Misplaced priorities in spending...

Misplaced priorities in education are really clear when you read this Wall Street Journal article on the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex in California.

At $578 million—or about $140,000 per student—the 24-acre Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex in mid-Wilshire is the most expensive school ever constructed in U.S. history. To put the price in context, this city's Staples sports and entertainment center cost $375 million. To put it in a more important context, the school district is currently running a $640 million deficit and has had to lay off 3,000 teachers in the last two years. It also has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country and some of the worst test scores.

It's a scenario that's repeated in other districts, though not quite at the same level of grandeur, millions spent on buildings in districts that don't have enough money to pay salaries, provide transportation or buy books...

Text books online

College text books can be expensive, my bunch that is and was in college always tried to find their books online, used whenever possible to save money. Then when they had completed a course, if it was one a friend or a sibling was not going to take in the very near future they'd sell books from those courses online instead of back to the college bookstore. Most times they ended up with enough money from their old text books to buy the books needed for the next semester.

Sowell on Race and Resentment

I don't always agree with the pieces penned by Thomas Sowell, yet this one on Race and Resentment is a highly recommended piece. One part I found especially noteworthy:

Achievements are a reflection on others who may have had similar, and sometimes better, chances but who did not make the most of their chances. Achievements are like a slap across the face to those who are not achieving, and many people react with the same kind of anger that such an insult would provoke.

I remember when one of my children considered flunking a test on purpose so her classmates would stop making fun of her for her scholastic accomplishments. This is a problem educators have been aware of for decades, allowing bullying and making fun of "nerds" to be a part of the educational process. Though the real root of the problem comes from how these children were raised, the media messaging, etc., the only way it will stop is a systematic effort by communities as a whole...

The growth of online education opportunities

My bunch who has been in college and is still in college took a mix of online courses and in person more traditional setting's curricula. This next semester one of mine will be taking all of her courses online. While for her degree it may not be possible for her to avoid the traditional educational setting completely, there are universities that specialize in helping students obtain an online degree.

One of the surprises for me, was that universities like Western Governors Online University offer an online teaching degree. It's an accredited program and does contain the required student teaching component, that is not done online that is done in a traditional classroom setting. Online courses are not for everyone, you have to be able to manage and budget your time, but the trade off of being able to study and do your work at your own schedule and at your own pace, is one of the many reasons more and more are not heading off to the college campus but to their computers...

My last child entering high school is not starting out well...

I've had problems before with Toledo Public Schools, but this time around I'm getting so tired of the disorganization, the miscommunication and the downright stupidity. I received a phone call this morning that one of my youngest daughter's classes was not going to be taught this year. The fact that I had to actually go through hell to get her into the class before school was let out and the fact that had they not known they were going to offer it now should have been known a heck of a lot sooner is a huge frustration.

Since this is my last child to enter high school there have been times when classes were not offered but the school district my other four attended never handled it in such a late, slipshod manner.

Secondly, she's supposed to get her schedule this week, and the counselor won't have time to discuss this news that she dropped on me this morning via a phone call until Friday. Which really makes going through the whole schedule pick up this week stupid and pointless.

She received her schedule by mail just a few weeks ago - so if there were going to be changes made? It should have been done before now and there should not be any additional last minute changes like this. While I do appreciate being told before we go pick up her schedule, it demonstrates to me that customer service is not even remotely happening...

Removing junk foods from schools does not eliminate the problem

There has been some blog coverage and some media coverage of the ten years of "no sugar" at Browns Mill Elementary School, yet that's really a misnomer because the school is not only not sugar free but there was much more to some of the changes that happened there than just focusing on removing junk food and no longer allowing birthday cupcakes, no cookies or ice cream.

While the CNN article points out:

The children in the cafeteria drink low-fat milk, shovel corn kernels on their sporks and munch on tuna sandwiches on wheat.

Most wheat breads contain sugar and corn? Corn while an enjoyable veggie for most kids does not contain a great deal of nutrients and the tuna? Even the federal government recommends young children not eat tuna on a frequent basis due to the mercury. It's interesting no one at CNN broached that topic. I'd also point out that some would suggest a soy milk would be preferable to low-fat cow's milk, from both a protein and a health factor.

It is important to teach healthy eating but it also does not have to be done in a way to make refined sugar seem the enemy, you can actually get more sugar from juices and other food items than making a mere cookie seem like it's something that children should not eat. To create a larger impact it also has to be encouraged at home and include exercise.

That is one part of what happens at this elementary school that is different from many, there is an actual hour long exercise period, that probably has done more to decrease behavior problems. Most elementary children both at home and at school have very limited access to physical activity. Some do not even get recess and do not have daily gym classes.

We can pretend that sugar and junk food is the enemy but the reality it is our lifestyles that have changed that have also increased the pounds, children who during my childhood days played outside for hours, running, jumping, bike riding, playing games now sit parked in front of a television or a computer for hours. While I think it's great that the ten years of this social experiment has gotten media coverage, I'd personally find it more beneficial if the focus was less on the "sugar free" claim and more on the actual real life changes as well as more information on the disciplinary numbers. All that is reported is the drop during the first six months, with new students coming in each year, it'd be interesting to learn how new students and each new kindergarten class responded to the changes in diet and exercise.

I'd also be interested in the cost factors, since that's not even mentioned. How much more does it cost per student lunch, does the school receive any additional governmental aid to meet it's food budget? Cost is a factor that most school districts struggle with in trying to provide student meals. A good majority of them do not have a large number of students that are served breakfast either, at Browns Mill Elementary School students are served both breakfast and lunch.

Roland Martin nails it on the issue of vouchers...

It's simple, and as Roland Martin points out in his commentary on CNN, McCain right, Obama wrong on school vouchers there's one reason why many Democratic candidates do not support vouchers, it's because of the teachers unions:

Obama's opposition is right along the lines of the National Education Association, and the teachers union is a reliable and powerful Democratic ally. But this is one time where he should have opposed them and made it clear that vouchers can force school districts, administrators and teachers to shape up or see their students ship out.

It is unconscionable to ask a parent to watch as his child is stuck in a failing school or district, and ask him to bank on a politician coming up with more funds to improve the situation. Fine, call vouchers a short-term solution to a long-term problem, but I'd rather have a child getting the best education -- now -- rather than having to hope and pray down the line.

What's sad is in the past 20 years we have been arguing about this situation, there have been few solutions and we continue to argue about it. Martin nails it that vouchers should be a part of the educational process, that parents should have a choice and an option.

On the flip side to be fair, better regulation of charter schools needs to be part of the solution and there needs to be a better way of funding rather than having the child enroll in a charter school, have that charter school receive funding then if the charter school does not live up to the promise and the child is enrolled back into the public school system, those dollars should follow the child. It's not feasible to do this on a monthly basis, I understand that, but there has to be a way to create a better system that what we have here in Ohio and elsewhere.

Donate your boat...

There are lots of organizations out there that you can donate a car or Donate Boat to. Yet what's different about Boat Angel isn't the donation process, after accepting a boat they sell them on eBay, it's what they do with the proceeds from the sale of donations that sets them apart from the others. Part of what they do is create Children's Animation DVDS with a Christian message using a character called Donkey Ollie to share stories from the Bible and about Jesus. One particular episode, Donkey Ollie 3 - Shipwrecked has won quite a few awards and honorable mentions. These DVD's are sent free of charge, which also includes free shipping to anyone who requests them.

However, that's not what caught my attention as to what Boat Angel and Car Angel are doing as far as trying to present a message to our children. The animated DVD's are cute and I'm sure as my granddaughter gets a little older she would enjoy them very much but it was reading about D.O.P.E., which is a 60 minute documentary narrated by Danny Trejo, that caught my attention. When I watched the trailer that is on YouTube:



As a parent of older children, my youngest is 13, I can believe that a documentary such as this could very well make our teenagers and pre-teens stop and think about what happens when you start using drugs. How easy it is to lose control and how hard it is to get your life back, as well as how those around you suffer. If you do have a boat that you are not interested in keeping, it's as easy as clicking on Donate my Boat to get more details on Boat Angel.

Need continuing education credits before end of the year?

If you are an engineer, architect, contractor, interior designer, land surveyor, landscape architect, building inspector, or some other similar professional that has a continuing education requirement as a part of your license, it's not to late to sign up for classes through RedVector.com. They offer a sample course online so that you can see for yourself the type of quality offered in their coursework before you sign up. With over 900 online continuing education and professional development courses, chances are they'll have exactly what you need to stay current...

Software Library Club for Children...

I remember when my children were younger it was a challenge trying to find good child educational software that would supplement what they were learning in school yet be fun enough that they would actually want to spend time at the computer. Either the programs were too easy or too limited in their age range so that after just a few hours they had gone through the whole cd and were bored with it. Now, with CD Earth there is a software library club for children aged 2 to 10 that covers many different educational subjects and includes games as well.

Right now you can get two cd's for free with two additional ones sent for a 25 day free trial (all you pay is under $3.00 shipping and handling), if you cancel and return the two additional cd's? The two free cd's are yours to keep. If you are a homeschooling parent or a parent that wants to supplement your child's education, this software club might be of interest to you.

My daughter as a nurse...

My fourth oldest daughter is starting college this next semester with the goal set of becoming a nurse. While she is a very bright and talented young woman, I can't help but wonder if she is the "right stuff" for nursing. There are fields of nursing that she could be employed in that if she does decide this is for her that would appeal to her, such as becoming a travel nurse. She's not exactly the type who enjoys the same shift and the same location every day, so I could see where having the option of going from different locations in the United States would not only be something new and different but would give her the ability to see more of our country.

I really didn't realize how many options there were for travel nursing until I started to do some research on the different fields within nursing. It makes sense when you take a look at nursing history, women traveled to locations within the US and beyond as nurses.

This is not to say that I won't be wrong about her ability to deal with the actual requirements of becoming a nurse. There was a time before I had children that I was almost as squeamish as she is when it came to things that now I handle without even a second thought...

Vegan Art Teacher fired...It all started with peeps...

I received an email today from Dave Warwak telling me about his being told to "stay away from children" after handing out cards to them at a homecoming parade in his hometown of Williams Bay, Wisconsin. He shared a link to his website, inslide.com and as I started reading, I wanted to learn more of the facts of how he ended up being fired for being a vegan. There were some local news reports, like this one from CBS in Chicago that gave some of the basics, and a Chicago Tribune story that reported on why he was fired,:

"We are not going to go vegan at this time," said Pat Hughes, president of the Fox River Grove School District 3 School Board.

The board, which voted 7-0 to fire Warwak, said in a prepared statement that he told pupils not to tell their parents, teachers or the school's principal what he was teaching and that he repeatedly refused to answer questions from school officials on that subject.

There are a few blog posts out there, some written by Vegans who are either supportive of or at least understanding of the frustration Dave Warwak felt and a few by non-vegans who call him a "waccko" among other endearments. Yet there were really no details as to how this all happened until I found this post on animal rights meet up. This is how the peeps comes in (though it must be said that since Peeps do contain gelatin...they are not vegan or vegetarian friendly):

He bought peeps for many students and for the entire faculty and asked that each person personalize the peeps and keep the peeps safe and sound for three days before returning the peeps to Dave. Principal Mahaffy even drew a balloon in which his peep pointed to the Principal and said "he's the greatest." Many of the children became attached to the peeps and only reluctanly gave them back to Dave on the 4th day. Dave then took the personalized peeps and put them in a mural in the school's hallway. On the first day, Dave took a few peeps and put their heads on plaques painted on the walls as if they were hunters' trophies. The next day, he put a few peeps in cages as if they were in a zoo. On the third day, he put a few peeps between slices of bread. Now, the point of the Peeps became clear: Animals, like the Peeps, may taste good but humans should care for them, not eat, jail, and kill (and run lab tests on) them. To underscore his point, Dave painted pictures of Einstein, da Vinci, and other famous vegetarians on the mural with quotations from each of them lauding the practice of vegetarianism and condemning meat-eating. He invited his students to join him on painting the mural and replaced all the signs with "school rules" in his classroom with signs saying "YES" all over the classroom.

In April, when his point became clear, the Principal and Faculty shunned Dave with the Principal (who has a PHD) feeling he was "bamboozled." Although the children loved the project (some of the children who killed frogs were now hanging up PETA literature at the local Jewel's bulletin board), Dave felt defeated.

There's more at the post

Dave Warwak did what many people do when they find something new that changes their life, the same thing two of mine did when they became a vegetarian/vegan, it almost became an evangelical thing for them. He wanted everyone to discover what he felt for him had been a life changing experience.

I think the peep experiment was a creative way of getting his message through, though as a parent, creating a scenario where middle school kids who are most likely not eating a healthy diet in the first place, just stop eating meat or dairy products without some type of a substitute being available isn't helpful. I also can't help feeling that if he would have been a Life Sciences/Home Economics or even a Gym teacher it might have been just a bit different. While he used Art to start the peeps message, some of the questions were directly related to how much art was being taught.

As to the cards with the message about Santa being a lie? I'll write the same thing I told my then five year old when she had a kindergarten teacher who decided to inform the class that Santa wasn't real. Talk about some upset five year olds...

The stories of Santa, the reindeer's and the North Pole aren't true, but the reason the stories were created was to remind people about what the spirit of the Christmas season is supposed to truly be about, the spirit of love and giving. Then again, my five year old already knew that...each parent has their own system of beliefs and traditions while it's great for teachers to share a bit of their beliefs so that our children learn diversity, if it's taken too far it creates situations like Dave Warwak is experiencing right now.

This doesn't seem "calm, orderly or focused"

Today my youngest daughter was threatened at school by one black male and three black females based on how she dressed and the friends she has at school. One of these friends was beaten with a belt and a shoe by some of the same group threatening her. The victim was suspended, not those who attacked him. Today in Cleveland, another Ohio City an hour and a half from here, this happened:

Coon "came out of the bathroom and bumped Mike and he (Mike) punched him in his face. Mike started walking.

Focus on that for a second without knowing what came next. This is at a school that according to:

John Zitzner, founder and president of E City Cleveland, a nonprofit group aimed at teaching business skills to inner-city teens. "It's orderly, it's disciplined, it's calm, it's focused."

A student of the school bumps into someone and is punched in the face, which given the student who was punched was currently suspended for fighting, it seems it would be known there were some problems. Then there is this about the same student:

"He's crazy. He threatened to blow up our school. He threatened to stab everybody," Doneisha LeVert said. "We didn't think nothing of it."

And:

Student Frances Henderson, 14, said she often got into arguments with Coon, who once told her, "I got something for you all." He was a "gothic" who usually wore a trench coat, black boots and a dog collar, she said.

Officials said he was wearing a black Marilyn Manson concert shirt, black jeans and black-painted finger nails.

You have a student with known problems who made threats who was obviously not liked by his peers with the outcome:

A 14-year-old suspended student, dressed in black, opened fire in his downtown high school Wednesday, wounding four people as terrified schoolmates hid in closets and bathrooms and huddled under laboratory desks. He then killed himself.

My daughter's school doesn't have metal detectors, which this school had but didn't use regularly, when these school systems and parents finally learn to start being more proactive when it comes to dealing with children who send out clear warning signs will be when these school shootings stop happening.

I'll do what I can to do to protect my daughter, but I can't prevent her from being the next victim as long as school systems and parents allow children to be ostracized, bullied, abused to the point where they strike back the only way they seem to have been taught how to react - with violence. The cycle of violence needs to be broken...

Technical Training that Works...

The motto that you see when you visit the Wyotech website is, "Get your hands dirty with technical training that works". What this means is that the training you get through Wyotech is hands on training in some of the in demand fields that include automotive, aviation, HVAC, and watercraft. Why this is important is it is easier to enter the work force for one of these tech careers when you have actually done the job.

Wyotech has seven different campuses in five states and it's very easy to sign up for more information through their website. You'll be able to find out about financial aid, specifics on which programs they offer at the campus nearest to you and discover when you can get started learning what could very well be the career of your dreams. All seven schools are accredited and have a high job placement ratio after successful completion of their training courses.

Alas, I didn't get to wear a hard hat...

Today as a part of coverage for my local political blog I attended the groundbreaking ceremony of our new arena. Unfortunately since I'm just a blogger I didn't get to wear one of the hard hats when it came to the official dirt throwing part of it. I did however get a chance to get watch the backhoes at work and see first hand how Heavy Equipment Operator Training can come in handy. I spoke to "Bob" who was taking a break so the dignitaries could do their speech moments for a few moments to ask him where he got his training. He learned to operate heavy machinery while he was in the Army and Bob felt it had been a very rewarding career for him both financially and personally. He gave the example of being involved in building the arena and had been involved in building our local baseball stadium. Bob shared there was a huge feeling of accomplishment driving by these places and knowing he had a part in it's construction.

What I found really interesting about ATS that's new is they are going to be offering a free online training course that will teach you the basics about heavy equipment and if you successfully complete the program you will get a free ATS tee-shirt, sweatshirt, or hard hat...so I might yet get my hard hat...

:-)

Rent books and have them delivered to your door...

Imagine being able to rent paperback or hardcover books without having to leave your home to travel anywhere. You pick out which books you want to read, they are delivered to your home and when you are done? You return them via mail and more books come in their place. This is exactly how I get DVD's delivered to my home, for those of you who enjoy reading there is a Book Rental Club based on the same principle:

MONROE, NJ - BookSwim.com, the first and only online hardcover and paperback book rental service, is announcing the release of a 2-at-a-Time Plan with unlimited rentals at $9.99 for the first month if they subscribe with promo code 2planfor999. Thereafter the membership fee is $14.99 monthly.

“The idea is to let some of our more casual readers discover what it truly means to ‘read more, pay less’. Saving Swimmers money through book rental has been our end goal,” says chief marketing officer George Burke. “Our previous starter plan, 3-at-a-Time for $19.99, gave less avid readers the impression of more books than needed in a month. They wanted to see fewer books for less money and we’re happy to accommodate those who don’t have much time to devote to reading, but still want to save on all the latest and rarest book titles, shipped to their door.”

As with every book rental plan, there’s no late fees so readers can keep our books as long as they wish. Postage is completely free, both ways. And with unlimited book rentals per month, faster readers are rewarded with more books. If the user enjoys a book, as with every plan, he or she can elect to purchase it at a deep discount.

Burke continues to explain the absence of a 1-book rental plan. “Shipping two or even three books in a package can cost the same as one book, so why give members one when we can give them three in a package for the same price?”

The average New York Times Bestseller title carries a list price of about $22. For $7 less, the new 2-at-a-Time plan lends members potentially 4 to 6 bestsellers, new releases, classics, or children’s books each month.

The benefits of a writing community

As some of you who are long time readers know, I wrote and self-published a book a few years ago. It was a great experience but there were times when I could have used advice or it would have been helpful to have access to those more knowledgeable than I was during that process. The concept of a writers circle is not a new one but with the technology of the internet this makes it easier than ever before writers to share information and to learn from each other.

I spent quite a bit of time visiting http://www.mywriterscircle.com, My Writers Circle, it is obvious it is a long established online forum that has been in existence since 2005. The various options the writers circle offers is impressive, from providing information on possible jobs to critiques of various forms of writing. The membership appears to be active and from the posts I read, opinions were being offered with honesty with constructive suggestions to those who asked as opposed to only offering critical commentary. If you would like to become a better writer, or are a writer who would love to participate in a supportive online group focused on writing? I recommend visiting My Writers Circle.

Online book shopping...

One of the items I purchase the most online would be books, I enjoy searching for both out of print books and finding ones that have been released recently that are discounted or used. I was able to find every book that Frank Yerby wrote by carefully searching online and it did not cost me hundreds of dollars to be able to meet my dream goal of owning them.

Online Education Database on Presidential Candidates

I received an email today from Jimmy Atkinson who is the creator of the Online Education Database. The site has some really interesting information, it's one I recommend you bookmark but of special notice is an article written on Presidential Candidates on Major Education Issues.

It's a very good look at how the main presidential candidates are covering the topic of education, and I thank Jimmy for sharing it with us as I found it very informative.

Reading is not a lost past time...

There have been those who have stated many people, especially children do not read for entertainment anymore. While this may be true when it comes to traditional books, there is a vast amount of information on the internet for those of all ages. The ability to read at a higher than average reading level for many children aged 4 to 14 is thanks to their parents using reading tutors through Score. The ability to use technology is going to be a critical skills for our children and having the ability to read plays a very crucial part in most online activities, including many interactive ones. So while it may be felt that reading traditional books for entertainment is declining it is important that the actual skill of reading continue to be encouraged...