KITB: What Could You Start Today?

From Kick in the Blog:  What are you putting off that you could start today?

Wow - this is a loaded question for me...there are so many things, from the ridiculous to the sublime...and at the same time, I have been doing more of the things I tend to put off than I used to do.

I think the biggest thing is finishing my degree. If I had started taking a class a term back when I first thought of it, I would have a doctorate by now.  So, I need to buckle down and just do it. I have to find out what credits will still count, how many credits I actually need and in which areas and then figure out how to proceed. I have this dangling over my head and I just want to get my bachelors degree so that I can be done with it.

Other than that, I think the other important thing I have put off is continuing to write down Roby stories. I started them and have a few thousand words of it, but I stopped abruptly last year when I got really busy and I haven't picked it back up again.

 

Make a Pledge

I'm pretty sure I have written about this movie at least once before, but I decided to mention it again.

"Waiting for Superman" opened in New York and Los Angeles yesterday and will go into wider release in October. Aside from the fact that this is a compelling documentary that examines the current trajectory of American public schools, it is also an important film about social justice and the responsibility we all have as adults, as Americans, to educate our children and prepare them for a future that is becoming more complex all the time.

I cannot think of a more important film to see - regardless of your political leanings, regardless of your parental status. Whatever this film does, it will at least initiate a conversation about a topic that people don't really want to discuss, much less look at with any depth. I know that Oprah did a couple of shows in it this week and the Facebook CEO donated $100 Million dollars in a Challenge Grant to help schools in Newark, NJ.  The winds of change are blowing, but maybe if we help them along, they will get up to the force we need and really start transforming education for our children and for the fate of the country.

Here is a trailer to tempt you:


Here is a clip of an interview with a man named Geoffrey Canada who appears in the film and is helping to publicize this important issue. All four of his children have been or are attending public schools.


Pledge to see the film when it comes to your town. Portland, OR is #20 on the Pledge list.



**Please Note:  While this may be considered by some as a political issue (left vs. right, Progressives vs. Conservatives), I think it is an issue of what is best for children. I DON'T believe that privatization of all schools is the answer, I don't believe that Unions are to blame, I don't think that this is hopeless.

I worked in public schools for 9+ years in addition to my own public school experience. I know what a difference good teachers can make and I know how much damage bad teachers can do. I interpreted in a school where EVERYONE in the school, from the principal to the custodial staff, KNEW that the teacher in my classroom should have been put out to pasture YEARS earlier.  Not only was this person a poor leader, s/he was mean, ineffective and the students were afraid of him/her. When this teacher would start yelling at the students, the kids would start to eat each other alive when they realized they weren't the target. They were so relieved it wasn't them and so desperate to stay out of the line of fire, they would have thrown their best friend under the bus.

I know that special education is something that hasn't really been looked at carefully by charter schools and people who are interested in charter schools, but ultimately, this is something we have to start thinking about. We have to think about how many kids are in special education and we have to think about whether or not we are really serving this population of students effectively. One size doesn't fit all in these situations.

We have a real crisis. This movie opens a conversation. What are we willing to do? What are we willing to expect?  What are we hoping for our children? Our nation? That's why I'm interested in the movie, in the conversation. I am not here to bash teachers. I love teachers. Good teachers. Teachers who care. And most do. But we have a much bigger problem than that...

Change Your Attitude: Maya Angelou

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." ~ Maya Angelou

I can't really get all holier-than-thou about this change thing.  I am one of the "fear of change" people and I am solidly working my way through it all.  

Take for example, Maya Angelou's quote.  "If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."  I know this is true.  I know that every day, we have a choice - to be happy or to not be happy.  To feel gratitude or not.  To realize that the only real thing we can actually change is ourselves.  But it is easier said than done.

I know this is why New Year's Resolutions are so often broken - people get it in their heads that change is easy and they can bend the world to their will.  I know that this is not the case, but it isn't as hard as we make it either.  I think, for me, fear of failure is really the battle I fight - not fear of change.  Usually, I have to work my way through the fear of failure, the fear of making the "wrong" decision to get to the change place.  Once I make it there, the rest is pretty easy.  

Maybe it is the process of changing or the process of decision-making  that we are all so frightened about?...Oh, yeah, and that pesky little fear of failure is a big one...I know this because it is the biggest barrier for me.

Minor example:  In a 37Days post called "Every Day is Day One", Patti Digh talks about trying to be complaint-free for 37 days.  I REALLY want to try this, but I KNOW I will struggle.  I think I keep putting it off because I don't want to fail at it.  But if I never even try, isn't that its own failure?  (Hey, when I went back to get the linking info, I reread something that I need to put here...She says in her post, "Not a failure to start over, but a gift." I always forget that part.)

In fact, I am going to post the Artist Trading Card here (there is permission here.)

My other example goes back to the last post on Education - I keep putting off finishing my degree...I'm not sure I'm afraid of failure, exactly, but I keep putting it off until I can keep my full focus on it. If I had just started 10 years ago, a class at a time, I could have had a Ph.D. by now.

Change #5: Change my attitude. It doesn't have to be perfect, or all-at-once, or even successful. Trying something new, trying to change is part of the process.

Education is Change: Nelson Mandela

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."  Nelson Mandela

I know that I have, at various times in my life, taken education entirely for granted.  I didn't understand until I was in high school that there were people who were denied education, that a free education was not a right that everyone had but a privilege that we have had as Americans (most of us).

I have written about my education in my early years - that we were in make-shift maid's quarters.  We didn't have PE teachers or music teachers or a cafeteria - we had one teacher, a couple of rooms and a bathroom.  Sometimes I walked home for lunch, sometimes I brought it with me to school.  We sang everyday with the teacher playing a little mini-organ/keyborad, we went outside and PLAYED - that was our PE.  It wasn't fancy, but it was effective.  I always loved school and learning.

I read an article about how people could make a difference in some of the countries in Africa - there were three main actions that could actually help more than anything:  1.  Dig wells for clean water 2. Help purchase mosquito netting to prevent malaria 3. Build schools.  

Education is the foundation for all progress, but it isn't always the kind of education we think of.  In the United States, perhaps our vision of education is skewed.  Maybe for us - people who DO have free education, who do have PE teachers and clean water and don't have to deal with malaria - we need to be educated on what it means to be human.  What it means to have compassion for our fellow man.  How to participate in the world in positive ways.  We need to educate ourselves about the world.  Not just geography but culture, religion, belief systems, history...the list goes on.

Right after Christmas, I went shopping to finish up my Christmas buying - delayed by the weather...I found a book not meant for adults, by any means, but I bought it as a gift of education for myself.  When I am done with it, I will pass it along to some young friend of mine.  The book is simply titled, "Questions and Answers: Countries and Continents".  I picked it up out of curiosity - the cover was attractive...then when I looked inside, I was intrigued by the range of topics:  "What is Italy's economy based on?"  "What are the main sources of income in Guyana?"  I have always loved history and geography, but the world has changed a lot since I was in school.  When I graduated high school, the Soviet Union was the Soviet Union - a bunch of countries we really didn't pay much attention to...Now, there are bunches of countries that we only hear about when there is some kind of altercation or war or natural disaster.  I decided I could embark on my own personal re-education.

I am also starting to move towards completion of my bachelor's degree.  I have been putting it off until I "have more time" but now, I know, I will never have time unless I make it.  I'm not there yet - I'm thinking of starting small with a continuing education class or a community education class to get me started.  If that seems successful and not too stressful, I am thinking about getting a degree in management or Human Resources...or adult education.  I'm not sure yet, but I want to finish what I started and I want to learn more.  I keep thinking I can do it all myself, but I can't, so I'm ready to start recommitting to my own education and future.

I know that my own personal education or re-education isn't going to change the world, but again, I can only start with myself.  

Change #4:  Take a class this term. It can be at PCC or with Tualatin Parks and Rec or Oregon School of Arts and Crafts...and report back here.