Spam has been a problem since email was invented, but lately it’s not only been on the rise, it’s been more alarming. I saw some figures a few months ago that said that spam had increased by 80% in a matter of just a few weeks.

My inbox verifies that fact. And lately, the spam that has wormed its way into my line of vision has been even more… ahem… interesting…Today, for instance, I’m looking through my “junk” mail folder before trashing it all. (You never can tell when something GOOD goes in there, so I always give it a cursory glance).

And what I see is the (expected) non-female ads for products to — ahem — “pump you up” so to speak. What I didn’t expect was the preview pane for this particular well-known “V” product to be populated with information on how to save my soul.

Since when did “sex drugs” wiggle through spam filters disguised as religious advice?

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Ok, I’ve been doing alot of thinking lately…

The conference planted a few new seeds, but mostly it fertilized the seeds already planted in my mind. And the vines are becoming dark and twisted. I’m getting mad… mad as hell, to use an overused (but extremely accurate) phrase…

I recently commented about working harder to make less. And I’ve done even more thinking about that now. I’ve determined the following:

• I work harder to make less (which means I spend less time with my family to give over more money in taxes to my government)
• My food supply is not a quality food supply (and quality food supply is not readily available, although that is improving — if you have the money to pay for organic foods and the time to search out and use local growers)
• The quality of my children’s education is abhorrent (this isn’t improving and I have little hope that it will)

So, I’m wondering if I wouldn’t be better off if I worked half as many hours, brought my children home and spent the other “half” of my time educating them. I wonder if teaching them to put food back, raise a garden and cook from scratch wouldn’t be a better use of my time and energy — and a better preparation for them. At the very least, I’d get to spend more time with my family. Quality time, working together, learning together, playing together.

I wonder if moving back to the farm is the answer. I’m wondering about alot of things and I’m trying to put it all together. And I’m redefining what I consider “poverty.” I talked with my father about this. We argued and “talked politics” for quite some time. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we violently disagree. Today, we did a little of both.

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When I returned from my blogging lunch (in comparison to a working lunch), I attended a speech by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. I’d just managed to wrap my mind around what I could do as a single person for this cause when he urged the audience to “light a match” explaining that in a room of darkness, a single match throws out alot of light.

I must agree…

In an effort to light my own match, I started working to gather more effective tools I need to explain the issues to my own “sphere of influence” when I return from Memphis.

During a later afternoon session on Net Neutrality, I had the opportunity to talk briefly with Tim Wu (probable author of the term “Net Neutrality”), professor of law at Stanford and proponent of Net Neutrality.

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The conference is off to a great start. I’ve heard speakers and issue activists Danny Glover and Bill Moyers. Personally, I’ve been battling with what, exactly, my role should be in this fight. I’ve been battling with it for weeks. I now believe that by the end of the conference, I’ll have my game plan.

So far, I know I’ll continue to be vocal to my local political representatives (Not that it’s been a particularly productive pasttime so far). However, I must continue to try. My interests are broad — but interrelated.

• I think that the Internet is required for economic development in rural areas. That requires access.
• I think that our current defunct educational system could be better served by relying more on online resources to educate our children. (I have children that ride a rural bus for over an hour and a half each day to get, what I consider to be, less-than-adequate education). If it were possible to do online courses that were state approved in KY as they are approved in other states, my children would be studying online at home.
• I think independent workers and small businesses can compete more effectively with online tools and that the removal of geographic boundaries is advantageous to the businesses and our economy overall.
• I think NOT being required to commute and pollute our environment in order to do your job is a good thing. The Internet permits me to do just that and I want others to be able to do the same.

I think all these things are important. And although I find media reform a sticky and difficult to fully recognize, much less fully understand, I do know that these issues are what impact my own issues.

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I’m having a fit. All over anyone who will listen. A HUGE fit. I’ve ranted about school attendance policies before, but I’m in the middle of another situation with this topic.

Alex is sick. She got sick over the “fall break” from school. She got worse over the weekend and, against my better judgment, I sent her to school on Monday. I did it because the new attendance policy sucks. Despite the fact that she was snotty and coughing and droopy, I sent her. I knew better. And it was socially irresponsible of me to expose others to the germs and I regret it. But, there was a part of me that was waiting for them to call me to tell me to come and pick her up because she was sick — just so I could ask… “Since you called ME.. is this an “excused” absence?”

It really is about the money from the school’s perspective, else they wouldn’t have “free days” so often and “movies” during library class, and no homework assignments on the days before weekends and often-times very few classes and no homework the days before and after big breaks (like Fall Break, Spring Break, Christmas Holiday, etc, etc…) If it were about educating the children, that would be the focus. That would be how the majority of the time in school was spent.

They are so worried about the “per head” money they get for each child, I figured having a contagious child would make them call me. After all, in the long term, more germs = more illness = fewer kids in school.

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Yesterday the good folks at www.SaveTheInternet.com hosted an online web forum for bloggers with Bill Moyers. Bill is doing a segment called “The Net At Risk” during his “Moyers on America” program later this month. He met with several bloggers and net-aware individuals to discuss their own concerns, to ask questions and to offer feedback before the new documentary airs nationwide.

I attended the event and must say that it was a worthwhile use of my time, even though Tuesdays are always extremely busy for me.

The “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” approach to this topic by the Telcom industries and some politicians irritates me. I’m a firm believer in minimizing governmental interference in most things — so my feelings on Net Neutrality are a little off my usual mark. But, I want to ensure — and I want assurance — that the cable and phone companies can’t, in essence, control the access to unlimited information by shunting the pipelines and filtering content.

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When school started this year, I (once again) refused to fill out the application for “free lunches” for the kids. And once again, when yet another “reminder” was sent home that they needed this information, I once again refused to fill our OR return the application.

So today, I received an officially signed sheet of paper informing me that my application for free lunch had been denied.

I saw red.(Thankfully, there was a number I could call to have my application reconsidered by the “Hearing Official” in Jamestown, Kentucky…. GRRRRR)

You know… it makes me crazy. Way back, when I was trying to make my way alone — with three kids depending on just me for their food and a roof over their heads — while I was launching a business and we nearly starved… EVEN then I refused governmental assistance to feed my kids.

Now, I bought in bulk, we didn’t eat fancy, but we ate. And to be sent an official notification that my “application” had been denied makes me want to punch someone. Hard. Really hard.

According to the kids, they are the oddballs in this school system because they actually DO pay for their lunches. My youngest has told me that it makes her feel bad to be different.

Now, how’s THAT for leaving no child behind??!?

*Grrrrr*

In Kentucky, I wring my hands about the quality of the education. I blog about it, I become a thorn.

In China, the new eSchoolbook program is being launched, and even from the tiny bit of information I can find, it sounds pretty awesome. Now, if only I could get this type of high-tech education approved for home schooling my own — or permitting them to have quality distance learning.

This weekend, I talked with a client over lunch about the educational systems in Kentucky and Georgia. And his idea, married with this high-tech concept, makes perfect sense to me. Why not have the BEST teachers in the country teaching the classes and doing the presentations and have the local teachers on hand to answer questions that arise from those presentations?

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Today was an interesting day. I woke up late (my little alarm clock is still MIA from the trip to Amy’s for the birth event). And, I stayed up too late last night working. So, the kids were 10 minutes too late to catch the bus. (They catch the bus at 5:35 a.m.)

I called Wayne to tell him that I’d need the car a.s.a.p. to take them to the school, which is 45+ minutes away from where we live. Since Wayne works nights, and gets off work at 7:00 a.m. and it takes him 45 minutes to drive home, it takes awhile to deliver the kids to school. At 9:00 a.m. I managed to get Alexzandria to the elementary school. I asked about the attendance policy since it had changed this year and since the student handbook section on attendance was not in agreement with the “handout” received on attendance at the beginning of the year (both were sent home the same day).

Apparently, unlike most parents, I actually read that thing every year before signing the sheet saying I’ve read it and agree to it. Granted, this year, due to typos, misspellings and mutually exclusive clauses, I made some notes on WHAT I was agreeing to before turning it back in… but I read it.

So, I was a bit surprised when I was told that Alexzandria, having arrived at 9:00 a.m., would be counted absent for the entire day…

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Last night, my son needed to do a bit of research for a book — written between 1865 and 1911 about American History. It could not be a novel. And, we found an interesting looking book on the Project Gutenberg site which met his criteria and which subsequently spawned my blog about that site yesterday. (I simply adore all those thousands of free ebooks. The site fascinates me!)

But I digress…

He came in this morning and asked if there was any way to load that ebook onto his iPod so he could take it to school and begin reading without lugging his laptop. I told him that I’d seen instructions on the Internet on how to do that, and that he should go pull a search and see what he could find.

Derrick is pretty darn good at Internet searches at this point, and he came back a few moments later with the exact site I’d seen several months ago.
I’d never taken the time to test the site, so we did so this morning. In a matter of about 5 minutes, he had the complete ebook uploaded to his iPod and was quite pleased with the result.

If you want to try it, visit: http://www.ipod-notes.com/ and follow the directions. I’ll warn you that a text file MEANS a text file (he and I were both trying it and he tried to use a .doc file — so his zip didn’t work).

It’s quick. It’s easy. And…. it’s free!

Enjoy.

My youngest son needs to earn a bit of money to call his own. That’s not so easy when you live in a rural area. It’s almost impossible if you are a parent unwilling to turn over the family car to a new driver, and are unwilling to buy a car for said teenager. I don’t believe in buying cars for teenagers, never have. But, if I ever saw a need for one, it’s now. Living this far out makes it difficult for the younger set to get an “after school” job and learn a bit about responsibility and working to earn.

But, as a small business owner, a net-junkie and an overwhelmed mom, I’ve come up with a way around these problems… A win-win for everyone!

Derrick has agreed to take some of my things and put them on eBay and sell them (and package them and send them and deal with all that for me). I’m going to give him a substantial percentage of any income from my items, and of course he has his own stuff that he plans to sell too. My only requirement is that he put 50% of anything he makes into an IRA. Since he’s under 18, I have to “sponsor” him per the eBay rules, but he’s mature enough it doesn’t really bother me.

He’s been working on putting money aside for his retirement quite a bit this year. I talked with him about the value of the dollar he can put in at this age, vs. the dollars he can put in at an “advanced” age of say…. thirty. Once he learned about the joys of compound interest and investments, he was eager to begin. So he started looking for ways to earn money and has asked me for any ideas I might have.

I’ve had him take over some of the housecleaning, and I pay him for that out of my personal account. (This is above and beyond the work he does that’s standard faire for being a member of the family — this is pay for him to do the stuff on my own list that I don’t want to do). I’ve also hired him to do the filing and organizing and some work in my office. That’s been paid out of the business account (and is a business expense… besides, his hourly rate is more affordable than having an adult come in to do the work, and some of the information is sensitive and I’d prefer strangers not handle it.) I hope to get him to help me achieve a true paperless office before he returns to school in a week. It’s going to involve quite a bit of scanning and organizing digital files. This will be paid out of the  business account as well.

All told, I think it will be a great way for me to stay more organized and productive while I minimize the “footprint” of my office. And, it will provide an opportunity for my ambitious son to help secure his future now. And, with the new eBay deal, maybe we can get rid of some of the stuff around here without overloading the local Goodwill (we have made about six sizable trips to Good will in the last couple of months). It will also teach my son how to plan and handle a small business, how to deliver on time, work with customers and how to
do taxes at year end. (All stuff I want him to know before he leaves home for college).

He’s collecting stuff as quickly as I am ready to part with it to begin working on eBay now. And, since I’m in the middle of another “minimize and shovel the place out” kick… it’s pretty easy “pickin’s”. And, it’s catching on… there are already members of the family that are interested in having Derrick sell items on commission for them too! So, it may be a great way for him to begin growing a small business that he can carry though college… and do from his own computer.

It may not be for everyone, but having my son work for me has been great for me… and for him. And knowing I’m helping him to learn makes it that much sweeter. I wish I’d put a grand or so away each year beginning when I was 16… I’d probably be a much more “well funded” future retiree if I had.

I was talking to a client today, and a professional peer, and BOTH of my parents about public education. I’ve been talking to a lot of people about education lately. And, one of these enlightened individuals made a comment that resonated in my mind. The person said, “I feel that what I’m doing, by sending my kids to public school, is nearly child abuse.”

That really sang out.

I have a peer that mentioned a sign in front of her own children’s elementary school in Florida yesterday that read: “May 24 – Early dissmissel.” Today, she was going to get a photo, but apparently one of the teachers at that school was alert. It’s a shame that’s not true at all schools.

And I’d like to make a call for anyone else that has this type of “oh, my God!” photo from outside (or inside) their respective schools. So, send them to me!…in the meantime,…
Want to see the results of our educational system in more practical, work-a-day examples? View my peer’s photo of her local McDonalds. The person that put this up? Probably a student or former student of public education.

I’ll be writing more on this, as I talk to more people. You know, I thought that education was just MY hot button, but most of the parents and grandparents I’ve spoken to lately feel the same way. And, most of them agree that throwing more money at education is making the problem worse, not better.

I’ve heard comments that state “We hand them a calculator and a spell-checker and wonder why they can’t do math or spell.” And I’ve heard “Have you noticed the projects that the teachers assign? They are ludicrous! There is no real research, there is no real converging of thoughts or relating one topic to real life!” A client told me about his daughter’s 9th grade project in class. They read a book and then brought in food that was mentioned in the book as a major school project. And what was the food that the children prepared? Bologna sandwiches! The book was not related to historical references, to modern society (and the woes of that society) or any other tangible “learning” experience. Nope, it was a book they read and then they made bologna sandwiches. I shared my own story about my 16 year old reading Black Beauty ALOUD in class, so work after the test isn’t to “challenging” — (God forbid!)

Personally, I’m really looking forward to seeing the notebook my son is keeping on his last three weeks of school. Once the testing is over (the testing that leads to cash rewards for the school system) the education — what little there was to begin with — is gone. I plan to post the results of this three-week survey here on my blog. My mother says that my children will probably not be able to attend the Russell County School System after my little online fits about the sorry state of the education there. I disagree. It’s a PUBLIC school system, and if I need to go and park myself in the classes for “parental observation” of the educational process, write letters to the editor and continually keep the local and state board of education aware of the goings-on from a parental perspective, I can do that.

I believe that, overall, the elementary school in Russell County is good (the one my daughter attends), but the high school… that’s another story. A scary story. I know that the majority of the individuals with school-aged children are just trying to survive. I know many of these parents are single parents to boot. I know that many parents don’t have the time or the energy to fight a system that’s failing our children. And, I know that this problem is indicative of other, even more invasive problems in our modern society… but I am only one person, and I have a limited amount of time to spend. So I will continue to report what I see and to challenge the “status quo” where my children are concerned.

I’m not really easy to keep quiet and I don’t really sit down and play nice when I’m passionate about something. And, education is my “something” and things need to change. They need to change now. If government should not be given the responsibility for things it doesn’t do well — then the government (and unions) should get the heck out of the education business (and several other businesses, like health care and retirement… but I won’t go there right now). For now, give me parental choice. Let me CHOOSE what schools my children attend and let it be up to the schools to get funding based on performance by MY standards and other parent’s standards… not by a bogus test that monopolizes the school year and intimidates the educators and rules the administration. Let the schools return to a place of learning, not a place of politics and “shell games” with our collective future in the balance.

Right now, children freak out when handed a word problem. They don’t know what to do if the formulas aren’t spoon-fed. They can’t do worksheets with multiple concepts. And… they can’t think for themselves and work out problems with multiple-concept applications. It’s too challenging, it’s too difficult, and it’s too hard to MEASURE on a standardized test. And, case-in-point, McDonalds and many fast food places don’t ring up actual prices – they push buttons with PICTURES of food and then the change is delivered — because most of our young people can’t MAKE change anymore. An example? While in Wendy’s recently, my grandmother handed the cashier a $50 bill. The girl rang it in as a $10 and when my grandmother questioned this, she replied “Yeah, I know, but making change from a $50 is too hard, so I’ll just give you back $40 and ring it up as a $10.” Does that make sense to you? Me neither! *rolls eyes*.

If we are to encourage our children to be survivors and good citizens, we must teach them to be problem solvers, not rote equation writers. We have eliminated memorization, we have removed the need to learn to spell, to learn multiplication tables, to learn formulas and conversions and other USEFUL information for daily life. I love technology, but what happens to these children if technology isn’t available at fingertip access? What if they find themselves in a situation where they must problem solve on the fly? What if there is no calculator, no program, no Internet, no spell check. What if there is a problem and they only have the information stored in their brains to help them solve it?

I do not underestimate the job of being an educator in today’s climate. I feel for these individuals. They must stay between a rock and a hard place, trying to teach to the test, keep the administration happy, be babysitters and try to work in teaching a little something in between other duties. I wouldn’t want their job. I respect teachers. But I believe that what’s happening is driving away the best instincts of our best teachers, tying both arms behind their backs and blindfolding them… and then asking why they don’t teach with enthusiasm. Teachers need the support of parents, and they need to be less “handled” by the administration and the government. They need to be allowed to TEACH. Teaching is an art that requires passion. We can’t expect good results when we strip the occupation and these fine individuals of both.

I’m not-so-proud to say that my own elementary school… Edna L. Toliver School in Danville, Kentucky was displaying THIS earlier today:

It’s stuff like this… and I don’t just mean the spelling of “Scool” — but also the spelling of “Libary” that just makes me beam with pride. And yes, I’m sure that throwing more money at this “Reading First” school will help improve the spelling issues. I’m sure it will… aren’t you?

*Rolls eyes*

Only the government (and dishonest car mechanics) try to convince you that when you have something horribly broken, that you can fix it by throwing more money at it.
Case in point, I just got a copy of a press release from Kentucky Rep Mike Harmon’s Office (I’ll cut and paste it below for those of you who want to see it). It states that educating our children is a priority of the 2006 General Assembly. So far, sounds pretty good… then I read on.

I see statements like:

The most important part of educating our students is ensuring that we have qualified personnel in our classrooms…the General Assembly needed to do more to ensure they are adequately compensated.

I feel that maybe rather than increasing salaries, we should increase expectations. To heck with CATS testing… I am tired of school systems dedicated solely to teaching to a bogus exam. Why not try…. EUREKA!…. Teaching!?!?!

Why not actually teach every day of the school year? Why not teach age-appropriate material (rather than, for instance, having a 16-year old excellent reader spend two weeks in his English class reading Black Beauty aloud?) Call me crazy, but why not spend that time actually CHALLENGING the kids to learn something new?

If some of the kids need a book on the level of Black Beauty — give it to them (and SHAME on our school system for allowing that to happen in the first place) — but don’t make ALL the children read that same book. How HARD would it be to assign reading that is done outside of school and then break down the class into 2-3 level-appropriate groups to discuss their level appropriate books?

If I were the teacher in that class (and I have no professional teaching background at all) — I’d select three books of different levels with similar primary themes and assign them to my class based on reading level. They would read the books for HOMEWORK and then return to class to discuss the thematic similarities and differences as a whole class. Yeah, it may be a bit more difficult to teach that way than to have a whole class drone on reading aloud from a book targeted for 9-year-olds… but if a person doesn’t want to teach, why are they THERE?

How about HCR 214 which “directs a study on how to effectively provide assistance to schools not meeting established goals for student achievement to be completed by the Interim Join Committee on Education by December 1, 2006.” How about I just share the notebook my son is keeping for my edification right now? How about the course of his “coursework” over the last three weeks of school — after the tests, when the teachers quit teaching — be offered. Skip the expensive study — have your kids keep notes on what they are actually DOING in school. Drop by and have a surprise visit as a legislator. These are public schools — just GO THERE and see what’s happening.

Heck, if everyone did that enough, maybe the “free days” and the days at the park (my daughter had her THIRD full day at the park yesterday). The biggest concern we, apparently, should have about her education is whether or not she’s getting enough sunscreen to avoid burning.

HJR 145 – Develop a strategy to improve student’s understanding of the Constitution and the democratic process. Yeah, let’s do that. Maybe these kids will get angry enough that they will actually go out and vote. Maybe with another study, they will learn to be less apathetic about the system and they will believe that they actually matter as individuals in a democracy. Yup, explain to them how the Electoral College works, exactly, and hope they still have the urge to participate in that system. Give them the history about how presidents can, and have, lost the popular vote and still win the presidency. Yeah, that will give them a reason to want to participate. Great idea! And let’s throw some more money at the system and have some more studies on this one too! OR… maybe we could have a class on governmental change and how to create that on a grass roots level. Maybe our “civics” courses should show how things are and how, historically, change has occurred and how change can be implemented NOW. Hmmmm… but I’ll bet that wouldn’t be supported, would it?

HB 589 – Health Education – Dangers of UV rays. Yeah, this one needs to be given to the teachers that keep kids outside all day rather than teaching them at the end of the school year. Note previous mention of my Son’s sunburn one day last week from an “all day out” and the above mention of the third day in less than two weeks for my fair-skinned daughter. Yeah, and maybe this education needs to be given (as a requirement) to the teachers as well. Personally, I’ve taught my own children about this. Even at 8, Alex understands.

HB 197 – End of course examinations – Hmmmm. What a novel thought. Actual FINAL EXAMS that count. Wait… hold on… didn’t we already have these? I could swear that when I went to school we actually had final exams during the last week of school –and unlike TODAY’s “finals” — they were CUMULATIVE exams and the COUNTED (big time) on the final grade in every class. My son tells me that his “final exams” — the few that are being given, are over new material or, per the teachers “don’t count unless everyone does poorly” — yeah, that one left me scratching my head too. Final exams people. It’s pretty self-evident, IMHO.

HB 646 – Wellness and Physical Activity Program – Cost 2.5 million. This is going to be, what? Education on how we should get regular physical activity? Why not just HAVE regular physical activity as a part of the morning regimen at school? Why study it more? What are we going to do, use more VIDEOS to teach healthy lifestyles? And what does this actually DO? Look it up. It creates another commission. Lovely, and effective, I’m sure. Trickle down, theory, anyone? Yeah, me neither.

I’ll just leave my thoughts on the Teacher Pay Protection bill silent. I won’t mention my feelings about a society in a condition that this even occurs to legislators. For now, I’m pushing away from the computer and going on a hike. For now, I’m going to try to push the sorry state of Kentucky Education and the equally sorry situation wherein Kentucky Politicians continue to chase their tail (or get indicted) out of my mind. Right now, I’ll take a deep breath.

And can someone out there tell me, again, how it’s NOT all about the money? Anyone??

*Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in….*

Read the Full Press Release Here:

by State Representative Mike Harmon

Educating our children a priority of 2006 General Assembly

This session, we moved forward on a number of education issues that will help ensure that our children – no doubt Kentucky’s most precious natural resource – receive a quality education that prepares them to not only enter the job market, but to conquer it.

As I have said in previous columns, the most important part of educating our students is ensuring that we have qualified personnel in our classrooms and schools. However, although we have some of the finest educators in the nation, the General Assembly needed to do more to ensure they are adequately compensated. By providing salaries that are competitive with neighboring states, we can attract new faces to our classrooms while keeping the educators we have now.

This session we were able to include a much awaited teacher pay increase in the budget. Specifically, the budget includes a 2 percent pay raise for teachers in this upcoming fiscal year and an additional $3,000 increase in 2007-08. Classified employees will also receive a pay raise of 2 percent during 2006-2007 and 5 percent the next year.

The budget also includes full funding for the Read to Achieve Program, a program aimed at improving Kentucky’s literacy rates. A $50 million bond issue was included within the two-year spending plan to be used towards putting more computers in the hands of public school students. We also moved to reopen the KAPT (Kentucky Affordable Prepaid Tuition) program for new enrollment this fall. KAPT provides parents, family members and those interested in a child’s future to contribute to a college account at today’s rates, wagering on future tuition increases.

In addition to the budget, we also passed several other pieces of education and child-related legislation. Here are a few summaries of these bills:

HB 79 – Retirement Contributions for Certified Employees called to active duty. Requires a local board of education to grant a leave of absence to a certified employee who is a member of a state National Guard or a Reserve component ordered to active military duty by the President of the . The local boards of education are also required to pay the employee’s retirement contribution for the period of active military duty.

SB 51 – Teacher Pay Protection. This legislation will require any teacher or school employee who is assaulted while at work to continue receiving pay and benefits for up to 100 days after the assault. A doctor’s statement will be required as proof that the teacher or employee cannot return to work for them to receive paid leave offered under SB 51.

SB 130 – Student testing. Under the provisions of SB 130, the state would pay for and require all high school juniors to take the ACT, commonly required as a college entrance exam, under Senate Bill 130. The measure would allow sophomores, juniors and seniors to take the WorkKeys test, geared toward students who do not plan to attend college. Students’ testing fees would be paid by the Department of Education the first time they take the ACT and/or the WorkKeys tests.

HCR 214 – Student Achievement Goals. Directs a study on how to effectively provide assistance to schools not meeting established goals for student achievement to be completed by the Interim Joint Committee on Education by December 1, 2006.

HJR 145 – Civics Education. Requires the Council on Postsecondary Education, the Kentucky Board of Education, Education Professional Standards Board and other P-16 partners to develop strategies and a timeline for improving Kentucky students’ knowledge and understanding of the Constitution of the , and the democratic processes.

HB 341 – Education Technology. Directs the Department of Education to conduct a study to determine costs, benefits, feasibility, and implications of adoption of specifications for statewide education data designed to facilitate the exchange of information among different instructional and administrative software applications at the local, state, and federal levels.

HB 589 – Health Education. Encourages public schools to include age-appropriate education on the risks associated with exposure to ultraviolet rays within the existing health curriculum. House Bill 589 also requires the Kentucky Department of Education to provide instructional resources, including information from national standards and health organizations.

HB 197 – End-of-course examinations. Creates a pilot program in approximately ten schools throughout the state for standardized end-of-course examinations in Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry. The pilot program is set to take place during the 2007-2008 public school year.

HB 646 – Governor’s Wellness and Physical Activity Program. HB 646 establishes a health, wellness and fitness program for Kentucky that would promote a healthy lifestyle among our citizens. While the program is not specific to children, younger Kentuckians are a targeted audience as the number of Kentucky children diagnosed with diabetes and lifestyle-related health disorders has increased dramatically. The estimated cost to implement the initiative is $2.5 million.

While I intend to continue updating you on what we accomplished this session, I hope you will not hesitate to contact me if I can provide additional information on our work, to share your thoughts or regarding a state government matter. I can be reached at home or through the toll-free message line at 1-800-372-7181.

The retreat is going well, although the last three days have been spent working, even though I’d planned only to work Tuesdays and Thursdays through this month, while on retreat. I need to spend the majority of my time writing, researching and coming to some conclusions.

But, when a client has a crisis — what’s a good girl to do?

So now, after stomping the multiple client fires, I’m ready to settle in. And, in between work hours today, I chatted with Pops a bit. About my future, the direction of my career and the fact that I don’t really know if I’m more afraid of success or failure if I pursue a fiction writing path.

The fact is, I’m had alot of pretty lofty goals in my life. And, I’ve reached almost all of them thusfar… (more…)

Mom and I got back to town at around 3 a.m. this morning. By 8 a.m., Pops (who had gone to bed early) rolled me out to begin the preparations for the last trip I plan to take for awhile. It took most of the day to get things ready.

It’s kind of nice to turn the business phone off, to not have the office phone ringing constantly. I am enjoying the break, but there is still so much work to do, such late hours and so much of my time spent traveling lately. I love to travel, but I’d like it more if my kids could have been released from school a bit earlier. I wanted them to experience this with me. Alex loves Colorado, as does Derrick. They will hopefully be able to come out later, but with all the other events of the summer, they may not.

Derrick has been telling me, as has Alex, all the things they are doing in school right now. The “free periods,” the playing cards in math class, the time outside (Derrick came home burned Friday, he stayed outside so much). The one thing missing? School work. For THIS my children are refused release for a family and EDUCATIONAL trip. Arruuugghh!
I’ll deal with that more later, but for now…

We are on the way. We have made a pitstop in Bowling Green to pick up a 4-wheeler to get higher up the mountain than we could on foot. My Uncle has one he’s loaning Pops. On the way, Pops and I are arguing politics, national security, our right (or lack of right) to be in the Middle East, how art should NOT (in his opinion) cross the line to political activism (unless that political opinion is one he shares, apparently) and… we are having a good time.
My husband looked exhausted when I kissed him good-bye and I’ll be missing him, Alex and Derrick terribly before I cross the state line. I just know it. But, for now, we will continue to count the things we forgot to pack and keep moving west. Until later…

I talked with my children about school last night. My son, now 16, attends Russell County High School. This is CATs testing week. So, you may wonder, what’s “testing week” really like? Apparently, the kids work 90 minutes per day. The rest of the time there is drawing for prizes, they watch television and DVD movies, go outside and “hang out” and get extra bonus points (up to 60) to add to their class scores for showing up for school and appearing to attempt to do well on the tests (this involves not staring into space or filing in ‘just anything’ to hurry up and be finished with the exams). How’s that for rewarding? And how effective is CATS testing? Not very. Of course, many of us have suspected as much all along. You can’t teach to the test, unless you are first teaching. Right? Testing…

It’s enough to make me just beam with pride. This is to go on for two weeks. They are doing NOTHING in classes. There is no homework. There is, however, a free-flowing supply of sugary treats being passed out and those obnoxious vending machines that are supposed to stay turned OFF during the school day are back to being plugged in constantly. It’s not enough to teach to the tests, it’s not enough to deny children educational opportunities in order to collect a paycheck for them.

Equally impressive is the job that our state government is doing for our children’s long-term future. How forward-thinking of them to sell out our children for political gain now. It makes me so proud. Maniacally proud. That’s what it means when you see red, right? Overwhelming pride? (more…)

For those who are concerned about junk food in schools, you may be interested in the following legislation: (more…)

I’ve had an incredibly busy week. I’ve not even blogged (and today is Thursday!) One of the many things I accomplished yesterday was going to get my son signed up for his classes for next year at the local high school. While there, I had a conversation with the principal about the possibility of Derrick leaving a couple weeks early to go to Colorado with my father.

I figure that a trip out west would probably be more educational than the last two weeks of school. I remember how little was actually accomplished the last couple of weeks, and apparently even less is accomplished these days if the tales my children tell me about watching movies and “free days” are valid.

The response I got was a bit surprising… (more…)

While investigating the joys of Google’s new video search engine I found some pretty interesting things. First… an ad that is probably the best I’ve seen to try to help my own (and possibly YOUR own) children think carefully about what they are doing with their “free time” when there is no adult supervision. To view it…go to: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-982704336400793600 Ya gotta love that! From a “marketing message” standpoint, I’d say this ranks as one of the most effective ads I’ve ever seen. Heck, even my mother said it was a great “must see” piece for all teenagers when I sent her the link this morning.

And then, of course, on the other end of the spectrum, was a sample video hocking DVD’s that use sex to teach teenagers calculus. Now THERE’s a new twist. View it at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7172438422483406719 It just makes me roll my eyes. As IF they are going to get anything educational from that. I have teenage boys. Giving them such visual stimulation would probably only distract them from the topic.

This falls under the “book under a pillow before a big exam to ‘absorb’ the knowledge” theory to me. I think I’d rather just have them sleep on a book. Maybe my age is showing… again.