The Chicken in the Truck: A Reflection

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alicepopkorn/3461101884/

Many years ago, my husband and I were driving on the freeway (highway), and we saw several chickens dead on the road. They obviously came out of a semi-truck that was probably on it’s way to the processing plant because they were pure white, (the kind used for eggs and meat).

The discussion of the question continues to this day: Would you rather be the chicken on the truck or the chicken that jumps from the truck? One choice, you surrender to your fate not knowing what will happen but maybe you will live, and the other choice, you try to change your course, not knowing if you will be killed instantly or survive and find freedom and your own choice of future.

I made a big decision last month, and am ready to begin my new path, (in a few weeks). I haven’t thought about this questions for a few years, and it seems everytime I make or am faced with making a big decision or have made a big decision, I think about this question.

Upon reflection I am identifying myself as the chicken who jumps from the truck.  Reflecting on the current path I am on, I don’t like where I am going, soI concluded that I needed to take that “leap of faith” and try for something different.  It maybe worse (in which I will jump again) or it may be better, (inwhich I will stay until it becomes worse then I will jump again). 

I may be viewed as someone who won’t settle….but why do we have to settle?  Why do we tell ourselves, “This is as good as I’m going to get, so what use is trying to change things?”  As long as I am trying to get out, to change my life for the better, to improve my situation, to make a better life for myself, then I know that I haven’t given up.  Some people have made this “leap of faith” in their mind, as did Viktor Frankle wrote about in “Man’s Search for Meaning” about his experiences in Nazi death camp, in Aschwitz, Germany. And others take a physically leap, as did the people escaping the burning buildings of 9/11.  Being the master of your future, regardless of the outcome, is what gives you hope, inspiration, motivation and focus of your life.

Who do you identify with?  The chicken on the truck, or the chicken who escaped?

Please feel free to leave a comment…

photo credit: AlicePopkorn via photopin cc

5 Reasons to enroll your child into public school

In yesterday’s post I promised I would give the other side of the coin to the debate, public or private school. If you missed yesterday’s blog, please take a moment and read it. But basically, I have experienced both worlds as a teacher and a parent, and see the positives and negatives of both choices. Since I focus on the positive, I want to give my 5 reasons to choose a public school. Maybe the private school’s can learn a little from them too.

1. It’s Free. That is the bottom line in many parent’s decision. The fact is ‘I can’ or ‘I can’t’ afford it. Through our tax system, our society supports and education system that offers learning to every child. We as a society, want an educated public. I will not be able to work very well past 60’s/70’s, so I want the younger generation working, helping support me in my golden years through work and taxes, instead of going into the criminal system. Do I like the public system? Of course, it has a very important place in our society.

2. Teachers as well as administrators are educated to specific standards. They must go through schooling, rigorous testing, continued professional development to not only gain their positions, but to keep their positions (up until tenure). Public school teachers are required to be abreast of the education systems’ standards, implementation of these standards, state adopted (approved) curriculum and testing of students.

3. Facilities are more condusive to a learning environment. This is an interesting point that I never thought about as a public school teacher. The facilities are required by law to accomodate ADA, updated safety features, and security. Now that doesn’t mean that private schools aren’t held up to fire safety codes, on the contrary, they are inspected and specific laws (room occupation etc) must be obeyed. But more and more private schools (and public charter schools) are being established in strip malls, business buildings (complexes) and older school buildings and grounds that have been abandoned by public schools. Play areas (playground and athletic fields) are smaller, sometimes non-existant, and buildings are subpar (in need of paint and windows). A charter school with a local public school was offered an old school grounds that was abandoned for use with children, and turned into a storage facility. The charter group and parents wanted success so badly, that they went on their own time to clean the facilities, fix up the grounds and try to restore order to the facility. Needless to say it wasn’t longer than 2 years that the charter group dismantled.

4. Transportation. More often than not, even if parents have to pay a dollar or two a day for the convenience, public schools have the ability to transport the children to and from school. Some children, depending on the needs of the students and requirements of federal laws, have buses that will take them miles and miles and miles, just to get them to the ‘correct’ school to give them the education they are guarenteed by law. One district I personally knows will spend an excess of $35,000 just for transportation to take a special needs child to a school 20 miles away from his home to the school that can meet his individual needs.

5. If parents are STRONG advocates for their children, and know their child’s rights, they can get the public school to jump through hoops! The school district won’t like it, admininstrators and teachers will grumble and talk, but they must comply. This is one thing, considering you are paying taxes to support this system, if you know how to use the system, you can get them to provide MANY services for your child. One parent used to call meetings and bring a tape recorder to play for his lawyer everytime we met. Was it upsetting as a teacher?….of course, was it smart on the parent’s part? Absolutely, because if this parent wanted something done for his special needs child, it was done. But your child isn’t a special needs student? You would be surprised how easy it is to get them “designated” and then have the law on your side. One parent I know had the district buy her child a laptop (way before laptops were inexpensive and easy to come by), because she had a medical doctor diagnose him with a condition that he couldn’t write fast enough to keep up with lecture to take notes by hand. Yeah….

So if you have the “fight” in you, and the deligence to stay on top of the system, it can be quite advantages. Is this a good thing?….I don’t know, it is your child, you decide what is best for you and your child.

Now you have both sides of the private/public school debate from someone who has worked and parented in both worlds, with 20+ years of experience in the public schools and private schools,(including public and private university level courses), hope I gave you some insight.

Picture copyrights of Affective-learning.com

Toys Without Boundaries

Children today have a wide variety of choices to engage their minds during their free time. Electronic games have goals to reach, board games have a means to the end, and sporting games eventually have winners and losers. I encourage my students and children to do activities that have no “end game”. Toys like building blocks, connecting rods, and erector sets. Crafts like painting, working with crafts and modeling clay. And imaginative play, like role playing, building then playing creative instruments, and just playing. These activities engage the imagination, remove boundaries and and encourages creativity. The late amazing Walt Disney was asked if he thinks outside the box, and he replied, “why does there have to be a box?” Therefore, next time your child or student says “I’m bored”, answer them, “then you are not curious”.