Tag Archives: Yes we can

>Amigo gets athletic, takes show on the road

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>”Mom, you should write a post about me and wrestling and going to Ohio.”

Wow. The teenager wants me to post about him? Cool! And his new involvement in athletic competition is cool, too.
He called us Saturday night as they got on the bus to come home from a wrestling meet in Ohio. The state schools for the blind compete against each other, which means travel. Road Trip! Amigo enjoys road trips, so this is just another piece of the whole positive experience. He can tell me the route they took to get from Wisconsin to the other schools, the choices of highways if there are more options than one. He packs his armband radio and explores the states by finding local radio stations and getting local flavor.
Back to Saturday night. He talked about the meet, how he’d done, and the ribbon he had that he could bring home. Of course we talked about the upcoming Super Bowl – did you have any doubts, readers? He’s as wild and crazy a Packers fan as I am. As his bus rumbled down the Ohio turnpike, Amigo shared updates of the meet and I shared updates from home, including Super Bowl plans.
Sunday night he called again. There was one more adventure on the road; the bus broke down near Champaign, Illinois. The repair was major, a new bus had to come get them, and they arrived back at their dorms in Wisconsin at (are you ready for this?) 5:30 A.M. Sunday. Ouch. He slept until noon, and was still tired when we talked to him Sunday night.
Wrestling is his third sport this year. Amigo started the year in track and field, then participated in Goal Ball, and followed those with wrestling. We were amazed at first; he’s a sports fan, but other than the Challenger League summer baseball, he’d never competed in team sports.
He’s had a great experience in many, many ways. Enjoying practice with his peers, making progress in his own abilities, surprising himself in competition, win or lose.
And then there were the road trips. He and I might have to do more road tripping next summer; he has so many stories to tell, and being on the road is a great way to bond and share tales.
As long as he doesn’t expect me to wrestle with him, all will be well.

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>Dreams

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>In the wake of the Tragedy in Tucson, and in recognition of Dr. King’s Dream, below is a re-post from times past.

I dream that differences will be valued, not disdained.
Eye color, hair color, body shapes, and skin shades will be appreciated for their beauty and variety.
Cultural traditions will not disappear, but will thrive and grow together into a rich and fascinating sharing of knowledge and beliefs.
I dream that blindness will be merely a different way of seeing, and deafness impair only the quantity, not the quality of the language ‘heard’.
Children will matter because they own the future. Their education, academic and social, will become and remain of utmost importance.
The mediators and the peacemakers will be recognized as the strongest leaders.
Questions will come from curiosity, not ignorance, and the answers will breed respect.
Knowing each other, knowing ourselves, will lead to knowing that fights and conflicts, wars of all kinds, will cease to be of value.

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>For Christina

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Christina Taylor Green will be mourned and buried today. Vibrant, positive, excited about life, she sounds like an amazing young woman.
Christina was a Child of Hope: a baby born as our world turned upside down on September 11, 2001. she was killed in another public day of violence as our world turned upside down once again.
Baseball, ballet, horses, science. church, choir, student council. She was enthusiastic and involved in everything possible. Photos show her smiling, grinning, looking eager for the next adventure.
Christina attended the ill-fated town meeting to meet her representative in Congress and learn more about politics. She was sincerely interested in making a difference, perhaps by running for office and making a life of public service.
Christina won’t get that chance. Her life was cut short in a senseless and violent shooting rampage. Are there any other kinds of shooting rampages? Do any make sense? Of course not. An early and violent death like Christina’s doesn’t make sense, either.
I keep using her name so that Christina stays real: not just the nine-year-old killed in an unbelievable event. Not just the student council girl who wanted to meet her congresswoman. She was a real person, a daughter, a neighbor, a student, a sister, a friend.
Christina didn’t get to live her dreams and her passions. For young dreamer Christina, gone too soon, I call on the rest of us to step forward and make a difference.

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>Setting goals? Go greener.

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>I frequently admit that while I lean to the green, I’m not as green as I could be. While my family is far from no-impact, we do find ways to lower our impact on the planet. If you’re setting goals on the green side, here are a few that are easy to implement.

Bring your own bag. Many, many stores offer discounts when a shopper brings a bag. It may be 5 cents off the total, but if you bring five bags every time you shop, it’ll add up. It’ll also reduce the amount of garbage or recycling in the house when those paper or plastic bags stop piling up in the corner. For people who forget; make it a fun and easy habit. I keep two collapsible bags in my purse at all times and another in the car’s glove box. Buy a pretty one that you’ll want to use! It’s a mind game, yes, like many other goals.

Water bottles. Remember my review of the Filtrete pitcher? The family likes it. We’re drinking more water, staying better hydrated, and Chuck & La Petite are using fewer plastic bottles. I’m buying a replacement filter so we can continue using the filter pitcher. Filtered water makes good coffee, too. need I say more? Like the BYOBag goal, easy and convenient goals are more likely to continue and become habit.
Garbage. This one is new to the family, but it fits. The city offered residents a chance to downsize their curbside garbage bins, the ones picked up by the automated trucks. The reward is – it’s free, rather than a small charge for the big ones. We chose to take them up on their offer. It’ll be tougher in the winter when we’re composting less and the bunny litter doesn’t go on the brush pile, but we can do it. The real reward isn’t the absence of this small charge; the real reward is knowing we’re contributing less to the landfill.
I expect 2011 to be a year of change in many ways. One attitude that will not change is this; we’ll take care of our world as much as we can, acting locally while thinking big.

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>Donors Choose Update: oh, yes.

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>I was honestly thinking of writing about compassion fatigue: generous people who just can’t give any more. With so many free-lunch students I can’t even count them, families who have trouble buying pencils, and my own budget shrinking, I have a hard time coming up with a few pennies no matter how worthy the cause.

And then I got the benchmark reading levels for my class. Seven fourth graders, only one with a diagnosed learning disability, all reading at a first grade level. Kids reading at the level of Frog and Toad, Henry and Mudge, Little Bear. But they didn’t want to be caught reading Little Bear in front of their peers.
So I went to work. Research: where can I find high -interest, low-reading level books for these students? All want to read. They want to read cool books, fun books. So I found cool, fun, and easy books. And oh, my, were they pricey. Buying any quantity for teaching purposes would require a significant investment.
I wrote to several civic groups. I had missed the fall deadline for one. One turned me down saying we didn’t “fit their mission,” but referred me to another source. Yet another funded some more glamorous projects. Face it; books aren’t sexy, no matter how necessary.
Then along came DonorsChoose.org. I found them after writing a post for MomCentral Consulting, a PR post announcing their Bing “Our School Needs” project. One of the perks of writing a post was a donation credit code for DonorsChoose.org. You guessed it; I wrote my own project so I could keep my donation code at home, er, at my own school.
I shamelessly promoted this project through Plurk, Twitter, and my own blog. Other bloggers promoted it, too, and even donated. Yesterday I got the exciting news: my project was closed. Funded completely. Done.
Oh. My. Goodness. I could hardly sit still. Even though I’ve verified the orders and downloaded the thank you package, I’m still in a bit of happy shock.
The biggest and happiest surprise was the speed at which the project finished. Several donors ate away very quickly at the first hundred. Then a large donor, a foundation new to me, stepped in and finished the job.
Douglas and Maria Bayer Foundation, I applaud you. My students will thank you, too – as soon as I get their photo releases and help them write the letters. Seeing the project fully funded so soon and with a major generous donor really knocked my socks off. It’s wonderful to see that despite all the needs in our world, compassion and generosity still thrive.
Now, about those donor codes? The school down the road has a project, too. It’s time to Pay it Forward.

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>Seeking the elusive balance

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>Regular readers know that I’m in the midst of an extremely stressful school year. Health issues in September made that even harder. I usually de-stress by gardening, visiting the farmers’ market, and then cooking or canning what I harvest and buy. While on crutches, playing in the kitchen wasn’t an option. Walking around downtown to buy fresh food wasn’t in the cards, either.

Seeking balance is tough. I’m recovering from the bout with gout, and my feet and ankles are slowly but surely regaining strength. I’ve learned to avoid the worst of the bullies at school (yes, some of my coworkers are nasty). Nightmares about school disturb my sleep or wake me in a cold sweat with a tension backache.
I make lemonade with the lemons I’ve been given by writing grants, procuring books, and preparing a DonorsChoose.org project that will benefit my neediest students.
A recent weekend showed the challenge of successful balance.
Spreading compost on the gardens takes strength, risks injuring weak ankle and sore back. But it feels so good, so productive, and sets up for a successful spring planting. What to do?
I always bring home a bag full of schoolwork. Bringing out these papers and projects takes time and concentration and risks taking my train of thought to scary-stressful tangents. A stack of math or science papers can send my blood pressure sky high, but this work has to be done. What to do?
The family needs to be fed, the blog needs updating, and there’s laundry to wash, dry, fold, and stash. Well? Now what?
Balance. I drafted the bulk of a math project, a summary and plan of a recent geometry unit for a math training institute I started last summer. With a focus on the task at hand (and the washer and dryer running while I worked), I created a strong rough draft that will need only a few additions and revisions Monday before the class meets on Tuesday.
Then I grabbed a shovel and went to play in the dirt. Now I can stand and contemplate with pride the compost and soil on top of the barriers on the mint bed. After a few months under the snow and ice, this section will be available for better use in the spring. I stopped after this (three wheelbarrow-loads of compost was enough shoveling for the day) and went back inside.
More laundry: wash, dry, fold, stash.
Updated blog, planned more posts for later in the week, knowing I’d be in meetings at least three days after school and have limited blog time.
There was more, and Chuck kept wondering why I didn’t stick to just one project. Alternating physical and mental and emotionally-charged tasks helped keep me balanced. And after that, taking a break by the fireplace and doing a little recipe research helped plan for decent healthy eating later in the week. That’s another good time investment; takes pressure off to think, plan, and cook at 4:30 after struggling to teach in a rough environment all day.
Balance? I might never achieve the elusive goal. Maybe someday I’ll reach that point. For now, what I’m doing can only help keep the effects of major stresses at bay.

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>Top Ten Reasons to worry about the upcoming election

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  • The opponent in our Senate race thinks global warming doesn’t exist.
  • The opponent in our Congressional race plans to get rid of Social Security as we know it.
  • One candidate for governor plans to scrap our public pension plan, effectively cutting my income by 30%.
  • The opposing candidate for Senate is out of touch with the middle class, which means me.
  • The opposing candidate for Congress has moved in and out of the district several times; whom does he really represent?
  • Many candidates talk about cutting taxes by reducing education budgets – budgets that have already been cut to the bone.
  • Candidates are talking about judging teachers by their students’ test scores. If that’s the case, people, give me a chance. Bring these kids into my class reading and achieving at grade level.
  • I can’t afford to donate enough to my candidates, but I can’t afford not to; if the wrong side wins, my working conditions will worsen severely.
  • Misleading advertising might just tip voting in the wrong direction.
  • Negative advertising might encourage people to stay home, and low voter turnout is never good.

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>A Good Use of a Sick Day

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>Darn this ankle. Thank goodness for a good doctor. He put me on medicines that helped shrink the swelling and another daily maintenance medicine that will help prevent it from coming back. For a couple of days, though, I needed to rest.

I spent a Monday afternoon with an ice pack and then traveled to the clinic for my appointment. After the appointment and a quick run to the pharmacy, I was home with another ice pack. I stayed up late enough to get the doses I needed (watching Monday Night Football, wondering where Deanna Favre was when Brett hit the 500 mark for touchdown passes) and then went to bed.
Tuesday was a sick day for me. Resting on the couch, alternating ice and heat packs, drinking lots of liquids, and getting updated on my work. Preparing a few posts, setting up my weekly guest posts on MidCentury Modern Moms and Green Spot-On, clearing my Inbox, and then finalizing grant application letters.
Yes, dear readers, I’m determined that my students will have books that fit their unique needs. I sent out three letters today and responded to another that had asked for more information.
All that while sitting on the couch with an aching ankle and foot. Sometimes I even impress myself.

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>Bing "Our School Needs" – Phase One

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>I’ve already used up my classroom budget for the year. We’re only six weeks into the school year, and anything else I buy will have to come out of my own personal funding source — my pocketbook.

Yes, school budgets are tight and getting tighter, and teachers pay for more and more out of their own pockets. I’m providing kids with pencils, folders, crayons, and more. I make my own posters. I’m looking for grant money to buy books for my struggling readers.
My school is not alone. Luckily, there are companies who believe in philanthropy: believe in giving back to the communities, giving to the schools that educate their future workforce. Bing asked bloggers to publicize phase one of its “Our School Needs” program. To get started, go to the Our School Needs home page and familiarize yourself with the program. Schools looking for technology — computers, Smartboards, projectors — can enter their requests to help teach their students 21st Century skills. Schools might be looking for gyms, climbing walls, walking & running tracks to encourage activity and fight obesity. Many projects are already posted; your school’s project can join them.
My school always needs strategically spent moneys to support good quality instruction and creative teaching. Doesn’t your local school need this, too? An essay (500-800 words), a few photos, perhaps a video, and the entry is ready. More details on the entry process are on this page. If you’re a multi-media style learner, here’s a video explaining the same.
Entry deadline is October 22. Round one voting (in categories of K-6, 7-9, and 10-12) closes on October 24. The first round winners receive $50,000 and then move on to the finals. I’m enjoying reading the current entries as I brainstorm ideas to help my own school enter — and win.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a DonorsChoose.org giving code and gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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>When the going gets tough…

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School gets tougher and tougher. When I’m faced with my own failures, I come home and work on tasks that I can accomplish successfully. And… I blog. I write, I read, I comment, I create. And I borrow.

I read Chris Guillebeau’s Art of Non-Conformity. I get his updates by email because I don’t want to miss a single one. His latest had a comment that struck me as appropriate for my situation and perhaps even beyond. He stated:
When faced with a choice between hope and fear, choose hope.

I searched for an appropriate picture to illustrate the statement and found this one. It’s a photo taken during an Australian dust storm, of kookaburras calmly waiting for the storm to settle.

I hope I can continue to choose hope while I wait for my own dust to settle.

Photo by Plurk friend Grumba in Adelaide, Australia

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