For the past couple of weeks I've been out of commission. Our family is moving my Mom from her home of 65 years, where she lived semi-independently until her safety was in question. She will be in an assisted living facility near my home, coping with dementia.
Her memory blinks in and out of focus, but she's relatively happy. She could be grieving two of the biggest losses of her life: her independence, and her beloved home. However, dementia has become a blessing: she doesn't remember being fiercely attached to her home, and she's forgotten things that used to make her bitter and unhappy, or mistakes she's made, or even grudges she once held.
Mom's main worry is that she's a burden on her kids. But my two brothers and I have assured her that we love her, and we are happy to make sure she's comfortable, safe, and not lonely. She marvels at this, and likes to say, "Well, I must have done something right. I sure raised nice kids."
It's nice to be called nice. And it's nice my mom can see good results from her parenting, even though it wasn't perfect parenting, and even though we weren't perfect kids.
This also encourages me, since I am not a perfect parent, nor are my kids perfect.
I focus on the academics my kids will need to succeed in the world. But what about my children's character, their bond with each other and with my husband and me, and their sense of responsibility and honor? Am I raising kids who will look at the inconveniences my aging brings, and love me anyway? Will they love their own families sacrificially, and guide them to to the same?
High academic scores are a wonderful goal, but not at the cost of a beautiful soul and a caring heart. The qualities of leadership are important goals, but not without the willingness to think of others, and to value the family unit. Teaching my kids about Jesus and going to church is great, but I want them to follow His example of leadership: willing to direct and lead and encourage and challenge, but also willing to kneel and wash others' feet, and to love and lay down their lives for those they love.
On the report card measuring character and grace, can I hope my children will get a good grade? This is what I'm praying about this week.
My homeschool plan probably needs examination. I need to refocus on what matters most, and I'd like your input. How do you build a legacy that proclaims, "she must have done something right"? And if you struggle, what is your biggest frustration or roadblock? I look forward to hearing from you.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Bill rewards schools, but not students
Schools and teachers would be rewarded when students finish school, if a bill now in the State Senate becomes a law. HB 1599 passed the House of Representatives March 1 (54-42). It was referred to the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on Friday, March 4.
In the meantime, you should check out this blog post from Washington State Wire blog editor Jim Boldt, published in early February (when the bill was introduced):
Who's The Customer? Students Or Administrators? HB 1599 Is A K-12 Payoff
HB 1599, PASS, “Pay For Actual Student Success”?
How About They Graduate Because We Have Already Paid For It?
This bill passed the House. All sorts of news about it. It's the wrong approach for so many reasons. Let's start with the problem it is supposed to solve. This bill attempts to reimburse school districts for getting a higher percentage of students to graduate. Is it just me or is that what we are paying about half the state budget for right now?*
Once again instead of revamping our 19th century command and control K-12 system, this bill takes precious financial resources we don't have (about $5 million a year) and peppers it out to creative districts that finally do what they are supposed to already be doing...graduate students!
I have an idea. Pay the student, not the failing administrators. Offer each student who graduates either a few thousand cash or first year free tuition in a Washington institution of higher education. Signing bonus, kind of? I like it? Heck if we have our goals right and graduation actually means something let's give them an electric car. I would rather incent the person actually responsible for graduation instead someone who really only tries to create an environment for education and graduation.
I have another idea, why don't we work this backwards, let's subtract money from the administrator's salary if the students don't graduate. That my friends, would bring the bloated administrations of the states 295 districts running to the capitol screaming, no, no, no. Maybe they would honestly share what they think is the problem. They do know don't they? Yes, think about it, we have 39 counties but we have 295 school districts.. We have 295 districts, 295 superintendents, 600 assistant superintendents, 295 directors of this and 295 directors of that. We have a school district and all it's administration every few miles. Hello.
Inefficiency is driven by confusion. Make it confusing and complicated and it costs more. K-12 really has only a few components: 1. What is basic education and how does that produce a “product” we want? (sorry, a graduate is a product) 2. What does the raw material look like and should or can we affect it? (I know, raw material? If you want to fix this mess get real.) and finally 3. How do you take number 2 and produce number 1? Yes, what process works in the 21st century? The real 21st century, the virtual century, the global century, the century when America slips to third place and looks like France by 2075 if we don't do something fast. Oh there I go again.
Stab in the dark? No, I am speaking from eleven years as a school board member, five of them on a public school board. Add four years on the House Education Committee, and a few hours in the class room teaching, parenting, and coaching, So I get to whine!
We should not spend tax money to operate an education system, and then when that system fails, turn around and add more money to reward the same sorry education system. The legislature needs to step up and realign K-12.
- The director of the state system should be appointed by the guv so we know who to blame for a sick system.
- The districts should be combined into a lot fewer functioning systems with centralized administration. (If I had my way there would be limit the number of former teachers who could act as administrators.)
- And most delicately we are going to have to look into the raw material end, yes the student, the child, how can we help create a pro-education environment where the student lives? Where there is support and respect for education, we will get students who respect and support education.
- And, we need at least a K-20 if not a K-22 system. And,to get prepared “raw material” we may need to look at K-minus-two, yep, what use to be pre-school might just need to become real school. Come on, with technology and our cultural trends today do you really think the awareness level of three-year-olds is the same as it was two generations ago? Come on.
Or else.
Paying for more kids to graduate is like buying an extended warranty. After what you paid for it shouldn't the lawn mower actually cut the lawn. Consumer Reports suggest we not buy them.
*Senate Democrat Caucus website:
Amount the state spends on education in the biennial budget
$15.6 billion
Percentage of the state general fund spent on education
43
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