Domestic Psychology

you lost me at the cultural entitlement rant

// April 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // local, media, parenting, people, school

Yesterday, someone recommended an article in the Bearden Shopper-News to me. It was described as an intelligently thought out explanation based on existing research. So, I read the front page article, “Thinking outside the AJ.” The article was accurately described as intelligent UNTIL the author decided to complain that high school “has BECOME a cultural entitlement” because of things like the prom. Seriously? Don’t you think that high school students have had Friday night football games and a yearly prom for more than a few decades now? Have you missed that one of the points of after school activities is creating a sense of community and school pride? Don’t you recognize the benefits of high school students participating in organized school sports and activities? Many high school students work very hard on their classes and a little bit of fluff to break the monotony is not entitlement.

As for the rest of your article, while I agree that school is about learning, I want to see the existing school hours spent as wisely as possible. That does not necessarily equate to more hours in a classroom. We are still talking about children. Eliminating home and parents from a child’s waking hours is a suggestion that should not even be entertained. The arguments against later start times are just as important as the “teens need to sleep in” study. Having Knox County high schools on two different schedules would make it impossible for students at one school to take classes or be on teams with students at another school. The dual-enrollment college classes would have to choose one of the two schedules, leaving out a large group of potential dual-enrollment students. Students who already stay at school until 9 pm several nights a week would be out until 10 pm on school nights. Teachers who volunteer to sponsor after school clubs would be far less likely to do so when it would mean not having dinner with their own families. Moving clubs and activities to before school negates the entire “sleeping in” benefit that you are touting. Local businesses would hire the students from schools on the earlier schedule and students on the later schedule would be less able to find part-time jobs to save for college expenses.

Lastly, let’s talk about your idea that education “won’t ever happen” as long as we are not “thinking outside the AJ.” Without the people in the Andrew Jackson building, there would be NO public education system. We have to think and do WITH the people in the AJ. People from area universities, businesses and agencies that serve children and families were in the AJ this week to collaborate on solutions. Solutions that don’t ask underpaid teachers to work longer hours. Solutions that recognize that learning isn’t just sitting at a desk. Solutions that don’t ask schools to be parents. Solutions that don’t blame football games and prom.

Is that something shiny?

// April 2nd, 2009 // 7 Comments » // local, school

Sometimes, I wonder if our School Board and/or Superintendent suggest changes like school uniforms, the start date of school and the start time of school, just to distract everyone. Maybe they do these things to give the illusion that parents’ input is considered in our school system. Maybe it’s the only way they can get parents to attend meetings. I don’t know. I have an opinion on these issues, but I don’t feel like grabbing torches and pitchforks over them. I would prefer to be in an uproar about all the teachers cut from next year’s budget, eliminating programs that help at-risk students succeed or the need for full-service, community schools. Choosing my battles is the phrase that comes to mind, except I don’t want to fight. Aren’t we on the same team? Don’t we all want whatever is best for students?

imaginary post about Knoxville

// March 5th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // blogging, local, me

Let’s just pretend this is a post about what is right and wrong with Knoxville. Imagine it is insightful and edgy. I used words with more than two syllables and lots of economic, education and cultural references in my pretend post today. It irritates you and you agree with it all at once. Doesn’t everyone gets one imaginary post a year?

good thing February is short

// February 24th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // life, local, people

At the beginning of February, the house at the end of our cove had a chimney fire. It was very expensive for the owner, but no people or animals were injured. A little over a week later, a giant tree fell in the street in front of the fire survivor’s house. It blocked off traffic and everyone in the neighborhood was without power for 23 hours. For a week, everything was peaceful. This morning, we woke up to a full creek and tracked it to a water break at Northshore. Northshore was closed and our typically quiet neighborhood became a major traffic area. For no good reason, people circled through our cove all day. Then, as suddenly as the loud, fast, dangerous traffic started – it stopped. Except, the scene out the front and back windows showed a stream of cars and trucks. Cars and trucks that were not moving and annoyed people who were getting out of the cars to find the source of the problem. Apparently, an 18-wheeler that shouldn’t have been on our narrow little residential roads was stuck. Guess where? Right in front of the neighbor who survived a fire and just missed getting squished by a fallen tree. Guess why? Did you look at the picture of the downed tree from last week? See those utility lines that were pulled down? Well, Comcast never came by to get those lines back where they belonged, so the big truck that was already struggling on a tiny street became tangled in Comcast cables. The police eventually made it to the scene of the problem and the entire path through our neighborhood had to be cleared so an 18-wheeler could BACK UP the entire route. That truck driver deserves a gold medal for driving under difficult conditions.

I’m starting to wonder if the neighbor who survived the fire is living in a house built over an Indian cemetery. I’m certain that he is glad February is almost over.

If I had stimulus dollars (for schools)…

// February 21st, 2009 // 4 Comments » // local, politics, school

Our school system could benefit from a lot of things. Old, decrepit buildings need repairs and shiny new buildings need basic supplies. We have students with multiple disabilities who need adaptive equipment and gifted students who need advanced tools and information. Maybe our new Super would like to put his STEM high school in a poverty stricken community to access the stimulus money.

We can keep putting buckets under leaky roofs and porta-potties at schools with only one functioning bathroom. We can sit on floors when we don’t have enough chairs. We can continue sharing books and technology. We can fill the hallways with parent volunteers and we can hold an endless stream of fundraisers. What we can’t replace are teachers. Without teachers, there is no school.

What if we put a handful more teachers in each and every school? There would be more class options for high school students. Classes would have smaller teacher-student ratios. Team teaching and individual help would be the norm instead of the exception. Students wouldn’t fall through the cracks as easily when they are under the watchful eye of a teacher who isn’t completely overwhelmed and exhausted.

I am probably very alone in imagining the stimulus money spent on teacher salaries. This money will only exist for two years. It is nearly impossible to have the budget to keep these extra teachers after the two years of extra funding. I still think that the two years of benefits would make the risk of spending money on something other than supplies worthwhile.

it’s a bit windy out there

// February 11th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // flickr, local, weather

Dear Knox County Schools,

// January 29th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // local, school, TN

When School Matters was created, I pretty much stopped writing about school topics on this blog. As the site has gained users, I realized that I was spending more of my time nudging discussions and calming tempers than just writing what was on my mind. That ends now.

When the Superintendent search was narrowed down to a handful of candidates, I googled each finalist. The candidate who once complained that Boston’s $832M school budget needed more money seemed like a very bad fit for Knoxville’s $360M school budget. I guess I should have considered that our school board would see him as someone who could convince Knoxville to put more money in our schools. Knoxville schools need more money. Our businesses in Knoxville are laying off employees and folding faster than new jobs are being created. How are we going to provide more money when we all have less money?

So, here we are 6 months into the new Knoxville Super’s reign and his “vision” is being presented to Knoxville. He asks “How do we transform our system from a very good one to a better one?” In one KnoxViews thread, commenters praise the improved academic requirements in our system. In multiple School Matters threads, the discussion keeps returning to the fact that TN is 38th in the nation in ACT results and things like zero High Schools in TN making the list of the state’s best. Are we a “very good” system or a failing system? Of Knoxville’s 13 high schools, only 5 are not on NCLB’s naughty list. Our new Super wants to add a STEM high school. The school system’s budget for the next year can barely afford to replace one leaking roof. How are we going to build a new high school and where will it be?

The new Super has been visiting the schools. Everyone in the school has been told to smile and agree with everything the new Super says to them. They have also been told to keep their mouths shut about anything that is bothering them. With this absence of honest communication, anything that is not working optimally in our system is going to be kept that way.

The new Super has an assortment of other ideas, like giving teachers and students mentors. We already have that. His primary focus is on getting parents and students to change. He has a great plan to get parents more involved in their children’s education. He wants parents to learn how to continue the school day at their kitchen table. Seriously? What does he think we have been doing since we became parents? I don’t deny that we have a culture of ignorance in this area, but there are a LOT of very involved parents who have been working hard to supplement their children’s education and we want to be HEARD by school board members, not condescended and told that everything is great.

Here’s an idea – Let’s start by honestly and accurately stating out loud the current status of our school system. Then, let’s do a complete inventory of what we have in our toolbox. Be sure to recognize that toolbox includes parents and teachers with ideas for how we can see all of our children achieve their highest potential. Now, take that toolbox and let’s ALL start fixing what is broken.

git yer hand stamped

// January 26th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // life, local, people, school

So, I went to the Color Guard competition Saturday night. It was in a very northern area of Knoxville which I rarely visit. As I paid the parental extortion fee to watch my own child performing in her half a grand a semester activity while wearing 50 dollars of makeup, the person collecting the fee told me I needed to get my hand stamped. I did what I always do and asked questions instead of just being quiet and nodding my head in agreement. The money collector looked stunned that anyone would question the need for hand stamps and after a moment of being on the receiving end of the deer-in-headlights look, I was politely told, “You’ll need it for readmission.” I don’t know if I looked unsatisfied with that answer or someone felt sorry for the money collector who was really just a mom volunteering her time, but a voice in the crowd that sounded like a direct descendant of Jed Clampett shouted the answer I needed. “They won’t letcha smoke in the buildin’.” Have been hit on the head with the proverbial stupid stick, I smiled at the money collector and said, “Thanks for the stamp.”

Late Saturday night, I scrubbed the stamp off the back of my hand. One of the quickest ways to attract attention in the South on a Sunday is to have a stamp from the night before still visible on your hand. I did not want a long lecture from anyone who looked like my grandmother and I certainly didn’t want phone calls several times a week inviting me to a Baptist Women gathering. Doug absent-mindedly wore his hand stamp all day Sunday. I can’t decide if I want to blame his innocence on too much time spent in New Jersey or sexism in Baptist churches. Either way, I wouldn’t want anyone thinking I was running in and out of the high school gym to smoke cigarettes all night. I could just say I was out club-hopping with my five children. Two dogs. Two cats. And a snake.

Stir Fry Cafe

// January 5th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // food, local

I am more than a little bit infatuated with Stir Fry Cafe. For less than 10 dollars, I can have a dinner of miso soup and Brooklyn rolls. Just before New Year’s Eve, I got a cell phone message promoting sushi and drink specials at, well, I don’t know for certain where because there was no restaurant in the text ad. Since the only restaurant I have invited to send me phone ads is Stir Fry, I am guessing it was Stir Fry that had sushi and drink specials. For Stir Fry’s sake, I hope that they include their NAME in future ads. Last week, Doug and I took Tommy to Stir Fry as a special treat before Tommy left for school. Okay, maybe we went because it’s my favorite restaurant right now, but we’ll just pretend it wasn’t my selfish choice of location. During our meal, we were constantly swatting away gnats. Halfway through the meal, Doug realized it wasn’t just three gnats, but a dozen gnats clustered on the wall over our table. We pointed it out to the waiter, thinking he would clean the spot or move us to a less gnat populated table. The waiter sympathetically agreed that it was kind of gross and noted that the gnats used to hang out on a different wall. Umm, ew. I’m thinking that as much as I love this particular Stir Fry location, it might be time to try a Stir Fry in one of the other areas of town. Either that or wait until spring to return and have our meal in the patio area. The bugs have never bothered us on the patio.

just a bit of ash

// December 29th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // health, local, people

We have a friend who talked about the damage mining does to the ecosystem long before the Kingston spill. We’ve been pestering this friend to say something in the aftermath of this giant mess. The friend decided to take water samples and photographs before giving an opinion. Our friend needs more evidence than “looks yucky” to hypothesize about something. Sadly, we couldn’t get the scientific explanation we were hoping for, since our friend was prevented from getting near the site. Our friend wasn’t just told to stay away, they were physically detained and interrogated. After being labeled an “ecoterrorist” our friend was finally allowed to leave without water samples or photographs.

If the area is safe, why aren’t people allowed to take photographs? Why are they refusing to allow scientific experts to sample and test the water? If the area is too dangerous for anyone except HazMat cleanup crews, why isn’t the mess being cleaned up with any kind of expediency? What damage can an ecoterrorist do to a toxic waste spill? Are they afraid someone might, I don’t know, clean it up?