribboned and gold starred schools that continue to blatantly "succeed" no matter how much weight is dumped onto their own weight bars be easily spotted and eventually identified as deserving of investigation? Of, perhaps, misreporting their assessment scores? Of altering test administration? Of cheating? It would certainly be a red flag to me if I made sure everyone would fail (gradually of course, don't want to tip people off), and one little upstart continued to succeed no matter what. In fact, if I were a real mastermind, I would have made sure that ribbons and gold stars were mandated as rewards BY ME, as my failsafe catch-all. Everyone would be on my radar, easy and clear targets.

Maybe my children will choose to study architecture in college instead. Maybe I should try a more well-balanced breakfast in the morning. Maybe it's time for that grocery shopping I'm supposed to be doing today.

Personally, I Vote for HOPE

It's February, but there is something I'm *not* loving at the moment... the all-encompassing FEAR that many/most (if not all) of us have felt for quite some time now. Fear of terrorists, fear of our children "being left behind," fear of immigrants, fear of gender, fear of race... interesting how we've allowed ourselves to be steered in this direction.

Living in the Bordertown gives me visual reminders of fear everyday:






Now these homes aren't in bad shape, nor are any of these located in what's considered to be a "bad" neighborhood, but their prison "look" is representative of the rest of the community at large. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if your gates and bars are painted a complementary color to your home, or if you add swirly curly-q's to them, or try to make them architecturally interesting by making their line follow the architecture of scalloped walls: you're still locked in behind those bars, and you're trying to lock everyone else out. Sure, we outsiders see your fence of fear (oh I know, the manufacturers call it a "security fence"), but you know what? When you're looking out of your window, so do you. Must be a great view.

Fear.

Somehow, we can deny entry into our country to any music star who might have a drug conviction, but we can't keep terror cells outside of our own borders. And just when you try to return to Mom, baseball, and apple pie, someone somewhere decides that 9/11 footage should be shown AGAIN. How's your adrenaline?

Blanket statements about immigration ignore those newbies to our country who came here the "right way," legally obtaining citizenship. Instead, we're fed information from a different slant. Many statements (usually racist) made about how all of "our" jobs are being lost, our school/health/welfare systems are overburdened by non-citizens, etc. Riled up yet? Oh wait, is that....adrenaline again?

As a teacher, I resent the fact that many people in this country have bought into fearing me, fearing that I might "leave your child behind." In twelve years of teaching, somehow I've morphed from trusted guide and awesome kindergarten teacher to "She-Who-Must-be-Doubted-and-Feared." No, my intense interest in finger paint, glue sticks, and songs by Raffi is actually not an indicator of substandard or inappropriate teaching practices. Really. Surprised?

I value my ability to put food on my childrens' plates, clothes on their backs and someday, Uncle Sam willing, a long-term roof over their heads. I've spent a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of effort obtaining knowledge from a college I didn't have to attend in order to learn how to teach well. I complement my educational expertise with ongoing training in child/parental psychology, health and nutrition guidance, nurse/EMT training, multi-cultural awareness, sociology and communications, technological advances, and a slew of other areas of specialty, again, so that I can do my job well. I utilize developmentally appropriate practices and I believe children are very different from adults (and should be allowed to be so).

In my classroom you'll see children BEING CHILDREN, learning through experience and exploration, expressing themselves, sharing, laughing, singing, and yes full-day-kindergarten-advocates, taking naps. Sorry folks, but no matter what politicians or testing company CEO's try to tell you, duct taping students' fannies to their chairs multiple times per week to assess their knowledge gained actually results in kiddos spending less time participating in activities and experiences that enhance and facilitate their learning.

Stop. Think. Breathe. You can understand this one, really. If you have to take your kids to soccer, then to the store to get new pants, then over to the dentist's for an appointment, then over to the bank to deposit a check, how are you putting your family's photo album together at home? And when? If you keep taking kids away from their teacher, and keep making them spend extra time on math and reading in isolation in order to pass a single test, when are they going to learn how to play an instrument (which by the way, would offer yet another way for a child to have an "a-ha moment" in regard to both math and reading!), have time to explore literary genres, or learn a foreign language and exercise their bodies? After school? Uh, honey, check the newest after-school activity list: here in the Bordertown you won't find band, babysitting, or computers. You'll find TAKS TUTORING. When did you decide that it was okay to no longer value your child's creativity? His or her inner song? Interests? Gifts? Mental, physical, and emotional health? Did you learn best by sitting in a chair, day in and out, in a room filled with silence, or are your most vivid memories of learning filled with sights, sounds, textures, smells, exertion, emotion, and interest?

Someone told us to be scared. And we bought it.



What other messages of fear have you been fed lately? Which ones have you gulped down, hook, line and sinker? And to whom has it been of benefit?

Questions to ponder... I know, they'll tick some of you off:

What's the big threat, really, of having a president whose anatomy includes breasts and a vagina? Same goes for a male president whose family tree doesn't solely include ancestors who were Elmer's Glue "white." A president represents his or her entire nation, all colors, sexes, creeds, and beliefs. In order to do so, s/he must have a diverse background, advisers who are paradigm shifters, and the ability to understand that the most honest answers (and best solutions to problems) will come from going straight to each horse's mouth. Please stop talking to CEO's and other salespeople about how I should be doing my job. Talk to child advocates, other teachers, parents, and children. Fame does not equal credibility. Donald Trump and Bill Gates may be Googled more than I am, but that doesn't mean they could do my job better than I do it. Their business models are MODELS FOR BUSINESS, not for teaching and guiding young children in ways that will enable them to lead enriched, expressive, generous and tolerant lives.

Presidents aren't perfect, they're human, and will make some mistakes. But isn't it time to have hope again- hope that our president will stop serving a single agenda, and stop steering us with fear? We're not just a nation at war. Americans are starving, we are homeless, we are displaced. We have no health care. Our environment is suffering, a lot of people are depressed. And we are allowing ourselves to be herded like sheep with scare tactics.

Eek! A woman! Eek! Someone with brown skin! Eek! Someone who isn't a teacher has told us to be afraid of education! Eek! A Republican! Eek! A Democrat! Eek, someone whose marital decisions entitle little ol' me to judge them! Eek, a veteran! Eek, a non-veteran! Eek, someone whose religious practices don't match my own! Eek, a person who doesn't photograph well! Eek, change!

Any idea why our nation's enemies find us so deserving of their attention? Why we are viewed as predictable and easily-targeted drones? Oh, go ahead spin doctors... our nation is the strongest in the world, our American way of life is awe-inspiring, so other countries and cultures fear us and our strength and our divine right to demand compliance from them, er, our desire that they accept our generous gift of democracy, yadda yadda yadda...

Sweethearts, I'm an American woman with a multi-cultural background who teaches students in our public educational system. I'm a mother, and I'm the proud wife of a United States soldier. Members of my father's family are considered "indigenous" people, meaning they were here on this continent, living on the land that is part of our present nation, long before my mother's family arrived on the boat. I would be proud if my children chose to serve in the military, and I would proud if they chose to become doctors, mechanics, computer techs, non-fiction writers, woodworkers, or rocket scientists. I appreciate the fact that it is your tax dollars that move and house me and my family with each new military assignment my husband receives, but I also know that it's my family's tax dollars moving and supporting us too.

Hope isn't frivolous. Hope isn't a fad. And regardless of what you've been told, Hope isn't going to bring our enemies "into our backyards." We can be a nation of hope, and have a strong, capable, and appropriately equipped military to defend it. We can be a nation of hope, and provide our children with the best education possible (once we stop taking money away from our students to give it to corporations- yes, I said "students,"not "schools"). We can be a nation of hope and require that all immigrants join us legally. We can be a nation of hope and of health and provide for ourselves as much as our political-correctness inspires us to demonstrate care for others.

It's time hope returned to our nation. I VOTE FOR HOPE.

Candidates, please deliver, regardless of your political party's affiliation. All of America is your party.