Saturday, December 6, 2008
NaBloPoMo
I am totally bummed by the end of NaBloPoMo! Not because I was writing every day, because I obviously was not. But because so many of the blogs I follow were updated every day and then, come the first of December, POOF. I'm going through withdrawal and it ain't pretty!!
Monday, November 17, 2008
College is not for everyone and not going to college is not a sign of failure
A comment I posted on Boston.com in response to an article further condemning our elementary, middle and high schools because all of those students who finished with their secondary education and moved on to college did not necessarily get a degree. I maintain that a college degree or a high school diploma are not, in themselves, measures of success. Instead, it is the student who is evidence of success or failure in how she feels about her life, what her goals are and how prepared and realistic she is to meet and exceed those goals.
College has been touted for years as the be all and end all for students. Those who do not go are considered losers or not worthy.
The truth is college is NOT for everyone. The fact that every student who attends college does not complete college is not a sign of a failing school system, except in the fact that that system pushed and pushed and pushed students towards college when those students were feeling pulled in another direction.
The fact that Bill Gates did not finish college is not a poor reflection on his high school but a reflection of Bill Gates, he knew what he wanted, he knew how to get it and he did. That is how we should look at our students. No, they will not all become the next Bill Gates, but they probably wouldn't be the next Bill Gates if they finished college either. College is a hugely expensive investment that is not for everyone and leaves many (graduates and non-graduates alike) with nothing but a huge mountain of debt.
You can be successful without college and it's time we stopped pushing it so much to everyone. Now, it is not for the teachers, administrators, parents, etc to make that decision but if a child feels she should go to college (or wants to) and is able, she should. If she feels like college isn't for her and she has other plans, she should be able to make that decision. What's the point of thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars spent or debt incurred if all along the student knew she wanted to be a fire fighter, or a hairdresser, or something else? Or she didn't know WHAT she wanted to be but went and dutifully got her degree only having to re-do it later when her true passions emerged?
College has been touted for years as the be all and end all for students. Those who do not go are considered losers or not worthy.
The truth is college is NOT for everyone. The fact that every student who attends college does not complete college is not a sign of a failing school system, except in the fact that that system pushed and pushed and pushed students towards college when those students were feeling pulled in another direction.
The fact that Bill Gates did not finish college is not a poor reflection on his high school but a reflection of Bill Gates, he knew what he wanted, he knew how to get it and he did. That is how we should look at our students. No, they will not all become the next Bill Gates, but they probably wouldn't be the next Bill Gates if they finished college either. College is a hugely expensive investment that is not for everyone and leaves many (graduates and non-graduates alike) with nothing but a huge mountain of debt.
You can be successful without college and it's time we stopped pushing it so much to everyone. Now, it is not for the teachers, administrators, parents, etc to make that decision but if a child feels she should go to college (or wants to) and is able, she should. If she feels like college isn't for her and she has other plans, she should be able to make that decision. What's the point of thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars spent or debt incurred if all along the student knew she wanted to be a fire fighter, or a hairdresser, or something else? Or she didn't know WHAT she wanted to be but went and dutifully got her degree only having to re-do it later when her true passions emerged?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Musings of Procrastination
Because I don't want to start on my work or maybe I do but I can't....One is the non-ADHD definition, the other the ADHD definition. This is not my musing, but I'll go with it for a moment anyway. So, if I don't want a label, I'm a lazyass, but if I don't mind the label, I can still be a lazy ass without it actually being my fault*.
On to my musing. I've figured out the whole pro-choice, pro-life Republican/Democrat conundrum and it goes like this:
Pro-Lifers and Republicans (definitely for the first and mostly for the second): don't care what happens to your child after birth, they just want it to be born. (Healthcare? Special needs services? WIC services? Parenting classes? Financial Aid for college? Uh, not on their dime.)
Pro-choicers and Democrats (again, for the most part): don't care if your kid is born or not BUT if it is, want to make sure that it has the same good start in life and the same chances as any other kid..(Healthcare? Special needs services? WIC? etc, bring it on, baby. It's just a child and can't help it.)
Which is more child friendly?
*This is not to say that ADHD is not a real condition or can be turned on and off and it's not that I'm disparaging anyone who has a mean case of it...I'm just saying sometimes I feel like I'm right there on the cusp and the way I choose to lean (my fault, not my fault) says a lot.
On to my musing. I've figured out the whole pro-choice, pro-life Republican/Democrat conundrum and it goes like this:
Pro-Lifers and Republicans (definitely for the first and mostly for the second): don't care what happens to your child after birth, they just want it to be born. (Healthcare? Special needs services? WIC services? Parenting classes? Financial Aid for college? Uh, not on their dime.)
Pro-choicers and Democrats (again, for the most part): don't care if your kid is born or not BUT if it is, want to make sure that it has the same good start in life and the same chances as any other kid..(Healthcare? Special needs services? WIC? etc, bring it on, baby. It's just a child and can't help it.)
Which is more child friendly?
*This is not to say that ADHD is not a real condition or can be turned on and off and it's not that I'm disparaging anyone who has a mean case of it...I'm just saying sometimes I feel like I'm right there on the cusp and the way I choose to lean (my fault, not my fault) says a lot.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Rock the Vote
Get out there and vote. And, if there's a Ben and Jerry's near you, go ahead and get you some free ice cream when you're done. Don't waste your time reading this silly blog, I almost never update it.
VOTE!
VOTE!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
My smaller government conundrum...
Those on the right have a love affair with saying they support smaller government, especially when it comes to the tax issue. At the same time, those on the right want to get all up in the personal business of me as a woman, of gays and lesbians, and others. They want to do this by passing laws, laws that need some sort of enforcement. How does that make the government smaller? How is regulating my choice to have children or not different from regulating what kind of health care I am allowed to have? Or education for my children?
John McCain, in reference to the health care issue, said that the government should stay out of the relationship between him and his doctor. At the same time, he wants to insert the government whole hog into the relationship between me and my doctor....What part of hypocrisy isn't being understood?
John McCain, in reference to the health care issue, said that the government should stay out of the relationship between him and his doctor. At the same time, he wants to insert the government whole hog into the relationship between me and my doctor....What part of hypocrisy isn't being understood?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Amazing!
Actual title of an e-mail just received by me:
Don't you want to know the secret?
| "> AdminSecret |
Happy Columbus Day
Currently the most un-pc holiday we celebrate! Hurrah!
I was sitting around wasting disgusting amounts of time in order to procrastinate doing what it is I actually need to be doing and figured I'd write a blog post. Only problem with this amazing idea is I have very little to say. Urgh.
My adorable dog managed to slide himself under the chainlink fence last night. Doing so, he arrived in the cemetery next door where he seemed to get himself a bite of skunk butt. Then he dug around and freaked out for a while (understandable if you've just been sprayed in the mouth by a skunk). He couldn't figure out how to get out of the cemetery and back into the yard, so my husband had to walk all the way to the break in the fence and call him. Surprisingly, there wasn't much of a smell...until we leaned in towards his mouth that is. Then he smelled like something very, very evil died and decomposed in there. What do you do for skunk spray in the mouth? We determined that the usual remedy for external spray (hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dawn) wasn't really going to cut it in this case of internal skunk. So, we wet him down and rubbed a bunch of baking soda around his head and then forced open his mouth and sprayed some water in there and then got some baking soda in there. At this point he was about as happy with us as he was with the skunk. He mouth still reeked of horrible, awful, evil things but lacking the necessary imagination to come up with a better alternative we called it a night and went to bed. House still smells faintly of skunk today. Dog still seems offended by his own breath. On the bright side, it looks as though getting sprayed in the mouth (as long as it's not YOUR mouth) is the least offensive option. There was none of the caustic, eye watering skunk smell just creeping all over the house, it's more faint. And we don't have to taste it.
I really should go do some more work...why oh why has my motivation abandoned me? Maybe I need a nap.
I was sitting around wasting disgusting amounts of time in order to procrastinate doing what it is I actually need to be doing and figured I'd write a blog post. Only problem with this amazing idea is I have very little to say. Urgh.
My adorable dog managed to slide himself under the chainlink fence last night. Doing so, he arrived in the cemetery next door where he seemed to get himself a bite of skunk butt. Then he dug around and freaked out for a while (understandable if you've just been sprayed in the mouth by a skunk). He couldn't figure out how to get out of the cemetery and back into the yard, so my husband had to walk all the way to the break in the fence and call him. Surprisingly, there wasn't much of a smell...until we leaned in towards his mouth that is. Then he smelled like something very, very evil died and decomposed in there. What do you do for skunk spray in the mouth? We determined that the usual remedy for external spray (hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dawn) wasn't really going to cut it in this case of internal skunk. So, we wet him down and rubbed a bunch of baking soda around his head and then forced open his mouth and sprayed some water in there and then got some baking soda in there. At this point he was about as happy with us as he was with the skunk. He mouth still reeked of horrible, awful, evil things but lacking the necessary imagination to come up with a better alternative we called it a night and went to bed. House still smells faintly of skunk today. Dog still seems offended by his own breath. On the bright side, it looks as though getting sprayed in the mouth (as long as it's not YOUR mouth) is the least offensive option. There was none of the caustic, eye watering skunk smell just creeping all over the house, it's more faint. And we don't have to taste it.
I really should go do some more work...why oh why has my motivation abandoned me? Maybe I need a nap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)