Archive | August, 2013

The 08/17/13 Joy Jar

17 Aug

vMoi has been walking all over and she notices the various types, forms, and shapes of concrete. From pillars which support highways to planters, to sidewalks, to buildings – it is everywhere. Sometimes, they try to pretty it up by coloring it or embossing it, but it is still concrete. Because it forms so many useful structures, today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is concrete.

“The road is a word, conceived elsewhere and laid across the country in the wound prepared for it: a word made concrete and thrust among us.”
Wendell Berry

“Clearly, then, the city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.”
Desmond Morris

“There is always opportunity until concrete is poured.”
Rosaleen Tallon

“Concrete is, essentially, the color of bad weather.”
William Hamilton

In the abstract conception of universal wrong,
all concrete responsibility vanishes.
Theodor Adorno

Christianity stands or falls as a living program,
a way of life, made concrete in the life of man by
the life of God through the life of the concretely living Christ.
-Kenneth L. Pike

Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.
Agnes Martin

Evil is the product of the ability of humans to make
abstract that which is concrete.
Jean-Paul Sartre

For though we often need to be restored to the small,
concrete, limited, and certain, we as often need to
be reminded of the large,
vague, unlimited, unknown.
A. R. Ammons

Total loyalty is possible only when fidelity is emptied of all concrete content,
from which changes of mind might naturally arise.
– Hannah Arendt

It is in literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression.
Alfred North Whitehead

Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw,
hear what you heard, feel what you felt.
Relevant detail, couched in concrete,
colorful language, is the best way
to recreate the incident as it happened
and to picture it for the audience.
– Dale Carnegie

For myself, I do not now know in any concrete human
terms wherein my individuality consists.
In my present human form of consciousness I simply cannot tell.
– Josiah Royce

Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life;
everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment.
Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated,
thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.
-Viktor E. Frankl

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The 08/16/13 Joy Jar

15 Aug

Moi walks in downtown Seattle a lot and she has been noticing the buildings with marble exteriors and quite often marble interiors. Moi guesses it is to make the buildings seem grand and impressive. When one walks in neighborhoods, not so much marble, there. The marble is in a variety of shades and conditions. Obviously, the well-tended marble belongs to the affluent for whom, image is important. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the beautiful stone marble.

“The best memory is that which forgets nothing, but injuries. Write kindness in marble and write injuries in the dust.”
Persian Proverb

“Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones.”
Henry David Thoreau

“Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor.”
Alexis Carrel

“Silence is as full of potential wisdom and wit as the unshown marble of great sculpture. The silent bear no witness against themselves.”
Aldous Huxley

“A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.”
Charles H. Spurgeon

“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul.”
Joseph Addison

“An artist that works in marble or colors has them all to himself and his tribe, but the man who molds his thoughts in verse has to employ the materials vulgarized by everybody’s use, and glorify them by his handling”
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Dear God! how beauty varies in nature and art. In a woman the flesh must be like marble; in a statue the marble must be like flesh.
Victor Hugo

The court is like a palace of marble; it’s composed of people very hard and very polished.
Jean de la Bruyere

“Guido the plumber and Michelangelo obtained their marble from the same quarry, but what each saw in the marble made the difference between a nobleman’s sink and a brilliant sculpture.”
Bob Kall

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Tuition is only the beginning of college costs

15 Aug

Moi wrote about college costs in Figuring actual college costs:
Beckie Supiano and Elyse Ashburn wrote With New Lists, Federal Government Moves to Help Consumers and Prod Colleges to Limit Price Increases in the Chronicle of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/article/Governments-New-Lists-on/128092/ about the U.S. Department of Education’s new site about college costs. As college becomes more unaffordable for more and more people, they are looking at ways to cut college costs.
Suzanna de Baca wrote the great Time article, The 12 Hidden College Expenses:

Here are some less obvious but common — and pricey — expenses to watch for:
Books and media: According to the College Board, the average annual cost of books for a college student ranges from $850 to $1,000. This is one item you shouldn’t skimp on. To save money, buy used textbooks (even cheaper used books can be found online vs. in the bookstore) or use library resources. If books cost more than you expected, revise the textbook budget for future semesters accordingly.
Class and parking fees: Some classes — like art or chemistry — charge fees for materials and studio or lab use. Know in advance which classes come with additional fees and plan for them so you aren’t blindsided. Also, many schools or cities charge for parking on or near campus, so find out how much a parking pass costs.
Having fun: Campus life often includes socializing and entertainment. However, movies, concerts and sporting events come with a cost. If this is a priority, explore purchasing a discounted season sports or events package vs. paying per event. Also, set entertainment spending limits for yourself or your child.
Fraternities and sororities: The Greek system can be pricey. Dues may be required (from modest to expensive), and joining halfway through the year can require paying for months past, which can double the dues. Other required Greek spending, like clothing for special events and traveling, can also add up.
Getting involved: Learning experiences outside the classroom are an important part of college, but clubs, intramural sports and memberships may cost money and require the purchase of T-shirts or member memorabilia. When considering activities, think about what’s most important and weigh the varying costs.
Furnishings: You have likely purchased items not included in the dorm plan, like bedding, towels, lamps, decorations, furniture, laundry and waste baskets, bulletin boards, hair dryers and even storage and appliances. Once settled, you may have a new list of things you discovered you’re missing, like a vacuum or other electronics. Think about what is necessary, as many of these items have a limited life postcollege and can often be rented or shared.
Electronics: According to the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Back to School report, electronics are popular expenditures with college students: 60% said they will buy a new computer, MP3 player, smart phone or other device and will spend an average $217.88. Tack on a new flat screen for the dorm room, and the cost of electronics seems daunting. Determine what non-necessary electronics you can afford to splurge on in advance, and avoid peer pressure around purchasing the hottest new item.
Cable TV: Most dorms have common areas with TVs that have cable access. However, many students opt for cable in their room or apartment on or off campus — at a fee! Evaluate how much time you spend at home or in your room and determine whether the cost is worth it, especially given the options now available in streaming media for both entertainment and news.
Wardrobe: While purchasing back-to-school clothing is an annual affair for most students, once on campus, unexpected clothing purchases may emerge. Internship interviews and extracurricular activities along with other special events may all require specific attire. Try to anticipate these expenses and think about delaying your shopping trip until after you get to campus. Consider which purchases are priorities and make budget trade-offs if you tend to spend more on clothes.
Mobile-phone service: Understanding the right mobile-phone plan is important. Your chatting, texting and data-downloading habits may change at school as you keep in touch with friends or use services throughout business hours. Staying on the family plan is usually a good option, but determine which provider has the best service on campus.
Food and beverage: While you may have a food plan, the cost of eating out and buying snacks and beverages for the dorm may be more than you think. You also might overspend on these things as you navigate campus life.
Travel: Most students go home to visit several times a year, so budget for gas or plane tickets. Since these trips will likely happen at heavy travel times, plan ahead to get good prices. If you’re a parent planning to visit your child’s campus, don’t forget to plan for your trips, which can include many of the same costs as a vacation: travel, food, transportation and entertainment. Talk about how often is realistic for you to see your family based on travel costs and consider using technologies like Skype to eliminate some of these costs.

The 12 Hidden College Expenses

Figuring actual college costs

Families must look at all college costs to plan a budget.

Phillip Elliott of AP wrote the article, Tuition Costs Trumped By College Housing, Food Bills: College Board:

A look at typical college students’ budgets last year and how they’re changing:
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
The public two-year schools charged in-state students an average $3,131 last year, up almost 6 percent from the previous year. While the tuition hike was larger than at other types of schools, students at community colleges saw the smallest increase in room and board costs – a 1 percent increase to $7,419. Total charges for students to attend an in-state public two-year school: $10,550.
Tuition and fees at community colleges are up 24 percent beyond overall inflation over the past five years, according to the College Board.
PUBLIC FOUR-YEAR SCHOOLS
Tuition for students attending public four-year schools in their state was an average $8,655 last year, a 5 percent jump from the previous year. They paid more than that – $9,205 – for housing and food. These schools, like other four-year schools, posted a 4 percent jump in housing costs. Add in books and supplies, transportation and other costs and the total reaches $17,860 to attend an in-state public school, such as a student from Tallahassee attending Florida State University. When grants and scholarships are included, the average student pays $12,110 at such schools.
For students who choose to attend state schools outside their home state, the costs increase to $30,911. They pay the same $9,205 price tag for room and board, but the tuition rates are more expensive. The typical student who crossed state lines to attend a public college in 2012 paid $21,706 in tuition and fees after grants and scholarships – a 4 percent jump from the previous year.
Over the past five years, the tuition sticker price at public four-year colleges is up 27 percent beyond overall inflation.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
On the surface, private four-year schools are the most costly colleges, with the average student’s sticker price coming in at $39,518 for all expenses. Tuition and fees were $29,056 last year – another 4 percent jump – while room and board ran to $10,462. After grants and scholarships, the average student paid $23,840 to attend schools such as Yale or Stanford.
The tuition at private schools was up 13 percent beyond overall inflation over the past five years adjusted for inflation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/tuition-costs-college-housing-food_n_3748511.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share

Applying to a college is just the first step. Students and families also have to consider the cost of particular college options.

Resources:

Five Ways to Cut the Cost of College http://www.cnbc.com/id/41626500/Five_Ways_to_Cut_the_Cost_of_College

Secrets to paying for college
http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/27/pf/college/tuition-costs.moneymag/index.htm

College Preparation Checklist

Click to access college-prep-checklist.pdf

Federal Student Aid
http://studentaid.ed.gov/resources

Related:

Choosing the right college for you https://drwilda.com/2012/04/15/choosing-the-right-college-for-you/
Many U.S. colleges use the ‘Common Application’ https://drwilda.com/tag/college-cost/

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART© http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/
Dr. Wilda Reviews © http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/
Dr. Wilda © https://drwilda.com/

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The 08/15/13 Joy Jar

14 Aug

Moi was on one of her excursions when she saw a sunflower peaking over a big fence like a gigantic happy face. It just seemed to be smiling at everyone who passed. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar” are sunflowers.

“Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men and animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock.”
Henry Ward Beecher

“And the yellow sunflower by the brook, in autumn beauty stood.”
William Cullen Bryant

“The gaudy leonine sunflower
Hangs black and barren on its stalk
And down the windy garden walk
The dead leaves scatter – hour by hour”
~Oscar Wilde

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows follow behind you.”
Maori Proverb

“Light-enchanted sunflower, thou
Who gazest ever true and tender
On the sun’s revolving splendour.”
Pedro Calderon de la Barca,

“As for marigolds, poppies, hollyhocks, and valorous sunflowers, we shall never have a garden without them, both for their own sake, and for the sake of old-fashioned folks, who used to love them.” Henry Ward Beecher

“True friends are
like bright sunflowers
that never fade
away, even over
distance and time.”
Marie Williams Johnstone

“The Sunflow’r, thinking ’twas for him foul shame
To nap by daylight, strove t’ excuse the blame;
It was not sleep that made him nod, he said,
But too great weight and largeness of his head.”
Abraham Cowley

The Sunflower by William Blake
Ah, Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime,
Where the traveller’s journal done;
Where the youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my Sunflower wishes to go!

“The sunflower is a favorite emblem of constancy.”
Thomas Bulfinch

“I am working with the enthusiasm of a man from Marseilles eating bouillabaisse, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to you because I am busy painting huge sunflowers.”
Vincent Van Gogh

“Fame is the scentless sunflower, with gaudy crown of gold; But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.”
Helen Keller

“It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul may be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear!
Oh the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns to her god when he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose!”
~ Thomas Moore

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Study: race determines how one views meritocracy

14 Aug

Moi wrote about the intersection of race and class in education in Race, class, and education in America:
Many educators have long recognized that the impact of social class affects both education achievement and life chances after completion of education. There are two impacts from diversity, one is to broaden the life experience of the privileged and to raise the expectations of the disadvantaged. Social class matters in not only other societies, but this one as well.
A few years back, the New York Times did a series about social class in America. That series is still relevant. Janny Scott and David Leonhardt’s overview,Shadowy Lines That Still Divide describes the challenges faced by schools trying to overcome the disparity in education. The complete series can be found at Social Class

Race, class, and education in America

Rebecca Klein reported in the Huffington Post article, White People Support Academic Meritocracy When It Benefits Them, Study Suggests:

Do white people only support traditional definitions of meritocracy when it benefits them? A new study suggests so.
University of Miami professor Frank L. Samson looked at the idea of meritocracy through the lens of admissions standards in the University of California system. He found that white participants changed their ideas of what was meritocratic based on what benefitted white, as opposed to Asian-American, applicants.
After learning whites made up a majority of students at a school, half of the study’s participants were asked to evaluate the importance of academic achievement when they were assessing university applicants. The participants related that universities should place high value on an applicant’s standardized test scores and class rank.
Other study participants were told that Asian-Americans are disproportionately admitted to the school. These participants related that less weight should be placed on an applicant’s academics.
The study concludes that, “the shift to an Asian American plurality provoked a reaction that caused white evaluators to create an altered standard when weighing the academic merits of college applicants.”
These results come at a time when affirmative action — designed to further the opportunities of groups that have been historically discriminated against — is beinghotly debated. Some opponents of the practice argue that admissions should simply be based on concrete, meritocratic standards. However, as the study reveals, what is considered meritocratic to some may simply be based on what benefits the group with whom they most identify.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/whites-support-meritocracy-academics-study_n_3750312.html

Citation:

Altering Public University Admission Standards to Preserve White Group Position in the United States: Results from a Laboratory Experiment
Frank L. Samson
Comparative Education Review
Vol. 57, No. 3, Special Issue on Fair Access to Higher Education (August 2013), pp. 369-396
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/670664
10.1086/670664

See, White People Think College Admissions Should Be Based on Test Scores, Except When They Learn Asians Score Better Than Whites http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/08/13/white_people_s_meritocracy_hypocrisy.html

Scott Jaschick wrote in the Inside Higher Ed article, Meritocracy or Bias?

Frank L. Samson, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Miami, thinks his new research findings suggest that the definition of meritocracy used by white people is far more fluid than many would admit, and that this fluidity results in white people favoring certain policies (and groups) over others.
Specifically, he found, in a survey of white California adults, they generally favor admissions policies that place a high priority on high school grade-point averages and standardized test scores. But when these white people are focused on the success of Asian-American students, their views change.
The white adults in the survey were also divided into two groups. Half were simply asked to assign the importance they thought various criteria should have in the admissions system of the University of California. The other half received a different prompt, one that noted that Asian Americans make up more than twice as many undergraduates proportionally in the UC system as they do in the population of the state.
When informed of that fact, the white adults favor a reduced role for grade and test scores in admissions — apparently based on high achievement levels by Asian-American applicants. (Nationally, Asian average total scores on the three parts of the SAT best white average scores by 1,641 to 1,578 this year….)
Further, Samson said that key Supreme Court decisions have been framed as being about meritocracy when — if different groups had been involved — they might have been framed differently or not even been brought. For example, one of the most important recent rulings on affirmative action in employment came in 2009, when the Supreme Court ruled that officials in New Haven were wrong to throw out a promotion exam for firefighters after realizing that white candidates had done well and black candidates did not, on average, do as well. Those who sued, and the Supreme Court majority, said that the decision was about applying meritocratic standards.
But would the white firefighters have even sued, Samson said, “if Jews or Asians had taken the test and gotten higher scores?” In that case, he said, would everyone have endorsed the idea that the test was all that mattered?
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/13/white-definitions-merit-and-admissions-change-when-they-think-about-asian-americans#ixzz2by7pHbph

People tend to cluster in neighborhoods based upon class as much as race. Good teachers tend to gravitate toward neighborhoods where they are paid well and students come from families who mirror their personal backgrounds and values. Good teachers make a difference in a child’s life. One of the difficulties in busing to achieve equity in education is that neighborhoods tend to be segregated by class as well as race. People often make sacrifices to move into neighborhoods they perceive mirror their values. That is why there must be good schools in all segments of the country and there must be good schools in all parts of this society. A good education should not depend upon one’s class or status.

Related:

U.S. Supreme Court to decide the affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (Case No. 11-345)
https://drwilda.com/tag/fisher-v-university-of-texas-at-austin/

Where Information Leads to Hope © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:
COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/
Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/
Dr. Wilda ©
https://drwilda.com/

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The 08/14/13 Joy Jar

13 Aug

Moi is researching two major items in August. She will be buying a new computer and she is trying to learn about computers. She will also be buying a good pair of walking shoes as she begins building her endurance. Later she will buy a good pair of running shoes. Here are some great quotes from Jason Fitzgerald’s blog Strength Running and his post 33 Quotes About Running to Help You Conquer Your Dreams: Today’s deposit into the’Joy Jar is finding the right walking and running shoes.

These running quotes are among my favorites and inspire me to stay focused every day. I hope you enjoy them.
Train Hard
“There are a lot of guys out there now who know they are not working as hard as other people. I can’t fathom how they think.” – Alberto Salazar
“What does not destroy me, makes me strong.” – Nietzsche
“It works better for me to be nervous and hungry.” – Lance Armstrong
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
“To be a good runner, you must first be a good athlete.” – Jay Johnson
“You don’t run against a bloody stopwatch, do you hear? A runner runs against himself, against the best that’s in him…Against all the rottenness in the world. Against God, if you’re good enough.” – Bill Persons
“Consistency is king.” – Unknown
“Good things come slow, especially in distance running.” – Bill Dellinger
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.” – Bill Bowerman
Race Harder
“Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.” – Steve Prefontaine
“One thing about racing is that it hurts. You better accept that from the beginning or you’re not going anywhere.” – Bob Kennedy
“A man who sets out to become an artist at the mile is something like a man who sets out to discover the most graceful method of being hanged. No matter how logical his plans, he can not carry them out without physical suffering.” – Paul O’Neil
“‘No pain, no gain’ does not mean that pain systematically equals gain. It’s easy to go hard. It’s hard to go smart.” – Erwan Le Corre
“Run the first two-thirds of the race with your head and the last third with your heart.” – Unknown

Reach New Heights With Your Running
“It’s at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.” – Emil Zatopek
“In football, you might get your bell rung, but you go in with the expectation that you might get hurt, and you hope to win and come out unscathed. As a distance runner, you know you’re going to get your bell rung. Distance runners are experts at pain, discomfort, and fear. You’re not coming away feeling good. It’s a matter of how much pain you can deal with on those days. It’s not a strategy. It’s just a callusing of the mind and body to deal with discomfort. Any serious runner bounces back. That’s the nature of their game. Taking pain.” – Mark Wetmore
“You can’t flirt with the track, you must marry it.” – Bill Easton
“If you want to run, then run a mile. If you want to experience another life, run a marathon.” – Emil Zatopek
Running Motivation
“The human spirit is indomitable. No one can ever say you must not run faster than this or jump higher than that. There will never be a time when the human spirit will not be able to better existing records.” – Sir Roger Bannister
“To be great, one does not have to be mad, but definitely it helps.” – Percy Cerutty
“We must wake up to the fact that athletics is not, nor ever can be perfected; there will always be more to learn.” – Arthur “GreatHeart” Newton
“God has given me the ability. The rest is up to me. Believe. Believe. Believe.” – Billy Mills
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. – Lance Armstrong
“Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” – Marilyn vos Savant
“Run hard when it’s hard to run” – Pavvo
“When you experience the run, you…relive the hunt. Running is about thirty miles of chasing prey that can outrun you in a sprint, and tracking it down and bringing life back to your village. It’s a beatiful thing.” – Shawn Found
“Things in motion sooner catch the eye than what not stirs.” – Shakespeare
“What am I on? I’m on my bike busting my ass for 6 hours a day! What are you on?” – Lance Armstrong
Enjoy Your Hard Work
“I want my time spent running to serve as a reward.” – Frank Shorter
“The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well.” – Baron de Coubertin
“I love running cross-country…You come up a hill and see two deer going, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ On a track I feel like a hamster.” – Robin Williams
“Remarkable health is the pursuit of the unconventional.” – Matt Gartland
“Always enjoy yourself. Don’t be upset if you don’t win, you’ve won by simply not giving up.” – Unknown
If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends or follow me on Twitter! If you think I left out any awesome quotes (I’m sure I did), then leave them in the comments for others to read!
http://strengthrunning.com/2010/07/quotes-about-running/

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Study: Charters forcing public schools to compete and improve

13 Aug

Education tends to be populated by idealists and dreamers who are true believers and who think of what is possible. Otherwise, why would one look at children in second grade and think one of those children could win the Nobel Prize or be president? Maybe, that is why education as a discipline is so prone to fads and the constant quest for the “Holy Grail” or the next, next magic bullet. There is no one answer, there is what works for a particular population of kids. Geoffrey Canada is an exceptional educator and he has stuck his neck out there. He was profiled in “Waiting for Superman.”

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
Lao Tzu

Sharon Otterman reported in New York Times about some of the challenges faced by Mr. Canada’s schools, The Harlem Children’s Zone.
In Lauded Harlem Schools Have Their Own Problems Otterman reported:

Criticism WILL occur if you are doing something that is not inline with others’ expectations. It IS going to cost to educate children out of the cycle of poverty. Still, that means that society should not make the attempt. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/education/13harlem.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

There is no magic bullet or “Holy Grail” in education. There is only what works to produce academic achievement in each population of children. That is why school choice is so important.

Mary Ann Zehr reported in Education Week about the sharing of “best practices” between charters and public schools. In the article, Regular Public Schools Start to Mimic Charters Zehr wrote:

Collaborations popping up across the country between charter and traditional public schools show promise that charter schools could fulfill their original purpose of becoming research-and-development hothouses for public education, champions of charters say.
But both supporters and skeptics of charter schools agree that so far the cooperative efforts are not widespread nor are most of them very deep.
The U.S. Department of Education spent $6.7 million in fiscal 2009 on grants to states for charters to share what they’ve learned with other schools. It is now conducting a feasibility study on ways to support the spread of promising charter school practices, said Scott D. Pearson, the department’s acting director of the charter schools program.
One idea being explored, he said, is to establish a prize for exemplary collaborations….
“There’s not a lot to share. Charter schools are a lot like [regular] public schools,” said Joan Devlin, the senior associate director of the educational issues department at the American Federation of Teachers.
But others, such as the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, believe charter schools do have some distinctive practices that should be shared with traditional public schools. The alliance hosted a conference in September that featured 26 “promising cooperative practices” between the two kinds of schools. Examples included a Minnesota Spanish-immersion charter school working with a local district to create a Spanish-language-maintenance program, and California charter school and districts teaming up on a teacher-induction program.
“We were trying to move past the whole charter-war debates and move to a more productive place,” said Stephanie Klupinski, the alliance’s vice president of government and public affairs. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/11/10/11charter.h30.html

Lincoln High School in Tacoma is highlighted in Zehr’s article:

Borrowing Best Practices
Lincoln High School, in the 29,000-student Tacoma district in Washington state, is also seeing test scores rise after borrowing some practices from charter schools, according to Patrick Erwin, a co-principal with Greg Eisnaugle of the high school.
About 350 of the 1,500 students in the high school attend the Lincoln Center, a school-within-a-school started more than two years ago that implements practices Mr. Erwin says were picked up from the well-known Harlem Children’s Zone, Green Dot, and Knowledge Is Power Program charter schools. The Lincoln Center operates from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is in session for two Saturdays each month. It also uses standards that are more rigorous than the state’s 10th grade standards, for example, and requires teachers to apply for jobs, selecting only those who have shown success in the classroom, according to Mr. Erwin.
He said the school has an agreement with its 15 teachers, in addition to their union contract, to work extra hours, for which they receive extra compensation.

See, School in a School: Lincoln’s bold experiment http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/02/21/1079565/school-within-a-school-lincolns.html

Melissa Lazarín wrote in the report, “Charting New Territory” for the Center for American Progress:

The brief also summarizes early findings and perspectives on district-charter turnarounds offered by districts, charters, and others. Their recommendations and lessons learned are not meant to be comprehensive but they do offer valuable insight for districts, charter leaders, and policymakers interested in district-charter collaborations to turnaround schools.
For example, early collaborations between districts and charters suggest that both entities should define the parameters related to charter autonomy early in the partnership. Most charters find it necessary to have full authority over staffing, the school’s budget, the school calendar, and curricular programming to be an effective
school turnaround operator. In addition, other areas should be negotiated early on, such as common district concerns related to enrollment, discipline, and parent engagement.
District and state conditions can foster strong turnaround collaborations with charter operators. District leadership in bringing in nontraditional providers of teacher and school leader talent to staff up turnaround schools, and state assistance in developing performance contracts for district-charter partnerships can
help fast-track district and charter partnerships to turnaround some of the most troubled schools.
It is not the intention of this paper to advocate for a particular turnaround model for high schools. States, districts, school leaders, parents, and other community stakeholders are better suited to decide which of the turnaround models outlined in the federal school improvement program are most appropriate for their school.
Districts and charters that do partner to turn around high schools, however, may find the lessons learned from these early collaborations instructive….
Download this report (pdf) http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/06/pdf/charter_schools.pdf
Download the introduction and summary (pdf)http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/11/10/11charter.h30.html
Read the full report in your web browser http://www.scribd.com/doc/59048782/Charting-New-Territory
Video: Charter School Turnaround http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/news/2011/06/29/9829/video-charter-school-turnaround/

Marc J. Holley, Anna J. Egalite, and Martin F. Lueken wrote in the Education Next article, Competition with Charters Motivates Districts:

But in order for this to happen, districts must first recognize the need to compete for students and then make efforts to attract those students, who now have the chance to go elsewhere. Since 2007, enrollment in charter schools has jumped from 1.3 million to 2 million students, an increase of 59 percent. The school choice movement is gaining momentum, but are districts responding to the competition? In this study we investigate whether district officials in a position to influence policy and practice have begun to respond to competitive pressure from school choice in new ways. Specifically, we probe whether district officials in urban settings across the country believe they need to compete for students. If they do, what is the nature of their response?
A small number of studies and numerous media reports have attempted to capture the reactions of public school officials to these new threats to their enrollments and revenues. A few reports of obstructionist behavior by districts stand out and have been chronicled in these pages by Joe Williams (“Games Charter Opponents Play,” features, Winter 2007) and Nelson Smith (“Whose School Buildings Are They, Anyway?” features, Fall 2012). Yet our evidence suggests that the dynamics described in Williams’s report of guerilla turf wars may be evolving in many locations to reflect new political circumstances and the growing popularity of a burgeoning charter sector.
To explore the influence of school choice on district policy and practice, we scoured media sources for evidence of urban public-school districts’ responses to charter competition. Our express purpose was to catalog levels of competition awareness and types of responses by public school officials and their representatives. Our search retrieved more than 8,000 print and online media reports in the past five years (since the 2007 Williams article) from 12 urban locations in the United States. We then reviewed minutes from school board meetings, district web sites, and other district artifacts to verify if, in fact, the practices and policies described in media reports have occurred.
We selected cities according to specific criteria. We chose three urban districts with high percentages of minority and low-income students (at least 60 percent on both counts) in each region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West). In addition, districts in our sample needed to have a minimum of 6 percent of students in choice schools, the level Caroline Hoxby identified as a threshold above which districts could reasonably be expected to respond to competitive pressure (see “Rising Tide,” research, Winter 2001). Finally, we sought to include cities across the range of choice-school market shares within each geographic region, so long as they were above the 6 percent threshold (see Figure 1)….
The ground war between charter schools and their opponents described by Joe Williams has begun to shift. As the charter sector continues to expand, some of its competitors appear to be changing strategy. Where school districts once responded with indifference, symbolic gestures, or open hostility, we are starting to see a broadening of responses, perhaps fueled by acceptance that the charter sector will continue to thrive, or by knowledge that many charters are providing examples of ways to raise academic achievement.
Traditional public schools are aware of the threats posed by alternative education providers, but they are analyzing the moves made by competitors and demonstrating that they may have the savvy to reflect, replicate, experiment, and enter into partnerships with school choice providers. This evidence suggests that while bureaucratic change may often be slow, it may be a mistake to underestimate the capacity of these bureaucratic institutions to reform, adapt, and adjust in light of changing environments. http://educationnext.org/competition-with-charters-motivates-districts/

The conclusion of the study was that charters were forcing public schools to compete in the marketplace. There is no one approach that works in every situation, there is only what works to address the needs of a particular population of children.

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The 08/13/13 Joy Jar

12 Aug

Moi has been walking more lately and she intends to build up her endurance. While walking, she notices that in some areas there are many plants many consider to be weeds. She thought about it and wondered if weeds were important.The Garden Organic blog posted the article, Benefits of Weeds in Farming Systems:
Organic farmers and growers should not be aiming to completely eradicate weeds from their fields and farms. Management rather than complete control is a more realistic and desirable goal. The word ‘management’ emphasises use of appropriate methods to maintain acceptable weed levels that take into account short-term economic and long-term ecological issues.

In spite of all the difficulties caused by weeds, they can offer some beneficial properties, particularly when occurring at low densities. These aspects should be utilised in the farming system, although this may make organic management more complicated than chemical based systems. Some of the potential benefits of weeds are listed below:
• helping to conserve soil moisture and prevent erosion. A ground cover of weeds will reduce the amount of bare soil exposed helping to conserve nutrients, particularly nitrogen which could otherwise be leached away, especially on light soils.
• food and shelter can be provided for natural enemies of pests and even alternative food sources for crop pests. The actual presence of weed cover may be a factor in increasing effectiveness of biological control of pests and reducing pest damage.
• weeds can also be valuable indicators of growing conditions in a field, for example of water levels, compaction and pH.
• weeds can be an important source of food for wildlife, especially birds. Bird populations have been declining on farmland over the last few decades and leaving weeds as a resource has been shown to help revive bird populations… http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weedtype.php?id=-2
Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ are plants considered to be weeds.

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
Doug Larson

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.
Dogen

A weed is no more than a flower in disguise, Which is seen through at once, if love give a man eyes.
James Russell Lowell

They whom truth and wisdom lead, can gather honey from a weed.
William Cowper

Ignorance is an evil weed, which dictators may cultivate among their dupes, but which no democracy can afford among its citizens.
William Beveridge

If we had paid no more attention to our plants than we have to our children, we would now be living in a jungle of weed.
Luther Burbank

Violence is like a weed – it does not die even in the greatest drought.
Simon Wiesenthal

I didn’t want to tell the tree or weed what it was. I wanted it to tell me something and through me express its meaning in nature.
Wynn Bullock

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More school battles about peanut allergies

11 Aug

Moi wrote about allergies in Food allergies can be deadly for some children:
If one is not allergic to substances, then you probably don’t pay much attention to food allergies. The parents and children in one Florida classroom are paying a lot of attention to the subject of food allergies because of the severe allergic reaction one child has to peanuts. In the article, Peanut Allergy Stirs Controversy At Florida Schools Reuters reports:

Some public school parents in Edgewater, Florida, want a first-grade girl with life-threatening peanut allergies removed from the classroom and home-schooled, rather than deal with special rules to protect her health, a school official said.
“That was one of the suggestions that kept coming forward from parents, to have her home-schooled. But we’re required by federal law to provide accommodations. That’s just not even an option for us,” said Nancy Wait, spokeswoman for the Volusia County School District.
Wait said the 6-year-old’s peanut allergy is so severe it is considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
To protect the girl, students in her class at Edgewater Elementary School are required to wash their hands before entering the classroom in the morning and after lunch, and rinse out their mouths, Wait said, and a peanut-sniffing dog checked out the school during last week’s spring break….
Chris Burr, a father of two older students at the school whose wife has protested at the campus, said a lot of small accommodations have added up to frustration for many parents.
“If I had a daughter who had a problem, I would not ask everyone else to change…. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-peanut-allergy-idUSTRE72L7AQ20110322

More children seem to have peanut allergies.

Ross Brenneman wrote in the Education Week article, How Peanuts Became Public Health Enemy #1:

Researchers aren’t sure why, but over the past several years, the number of children reported to have allergies has doubled, to 5 percent of children in the United States. Yet at the same time, in schools and elsewhere, allergies have drawn what some see as an oversized amount of attention. A new paper out of Princeton University explores why that may have happened.
Allergy attacks are awful. I’ve been there plenty of times. Eyes swollen shut, coughing, hacking, sneezing—and that’s just garden-variety pollen. But severe allergic reactions, also known as anaphylaxia, can cause death, even for the constantly vigilant. That’s why the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously last week in favor of a bill that would incentivize states, through a pre-existing grant program, to make sure their schools have a supply of epinephrine (usually an EpiPen) on hand, as well as staff members trained in using it.
The de facto allergen mascot, the peanut, has been at the forefront of anti-allergy crusades. Several schools have banned peanuts, sports arenas have set up “peanut-free” zones, and pretzels long ago committed a coup d’état against their salty brethren aboard airlines. The public response and media coverage at times suggests an epidemic.
One percent. That’s it. One estimate pegs it closer to 1.4 percent for children, but only .6 percent for adults. Either way, it’s small. Not all of those affected are seriously allergic, either. One percent isn’t nothing, but it’s not the kind of number that would suggest a strong cultural reaction, either.
Why, then, have peanut allergies become such a well-known public health menace? Maybe it’s partly from the mystery surrounding all allergies; scientists don’t know why allergies exist and why some people grow out of them. It’s also not clear how much an allergy attack may be exacerbated by asthma; the two often go hand in hand.
That allergies carry even some of the same the notoriety of a true epidemic, like typhoid, AIDS, or smallpox, intrigued Princeton University researcher Miranda R. Waggoner.
In a paper set to be published in the August 2013 edition of the journal Social Science & Medicine, Waggoner explores the momentum behind society’s Planters paranoia.
Medical journals first discussed peanut-based anaphylaxia in the late 1980s, while more and more parents separately but simultaneously started banding together to promote allergen awareness, assisted by speculation within the press about a new, interesting, and potentially hazardous health problem.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rulesforengagement/2013/08/how_peanuts_became_public_health_enemy_number_one.html?intc=es

Kids With Food Allergies has some excellent resources.http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=62&title=Peanut_allergy_avoidance_list&gclid=CJTC7sfLuLICFWdxQgodxHcAJQ

Kids With Food Allergies recommends the following 10 TIPS TO A HEALTHY STUDENT-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP:

1. Pick your battles.
Many issues will arise. Non-negotiable ones will need to be dealt with immediately. Negotiable ones let you work to keep your child safe, while also allowing the school to accomplish what they are trying to accomplish.
2. Provide solutions.
If your child’s principal wants all students to bring in milk jugs for an arts and crafts project, ask if your child’s class can bring in water jugs (or orange juice, lemonade or iced tea jugs instead). Planning in advance can work for class parties, too. If your child’s teacher wants to throw an ice cream party, ask if water ice or a safe sorbet could work instead. Many times, activities that appear to be blatant disregard for your child’s situation are caused by a lack of education about food allergies. Explain the severity of the situation to your child’s teacher and/or school officials, or offer to find an expert to present the topic of food allergy at a teacher meeting. Offer alternative suggestions so teachers consider asking you for advice prior to the event!
3. Smile and stay calm (if only for appearances).
It’s true. You really do catch more bees with honey. If you have a give-and-take relationship with the school and show appreciation when events go right, they will be more apt to help you next time.
4. Get support.
You can’t do this alone. Involve your spouse, family, friends and people you trust. Sometimes a nurse from the allergist’s office will agree to accompany you to meetings or speak to a group. If this is possible, make sure you are on the same page first—with regard to diagnosis and treatment as well as your expectations of the school.
5. Get it in writing.
Make sure you trust and feel confident in your child’s allergist, and try to keep your relationship a positive one. Get the best possible documentation you can from your allergist.
6. Keep your child’s self-esteem in mind.
Always consider what is in the best interest of your child. Sometimes it is healthier for you to forfeit a conflict now, so that you don’t alienate someone who could help you down the road. There are many creative ways to allow your child to participate safely without changing the activity for the rest of the class.
7. Become an expert in substitutions.
Have your child’s teacher tap your very creative brain any time food is used in a lesson. Then, be observant and creative. Next time a teacher wants to use washed-out cream of mushroom soup cans to hold the scissors, suggest washed-out Play-Doh containers…and provide them, if possible.
8. Grow a thick skin.
Your child’s teacher may try their hardest to convince parents not to send their child in with a peanut butter cup or Cheetos for a school snack. But, sadly, there will always be one or two people who are difficult to convince. It’s not an excuse; it’s reality. Try not to take it personally.
9. Show you care.
Let other parents know that you would make the same accommodations for their child—and follow through. Sometimes the school is responding to outside pressure from parents who insist on keeping the school “normal.” Showing that you are a team player can alleviate the pressure.
10. Say “Thank you” when things go right.
Food allergy awareness greeting cards can be used to express appreciation and thanks to school staff.
Show your heartfelt appreciation any time another parent, child, teacher or school staff member goes out of their way to help make life easier for you or your child. If the classroom keeps special snacks all year long to help keep your child safe, sponsor a “thank you” party, safe snack or game time at the end of the year. Send flowers or a card to the principal or school nurse. Donate a food allergy book to the school library. Or start out a meeting by thanking the attendees for being there to listen and help.http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=155&title=10_tips_for_dealing_with_food_allergies_at_school

It requires a great deal of tact and give and take on the part of parents and the school to produce a workable situation for students, the child with the allergy, and parents.

A physical examination is important for children to make sure that there are no health problems. The University of Arizona Department of Pediatrics has an excellent article which describes Pediatric History and Physical Examination http://www.peds.arizona.edu/medstudents/Physicalexamination.asp The article goes on to describe how the physical examination is conducted and what observations and tests are part of the examination. The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital describes the Process of the Physical Examination http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/p/exam/
If children have allergies, parents must work with their schools to prepare a allergy health plan.

Resources:

Micheal Borella’s Chicago-Kent Law Review article, Food Allergies In Public Schools: Toward A Model Code

Click to access Borella.pdf

USDA’s Accomodating Children With Special Dietary Needs

Click to access SpecialDietaryNeeds.PDF

Child and Teen Checkup Fact Sheet
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mch/ctc/factsheets.html
Video: What to Expect From A Child’s Physical Exam
http://on.aol.com/video/what-to-expect-from-a-childs-physical-exam-325661948
Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com
Dr. Wilda says this about that ©
Blogs by Dr. Wilda:
COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART© http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/
Dr. Wilda Reviews © http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/
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The 08/12/13 Joy Jar

11 Aug

Moi has begun walking more to build up endurance to eventually start running. She is slowly getting healthier. A summer in Seattle is green and verdant. One thing moi notices that no matter the season of the year the fir trees and evergreens are green all year long. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ are the evergreens which are green even in the grayest of winters.

“The pine tree seems to listen, the fir tree to wait: and both without impatience — they give no thought to the little people beneath them devoured by their impatience and their curiosity.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.
Henry David Thoreau

You can live for years next door to a big pine tree, honored to have so venerable a neighbor, even when it sheds needles all over your flowers or wakes you, dropping big cones onto your deck at still of night.
Denise Levertov

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.
Henry David Thoreau

The trees are God’s great alphabet:
With them He writes in shining green
Across the world His thoughts serene.
Leonora Speyer

I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!
John Muir

Who leaves the pine-tree, leaves his friend,
Unnerves his strength, invites his end.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Woodnotes”

Trees are your best antiques.
Alexander Smith

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.
Robert Louis Stevenson

He who plants a tree
Plants a hope.
Lucy Larcom, “Plant a Tree”

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.
Kahlil Gibran

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
Nelson Henderson

The best part of happiness is the pines.
Terri Guillemets

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