I was browsing an educational website today and came across this study done by Educational Testing Services(ETS) complete with a video presentation. It is excellent and well worth a look. They've done some compelling work to back up my argument for a move toward a national education system!
(Click on the title to see the video.)
This blog began with my librarian journey in 2008. It’s named for my disheveled barnyard in Radnor, PA -- but the majority of the content is dedicated to education, libraries, and YA literature.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sam Squirrel Becomes Dinner Entre As Cooper Hawk Dazzles Westchester University Students With Definitive Dive-Bombing Skills In Central Campus
Nature does as nature will do and to hell with housing developments, universities, and flocks of on looking students. After all, a hawk’s gotta eat, doesn’t he? And so the fate of poor Sam the Squirrel, who thought life was safe on campus among his peeps, where predators tends to shy away, came to a sudden and rather unexpected end on this fine October evening. Sam was whiling away the late afternoon putting away some food for the upcoming scarcity of the cold to come and having a generally happy time. Little did he know that eyes were on him from up above. And I’m not talking about the Lord. These eyes had a gourmet meal in mind. Sam, being a vegetarian and living next to the campus Starbucks that meant rich supplements of cookies and muffins to his diet, had little thought of such skyward gourmets.
Meanwhile, Cooper was making his mark. Within seconds, he had his aim lined up and BOOM! Sam was a dinner entre. Students were stunned. They stood their distance and watched as Coop began his meal. Now you might think that the common human reaction would be disgust. Repulsion. Fear. Quite the opposite for the most part. Oh a few walked past and muttered the odd “awwww” or “ewwwww”, but for the most part Coop garnered respect and reverence. Hundreds of students passed as he partook of his gourmet feast and all steered clear, or were politely steered clear by those watching, since he was so quiet many couldn’t see him, and most stopped to have a look. Seeing this beautiful almost 1 ½ foot bird with razor sharp claws and beak eating his catch and, for the most part, ignoring all of the people passing by seemed incredulous. It was as if he was putting on a show and he was the star.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Library Mania
I made it through my first official librarian conference.
When I told my brother back in September that I was going to be spending three and a half days at a librarian conference in mid-October surrounded by hundreds of librarians from all across the state of Pennsylvania, he just looked at me and said, "great Liss, 'yawn'!" When I tell people I am studying to be a librarian, half the time I get this look and then people will usually say something along the lines of "but you just don't look like a librarian..." Somehow I think most of the world still seems to be under the impression that librarians are these quiet little old ladies that hang out in cloistered little stacks of books with their natty cardigans, glasses, and stern glances. The librarians I know just don't fit that image. We're an eclectic bunch of well-read, fun-loving, tech-savvy and often slightly crazy folk known to be the loudest group in the bar. At least that's my experience! Needless to say, I feel right in my element!
It was slightly dangerous letting me loose at a librarians conference. Little did I know I'd be tempted right off the bat by a discount book sale. Of course I just couldn't walk away -- and proceeds went to support the Pennsylvania Librarian Association. Yet more justification for my diseased habit of acquiring literature. The gift shop was filled with more books, also profiting PaLA, and most of them were showcasing authors who were speaking at the conference. I picked up several as gifts for the kids. I then toured the floor of the exhibits and found some unusual book publishers -- and bought a book for Elena which I had signed by the author. Lucky me, I also won $100 in free books from the Junior Library Guild -- one of my favorite vendors! Once I am a librarian, I hope to use them as their titles and reviews are awesome.
My book habit just continued to be fueled as I met author after wonderful author at the conference. I bought books from all of them and had them signed. All but one were Pennsylvania authors. It was so exciting to see such talent right here in PA! As I read these wonderful new additions to my collection in the coming months, I'll post reviews and share them. Hopefully I won't garner so many yawns -- and maybe some of you will even be inspired to read a few!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A Children's Book -- Take a Break And Gaze At The Clouds
Last night we spent some time in my creativity and teaching class going around meeting each other and looking at our homemade nametags. I neglected to do my homework this week…mommy overload. My prof let me off the hook. One of my classmates, Erika, had a cute nametag cutout of her name and on it were glued some of her favorite things including some of her favorite children’s books. A book title caught my eye because I’d never heard of it before. It’s unusual for someone to have a favorite children’s book I haven’t heard of. It was called It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw.
Naturally I couldn’t help myself -- I stopped in the school library this morning and borrowed a copy when I dropped the kids off at school. What I found was a delightful little book published in 1947. It is a simple book with simple illustrations. The entire book is written and illustrated in navy blue and white. It is this simplicity that makes it so delightful.
We live in a time complicated by information overload. Our schedules are jam- packed. Shaw’s simple story brings us back to lying down in a field staring up at the sky gazing at the clouds. He brings me to memories of lazy days with my friends laughing and having fun. Through this quiet little story we can share those times with our children and perhaps allow them a break in their overloaded days to gaze at the sky and see a little spilt milk.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Nasturtiums and Herbs on the Garden Wall
Last year I started growing Nasturtiums on the back wall in the garden. I love Nasturtiums because they remind me of San Francisco where we lived when I was little for a few years. They grow wild in Golden Gate Park. My Mom and I took a walk in Golden Gate Park more than a decade ago when I was on a trip out west with my parents before buying my house on Jackson Street in Wilmington. We picked seeds from the flowers. This years the plants have bloomed beautifully on the wall. I've got pots of herbs growing up on top of the wall and the Nasturtiums are dwarfing them! Cleo the affectionate barn kitty) isn't able to knock the pot of catnip off the edge anymore.
The Queen of Green Clean!
Few of my friends know of my neurotic passion for green cleaning supplies. It started with my stepdaughter’s allergic reaction to laundry detergent when she was just a wee thing. She had terrible eczema and so we switched to All Free and Clear. When I got pregnant, I couldn’t be around cleaning products because of all of the terrible chemical ingredients. I began looking into green cleaning products that were better for the environment and safer for all of us to be around. I tried several of the brands at Whole Foods (then Fresh Fields), but found them expensive and not all that great. I used Dreft for the baby clothes and that, of course, was also expensive. I tried Shaklee for a while and found that OK, but also wasn’t crazy about how well most of the products cleaned.
Then one day I was setting up my Silpada jewelry at a fall market next to a woman selling Melaleuca. Her name was Marsha Bove (marshabove@verizon.net) and we have since become great friends. She, like me, has the philosophy of let the product sell itself. Both of us were bored out of our skulls at the market, so I started looking at her booth. She had two jars with pieces of fabric in them and what looked like laundry detergent. One looked absolutely disgusting and the other looked brand new. She told me they were both a year old and one was Tide, the other was Melaleuca detergent. It was pretty easy to tell the Tide by the familiar blue color. It was the disgusting one. The fabric was disintegrating.
What interested me most, however, was that Melaleuca products are green. They are based on tea tree oil. The laundry detergent is safe for people with eczema. I decided to give them a try. I have been a loyal customer now for years.
Now with my background story told, let me tell you about my darling little 6-year-old who decided to do her nails in a pair of adorable designer jeans that I was SO proud of having found for a bargain price in a consignment shop. She had worn them exactly three, yes, THREE times. My little love spilled purple and yellow nail polish on said jeans. Oops! Nail polish remover would probably take the color right out of the jeans. She through them in the laundry and Daddy promptly washed and dried them. Permanent stain I thought.
I decided I’d give it a try anyway and tried Melaleuca’s Solumel on the stain plus a shot of Pre-Spot and scrubbed. Wouldn’t you know it, I saved the designer jeans! They look beautiful again. I feel like the Queen of Green Clean again! I am amazed at the stains I have removed -- even permanent marker on occasion.
Yes, I am moved by the little things in life.
Then one day I was setting up my Silpada jewelry at a fall market next to a woman selling Melaleuca. Her name was Marsha Bove (marshabove@verizon.net) and we have since become great friends. She, like me, has the philosophy of let the product sell itself. Both of us were bored out of our skulls at the market, so I started looking at her booth. She had two jars with pieces of fabric in them and what looked like laundry detergent. One looked absolutely disgusting and the other looked brand new. She told me they were both a year old and one was Tide, the other was Melaleuca detergent. It was pretty easy to tell the Tide by the familiar blue color. It was the disgusting one. The fabric was disintegrating.
What interested me most, however, was that Melaleuca products are green. They are based on tea tree oil. The laundry detergent is safe for people with eczema. I decided to give them a try. I have been a loyal customer now for years.
Now with my background story told, let me tell you about my darling little 6-year-old who decided to do her nails in a pair of adorable designer jeans that I was SO proud of having found for a bargain price in a consignment shop. She had worn them exactly three, yes, THREE times. My little love spilled purple and yellow nail polish on said jeans. Oops! Nail polish remover would probably take the color right out of the jeans. She through them in the laundry and Daddy promptly washed and dried them. Permanent stain I thought.
I decided I’d give it a try anyway and tried Melaleuca’s Solumel on the stain plus a shot of Pre-Spot and scrubbed. Wouldn’t you know it, I saved the designer jeans! They look beautiful again. I feel like the Queen of Green Clean again! I am amazed at the stains I have removed -- even permanent marker on occasion.
Yes, I am moved by the little things in life.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Somewhere Over the Rainbow...
Why is it that fifteen minutes into any road trip moms are inevitably interrupted from our mental revelry by that five-word whine “Mommyyyyyy! I have to peeeeeee!” Happens 99.9% of the time. No matter how many times I tell my little sweeties to go before we leave, one of them will have to go when we are on the road with no bathroom in sight.
Today’s trip was to go to Westchester University to pick up my textbooks for half of my grad classes this term. It’s about a half hour drive. Per usual we did the obligatory shoes, teeth, bathroom, car occupying activity checklist and started on our way. Wouldn’t you know it, Miss Elena started the dreaded whine at exactly the 15 minute marker. For some reason Luke told her that seeing yellow things makes you have to go even worse. “Hey look Lena, it’s a yellow car!”
“Mommy, I have to go NOW! It’s the watermelon I ate! And I keep seeing YELLOW things!” Elena whined.
Sadistic 8-year-old that her brother is, he just continued to giggle and point out yellow things to her. I finally got fed up with the noise and whining and said, “That’s it! No more yellow things! Look for red things!”
Luke promptly shouts out, “Look Lena! It’s a red Porta Potty!”
I turn my head to the right to see a rainbow sea of Porta Potties sitting in a lot. I never knew Porta Potties came in so many colors. God certainly has a sense of humor.
Today’s trip was to go to Westchester University to pick up my textbooks for half of my grad classes this term. It’s about a half hour drive. Per usual we did the obligatory shoes, teeth, bathroom, car occupying activity checklist and started on our way. Wouldn’t you know it, Miss Elena started the dreaded whine at exactly the 15 minute marker. For some reason Luke told her that seeing yellow things makes you have to go even worse. “Hey look Lena, it’s a yellow car!”
“Mommy, I have to go NOW! It’s the watermelon I ate! And I keep seeing YELLOW things!” Elena whined.
Sadistic 8-year-old that her brother is, he just continued to giggle and point out yellow things to her. I finally got fed up with the noise and whining and said, “That’s it! No more yellow things! Look for red things!”
Luke promptly shouts out, “Look Lena! It’s a red Porta Potty!”
I turn my head to the right to see a rainbow sea of Porta Potties sitting in a lot. I never knew Porta Potties came in so many colors. God certainly has a sense of humor.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
I Want to Suck Your Bloooood!
Something about vampires has always fascinated folks. The allure of the forbidden neck bite…mysterious and yet hinting at that sexual desire within us. The creatures of the night who are dangerous and yet promise everlasting life. They are beautiful and timeless creatures. Bram Stoker’s famous Dracula is dark and delicious, my generation grew up with Anne Rice’s vampires who had human emotions and led a flood of devotees to my father’s hometown of New Orleans. A new generation of young adult literature has exploded with variations of vampires with human emotions and connections. They are filled with romance and adventure and are terrific fun.
Teens have been flocking to the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers that has already spurred a matching movie version starring the delicious Robert Pattinson as Edward and beautiful Kristen Stewart as Bella. The second film in the series, New Moon, should be out soon. A more challenging adult read, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, weaves in history of the Dracula legend as it spins its tale. Lovers of historical fiction will thoroughly enjoy Kostova’s book. M.T. Anderson’s Thirsty is a hysterical and very different vampire book written from the viewpoint of a teenage boy changing into a vampire. Anderson captures the language and angst of a teen in flux perfectly.
Mother and daughter team P.C. and Kristin Cast teamed up to write a fun series of their own called the House of Night series. It starts with the book Marked and it currently up to book 5, Hunted. The main character is a strong female character named Zoey Redbird at a Vampyre Academy called the House of Night who has been gifted by the goddess Nix. I am always a fan of books with extremely strong female characters and this one fits the bill.
One not suitable for under-16’s due the amount of sexual content but definitely fun is the Sookie Stackhouse series! It has spurred the HBO series True Blood – also rated R. I just love Charlaine Harris’s books! They are an easy read, but so much fun. I am not typically a fan of the “trashy beach read”, however Harris has constructed such fun characters and hilarious dark humor in her series that I am completely hooked. She has written 10 books in the series and my stepdaughter and I are in debate as to whether there will be a continuation. Like many of my other favorite books, Sookie is also an incredibly strong female character. In fact, this year I plan on dressing up as Sookie for Halloween – already have the costume!
Finally, I discovered one more gem in the vampire genre recently. I picked it up because I was reading the back cover at my local library. The main character’s name is Elena – that is my daughter’s name so of course it caught my eye. When I flipped the book over I saw that it was a young adult book about vampires. A young adult book about vampires with a main character named Elena? How could I pass it up?! The series is called The Vampire Diaries. I ended up reading the entire series and am anxiously awaiting the sixth book due out in October. It is a fabulous series with yet another strong female lead. In addition to the books, a TV series is being piloted on the CW September 10th. The online preview shows that it will deviate somewhat from the book series by taking out a few characters and introducing a few new ones. It looks as though they will keep the main premise, however and the actors in the main roles fit my images of the characters for the most part -- although they have changed Elena from a blond to a brunette. They have Marcos Siega from Dexter, another of my all-time favorite series, directing the plot. (No, I don't have a morbid fascination with blood!)
I have a few more books on vampires in my collection yet to read – Evernight by Claudia Gray and Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz. A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, Peeps by Scott Westerfield, The Silver Kiss and Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klaus have also received great reviews although they still sit on my Amazon list waiting for me to get around to reading them. Eventually I’ll get to them too – I’m a confirmed vampire addict!
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Soloist by Steve Lopez
I just finished a beautiful non-fiction book by Steve Lopez called The Soloist. It has recently been made into a movie, but I can't imagine that the movie is as good as the book. The book captures mental illness, homelessness, and poverty in America in a well-written tale. Lopez has written for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Los Angeles Times as well as other noted publications. He has also authored several books.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Why Do We Go To School?
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn our ABC’s and 123’s.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school because Mom and Dad tell us we have to get up out of bed
and get on the school bus or we are going to be in BIG trouble.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school because it’s a lot of fun to play with our friends at recess
and the other stuff is pretty fun too.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn to respect each other and to treat others like we
would like to be treated.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to become literate: to learn how to read and write and to
learn how to use technology.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to become problem solvers, able to come up with solutions.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn how to become good citizens by saying the pledge,
voting in mock elections, learning history, and learning about current
events.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn how to take care of our earth by learning how to
recycle and learning about science.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn how to learn.
What is the purpose of our schools? I believe that the core purpose of our schools is to produce well-rounded literate citizens who are able to function as independent, responsible, contributing and caring members of our communities and of our nation as a whole. Recently, I feel our schools have been drifting away from that ideal. We have been focusing more and more on producing workers for business while neglecting important social aspects of schooling and the arts as part of educating the whole child. If I were to change the current public education system to fit my personal philosophy, there are a few key areas that I would address.
The first area that I would address is that I would make the U.S. system a national education system rather than a state-based education system. While I know this would be a major undertaking and would meet with major resistance, I think it would be in the best interests of American children. It would bring equity to funding of schools, equity to curriculum, and equity to teacher pay scales, all which could be adjusted according to cost of living allowances. There are so many advantages to creating a national system not only in terms of educating children, but also in educating and certifying teachers. Teacher certification could then become nationally standardized as well with reciprocity across the country making it easy for teachers to move and transfer. This change would be especially beneficial for younger teachers who are often willing to move wherever there are jobs available.
By creating a national system, funding would be based on income tax, not property tax. The current system based on funding via local property taxes has created insanity in real estate prices in some areas and a huge discrepancy between wealthy districts and poor districts in many states. By shifting to an income tax based funding system and putting school funding into the national budget it would enforce a more equitable per student spending base. We would be able to look at what the real cost of education should be and be able to build a truly outstanding public education system which ensures that all of our schools have proper resources.
In addition, we need to look at how to heal those areas of our current education system where there are severely disadvantaged populations living in poverty. Most of these schools are in rural or urban areas and they have been suffering for generations. In looking at all of the solutions tried so far, they have all failed to solve the problems of these populations. The most promising model is the community school. It provides full services from health care to social services as well as before and after school care for children. These schools provide adult education and daycare. They serve the community 24/7 year round. The funding is obtained via a combination of public and private grants to provide the extra services and extended hours. Creating a large-scale model that can be adapted to fit all of our disadvantaged schools nationally is in the best interests of our nation’s children so that we can begin to put an end to our huge percentage of people in poverty nationally.
I would ensure that every school had an art and music program at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Art and music are important in development of the whole child and I believe we need to keep them in our schools. In addition to teaching classes these teachers can help collaborate with other teachers in our schools to help them bring art and music into other areas of the curriculum and make their teaching more creative and interesting. I am a firm believer in multiple intelligences and any way that we can adapt our lessons to introduce new ways of presenting material is good for our children. Art and music teachers offer us expertise in the arts right in our very own schools and are a valuable resource.
I would ensure that every school had a physical education and a health and nutrition program. All children from K-12 need to learn how to take care of their bodies inside and out. Learning to take care of ourselves is an invaluable life skill. In recent years there has been focus on healthy eating in our schools and I think it is a good trend. I believe we should continue to emphasize nutrition and the skills needed for a healthy lifestyle in our schools and add support where we can. In my children’s elementary school they are only allowed to bring healthy snacks and I feel they are learning to eat better food as a result. Physical education teachers are also able to address areas of multiple intelligence and can help brainstorm for ways to add to the curriculum through kinesthetic awareness. This is an area in which physical education teachers have been traditionally under utilized.
I would ensure that every school had at least one trained and accredited librarian on staff with a fully functional library and media center. In this day and age we need to ensure that our children are trained in information literacy and that they have the resources they need available to them. All K-12 schools need to have libraries with media centers and librarians who are trained teachers available to help them or they are at a disadvantage. Librarians are now trained in advanced technology skills in addition to traditional literacy skills. They are trained to collaborate with staff on projects as well as teach students how to navigate their way through the masses of information that they encounter on a daily basis. The media center needs to be stocked with computers, printers, AV equipment, video equipment, smart boards, etc. necessary for training children to use technology. The library needs to be filled with reference books and current reading material to complement what is available at the local public library as well as to supplement the course material of the school teaching staff. The school library should be an inviting and welcome place for students and staff -- a hub of the school.
Another area that I believe we need to strengthen is multicultural education. In a country as culturally diverse as the United States we need to have a public education system that embraces our cultural diversity and educates our children to embrace our diversity. We have been a nation plagued by racism for far too long and yet we ought to be working toward being the nation that sets the example for multicultural diversity and acceptance. We ought to be showing the world how people can live and work together without racism and hatred. I believe that we can achieve that goal through better multicultural education in our schools. James Banks’ five dimensions of multicultural education – content integration, knowledge construction, equity pedagogy through varied learning styles, prejudice reduction, and an empowering school culture – should be a part of all teacher training and should become integrated into schools nationwide. Eventually operating via these methods will become second nature. If we don’t start to make a change in education, we are only adding to the problems of racism, sexism, and animosity that are occurring in our country based on difference.
A final area that I would change is the emphasis on standardized tests. I believe tests have a purpose as a tool, but they are not the end all. They do not prove the intelligence of an individual, nor should they seal a child’s, or school’s, fate. I don’t think that teachers should receive merit pay based on test scores, nor do I think children should be striving to get into “gifted” based on IQ tests. It is reasonable to have a national standardized assessment of some sort to gauge where students are at certain stages throughout the K-12 years. The 3-7-11 model seems reasonable. Putting pressure on those tests for it to be anything other than a diagnostic tool for teachers and parents is ridiculous. It forces teachers to teach to the test and produce robots and undue pressure. The reality is that if the system is working, the children should be able to do fine on the test. If not, there is something wrong with the test.
I truly have faith in our public education system. When I talk to people, they often think that I am far too optimistic. I don’t feel that our public education system is in grave peril and that American students are the worst in the world. I look at my own 17-year-old and her friends and I am proud of how many bright young people are graduating and going off to top universities from public schools. I’ve watched some incredibly talented kids perform plays over the past few years that could have competed with off-Broadway productions – in a public school! If you read media accounts of our youth, you don’t often read about the amazing kids who are performing on stage or spending the summer in China studying Chinese on a scholarship, it is usually a doomsday story. I know kids who spend every spring doing Model UN in New York City as model diplomats solving the world’s problems and sing in choirs that travel to Florida on Spring break. They are good kids with promising futures. I know kids who don’t have such promising futures as well, but I think that it is exciting to see so much ahead for so many.
In fact there are so many things that I love about our current public education system. I love that our current system allows creative teachers like my son’s teacher from this past year to teach the way that she wanted to teach. She was a fabulous example for me of the way to teach social skills, diversity, and acceptance to a group of 2nd graders. Every time I walked into that classroom I ended up in tears I was so moved. She used singing and dancing, had them writing stories and poetry, created photo stories, and did presentations of all of it for families multiple times throughout the year. The writing by the end of the year of all of the students was amazing. It was wonderful to watch!
If as, as a country, we can move forward and I can have my dream of a national system with many of the other changes I suggested, I feel we will have an incredibly strong public education system. I am very passionate about public education staying public and will always be an advocate for it staying that way. I believe that all of our children need to be educated in order to function in our society and we as citizens have an obligation to provide that education. I find myself frustrated when I hear people grumbling about having to pay for schools “because they don’t have children.” We all have to pay for schools because we are citizens of the United States of America. It is our responsibility to educate all of our citizens. As we educate our children I would include education about social responsibility. We do have an obligation to one another as Americans, just as Canadians have an obligation to other Canadians and Australians have an obligation to other Australians. It comes with citizenship. Much like, while I am philosophically opposed to the current war, I am fully in support of our troops and believe we have a social responsibility to care for them fully both now and as they return to the U.S. – no matter what the cost. We sent them to war and now we have a responsibility to care for them. It is a cost of war and a responsibility of citizenship.
By going into education as a librarian, I feel that I can make a difference for so many students at all levels. I know that the students at my 17-year-old’s level will be fine. She is a reader and will find books and resources no matter where she goes. While having a librarian as excited as I am about the job as I am would be a bonus for her, she still manages to find the things she needs. It’s the other students who don’t find their way to library that need me. It’s the teachers who aren’t currently integrating information literacy into their lessons. They are the ones that I am truly going to be in the library to serve. Even though I will be one individual out there teaching, I believe change starts with the individual. We start with our schools. We advocate. We make small changes. We make our voice heard. We hope for the future.
1. Banks, James A. and Michelle Tucker. Multiculturalism’s Five Dimensions. NEA Today Online. http://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session3/3.Multiculturalism.pdf
2. Parsons, Richard D., Hinson, Stephanie Lewis, Sardo-Brown, Deborah. Educational Psychology: A Practitoner-Researcher Model of Teaching. Wadsworth, 2001.
We go to school to learn our ABC’s and 123’s.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school because Mom and Dad tell us we have to get up out of bed
and get on the school bus or we are going to be in BIG trouble.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school because it’s a lot of fun to play with our friends at recess
and the other stuff is pretty fun too.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn to respect each other and to treat others like we
would like to be treated.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to become literate: to learn how to read and write and to
learn how to use technology.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to become problem solvers, able to come up with solutions.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn how to become good citizens by saying the pledge,
voting in mock elections, learning history, and learning about current
events.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn how to take care of our earth by learning how to
recycle and learning about science.
Why do we go to school?
We go to school to learn how to learn.
What is the purpose of our schools? I believe that the core purpose of our schools is to produce well-rounded literate citizens who are able to function as independent, responsible, contributing and caring members of our communities and of our nation as a whole. Recently, I feel our schools have been drifting away from that ideal. We have been focusing more and more on producing workers for business while neglecting important social aspects of schooling and the arts as part of educating the whole child. If I were to change the current public education system to fit my personal philosophy, there are a few key areas that I would address.
The first area that I would address is that I would make the U.S. system a national education system rather than a state-based education system. While I know this would be a major undertaking and would meet with major resistance, I think it would be in the best interests of American children. It would bring equity to funding of schools, equity to curriculum, and equity to teacher pay scales, all which could be adjusted according to cost of living allowances. There are so many advantages to creating a national system not only in terms of educating children, but also in educating and certifying teachers. Teacher certification could then become nationally standardized as well with reciprocity across the country making it easy for teachers to move and transfer. This change would be especially beneficial for younger teachers who are often willing to move wherever there are jobs available.
By creating a national system, funding would be based on income tax, not property tax. The current system based on funding via local property taxes has created insanity in real estate prices in some areas and a huge discrepancy between wealthy districts and poor districts in many states. By shifting to an income tax based funding system and putting school funding into the national budget it would enforce a more equitable per student spending base. We would be able to look at what the real cost of education should be and be able to build a truly outstanding public education system which ensures that all of our schools have proper resources.
In addition, we need to look at how to heal those areas of our current education system where there are severely disadvantaged populations living in poverty. Most of these schools are in rural or urban areas and they have been suffering for generations. In looking at all of the solutions tried so far, they have all failed to solve the problems of these populations. The most promising model is the community school. It provides full services from health care to social services as well as before and after school care for children. These schools provide adult education and daycare. They serve the community 24/7 year round. The funding is obtained via a combination of public and private grants to provide the extra services and extended hours. Creating a large-scale model that can be adapted to fit all of our disadvantaged schools nationally is in the best interests of our nation’s children so that we can begin to put an end to our huge percentage of people in poverty nationally.
I would ensure that every school had an art and music program at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Art and music are important in development of the whole child and I believe we need to keep them in our schools. In addition to teaching classes these teachers can help collaborate with other teachers in our schools to help them bring art and music into other areas of the curriculum and make their teaching more creative and interesting. I am a firm believer in multiple intelligences and any way that we can adapt our lessons to introduce new ways of presenting material is good for our children. Art and music teachers offer us expertise in the arts right in our very own schools and are a valuable resource.
I would ensure that every school had a physical education and a health and nutrition program. All children from K-12 need to learn how to take care of their bodies inside and out. Learning to take care of ourselves is an invaluable life skill. In recent years there has been focus on healthy eating in our schools and I think it is a good trend. I believe we should continue to emphasize nutrition and the skills needed for a healthy lifestyle in our schools and add support where we can. In my children’s elementary school they are only allowed to bring healthy snacks and I feel they are learning to eat better food as a result. Physical education teachers are also able to address areas of multiple intelligence and can help brainstorm for ways to add to the curriculum through kinesthetic awareness. This is an area in which physical education teachers have been traditionally under utilized.
I would ensure that every school had at least one trained and accredited librarian on staff with a fully functional library and media center. In this day and age we need to ensure that our children are trained in information literacy and that they have the resources they need available to them. All K-12 schools need to have libraries with media centers and librarians who are trained teachers available to help them or they are at a disadvantage. Librarians are now trained in advanced technology skills in addition to traditional literacy skills. They are trained to collaborate with staff on projects as well as teach students how to navigate their way through the masses of information that they encounter on a daily basis. The media center needs to be stocked with computers, printers, AV equipment, video equipment, smart boards, etc. necessary for training children to use technology. The library needs to be filled with reference books and current reading material to complement what is available at the local public library as well as to supplement the course material of the school teaching staff. The school library should be an inviting and welcome place for students and staff -- a hub of the school.
Another area that I believe we need to strengthen is multicultural education. In a country as culturally diverse as the United States we need to have a public education system that embraces our cultural diversity and educates our children to embrace our diversity. We have been a nation plagued by racism for far too long and yet we ought to be working toward being the nation that sets the example for multicultural diversity and acceptance. We ought to be showing the world how people can live and work together without racism and hatred. I believe that we can achieve that goal through better multicultural education in our schools. James Banks’ five dimensions of multicultural education – content integration, knowledge construction, equity pedagogy through varied learning styles, prejudice reduction, and an empowering school culture – should be a part of all teacher training and should become integrated into schools nationwide. Eventually operating via these methods will become second nature. If we don’t start to make a change in education, we are only adding to the problems of racism, sexism, and animosity that are occurring in our country based on difference.
A final area that I would change is the emphasis on standardized tests. I believe tests have a purpose as a tool, but they are not the end all. They do not prove the intelligence of an individual, nor should they seal a child’s, or school’s, fate. I don’t think that teachers should receive merit pay based on test scores, nor do I think children should be striving to get into “gifted” based on IQ tests. It is reasonable to have a national standardized assessment of some sort to gauge where students are at certain stages throughout the K-12 years. The 3-7-11 model seems reasonable. Putting pressure on those tests for it to be anything other than a diagnostic tool for teachers and parents is ridiculous. It forces teachers to teach to the test and produce robots and undue pressure. The reality is that if the system is working, the children should be able to do fine on the test. If not, there is something wrong with the test.
I truly have faith in our public education system. When I talk to people, they often think that I am far too optimistic. I don’t feel that our public education system is in grave peril and that American students are the worst in the world. I look at my own 17-year-old and her friends and I am proud of how many bright young people are graduating and going off to top universities from public schools. I’ve watched some incredibly talented kids perform plays over the past few years that could have competed with off-Broadway productions – in a public school! If you read media accounts of our youth, you don’t often read about the amazing kids who are performing on stage or spending the summer in China studying Chinese on a scholarship, it is usually a doomsday story. I know kids who spend every spring doing Model UN in New York City as model diplomats solving the world’s problems and sing in choirs that travel to Florida on Spring break. They are good kids with promising futures. I know kids who don’t have such promising futures as well, but I think that it is exciting to see so much ahead for so many.
In fact there are so many things that I love about our current public education system. I love that our current system allows creative teachers like my son’s teacher from this past year to teach the way that she wanted to teach. She was a fabulous example for me of the way to teach social skills, diversity, and acceptance to a group of 2nd graders. Every time I walked into that classroom I ended up in tears I was so moved. She used singing and dancing, had them writing stories and poetry, created photo stories, and did presentations of all of it for families multiple times throughout the year. The writing by the end of the year of all of the students was amazing. It was wonderful to watch!
If as, as a country, we can move forward and I can have my dream of a national system with many of the other changes I suggested, I feel we will have an incredibly strong public education system. I am very passionate about public education staying public and will always be an advocate for it staying that way. I believe that all of our children need to be educated in order to function in our society and we as citizens have an obligation to provide that education. I find myself frustrated when I hear people grumbling about having to pay for schools “because they don’t have children.” We all have to pay for schools because we are citizens of the United States of America. It is our responsibility to educate all of our citizens. As we educate our children I would include education about social responsibility. We do have an obligation to one another as Americans, just as Canadians have an obligation to other Canadians and Australians have an obligation to other Australians. It comes with citizenship. Much like, while I am philosophically opposed to the current war, I am fully in support of our troops and believe we have a social responsibility to care for them fully both now and as they return to the U.S. – no matter what the cost. We sent them to war and now we have a responsibility to care for them. It is a cost of war and a responsibility of citizenship.
By going into education as a librarian, I feel that I can make a difference for so many students at all levels. I know that the students at my 17-year-old’s level will be fine. She is a reader and will find books and resources no matter where she goes. While having a librarian as excited as I am about the job as I am would be a bonus for her, she still manages to find the things she needs. It’s the other students who don’t find their way to library that need me. It’s the teachers who aren’t currently integrating information literacy into their lessons. They are the ones that I am truly going to be in the library to serve. Even though I will be one individual out there teaching, I believe change starts with the individual. We start with our schools. We advocate. We make small changes. We make our voice heard. We hope for the future.
1. Banks, James A. and Michelle Tucker. Multiculturalism’s Five Dimensions. NEA Today Online. http://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session3/3.Multiculturalism.pdf
2. Parsons, Richard D., Hinson, Stephanie Lewis, Sardo-Brown, Deborah. Educational Psychology: A Practitoner-Researcher Model of Teaching. Wadsworth, 2001.
Poverty, Education, and a Place for Community Schools in America
Often when I talk to teachers about teaching in low-income areas their biggest complaint is about apathy. I ask them where they think that apathy comes from and they overwhelmingly respond, “home!” So if apathy is such a huge problem in our disadvantaged schools and it stems from home, how do we solve the problem? How do we get our disadvantaged kids and their families more involved in school and school life? How do help them see that school can help them, all of them, have a better life? I think there is an answer, but it is one that will take some serious national discussion and some changes in how we think as a nation about schooling. It lies in the idea of community schools – integrating services and the community within the local schools.
First, I believe that we as a nation need to change our perceptions of poverty. The official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5%; that percentage of our population equates to 37.3 million people. 19 The largest percentage of those people are African American or Hispanic. Among children, 18% of the population lives in poverty.19 That’s nearly 1 in 5 children! For a country with our wealth, that is an awful statistic. It’s a statistic that every U.S. citizen should be ashamed our society hasn’t changed. The poverty thresholds would stun the average American: a single individual is considered living in poverty if they earn $10,787, single parent with one child, $14, 291, family of three, $16, 689, family of four, $24,744. 18 None of these figures is a realistic amount of money for a family to live on, particularly in an urban setting.
In addition to the statistics of poverty, there is a global discussion about the link between poverty and education. It’s not a new discussion; it dates back to early societies and the development of formal education with the industrial revolution in Europe and progressed further when the welfare states developed after WWII. Europe, devastated by the war, developed national healthcare, national education systems that extended all the way through higher education, social services, pension plans, and other support systems for their countries. The UN has taken the discussion further into this century to put child-centered education, the raising of literacy rates, and increasing hours of instruction to 800 hours a week on its agenda for those countries that are currently in extreme poverty globally. 12
With all of this clear evidence pointing to a link between poverty and a lack of education, what about our own country? The U.S. also developed a social welfare system along the same timeline as Europe, but ours has always been somewhat different. We didn’t feel the same kind of pain and devastation as other areas of the world after WWII. We instituted Social Security, Welfare, Medicaid, and Medicare, but we never instituted national plans. We’ve had debates about national health care for years, but there is huge resistance to the idea. We developed a national education system, but there has been constant debate about curriculum, structure, accountability, accessibility, assessment, and funding. I believe much of this stems from the way that our system originated. Our system was born out of a group of charitable organizations taking control of needs that needed to be met and simply filling those needs. For example, the Societies For The Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed in New York and became our country’s first child protective agency. There are those in our society today that believe we can still operate in this manner. Obviously there is a huge role for non-profits and charitable organizations in our society, but government is also critical. The child protective agency, for example, is better suited to a government social agency where it can have consistency and guidelines across our large country.
As we look to how to improve our schools and address the issue of poverty in our nation I come back to the idea of education. Education is how we attack poverty on a global basis and it should be our best defense here in the U.S. We have a long history in this country of community–based solutions from which to draw inspiration and ideas for a new scheme of community schools that will help this generation. If we look at social settlements, the platoon-plan , and various community school plans developing around the country, I believe there are solutions in the making.
The Platoon Plan was born in the city of Gary, Indiana in 1906. It ended up dying a slow and painful death with much criticism as the result of the unintended segregation that occurred with the area and the high cost of maintaining the schools. There were many good points to be gained from William Wirt’s plan, however. The plan was a progressive plan based upon a work-study-play philosophy that focused on educating the whole child. The curriculum was expanded beyond regular academic subjects to include shop, cooking, recreation, nature study, public speaking, music, art, and other activities. The classrooms were kept in constant use including nights, weekends, and summers. The school even included adult education and health care was provided at the school. These concepts of child-centered education, adult education, extended hours, health care, and community involvement are still key concepts in a good community school ideal for this century.6
In the late 1880’s, London developed its first social settlements in response to problems created by urbanization, industrialization, and immigration. The original settlements were run by religious and university students who volunteered time to educated the poor. America’s most famous settlement house was Hull House, founded by Jane Adams in 1889 in Chicago. Hull House was secular in nature but many settlement houses were run by religious organizations. In 1911, Chicago had 35 settlement houses. Hull House grew over the years and by the 1920’s it offered daycare, Kindergarten, an employment bureau, an art gallery, a library, English classes, citizenship classes, theater classes, art classes, music classes, a variety of clubs, cultural events, meeting places for trade union groups, and more. It was a first living quarters for many immigrants and a hub of the community. Settlement houses were the nations first community centers. The Chicago settlement groups helped found the NAACP. Key concepts like daycare, Kindergarten, ESL classes, community clubs, job support and assistance and the general support of the community learned from these early community centers are key concepts that are applicable to a good community school ideal for this century.11
Looking into this century, the models for community schools that are being built are indeed growing out of those early seeds. The Hull House Association lives on today as does the Gary Community Schools Corporation. The Hull House Association continues a tradition of “neighbors helping neighbors.”11 The services it provides carry on Jane Adam’s values and then some. They currently serve 60,000 Chicagoans annually with everything from after school programs to ESL programs to community schools to senior services. They follow the creed that “Ignorance, disease, and crime are the result of economic desperation and not the result of some flaw in moral character.”11 In addition, Chicago is making huge strides with the Coalition for Community Schools and the tremendous amounts of high quality research they are producing. Its close ties to the Administration and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will help in making Community Schools a national discussion. New York has the New York Children’s Aid Society born out of a group formed in the early 1900’s. In community schools in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, social and health care services are integrated into the schools from infancy through high school, foster care services are available, there is on-site daycare, and preventative care. Countee Cullen Community Center in New York City is located at PS194 and is open from 9am to well past midnight plus weekends and summers. It offers homework help, on-site social services, parenting workshops, child welfare services, drug awareness programs, movie nights, basketball, street clean-ups, voter registration, and more. 10 Many New York public schools are making inroads to change.
Within the city of Philadelphia, there are also some schools experimenting with the idea of community schools. Sayre High School has a partnership with the University of Pennsylvania faculty and students in medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work, education, law, and arts and sciences. Sayre students are prepped to deliver health promotion and education to their community especially in the areas of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. They receive free tutoring services from volunteer students as well as health care services. These services are also extended to eight other Philadelphia schools within the area serving K-12 aged students. 14 The Francis Scott Key School in South Philadelphia serves a high immigrant population and offers services including extra hours and adult language classes. West Oak Lane Charter School offers a longer school day and year, smaller class size, research-based curriculum focusing on math and science, links to community resources, and a low cost after school program.10
So what are the key components of a community school model that make it truly successful? The most successful community school models seek to “improve the material conditions of the neighborhood.” 10 The schools themselves become integral centers within those neighborhoods and provide missing links to all services and systems of support. The Chicago systems seem to be heading in the right direction. They have a grasp on the biggest gaps and seem to be filling them the best at this stage. Currently those key components seem to be:
1) Extended Learning Time
Extended learning time has the greatest impact on disadvantaged populations. In addition, adding time to the school day and year gives teachers time to participate in professional development with their colleagues during the school day as they bring in outside instructors for special presentations. By adding time to in-class time, teachers are eligible for increased pay.
2) Health Services
Disadvantaged communities rarely get the health care they need. By providing it at school, kids win.
3) Dental Services
Like health care, dental care is usually neglected. Healthy teeth leads to healthy kids.
4) Social Services
All varieties of social services are needed within disadvantaged communities and by making them easily available at the community school, parents are better able to find them and access them.
5) Parenting Classes
Parenting is a tough job. Many disadvantaged communities have high teen pregnancy rates and many young parents. Parenting classes can help these parents cope and become better parents.
6) Job Training for Adults
Supporting parents helps families and helps kids. Providing job training is good for the community.
7) ESL Services
According to the 2000 U.S. census, nearly 20% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home. Providing ESL classes for both children and adults is an essential need for many community schools.
8) GED classes
The dropout rate in many poverty-stricken communities is still high. Providing an opportunity for adults and teens to return to school easily is a must for community schools.
9) Housing support services
Quality housing has always been an issue for disadvantaged populations. Community schools can provide support services to find affordable quality housing.
10) Daycare
Daycare for working parents and teen mothers returning to school is essential in a community school.
11) Full Day Kindergarten
Half-day Kindergarten needs to become a thing of the past in all schools, but especially disadvantaged populations. Early literacy skills and the needs of working parents are best met by full-day Kindergarten programs.
12) Substance Abuse Programming
Many poverty-stricken areas have issues with substance abuse and community schools are the perfect place to provide programming and refer counseling services to address these issues.
13) Tutoring
If academic needs are not being met in the normal school day, the community school can provide tutoring services often via volunteer organizations.
14) Food programs
Meals are often a source of stress within a disadvantaged community. Although this is one area that many of our schools are already doing an excellent job in coping with, it’s one that should be addressed formally in a community school plan.
If we create community schools in our poverty-stricken areas and include all of these features, it will not be an inexpensive undertaking. It will require money -- and more money than we are currently paying. It will cost more to operate these schools than other schools without these services, but not all of our public schools will need all of this support. Only 18% of our nation’s children live in poverty according to our current definition. I would argue that that number is low, for there are undoubtedly many more families existing near the edge of poverty. But even if the number is 25%, that means that 75% of our children do not need such extensive services in their schools. Currently, funding for community schools comes from a mix of federal funding, state funding, local government funding, the local school system, community funding, national philanthropies, and corporate funding. 7 Each individual school has to apply for its own funding. While the mix of funding is not a bad one, there has to be a better way of accessing it than forcing each individual school to apply for funding.
As a national agenda, many will be against the idea of funding such elaborate schools as these. The argument will be that they are unfair and too expensive. I believe that we as Americans need to ask ourselves what it is costing us to have such a huge portion of our population living in poverty? I believe it is time for us to ask ourselves if it is fair that a wealthy, industrialized nation boasts 1/5 to 1/4 of its children living in poverty? The problem isn’t going to fix itself and it isn’t going to go away overnight. It’s going to take dedication, activism, education, and people willing to stand up with a strong, solid voice for change in our nation’s communities in poverty.
Bibliography and Endnotes
1. Addams, Jane. Philanthropy and Social Progress. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company. 1893. pp. 1-26.
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst203/documents/addams.html
2. Blank, Martin J.; Melaville, Alelia; Shah, Bela P. Making the Difference: Research and Practice in Community Schools. Coalition for Community Schools. Washington, DC. May 2003.
http://www.communityschools.org/
3. Brown, Victoria Bissell. "Jane Addams," in Women Building Chicago
1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary. 2001.
http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/newdesign/ja.html
4. The Children’s Aid Society
http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/
5. Coalition for Community Schools
http://www.communityschools.org/
6. Gary Community School Corporation
http://www.garycsc.k12.in.us/
7. Grossman, Jean Baldwin; Vang, Zoua M. The Case for School-Based
Integration of Services. Public/Private Ventures GroundWork . 2009.
http://www.ppv.org
8. Haberman, Frederick W. , Editor. Nobel Lectures, Peace 1926-1950. Elsevier
Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html
9. Harkavy, Ira; Blank, Martin. Community Schools: A Vision of Learning that Goes
Beyond Testing. Education Week, Vol. 21, No. 31. www.edweek.org
Also available at:
http://www.communityschools.org/images/Media/commentary.html
10. Hill, Paul; Campbell, Christine; Manno, Bruno. Building More Effective Community Schools. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Center for the Study of Social Policy. Baltimore, MD. 2000.
http://www.aecf.org
11. Hull House Association
http://www.hullhouse.org/
12. Matsuura, Koichiro. Ending Poverty Through Education – The Challenge of
Education for All. UN Chronicle. Issue 4, 2007.
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2007/issue4/0407p37.html
13. National Center For Children In Poverty
http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_825.html
14. Philadelphia Community Schools
http://www.upenn.edu/ccp/uacs/university-assisted-community-schools.html
15. Rocha, Elena. Choosing More Time for Students. Center for American Progress.
August, 2007.
http://www.americanprogress.org
16. stateuniversity.com
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2002/Gary-Schools.html
17. United South End Settlements
http://www.uses.org/about_us.htm
18. University of Michigan, National Poverty Center Poverty Threshholds in the U.S.
http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/
19. U.S. Census Bureau Statistics on Poverty
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty07/pov07hi.html
First, I believe that we as a nation need to change our perceptions of poverty. The official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5%; that percentage of our population equates to 37.3 million people. 19 The largest percentage of those people are African American or Hispanic. Among children, 18% of the population lives in poverty.19 That’s nearly 1 in 5 children! For a country with our wealth, that is an awful statistic. It’s a statistic that every U.S. citizen should be ashamed our society hasn’t changed. The poverty thresholds would stun the average American: a single individual is considered living in poverty if they earn $10,787, single parent with one child, $14, 291, family of three, $16, 689, family of four, $24,744. 18 None of these figures is a realistic amount of money for a family to live on, particularly in an urban setting.
In addition to the statistics of poverty, there is a global discussion about the link between poverty and education. It’s not a new discussion; it dates back to early societies and the development of formal education with the industrial revolution in Europe and progressed further when the welfare states developed after WWII. Europe, devastated by the war, developed national healthcare, national education systems that extended all the way through higher education, social services, pension plans, and other support systems for their countries. The UN has taken the discussion further into this century to put child-centered education, the raising of literacy rates, and increasing hours of instruction to 800 hours a week on its agenda for those countries that are currently in extreme poverty globally. 12
With all of this clear evidence pointing to a link between poverty and a lack of education, what about our own country? The U.S. also developed a social welfare system along the same timeline as Europe, but ours has always been somewhat different. We didn’t feel the same kind of pain and devastation as other areas of the world after WWII. We instituted Social Security, Welfare, Medicaid, and Medicare, but we never instituted national plans. We’ve had debates about national health care for years, but there is huge resistance to the idea. We developed a national education system, but there has been constant debate about curriculum, structure, accountability, accessibility, assessment, and funding. I believe much of this stems from the way that our system originated. Our system was born out of a group of charitable organizations taking control of needs that needed to be met and simply filling those needs. For example, the Societies For The Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed in New York and became our country’s first child protective agency. There are those in our society today that believe we can still operate in this manner. Obviously there is a huge role for non-profits and charitable organizations in our society, but government is also critical. The child protective agency, for example, is better suited to a government social agency where it can have consistency and guidelines across our large country.
As we look to how to improve our schools and address the issue of poverty in our nation I come back to the idea of education. Education is how we attack poverty on a global basis and it should be our best defense here in the U.S. We have a long history in this country of community–based solutions from which to draw inspiration and ideas for a new scheme of community schools that will help this generation. If we look at social settlements, the platoon-plan , and various community school plans developing around the country, I believe there are solutions in the making.
The Platoon Plan was born in the city of Gary, Indiana in 1906. It ended up dying a slow and painful death with much criticism as the result of the unintended segregation that occurred with the area and the high cost of maintaining the schools. There were many good points to be gained from William Wirt’s plan, however. The plan was a progressive plan based upon a work-study-play philosophy that focused on educating the whole child. The curriculum was expanded beyond regular academic subjects to include shop, cooking, recreation, nature study, public speaking, music, art, and other activities. The classrooms were kept in constant use including nights, weekends, and summers. The school even included adult education and health care was provided at the school. These concepts of child-centered education, adult education, extended hours, health care, and community involvement are still key concepts in a good community school ideal for this century.6
In the late 1880’s, London developed its first social settlements in response to problems created by urbanization, industrialization, and immigration. The original settlements were run by religious and university students who volunteered time to educated the poor. America’s most famous settlement house was Hull House, founded by Jane Adams in 1889 in Chicago. Hull House was secular in nature but many settlement houses were run by religious organizations. In 1911, Chicago had 35 settlement houses. Hull House grew over the years and by the 1920’s it offered daycare, Kindergarten, an employment bureau, an art gallery, a library, English classes, citizenship classes, theater classes, art classes, music classes, a variety of clubs, cultural events, meeting places for trade union groups, and more. It was a first living quarters for many immigrants and a hub of the community. Settlement houses were the nations first community centers. The Chicago settlement groups helped found the NAACP. Key concepts like daycare, Kindergarten, ESL classes, community clubs, job support and assistance and the general support of the community learned from these early community centers are key concepts that are applicable to a good community school ideal for this century.11
Looking into this century, the models for community schools that are being built are indeed growing out of those early seeds. The Hull House Association lives on today as does the Gary Community Schools Corporation. The Hull House Association continues a tradition of “neighbors helping neighbors.”11 The services it provides carry on Jane Adam’s values and then some. They currently serve 60,000 Chicagoans annually with everything from after school programs to ESL programs to community schools to senior services. They follow the creed that “Ignorance, disease, and crime are the result of economic desperation and not the result of some flaw in moral character.”11 In addition, Chicago is making huge strides with the Coalition for Community Schools and the tremendous amounts of high quality research they are producing. Its close ties to the Administration and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will help in making Community Schools a national discussion. New York has the New York Children’s Aid Society born out of a group formed in the early 1900’s. In community schools in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, social and health care services are integrated into the schools from infancy through high school, foster care services are available, there is on-site daycare, and preventative care. Countee Cullen Community Center in New York City is located at PS194 and is open from 9am to well past midnight plus weekends and summers. It offers homework help, on-site social services, parenting workshops, child welfare services, drug awareness programs, movie nights, basketball, street clean-ups, voter registration, and more. 10 Many New York public schools are making inroads to change.
Within the city of Philadelphia, there are also some schools experimenting with the idea of community schools. Sayre High School has a partnership with the University of Pennsylvania faculty and students in medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work, education, law, and arts and sciences. Sayre students are prepped to deliver health promotion and education to their community especially in the areas of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. They receive free tutoring services from volunteer students as well as health care services. These services are also extended to eight other Philadelphia schools within the area serving K-12 aged students. 14 The Francis Scott Key School in South Philadelphia serves a high immigrant population and offers services including extra hours and adult language classes. West Oak Lane Charter School offers a longer school day and year, smaller class size, research-based curriculum focusing on math and science, links to community resources, and a low cost after school program.10
So what are the key components of a community school model that make it truly successful? The most successful community school models seek to “improve the material conditions of the neighborhood.” 10 The schools themselves become integral centers within those neighborhoods and provide missing links to all services and systems of support. The Chicago systems seem to be heading in the right direction. They have a grasp on the biggest gaps and seem to be filling them the best at this stage. Currently those key components seem to be:
1) Extended Learning Time
Extended learning time has the greatest impact on disadvantaged populations. In addition, adding time to the school day and year gives teachers time to participate in professional development with their colleagues during the school day as they bring in outside instructors for special presentations. By adding time to in-class time, teachers are eligible for increased pay.
2) Health Services
Disadvantaged communities rarely get the health care they need. By providing it at school, kids win.
3) Dental Services
Like health care, dental care is usually neglected. Healthy teeth leads to healthy kids.
4) Social Services
All varieties of social services are needed within disadvantaged communities and by making them easily available at the community school, parents are better able to find them and access them.
5) Parenting Classes
Parenting is a tough job. Many disadvantaged communities have high teen pregnancy rates and many young parents. Parenting classes can help these parents cope and become better parents.
6) Job Training for Adults
Supporting parents helps families and helps kids. Providing job training is good for the community.
7) ESL Services
According to the 2000 U.S. census, nearly 20% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home. Providing ESL classes for both children and adults is an essential need for many community schools.
8) GED classes
The dropout rate in many poverty-stricken communities is still high. Providing an opportunity for adults and teens to return to school easily is a must for community schools.
9) Housing support services
Quality housing has always been an issue for disadvantaged populations. Community schools can provide support services to find affordable quality housing.
10) Daycare
Daycare for working parents and teen mothers returning to school is essential in a community school.
11) Full Day Kindergarten
Half-day Kindergarten needs to become a thing of the past in all schools, but especially disadvantaged populations. Early literacy skills and the needs of working parents are best met by full-day Kindergarten programs.
12) Substance Abuse Programming
Many poverty-stricken areas have issues with substance abuse and community schools are the perfect place to provide programming and refer counseling services to address these issues.
13) Tutoring
If academic needs are not being met in the normal school day, the community school can provide tutoring services often via volunteer organizations.
14) Food programs
Meals are often a source of stress within a disadvantaged community. Although this is one area that many of our schools are already doing an excellent job in coping with, it’s one that should be addressed formally in a community school plan.
If we create community schools in our poverty-stricken areas and include all of these features, it will not be an inexpensive undertaking. It will require money -- and more money than we are currently paying. It will cost more to operate these schools than other schools without these services, but not all of our public schools will need all of this support. Only 18% of our nation’s children live in poverty according to our current definition. I would argue that that number is low, for there are undoubtedly many more families existing near the edge of poverty. But even if the number is 25%, that means that 75% of our children do not need such extensive services in their schools. Currently, funding for community schools comes from a mix of federal funding, state funding, local government funding, the local school system, community funding, national philanthropies, and corporate funding. 7 Each individual school has to apply for its own funding. While the mix of funding is not a bad one, there has to be a better way of accessing it than forcing each individual school to apply for funding.
As a national agenda, many will be against the idea of funding such elaborate schools as these. The argument will be that they are unfair and too expensive. I believe that we as Americans need to ask ourselves what it is costing us to have such a huge portion of our population living in poverty? I believe it is time for us to ask ourselves if it is fair that a wealthy, industrialized nation boasts 1/5 to 1/4 of its children living in poverty? The problem isn’t going to fix itself and it isn’t going to go away overnight. It’s going to take dedication, activism, education, and people willing to stand up with a strong, solid voice for change in our nation’s communities in poverty.
Bibliography and Endnotes
1. Addams, Jane. Philanthropy and Social Progress. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company. 1893. pp. 1-26.
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst203/documents/addams.html
2. Blank, Martin J.; Melaville, Alelia; Shah, Bela P. Making the Difference: Research and Practice in Community Schools. Coalition for Community Schools. Washington, DC. May 2003.
http://www.communityschools.org/
3. Brown, Victoria Bissell. "Jane Addams," in Women Building Chicago
1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary. 2001.
http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/newdesign/ja.html
4. The Children’s Aid Society
http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/
5. Coalition for Community Schools
http://www.communityschools.org/
6. Gary Community School Corporation
http://www.garycsc.k12.in.us/
7. Grossman, Jean Baldwin; Vang, Zoua M. The Case for School-Based
Integration of Services. Public/Private Ventures GroundWork . 2009.
http://www.ppv.org
8. Haberman, Frederick W. , Editor. Nobel Lectures, Peace 1926-1950. Elsevier
Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html
9. Harkavy, Ira; Blank, Martin. Community Schools: A Vision of Learning that Goes
Beyond Testing. Education Week, Vol. 21, No. 31. www.edweek.org
Also available at:
http://www.communityschools.org/images/Media/commentary.html
10. Hill, Paul; Campbell, Christine; Manno, Bruno. Building More Effective Community Schools. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Center for the Study of Social Policy. Baltimore, MD. 2000.
http://www.aecf.org
11. Hull House Association
http://www.hullhouse.org/
12. Matsuura, Koichiro. Ending Poverty Through Education – The Challenge of
Education for All. UN Chronicle. Issue 4, 2007.
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2007/issue4/0407p37.html
13. National Center For Children In Poverty
http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_825.html
14. Philadelphia Community Schools
http://www.upenn.edu/ccp/uacs/university-assisted-community-schools.html
15. Rocha, Elena. Choosing More Time for Students. Center for American Progress.
August, 2007.
http://www.americanprogress.org
16. stateuniversity.com
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2002/Gary-Schools.html
17. United South End Settlements
http://www.uses.org/about_us.htm
18. University of Michigan, National Poverty Center Poverty Threshholds in the U.S.
http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/
19. U.S. Census Bureau Statistics on Poverty
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty07/pov07hi.html
Monday, May 4, 2009
Classification of My Home Laundry System (Inspired By A Lifetime As A Bert Living Among A Household Full of Ernies...)
I often describe myself as a "Bert living in a household full of Ernies." I have to admit that the past few years have worn me down and rather than my “Bertness” converting the "Ernies", I am succumbing to the "Ernie" habits myself. It’s a sad state of affairs. My kitchen has never really been my kitchen, but is rather my husband’s domain. I have to call him at work regularly to ask where things are and he gets thoroughly irritated with me when I mess with his kitchen too much. That being said, I by default am in charge of laundry and everything else. I don’t have a love of laundry, but it is a necessity – and I do hate it when my husband messes with my system. It is terribly backed up since I started grad school, occasionally bordering on mountainous. But at least we have underwear... I figure you're never in dangerous territory until you run out of underwear. So for grad school this term I had to devise a classification system. I thought that a classification system for my laundry might help train some of the "Ernies" into sorting laundry properly thus helping me create a more orderly and happy "Bert" world...
1. List of items in Home Laundry System
10 laundry baskets
1 portable hanging laundry rack with 2 fabric sorting bins
1 laundry sink
1 washing machine
1 drier
3 laundry hampers
2 laundry bags
3 bottles of Melaleuca Melapower unscented laundry detergent
1 bottle of All Free and Clear laundry detergent
1 bottle of Melabrite Color-safe Brightener
3 boxes of Melasoft drier sheets
4 bottles of Pre-spot Laundry stain remover
2 bottles of Sol-u-Mel Cleaner
2 bottles of Revive Wrinkle relaxer
1 bottle of MelaMagic Heavy Duty Cleaner
1 bottle of Shaklee Basic G
1 bag of Shaklee Nature Brite
1 box of 20 Mule Borax
1 bottle bleach
1 small scrub brush
1 sample of Biz stain fighter
1 Dryel system
2 empty spray bottles
2 small sized empty squirt bottles
1 lingerie bag
1 soak bucket
Assortment of hangers
10 clean kitchen dishtowels
1 large clean white flat sheet folded
10 clean white hand towels folded
5 clean white pillowcases folded
10 clean white hand towels folded
1 clean tan hand towel folded
3 clean blue hand towels folded
2 clean salmon hand towels folded
4 clean white washcloths folded
2 clean white bath towels folded
3 clean salmon bath towels folded
1 clean old bath towel folded (the “dirty shoes/dirty pets” towel)
14 clean Mom shirts folded
16 clean Mom shirts hanging
1 clean Luke shirt folded
26 clean Luke shirts hanging
1 clean Luke jacket hanging
1 clean Luke fleece hanging
3 clean Luke sweaters hanging
8 clean Elena sweaters/sweatshirts folded
1 clean Mom cardigan hanging
6 clean Mom fleeces folded
3 clean Mom sweatshirts folded
2 clean Mom sweaters folded
1 clean Mom sweater hanging
2 clean Mom skirts hanging
1 clean Mom velour tracksuit folded
1 clean Mom yoga pant folded
33 clean Elena shirts folded
2 clean Elena shirts hanging
7 clean Elena skirts hanging/folded
10 clean Elena dresses hanging
1 clean Elena shorts folded
15 clean Daddy button-down dress shirts hanging
4 pairs clean Daddy dress pants hanging
6 clean Daddy sweaters/sweatshirts folded
4 clean Daddy sweatpants folded
15 clean Daddy T-shirts folded
8 clean Luke jeans/pants hanging
11 clean Elena jeans/pants folded
7 clean Elena leggings folded
5 clean Mom jeans folded
2 clean Daddy jeans folded
19 clean Luke jammies folded
5 clean Elena jammies folded
8 clean Elena nightgowns folded
7 clean Mom jammies folded
38 clean Mom undies
20 clean Daddy undies
25 clean Luke undies
15 clean Elena undies
30 pairs clean Mom socks
2 single clean Mom socks
6 pairs clean Mom tights
14 pairs clean white Daddy socks
4 single clean white Daddy socks
11 pairs clean dark dress Daddy socks
4 single clean dark dress Daddy socks
28 pairs clean Luke socks
1 single clean Luke sock
18 pairs clean Elena socks
2 single clean Elena socks
15 pairs clean Elena tights
4 clean Elena leotards
2 clean Elena dance skirts
1 large laundry basket of dirty laundry
1 large pile of dirty laundry
1 full hamper of Elena’s dirty laundry
1 half full hamper of Luke’s dirty laundry
2. Grouping Items Together – Creating a Set of Categories or “Main Classes” and
3. Create Subclasses within the Main Classes
Laundry Supplies –
Laundry Room
Laundry Sorters /Carriers
• 10 laundry baskets SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.1
• 3 laundry hampers SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.2
• 2 laundry bags SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.3
• 1 portable hanging laundry rack with 2 fabric sorting bins SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.4
• Assortment of hangers SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.5
Machinery
• 1 laundry sink SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY. MACH.1
• 1 washing machine SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. MACH.2
• 1 drier SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. MACH.3
Detergents
• 3 bottles of Melaleuca Melapower unscented laundry detergent SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY. SOAP.1
• 1 bottle of All Free and Clear laundry detergent SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY .SOAP.2
Stain solutions
• 4 bottles of Pre-spot Laundry stain remover SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY .STAIN.1
• 2 bottles of Sol-u-Mel Cleaner SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.2
• 1 bottle of Melabrite Color-safe Brightener SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.3
• 1 bottle of MelaMagic Heavy Duty Cleaner SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAIN.4
• 1 bottle of Shaklee Basic G SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAIN.5
• 1 bag of Shaklee Nature Brite SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.6
• 1 box of 20 Mule Borax SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAIN.7
• 1 bottle bleach SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.8
• 1 small scrub brush SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.9
• 1 sample of Biz stain fighter SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.10
• 2 empty spray bottles SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.11
• 2 small-sized empty squirt bottles SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.12
• 1 soak bucket SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY .STAIN.13
Delicate Clothing solutions
• 1 lingerie bag SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. DEL.1
• 1 Dryel system SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY. DEL.2
Wrinkle solutions
• 2 bottles of Revive Wrinkle relaxer SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. NOIRON.1
Static solutions
• 3 boxes of Melasoft drier sheets SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAT.1
Clean Laundry--
Kitchen Drawer
Drawer #3
• 10 clean kitchen dishtowels CLEAN .KD.D3.1
Linen Closet
• 1 large clean white flat sheet folded CLEAN .LC.1
• 5 clean white pillowcases folded CLEAN .LC.2
Bathroom Shelf
• 10 clean white hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.1
• 10 clean white hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.2
• 1 clean tan hand towel folded CLEAN .BSH.3
• 3 clean blue hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.4
• 2 clean salmon hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.5
• 4 clean white washcloths folded CLEAN .BSH.6
• 2 clean white bath towels folded CLEAN .BSH.7
• 3 clean salmon bath towels folded CLEAN .BSH.8
Dad’s closet
• 15 clean Daddy button-down dress shirts hanging CLEAN .DADC.1
• 4 pairs clean Daddy dress pants hanging CLEAN .DADC.2
Dad’s dresser
Drawer #3
• 6 clean Daddy sweaters/sweatshirts folded CLEAN .DADD.D3.1
• 4 clean Daddy sweatpants folded
CLEAN .DADD.D3.2
Drawer #2
• 15 clean Daddy T-shirts folded CLEAN .DADD.D2.1
Mom’s closet
Rods
• 16 clean Mom shirts hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.1
• 1 clean Mom cardigan hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.2
• 1 clean Mom sweater hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.3
• 2 clean Mom skirts hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.4
Shelves
• 2 pairs clean Daddy jeans folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.1
• 3 clean Mom sweatshirts folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.2
• 6 clean Mom fleeces folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.3
• 1 clean Mom velour track suit folded
CLEAN .MOMC.SH.4
• 1 clean Mom yoga pant folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.5
• 5 clean Mom jeans folded
CLEAN .MOMC.SH.6
• 7 clean Mom jammies folded
CLEAN .MOMC.SH.7
Old Towel Shelf
• 1 clean old bath towel folded (the “dirty shoes/dirty pets” towel)
CLEAN .MOMC.OTS.1
Dad’s undie/sock storage unit
• 20 clean Daddy undies CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.1
• 14 pairs clean white Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.2
• 4 single clean white Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.3
• 11 pairs clean dark dress Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.4
• 4 single clean dark dress Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.5
Mom’s dresser
Drawer #1
• 38 clean Mom undies CLEAN .MOMD.D1.1
Drawer #3
• 14 clean Mom shirts folded CLEAN .MOMD.D3.1
Drawer #4
• 30 pairs clean Mom socks CLEAN .MOMD.D4.1
• 2 single clean Mom socks CLEAN .MOMD.D4.2
• 6 pairs clean Mom tights CLEAN .MOMD.D4.3
Mom’s sweater cedar chest
• 2 clean Mom sweaters folded CLEAN .MOMSCC.1
Elena’s closet
• 2 clean Elena shirts hanging CLEAN .ELENAC.1
• 2 clean Elena skirts hanging CLEAN .ELENAC.2
• 10 clean Elena dresses hanging CLEAN .ELENAC.3
Elena’s short dresser #1
Drawer #1
• 8 clean Elena sweaters/sweatshirts folded CLEAN .ELENAD1.D1.1
Drawer #2
• 5 clean Elena skirts folded CLEAN .ELENAD1.D2.1
• 11 clean Elena jeans/pants folded CLEAN .ELENAD1.D2.2
Drawer #3
• 4 clean Elena leotards CLEAN .ELENAD1.D3.1
• 2 clean Elena dance skirts CLEAN .ELENAD1.D3.2
Elena’s short dresser #2
Drawer #1
• 5 clean Elena jammies folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D1.1
• 8 clean Elena nightgowns folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D1.2
Drawer #2
• 1 clean Elena shorts folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D2.1
Drawer #3
• 33 clean Elena shirts folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D3.1
• 7 clean Elena leggings folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D3.2
Elena’s tall dresser
Drawer #1
• 15 pairs clean Elena tights CLEAN .ELENATD.D1.1
Drawer #3
• 18 pairs clean Elena socks CLEAN .ELENATD.D3.1
• 2 single clean Elena socks CLEAN .ELENATD.D3.2
Drawer #5
• 15 clean Elena undies CLEAN .ELENATD.D5.1
Luke’s closet
• 26 clean Luke shirts hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.1
• 1 clean Luke jacket hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.2
• 1 clean Luke fleece hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.3
• 3 clean Luke sweaters hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.4
• 8 clean Luke jeans/pants hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.5
Luke’s dresser
Drawer #1
• 19 clean Luke jammies folded CLEAN .LUKED.D1.1
• 25 clean Luke undies CLEAN .LUKED.D1.2
Drawer #2
• 1 clean Luke shirt folded CLEAN .LUKED.D2.1
Left Side Drawer
• 28 pairs clean Luke socks CLEAN .LUKED.LSD.1
• 1 single clean Luke sock CLEAN .LUKED.LSD.2
Dirty Laundry—
Laundry Room
• 1 large pile of dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
Mom’s Closet
• 1 large laundry basket of dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
Elena’s Room
• 1 full hamper of Elena’s dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
Luke’s Room
• 1 half full hamper of Luke’s dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
4. Order your Arrangement, with Characteristics of Subdivision and the Citation Order in Mind. Identify the Characteristics of Subdivision and the Citation Order Used.
The “Main Classes” within the laundry system were Laundry Supplies, Clean Laundry, and Dirty Laundry. Subclasses were picked to reflect location of items, ownership, characteristics of use within the laundry system, and color. The citation order is from broad to narrow. For example, Clean Laundry --
Luke’s dresser
Drawer #1
• 19 clean Luke jammies folded
5. Assign Notation to the Main Classes and to the Subclasses within Two of Your Main Classes.
Notation System
Laundry Supplies SUPPLIES
Laundry Room LAUNDRY
Laundry Sorters /Carriers SORT
Machinery MACH
Detergents SOAP
Stain solutions STAIN
Delicate Clothing solutions DEL
Wrinkle solutions NOIRON
Static solutions STAT
Clean Laundry CLEAN
Kitchen Drawer KD
Drawer #3 D3
Linen Closet LC
Bathroom Shelf BSH
Dad’s closet DADC
Dad’s dresser DADD
Drawer #3 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Mom’s closet MOMC
Rods R
Shelves SH
Old Towel Shelf OTS
Dad’s undie/ DADSSD
sock storage unit
Mom’s dresser MOMD
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #3 D3
Drawer #4 D4
Mom’s sweater cedar chest MOMSCC
Elena’s closet ELENAC
Elena’s short dresser #1 ELENASD#1
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Drawer #3 D3
Elena’s short dresser #2 ELENASD#2
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Drawer #3 D3
Elena’s tall dresser ELENATD
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #3 D3
Drawer #5 D5
Luke’s closet LUKEC
Luke’s dresser LUKED
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Drawer #3 D3
Left Side Drawer LSD
Dirty Laundry DIRTY
whites/lights W
darks D
colors C
jeans J
Laundry Room LAUNDRY Mom’s Closet MOMC
Elena’s Room ELENAR
Luke’s Room LUKER
Final line of order is numeric.
6. Reflect.
One of my greatest pet peeves when my husband gets involved with the laundry around our house is that he is so disorganized. He doesn’t sort anything and therefore socks get lost, clothes remain stained, and it takes eons to put everything away for the entire family. I, on the other hand, have a system down where I am constantly sorting and organizing the laundry so that it ends up not only cleaner but also in the proper place in the fastest time possible. I’d love to take my Laundry Classification Scheme and somehow tag all of our laundry so that even the most laundry inept among our crew could sort the dirty properly, funnel it through the laundry system (the easiest part in my opinion!), and get it sorted and put away in it’s proper space rather than claiming ignorance and leaving it to MOM.
The system that I’ve constructed follows all of the basic rules of classification. It is USEFUL. Even Ernie can use it! The categories are clear and precise, they are easy enough for an elementary school student to understand. There is plenty of room to add to the system if the family grows or more laundry is added. You would think after all of that clean laundry came through the system during the construction of this project and was neatly put away in its proper place of order that the amount of dirty laundry would be in a reasonable state of affairs in the Josef household…but alas, the laundry till is full to the brim again. Ah well. Such is life in a household full of Ernies.
1. List of items in Home Laundry System
10 laundry baskets
1 portable hanging laundry rack with 2 fabric sorting bins
1 laundry sink
1 washing machine
1 drier
3 laundry hampers
2 laundry bags
3 bottles of Melaleuca Melapower unscented laundry detergent
1 bottle of All Free and Clear laundry detergent
1 bottle of Melabrite Color-safe Brightener
3 boxes of Melasoft drier sheets
4 bottles of Pre-spot Laundry stain remover
2 bottles of Sol-u-Mel Cleaner
2 bottles of Revive Wrinkle relaxer
1 bottle of MelaMagic Heavy Duty Cleaner
1 bottle of Shaklee Basic G
1 bag of Shaklee Nature Brite
1 box of 20 Mule Borax
1 bottle bleach
1 small scrub brush
1 sample of Biz stain fighter
1 Dryel system
2 empty spray bottles
2 small sized empty squirt bottles
1 lingerie bag
1 soak bucket
Assortment of hangers
10 clean kitchen dishtowels
1 large clean white flat sheet folded
10 clean white hand towels folded
5 clean white pillowcases folded
10 clean white hand towels folded
1 clean tan hand towel folded
3 clean blue hand towels folded
2 clean salmon hand towels folded
4 clean white washcloths folded
2 clean white bath towels folded
3 clean salmon bath towels folded
1 clean old bath towel folded (the “dirty shoes/dirty pets” towel)
14 clean Mom shirts folded
16 clean Mom shirts hanging
1 clean Luke shirt folded
26 clean Luke shirts hanging
1 clean Luke jacket hanging
1 clean Luke fleece hanging
3 clean Luke sweaters hanging
8 clean Elena sweaters/sweatshirts folded
1 clean Mom cardigan hanging
6 clean Mom fleeces folded
3 clean Mom sweatshirts folded
2 clean Mom sweaters folded
1 clean Mom sweater hanging
2 clean Mom skirts hanging
1 clean Mom velour tracksuit folded
1 clean Mom yoga pant folded
33 clean Elena shirts folded
2 clean Elena shirts hanging
7 clean Elena skirts hanging/folded
10 clean Elena dresses hanging
1 clean Elena shorts folded
15 clean Daddy button-down dress shirts hanging
4 pairs clean Daddy dress pants hanging
6 clean Daddy sweaters/sweatshirts folded
4 clean Daddy sweatpants folded
15 clean Daddy T-shirts folded
8 clean Luke jeans/pants hanging
11 clean Elena jeans/pants folded
7 clean Elena leggings folded
5 clean Mom jeans folded
2 clean Daddy jeans folded
19 clean Luke jammies folded
5 clean Elena jammies folded
8 clean Elena nightgowns folded
7 clean Mom jammies folded
38 clean Mom undies
20 clean Daddy undies
25 clean Luke undies
15 clean Elena undies
30 pairs clean Mom socks
2 single clean Mom socks
6 pairs clean Mom tights
14 pairs clean white Daddy socks
4 single clean white Daddy socks
11 pairs clean dark dress Daddy socks
4 single clean dark dress Daddy socks
28 pairs clean Luke socks
1 single clean Luke sock
18 pairs clean Elena socks
2 single clean Elena socks
15 pairs clean Elena tights
4 clean Elena leotards
2 clean Elena dance skirts
1 large laundry basket of dirty laundry
1 large pile of dirty laundry
1 full hamper of Elena’s dirty laundry
1 half full hamper of Luke’s dirty laundry
2. Grouping Items Together – Creating a Set of Categories or “Main Classes” and
3. Create Subclasses within the Main Classes
Laundry Supplies –
Laundry Room
Laundry Sorters /Carriers
• 10 laundry baskets SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.1
• 3 laundry hampers SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.2
• 2 laundry bags SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.3
• 1 portable hanging laundry rack with 2 fabric sorting bins SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.4
• Assortment of hangers SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY.SORT.5
Machinery
• 1 laundry sink SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY. MACH.1
• 1 washing machine SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. MACH.2
• 1 drier SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. MACH.3
Detergents
• 3 bottles of Melaleuca Melapower unscented laundry detergent SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY. SOAP.1
• 1 bottle of All Free and Clear laundry detergent SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY .SOAP.2
Stain solutions
• 4 bottles of Pre-spot Laundry stain remover SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY .STAIN.1
• 2 bottles of Sol-u-Mel Cleaner SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.2
• 1 bottle of Melabrite Color-safe Brightener SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.3
• 1 bottle of MelaMagic Heavy Duty Cleaner SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAIN.4
• 1 bottle of Shaklee Basic G SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAIN.5
• 1 bag of Shaklee Nature Brite SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.6
• 1 box of 20 Mule Borax SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAIN.7
• 1 bottle bleach SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.8
• 1 small scrub brush SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.9
• 1 sample of Biz stain fighter SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.10
• 2 empty spray bottles SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.11
• 2 small-sized empty squirt bottles SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. STAIN.12
• 1 soak bucket SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY .STAIN.13
Delicate Clothing solutions
• 1 lingerie bag SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. DEL.1
• 1 Dryel system SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY. DEL.2
Wrinkle solutions
• 2 bottles of Revive Wrinkle relaxer SUPPLIES. LAUNDRY. NOIRON.1
Static solutions
• 3 boxes of Melasoft drier sheets SUPPLIES .LAUNDRY .STAT.1
Clean Laundry--
Kitchen Drawer
Drawer #3
• 10 clean kitchen dishtowels CLEAN .KD.D3.1
Linen Closet
• 1 large clean white flat sheet folded CLEAN .LC.1
• 5 clean white pillowcases folded CLEAN .LC.2
Bathroom Shelf
• 10 clean white hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.1
• 10 clean white hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.2
• 1 clean tan hand towel folded CLEAN .BSH.3
• 3 clean blue hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.4
• 2 clean salmon hand towels folded CLEAN .BSH.5
• 4 clean white washcloths folded CLEAN .BSH.6
• 2 clean white bath towels folded CLEAN .BSH.7
• 3 clean salmon bath towels folded CLEAN .BSH.8
Dad’s closet
• 15 clean Daddy button-down dress shirts hanging CLEAN .DADC.1
• 4 pairs clean Daddy dress pants hanging CLEAN .DADC.2
Dad’s dresser
Drawer #3
• 6 clean Daddy sweaters/sweatshirts folded CLEAN .DADD.D3.1
• 4 clean Daddy sweatpants folded
CLEAN .DADD.D3.2
Drawer #2
• 15 clean Daddy T-shirts folded CLEAN .DADD.D2.1
Mom’s closet
Rods
• 16 clean Mom shirts hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.1
• 1 clean Mom cardigan hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.2
• 1 clean Mom sweater hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.3
• 2 clean Mom skirts hanging CLEAN .MOMC.R.4
Shelves
• 2 pairs clean Daddy jeans folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.1
• 3 clean Mom sweatshirts folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.2
• 6 clean Mom fleeces folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.3
• 1 clean Mom velour track suit folded
CLEAN .MOMC.SH.4
• 1 clean Mom yoga pant folded CLEAN .MOMC.SH.5
• 5 clean Mom jeans folded
CLEAN .MOMC.SH.6
• 7 clean Mom jammies folded
CLEAN .MOMC.SH.7
Old Towel Shelf
• 1 clean old bath towel folded (the “dirty shoes/dirty pets” towel)
CLEAN .MOMC.OTS.1
Dad’s undie/sock storage unit
• 20 clean Daddy undies CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.1
• 14 pairs clean white Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.2
• 4 single clean white Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.3
• 11 pairs clean dark dress Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.4
• 4 single clean dark dress Daddy socks CLEAN .MOMC.DADSSD.5
Mom’s dresser
Drawer #1
• 38 clean Mom undies CLEAN .MOMD.D1.1
Drawer #3
• 14 clean Mom shirts folded CLEAN .MOMD.D3.1
Drawer #4
• 30 pairs clean Mom socks CLEAN .MOMD.D4.1
• 2 single clean Mom socks CLEAN .MOMD.D4.2
• 6 pairs clean Mom tights CLEAN .MOMD.D4.3
Mom’s sweater cedar chest
• 2 clean Mom sweaters folded CLEAN .MOMSCC.1
Elena’s closet
• 2 clean Elena shirts hanging CLEAN .ELENAC.1
• 2 clean Elena skirts hanging CLEAN .ELENAC.2
• 10 clean Elena dresses hanging CLEAN .ELENAC.3
Elena’s short dresser #1
Drawer #1
• 8 clean Elena sweaters/sweatshirts folded CLEAN .ELENAD1.D1.1
Drawer #2
• 5 clean Elena skirts folded CLEAN .ELENAD1.D2.1
• 11 clean Elena jeans/pants folded CLEAN .ELENAD1.D2.2
Drawer #3
• 4 clean Elena leotards CLEAN .ELENAD1.D3.1
• 2 clean Elena dance skirts CLEAN .ELENAD1.D3.2
Elena’s short dresser #2
Drawer #1
• 5 clean Elena jammies folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D1.1
• 8 clean Elena nightgowns folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D1.2
Drawer #2
• 1 clean Elena shorts folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D2.1
Drawer #3
• 33 clean Elena shirts folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D3.1
• 7 clean Elena leggings folded CLEAN .ELENAD2.D3.2
Elena’s tall dresser
Drawer #1
• 15 pairs clean Elena tights CLEAN .ELENATD.D1.1
Drawer #3
• 18 pairs clean Elena socks CLEAN .ELENATD.D3.1
• 2 single clean Elena socks CLEAN .ELENATD.D3.2
Drawer #5
• 15 clean Elena undies CLEAN .ELENATD.D5.1
Luke’s closet
• 26 clean Luke shirts hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.1
• 1 clean Luke jacket hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.2
• 1 clean Luke fleece hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.3
• 3 clean Luke sweaters hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.4
• 8 clean Luke jeans/pants hanging CLEAN .LUKEC.5
Luke’s dresser
Drawer #1
• 19 clean Luke jammies folded CLEAN .LUKED.D1.1
• 25 clean Luke undies CLEAN .LUKED.D1.2
Drawer #2
• 1 clean Luke shirt folded CLEAN .LUKED.D2.1
Left Side Drawer
• 28 pairs clean Luke socks CLEAN .LUKED.LSD.1
• 1 single clean Luke sock CLEAN .LUKED.LSD.2
Dirty Laundry—
Laundry Room
• 1 large pile of dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
Mom’s Closet
• 1 large laundry basket of dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
Elena’s Room
• 1 full hamper of Elena’s dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
Luke’s Room
• 1 half full hamper of Luke’s dirty laundry
o whites/lights
o darks
o colors
o jeans
4. Order your Arrangement, with Characteristics of Subdivision and the Citation Order in Mind. Identify the Characteristics of Subdivision and the Citation Order Used.
The “Main Classes” within the laundry system were Laundry Supplies, Clean Laundry, and Dirty Laundry. Subclasses were picked to reflect location of items, ownership, characteristics of use within the laundry system, and color. The citation order is from broad to narrow. For example, Clean Laundry --
Luke’s dresser
Drawer #1
• 19 clean Luke jammies folded
5. Assign Notation to the Main Classes and to the Subclasses within Two of Your Main Classes.
Notation System
Laundry Supplies SUPPLIES
Laundry Room LAUNDRY
Laundry Sorters /Carriers SORT
Machinery MACH
Detergents SOAP
Stain solutions STAIN
Delicate Clothing solutions DEL
Wrinkle solutions NOIRON
Static solutions STAT
Clean Laundry CLEAN
Kitchen Drawer KD
Drawer #3 D3
Linen Closet LC
Bathroom Shelf BSH
Dad’s closet DADC
Dad’s dresser DADD
Drawer #3 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Mom’s closet MOMC
Rods R
Shelves SH
Old Towel Shelf OTS
Dad’s undie/ DADSSD
sock storage unit
Mom’s dresser MOMD
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #3 D3
Drawer #4 D4
Mom’s sweater cedar chest MOMSCC
Elena’s closet ELENAC
Elena’s short dresser #1 ELENASD#1
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Drawer #3 D3
Elena’s short dresser #2 ELENASD#2
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Drawer #3 D3
Elena’s tall dresser ELENATD
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #3 D3
Drawer #5 D5
Luke’s closet LUKEC
Luke’s dresser LUKED
Drawer #1 D1
Drawer #2 D2
Drawer #3 D3
Left Side Drawer LSD
Dirty Laundry DIRTY
whites/lights W
darks D
colors C
jeans J
Laundry Room LAUNDRY Mom’s Closet MOMC
Elena’s Room ELENAR
Luke’s Room LUKER
Final line of order is numeric.
6. Reflect.
One of my greatest pet peeves when my husband gets involved with the laundry around our house is that he is so disorganized. He doesn’t sort anything and therefore socks get lost, clothes remain stained, and it takes eons to put everything away for the entire family. I, on the other hand, have a system down where I am constantly sorting and organizing the laundry so that it ends up not only cleaner but also in the proper place in the fastest time possible. I’d love to take my Laundry Classification Scheme and somehow tag all of our laundry so that even the most laundry inept among our crew could sort the dirty properly, funnel it through the laundry system (the easiest part in my opinion!), and get it sorted and put away in it’s proper space rather than claiming ignorance and leaving it to MOM.
The system that I’ve constructed follows all of the basic rules of classification. It is USEFUL. Even Ernie can use it! The categories are clear and precise, they are easy enough for an elementary school student to understand. There is plenty of room to add to the system if the family grows or more laundry is added. You would think after all of that clean laundry came through the system during the construction of this project and was neatly put away in its proper place of order that the amount of dirty laundry would be in a reasonable state of affairs in the Josef household…but alas, the laundry till is full to the brim again. Ah well. Such is life in a household full of Ernies.
Monday, March 16, 2009
A Beautiful Sunday
There are moments in life where I find myself so deliciously happy that I am breathing it in as if it were a vapor I could savor. It’s moments like these that I wish I could capture in one of those lovely antique perfume bottles with the elegant glass stoppers so that I might relish a little bit of it again later. Instead I am left with memories that I am afraid may dull with time or be altogether forgotten.
Saturday was spent with a full day of studying that ended late at night with my body and head aching. My eyes felt like they were sunburned, I’d been at the computer so long. Little Miss Elena danced her way into my study space and announced that she was tired. “Me too,” I said, “Want to snuggle?” A big grin stretched across her face and she enthusiastically nodded yes. “And I’ll read you a story, Mama!” she cried. So we put on our jammies, brushed our teeth, and climbed into bed. As we snuggled, I nodded off to sleep to the story of a tiny mermaid read by our household’s newest reader.
Night owls are not early risers; and they love lazy Sunday mornings. I awoke to a beautiful smiling kindergartener snuggling me as she asked, “Can we turn on the Disney Channel Mama?!”
“Of course, sweetheart,” I replied. After all, how could anyone say no to that face?
Every time I tried to get up, my little one would snuggle in closer and wrap her arms and legs around me. “Don’t leave Mama!” Fits of giggles and silliness filled the room. After a while, however, I simply had to get up. Let’s face it; nature won’t wait!
“Breakfast!” I said. We went into the living room to find big brother playing Wii and kissed him “Good Morning”. Daddy had made blueberry muffins for us. We had muffins, strawberries, milk and juice. But the big event for Elena and I was the ballet – we were going to see Cinderella with her friend Sarah!
After breakfast, we got our clothes out for the ballet and got ready to get cleaned up. I washed Elena’s hair and she washed mine. “While you’re washing you have to sing the la la la song Lena. Like this…. La la la la la la la la ….la la la la la la la …la la la la la la la la,” I said. And whenever she would splash me with hot water I would let out a silly, “Ahhh!” When my turn came, Elena piled my hair up in all sorts of crazy hairstyles. She was fascinated by the way the soap held it in place. We had so much fun, we lost track of the time, and had to rush getting dressed. But our hair was squeaky clean!
We rushed to the ballet and I was in such a relaxed mood from my fun morning that not even the traffic in Philadelphia could irritate me. We were a few minutes late, but didn’t miss much. Sarah and her Mom were already there. The ballet was beautiful! Elena has been taking ballet since she was three and she is now six. She also takes tap now. My feeling is that if she ever stops having fun, we’re done. Right now, her favorite thing to do is sing and dance. She stood during about 30% of the ballet because she was itching to get up on stage and dance with everyone else. Every once in a while during the performance, her little arm would go up in a graceful pose in imitation of the ballerinas on stage. It was so endearing to watch. I’ve always loved dance and am so enjoying watching my daughter grow as a little dancer. It’s fun to share that interest.
One of the sweetest things was when she turned to me and asked who the dancer was playing Cinderella. We looked it up in the program and found out that it was Martha Chamberlain, the same dancer who played Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, her first professional ballet. When we went to that ballet two years ago, I bought a pair of Martha Chamberlain’s autographed toe shoes for Elena. When Elena figured this out, she turned to me and whispered, “If I had her shoes with me, she might recognize me and know me!” She’s now decided that Martha Chamberlain is her favorite principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet. Who knew a pair of shoes would make a little girl so happy?
It’s not to say that on this Sunday there weren’t little moments of annoyance, or irritation. My daughter certainly had her moments of “I’m hungry!” and “I don’t want…!” But for some reason they quickly faded to smiles and fun. It was one of those miraculous days when I felt like the tricks and trades of Motherhood were working in my favor. So while I may not have a bottle to place all of that love and happiness in, I suppose a blog will have to do until the next beautiful Sunday.
Saturday was spent with a full day of studying that ended late at night with my body and head aching. My eyes felt like they were sunburned, I’d been at the computer so long. Little Miss Elena danced her way into my study space and announced that she was tired. “Me too,” I said, “Want to snuggle?” A big grin stretched across her face and she enthusiastically nodded yes. “And I’ll read you a story, Mama!” she cried. So we put on our jammies, brushed our teeth, and climbed into bed. As we snuggled, I nodded off to sleep to the story of a tiny mermaid read by our household’s newest reader.
Night owls are not early risers; and they love lazy Sunday mornings. I awoke to a beautiful smiling kindergartener snuggling me as she asked, “Can we turn on the Disney Channel Mama?!”
“Of course, sweetheart,” I replied. After all, how could anyone say no to that face?
Every time I tried to get up, my little one would snuggle in closer and wrap her arms and legs around me. “Don’t leave Mama!” Fits of giggles and silliness filled the room. After a while, however, I simply had to get up. Let’s face it; nature won’t wait!
“Breakfast!” I said. We went into the living room to find big brother playing Wii and kissed him “Good Morning”. Daddy had made blueberry muffins for us. We had muffins, strawberries, milk and juice. But the big event for Elena and I was the ballet – we were going to see Cinderella with her friend Sarah!
After breakfast, we got our clothes out for the ballet and got ready to get cleaned up. I washed Elena’s hair and she washed mine. “While you’re washing you have to sing the la la la song Lena. Like this…. La la la la la la la la ….la la la la la la la …la la la la la la la la,” I said. And whenever she would splash me with hot water I would let out a silly, “Ahhh!” When my turn came, Elena piled my hair up in all sorts of crazy hairstyles. She was fascinated by the way the soap held it in place. We had so much fun, we lost track of the time, and had to rush getting dressed. But our hair was squeaky clean!
We rushed to the ballet and I was in such a relaxed mood from my fun morning that not even the traffic in Philadelphia could irritate me. We were a few minutes late, but didn’t miss much. Sarah and her Mom were already there. The ballet was beautiful! Elena has been taking ballet since she was three and she is now six. She also takes tap now. My feeling is that if she ever stops having fun, we’re done. Right now, her favorite thing to do is sing and dance. She stood during about 30% of the ballet because she was itching to get up on stage and dance with everyone else. Every once in a while during the performance, her little arm would go up in a graceful pose in imitation of the ballerinas on stage. It was so endearing to watch. I’ve always loved dance and am so enjoying watching my daughter grow as a little dancer. It’s fun to share that interest.
One of the sweetest things was when she turned to me and asked who the dancer was playing Cinderella. We looked it up in the program and found out that it was Martha Chamberlain, the same dancer who played Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, her first professional ballet. When we went to that ballet two years ago, I bought a pair of Martha Chamberlain’s autographed toe shoes for Elena. When Elena figured this out, she turned to me and whispered, “If I had her shoes with me, she might recognize me and know me!” She’s now decided that Martha Chamberlain is her favorite principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet. Who knew a pair of shoes would make a little girl so happy?
It’s not to say that on this Sunday there weren’t little moments of annoyance, or irritation. My daughter certainly had her moments of “I’m hungry!” and “I don’t want…!” But for some reason they quickly faded to smiles and fun. It was one of those miraculous days when I felt like the tricks and trades of Motherhood were working in my favor. So while I may not have a bottle to place all of that love and happiness in, I suppose a blog will have to do until the next beautiful Sunday.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
I Think I'll Keep You
“Hey Mama!” My 6-year-old screamed from the third row of the minivan on our ride to school.
“Yes, sweetie?” I replied over the sugar beat of our blaring pop-music.
“You’re the best Mama in the world! I think I’ll keep you!” she yelled back.
“Gee thanks Lane!” I replied, “I think I’ll keep you too!”
“Of COURSE you will,” she said with the utmost certainty, “I’m a part of YOU!” And with that she burst out giggling as if I’d said the silliest thing ever!
The little devil on my shoulder nudged me for a moment and said, “Go on and tease her – tell her you could send her out for adoption!” Then the angel came out and said, “Nah, she’s too young – and look how well you’ve done your job mothering! She gets it that your love is unconditional!”
And so I said, “You’re so right Lane!”
How lucky my children are to be growing up safe and secure knowing that they are loved unconditionally. That is better than anything else I can give them as a mother. They have toys, and clothes, food, and books. They go to school, I am very involved, they are smart, and healthy, but most of all they know that they are loved unconditionally. I know that I am doing my job well.
This semester at Pitt I’ve been reading a lot of Young Adult books about kids who don’t have home lives like my kids. Part of the draw to the job as a librarian is that maybe I can make a difference in the lives of other people’s children. I truly believe that it does take a village.
“Yes, sweetie?” I replied over the sugar beat of our blaring pop-music.
“You’re the best Mama in the world! I think I’ll keep you!” she yelled back.
“Gee thanks Lane!” I replied, “I think I’ll keep you too!”
“Of COURSE you will,” she said with the utmost certainty, “I’m a part of YOU!” And with that she burst out giggling as if I’d said the silliest thing ever!
The little devil on my shoulder nudged me for a moment and said, “Go on and tease her – tell her you could send her out for adoption!” Then the angel came out and said, “Nah, she’s too young – and look how well you’ve done your job mothering! She gets it that your love is unconditional!”
And so I said, “You’re so right Lane!”
How lucky my children are to be growing up safe and secure knowing that they are loved unconditionally. That is better than anything else I can give them as a mother. They have toys, and clothes, food, and books. They go to school, I am very involved, they are smart, and healthy, but most of all they know that they are loved unconditionally. I know that I am doing my job well.
This semester at Pitt I’ve been reading a lot of Young Adult books about kids who don’t have home lives like my kids. Part of the draw to the job as a librarian is that maybe I can make a difference in the lives of other people’s children. I truly believe that it does take a village.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Ending Decades and Ushering in New Ones
For most people, turning 40 is quite a momentous occasion. I turned 40 at the end of 2007 which made 2008 my real year of actually being 40. I didn’t really look at being 40 as all that big of a deal. My husband is six years older than I am, most of my friends were already there, and heck, I don’t look too bad. Besides, I don’t even have grey hair and I am banking on my paternal grandmother’s genes to kick in giving me my dark blond hair into my seventies.
What I didn’t bank on was the rollercoaster ride of change I’d find myself on in 2008. As the country rolled through it’s own changes I went on my own journey searching for how to deal with my own personal challenges. As much as I love motherhood, I hadn’t realized how much my personal sacrifice had taken out of me and needed to find a way to bring balance back into the picture.
The country continued to stir with election turmoil and debate and the economy suffered one setback after another. I applied to graduate school in July, got accepted and at the same time was offered a part-time job in Delaware. It seemed like suddenly my life was a whirlwind! I started reconnecting with friends I hadn’t talked to in years through Facebook. By election time, the country was in a frenzy, I was in a frenzy, but I was having fun.
After finally slowing down through the holidays and soaking in some quality time with friends and family, I look forward to this last year of the first decade of the 2000’s. I do have a little pang from the New Year however. It looks as though the paternal grandmother’s genes may not come through for me after all. My sister-in-law’s bathroom mirror doesn’t lie as well as mine does and showed off just a few strands of grey hair in my dark blond hair. Ah well, guess it may be time to hit the salon.
What I didn’t bank on was the rollercoaster ride of change I’d find myself on in 2008. As the country rolled through it’s own changes I went on my own journey searching for how to deal with my own personal challenges. As much as I love motherhood, I hadn’t realized how much my personal sacrifice had taken out of me and needed to find a way to bring balance back into the picture.
The country continued to stir with election turmoil and debate and the economy suffered one setback after another. I applied to graduate school in July, got accepted and at the same time was offered a part-time job in Delaware. It seemed like suddenly my life was a whirlwind! I started reconnecting with friends I hadn’t talked to in years through Facebook. By election time, the country was in a frenzy, I was in a frenzy, but I was having fun.
After finally slowing down through the holidays and soaking in some quality time with friends and family, I look forward to this last year of the first decade of the 2000’s. I do have a little pang from the New Year however. It looks as though the paternal grandmother’s genes may not come through for me after all. My sister-in-law’s bathroom mirror doesn’t lie as well as mine does and showed off just a few strands of grey hair in my dark blond hair. Ah well, guess it may be time to hit the salon.
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