A few weeks ago I was traveling back from West Virginia and I decided to check the accuracy of the gas gauge in my car. On the control panel is a button to push that tells me how many more miles I can travel before I run out of fuel. I was on that long stretch of I-68, East of Cumberland, Maryland , where there were no gas stations. So, I pushed beyond my comfort level.
Finally, with only 20 miles of gas left, I pulled off the highway in search of petrol.
I drive a late model Jeep Wrangler with a six cylinder engine. Filling it up that day with a near empty tank cost around $74. Shocking! I was unprepared for my first experience of $70+ for a tank of gas.
As gas approaches $4 per gallon in Delaware, it helps to keep our costs in perspective. At least we’re not Dutch. According to GTZ, The German Technical Cooperation, gasoline in the Netherlands costs $9.54 a gallon this April. In the UK, if you were renting a car while waiting for the royal wedding this week, you’d pay the equivalent of $8.29.
You want cheap gas? Go to Venezuela for $.09 a gallon. In Nigeria it’s $1.67 and in Saudi Arabia it’s only $.67 a gallon.
No thanks. I’ll pay whatever the cost, right here in the USA.
We all know that while gas prices go up, stressing the family budget, many other things we need begin to cost more as a result. Unless we grew it in our yard or built it from home grown products, there is nothing we buy that isn’t affected by the cost of gas. Most everything is trucked into our area and petroleum was likely used in some step of its construction. As we prepare to pay more for food and consumer goods, we have to be prepared to pay more for the education of our children as well.
We begin each day by bringing them to school in the big yellow taxi. Those who can’t walk to school and choose not to ride the bus, often are brought by family members in petroleum dependent vehicles. Once they get to school, they may have a nutritious breakfast, which will no doubt cost more. In class they’ll need books and paper and pencils and markers and computers and lights and heat and air conditioning and all the usual things. Most, I expect will be costing more due to some connection to oil.
So, expect it.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Screen Free Week
“Turn that thing off and go outside!” I seem to remember my mother barking at me.
We had just one black and white TV and 3 channels that came to us via the antenna strapped to our chimney. Back in the 60s the “boob tube” could mesmerize us and turn us into carpet spuds in spite of the limited shows and 1st generation special effects. Is it any wonder that now, with all the channels and variety of programming, not to mention video games, computers and even cell phones that will show videos, that we have a childhood obesity problem?
On April 18-24, children around the world will be asked to celebrate Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff) by turning off televisions, computers, and video games and turning on the world around them. Given the links between screen time and childhood obesity, as well as other health and social problems I’m asking parents and grandparents and guardians of all kinds to get on board.
According to Susan Linn, Ed.D., Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School preschool children, on average, spend over four and a half hours a day consuming screen media, while older children spend over 7 hours a day. Excessive screen time is linked to a number of problems for children, including childhood obesity, poor school performance, attention span issues and psychological difficulties. And it’s primarily through screens that children are exposed to harmful marketing. That’s why interventions like Screen-Free Week – which get children actively playing with peers and spending quality time with their families – are more important than ever. Reduced screen time can help prevent childhood obesity and lead to better school and health outcomes.
At the risk of stating the obvious, parents need to model for their children just how to do this. Don’t announce from on high that there will be no TV, video games or computer games; then proceed with your own routines. Give them some options and join in with them if you’re fit enough.
Just what do you do? First, make sure homework is done and if the computer is necessary for doing homework, it should be allowed. But only for completing assignments.
Then consider going low tech. Do you have some old board games? Scrabble? Checkers? Chess? Parcheesi?
Teach them a game from your childhood – does anyone play jacks anymore? It’s great for eye-hand coordination.
Go outside. Bird watch. Throw a Frisbee. Play kickball. Take a walk. Ride bikes. Plant a garden.
Oh, here’s a good one – read! Set aside a time for everyone in the house to read. It doesn’t matter what – magazine or novel, comic book or cookbook. Just read.
Screen Free Week starts April 18. Get to know your family again.
We had just one black and white TV and 3 channels that came to us via the antenna strapped to our chimney. Back in the 60s the “boob tube” could mesmerize us and turn us into carpet spuds in spite of the limited shows and 1st generation special effects. Is it any wonder that now, with all the channels and variety of programming, not to mention video games, computers and even cell phones that will show videos, that we have a childhood obesity problem?
On April 18-24, children around the world will be asked to celebrate Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff) by turning off televisions, computers, and video games and turning on the world around them. Given the links between screen time and childhood obesity, as well as other health and social problems I’m asking parents and grandparents and guardians of all kinds to get on board.
According to Susan Linn, Ed.D., Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School preschool children, on average, spend over four and a half hours a day consuming screen media, while older children spend over 7 hours a day. Excessive screen time is linked to a number of problems for children, including childhood obesity, poor school performance, attention span issues and psychological difficulties. And it’s primarily through screens that children are exposed to harmful marketing. That’s why interventions like Screen-Free Week – which get children actively playing with peers and spending quality time with their families – are more important than ever. Reduced screen time can help prevent childhood obesity and lead to better school and health outcomes.
At the risk of stating the obvious, parents need to model for their children just how to do this. Don’t announce from on high that there will be no TV, video games or computer games; then proceed with your own routines. Give them some options and join in with them if you’re fit enough.
Just what do you do? First, make sure homework is done and if the computer is necessary for doing homework, it should be allowed. But only for completing assignments.
Then consider going low tech. Do you have some old board games? Scrabble? Checkers? Chess? Parcheesi?
Teach them a game from your childhood – does anyone play jacks anymore? It’s great for eye-hand coordination.
Go outside. Bird watch. Throw a Frisbee. Play kickball. Take a walk. Ride bikes. Plant a garden.
Oh, here’s a good one – read! Set aside a time for everyone in the house to read. It doesn’t matter what – magazine or novel, comic book or cookbook. Just read.
Screen Free Week starts April 18. Get to know your family again.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Celebration Coming Soon
We had such a good time last year. We’re going to do it again.
The Second Annual Community Celebration of African American history will be here soon and it promises to be a fun one. The event will be held on February 26, that’s the last Saturday in February, at Lake Forest High School.
Plan on coming for dinner which will be lovingly prepared by our food service employees. Proceeds from the dinner go to scholarships for Lake Forest graduates. Dinner starts at 5:30 and the menu will include baked chicken, ham, sweet potatoes, collard greens, macaroni & cheese, potato salad, cornbread, sweet potato crunch, peach cobbler and fresh fruit. Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children if paid for in advance. Reservations can be made through any school office. Dinner tickets at the door will cost $2 more.
The program, which begins at 7pm, features student performers from every school in the district. They’ll be singing, playing instruments, reading poetry, stepping and more. There will be guest performances from some of the best singers in the Delaware State University music department.
Finally, we will recognize one of our finest teachers with the Obsidian Spartan Award. This special tribute goes to someone who has done much to contribute to the success of all children, but especially minority children in the Lake Forest community.
We hope to see you there.
The Second Annual Community Celebration of African American history will be here soon and it promises to be a fun one. The event will be held on February 26, that’s the last Saturday in February, at Lake Forest High School.
Plan on coming for dinner which will be lovingly prepared by our food service employees. Proceeds from the dinner go to scholarships for Lake Forest graduates. Dinner starts at 5:30 and the menu will include baked chicken, ham, sweet potatoes, collard greens, macaroni & cheese, potato salad, cornbread, sweet potato crunch, peach cobbler and fresh fruit. Cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children if paid for in advance. Reservations can be made through any school office. Dinner tickets at the door will cost $2 more.
The program, which begins at 7pm, features student performers from every school in the district. They’ll be singing, playing instruments, reading poetry, stepping and more. There will be guest performances from some of the best singers in the Delaware State University music department.
Finally, we will recognize one of our finest teachers with the Obsidian Spartan Award. This special tribute goes to someone who has done much to contribute to the success of all children, but especially minority children in the Lake Forest community.
We hope to see you there.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Camp Invention
If you have a child who loves creative challenges you may want to avoid scheduling family vacation during the week of August 8. During that week, Lake Forest School District will sponsor Camp Invention at Central Elementary School on Killens Pond Road.
This is a specially designed summer day camp experience for students who will be in first through sixth grades next year. The Camp Invention folks tell us the week is made of “five exciting modules that are designed to provide a unique opportunity to explore the unknown, tinker with ideas and satisfy an innate sense of curiosity. Children will tap into their creativity to solve real-world challenges and work as a team, using problem solving as a portal to discovery.”
The program includes experiences with some interesting titles. Makes me wish I was a kid again.
• Problem Solving on Planet ZAK Crash land on an alien planet! Use your creativity to assess its weather conditions, assemble protective shelter and clothing and survive this strange environment.
• Saving Sludge City It’s up to you to “green Up” the contaminated wasteland.
• Imagination Point: Ride Physics Investigate the science behind daredevil rides and construct your own model roller coaster.
• Game on: Power Play Explore new games and add your own twist.
• I Can Invent: Edison’s Workshop Take apart old appliances and build new machines with the stuff inside.
The camp will run from 9am to 3:30pm from August 8-12. Registration is $190 per child until March 30. After that the cost is $215. A down payment of $50 will secure your child’s spot. The camp will be directed by local qualified educators and is not limited to students of Lake Forest.
Elementary students in Lake Forest Schools have been given a flyer with all the information you need to register your child. But, if you didn’t get one because it disappeared in that black hole known as the backpack you can register on line at www.campinvention.org or by calling 800.968.4332. Be sure to mention promo code RERD.
We are proud to bring Camp Invention to our community this summer. Renowned for the difference it’s making nationwide, this STEM enrichment program will provide a safe, creative outlet for children to extend school year learning through fun hands-on activities that develop important life skills that prepare them for the 21st century.
This is a specially designed summer day camp experience for students who will be in first through sixth grades next year. The Camp Invention folks tell us the week is made of “five exciting modules that are designed to provide a unique opportunity to explore the unknown, tinker with ideas and satisfy an innate sense of curiosity. Children will tap into their creativity to solve real-world challenges and work as a team, using problem solving as a portal to discovery.”
The program includes experiences with some interesting titles. Makes me wish I was a kid again.
• Problem Solving on Planet ZAK Crash land on an alien planet! Use your creativity to assess its weather conditions, assemble protective shelter and clothing and survive this strange environment.
• Saving Sludge City It’s up to you to “green Up” the contaminated wasteland.
• Imagination Point: Ride Physics Investigate the science behind daredevil rides and construct your own model roller coaster.
• Game on: Power Play Explore new games and add your own twist.
• I Can Invent: Edison’s Workshop Take apart old appliances and build new machines with the stuff inside.
The camp will run from 9am to 3:30pm from August 8-12. Registration is $190 per child until March 30. After that the cost is $215. A down payment of $50 will secure your child’s spot. The camp will be directed by local qualified educators and is not limited to students of Lake Forest.
Elementary students in Lake Forest Schools have been given a flyer with all the information you need to register your child. But, if you didn’t get one because it disappeared in that black hole known as the backpack you can register on line at www.campinvention.org or by calling 800.968.4332. Be sure to mention promo code RERD.
We are proud to bring Camp Invention to our community this summer. Renowned for the difference it’s making nationwide, this STEM enrichment program will provide a safe, creative outlet for children to extend school year learning through fun hands-on activities that develop important life skills that prepare them for the 21st century.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Ready for a Break
I know they don’t show it but our teachers have been working extra-hard this year. There’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that have been uniquely stressful.
We created a time in each school where teams of teachers have almost 90 minutes each week to collaborate and plan together. It’s most noticeable at the high school where they do it every Wednesday, causing a 2 hour late start for high school kids. In the elementary and middle schools we’ve managed to create that time within the school day, so it’s not obvious to the general public when it happens.
During this time, which we refer to as PLC time (Professional Learning Communities), all the teachers for one grade level or all those who teach the same subject, plan and confer on the best strategies for teaching your children. Much of this time has been spent in the development of curriculum, or teaching units, that are aligned with the state and national standards. We also require these units be developed to represent the best teaching practices from Learning Focused Strategies. Some schools even pay teachers for extra time after school to do this.
We also use the PLC time to analyze student performance results on bench mark tests and on the new state test known as DCAS.
DCAS is the second contributor to stress on our teachers. It is all new. It is administered on-line. It still has some bugs and kinks to work out. The tests at each grade level have been assigned cut scores that are much higher than the old test, causing the experts to predict that more of the children in Delaware will fail to reach proficiency. It’s like changing the score needed to pass an exam from 70 to 85. Whoever normally scores between 70 and 85 will now fail.
The good thing is, because the test is administered on-line, we can do it a couple of times and get results immediately. So, our teachers have reviewed student performance on DCAS and made adjustments in their teaching. They will give the DCAS again in January and then again in May.
Finally, the state will be redesigning the teacher evaluation to include student performance measures in each teacher’s evaluation. Next year, if students don’t gain a year academically as measured by DCAS and other tests, the teacher cannot be rated exemplary.
So, is it any wonder that our teachers may be feeling a little stressed? The holiday break is welcome this year - perhaps more than usual.
On behalf of Lake Forest School District we wish all of our families, those of our children and those of our employees, a very restful, family-filled holiday season and a happy, successful New Year.
We created a time in each school where teams of teachers have almost 90 minutes each week to collaborate and plan together. It’s most noticeable at the high school where they do it every Wednesday, causing a 2 hour late start for high school kids. In the elementary and middle schools we’ve managed to create that time within the school day, so it’s not obvious to the general public when it happens.
During this time, which we refer to as PLC time (Professional Learning Communities), all the teachers for one grade level or all those who teach the same subject, plan and confer on the best strategies for teaching your children. Much of this time has been spent in the development of curriculum, or teaching units, that are aligned with the state and national standards. We also require these units be developed to represent the best teaching practices from Learning Focused Strategies. Some schools even pay teachers for extra time after school to do this.
We also use the PLC time to analyze student performance results on bench mark tests and on the new state test known as DCAS.
DCAS is the second contributor to stress on our teachers. It is all new. It is administered on-line. It still has some bugs and kinks to work out. The tests at each grade level have been assigned cut scores that are much higher than the old test, causing the experts to predict that more of the children in Delaware will fail to reach proficiency. It’s like changing the score needed to pass an exam from 70 to 85. Whoever normally scores between 70 and 85 will now fail.
The good thing is, because the test is administered on-line, we can do it a couple of times and get results immediately. So, our teachers have reviewed student performance on DCAS and made adjustments in their teaching. They will give the DCAS again in January and then again in May.
Finally, the state will be redesigning the teacher evaluation to include student performance measures in each teacher’s evaluation. Next year, if students don’t gain a year academically as measured by DCAS and other tests, the teacher cannot be rated exemplary.
So, is it any wonder that our teachers may be feeling a little stressed? The holiday break is welcome this year - perhaps more than usual.
On behalf of Lake Forest School District we wish all of our families, those of our children and those of our employees, a very restful, family-filled holiday season and a happy, successful New Year.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Principal - The hardest part of the job
Tuesday, December 14 is Principal Recognition Day. I’m not sure why this date was selected, but I understand there may be declarations signed by major government officials. WhooooHooooo!
It’s not likely something for which they make numerous greeting cards. There is no need to purchase a gift for your favorite school principal. It’s just a special day to remind you that good schools don’t become good schools without good principals leading them.
At times I have written about the principal’s job being the best job in any school district –especially the elementary principal. But there is one aspect of the principal’s job that is the most critical to student success. It is complicated, challenging and can be emotionally draining. That is teacher evaluation.
It is the job of the principal (and assistant principal, too) to evaluate the performance of each teacher. The evaluation should be viewed as a way to help teachers become better teachers, but the tool must also be used to remove teachers. Poor teachers do not stay in the classroom because of tenure laws as many people think. Poor teachers stay in the classroom when they are not being evaluated properly.
Years ago, teachers were evaluated (hopefully each year) by the principal, who would drop in on a class or two, make some notes and fill out a form or check list giving the teacher a score in each identified area. The principal would go over his/her observations with the teacher and that would be that.
Today it is a little more complicated. The teacher evaluation process in Delaware is called DPAS II. It has a number of required parts.
1. The teacher completes a goal form, establish targets for the year.
2. Teacher and principal meet to go over goals.
3. Before the teacher’s teaching can be formally observed the teacher must complete a pre-observation form.
4. Teacher and principal meet to discuss what the principal will be seeing.
5. Principal observes the lesson.
6. Teacher and principal meet to discuss the lesson.
7. Principal completes a formative evaluation.
8. Near the end of the year the principal and teacher review the goals and discuss whether or not they were reached and why.
9. Teachers in their first three years must then receive a final evaluation.
10. Teachers with continuing contracts may go through this cycle every two years.
This must be done for every teacher. It is very time consuming and seems to require more conferencing than observing.
Most teachers are good teachers who take their work seriously. They work hard and want to do better every year. But, we’ve all known a few stinkers. Maybe you had one in school or maybe your children have had one. They smell up the school until a principal has the courage to tell them they stink.
It’s hard telling someone who has invested a college education in this career that they maybe don’t belong in education. It’s even harder sometimes to convince them that it is true and to prove it with evidence collected from the process above.
That’s why the principal is so critical to school success. That’s why they deserve special recognition.
It’s not likely something for which they make numerous greeting cards. There is no need to purchase a gift for your favorite school principal. It’s just a special day to remind you that good schools don’t become good schools without good principals leading them.
At times I have written about the principal’s job being the best job in any school district –especially the elementary principal. But there is one aspect of the principal’s job that is the most critical to student success. It is complicated, challenging and can be emotionally draining. That is teacher evaluation.
It is the job of the principal (and assistant principal, too) to evaluate the performance of each teacher. The evaluation should be viewed as a way to help teachers become better teachers, but the tool must also be used to remove teachers. Poor teachers do not stay in the classroom because of tenure laws as many people think. Poor teachers stay in the classroom when they are not being evaluated properly.
Years ago, teachers were evaluated (hopefully each year) by the principal, who would drop in on a class or two, make some notes and fill out a form or check list giving the teacher a score in each identified area. The principal would go over his/her observations with the teacher and that would be that.
Today it is a little more complicated. The teacher evaluation process in Delaware is called DPAS II. It has a number of required parts.
1. The teacher completes a goal form, establish targets for the year.
2. Teacher and principal meet to go over goals.
3. Before the teacher’s teaching can be formally observed the teacher must complete a pre-observation form.
4. Teacher and principal meet to discuss what the principal will be seeing.
5. Principal observes the lesson.
6. Teacher and principal meet to discuss the lesson.
7. Principal completes a formative evaluation.
8. Near the end of the year the principal and teacher review the goals and discuss whether or not they were reached and why.
9. Teachers in their first three years must then receive a final evaluation.
10. Teachers with continuing contracts may go through this cycle every two years.
This must be done for every teacher. It is very time consuming and seems to require more conferencing than observing.
Most teachers are good teachers who take their work seriously. They work hard and want to do better every year. But, we’ve all known a few stinkers. Maybe you had one in school or maybe your children have had one. They smell up the school until a principal has the courage to tell them they stink.
It’s hard telling someone who has invested a college education in this career that they maybe don’t belong in education. It’s even harder sometimes to convince them that it is true and to prove it with evidence collected from the process above.
That’s why the principal is so critical to school success. That’s why they deserve special recognition.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Public Schools = Divided Nation
It’s 1950. The public schools imagined by Horace Mann have evolved. Now everyone can go to school and everyone can graduate from high school. But, everyone must go to school only with people of the same color.
That’s right, in 1950 it was not only standard practice, it was flat-out illegal in 17 states for children of color to go to school with white kids. The promise of an American public education was laid out on different paths. Parents had complained over the years. Some filed suit, but the U.S. Supreme Court determined it was OK to have separate schools as long as they were equal.
Of course, you didn’t have far to look to find evidence that in most every community, the standard was separate and unequal. Eventually, with a case known as Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme court was persuaded that children should no longer be separated by color in public school.
I was a child at the time with no idea what was going on. I grew up in the country attending the neighborhood elementary school. My first classmates of color appeared when we all rode the bus into town to the large junior high about 1964. Some of Lake Forest’s teachers still recall attending their segregated schools and the trauma of integration here in the late 60s. In Delaware, the Indian population had a separate school as well.
The battle to integrate the schools was not easy. Many would point out that their objective was not for their kids to go to school with white kids. They just wanted their kids to have the same opportunities. Some who fought the battle faced unimaginable violence. Students integrated schools in some towns only under the watchful protection of the police or the National Guard.
There were separations in gender in those days as well. There were no teams in athletics, nor were there athletic scholarships for college. Many prestigious universities were not open for women. Women were to stay home and care for the babies. Maybe they could be nurses, or secretaries or teachers.
It’s hard for our children today to imagine such a world. Thank goodness those days are in our past. Our constitution and our culture saw to the evolution of our public schools. Now our schools look nothing like the public schools of other nations.
Last week a gentleman told me this story. He has five adult children: #1 is a neurosurgeon, #2 a school teacher, #3 is looking for work after 6 colleges in 7 years, #4 was born with a number of physical disabilities, brain damage and severe seizures, and #5 was hit by a car at age 11. The accident left the youngest brain damaged, crippled and blind.
All five of his kids were educated in the public schools and even his youngest eventually completed college. He points out that the odds of getting 4 college grads out of his brood would be slim in most any other country but the good old U.S.A. He also says that #4, with the severe disabilities, would have had her medication withheld by law in some countries, sentencing her to a sure death at an early age. Instead, the public schools of his community gave her the best care and training available anywhere.
America’s schools have improved continuously over time. Yes, it’s true, while we were improving; other countries have been zooming ahead with their own version of public school. Many resemble the United States of the 1950s, supporting only the dominant culture, sorting and selecting and providing limited opportunities for immigrants.
We want to compete globally, but we don’t want to go back to the 1950s. Ever.
That’s right, in 1950 it was not only standard practice, it was flat-out illegal in 17 states for children of color to go to school with white kids. The promise of an American public education was laid out on different paths. Parents had complained over the years. Some filed suit, but the U.S. Supreme Court determined it was OK to have separate schools as long as they were equal.
Of course, you didn’t have far to look to find evidence that in most every community, the standard was separate and unequal. Eventually, with a case known as Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme court was persuaded that children should no longer be separated by color in public school.
I was a child at the time with no idea what was going on. I grew up in the country attending the neighborhood elementary school. My first classmates of color appeared when we all rode the bus into town to the large junior high about 1964. Some of Lake Forest’s teachers still recall attending their segregated schools and the trauma of integration here in the late 60s. In Delaware, the Indian population had a separate school as well.
The battle to integrate the schools was not easy. Many would point out that their objective was not for their kids to go to school with white kids. They just wanted their kids to have the same opportunities. Some who fought the battle faced unimaginable violence. Students integrated schools in some towns only under the watchful protection of the police or the National Guard.
There were separations in gender in those days as well. There were no teams in athletics, nor were there athletic scholarships for college. Many prestigious universities were not open for women. Women were to stay home and care for the babies. Maybe they could be nurses, or secretaries or teachers.
It’s hard for our children today to imagine such a world. Thank goodness those days are in our past. Our constitution and our culture saw to the evolution of our public schools. Now our schools look nothing like the public schools of other nations.
Last week a gentleman told me this story. He has five adult children: #1 is a neurosurgeon, #2 a school teacher, #3 is looking for work after 6 colleges in 7 years, #4 was born with a number of physical disabilities, brain damage and severe seizures, and #5 was hit by a car at age 11. The accident left the youngest brain damaged, crippled and blind.
All five of his kids were educated in the public schools and even his youngest eventually completed college. He points out that the odds of getting 4 college grads out of his brood would be slim in most any other country but the good old U.S.A. He also says that #4, with the severe disabilities, would have had her medication withheld by law in some countries, sentencing her to a sure death at an early age. Instead, the public schools of his community gave her the best care and training available anywhere.
America’s schools have improved continuously over time. Yes, it’s true, while we were improving; other countries have been zooming ahead with their own version of public school. Many resemble the United States of the 1950s, supporting only the dominant culture, sorting and selecting and providing limited opportunities for immigrants.
We want to compete globally, but we don’t want to go back to the 1950s. Ever.
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