You are currently browsing the Daily Life category
Displaying 51 - 60 of 71 entries.

Young Men and Murder

  • Posted on August 6, 2010 at 3:38 pm

Murder in New York

I was talking with my son who lives near Chicago about Detroit and I told him I couldn’t see why Detroit is still called “Murder City” when Chicago seems to be riddled with murders.  Chicago has somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 million people, Detroit has less than a million and New York has about 8 million.  I know there is a new show coming out on TV called “Detroit 187”.   Some aren’t happy with the show about crime but I say if they film it in Michigan, I’m all for it, anything to give someone a job.  I tried to check into the murder capital thing and I discovered something very disturbing.

I don’t know if Detroit is the murder capital but I do know that a murder map I found for New York was very upsetting to me.  According to the map it looks like young “Black” and “Latino” men are being killed left and right.  http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map

These are the stats:  61% of the victims are Black, 27% Latino, 8% White and 3% Asian.  The majority of both the perpetrators and the victims are male and young, you know, like under 34.

I find all of this very troubling for our country.  Our children are supposed to be our best and brightest.  Children aren’t born criminals.  Like an animal in a cage, treated with abuse, sometimes they will turn to violence.  I’m appalled that more isn’t being done to curb this violence and start these young children out on the right track.  No parent wants to raise a killer.  I cannot believe that this is something born in these people.  I do think there is a deep sense of hopelessness in our youth that are stuck in these huge cities with very few alternatives to make money except for selling drugs or joining the military.   I’m sure they can make more money selling the drugs or doing some other illicit deed than getting a real job.  Real jobs are hard to find any way, harder if you have little education and no familial structure to help support you.

There is a vast divide between the rich and the poor in this country.  History books try to cover this up with platitudes about how this is the “Land of the free.”   Much chatter is devoted to the “rags to riches” stories that are really just a bunch of bullshit like a carrot on a stick.  It’s something to appease the masses to make them feel that they too can become rich some day.  Some maybe make it, but for the most part, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”  We can see this in all aspects of politics and entertainment.  We see legacies from different families for both those areas.  If you come from the right family, you will excel and be given special opportunities.  However, this isn’t just true with these two areas.  It is also true with most small towns and suburban communities.  We hire our own in these places and teacher’s kids and cop’s kids get breaks that aren’t necessarily available to the very poor.

I mention all of this because I wonder who is there for these young men in these cities to mentor them and give them special treatment.  Probably the only people left are the lowest elements of our society.  I am troubled that these young men seem to be “throw away people”.  Nobody seems to care about them.  If politicians cared, they would devote more money to education, cleaning up the blight in these big cities, and doing everything possible to promote a strong economy rather than just building more prisons and hiring more cops!  Where is the outrage of this blight in America?  Who cares enough about our troubled young Black and Hispanic men to actually do something about it?

So many people have touted the Bush tax cuts and so many loved Ronald Reagan but I find it interesting that the income gap between the rich and the poor is at an eighty year high.

http://washingtonindependent.com/91038/with-income-gap-at-80-year-high-solutions-remain-elusive

If you look at it, the incarceration rate really went up since the time of Reagan.  I really don’t know what to make of this except that I also know that the rich got richer and the poor got poorer during this time.

There has to be connections between all of these factors.  I don’t have all the answers.  I just feel that our country has some pretty screwed up priorities.  It seems like we’d rather be perpetually at war, feeding the war profiteers and the oil industry or extolling the virtues of the wealthy through shows like Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” and “Extra” that follows around the rich and famous to give us a birds eye view of their celebrity life; than educating our youth and creating a safe, productive environment where we can all have a piece of the pie.  Our number one priority in our country should be our youth and it simply is not!

Continue reading Young Men and Murder »

1 comment »

Art Meets Reality TV

  • Posted on August 5, 2010 at 5:30 pm

You know that feeling you get when you meet someone and they seem really great, perfect in every way and then you find out that they have just been playing you?  Well, I’ve been there in real life much as poor Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol, has been when she found out Levi was just not that much into her.  No, I’m not going to pick on poor Bristol.  After all she is just a kid looking for love.  What I’m upset about is the creative programming of two shows that I was meant to fall in love with, HGTV’s “Design Star” and Bravo’s “Work Of Art.  Both of these shows have the makings and potential of something really creative and exciting to watch for people like me, creative types that don’t give a damn about reality TV!  I was in love at the opening credits only to discover that underneath that great façade was some stupid businessman running the show.

The shows both started out with great promise with an individual challenge where you could get a sense of each artist/designer’s concepts and thought process.  Ever since those first shows we have been “treated” to numerous group activities that are most artist’s “HELL”.  Each show has been more interested in personalities that don’t get along then in real design work.  It really is disappointing to watch these group challenges after group challenges with snarky comments from the judges week after week.  On HGTV why did they have to bring in Donald Trump’s son, Donnie Jr., to Design Star last week?

This year is so uninspiring.  In past years the designers were forced to be more creative.  This year I have yet to witness any real creativity on Design Star.  I think the fault has to do with the direction they have decided to take the show.  The three judges, Vern, Geniveve, and Candice are all very talented artists and designers.  They must be in hell themselves for having to judge this “crapfest”.  So what’s wrong with the show?  The “challenges” are so lame that the designers have not been able to show any real creativity.  I feel like they walk through a store and just pick out a bunch of stuff and put it in a room.  There is no thought or imagination!  There is no style.  It’s so boring.  There is nothing notable about any of the wall treatments.  Nothing wonderful is built because most are incompetent like the guy that stapled his art project to the floor.  I could go on and on.  I think they need to have a better art direction or director and fire the producer running it.

The new Bravo show, “Work of Art”, started out just great.  I was blown away and just loved the show.  It has steadily gone down hill since because the show continues to put these artists together on lame group projects, much like Design Star, that end up looking disastrous.  It too is more interested in showing us the “dynamics” behind the artist’s personalities then really letting us into their creative minds.  The show pushes the two “characters” Miles, the man that sleeps all the time and Jaclyn, the, oh so “modest” female that is constantly undressing for the camera in her artwork.  These two together won the last competition supposedly because it was so cerebral it was over most of our heads.  I laugh at the thought of that!  I know all of these artists are talented in their own way.  I think the show needs to allot a bit more time for the art challenges and it needs to let the artists do individual art challenges.  Last night they finally did an individual challenge that left me wondering what the judges were thinking when they kept Peregrine who created a work of art that had drawings that really had no artistic value whatsoever.  Well, I digress as judging art is so subjective that it isn’t fair for me to put my input on this part of the show.  We don’t all appreciate the same types of art.

I feel cheated as the show started out great.  The first couple of shows I just loved.  Since then the show has gone progressively down hill.  I’ll watch it until the end but right now I am disappointed as the bloom is off the rose and the petals are falling fast.

I really like artistic type shows.  HGTV is a great place to showcase this and Bravo as well.  However, there is not enough artistic programming.  Most of the reality TV shows are just awful.  I don’t watch them.  These artistic shows have the potential to educate people about art and design but instead they end up making a mockery of it.

The other show that I like to watch in this creative vein is “Project Runway”.  The new season just started.  This show has been over the top creative in the past even going so far as to make really interesting clothing out of newspapers.  It sounded awful but the designers were fantastic in that episode.  I hope they don’t mess up the show this year like HGTV did with “Design Star”.

In the future I can only hope that people like me are hired to come up with great challenges for these artistic type shows instead of boring producers that don’t know art or artists.  It’s a simple math problem as I was meant to fall in love with these artistic shows.  They had me at, “Hello!”  With knowledge like that most producers should be able to hold my attention by doing the proper math and giving me what I want….real art, so I can fall in “love.”

Continue reading Art Meets Reality TV »

4 comments on Art Meets Reality TV »

Meet “Mayhem”

  • Posted on August 4, 2010 at 2:37 pm

I love the “Mayhem” commercials from Allstate.  If I was in the market for insurance, I might even consider Allstate just because I love their commercials.  Fortunately for me I have a low cost insurance company that I would be hard pressed to leave.  You can catch a good compilation of the commercials here.

http://www.allstate.com/mayhem-is-everywhere/main.aspx

If you haven’t seen the ads, you need to watch for them because they are hilarious.  They are a reminder of the potential “Mayhem” that exists in our lives when we are driving our car.  Too bad “Mayhem” is so handsome even if he acts deranged as real “Mayhem” is much uglier in truth.

These commercials remind me of the mayhem many of us might feel about business and politics today.  Mayhem is all around us.  Just think about the BP oil spill and now the Enbridge spill in Michigan as well.  The problem is no one is really protecting us from it like an insurance company is supposed to do.  The government keeps holding hands with BP like they are star crossed lovers and they are convincing us that everything will be okay because they got married and the baby will not be a “bastard”.  No, in fact that baby has disappeared and you know that old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind!”  However that “Mayhem” is going to haunt us for years to come with health and environmental issues.

Some have felt the deranged sting from “Mayhem” when they lost their jobs and their waiting in line filing for unemployment.  They are put in a state of panic wondering what they are going to do.  The 99ers met “Mayhem” head on and there was no insurance company to bail them out.  Their unemployment ran out before they could figure out how to deal with the mayhem this economy threw at them.

The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan probably meet “Mayhem” often.  He may be waiting in a roadside bomb or a sniper somewhere.  The soldiers do their jobs hoping “Mayhem” stays away from them and their friends.  However, “Mayhem” always finds those people that it really wants to seek and none of our soldiers are safe from “Mayhem”.  The politicians don’t protect them and don’t even put forth good policy decisions that make the soldiers know when the job is really done and they can put “Mayhem” to rest.

“Mayhem” is touching all of us in some way or another.  Our schools are under funded and cuts are being made that will certainly make it easier for “Mayhem” to enter the lives of our most vulnerable, our children.  “Mayhem” might take the appearance of an over- stressed teacher, crowded classrooms or missing programs but “Mayhem” will make an appearance.

As we are stuck defending our homes because of cuts in police protection, be prepared to meet “Mayhem” when someone decides their business is your business.  “Mayhem” happily follows the troubled and the criminal.

“Mayhem” has even entered congress.  How else can we explain the fact that everything seems to be so ineptly handled?  The unemployment extension couldn’t be passed until after the July 4th recess.  Obviously congress didn’t feel the bite of “Mayhem” personally or they would have pushed this through in any way possible as soon as possible.  The “Mayhem” that really exists in congress is the way it works or doesn’t work.  When the Republicans were in power, they didn’t need 60 plus senators to get things done.  However, now that the Democrats are in power, they struggle to get anything done and blame it on the Republicans.  Those Republicans must be very powerful to be so clever.  President Obama came into office with a boat load of people behind him.  He could have done so much but he chose to shake hands with “Mayhem” and let him take over.  It really is sad that “Mayhem” has taken the voice of people like Newt Gingrich.

Senators and Representatives will probably understand “Mayhem” better when they meet him in November.  He’ll be smiling but they will be in the fight for their political lives as most people could care less about anyone in public office today.  Would you throw a lifeline to your senator or representative?  Many people think it’s time to clean house.  The only problem is what will “Mayhem” like this bring us?  More people like Newt Gingrich?  I don’t think that’s what we need but I sure hope “Mayhem” makes everyone think before he leaves us alone after the storm!

Continue reading Meet “Mayhem” »

Care to leave a comment? »

An Uncomplicated Youth

  • Posted on August 2, 2010 at 11:58 am

There I am with momma holding me still. Life was uncomplicated.

Uncomplicated Katie

I grew up in an extremely large family, the child of two hard working parents.  We didn’t have a lot of things like most kids seem to have today.  We also didn’t have a lot of one on one “quality” time with our parents.  In many ways you might think that I grew up in a deprived family.  However, we never really thought of ourselves as poor and we never really felt deprived.  I do remember going to my aunt’s house and picking out clothes, after her children had already picked what they wanted, from boxes kept in an extra room.  I think they were donated clothes.  I remember getting a jumper that I wore for my school picture.  We didn’t have much in the way of toys and extras but it wasn’t that noticeable by any of us.

When we moved to Kingston I was going into third grade.  I had never even been on a bike before.  We didn’t even have any bikes.  My sister said at one time the bikes were backed over by a vehicle and never replaced.  The neighborhood girl who was a year older was very nice.  She helped me learn how to ride a bike by letting me borrow her bike.  I’d jump on and fly down the hill and hope I wouldn’t fall off.  It was a blast and we didn’t wear helmets back then!  I did get a bike when I was in seventh grade.  That was awesome.  I remember the freedom of riding around town and visiting my friends.  We used to play games like kick the can.  Sometimes at night when it was dark, we’d even play.  Nobody worried about perverts back then.  My parents were careful about what we were exposed to but everyone kind of watched out for each other’s children.  I’m sure someone would have noticed if a stranger was around.

Summer was a lot of fun even though we worked hard.  We would go back up north to Maple City.  My brothers and I would pick raspberries, strawberries and cherries in the summer.  Picking cherries was a dirty job and tiring too but oh so much fun.  Cherry juice always dripped down my arms and sometimes itched.  When we’d get a little bored we’d throw cherries at each other.  I remember the scary walks to the “out house” to use the toilet.  It was scary because they’re gross and I was afraid of the “Mexicans” as they spoke a different language and I didn’t know what they were saying.  We were generally kept away from the Mexican laborers.  You could hear them speaking Spanish but they were kept by themselves as we were kept with the other “locals” picking.  At the end of the day, we’d take Ivory soap and go to Little Traverse Lake and clean up.  You have to wonder about the outhouse and the cherries.  We didn’t have water to clean up.  Everything was much different back then.  I wonder if people got some kind of bacteria from that!

My education was small town stuff.  I wasn’t exposed to some things that I wish I had been exposed to such as art.  That is my one real regret about my childhood.  I feel like I missed something wonderful by missing all those art classes.  It really is amazing that I am an art teacher and artist today for never having been really exposed to the arts in my youth.  It never crossed my mind as a youngster as I didn’t even know what those things were.  Art, artists, art teachers, I was clueless to all aspects of art.  We did have pencil and paper and I did like to draw when I was in high school but I don’t have many real memories of art when I was young.  I do remember having a watercolor set and painting many pictures of waterfalls.  We visited my aunt in the upper peninsula of Michigan and I think I painted my memories.  My sister says that when I was five and my grandma died I drew lots of pictures of her in a coffin.

I have memories of playing under our great maple tree with cars and other vehicles.  There were roads that my brothers had set up and I’d drive little cars down them.  I also remember playing soccer with my brothers but I always had to be the goalie!  We also played croquet and I remember loving kick ball in school.  My days were mostly filled with school during the school year and picking cherries and fun in the summer time.  I had to help my mom in the house a lot especially on Saturdays.  The boys didn’t do much in the house.  That was the time when it was the girl’s job.  Unfortunately, my sisters were ten and twelve years older than me and were mostly on their own when I was doing the majority of my housework.  Weekdays I might have some homework but never remember a lot of homework.  I liked reading and I remember my favorite show was the “Monkees”.  Davey was so dreamy.  I was more like one of my brothers than one of the girls because I have no significant memory of dolls.  Besides my sister said the boys buried one of her dolls in some kind of funeral service.  I had always wanted a Barbie but my mom thought they were way too suggestive.  I got a fake Barbie when I was probably around a fifth grader.  I had one other doll in my life and it was a baby doll.  As I said, we didn’t have many toys.  Our real goal as kids was to be old enough to play cards.  I remember many fun nights growing up playing euchre and pinochle.  When we were old enough to sit still long enough to sit through a game, we got to play cards.

Life was largely uncomplicated.  Nothing like it is today.  Today’s kids have a lot more pressure on them than I ever felt.  I teach at the middle school level and I am amazed at the pressure our young children have on them.  They have to job shadow in 8th grade.  I hardly knew what a job was when I was in 8th grade.  I certainly wouldn’t have job shadowed an artist as I was never exposed to any.  They have to pick a “career pathway” for their classes when they go up to the high school.  They have pressure to pass tests that are tied to our funding, so you know we put a lot of pressure on them when they are taking the big MEAP test.  We, as teachers, don’t want them to be pressured but it’s unavoidable with the current direction of education.  Many students are involved in a countless number of activities that keep their parents and families in a hectic pace. They spend a lot of time rushing from one activity to another.  My family always had dinner together.  Today it doesn’t seem to be a priority.  Very few have much time for uncomplicated play time either.  Every moment of the day is structured for them.  They have less and less recess type time because more time is needed for “education”.  Students don’t have as much creative type playtime like I did as a kid.  They are on computers or phones text messaging each other because they are lonely.  Many have never had to really and truly entertain themselves.  They have either been in front of a TV or computer most of their lives.  When they aren’t doing that they are playing some structured sport or other activity.  Much is expected of them and I’m sure it must be frustrating at times and I think in many ways they are forced to grow up much too early.

Classes have been pushed down from the high school.  Math is harder than it was when I was in school.  Students at the middle school level are doing math that used to be taught at the high school level.  This year at our school science and language classes are being pushed down to the 8th grade from the high school.  The exploratory classes suffer because of this.  Very few 8th graders will have art this year and I feel sad for those that won’t have that opportunity.  There is more and more pressure to compete and the pressure can be so over the top that it can swallow up some kids.  They get discouraged and drop out of school out of sheer frustration and boredom.  I wish kids today could have some of the uncomplicated time that I had as a kid.  I know some kids probably experience much of what I felt when I did the cherries when they’re detasseling corn but most don’t do that job.  Most have much pressure to win on some team or get the grades in school.  Legislators have no idea what the modern classroom is like and they don’t see the stress that much of their efforts place on these students.

I wish all students would have the time to play and create as I think it clarifies the thought process.  Today kids can pass tests and perform like trained monkeys but many struggle processing the real “thinking” of life.  When something happens that isn’t on the test, they struggle with what to do.  We can’t teach to a test, we must teach how to think.  It takes time to accomplish this task.  It isn’t something like rote memorization with constant repetition.  It’s a thought process and it isn’t something that is automatically measured on a test.  The real test for this process is life.  We all know people that could do the book stuff but fail miserably at life’s lessons.  The true measure of all these tests we are giving our kids today will not be realized until these kids become adults and live their lives.  Will they think they had a deprived childhood much like I did when I discovered art and wished I’d had it as a youngster?  Will they be brave enough to try something new like I did taking art in college when I had never had art before?  Or will they go through life doing what has always been expected of them by living their lives like programmed little soldiers waiting for their next assignment?  Time will only tell

Continue reading An Uncomplicated Youth »

6 comments on An Uncomplicated Youth »

Organizing the Unemployed for a Voting Block

  • Posted on July 30, 2010 at 2:34 pm

An unemployment line in Plainfield Township in Michigan.

Most people today don’t need a political poll to know that our country is heading in the wrong direction.  Unemployment and under employment are a part of our every day life.  Many people are sitting on pins and needles hoping the other shoe doesn’t drop and they lose their job.  It isn’t just manufacturing jobs that are lost as well.  Police officers and teachers are being laid off in a domino effect from the current unemployment situation.  In addition we all know that as less money is circulated in the environment other jobs and businesses will be affected as well.  Times are tough and many people have never seen it so bad.  In Michigan many of our youth that graduate from college are moving out of state.  In some of the jobs they are getting, they are truly under employed as their skill sets are much greater than the jobs they are doing.  Many have to pay for astronomical college education loans with fairly high interest so they settle for any job to pay that bill.  Meanwhile the politicians have put on blinders to all of this.  They may pay some lip service to some of the problems of unemployment and the homeless.  However, many of them are truly clueless and fairly uncaring in their approach to dealing with the problems that face our country.  Interestingly enough the unemployed have the potential to have a major impact through political action.

The statistics on all of this is just staggering.  In my research I discovered this bit about the growing need for food stamps on Wikipedia.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program

The number of Americans receiving food stamps reached 39.68 million in February 2010, the highest number since the program began in 1962.[4] As of June 2009, the average monthly benefit was $133.12 per person.[5] As of late November 2009, one in eight Americans and one in four children are using food stamps and the program rate is growing at 20,000 people a day.[6] Recipients must have at least near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits.[7]

These are troubling statistics when you think about it and realize that we have around 307 million people in our country.  Meanwhile, you or someone you know is worrying about paying bills or saving your/their job.  Wealthy people continue to plan their weddings, take their trips and live in a manner that is basically unchanged for them.  The politicians continue to travel at tax payer expense on their “fact finding” missions.  Some of you might not realize that these trips are not always what they appear.  Joe Biden took his honeymoon with Jill on the tax payer dime.  I only know this because he talked about the trip on CSpan during an interview back during the last election cycle.  Sure he was with other senators on the trip but he took his new wife and they made a honeymoon of it.  These politicians love their jobs.  They love the power, the travel and the prestige.  With this in mind unemployed people it turns out have an opportunity to impact the mid-term election if they can organize.

If you read the whole article by Annie Lowery, you realize that the numbers are so large for the unemployed that they could very well have an impact.  If their friends and families join them, they have real power.  The Tea Party has had an impact so why couldn’t the unemployed have an impact?  If you or someone you know is unemployed I encourage you to read the article and join the netroots campaign to have an impact in the election.  Legislation can be pushed right now to help the unemployed.  The extension was passed but it did not include the “99ers”.

However, if you are unemployed and having trouble keeping your home, you may want to look into this program.  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/28/BUP21EL5T4.DTL

http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/pr_05112010.html

The deadline for getting this help is June 10th, 2011.  http://www.rwbpress.com/2010/07/29/obama-mortgage-assistance-for-unemployed-homeowners-and-refinancing-for-underwater-mortgages/

I, like many Americans, wish our country would devote more energy to the problems at home with our economy.  I am troubled when we give a lot of money to Pakistan and then find out that some of that money might be used against our troops.  I remember James Carville talking when Bill Clinton was running for president.  He said, “It’s the economy stupid.”  Most of you will probably remember this.  It’s 2010 and as much as we think things have changed they have stayed much the same.  It is the economy stupid!  That should be the battle cry of the unemployed.  You can yell it from every window like in the movie “Network” where they yelled, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more. “  Just be sure to add, “It’s the economy stupid.”  This election is a no brainer, if politicians want your vote they better bring out the big guns on the economy.  Stand up and be heard and let these career politicians know that you are more than willing to put them on the unemployment line if they can’t figure out a way to help the unemployed and jump start job creation!

Continue reading Organizing the Unemployed for a Voting Block »

Care to leave a comment? »

Women, Power and True Liberation

  • Posted on July 28, 2010 at 4:03 pm

Woman of Liberty

It can be a great time to be a woman but all that has happened in both politics with Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, in the media with Mel Gibson and his wife, and in the entertainment business with the antics of women like Lady Gaga I have been questioning the direction and movement of women’s liberation.  I have concluded that while it may appear that women have come a long way, there is much more to do to secure true liberation.

When I was a young woman in the seventies I remember this “bacon” commercial for Enjoli.

It actually is pretty silly.  Women were supposed to have it all and be it all.  Women and men expected a lot from women.  This commercial says we can have it all and our man too, as long as we can still cook, clean, take care of him and still look and smell wonderful!  Women’s liberation was all the talk.  We knew we were going to pass the equal rights amendment.  It was our time, or was it?  Civil rights legislation had passed so it was our turn, right?  Between Roe vs. Wade and the sexual revolution the times had to be changing.  During the seventies Title IX was passed.

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…

—United States Code Section 20

So of course the equal rights amendment would pass too.  To my surprise the equal rights amendment was never passed.  It needed 38 states to ratify it.  It fell short by three states.  http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/ Many are still hopeful that it can be passed!

In my opinion the seventies were a time of real growth for women through education and their own spiritual awakening.  I grew up in a large family of 14 children.  I had much more opportunity in the seventies than my two sisters that were ten and twelve years older than me had in the sixties.  I knew I was going to college.  That thought wasn’t as clear for my sisters.  Part of it was probably because I was the youngest of those 14 children.  My parents were teachers through much of my real formative years and part of it was that my parents were financially better off in the seventies as opposed to the sixties.  However, a big part of it was because of the expectations of young women in the early sixties were different than in the early seventies.  The seventies also was a time of absolute turmoil with the Watergate scandal and the oil embargo.  However, it was a time when I was able to discover art and who I am as a person.

I went to Michigan State University and I had more freedom than I had ever known as a small town girl growing up in Kingston, Cass City and Maple City.  I met many different people from very different cultures than my own and I learned about tolerance, acceptance and understanding.  These really are the backbone of what I believe as a person today.  We are not all the same and that is the beauty of the human race.  I learned to embrace other people and to try and keep my mind open to the possibility that I wasn’t always “right” about everything.  MSU was a Utopian society for me.  Even though it was actually going through a crime spree of rapes during some of the time I was there, I was kept blissfully dumb about most of what was going on with that type of stuff.  I was ever the optimist and thought this was what the real world is all about.  The Utopian society of college where everyone wants to learn and the mind is like a sponge was where I was at.  I felt like I was doing something big, something real.

The real world is not the utopian college world of the seventies.  In the real world women were still subjected to the same degradation with commercials and advertising and general life that has always been present.  Today it seems like a lot of women are working but not because they are seeking their life dream but out of necessity for the family good.  Unfortunately, women are still getting paid less than their male counterparts.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/38281/20100726/wage-discrimination-by-gender.htm

http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/panelists/2010/07/pink-ghettos-fighting-for-equal-pay.html?hpid=talkbox1

For men this is also a problem because with the current economy it is cheaper to hire women than men!

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/breadwinner-role-for-one-woman-in-three-but-pay-gap-at-its-widest-1.1042404

I’m also perplexed by the modern woman image that is often portrayed in advertising, movies, etc.  The modern woman of today is still very much dependent on her visual appeal to a man.  The modern woman is beautiful, fit and oh so sculpted by surgery and botox treatments.

The modern woman is a poor sister to the seventies woman as the modern woman has grown up thinking that she is absolutely equal in the eyes of the law and everyone else when the truth has so many more deceptive layers.  The modern woman is still subject to the same forms of degradation that her ancestors faced.  http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/herstory/herstory.html

Women may think they have come a long way and perhaps in some ways they have but in the area of abuse, power and control I think “We have miles to go before we sleep.”  Women are still subject to the laws made by men.  In our country where women make up 50.7% of the population we are still far behind in our political representation.  http://contexts.org/socimages/2008/05/18/comparison-of-percentage-of-women-in-state-legislatures-2008/

Some may think I am being picky here but it is time for women to be given the same rights as men.  The only way this can really be accomplished is through political representation.  As long as men are writing the laws from a man’s perspective, some areas that pertain to women will always be overlooked.  Politics is powerful.  There has to be a reason that politicians will raise millions of dollars for a seat that pays much less than the cost of running for it.  As much as we hear about all of the altruistic reasons these politicians run for office, the truth is politics is powerful and it is a magnet for money and more power.  Men have known this for years.  Women haven’t given enough thought about running for office for a variety of reasons.  Maybe they’re too busy raising their children or maybe they don’t have the confidence to run for office but it is time for women to stand up and be counted in the political arena.

If we are ever going to have the first woman president, we must engage more women in the political process.  Otherwise, that glass ceiling will never truly be broken.  I learned a lot during the 2008 election.  Both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin were subjected to systematic abuse by the media and even other politicians.  I don’t know why men are afraid of these women but it was pretty evident throughout the election cycle.  Both Chris Matthews and Tucker Carlson were afraid of a Hillary Clinton presidency.  I remember Tucker talking about crossing his legs in reference to Hillary.  I guess he thought she was one “castrating bitch”.  Chris wasn’t any better and of course he had such a fondness for Barack that he had a special “tingle” up his leg.  He also said on many occasions that Hillary wouldn’t be where she is today if it wasn’t for her husband.  He never once thought about the fact that Bill might not have been president if it wasn’t for Hillary.   Hillary was referred to being a “bitch” so many times that I have lost count and we all heard so much about her “cankles”.  Where Palin was concerned there was much emphasis on her looks and many sexual innuendos were made in regards to that.  She had her legs photographed sans her body.  I cannot imagine a man being photographed that way.  Men on the other hand can be bald, fat and ugly and still run for office and make it.

This is such a double standard that it is not hard to understand why many women may fear running for office.  However, I believe until we get that proper representation we will always still be second class citizens in many ways.  I hope there are women out there that are brave and willing to step up and run for office.  We must support these women as they run for office.  We must have true representation in our political system.  It cannot be a “good old boys” club that is unattainable by women.  In order for true equality we must win in politics as well as our own personal lives.  I encourage everyone to support women in politics.  They are your mothers, wives, sisters, friends but most of all they are your equal even if the law doesn’t fully recognize this.



Continue reading Women, Power and True Liberation »

6 comments on Women, Power and True Liberation »

Inspiration

  • Posted on July 22, 2010 at 3:52 pm

This July 11th on a beautiful Sunday my friend, Ellen, and I went to the St. Joseph Art Fair.  I know it’s a tough show to get into, so I wanted to see what it was like since I had never attended this show as an exhibitor.  I drove about an hour and a half to see what it is all about.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Every artist brought something different to the show with their unique selection of art.  http://www.krasl.org/art_fair.aspx

When we first got there it was a bit difficult to find parking as parking was limited and it was compounded by the many exhibitors’ vehicles.  We paid ten dollars to park in a commercial lot.  As we walked down to the art show we were greeted by many cheerfully painted dogs!

Moving on to the show we came upon a wide selection of two and three dimensional artwork.  Ellen and I both made several purchases through out the day and had many interesting conversations with artists that came from all over the United States.  I want to showcase a few of the artists here today.

One of the first artists’ artwork we came across was Michelle Mardis.  Her artwork is reminiscent of Andy Warhol with its pop art colors of large portraits of animals.  WWW.michellemardis.com I really enjoyed her large piece titled “Fetch”.

She wasn’t at the show at the time we went through as she wasn’t feeling well.  It is interesting to note that these art shows go on through all kinds of weather and even if the artist isn’t feeling well.  Just like in “show biz”, the show must go on!  There is quite an investment involved with doing an art show.  There is the entry fee, travel, the cost to produce and even display the art at the show.  This is why every artist designs their own booth to best showcase their style of artwork.  Some people attend art shows for something to do as entertainment.  I advise people to attend art shows and purchase from these artists as this, for many of them, is their sole source of employment.  Their art is not only their life but their livelihood.  You wouldn’t go to a movie without expecting to spend some money for your entertainment so it should also be with these art shows.  Many people spend the day perusing the exhibits and eating the food but may not ever think to buy from these fine artists.  However, if people don’t buy many of those traveling the longer distances will not be inclined to return to the show another year.

Many of the artists at the show were obviously influenced by the art of famous artists.  While Mardi must have been drawn to the art of Andy Warhol, Penny French-Deal was obviously influenced by the art of the Impressionists and especially “Monet”.  www.french-deal.com Ellen and I had stopped to have a quick lunch and upon walking back to the exhibits we were drawn in by a picture of two cows.  They were meticulously painted but when we got up close to them, the brushstrokes were really loose and large.  Her art was some what blurry upon close inspection.  There was a softness to it that revealed some inner feelings from the artist.

Another artist, Larry Smith, obviously favored the art of Vincent Van Gogh.  www.artistlarrysmith.com I bought a print from him and he told me much information about Van Gogh and the artwork that I purchased.  He obviously knew a lot about Vincent’s art and greatly admired it.  In his own artwork he used complementary colors such as red and green next to each other to create the vibrant effect of movement.  I genuinely enjoyed Larry’s personality and the obvious joy instilled in his art.

I ran across a potter that really impressed me with his cut out piercing work.  While it may seem very simple to most people as it is simple in color with its white, pearly surface, it is masterfully carved and pierced.  The work is porcelain fired at cone 10 which is around 2300 degrees Fahrenheit.  Artwork fired to this level has to be flawless.  In order to create a porcelain bowl pierced on the edge such as this is truly a masterful skill.  I’ve worked with porcelain for years.  If a large bowl has so much as a small hairline crack, its flaw will be huge after a cone 10 firing.  This bowl was priced at $1200.  I didn’t find that shocking because I figured he lost many bowls to create this one unique piece of art. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a card from this artist, so I don’t know his name.

Another clay artist, Scott Causey, has very unique sculptural artwork.  He won the non-functional clay award at this show.  He makes these large pieces out of very colorful glazes.  They can be frogs, salamanders and even monkeys.  He makes them and then bisque fires them and then breaks them apart.  He does this so he can glaze the different parts at different temperatures to get the special effects.  Some of his glazes are luster glazes that give off a pearly, iridescent quality.    http://www.scott.causey.com/

When I went to his website he is very proud of the fact that Al Gore has a piece of his artwork.  The story about how Al got the frog is here.  http://web.mac.com/scottcausey/Scott_Causey_/Al_Gores_Allegorical_Frog___.html

I bought a mug from two potters because they are working with cone 6 glazes and their work was well made and conceived.  I am interested in maybe lowering my reduction gas firing temperature to save the time and cost of firing to cone 10.  These guys called themselves the “Pottery Boys” and they live in Illinois.  www.potteryboys.com

Some of the artwork was silly and whimsical and just plain fun.  This art was artwork created to just inspire people with fun sayings and happy colors.  Some of the artists that fall under this category are Susan Kline, Anne Leuck Feldhaus, Holly Sue Foss, and Patricia Statzer.  I had so much fun reading the sayings and looking at the colors in these booths.

www.sptddog.etsy.com

www.AnnesArt.com

www.fossart.com

http://www.patstatzer.com/

Another inspirational artist I met was Tres Taylor from Alabama.  He paints on tar paper.  Ellen recognized the material as it is common roofing material.  She said they used to put it on the windows when she was a kid to keep out the cold.  Tres is a man that embraced his artistic side later in life and rejected his previous occupation as a biochemist.  His story is so interesting.  His artwork reminded me of Modigliani with its elongated features for the people.  There are also hints of Paul Klee and even Picasso in his shapes and faces.  His work is probably considered a sophisticated form of primitive art.  You can check out more of his artwork at his website.   http://trestaylor.com/ I highly suggest reading this article and viewing his installation artwork. http://blog.al.com/entertainment-press-register/2010/01/amazing_journey_artist_finds_m.html

It is just amazing in its concept and story as well as the many children that he has obviously touched through this installation process through art.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/12144219@N03/sets/72157623065536433/show/

It was fun talking to Tres.  I would be thrilled if my students could have the opportunity to work with him and see his installation artwork.

Another artist that I really enjoyed is Pat Custer Denison.  www.denisonartstudio.com Her artwork is created with ceramic tile and wood.  She is a painter and printmaker that studied at the University of Michigan.  She lives in Honor, Michigan so I’m hoping to stop by her studio when I visit the Traverse City, Maple City area.  Many artists live, as I used to, up in the Grand Traverse area.  It’s a great place to produce art as you are surrounded by all the beauty Michigan has to offer.  Her artwork is very fun and whimsical.  Some of the pieces are quite large.  She inserts commercial clay tiles into large cut out wood shapes.  Her artwork tends to have many colorful characters that seem to tell a story upon close inspection.  She screen prints some of the design on the clay tiles to reproduce the image more than once.  I found this process interesting as I have never silk screened on any of my artwork.  I have seen this done in books but have never actually met an artist using this method.

Two of the artists work in very traditional materials that I feel are almost like a lost art.  The first is Jane Bowers who creates “Pysanky” eggs.  These are the very colorful and skillfully designed eggs that are reminiscent of Easter but are so much more involved than a typical Easter egg.  Making pysanky has always been a part of her life as this tradition was passed down through her Ukrainian family for many generations.  On a trip to the Ukraine she had the honor of presenting one of her eggs to President Leonid Kuchma.  Jane was so open with me about how to create these eggs.  She wanted to help me as a teacher to pass on the beauty of this tradition.  I loved talking with Jane and many of the artists as they were all so open to me when they found out that I am a middle school art teacher.  Artists are great teachers and generally want to share their knowledge as long as you aren’t some “copy cat artist” just trying to steal their designs.

The other artist working in a highly traditional almost “lost” type art is Brian T. Keller.  Brian works with traditional egg tempera.  He mixes his own paints much like Van Dyke or other great artists of the past did.  This involves getting commercial pigments and using egg yokes.  Of course he doesn’t have to grind the pigments like the artists of the past might have done but this was still amazing to me as there are so many different types of art materials and paints that could be used today.  He works in a very highly detailed fashion.  Just looking at the detail in his wood grain floors is truly amazing.  Brian is highly skilled.  I just loved his artwork.  He told me that the he works in layers and that the egg tempera dries quickly.    http://www.btkeller.com/

As you can see by all that I’ve shared with you today I truly enjoyed this art exhibit not just for the art but for the many intriguing conversations I had with the artists.  It was fun going to an art show as a viewer and not a participant.  I loved hearing about the different stories each of these artists had in the story of their own art.  Only two artists didn’t want to be photographed.  The rest were happy to indulge me with the many pictures I took.  I ended the day being inspired by these wonderful people.  They are all gifted with amazing talents and they were more than willing to share their time and knowledge with me.  I ended up buying small pieces from several of the artists I spoke with as did Ellen.  We had a great day and we lucked out with beautiful weather.  I would definitely love to go back to St. Joseph again for this art show and to see the wonderful city nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan.  I will end by sharing some additional pictures from many other fine artists.  If you haven’t been to an art show lately get out there and meet some artists.  The Ann Arbor Art Street Fair is going on right now.  It’s a four day event so you still have plenty of time to visit through Saturday.

Continue reading Inspiration »

Care to leave a comment? »

Wealthy Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country!

  • Posted on July 21, 2010 at 5:43 pm

What are you willing to do for your country?  We have been asked repeatedly to step up for our country.  During WWII people had to step up by going to war in a foreign land, women had to take on more manual labor, people were encouraged to buy bonds and restrictions were made on the consumption of goods.  My parents had many children.  To get shoes for their children, they would trade gas rationings with my aunt so they could buy shoes.  Today with so many people living as “expatriates”, I wonder what people are willing to do for their country.  The poor always give.  Often times they give because they see no other alternative.  This is why many join the military.  The economy is poor and they are struggling to find work.  However, we have a war economy, so they join some branch of the military.  It might not be their first choice but they may see it as their only alternative when the economy is poor and they are not wealthy.  As you read my take on things, please think about what you are willing to do for your country.

I have two political groups that are nipping at my heels trying to get me to contact my senators for their causes.  Both of these causes are worthy:  One is to save education jobs and Pell grants and the other is for the passage of a clean energy bill.  Both of these causes and their supporters are feeling the crunch because Congress will go into recess in August.  Now as a teacher I have the summer off but I always find it interesting that although Congress just had a big July 4th break they are now going to take all of August off.  For the pay they receive, I find this amazing.  I don’t think the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have that option.  Nor do most of the other government employees that work for all of our states.  If every government worker took August off, a lot wouldn’t get done.  However, senators and congress people are a completely different breed.  While they expect everyone and his brother to change with the times, they remain stuck in some centuries old concept that was based on “beating the heat”.  Is there any wonder that not much really gets done for the people in modern congressional sessions?

So it looks like Harry Reid is waiting until the last possible minute to bring up the climate bill.  http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39677.html I don’t presume to understand the politics behind this but it seems to me that it will be brought up and voted down as there won’t be enough time to discuss it before the August recess.  On the other hand, if they get it done just before the recess they can talk about it in their campaign speeches.  It’s just so sad that these votes are so political and not handled in the best interest of our nation.  Whether it is voted up or down after the November election who knows who will control congress and what excuses they will give then for being a “do nothing” congress.  Thomas Friedman has an interesting take on the energy bill and it’s worth a read.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/opinion/21friedman.html?src=mv

The American Federation of Teachers is contacting the public to try in get some assistance on saving teachers jobs and Pell grant money.  I received this link.  http://action.aft.org/c/44/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=382

Unfortunately, I don’t know what the bill is.  I know that Senator Harkin had this bill in April and it seems to have gone no where.  http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3206

Teachers are being cut all over the country.  I think these types of bills are temporary fixes to the problem.  Both of these issues, energy and teacher jobs,  would have better chances of passing  or in the case of the teacher problem being corrected, if three distinct things happened in my opinion.  If we withdrew our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, I think that would free up a considerable amount of money that has been pouring out of our country.  We should also let the Bush tax cuts for those making $250,000 or more run out.  I’m tired of the politicians that claim these wealthy people will hire less people if this happens.  It’s quite apparent that since these tax cuts were voted in there has been a constant bleeding of American jobs.  The truth is any politician that tries to convince anyone with a brain that those tax cuts some how “trickle down” to the American people should be voted out of office.  Finally, the social security cap should be lifted on people making over $250,000.

I am a pragmatist but I have always felt that we have to do everything that we can for the best interest of our country.  The poor have always given to their country with the sweat of their brow in labor and even their lives in war.  It is only patriotic to ask those that have so much to give a little more to help our country when times are tough.  The toil of the poor and their labor built this country.  The poor have always been asked to step up during challenging times.  We now need to ask the wealthy to do their part.  We know they are unlikely to give their children for war or even labor for that matter.  They can give their money to help fuel our economy so that all can prosper in this great country.  I challenge the people making over $250,000 to ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.

Continue reading Wealthy Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country! »

1 comment »

Interrupting Martha

  • Posted on July 13, 2010 at 12:14 pm

So with the summer off I have watched some television that I wouldn’t normally get to see.  Today I was watching “Martha Stewart”.  I’ve watched it a few times this summer and I have come to one conclusion about Martha that may surprise some people.  I think Martha is an extremely rude person.  I can’t figure out why anyone would watch her on a consistent basis.  She is constantly interrupting her guests.  They may be in the middle of a sentence or train of thought but to Martha it is so much more important for her voice to be heard.  I know our society has become extremely rude over the years but I can’t understand why people like to watch this type of behavior.

Today she had a man on that has a “farm”, if you call 9300 acres a farm, in Tennessee.  He raises lamb, grows a variety of different vegetables and fruits, and makes cheese and jams and so on.  He was making some kind of lamb dish with the neck of a lamb that takes ten hours to braise in an oven.  When Martha asked him about the products that he brought to the show she just wouldn’t let him finish his sentences.  I felt sorry for the poor guy except I know he was glad to be on television “hawking” his goods.  This must be why these people put up with her.  I’ve watched her with some young “stars” make something in the kitchen that the star doesn’t really know how to do and she is overwhelmingly condescending.  Some may view it as the “teacher” in her but I know you don’t have to be condescending to teach well.  In fact, many students would be put off by that kind of teacher.

When she tried that show that was her version of Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” it didn’t go over so well and her contract wasn’t renewed.  At that time I was a fan of Martha Stewart until she took the fledgling“apprentices” up to her farm.  That was so over the top “overbearing” that I started to look at Martha in a different way.  In my memory of what I didn’t like it felt like she was the queen and the apprentices were her underlings, “little bees” that would never attain the level of the queen bee.  A true teacher would love their students to be so inspired that they attain a new level of expertise that shines beyond anything that the teacher would have dreamed for them.

Martha is not alone in her bad behavior.  Donald Trump is just as obnoxious.  Simon Cowell couldn’t be meaner when he stomps on the dreams of some young would be singer.  There are many others that we seem to watch and love that exhibit this same obnoxious, rude behavior.  I just don’t understand why the public loves these people.  What are we, as a society, getting out of this rudeness that we see exhibited on a daily basis on our television sets?  I find myself disappointed with this woman.  I think it’s time for her to retire and yet as I watch her I can see that her audience loves her.  I also see many new products continually being showcased on her show or out in the stores so people must be “buying” what she is selling.  Over the years I have purchased many Martha Stewart items including my patio set.  She has a brand that is huge.  You can’t miss it.  Even though she was tarnished a few years ago with her prison stint, she has bounced back.  She is resilient.  I just don’t like how absolutely rude she is to her guests.  I think she is used to being the center of attention and it is difficult for her to allow anyone else to shine.  She probably sucks out the air of any room she enters.  She is like an amoeba engulfing every new apprentice, designer, etc. and taking what she needs and wants from them.  For her it is probably just business but for me it is personal when I watch her being rude and obnoxious.  I cannot help but wonder what our world is coming to when we can love these mean, rude and obnoxious people that we see on television.

Continue reading Interrupting Martha »

Care to leave a comment? »

Enough is Enough

  • Posted on June 25, 2010 at 12:19 pm

Schools in Michigan are under attack from the state government.  We have lost much funding over the last several years.  Over these years we have gone from around $7500 per pupil spending to under $7000.  The effects are really being felt this year by many schools, including Sturgis.  Our administration decided to offer a retirement incentive which gave people retiring a $30,000 401K that cannot be touched until the retiree is 59.  The state matched that with increasing the multiplier from 1.5 to 1.6.  As a result we had somewhere in the neighborhood of around 20 teachers retired this year.  Many of these teachers were very good at what they do…TEACH.  Those of us that didn’t retire are facing the results of the retirements which include paying 3% more towards our own retirement as well as being scared out of our wits about what the state is going to “require” of us next.  There is talk of a 5% pay cut and even a 20-25 % health insurance cost for teachers.  In addition to all of this we are facing larger class sizes and the decimation of programs and the loss of things like library services, exploratory classes and other special activities like traveling to special exhibits.

The Michigan Education Association in an effort to try and get the state legislature to stop the assault on education funding planned a rally at the state capital yesterday.  The Sturgis Education Association chartered two busses to take many of us up to the capital.  Some teachers also came from other local towns like Three Rivers.  When I was talking to our Uniserve director on the bus she said that around 8000 MEA members planned on attending.  These members include teachers and support staff as well as the many family members that joined their parents.

When we arrived at the capital the mayor of Lansing, Virge Bernero, welcomed us with open arms as the MEA has endorsed his candidacy for governor.  There were other people that spoke as well.  The night before some of us went up to the middle school art room and made some handmade signs.  These turned out to attract a bit of attention as we were able to get a few interviews for TV.  One guy saw my Sturgis sign and wondered how far we had come from.  I told him we were south of Kalamazoo about an hour so two hours.  He asked if he could interview me.  I told him our president was right by me so it might be best to interview him as he is our spokesperson.

After the interview our state senator, Cameron Brown, came down to visit with us as Ellen Eisele had emailed and called him prior to this event.  He invited us up to senate chambers and he let us talk about what was on our minds.  Many of us spoke up with clear thoughts about the funding issues and suggestions about how the two parties should come together to fix this issue.  He did not answer any of our concerns directly when we asked questions.  He waited until we were done and then proceeded to explain some things to us from his perspective.  He wanted us to know that the state isn’t doing anything illegal by taking funds from education and giving those funds to colleges and universities as this is in the constitution.  He said the fund isn’t set up to be just for K-12.  He also wanted us to know that he “voluntarily” gave up some of his pay ever since he began his senate career.  I reminded him that the operative word was “voluntarily”.  The most interesting thing he kept saying to us was that he came from the school where the film, “Remember the Titans” was developed.  It’s like he wanted us to know that he wants to get along and that some how this information made him more agreeable to us.  Most of us didn’t feel any connection at all to that statement.  Craig mentioned something that he thought most Republicans would and should agree on as they comment on this stuff all the time.  Craig said that it should be about local control and at Sturgis we have been doing a good job of working with the administration and the decisions shouldn’t be made by the state but by the local institutions as they know what is best for their own communities.  Senator Brown couldn’t argue with that.  The two issues that most affect this are the 5% pay cut and the choice of health insurance with the 20-25% cost to the insured.

I don’t know if we had any real impact.  It is doubtful that Senator Brown will vote any differently based upon our visit.  However, I know that most of us will be voting in the coming election and we will, once again, make our voices heard.  The state of Michigan needs to fix these problems.  We are bleeding jobs and nothing really changes.  The tax revenues are down and it is obvious.  Each year valuable programs are lost while the two parties twiddle their thumbs and cry, “The sky is falling.”  I don’t want someone giving me any more excuses.  This is much of what I felt from Senator Brown, that old “blame game” thing.  I want someone that can “lead” this state to its rightful place in the world.  The children in our schools are the future.  Unfortunately, many of these young wonderful students graduate from college and leave Michigan as they cannot get a job here.  If Michigan is going to rise above this we must educate our children and create a system so they can find their opportunities right here in Michigan.  This is a beautiful state with many natural resources.  We don’t have to be a “one trick pony” based on the auto industry.  We can develop many other job sectors including biomedical research and green jobs.  If we continue to cut education funding our children will suffer even more than they already are suffering.  Our first priority should be to provide a quality education for our children.  The people of Michigan have to stand up for their children.  I know the economy is tough for everyone but public education still works here and even if you aren’t working you always know that your child will get their education.  In the state of Michigan we provide everything for the children including paper, pens and pencils.  Parents don’t have to worry about providing these items for school.  If a parent is out of work they can still rest assured that their child will be welcomed in public school.  Schools will not be able to maintain this level of education if cuts continue to happen across the state.  It’s just that simple.

We already see the “pay to play” mentality that has been happening with sports.  Poor families just cannot afford to let their children play sports as they cannot afford the cost to play or the cost for insurance on their child.  I sure don’t want to see this happen with other parts of the school day as well.  It is frightening to think about what will happen next.  Being a school teacher shouldn’t be about fear and loathing but about hope and inspiration.  These young students are being faced with a lot of stressful situations from over testing and parents out of work to now whether the programs they love, like art and music, will be there tomorrow.  Our children are the future of our country and the future of our state.  We must do everything we can to create a quality environment for them to learn and grow.  Our schools need to be top notch and fully funded.  The state of Michigan needs to prioritize school funding and fix this on going problem immediately.  Seriously, enough is enough!  The legislature needs to get creative and fix the funding problem for schools!

Continue reading Enough is Enough »

Care to leave a comment? »