MR REPRESENTATIVE: A CHILD IS WORTH A CENT

This Tuesday, our county PTA/PTO organizations are holding a rally to convince our state legislators that we want to KEEP the one cent sales tax that is keeping education running at the moment. This is NOT a new tax but, an emergency measure that was added two years ago that expires in July. Without this sales tax, major cuts to education will occur. We have been paying this extra penny for two years now and quite frankly, we are accustomed to it. If you look at any economic reports, the most conservative economists say that the economy will not turn around until at least 2015. So, the extra penny tax should be renewed through July 1 of 2016. That should be long enough to get us through this economic down turn.

Now, let me explain to you about our representative. First of all, he is a republican who, for the most part, tends to run unopposed and has be "re-elected" several times. He comes from a relatively wealthy family and has never really had to work. However, he says he understands the working people of our district. From what I have seen lately, he is voting party lines and NOT for what is best for Caldwell County. 

I have contacted my state representative many times. He assures me that he will NOT vote for the new tax because the people of our county don't want it. So, we are reduced to holding a rally to prove to him that this isn't true.

Oh yes, I will be at the rally. I will speak my mind and hope that this stubborn man gets it. However, I don't think he will. We MUST remind our representative that he does have to answer to US. He works for US! Mr. Representative: A child is worth a cent!

LRYC tour and Mother's Day weekend in Charlie South

My daughter's youth choir did a tour in South Carolina this weekend. I have always wanted to go to Charleston and haven't ever made it there. So, my husband and I came down here as well. I have had a really nice mother's day weekend.

All my life I have wanted to see Fort Sumter. I never got to go. Well, yesterday, we went out on the first tour boat. I was not disappointed. What an awesome place. I can understand now why it was so important to our coastal defenses and why the Confederates needed it so badly. I never really understood why there were so few men stationed there at the beginning of the Civil War, but I learned that the fort was only about 90% finished at the time. So, I guess that makes sense.  In fact, no men were garrisoned there, but the commander, Major Anderson,  moved his men there from another island fort after the succession of South Carolina.

Downtown is really nice and we have had some great food and drink while we have been here. I think my favorite was the little restaurant down the street from the place we are staying. It is called California dreaming. We sat outside and ate while we watched the boats on the river.

I totally enjoyed listening to the choir last night. They are just wonderful. It was nice to see the reaction of people who are not friends and family of the kids. You could tell by the faces that they were just amazed. Makes a mother feel proud...

Today we went downtown to do a little shopping. It's Mother's Day but, seems that my husband got all of the presents! I bought a cute little sign for the breakfast bistro and some pralines! (Can't go home without the pralines!)We also went to the park and watched the little children wade in the fountain. I enjoyed watching the little ones. There was one little blonde boy there who reminded me of my son when he was little. Boy, time really does go by fast, doesn't it?

Now, for all of the mothers out there, here is a video of my favorite of all the LRYC songs....Happy Mother's Day to all!

The Spring of Home Improvement - Spring Break Edition

According to local news, today is going to start off gray but turn into a sunny warm day. I am looking forward to going outside and doing a little container gardening. All those magazines and blogs say to take your container to the local nursery and ask for help.

Yesterday, I did just that. I took one of my three containers to the local garden center. The ladies there were so helpful. They helped me design and create what I am sure will be some great looking planters. I would never have been able to design them myself. I brought the plants home and put them on the front porch to spend the night. I wanted to be able to get started without having to run off to the nursery first.

So, after playing in the dirt and water on the porch...here is what I ended up with....

Now, all we have to do is hope that they survive my brown thumb!

The Spring of Home Improvement

For two years, I taught full time and attended graduate school in the evenings. My family was still living their busy lives and my husband was writing a book. Needless to say, my poor house was totally neglected and boy, can you tell! 

So, this is the spring of home improvement. We have added a wonderful wrap around deck and have begun working on the kitchen. Last weekend I painted the cooking area. It's the smallest part of the kitchen, so I knew I could get it done in just a few hours. This weekend, I hope to get behind the refrigerator and get that part cleaned and painted. 

I'll post pictures later...

I can tell its spring!

It's spring and I have caught the spring cleaning and redecorating bug! I have been inspired by the many crafty bloggers whom I follow to do something new and creative around the house. I am beginning to see things come together and am starting to feel quite accomplished.

We are having a new wrap around deck put in by the construction classes at school. It is absolutely beautiful.  My husband, the engineer, and the expert construction teacher have come up with a beautiful yet functional design. I can't wait to open it up for the season! Below are some before pictures that I took before we started.

Now, here are a couple that give an idea of where we are going with this whole thing....

I am just so happy with how this is turning out! I can't wait to see how it looks when all the post caps are installed and finishing touches are added. Keep watching...I'll keep you posted...

Reflecting on the Effects of Possible Budget Cuts

I know that one of the possible ways that school systems are looking to save money is to move away from the newer "4 x 4" schedule in high schools by going back to the traditional 7 period day. I am not sure how this saves money but the powers that be can always do that "administrator math" to prove that it does. However, what I have been thinking about is not the dollars saved but, the loss of individualized and creative instruction.

Yesterday, we had an early release day to allow for district wide staff development. Each of our classes was 40 minutes long much like those class periods when I first started teaching. I tried to keep  my class as close to our daily routine as possible. We did our Vocabulary Word (instead of WORDS) of the day, we had our lesson (lecture) and then did our activity. However, there was very little time for the activity. If our classes were this short all the time, the activity would have then been left to be completed as homework.

So, what did I learn from yesterday? That the fastest way to make sure your kids get the information they need is to lecture. We all know that but, we have been trying to move beyond being the purveyor of information and into the realm of facilitator of knowledge. Most of the time, the lecture part of my class lasts only 20 minutes at most. (Unless of course, the kids get to discussing, questioning, or debating...it is Social Studies, after all...) The biggest part of the class is the discovery part or project part depending on the topic we are studying.

If we are forced back to the traditional schedule, high schools every where will become lecture and homework driven. We will actually move backwards through time. We may save money (Mr. Administrator show me that math!) but we will most definitely be losing students!

This Country's Attack on Teachers

I have watched dumbfounded as this country has right by right, inch by inch, state by state, taken away the rights of teachers who belong to strong unions with collective bargaining. Now, this has turned into name calling and bullying from the conservative right. If you know your history, you see that we are now living in some scary times.

Glenn Beck likes to compare everything to the Nazi's. Well, here we have a direct comparison to the National Socialist Movement and how the party operated. Hitler began by systematically purging all upper level military and government officials who did not agree with him. Then, he went after intellectuals and teachers. Why? because teachers make kids think which is forbidden in a closed society. Are you starting to see the parallels here?

Now, I knew that I would never make much money as a teacher. In fact according to the Hickory Daily Record, I make less than $50,000 a year. That is with a Master's Degree, 45 additional hours, and 25 years (at least) experience. For those of you who don't understand how teachers are paid, we are given an annual salary that can be divided over 10 or 12 months. We DO NOT get paid for being off in the summer ! Some of us just divide our paycheck over a longer period of time. This means that I bring home a little less each month so that I don't go those two months of summer without a paycheck.

This is where the attacks are being made - that we have salaries that are too high, that we have benefits that are too good. I don' t get it.  We take care of your children 8 hours each day for FREE! I sit with them when they cry, I route for them at ball games and test time, I worry about how little Johnny is ever going to understand the court system, and I lose sleep at night when one of them is sick or injured - just like they are my own.

Thank goodness for our voice of sanity - Jon Stewart and The Daily Show.  Bless you Jon!
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