We won't know for sure until mid-April whether the Texas State Board of Education in its adoption of new social studies standards has eliminated Thos. Jefferson as an example of the type of thinker prominent during the Age of Enlightenment (18th century).
We also won't know for sure whether the SBOE voted to remove all mention of the Tejanos who fought and died with the Texans at the Alamo or whether students will learn the difference between a constitutional republic and a democracy and which one our country is.
Until then, there's a lot of fingerpointing online between liberals and conservatives involved in the process or who watched from the sidelines, not all of it entirely accurate.
Wait a month and then let's see what our great state has offered up to not only students in Texas public schools but public schools nationwide that base their textbook purchases on the books Texas approves for its own.
I sure hope the SBOE hasn't distorted Jefferson's life or his role in the founding of America. He's too darn important to be misconstrued. I also hope the new standards include ample time to study everyone who sacrificed their lives to defend Texas' most sacred site, the Alamo.
Wordly discourse on everything from the sad state of public education, politics and world peace to vegetarianism, breast vs. bottle, religious persecution, bad media, and all manner of life's vagaries.
March 14, 2010
What's happening to our children
I've just returned from my first Girl Scout camping trip since becoming an adult. When I was a Brownie, cell phones, iPods and possibly duct tape had not yet been invented so it's obviously been awhile.
Helping to lead a group of 12 girls ranging in age from 7 to nearly 9 was a challenge, to say the least, but in a good way. They are all great kids, willing to work and eager to try new things. I think the trip was a success overall and everyone seemed to have a fun time.
But one thing left me troubled and I've got no place to vent it but here. (Okay, I could vent it to my own mother, my husband and a few like-minded friends but they've either already heard it or will be hearing it soon ad nauseum.)
Our weekend was structured in part by another older troop of Girl Scouts in what's known as a "Camp Carousel." The idea is that older scouts plan and execute a series of different activities for other girls their age and younger. The visiting scouts rotate through the events as part of their own camping trip.
Our girls attended a "carousel" with a tropical island theme. (Think grass skirts, leis, hibiscus flowers, etc. and you get the picture.)
Our schedule for the main day's activities included the hosting troop teaching our girls "native dancing" which we adults assumed would be some form of a hula or other Pacific islander-type of dance.
Instead, our girls were treated to a demonstration of a cross between Brittany Spears and Lady Gaga with recorded hip-hop music by some unknown (to me) artist featuring lyrics riddled with double entendres.
I could only be thankful that most of our girls -- my daughter included -- likely didn't get the meanings.
For an hour, our troop leader, another parent volunteer and I watched as three Girl Scouts demonstrated and led our troop through movements that ranged from the fairly benign to the downright slutty.
Gyrating hip moves for girls who have no hips just don't seem right to me.
Writhing, air punching, twisting, jumping -- it was all culture shock to my daughter whose only form of dance thus far has been classical ballet. I have no idea what the other girls in our troop thought. Some of them participated a little, others stood by virtually unmoving.
As I watched this vignette from the sidelines, I began to wonder about the adults in the lives of the girls providing the dance lesson. And then I began to wonder about myself.
Where was the problem? Was it with the parents of the girls who let them be exposed to music with lyrics that talk of very adult situations from very adult perspectives? Is it that I'm hopelessly married to a time long ago when Girl Scout programs were about group singalongs, folk dances, and skits and fingerplays?
Have I grown too old too soon or have the girls in the generations following mine grown up too fast?
It doesn't stop there. The last night of camp, all the troops on the campground came together for a sort of closing ceremony in which any girl or group of girls could get up before the crowd and perform a short skit, song, or poem. Some of the performances were much more traditionally Girl-Scouty -- the national anthem, funny skits that involved the horror of spotting a Boy Scout, and a great duet about chickens who come back to haunt their executioner. My older daughter who is a Junior even sang an improvised song about bad bugs, appropriate enough for a camping trip in the Texas piney woods.
Then there were the songs that made me cringe -- not because the child or children singing were necessarily poor singers, but because the songs themselves again spoke of things only older teens or adults should rightfully know. Songs of physical attraction, songs of angst (Taylor Swift's "You Belong to Me" was one of them), songs of the high price of fame and fortune.
None of the scouts singing could have been older than about 12 or 13 yet they sang things like Selena Gomez' "Naturally" and Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA." Below, some excerpts:
You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
When you're with me, baby
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
Bay bay baby
When we collide, sparks fly
When you look in my eyes, it takes my breath away . . .
And this from Miss Cyrus:
Club? Stilettos? Moving her hips like yeah? (What's "yeah"?)
See what I mean? Is this really, REALLY what girls 12 and under oughta be singing and hearing and emulating? Is it? Is it REALLY???????
Helping to lead a group of 12 girls ranging in age from 7 to nearly 9 was a challenge, to say the least, but in a good way. They are all great kids, willing to work and eager to try new things. I think the trip was a success overall and everyone seemed to have a fun time.
But one thing left me troubled and I've got no place to vent it but here. (Okay, I could vent it to my own mother, my husband and a few like-minded friends but they've either already heard it or will be hearing it soon ad nauseum.)
Our weekend was structured in part by another older troop of Girl Scouts in what's known as a "Camp Carousel." The idea is that older scouts plan and execute a series of different activities for other girls their age and younger. The visiting scouts rotate through the events as part of their own camping trip.
Our girls attended a "carousel" with a tropical island theme. (Think grass skirts, leis, hibiscus flowers, etc. and you get the picture.)
Our schedule for the main day's activities included the hosting troop teaching our girls "native dancing" which we adults assumed would be some form of a hula or other Pacific islander-type of dance.
Instead, our girls were treated to a demonstration of a cross between Brittany Spears and Lady Gaga with recorded hip-hop music by some unknown (to me) artist featuring lyrics riddled with double entendres.
I could only be thankful that most of our girls -- my daughter included -- likely didn't get the meanings.
For an hour, our troop leader, another parent volunteer and I watched as three Girl Scouts demonstrated and led our troop through movements that ranged from the fairly benign to the downright slutty.
Gyrating hip moves for girls who have no hips just don't seem right to me.
Writhing, air punching, twisting, jumping -- it was all culture shock to my daughter whose only form of dance thus far has been classical ballet. I have no idea what the other girls in our troop thought. Some of them participated a little, others stood by virtually unmoving.
As I watched this vignette from the sidelines, I began to wonder about the adults in the lives of the girls providing the dance lesson. And then I began to wonder about myself.
Where was the problem? Was it with the parents of the girls who let them be exposed to music with lyrics that talk of very adult situations from very adult perspectives? Is it that I'm hopelessly married to a time long ago when Girl Scout programs were about group singalongs, folk dances, and skits and fingerplays?
Have I grown too old too soon or have the girls in the generations following mine grown up too fast?
It doesn't stop there. The last night of camp, all the troops on the campground came together for a sort of closing ceremony in which any girl or group of girls could get up before the crowd and perform a short skit, song, or poem. Some of the performances were much more traditionally Girl-Scouty -- the national anthem, funny skits that involved the horror of spotting a Boy Scout, and a great duet about chickens who come back to haunt their executioner. My older daughter who is a Junior even sang an improvised song about bad bugs, appropriate enough for a camping trip in the Texas piney woods.
Then there were the songs that made me cringe -- not because the child or children singing were necessarily poor singers, but because the songs themselves again spoke of things only older teens or adults should rightfully know. Songs of physical attraction, songs of angst (Taylor Swift's "You Belong to Me" was one of them), songs of the high price of fame and fortune.
None of the scouts singing could have been older than about 12 or 13 yet they sang things like Selena Gomez' "Naturally" and Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA." Below, some excerpts:
You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
When you're with me, baby
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
Bay bay baby
When we collide, sparks fly
When you look in my eyes, it takes my breath away . . .
And this from Miss Cyrus:
They're playing my song,
And the butterflies fly away
Noddin' my head like yeah
Moving my hips like yeah,
And I got my hands up,
They're playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah, It's a party in the USA
Yeah, It's a party in the USA
Get to the club in my taxi cab
Everybody's lookin at me now
Like “whos that chick, thats rockin' kicks?
She gotta be from out of town”
So hard with my girls not around me
Its definitely not a Nashville party
Cause' all I see are stilletos
I guess I never got the memo
My tummys turnin and I'm feelin kinda home sick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
That's when the D.J. dropped my favorite tune
and a Britney song was on
and the Britney song was on
and the Britney song was on
Club? Stilettos? Moving her hips like yeah? (What's "yeah"?)
See what I mean? Is this really, REALLY what girls 12 and under oughta be singing and hearing and emulating? Is it? Is it REALLY???????
March 10, 2010
The writing at the bottom of the stairs
Passing by the stairs at the front of my house this afternoon, I recoiled in horror to see my five-year-old son's name written in black ink, in his own hand, on woodwork near the bottom step.
The woodwork was painted about six months ago at no small cost with an expensive enamel based paint. My son used a ball-point pen to autograph it, engrave it really, and the writing won't easily be removed anytime soon.
As I stood there, disappointed by his foolish choice and debating whether and how to discipline him for it, I remembered something sad. Suddenly, that little bit of graffiti took on a whole new meaning and I chastised myself for even thinking about punishing my boy.
See, a family in our community lost their little girl yesterday to a rare childhood disease. She was only two years old and the youngest of three.
What that family wouldn't give to have their daughter another three years -- time enough to scrawl her own name where it doesn't belong! Time enough to cherish the fleeting nature of her childhood and to relish with great anticipation the future laid out before her. Time enough to repaint woodwork once she was grown. . .
Sobered once again by how much God has given me -- our children are never of our own making, I am sure of it -- I decided to cherish my son's name and his foolish choice.
After all, at least I have a child to attach to the mischief. And that makes the mischief priceless.
I'm in no hurry to sand and paint over my boy's penmanship practice. He's only five for a little while longer and it will do me good to be reminded of this as I go up and down the stairs every day.
The woodwork was painted about six months ago at no small cost with an expensive enamel based paint. My son used a ball-point pen to autograph it, engrave it really, and the writing won't easily be removed anytime soon.
As I stood there, disappointed by his foolish choice and debating whether and how to discipline him for it, I remembered something sad. Suddenly, that little bit of graffiti took on a whole new meaning and I chastised myself for even thinking about punishing my boy.
See, a family in our community lost their little girl yesterday to a rare childhood disease. She was only two years old and the youngest of three.
What that family wouldn't give to have their daughter another three years -- time enough to scrawl her own name where it doesn't belong! Time enough to cherish the fleeting nature of her childhood and to relish with great anticipation the future laid out before her. Time enough to repaint woodwork once she was grown. . .
Sobered once again by how much God has given me -- our children are never of our own making, I am sure of it -- I decided to cherish my son's name and his foolish choice.
After all, at least I have a child to attach to the mischief. And that makes the mischief priceless.
I'm in no hurry to sand and paint over my boy's penmanship practice. He's only five for a little while longer and it will do me good to be reminded of this as I go up and down the stairs every day.
March 8, 2010
You mean MORE money doesn't fix it?
Ah, the tiresome argument that "if only we had more money our students would all learn to read, write, graduate, end up at Harvard and become philanthropic CEOs" or some variation on that theme. . .
Looks like schools in Kansas City, MO have once again proven what the common-sense crowd has been pointing out for years -- money does NOT make learning happen.
Word on the street is that the city's school district wants to close half of its urban schools because of lagging test scores and high rates of transfer to suburban schools.
That's not the news, though. Schools fail kids every day and they suck up taxpayer monies that could be used elsewhere for more effective means of actually educating children into solid future citizens.
The news in Kansas City, MO is how much was spent in the years leading up to this decision and the striking, telling comment by its superintendent of schools. The story is posted on the website boston.com:
Buffeted for years by declining enrollment, political squabbling, and a revolving door of leadership, the district’s fortunes are so bleak that Superintendent John Covington has said diplomas given to many graduates “aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.’’
Oh, and the dollars. Are you ready?
Again, from boston.com:
But wait! There's more! The story also mentions an Olympic size swimming pool at one campus and a complete recording studio at another.
At the height of spending in 1991-92, Kansas City invested more than $11,700 per student - more than double that year’s national average of $5,001, according to US Census figures. Today, the district spends an average of $15,158 on each student, compared to a national average of $9,666 in 2006-07, the latest figures available.
See, the district was nailed in the mid '80s for not being desegregated enough so it bent too far backwards to correct the problem. Its goal was to make its urban schools so inviting that students would stop leaving them for the suburbs.
The abovementioned enrollment figures show how that didn't happen.
Instead of making reasonable repairs to dilapidated buildings, the district squandered two billion dollars.
Two billion dollars, dear readers. TWO BILLION dollars!!!!!
And the superintendent himself admits many of the diplomas issued to students are worthless.
Why? Because all the king's horses, men, ransom and wishful thinking couldn't put in place what was likely missing all along. Couldn't buy the one thing that can't be bought but is so vital to learning.
Common sense -- it lets educators choose their materials wisely and present their information effectively. It makes administrators, state officials and the feds think twice before claiming that standardized testing is the cure that will save us all from ignorance. It makes parents sit up and take notice of what their children need at home in the years before they start school and all those that follow. It loosens our dependence on television, computer games and overly structured activities as substitutes for real-time parenting. It compels communities to look for alternatives to what isn't working. And it makes us all stop, look, listen, and ponder the far-reaching consequences of whatever it is that we are about to do.
But like far too many things in the realm of education these days money and only money drives the bus.
And the students get thrown beneath it.
Looks like schools in Kansas City, MO have once again proven what the common-sense crowd has been pointing out for years -- money does NOT make learning happen.
Word on the street is that the city's school district wants to close half of its urban schools because of lagging test scores and high rates of transfer to suburban schools.
That's not the news, though. Schools fail kids every day and they suck up taxpayer monies that could be used elsewhere for more effective means of actually educating children into solid future citizens.
The news in Kansas City, MO is how much was spent in the years leading up to this decision and the striking, telling comment by its superintendent of schools. The story is posted on the website boston.com:
Buffeted for years by declining enrollment, political squabbling, and a revolving door of leadership, the district’s fortunes are so bleak that Superintendent John Covington has said diplomas given to many graduates “aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.’’
Oh, and the dollars. Are you ready?
Again, from boston.com:
Kansas City appeared headed for a recovery when a federal judge in 1985 declared the district was unconstitutionally segregated. To boost test scores, integrate the schools, and repair decrepit classrooms, the state was ordered to spend about $2 billion to address the problems.
The district went on a buying spree that included a six-lane indoor track and a mock court complete with a judge’s chamber and jury deliberation room. But student achievement remained low, and the anticipated flood of students from the suburbs turned out to be more like a trickle. Court supervision of the desegregation case ended in 2003.
And the district continues to lose students. In the late 1960s enrollment peaked at 75,000, dropped to 35,000 a decade ago and now sits at just under 18,000.
At the height of spending in 1991-92, Kansas City invested more than $11,700 per student - more than double that year’s national average of $5,001, according to US Census figures. Today, the district spends an average of $15,158 on each student, compared to a national average of $9,666 in 2006-07, the latest figures available.
See, the district was nailed in the mid '80s for not being desegregated enough so it bent too far backwards to correct the problem. Its goal was to make its urban schools so inviting that students would stop leaving them for the suburbs.
The abovementioned enrollment figures show how that didn't happen.
Instead of making reasonable repairs to dilapidated buildings, the district squandered two billion dollars.
Two billion dollars, dear readers. TWO BILLION dollars!!!!!
And the superintendent himself admits many of the diplomas issued to students are worthless.
Why? Because all the king's horses, men, ransom and wishful thinking couldn't put in place what was likely missing all along. Couldn't buy the one thing that can't be bought but is so vital to learning.
Common sense -- it lets educators choose their materials wisely and present their information effectively. It makes administrators, state officials and the feds think twice before claiming that standardized testing is the cure that will save us all from ignorance. It makes parents sit up and take notice of what their children need at home in the years before they start school and all those that follow. It loosens our dependence on television, computer games and overly structured activities as substitutes for real-time parenting. It compels communities to look for alternatives to what isn't working. And it makes us all stop, look, listen, and ponder the far-reaching consequences of whatever it is that we are about to do.
But like far too many things in the realm of education these days money and only money drives the bus.
And the students get thrown beneath it.
March 5, 2010
More delightful school news . . .
After I went off on the Detroit public school system for allowing a nice but wholly uneducated man to run their district, I came across a couple other nuggets I hope doubting parents will read.
First, from the great state of New Hampshire we have a 41-year-old high school English teacher brought up on felony charges after sending nude photos of herself to a 15-year-old student.
She's old enough to be his mother and certainly old enough to know better.
And out of Grand Rapids, MI (what is it about schools in Michigan, anyway?) comes a story sure to cast doubt on the common sense quotient of some educators.
Little Mason Jammer was suspended from kindergarten recently for pointing his hand like a gun at a fellow student.
Let me repeat. The kid is a BOY. He is SIX. He used his HAND AND INDEX FINGER LIKE A GUN.
Exactly what about this doesn't add up?
If that's grounds for suspension, I'm really glad my boys aren't in the government schools. They'd get nailed so often for the same offense (esp. my two-year-old) they'd be home with me anyway. Might as well save the district the trouble of paperwork and just homeschool 'em to start with, right?
(No, we have no toy guns and never have. My boys made their weapons of choice from their own hands, some scrap PVC pipe, sticks or other found objects. Where did they learn it? From their little homeschooled friends -- also cute little boys who behave like, well, boys.)
Judging from reader comments about Mason's plight, I'd say I'm in pretty good company.
There's near unanimous agreement that political correctness is too far reaching and that common sense has officially left the school building.
Teach your own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First, from the great state of New Hampshire we have a 41-year-old high school English teacher brought up on felony charges after sending nude photos of herself to a 15-year-old student.
She's old enough to be his mother and certainly old enough to know better.
And out of Grand Rapids, MI (what is it about schools in Michigan, anyway?) comes a story sure to cast doubt on the common sense quotient of some educators.
Little Mason Jammer was suspended from kindergarten recently for pointing his hand like a gun at a fellow student.
Let me repeat. The kid is a BOY. He is SIX. He used his HAND AND INDEX FINGER LIKE A GUN.
Exactly what about this doesn't add up?
If that's grounds for suspension, I'm really glad my boys aren't in the government schools. They'd get nailed so often for the same offense (esp. my two-year-old) they'd be home with me anyway. Might as well save the district the trouble of paperwork and just homeschool 'em to start with, right?
(No, we have no toy guns and never have. My boys made their weapons of choice from their own hands, some scrap PVC pipe, sticks or other found objects. Where did they learn it? From their little homeschooled friends -- also cute little boys who behave like, well, boys.)
Judging from reader comments about Mason's plight, I'd say I'm in pretty good company.
There's near unanimous agreement that political correctness is too far reaching and that common sense has officially left the school building.
Teach your own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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