So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen!

It’s time to pack it in folks.  I’ve been in the blogosphere for many years and have written hundreds and hundreds of posts.  I’ve loved writing and I’ve appreciated each and every reader and commenter.  But it’s time to move on.

I have a house full of teenagers and a major rehab project with our current home and there is only so much time.  “Writing time” has always been a number one priority in my day but I’m finding that for the foreseeable future, it’s time I button up the puter and focus my energies elsewhere.  (I look at my dwindling frequency of my posts and realize that this speaks for itself!)

Thank you so very much for being a reader and especially for the wonderful gift of friendship so many of you have given me.  In the meanwhile, I’m sure I’ll continue scribbling away thoughts and pieces in my many notebooks after all, I am a writer.

You can still find me on Facebook and yes, I’m still available for coaching if you or someone you know needs some help navigating the ADD/ADHD waters.

Thanks again for being a reader…and for all the love and encouragement many of you have sent me over the years.  May it return to you many times multiplied.

Warmly,

Theresa

Is “I hate school” training for “I hate my job?”

Do you know someone who hates their job?   You probably do.  I spoke with one over the weekend.  My young friend, a college graduate, hates her job.  At 25, she feels trapped and overwhelmed.  But yet she trudges off to her job to earn her very modest income because she has student loan debt.  Her dreams will have to be put on hold.  That is, if she can keep them alive. She comes home from her job each day so exhausted, she has no energy to look for other opportunities.  Or to create one for that matter.

Yes, these are difficult times in the job market.  And many would commend her for sticking it out.

I’m not one of them.

I encouraged her to run for her life.  Literally.

I meet too many people who started out like my young friend, 20-some years ago and today they are passed even feeling trapped.  They’re shut down inside and can’t figure out why they’re so unhappy with their lives.  They molder at jobs they despise and bosses they barely tolerate.

We are so trained in our culture to “do the responsible thing,” yes, even if it means a stress-related illness.  “Be thankful you have a job,” we tell people.  Hey- I get that.  We were unemployed for six months last year!

But there’s something seriously wrong with this picture.  Especially when we no longer question the insanity of this all-too-accepted reality.

This isn’t an easy road to follow.  Mother Superior from The Sound of Music isn’t going to appear and serenade you with her soul-stirring rendition of “Climb Every Mountain.”  It takes intentionality and a lot of work.

Like the frog in the pot of hot water, people are trained to grow accustomed to their misery.

I believe the training starts in school.

Alternatives to public school

Are you looking for alternatives to public school?  You are not alone.  As I mentioned yesterday, there is a groundswell of voices crying out for better options in education.  Here’s some you may wish to consider:

Public Charter Schools- Contrary to the shrill voices of opposition, these are NOT private schools funded by tax dollars.  They are PUBLIC schools and receive tax dollars just like any other public school.  The difference is they are governed by an independent board and may have a specific focus or mission statement.

Google”Arizona Charter Schools” to see the wonderful variety these schools bring to the table.  There are schools that focus on classical education and some that focus on the trades or technology or the arts! When we moved to AZ, we specifically chose Cottonwood, AZ because of American Heritage Academy and their focus on training leaders…we were THAT impressed with what we saw. 

Private schools- Yeah, I know.  You know this one already but it’s too costly for your budge.  I get that.  Really I do.  But it’s still an option.

Start a school- Yes, this IS an option. I turn this suggestion over to education expert Marty Nemko, here. 

Homeschool- Oh yawn, tell me something I don’t already know.  And I can hear the reasons why this is NOT an option for you.  I get that too.  It isn’t for everyone.  But here’s a hint…if you’re planning on recreating school in your home, it is NOT something I recommend.   (Unless you enjoy stress-related health problems.) 

Unschool- Before you scoff at this notion, check out some of the late John Holt’s material; you can find plenty of his books on Amazon, like this one my friend Chelsea told me about.  Go on.  I’m going to go fetch another cup of coffee while I wait for you. 

Online- This would fall under “homeschool” however; the explosive growth of online options makes this worth mentioning as an option.  Check out Kahn Academy on You Tube for absolutely free online classes.  Many universities offer free online classes too. The opportunities are endless and the barriers that once held us back….have crumbled.  I have a good friend whose teenaged kids have taken some pretty lofty college courses.

Free Range Education- Not quite “school” but not quite “unschool” either, this is the approach I’ve learned through many years of homeschooling.  This is the “There is No Map” approach to educating your children. (If you’re a Seth Godin fan like I am, you’ll recognize the language.)  This is new territory folks! 

It’s an unsettling and disorienting approach in a scope and sequence dominated society.  FREd uses a little of this and a little of that with the goal of finding what works for your child.

FREd is also based on the premise that your child is wired and gifted in certain areas and THAT is where you should focus your energy.  My good friend Chris Davis just wrote another brilliant piece on this very thing.   You may read it here.

Still finding these options don’t work for you?  May I make a radical suggestion? 

Move.

Yes, as in move.  I am not suggesting that flippantly.  We spent half of last year unemployed and know that in these times a family’s got to go where there’s work.  However, if school has become such an issue for your kid (ESPECIALLY if they have special needs,) this may be something you should consider. 

Crazy idea?  Yes.  But lately, I see this is precisely what some families are doing.  I know one family who recently left Montana because of the state of affairs here in the Helena school district.  Private school or homeschool wasn’t an option due to various circumstances.

American Heritage Academy in Cottonwood, AZ was a decisive factor in our move to that small city.  (We would still be there had we found employment in the area.) 

Indeed, I am hearing of more and more families who take this option.

Those are my suggestions.  And now a question for you:

What has worked for your kids?

Is school a struggle for your child?

Is your child struggling in school?  Or do you know a child who is struggling?  You are not alone.  Rarely does a day go by that I do not hear a story or get an email from a frustrated parent because they are watching their child struggling in school.

Chances are good it’s not your kid’s fault.  Our one-size-fits-everyone models are desperately failing our kids.  The elephant is in the room but no one is talking about it.

Only now we must.  The kids that *have* been able to work within the confines of the system are graduating and moving on….to massive student loan debt and a job market that’s been offshored.

Google “student loan debt” for an eye opener. It is said the student loan bubble that is coming will make the housing melt down pale in comparison. Read the bitter comments from kids who say I got good grades.  I did everything I was supposed to do. And know I have $100,000 in student loan debt and I’m unemployed. And this from kids who “succeeded” in school!  There are untold numbers of others who processed through the system who will end up on our welfare rolls or in prison as they lack any marketable skills, much less the ability to think or reason. I can’t imagine the hopelessness these kids must feel.  The system that was said to prepare them is…betraying them.

Back in my nursing days, I observed that many times folks don’t want to go to the doctor until something DEMANDS attention.  They ignore the little pains until it turns into a big (and more costly) pain.

If you’ve got a 3^rd grader who is struggling or a 5^th grader who hates school, may I suggest you heed the early pains sooner than later?   And here’s a hint…I don’t think it’s your kid that needs to go to the doctor.

Education reform is more imperative now than ever before.

Are parents the village idiots?

The following is a letter to the editor I submitted to the Independent Record today.   My guess is they won’t run it.  What a glorious day we live in that the former gatekeepers in the media are no longer the only game in town.  So I publish it here. 

Parents, we’ve been sold downriver.  And the betrayal will continue if our current school board and Bruce Messinger are left unchallenged in the upcoming school board election.

Jobs, poverty and public welfare are all tied to our schools.  And our schools are failing.  Times have changed and their insistence at maintaining the broken status quo is to the detriment of our kids.

The icing on this nasty cake is the school administration’s ongoing refusal to work with parents beyond addressing us with placating doublespeak as though we’re the village idiots.

We are at a crossroads in history and I believe education reform is the civil rights movement of this century.  It is clear from this session that as a state, Montana is not open to reform.  (Thanks to the deep pockets of lobbyists.)

The outrageous campaign efforts on behalf of Planned Parenthood for the incumbents further indicate where their interests lay. (And their manipulative radio ads using the voices of the children chill my blood.)  Never mind declining academic performance; we’ve a lot of social engineering to do!

Reform must begin on a local level and I can’t think of a more urgent need anywhere than here in Helena.

Theresa Lode

It ain’t over yet!

I’m watching Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” right now.  His battle to transform school lunches reminds me of the battle we’ve been fighting here in Montana for SCHOOL CHOICE.

The attitudes and resistance from the Edu-Crats seem to be the same regardless of the topic.  And it all comes down to this question:

WHO CONTROLS THE KIDS?

I’ve been emailing the two dissenting senators on HB 603.  Senator Zinke was kind enough to send me a personal reply. He says he supports charter schools but finds too many flaws in the bill.  And he’d like this provision:

If we can allow for either a 51 percent of the district electorate or a school board majority to be the driver to form a charter school, I am for it.  I believe the Board of Public Education should have oversight of the program as I strongly support accountability and transparency in taxpayer expenditures.

My interpretation, with all due respect: You parents are too stupid and uneducated to make decisions regarding your kids’ education.  The Board of Public Education knows what’s best for your children (including their lunch, too, btw.)  And even though the Helena school district is looking for yet another mill levy to pay for a curriculum they did not budget for (and one that the lion’s share of parents objected to,) they are responsible stewards of your tax dollars. Yeah, that’s right.  They’re responsible. Trust us.

I’m not throwing rocks at Senator Zinke.  I would imagine he’s repeating the party line that the Status Quo have been shouting from the rooftops. 

My reply to him was that this approach is having the fox guard the hen house. And the egregious violation of trust by the Helena School district in particular underscores the urgency of having greater autonomy.

Please forgive my snarky tone.  I’ve had more than a belly full of the patronizing arrogance that has assaulted a bill that gives parents a modicum of choice when it comes to school. Like Jamie Oliver,  I’m pissed that kids are fed crap in cafeterias and pissed that single moms have no other options than to send their kid who’s been diagnosed with ADHD to the large public school down the street where they will be labeled and drugged into compliance. I’m pissed when I see my friends working two jobs each so they can enroll their four kids into a costly private school, they are so appalled at what’s going on here in Helena.  And while I’m at it…  I’m pissed that teachers are pissed too.   (I talked to yet another one this morning.)

As of right now, the bill has been tabled.  But it ain’t over yet.  I urge you to take action before the session ends.

Please email AND call the following two legislators: Senator Zinke
>> Primary ph: (406) 862-0823 ryanzinke@yahoo.com and Senator Essman
>> Primary ph: (406) 534-3345 jessmann@mt.gov

And now…I’m tuning back to Jamie Oliver’s program and cheer him in his battle.  Go, Jamie, Go!

We need your help!

Have you ever gotten a product home from the store and discovered it doesn’t do what you expected it to do?  Anytime there’s a gap between what’s sold and what’s reality…you know there’s been some marketing afoot.

I can think of no other place that illustrates this more than our school system.  We are promised that school will be all things to all kids.  We are told kids will be prepared for the future.  Learning differences will be accommodated and bad teachers will be sent on their way.

One need not look very hard to see that these promises fall short on delivery.   Our present educational models are failing our kids!

We need change and we need it now.  Charter schools offer a great opportunity to do just that.  Montana is one of ten states that do not allow charter schools and it’s high time to get with the program.

We need your help.

This Wednesday,  the hearing on HB603 Public Charter will be heard at 3:00 p.m. in Room 303, at the Capitol.

Rest assured the the unions and higher ups in education will be there in full force.  We need to let the senate hear our voices.  I mean, really, this comes down to….who’s going to make the decisions when it comes to school choice (or lack there of) for our kids?

Come, be heard. 

 

I hope the charters fail

Things continue to move forward with the charter schools.  I listened in to a few of the law makers share their thoughts the other day.  One advocated for the charters.  The other opined ominously, “I’m not sure this is the time to try something new.”  Sneaky me, I was able to catch that guy’s response on video.  Here, take a look:

Do you remember this fellow?  He’s bound to be anywhere there’s a new idea being considered.

I wanted to leap to my hiking boots, wave my arms and shout, “If not NOW, WHEN?!”  (Like I needed to stick out more in my bright polar fleece in the sea of uber important looking suits filling the room.)

With all due respect though, I could follow his reasoning.    Something new means it might not work. There might be waste.  The results may not pass muster.  It might FAIL.  And we have been well trained to avoid failure at any cost.

I hope this bill passes and I hope it ushers in a new day of plenty of failure.  Because failure means we’re shaking things up and moving forward. Failure means we’re trying new things, exploring uncharted territory.  Change and failure go hand in hand. It is something we should pursue not avoid! And yes, it is scary.

To maintain and defend the status quo, broken as it is, is something far scarier to me.  (Added bonus: If a charter does “fail” there is accountability and recourse unlike a typical public school.)

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Henry Ford

A school of failure

There’s a lot of talk about “failing schools” according to the criteria in No Child Left Behind. And of course, there’s a lot of subjective measurement that’s a bit trickier to quantify what makes a school great.

I propose something a bit different.  A School of Failure. It would look something like this:

Daydreaming would be encouraged.

“Why not?” would be heard as often as “Why?”Taking initiative would be encouraged.  Failure is welcomed.  And wildly cheered.

Standardized tests and grades are thought to be irrelevant.

Teachers would shine as mentors and coaches, not cogs.

Yep, by today’s measurements, this would be a school of failure.

I’d enroll my kids in a minute.

Please call on the Charter School bill

Here’s the link to the article from the IR on the charter school hearing last week.  I find the comments following the article interesting; it is clear there is a lot of fear.  Indeed, anytime the “C” (change)  word is introduced,  we humans retreat. Even an inmate will chose the security and familiarity of his cell over freedom.

It was interesting listening to the arguments against the charters at the hearing.  (And a bit amusing at time; like when an educator of 30+ years used the word “irregardless” but I digress.) 

One thing that I found truly disturbing was Eric Feaver’s umbrage at the use of “out of state” help in writing this bill.  Feaver is the head of the Montana Education Association. Really?  Really? Is there a name for interstate xenophobia?

Doesn’t it make sense to consult with an expert who has achieved a level of success in a field, regardless of their state of residency?

I’ve spent too much time out of state to be impressed with the “We’re Montanans we don’t need no help” rationale.  I find the juxtaposition of ignorance and arrogance in such a statement, fascinating.

Yeah, there’s bad charters out there.  (I betcha there’s FAR more bad public schools.)  And is a charter a silver bullet solution?  Absolutely not.

Change has got to begin somewhere though.   The schools have violated our trust. Our test scores are  in the toilet.  Challenge a 12th grader to read a 6th grade McGuffy’s reader.   And critical thinking skills? Laughable.   (Consider- Exhibit A: The “We’re Montanans” argument.)

And don’t show me statistics; the most important lesson when it comes to statistics, IMHO, is that people can twist them to represent whatever they want. Need validation?  Just talk to a teacher.  The one I visited with the other day said she retired early after 30 years in the classroom.  “I loved it but just couldn’t take it anymore,” she told me.   I’ve heard countless stories that echo what she told me.

The Powers That Be have paid lip service to change and have delivered more of the same.  (Perhaps they were too busy discussing how the explicit sex ed curriculum is in the best interests of our children.)

If you haven’t contacted the members of the education committee yet, you may do so here.

We need education reform.  NOW. Our kids deserve so much better.