How Long Will We Sit By

Time for my next treatise on our amazing nation and the rights we have as citizens of such.

This afternoon gas prices went to $4.19 a gallon. Oh, you say, in the big cities and in Europe one may pay over $5.00 a gallon. I know this folks, I'm not saying that being from my small community makes us so special that gas for us should not cost the same as it does for folks in numerous places. Stick with me on this one, for just a little while and I'll try to explain why this has such an impact on my home.

First of all, I want you to know that the vast majority of citizens in my small community work somewhere. They want to live in places like Roodhouse and White Hall for the same reasons you want to live where you live; they perhaps have been raised there, they like being in a community where everybody is familiar with each other, they like being able to walk the neighborhood in the warming evenings and see people on their porches, their parents are still living and they want to be near them if they need their help and support. In either of these two communities a family can purchase a home for a modest price, not always easy to afford, but certainly easier than to purchase a home in a larger less personal place. School classes are smaller, and it is very usual to see your teacher in the grocery store or at church. For whatever reason, small town living appeals to 21% of the population of the United States.

I'm not sure, maybe in the suburbs or in your large city, you are experiencing the same things. Jobs are disappearing, not reappearing. I wish I could find out where these great areas of economic growth are taking place, I hope for you it is in your community and everyone who wants to work is able to do so, and at a wage that allows them to live without worry about $4.19 gas. In my community it is not happening. As a matter of fact the opposite is taking place. The state of Illinois is looking at huge budget cuts and those recommended cuts are substantially targeting services to the poor and disabled. Every time I hear that we need to cut prescription medication support for the elderly by 70% or cutting TANF help to disabled individuals I cringe and wonder why we don't just stick these individuals out on the ice flow to die. Even more I wonder why we are doing nothing about it.

I am, indeed, of that generation that believed we could help end a war by making our feelings known. Some of what we did was good, and some was terrible; but we did something. For some unknown reason we are currently sitting on our collective butts, shaking our heads, fighting with each other about where the President was born, and generally allowing this crap to happen. As the kids say...WTH??????

We have so much power in how we respond to this crisis and yet we sit passively by and say, "well, what can I do about it?". Are we even serious? We can stop it, yes we can. We can tell the world we are not tolerant of outsourcing our jobs to other countries by simply not buying goods or services we know are not being taxed at a rate that discourages that sucking of jobs out of our wonderful country. We can support small businesses in our communities. We can quit pouring our money into industries that have gotten so out of line by paying an athlete or an actress or a musical group outrageous sums of money.

Here is my suggestion. Let's all take one month, 30 days and prioritize the things in our lives that are important. I love the Cardinals, they have been my ball team since I was a little girl. I enjoy movies, I live for music; however, I can certainly go for a month without spending one dime on renting videos, downloading music, going to Busch Stadium, buying beer, going to a concert or buying an app for my iPad or iPhone. In order to show that I am serious about my priorities, when asked why I am giving these things up, I can explain to people that I control the economic status of this nation with my consumerism. I can demonstrate my displeasure with the inequalities of our economy by taking control of my own life and my own priorities. I can read, I can watch one of the large number of videos that sit on my shelf, I can listen to the Cards on the radio or t.v. and not have a beer while I just enjoy the sport for the sport itself. I can attend a free concert in the park done by volunteer musicians or I can make music myself.

Oh, and since I'm not going anywhere....I don't have to worry as much about gas being $4.19 a gallon.

I'd love to hear your ideas. cindyand@mac.com

Post Election Post

Let me see.....

After the first two years of the Clinton Administration both the house and the senate went republican. After the first two years of the Bush II administration both the house and the senate went democrat. After the first two years of the Obama administration only the house went republican, seems to me we didn't do too badly.

If I could predict what will happen, I would say not much will change. We will continue to experience this dramatic economic downturn and our disenfranchised citizens will continue to suffer from the same ills as in the past. I have said this before and I will say it again, unless we the people of this awesome country where indeed power can shift from one party to another with no violence, become aware of economic balance we will continue to lose jobs and influence on a global level.

There is only so much wealth to be had. As long as the upper 5% require more wealth to maintain their lifestyle it will have to come from somewhere. In the end those fluid resources come from the middle class one way or another. We either ask less people to do more work, we replace individuals with technology, or we ship our jobs to countries where labor is substantially less expensive. There are so few jobs for uneducated individuals, that's why education is under such a microscope. If we do not produce a middle class society to produce and invigorate the global market the wealthy of this nation cannot succeed.

It will be interesting to see just how the republicans manage this scenario. I'll be waiting, and so will my peeps here in Roodhouse. They can't wait to go back to work!

So, whatcha gonna do?

Yesterday I attended an Administrator's Academy focused on poor teacher performance. Now, in all sincerity, there isn't an administrator worth his or her salt who hasn't played the "I can't wait until this one retires" game. I personally, went home and had a huge glass of wine when one in particular moved on. However, I think the time for waiting is over.

As Dr. Voltz informed all of us yesterday, "the times they are a changin". If we don't change first we likely will be swept away by the tide of educational reform focused on the blame game. Just like Jim Broadway told us this morning in his State School News Service, the have gots are focused on doing it their way, and that includes charter schools and vouchers. That should leave the public schools with students unable, for one reason or another, to either be admitted or be successful in the particular charter school environment.

Those of us here in Cornfed County likely will not face the charter/voucher choice anytime too soon, but you know what they say about that stuff that rolls down hill. These edicts and changes caused by the public school panic will most definitely affect us eventually (and that eventuality will come sooner rather than later). The concept of tenure is like the old rooster; it has served its purpose and now it will be served up to feed the already fat cats. It's one more distraction to keep the rest of the barnyard on their toes and in their respective coops.

The issue of poor job performance is, of course, monumentally important and poor teaching should not be tolerated, but let's really see the issue for what it is. We see it day in and day out here in Cornfed, parents who desperately want their children to be successful and achieve, living in communities that have been societally marginalized by the loss of jobs and human services. Families unable to afford their own homes living with relatives in order to make ends meet. Our educational failings are most assuredly the responsibility of a flawed system, but it is not the schools alone who must bear the blame. Blame won't fix anything anyway, working together just might. Tell you what, make my school a charter; give my little country kids the breaks and services kids in charter schools get. The union wont' complain, I promise.

Dear Readers,

I will go see one more movie regarding the failure of our school systems to educate our children, and then I believe I will proceed to have my own march on Hollywood. I'll listen to one more individual who made and makes embarrassingly outrageous amounts of money from either prescription drugs, or computer software and hardware tell me that Charter Schools are the only answer to our educational woes, and I'll invite them to Roodhouse where they will never visit. They'll continue to go to New York, and LA, and Chicago and preach from their high spots, and they'll never get to see a staff like the one I have or Kristy has, or Debby is part of, work their collective asses off to provide the best education dedicated individuals can provide.

Oh, the movie shows several dedicated professionals, but it never tells the whole story. It doesn't show how mothers in small communities give up precious time with their own families to attempt to work magic with children for whom the politicians in this nation could care less. We are torn apart by "too much government" being touted by the Republican party, and continued regulation thrust on those of us who are hamsters running in the spinning cage as fast as we can. We beg and scrimp for stimulus money and then have to spend so much time being trained to teach, and to account for that money, that we are out of our classrooms for days at a time.

Our children in our small communities are hungry. They hunger for supplies, and the arts, and experiences that enrich their lives, but our local agencies besot by our state government can't even provide the promised funding without robbing Peter to pay Paul. And who are the losers?

Our children are physically hungry. There are no jobs for the parents of our kids, and when there are, they are blasted by the talking heads as entitlement programs. We are not eligible for the free fruits and vegetables program because we forgot to fill out a form, or we are not quite poor enough for free breakfast or lunch.

I don't need to see another movie that will net some billionaire another chunk of change, that will provide him the vacations, and toys that he needs to live a quality life. I'll go to work tomorrow, as will most of us in education, and I'll laugh and I'll work as hard as I can to make it a great day for "my kids". I'll make sure they all get at least one decent meal tomorrow, and they all have a pair of shoes to wear, and .....will Bill? I doubt it.

Have a nice day!

Cindy