If I could answer that, I’d be rich. I can tell you one of our number one mistakes has been letting politicians mandate what goes on in the classroom, instead of schools and those trained for it orchestrating the framework for learning.
When President Bush got the NCLB bandwagon rolling, no one understood the full concept. It sounds good—No Child Left Behind. However, as harsh as it sounds, teachers can only move forward with the kids who want to move forward. Someone will be left behind, because in this country, nearly 7% of our kids want to drop out of school. If we focus too much time and energy on those who don’t want help, what’s happening to everyone else in the meantime? The bottom 7% will wander off into the sunset to work at McDonald’s or suck the marrow out of the welfare system, and in the meantime, we’ll be letting a new 7% flounder…Bush’s plan is to keep that average up. Think about that for a moment. Let’s increase the average, matter of fact, let’s keep all kids ABOVE average… Did President Bush take math? I’ve seen him blunder statements about fool him once, shame on him, etc. So perhaps someone should tip him that an average is created by numbers above and BELOW it… Teachers understand the reality: we will leave some kids behind. Not because we want to, but because it’s the nature of education…in America.
However, the idealism of NCLB works in Asia. Have you seen Shift Happens? If you haven’t, you should. Because as we face the stressors of keeping American children motivated, other countries are leaving us to eat their dust. The difference? Families. Homes. Respect. Expectations.
I have friends in the PhD program with me who are from China, Korea, Taiwan. Their children don’t talk back to them. Their children don’t expect to be entertained 24/7 by XBoxes, iPods, or teachers. They spend nearly 10 hours a day learning, and their common language? English. They understand that to fail in school is to let their families down. Drugs are for gangbangers and criminals, not casual use on a Friday night. What have these countries done that we haven’t? If we don’t find out soon, America won’t be the leading innovator in anything, not even the highest percentage of English speaking citizens. We’ve taken the melting pot concept to an all-time high. It’s projected that by 2015, the most prominent language in our country will be Spanish, while China and India will be 100% English speaking (as a first or second language). The most startling fact is that our percentage of those living in poverty or supported by the state will exceed those who, well, aren’t. While we’re focusing on how to keep our kids off the streets, off drugs, and out of gangs, Asian countries will be figuring out how to get all American products outsourced to them. They’re well on their way.
To break this cycle, we must address the other number one mistake we’ve made – parents need to step up and remember they are their kids first teacher. We’ll have to decide: Am I going to be politically correct and reason with my child or be a parent and raise my child?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
My Own Bucket List
After seeing the movie on Friday, I think Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman have tapped into something inspiring. If you haven't seen it, The Bucket List, the basic message is to live life to its fullest before you die. Therefore, make a list of all the things you'd like to do before you kick the bucket.
I was inspired enough to start my own "Bucket List" and it got me thinking…in the words of Tim McGraw, we should all "live like we were dying." Instead, what we do is live to exist, to pay the bills, work for the weekend, don't pass go until Friday… But life isn't just from Friday at 5:00 until Monday morning. It doesn't pause for the stress of the work-week, for early bedtimes and higher stress, it doesn't say anywhere that you should only grill in the summer and only go out on the weekends. One thing I've learned is to catch a movie on a Wednesday night or play cards on a Monday. Nothing erases the stressors of work faster than play. And adults forget how cleansing play can be.
My New Year's Resolution is always to work out more, to make time to get in shape. As a former college athlete, it's a no-brainer. But this year, I'm going to wrap that in a different package. My resolution is to play more, spend more time laughing, focus on what's really important: living.
I was inspired enough to start my own "Bucket List" and it got me thinking…in the words of Tim McGraw, we should all "live like we were dying." Instead, what we do is live to exist, to pay the bills, work for the weekend, don't pass go until Friday… But life isn't just from Friday at 5:00 until Monday morning. It doesn't pause for the stress of the work-week, for early bedtimes and higher stress, it doesn't say anywhere that you should only grill in the summer and only go out on the weekends. One thing I've learned is to catch a movie on a Wednesday night or play cards on a Monday. Nothing erases the stressors of work faster than play. And adults forget how cleansing play can be.
My New Year's Resolution is always to work out more, to make time to get in shape. As a former college athlete, it's a no-brainer. But this year, I'm going to wrap that in a different package. My resolution is to play more, spend more time laughing, focus on what's really important: living.
Monday, January 7, 2008
A New Civil Rights Movement…
I was born in a decade of civil unrest. Riots, anger, supremist mentality…despite the summer of love, the sixties echoed with turmoil and hatred. Rising in the time were brave voices, strong resistors, people who fought for what they believed in without fists or bloodshed. Where are the Martins and Bobbys now? Who would step up and fill Rosa's shoes, advocate with Medger, lead with JFK? Turbulent times called for calm leadership, and someone always stepped up.
After a visit to Memphis, I'm left wondering who could step forward now. With the rising youth movement of gang mentality, a sense of entitlement from most under the age of twenty, a dropout rate soaring…we need a Martin Luther King, Jr. Someone to stand up and open the eyes of a generation blind to the realities of the world they're ignoring. Are we leaving that to the idols of today? Eminem? Allen Iverson? Michael Vick?
There are saviors, but too many of us pay little attention to what matters. Movements center on the environment, politics, religion…while these rank high on the importance list, nothing outweighs the future of our youth.
I was in junior high during the late seventies -- skyrocketing gas during the energy crisis, hostages in Iran, a peanut farmer's down-home attitude in the White House. Being a teenager was tough, times were tough, but nothing like the Civil Rights era. And now…years after most nations have long-since had female and minority leaders, the U.S. continues to battle issues spawned by racism and classism. We've gotten nowhere, except in the midst of an overly obsessed era of political correctness. Coupled with the spiral down a drug-gang toilet, we've succeeded in preserving all the worst components of past decades. My generation saw to that.
Violence has been a central theme in our nation since its inception. Good for us…at least we have some nostalgia for our past. It's time for someone to step up, to impose a positive spin on a generation in dire need of help, of leadership, of hope.
We can only pray people will listen.
After a visit to Memphis, I'm left wondering who could step forward now. With the rising youth movement of gang mentality, a sense of entitlement from most under the age of twenty, a dropout rate soaring…we need a Martin Luther King, Jr. Someone to stand up and open the eyes of a generation blind to the realities of the world they're ignoring. Are we leaving that to the idols of today? Eminem? Allen Iverson? Michael Vick?
There are saviors, but too many of us pay little attention to what matters. Movements center on the environment, politics, religion…while these rank high on the importance list, nothing outweighs the future of our youth.
I was in junior high during the late seventies -- skyrocketing gas during the energy crisis, hostages in Iran, a peanut farmer's down-home attitude in the White House. Being a teenager was tough, times were tough, but nothing like the Civil Rights era. And now…years after most nations have long-since had female and minority leaders, the U.S. continues to battle issues spawned by racism and classism. We've gotten nowhere, except in the midst of an overly obsessed era of political correctness. Coupled with the spiral down a drug-gang toilet, we've succeeded in preserving all the worst components of past decades. My generation saw to that.
Violence has been a central theme in our nation since its inception. Good for us…at least we have some nostalgia for our past. It's time for someone to step up, to impose a positive spin on a generation in dire need of help, of leadership, of hope.
We can only pray people will listen.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Speak Up for More than Just a TV Show...
The Shifting Sand and Sorrow
This weekend I saw Sand and Sorrow on HBO…every human being should be required to watch this documentary of what's gone on in the Sudan.
We're an educated people, yet we're making ignoring an artform. How can a country so intent on being the world's police disregard what's going on in Darfur? We barge in where we're often not wanted, yet we allow the brutal genocide of a people who desperately need and want our help. It’s staggering to know that, in my lifetime, there has been genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and is currently happening in the Sudan. We are repulsed by Adolf Hitler, but he is at least four times removed and has been emulated by other fascist extremists, and it will certainly happen again.
The Sudanese are making their place in history, their careful destruction of non-Arabic citizens. What is wrong with us? The human race, I mean… Are we so barbaric that we condone the kind of thinking that says, "Hey, you all don't like people with green eyes? I guess we can't argue with that mentality. Go ahead and kill them, but can you do it while cameras aren't watching?"
I'm proud to be an American…I enjoy the freedoms my country offers. I admire and support our troops, regardless of the missions they enforce. Those who oppose the war in Iraq have to be able to separate the message from the messenger. We must support our troops, no matter what. And if the American mentality is to restore peace throughout the world, I don't know how we can ignore what is happening to the Darfur population. Left to starve to death, they rely on aid simply to survive. A group of people who once thrived on commerce and their own resources. The Sudanese government decided those of non-Arabic descent needed to be 'abolished,' so now, after hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered, several million are left to starve to death.
Have you had enough to eat this year? What have you bought that you've thrown in a closet, a drawer, a cabinet, never to be used again? This is more than just about money… this is about a voice, action, holding people accountable. You can read this and think, I can't help…they won't do anything anyway.
How will you know unless you try?
Write your senator, your representative, even your president…this is a nation of people who demanded a TV show being cancelled be resurrected by sending corporate America packages of peanuts. Yes, peanuts. Hundreds of thousands of them. The rallying cry of Jericho fans -- Nuts! -- was heard, and the show is being brought back. If we can get people to listen to what we want on TV, imagine if we collectively cried out for help for those less fortunate…our own homeless, our battered wives, our abused children. Wealthy Americans have embraced causes by donating their time and massive amounts of money, but only a government can enforce the kind of change needed in a small country being systematically destroyed across the Atlantic.
If we reserve our energy only for TV shows, what does that say about us?
· Armenians in Turkey: 1915-1918 - 1,500,000 Deaths
· Stalin's Forced Famine: 1932-1933 - 7,000,000 Deaths
· Rape of Nanking: 1937-1938 - 300,000 Deaths
· Nazi Holocaust: 1938-1945 - 6,000,000 Deaths
· Pol Pot in Cambodia: 1975-1979 - 2,000,000 Deaths
· Rwanda: 1994 - 800,000 Deaths
· Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1992-1995 - 200,000 Deaths
· Darfur: 2004-present - 400,000 dead; 2,500,000 refugees
"Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." ~ George Santayana
This weekend I saw Sand and Sorrow on HBO…every human being should be required to watch this documentary of what's gone on in the Sudan.
We're an educated people, yet we're making ignoring an artform. How can a country so intent on being the world's police disregard what's going on in Darfur? We barge in where we're often not wanted, yet we allow the brutal genocide of a people who desperately need and want our help. It’s staggering to know that, in my lifetime, there has been genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and is currently happening in the Sudan. We are repulsed by Adolf Hitler, but he is at least four times removed and has been emulated by other fascist extremists, and it will certainly happen again.
The Sudanese are making their place in history, their careful destruction of non-Arabic citizens. What is wrong with us? The human race, I mean… Are we so barbaric that we condone the kind of thinking that says, "Hey, you all don't like people with green eyes? I guess we can't argue with that mentality. Go ahead and kill them, but can you do it while cameras aren't watching?"
I'm proud to be an American…I enjoy the freedoms my country offers. I admire and support our troops, regardless of the missions they enforce. Those who oppose the war in Iraq have to be able to separate the message from the messenger. We must support our troops, no matter what. And if the American mentality is to restore peace throughout the world, I don't know how we can ignore what is happening to the Darfur population. Left to starve to death, they rely on aid simply to survive. A group of people who once thrived on commerce and their own resources. The Sudanese government decided those of non-Arabic descent needed to be 'abolished,' so now, after hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered, several million are left to starve to death.
Have you had enough to eat this year? What have you bought that you've thrown in a closet, a drawer, a cabinet, never to be used again? This is more than just about money… this is about a voice, action, holding people accountable. You can read this and think, I can't help…they won't do anything anyway.
How will you know unless you try?
Write your senator, your representative, even your president…this is a nation of people who demanded a TV show being cancelled be resurrected by sending corporate America packages of peanuts. Yes, peanuts. Hundreds of thousands of them. The rallying cry of Jericho fans -- Nuts! -- was heard, and the show is being brought back. If we can get people to listen to what we want on TV, imagine if we collectively cried out for help for those less fortunate…our own homeless, our battered wives, our abused children. Wealthy Americans have embraced causes by donating their time and massive amounts of money, but only a government can enforce the kind of change needed in a small country being systematically destroyed across the Atlantic.
If we reserve our energy only for TV shows, what does that say about us?
· Armenians in Turkey: 1915-1918 - 1,500,000 Deaths
· Stalin's Forced Famine: 1932-1933 - 7,000,000 Deaths
· Rape of Nanking: 1937-1938 - 300,000 Deaths
· Nazi Holocaust: 1938-1945 - 6,000,000 Deaths
· Pol Pot in Cambodia: 1975-1979 - 2,000,000 Deaths
· Rwanda: 1994 - 800,000 Deaths
· Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1992-1995 - 200,000 Deaths
· Darfur: 2004-present - 400,000 dead; 2,500,000 refugees
"Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." ~ George Santayana
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Future Writers of America!
Many of the events I do are so rewarding because I get to interact with great kids who are either avid readers, aspiring writers, or just interested in what being an author is like. This past weekend, I got to be touched by two different groups of teenagers and elementary-aged kids.
Friday, I did a video-conference through the Cooperating School District in St. Louis, connecting with Saeger Middle School in the Francis Howell School District. I talked to a group of 8th graders, and it really took me back to my Oakland classroom teaching days. These kids were fun, inquisitive, and reminded me what I loved about teaching! it was my first experience doing a video conference, and to have interaction with kids via TV was amazing! Plus, the teenagers had some incredibly insightful questions.
Click here and scroll down for photos of the event.
On Saturday, I got a second dose when I did a keynote stint for the Saturday Writers workshop: “Writing for Readers of Any Age.” I talked to a group of adult writers, as well as young writers (elementary through secondary aged). After my keynote, I did a breakout session with the kids that couldn’t help but make me smile! Along with their kids, many of the parents took part as well, and just to see the involvement was inspiring. By the end of the day, I’d made friends with people I’d never met, and had young writers planning to e-mail their work to me so I could critique it.
As a writer, there’s no greater compliment than for other writers to want your advice. To truly take that responsibility to heart can not only inspire future writers, it can also inspire the same generosity in others. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
Friday, I did a video-conference through the Cooperating School District in St. Louis, connecting with Saeger Middle School in the Francis Howell School District. I talked to a group of 8th graders, and it really took me back to my Oakland classroom teaching days. These kids were fun, inquisitive, and reminded me what I loved about teaching! it was my first experience doing a video conference, and to have interaction with kids via TV was amazing! Plus, the teenagers had some incredibly insightful questions.
Click here and scroll down for photos of the event.
On Saturday, I got a second dose when I did a keynote stint for the Saturday Writers workshop: “Writing for Readers of Any Age.” I talked to a group of adult writers, as well as young writers (elementary through secondary aged). After my keynote, I did a breakout session with the kids that couldn’t help but make me smile! Along with their kids, many of the parents took part as well, and just to see the involvement was inspiring. By the end of the day, I’d made friends with people I’d never met, and had young writers planning to e-mail their work to me so I could critique it.
As a writer, there’s no greater compliment than for other writers to want your advice. To truly take that responsibility to heart can not only inspire future writers, it can also inspire the same generosity in others. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
Friday, November 23, 2007
I'm Thankful...
Last Thursday night I spoke to the St. Louis Writers Guild at the Barnes & Noble in Ladue, and I'm thankful so many writers want to be inspired…
Friday, I drove to Springfield to receive an award as Professional of the Year from the LDA organization for my work with high school Kickapoo senior Henry Stratmann III. I'm thankful for generous people, and that I was honored in such a touching way.
Friday night and Saturday, I got to spend time with my mom and brother since they were going to be in San Antonio for my niece's wedding over Thanksgiving. I'm thankful the award took me through Lebanon to see them…
This week, I got a break from classes, from pressures, from the constant barrage of expectations…a big Thanksgiving dinner with my family reminded me exactly what this holiday is all about. It isn't a feeding frenzy, it isn't football overload, it isn't pecan pie… I'm thankful to men who've fought for our country, for soldiers who continue to keep us safe and free.
Saturday I have a booksigning at the Borders Bookstore in Lee's Summit. It's back to the grind, back to the highway, back to the world of 8 Days, Slipping, and Dregs… I'm thankful I have a reason for such demand, that I chased my dream and it came true…
I'm thankful for the time, the energy, the motivation, and the support network to live this dream, to pursue my PhD, to enjoy the rewards of it. Imagine living somewhere that not only didn't allow me the luxury of chasing such a dream…Imagine living somewhere that discouraged dreams altogether… I'm thankful I don't.
Friday, I drove to Springfield to receive an award as Professional of the Year from the LDA organization for my work with high school Kickapoo senior Henry Stratmann III. I'm thankful for generous people, and that I was honored in such a touching way.
Friday night and Saturday, I got to spend time with my mom and brother since they were going to be in San Antonio for my niece's wedding over Thanksgiving. I'm thankful the award took me through Lebanon to see them…
This week, I got a break from classes, from pressures, from the constant barrage of expectations…a big Thanksgiving dinner with my family reminded me exactly what this holiday is all about. It isn't a feeding frenzy, it isn't football overload, it isn't pecan pie… I'm thankful to men who've fought for our country, for soldiers who continue to keep us safe and free.
Saturday I have a booksigning at the Borders Bookstore in Lee's Summit. It's back to the grind, back to the highway, back to the world of 8 Days, Slipping, and Dregs… I'm thankful I have a reason for such demand, that I chased my dream and it came true…
I'm thankful for the time, the energy, the motivation, and the support network to live this dream, to pursue my PhD, to enjoy the rewards of it. Imagine living somewhere that not only didn't allow me the luxury of chasing such a dream…Imagine living somewhere that discouraged dreams altogether… I'm thankful I don't.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Conferences, Events, and Networking…oh, my!
For the past few weeks, I've been doing different writerly things. Instead of the usual Borders signings or talking at schools, I've gone to a library signing with a group of other writers, and this past weekend, I attended the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild conference (The Write Direction). It was the first conference I'd gone to in forever as a participant and not a presenter, and for once, I could relax, listen, take notes, and not be worrying about the session I would be giving later.
I got pumped about writing the screenplay for 8 Days. I was inspired to do more with my website, and when the day was done, I had 6 pages of notes of all the things I wanted to do. Of course, during a conference, I'm always prone to making To-Do lists (at the top is always Blog on Monday) but for the most part, I was engaged the entire time and felt inspired by the day. I wish published writers could get together more just for time to bounce ideas off one another and not feel pressured to sell, sign, and smile all day long!
Of course, I love the smiling and signing part…it's the selling that gets wearisome. But then again, it's better than the alternative, right? Yep, when I get tired after a weekend writing event, I have to stop and remind myself what life was like BB (Before Books). I might've had more time and not be forced to watch recordings of Mizzou or the Chiefs, but then again, I wasn't living my dream either.
You just gotta pinch yourself sometimes!
I got pumped about writing the screenplay for 8 Days. I was inspired to do more with my website, and when the day was done, I had 6 pages of notes of all the things I wanted to do. Of course, during a conference, I'm always prone to making To-Do lists (at the top is always Blog on Monday) but for the most part, I was engaged the entire time and felt inspired by the day. I wish published writers could get together more just for time to bounce ideas off one another and not feel pressured to sell, sign, and smile all day long!
Of course, I love the smiling and signing part…it's the selling that gets wearisome. But then again, it's better than the alternative, right? Yep, when I get tired after a weekend writing event, I have to stop and remind myself what life was like BB (Before Books). I might've had more time and not be forced to watch recordings of Mizzou or the Chiefs, but then again, I wasn't living my dream either.
You just gotta pinch yourself sometimes!
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