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| I finally figured out how to increase in a purl stitch!!
I won the not spoiled, gifted red ribbon in Farmville! *accomplishment dance*
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| I just read one of the featured (I think that's what they are called, the ones on the login page) blogs. It was about a school supply list being unacceptable. I know I'm hugely biased after student teaching and I don't have any children, not to mention that I've never been truly on my own (I've lived with my parents/lived off of student loans for my entire life), but there are some things that students need. The schools don't have an unlimited amount of funding. Their budgets keep getting cut. Most schools (at least in my area) have a really hard time passing a levy to even renew funding, let along get more. Inflation happens to the goods schools need to buy. Public school is not a business. It isn't looking to make a profit. Its job is to educate our children so they can become good citizens.
Yes, schools are funded by tax dollars, but most people don't want to pay taxes. They don't like it. They don't want to do it. So when given the choice to pay more taxes, especially to schools, people don't do it. The majority of people don't have children in school when a district has a levy on the ballot. Many people's attitudes are 'my child isn't there, I don't have extra money I want to give to the school,' 'taxes are already too high,' 'money is being spent irresponsibly at the school,' 'they just built a new school, they must have plenty of money,' etc. School districts often have thousands of students. Those students need supplies, they need heat, desks, rooms, electricity, bathrooms, computers, books, other technological resources so they can learn and grow and leave school able to contribute to society. All of those things take money.
Often school lists ask parents to bring in more supplies than for just their child. But why? Why do I need to bring in tissues and paper towels and hand sanitzer and extra pencils and paper? Why can't I just give my child what he or she needs and be done with it? Well, one thing I learned from just one sememster of student teaching: your child will lose what you gave him/her and need another one. I had half a dozen students or more every day asking to borrow a writing utensil and/or paper. Where did it go? I'm sure his/her parent supplied it so what happened to it? I don't know and sometimes they don't know. They lost it, someone took it, its in their locker, it broke, they forgot, they didn't know they needed it, aliens took it, their house burnt down, typhoon, tornado, rabid squirrels, etc. So as a teacher, do I let them sit through class without the materials they need for learning? No, at least not the first time. I am torn between helping the student learn the material I'm teaching and teaching them responsibility. Why would a student bother to be responsible and bring in his/her own materials when the teacher will provide them? But there are times when things just happen and the materials aren't there and a responsible student needs an item. Should the teacher buy these items and provide them to the students? Often students "forget" to give back borrowed items. No matter how many extra pencils you thought you had on your desk, they somehow disappear. So we have the students loosing materials and teachers who can't hand out materials. Who will pay for those materials? Teachers ask parents to bring in a little extra for when another student (or your student) needs something extra.
As for paper towels and tissues, think about the expense that is for the school. I don't mean paper towels in restrooms, but in each classroom. Students need to blow their noses, they have mishaps, glue spills, bloody noses, what have you that require tissues and paper towels. Even in just one classroom there could be twenty students. They can go through tons of materials very quickly. How can the school on its own budget for dozens and dozens of boxes of tissues and papertowels? How can they supply all of the extra materials your/a student might need?
Think of all the things a person leaving high school needs to know how to do- write research papers, have computer skills, be able to use Microsoft Office, they need to be creative and clever and responsible, have a good character, know how to use a library and the internet as well as other software programs. They need to have a knowledge of math, science, social studies, language arts, fine art, music, physical science, health. They need to be prepared to walk into the "real world" and be successful. How can a school accomplish those things without supplies and money? They have to ask the people who they think will care and be able to help: the parents.
It takes a community to rais a child, but what happens when the community says they can't afford it?
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| I just went back and browsed through all my entries. They date back to April 20th of 2006. It's crazy to see how much I've changed it that short time. My college years made quite an impression!
I'm feeling super accomplished right now! This is what I've done (so far) today:
Taken a shower
Taken care of my Farmville farm
Gone to church
Filled Taffy's tank (Taffy is my new [used] car)
Bought a copy of The Plain Dealer for my momma
Balanced my checkbook
It's pretty sweet.
Things I still need to get done:
Clean house
Sort boxes and belongings into piles- keep, store, throw out, garage sale/give away
Talk to square dance callers, meet with photographers (uh, set up meetings...), put more effort into bridesmaid dresses and tuxes, talk to florists
Mail b-day cards to hlp and f (fiance doesn't make the best slang/acronym)
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| Woohoo! Wednesday I juggled for four hours after not (seriously) juggling since May. It was pretty hardcore. C. taught me how to pass clubs. I think I actually qualified once. He claimed I had been juggling clubs the same way I juggled balls which was making it more difficult. Now I make ice cream scooping motions. I'm also talking to myself again. I learned to pass seven balls as well. It really wasn't hard at all. I worked on a little four ball. It was all pretty rusty. We met some people who seemed pretty intrigued. I'm hoping they'll show up to club.
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| I've been reading about women's rights and feminism lately. The current book I'm reading is making me very sad. So far it has discussed the ways women are suffering from the sexy bad girl image. Women are feeling pressure to have sex like a man-without emotional attachment. College students aren't dating, but instead having casual hookups. Twelve-year old girls are wearing platform shoes, miniskirts, pushup bras, and tube tops. Radical feminism is telling women they should not be housewives, maybe not even wives.
This is especially disheartening to me because I have considered myself a feminist. To me that means wanting equal rights for men and women. I want women to have the choice to decide if they want to work or if they are blessed enough financially to be able to stay home and care for their families. Women should have the uncoerced choice to do what they want with their lives. That should include societal pressures.
Personally, I want to get married and I want to have babies. I want my boyfriend to ask my father for permission before he proposes to me (this isn't a hint). I will be a virgin when I get married. I won't live with a man not in my family. I want to teach young girls to love and respect themselves. I like to cook, I like to garden, I like to wear skirts and dresses. I don't wear makeup. I don't like to shave my legs. I am me and I don't have to answer to the expectations of anyone besides myself and God.
I have one push-up bra and I'm considering burning it. Why do I need
it? I don't want men looking at me as a sexual object so why would I
dress as though I was one? A while ago I was having a discussion with
some girlfriends about stumbling blocks. We talked about how we, as
Christian women, should not dress in a way that would encourage impure
thoughts about our bodies. This is sometimes very hard. I want to
be desired. I want men to find me attractive. The key here is realizing
what men I want to find me attractive. I really only want that from one
man. I only want one man. My husband. I don't want other men touching
me, I don't want other men gaining sexual pleasure from me. I want to
be for one man. Therefore I shouldn't advertise what isn't for sale. I
shouldn't crave sexual attention to feel good about myself. The way I
feel about myself should come from within.
I like to tease my boyfriend about getting married. I'll tell him how light and cold my left hand is. I'll point out bridal and jewelry stores. I would do it because I thought it was funny and he said it didn't bother him. Then I realized I was bothering myself. I kept teasing him about it because I couldn't believe it didn't bother him. It sure bothered me. It's not because I don't want to get married. I want so badly to get married and have a family. I'm just so terrified that no one will ever love enough to want to marry me. Don't ask me where it comes from because I don't know.
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