Domestic Psychology

puzzling

// August 20th, 2012 // 2 Comments » // parenting, play

I like jigsaw puzzles. The only thing that prevents me from always having a puzzle in progress is my failure to convince Pomegranate to let me be a puzzle tester. Even with large gaps of time between puzzles, they are a familiar enough sight that visitors comment when there ISN’T a puzzle on the table. My family patiently tolerates the 1000s of tiny pieces on our kitchen table that I fidget with every time I attempt to walk past the table. I appease my table hogging guilt by doing ‘art themed‘ puzzles. In my vivid imagination, someday the children will see something in a museum that will catch their attention. They won’t remember the puzzle, but their brains will be at full attention and they will remember the actual work of art.

In actuality, my theory is about as effective as the idea that the children will learn the periodic table because it’s what they see every time they walk in the bathroom or that they will learn the planets because of the solar system ceiling in Professor Teen’s room.

We do it anyway.

Reading, Writing & Arithmetic

// November 30th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // parenting, school

While one of my children graduates from high school in a few weeks, my youngest child is in Kindergarten. The difference in their education is tangibly different. When my oldest children started school, we played games like breaking everything down into circles, squares and triangles. My youngest child know the geometric shapes based on the number of sides. “That’s a hexagon. It has two trapezoids inside it.” I played games with the alphabet and street signs with my oldest children. My youngest child sounds out every word he sees and follows up with a discussion of why some sounds are silent.

My youngest child is learning faster. He is taught differently. His classroom has higher expectations. The amount of homework has eliminated the need for workbooks and flashcards that I used with my older children.

The classrooms in the elementary school are technicolor in their diversity compared to the mono-ability classrooms that my oldest child experienced. When my oldest son was in school, I had teachers and parents complaining to me that they didn’t want those kids in their classes. Hiding the children who look, act or learn differently is no longer the norm. Schools are helping build a kinder, more compassionate generation of people than the trolls who comment on newspaper websites. We are building on strengths, both internal and external.

As beautiful as the evolution of elementary education, I am wary of creativity and play being shoved aside in favor of testing training and memorization once children leave elementary school. The future may be wrapped up in science and technology, but creativity and imagination are the seeds of innovation. The strong foundation of elementary school should be the basis for learning problem solving in middle school.

Short sighted people who scream that high schools with the most challenged populations should be closed are taking something important away from the elementary students who are working hard to install the operating systems that will allow them to reach their potential. We need more schools, not less. The well-intentioned NCLB has morphed into a monster that punishes schools and teachers who are struggling with students whose obstacles are overwhelming and life threatening.

Our schools have come a very long way and they continue to change for the better. I look forward to seeing the embracement of potential and feeling of hope that is taking root in elementary schools as it spreads and grows to the teenagers who so desperately need it.

local elections – school board version (pt 2)

// July 23rd, 2010 // 3 Comments » // politics, school

If you live in the 9th district, your School Board choice can be narrowed down to one simple question. If you want to continue with the representation you have now, Bratton is your candidate. If you want something different, Trainor is your candidate. If you live in a cave and don’t know that both of your candidates are well-known figures in the Knox County education community whose careers speak for themselves, then consider the candidates’ responses to the following question.

Should school foundations be allowed to fund specific classes? Bratton’s response was that it wouldn’t be fair to allow that, because it would create have and have not schools. In other words, if we can’t have it, nobody can have it. Trainor stated that if foundations can help schools keep from losing classes, they should be able to do so.

Neither candidate stated that the current funding already gives disproportionately to schools from lower SES communities to balance the communities that can afford to provide more themselves. Why would you cripple the schools that are getting less government resources from using the community resources that eliminate them from additional government funding? That’s like shooting yourself in the foot because shoes don’t fit on your hands. Moreover, why wouldn’t any School Board member have the maturity and intelligence to allow each and every school to be the best that it can be?

The 9th district needs a School Board representative who cares about all schools and all students. That representative needs to be Trainor.

local elections – school board version

// July 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // politics, school

If you live in Knox County’s seventh district, your choice for School Board is Sepesi or Warwick. Both seem like good people with sincere motives. Because of their career histories, both are going to be clear and quick thinkers if there is a crisis. If you want to save vo-tech programs, Warwick is your candidate. If you think your district is getting the budgetary short straw, Sepesi is your candidate.

Based on their responses at the most recent forum, both candidates are facing a steep learning curve. The “Race to the Top” money is not what they think it is. It is going to be like rain in the desert that evaporates before it touches your skin. No volume of weather reporters saying that it rained is going to change the fact that you are still thirsty.

Saving the vo-tech programs is admirable, but highly unlikely. Realistically, profit and non-profit groups are the future of vocational training. Getting more money into your district is admirable, but skip the politics of board member vs board member and work to get new business in your district and existing businesses in your schools.

Elect either one. The results will be nearly identical.

Dear English teacher,

// January 8th, 2010 // 6 Comments » // books, school

There are so many wonderful books that are considered classics. Having to narrow it down to one semester’s worth of choices is something I have discussed with others on more than one occasion. Your choices are somber and thought provoking. Even with the focus on emotional struggle that you have chosen, I have to question your inclusion of Chopin’s “The Awakening.” Yes, it certainly qualifies as a classic piece of literature. It is also one of the most depressing books I have ever read. I read it as an adult and it made me want to dress in black and comb my hair over my eyes. I cannot imagine emotional roller coaster teenagers emerging from this book’s study enlightened.

I recognize that feminist literature choices tend to be pessimistic and misandrous. I understand that you are trying to avoid literature that includes sexual themes. Still, isn’t there anything that they could read which doesn’t romanticize suicide? Are there no books for teens that are inspiring or hopeful? Would it be terrible if they read a book that made them laugh?

Cathy

Reading List for this class: The Awakening, In Cold Blood, Native Son, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Things They Carried, Life of Pi, The Sound and the Fury, The Grapes of Wrath and The Catcher in the Rye.

no guilt allowed

// May 21st, 2009 // 2 Comments » // parenting, school, teenagers

Dear Katie,
You have given your children love and support since before they were born. You have done NOTHING to warrant any kind of guilt inflicted upon yourself. Stomp that feeling into the dirt and keep doing what you were already doing.
Love, Cathy

When we first become parents, we have prepared by reading 5 dozen books on parenting that over-analyze and obsess about every detail of infancy and toddler-hood. The instructions for preschool and beyond are simply, “send them to school.” Instincts tell us to help with homework, volunteer to run the copy machine for the teacher twice a year and say yes to whatever the PTA tells you to do. Everything else is on-the-job learning. Nobody warns you that your child might learn differently. You have probably unconsciously adapted your parenting style to accommodate your child’s needs all along. It can still be a complete shock to the system when you suddenly have a light bulb click over your head as you realize that there is actually something going on that’s not “he just needs to apply himself.” Parents are not taught to know about learning differences. You know who is? Teachers. I promise you without a shadow of a doubt that there were some teachers who just knew that your child needed to be taught differently. You know what they can do with that knowledge? Nothing. Teachers are trapped in a bureaucracy that weighs on their talents like a ton of bricks. They can’t identify anything for fear that the school will be made accountable for some new expense. They can’t change the curriculum that they planned without someone questioning their decision to do so. They are so over-scheduled that the school year is over before they can sneak in adaptations that could help. School administration needs to change. NCLB and IDEA need to be rewritten to stop asking schools to pay for things that should be billed as medical expenses. An uninsured child in the hospital can be fast tracked onto TennCare. Schools need that kind of power to get help for students. More than anything, teachers need to be given more freedom to help their students. Parents and teachers have too much work to do to get mired in unwarranted guilt. Politicians need to stop wasting time and focus on making a difference. Our children can’t wait.

What’s happening in my child’s school?

// April 21st, 2009 // 10 Comments » // people, politics, school

If last month’s PTA meeting was Pythonesque fun, then today’s meeting was a demonstration in frustration. The parents were frustrated that their children were subjected to a random weapon search. “We didn’t KNOW that was a new policy.” The principal was frustrated that the parents were upset. “Didn’t you get the *automated call this morning?” I was frustrated at the comments and attitudes. “There should be a way to let all of us who don’t follow school board stuff know about policies.”

The School Board‘s meeting schedule, agenda and minutes from past meetings are all available online. Most of the board’s meetings are broadcast live on television. You can call, e-mail or have a face-to-face meeting with school board members. The best board members (Indya Kincannon) send out newsletters to keep people updated on school board activities.

The local newspapers report on local and statewide school related decisions. Your government reps have newsletters and websites discussing pending legislation. Local and National PTA/PTO groups send out regular newsletters about anything and everything that is happening in schools. Bloggers write daily about the good and bad happening in their children’s schools. Parents tweet when something happens that others need to know. Students use Facebook to organize, complain and support each other. There are a million voices screaming out loud about education on national, statewide and local levels. Listen to them. Join in the conversations.

*The automated call was set to go at 8:30 this morning. It is now after 7 p.m. and I still haven’t gotten a phone call.

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?

Community Schools

// March 9th, 2009 // No Comments » // child welfare, me, school

Knox County NEEDS to have someone or a group of someones attending the Coalition for Community Schools Learning Lab. IF that person could be me, the event would be live blogged. IF an agency or group sponsored me, I would wear a t-shirt with their logo to the event. I am an education and mental health advocate because I care, but I am also just a volunteer. I CAN be bought.