The Kiss

The Kiss is a watercolor that I painted yesterday. The characters of focus in this painting are two trees.  I am fascinated with trees. Trees hold all the knowledge in the world. As they stand guard over a neighborhood, forest, city town, they are witness to all the comings and goings of man. The things a tree must see totally intrigues me. So it is with my “Lady Tree” she is my queen, what I long to be.
A couple of months ago I began painting her as I painted my dear friend and step-mom’s Christmas gift. It was a simple tree with dogwood blossoms and the sign of life, renewal, and friendship at the core. As I witness her emerge, there she was in the midst of the design a graceful lady. Just like Nancy, graceful, non-waivering, consistenct, strong, proud beautiful.
Later that day, I painted a smaller version of the original painted for her. From that I created a summer, fall and winter version of the same tree. I was transfixed as I without intent created the tree morphing through the stages of a woman’s life. Someday I will reproduce that for you my reader to see. Until then, I merely use the forward of this blog as a introduction to my Valentine present to myself. The Kiss.
The Kiss was painted yesterday to honor Klimt’s The Kiss. I love that painting. Every Valentine’s day I cast my sights back to any pictures on-line that I can find of it. So, it is that I decided to create a nature’s kiss. The Kiss by M.E.LaLuna as featured at the beginning of this blog takes the lady and shows her gracefully dancing with her lover, hands entwined.
Love is nature’s dance. A Lady full of grace, stands watch over lovers and dreamers.

Thus far my endeavors have left penniless and constantly dreaming, but when the day is done, and I drift off to sleep, I can say, “I did it my way!”  That is not to suggest to anyone that would read my babbling as a representation of the way, but, if for even the slightest moment, I give you the reader the impression that “I got it” then well, I have given you a window into my own desired understanding of ME!

Welcome aboard!  February issue of ArtSeesDiner is just around the corner where we will understand such things as, why Bob counts “Another One Bites the Dust” is a love song.

“If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away. ” H.D. Thoreau

There was no fear of losing pace with companions.  It was a safe zone, a place where individuality was brought together in a circle, a continuum, and so the music played on.  I was asked at one point (we all were) did I experience any enlightenment?  Yes, I did, for one brief moment my dream of being a drummer was fulfilled.  For that one moment in my own continuum I was free, free to pound out “my” rhythm, my existence was real. I was free to be me and part of the band.

I set out on a path yesterday to join a friend who is giving his entire life to establishing a Music Wellness Initiative, Eric Myrzyn, Executive Director of  http://www.music-wellness.org  My commitment to him is to spread the word of MWI, to support him as a friend as I would any friend.  It is also because I believe in MWI.  I have had the privilege of being a musician with the organization.  I have seen firsthand the power of music as a healing tool.  The undeniable power of music to bring people together, to transcend hatred, pain, cruelty, brokenness and to bring about unbridled joy is evident.  Yesterday I was supposed to be an observer.  I was just someone bringing back information and hopefully a degree of clarity to a man who seeks to promote wellness.  I came away with far more.  I was inspired again.  Music is a common language.  Music is a language that holds unifying power.   The organization that sponsored the drum circle and day of music melding towards greater understanding is Music Crossroads through a Recreational Music Making Partnership, located in Indianapolis Indiana, the crossroads of the United States.  It was pointed out to me that music recreation is that of being “re-created” through music.  No matter whether a child hearing a familiar song, or a performer learning a new musical phrase, a guitarist focusing on attaining that difficult chord, a drummer with a new progression, you enter into the movement one way and exit re-created. 

My kudos go out to Matt Carter of Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, John Fitzgerald of Remo, Inc  for leading the “marchers” and providing the percussion instruments, The Shepherd Community Center for sharing their space and the thigh high percussionist,  The Indianapolis Foundation, inspiring philanthropy and Albert Schnazi of Integrated Solutions for facilitating an afternoon of enlightened dialogue. 

It is no mistake that yesterday morning as I was reading scripture and asking the Lord what He wanted me to know that day that he brought me to 2Chronicles 34:12 “All those (Levites) who were skillful with musical instruments were in charge of those who carried burdens, and they directed all the workers in every kind of labor…” yes, we are called.  If the Lord calls musicians to lighten the load, make the burden less, then I guess that is the who in the vast puzzle of life, and I indeed was enlightened! 

Blessings!

Check it out, Oh and how much do our Senators make a year, how many grassroot, community organizers afford the salary of a “private chef?”

To the point:  If it is true that the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree, then we are in for a wonderful four, possibly eight years.  If President Obama is a reflection of his daughters and they him, then all will be well. President and Michelle Obama have done a beautiful job thus far with creating a sense of balance for their daughters.  (I realize much of the credit must go to Michelle’s mother, as she is very influential.)

No matter what anyone says about President Obama we can all agree that this past week has been a beautiful one.  To see the precious First Family stand before the nation (a fine representation of the American family). 

Anyone who knows American History must have felt a deep sigh as we saw the American dream unfold.  To see Sasha tugging adoringly on her mother’s dress, and Malia wrestling to get her camera out of her coat pocket to capture the moment.  To see beautiful brown skin reflecting the sun’s rays, and color, yes, vibrant green, orange, blue, red as opposed to the prestine sedate colors of the past, it was a new day in Washington.  

While I do not agree with all of the policies of our current President, I am praying for his Presidency and the first family.  We have witnessed freedom in its ultimate glory, and we have witnessed the “American family” standing side by side, hand in hand.

Now I know why President Obama said he did it for his daughters. 

God Bless!

more to do list entries tomorrow!

Recently, I was stunned by the current interest rate being imposed upon students who are receiving subsidized and unsubsidized loans.  (student loans are higher, and have remained higher than mortgage rates, and are used against you when you do attempt to purchase a home, car, anything)

You see, there is, what I believe is a form of collusion taking place between banks, Sallie Mae and the education system.  Suddenly, the only way to get ahead is to have a degree, then an advanced degree.  So you get a BA, you think, “wow, now I am competative!”  Wrong, because you will quickly find that you will be encouraged to pursue a MA, once you get wrapped up in the student loan game, you never really make enough money to pay back the loans, so you go back to school, you are encouraged by “Career Builder” “MonsterJobs”!   Don’t believe me? Go on-line and sign up for one of the job search sites, within minutes of registering you will get a request to attend University of Phoenix, Walden, and umpteen million other on-line programs.  (recently my friend and I attended a monsterjobs, job fair in Chicago, they called for minimum BA to even attend, we arrived to discover that the majority of the vendors there were actually on-line Universities looking for saps who would feel threatened to go back to school.  Convincing the individual job hunter that the reason they can’t get a job is because they are under-educated)

As the cost of higher education continues to rise, so is the interest rates on government sponsored loans.  Along with the increase need in the relationship between getting ahead as an individual is the availability of unconditional lending by Sallie Mae, at a rate of 6+%!  Now if you are in education, you will never make enough to pay back your student loans, and believe me, they just grow and grow.

So President Obama and Arnie Duncan, you want America to teach, then freeze all student loan interest.  Bail out the worker, the teacher, the one who is preparing the next generation.  It is nice that fast track educators are getting in some cases free Master’s degrees and/or no interest loans, but what about the teachers, the veterans who have been forced back into school to keep up with NCLB, and mandates by the individual states for which they work?

Provide for them what the United States did for the military.  Many teachers are in a war zone, they are sacrificing, the noble profession does not receive noble attention, but rather is forced to go back to school to keep up.  Most teachers purchase a great deal of their supplies out of their own pockets.  Many teachers who are close to being recipients of food stamps are providing food for their students, paper, pens, and more. 

As student loans along with medical expenses are the primary cause of bankruptcy, we as a nation continue to convince Americans, especially teachers that the answer is to go back to school, take out more loans, and all the while the Universities, and the banking system are making money hand over fists.

President Obama, if you can justify a bailout of the auto-industry and the banking industry, then you can immediately bail out those who saw to it that you are in office!

The teachers need your help!  Now! Loans at 6% interest imposed upon those that desire to teach our children how to read is inconscienable!

To Do item #6, maybe its time for public educator to become Federal Employees…does compulsory mean anything to anyone? What about his as a solution, “general purpose education?”  That will be item #7.

Yes, not some recent “pie in the sky” reworded catch phrase used to justify a publisher’s big-money marketing scheme, an attempt to convince us that we need to reinvent the wheel, but research, pure research.  Pay attention to what really works and do it. 

Explain to the American people why reading scores have slowly climbed over 35 years barely identifying any major growth in our children’s scores. (this was reported by the NEA in January’s issue) with an ever-present disparity between white children and black.  That no matter how many millions of dollars pumped into the system, it is still not making a significant difference.

Take a good long list at the reality of education in the United States.  Explain to a teacher and a student in the outlying areas away from Urban centers why they have poor schools, why their teachers qualify for food stamps. Explain the disparity in education delivery.

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel.  If other countries are out educating us, then we need to look into their systems, culture, and honestly identify why.  As far as reading scores go, let’s teach our children the English language, and approach each and every child as ENL’s, or ELL, or ESL, depending upon where you stand in your understanding of what it is.

More tomorrow regarding, Education and Socialism…it really isn’t anything new!  Oh, and if you want to end economic disparity, then end educational disparity!  An Educated Society is a Strong society, or look at it this way

“Ask me my three priorities for Government, and I tell you: education, education and education. “
Author: Tony Blair

This is a good question and one that you will be faced with in the coming years.  You will be expected to identify that both of you are indeed qualified to lead.  You will be placed under extreme pressure, as you are both relatively inexperienced in your field of work, that is specifically where you are now.  Again, I use this to underscore the ridiculous climate that we are living in at present.

Many educators are experienced, veterans, and yet they are unable to apply their experienc in a school setting, all based on “endorsements” on a piece of paper handed out by the State that they teach in, or hope to teach in. Many of take positions as long-term “guest teachers” (a polite way of saying sub)

Just recently, President Obama (may I be so bold as to claim you as President prior to being sworn in?) your Chief of Staff named a 27 year old woman with a BA and limited experience at any one position to a high ranking position as personal secretary to the President.  Now, I am sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that she will live up to the expectations, as outlined by a job description.  However, if the position required her to be endorsed in the area of “Secretary to the President” she would not be.  If the position had been posted on CareerBuilder, an expectation such as minimum and continuous 5 years in a similar position. (based on this, her resume would have been rejected by spiders that are placed to limit the number of applicants)

So my point is this;  Change the way in which teachers are endorsed.  Mandate that all educators be well balanced in education. Demand that they pass the required basic certification (it has not even been mandatory for more that two decades) and then let the Principals and local governing bodies do as your Chief of Staff did when choosing Katie Johnson. 

I do believe that this will in fact eliminate the excessive amount of spending in solving a teacher shortage that does not really exist, it may even renew the concept that teaching is an Art.  More ponderings on that tomorrow. Like, if education is big business, then why not approach it as such?

Example:  Fast Track Education programs take individuals who have obtained their BA/BS in a field outside of a traditional BA/BS in Education.  I know it all seems silly considering we are all being educated if in fact we continue on with education.  What I mean to say for those of you that stumble upon this and find it an interesting read is this.  Professional Educators take a great deal of course work to prepare them for the field of education.  Beginning in the first semester of college, many future educators begin their training.  They undergo rigorous practicum, training, hands-on curriculum development all focused in their particular field of study.  Most educators in training complete over 120 hours of practicum work (Illinois) before they begin their student teaching.  Student teaching for the traditional student is almost an entire semester without pay in the classroom.  A great deal of that time is fulfilling the role of teacher, with a veteran teacher alongside to mentor, inspire, help, etc., all the while being graded, etc.

By the end of the 4-5 years of education a fresh out of college student will have clocked numerous hours without pay, and working towards the next step.  Overall 130+ college credit hours later, and many hours observing in the classroom etc, a new grad hopes to quickly pass the certification test so as to land a job before they are all filled and the only recourse is an average $15 an hour subbing job.

So to the point:  After all of this, an imposition of endorsement is placed upon the shoulders of the educator.  After being trained to deal with children and being academically prepared to be a teacher after so many years of being a student, many are told that they are not qualified to teach X subject, and sorry that is the only position available, and well, we have it promised to our fast track teacher.  A fast track teacher is one that for a variety of reasons has desired to switch careers.  They are placed into Master’s degree programs, given a job with pay and benefits, given training, (on the job) go to class at night, fulfill the curriculum coursework, and graduate out with a guaranteed job pre-determined by the University that is in many cases working with the school systems.  In the mean time, many fast-track teachers are placed before the traditionally trained educator.  The purpose of the fast-track programs is a perceived teacher shortage.

The pervceived teacher shortage has more to do with this primary issue, most educators are capable of teaching a multitude of subjects, most educators know what their individual abilities are. Many educators have taught outside of their initial certification areas only to find themselves outsourced due to too much emphasis placed upon “endorsement” areas.

Case in point:  Educator X taught reading, writing, under a pro-literacy program for over 4 years.  Literacy integration has become a specialty.  A Masters of Education in the area of Curriculum and Instruction was earned and educator X has over 195 credit hours, 37 of them graduate level (3.8/4.0 GPA), and she  limited to teaching only social studies and vocal music, based solely on endorsements.  More education is necessary to be competative in a teacher shortage environment? NCLB, has tied the hands of principals to the point that they are no longer able to utitlize their own insight and judgement to higher quality educators.  Again who benefits?

So Mr. Duncan and President Obama, reform is necessary.  Balance and reason must be brought back to education.  The baby was thrown out with the bath water.   

Oh, and when you are at it, identify how much is profited by Certification testing!  It is a multi-billion dollar industry, and there is Very little evidence that suggests that this testing is improving test scores…but then again, standardized testing is another huge area of profit at the expense of us all!

I am 48 year old well-educated professional.  I am a product of public education up to the ripe age of 17 when I graduated from my hometown high school.  Due to financial constraints and lack of opportunity in 1978, I went to work at a Savings and Loan and attempted S&L Administration.  I chose the route of raising my children, leaving behind the dream of a glamour finance job chosing to be a full-time homemaker, “first-teacher” if you will.  (please understand, I do not hold high a badge of honor because I chose to stay home…women who continue their careers while doing raising their children have my utmost respect!) 

Because I had the luxury of staying home (we sacrificed financially in a huge way, I have no retirement to prove it) I was my children’s Girl Scout Leader, PTC board, coach, and anything else that I could do to help out with the school I chose for them.  They went to parochial schools, not because public education wasn’t good enough, but because I truly wanted my children in a small environment, with an emphasis on Judeo-Christian philosophy. But, regardless, I was there day in and day out.  I watched and learned from some of the best (and worst) educators.  I was educated by my children and the other children. 

Midway through my first-born’s education, I decided I needed to make a solid difference.  I would take my experience, maturity, knowledge, and love of education to a new level.  I would indeed go back to school and attain my teaching degree, and two years later my Masters of Education.

I have learned a truck load, no, a thesis load of material in my ten years as a professional educator, and the 28 years as a professional mom.  More lessons than I really ever desired to learn, but I have the knowledge now, lesson learned, (I am a life-long learner) so now I will share with you gentlemen my take, insight, gleaned as a parent with grown daughters, a teacher of people all ages, and an educator so deeply in debt that I will owe your boss for the rest of my life! So, gentlemen, I am a balanced authority on the subject of Education in America.

To Do #1:

 THERE ARE MORE HIGHLY-QUALIFIED EDUCATORS OUT OF WORK THAN WHAT MEETS the EYE!  Encourage school districts to hire people with experience instead of developing programs to put into classroom “fast-track” educators pulled from the business world.  Offer incentives to help those unable to get tenure, or those that have lost tenure do to NCLB!  The savings is huge! (We are one of the few fields where experience has virtually little to no worth, more to come on that subject!)

The purpose of job fairs is not so that School Districts can wave the stack of resume’s in the faces of those ultimately fired to say “see we had 5,000 applicants” be grateful you are here!

This is happening, take a look at the number of unemployed or under-employed educators.