This week there are 2 things that have gotten under my skin: 1. The Wisconsin teacher situation and 2. the Remote Area Medical clinic in Nashville. Both are HUGE problems that if we solved them, the positive results would ripple through our communities and change the world. Why? Because many folks in power forget that you are judge not on how you treat the privileged. You are judged on how you treat the least of your society. How do you treat your young and your elderly? How do you treat your mentally challenged? How do you treat your poor? And let's be honest, America sucks in these categories.
So since I declare myself 4th in command today (I have to defer to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I don't think I am all that!) let me tell you what I think about the two core issues: education and health.
Let's start with education. Stop throwing money at the problem. Do a six-month freeze on everything. And then implement this simple plan in August:
1. Give kids a comprehensive grade level test on Monday of the first full week of school. Give them the same test at the end of the year. Use this to gauge how well your teacher is doing. This way the test is based only on how much the kids learned while in their class.
2. Throw out the contracts with food vendors for the schools. Hire new kitchen staff that actually can cook in bulk, not just heat (nuke) nuggets. Partner with local farmers and get local produce and food. Serve kids fresh, organic food.
3. Require that every parent volunteer 4 hours/year or else pay tuition. If you have multiple kids, you are only required to do 4 hours total. Of course there are waivers for special circumstances.
4. Fail kids. Yep, I said it. Fail kids. Kids go to school 6 hours a day for 9 months. If they fall behind they should have tutoring available after school for free. If they do not take advantage of those two free opportunities and continue to get bad grades, then they fail. Period. No - 5th, 6th chances. They repeat the grade and parents are required to meet with the teacher monthly until the grades are passing.
5. Class size of 15 for kindergarten - 2nd grade, 20 kids for 3rd-5th, 25 for 6th-8th, and 30 for 9th - 12th.
6. Kids learn a foreign language beginning in Kindergarten and stick with it through 5th grade minimum.
7. No more magnet schools but more trade schools. Let each school have an advanced program tract for gifted students that is open to all students based on ability not lottery. Let students beginning in 10th grade opt to attend a half-day at a trade school to learn a skill.
8. And finally commit to a program for at least 5 years so that we have ample time to see if the program is working before we scrap it. There is a lot of mess that we have to fix and it will not be fixed overnight. It took years to get us into the mess, and we can't microwave ourselves out of it. (I bet Obama feels the same way about the state of the nation!)
Is that enough for you? I know. I should run for school board. But really, we have research on what works in schools but consistently chase our tails and not solve the problems.
Now onto medicine... Well, maybe I will solve that one tomorrow.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
I love the Lord
"I love the Lord, He heard my cry. And pitied every groan. Long as I live, and troubles rise, I hasten to His throne" You're singing along now, aren't you? Now stop singing and actually say the words..
"I love the Lord." I really love the Lord. Not because of the next line, but I love Him because He is God. Yes, I get impatient. Yes, I don't always act right. Yes, things don't always go my way. But I love Him - everyday!
"He heard my cry." Let's be honest, He's God. He really doesn't have to come down and deal with me and my mess but He does because He loves me back. He listens to me. He corrects me. He loves me inspite of my mess and responds to my cry. Not because I am special but because I am His.
"And pitied every groan.." Every groan. You know we complain alot. Humans complain from not winning a race, to the red light staying red too long. We are a whiny bunch. (Notice I said "we.") But He takes the time to listen to every complaint. Now He could really say "well looky here.. you got yourself in a pickle, didn't you? Now you knew good and well that what you were doing was wrong but you had to do it anyway, didn't you? Ummm hmmmm. I left you the Bible to guide you and you were too busy reading Essence or Facebook to crack open the book to see which way to go.. and now you wanna call on Me to fix it. I should let you go to hell, shouldn't I? Maybe then you'll believe that fire burns." That's the message that I should have gotten many times, but did He say it? Nope.
"Long as I live and troubles rise.." Job 14:1 says "Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble." Trouble happens. Satan attacks. You mess up. Things happen. But the next line offers a course of action..
"I hasten to His throne." We have a place where we can seek refuge. Where we can go and get our minds right. Let's be real. Where ever your mind is, that's where your attitude is and normally your behind is too. If bad things are happening and you are counting "it all joy" then you are going to have a great attitude and find a way tomake it through. But if you start thinking "woe is me", your attitude is going to sink, then your behind will be in more trouble.
This morning I had to hasten to His throne. I was running behind on someplace I needed to be, and when I got there I had to spend a little time alone. Me and my ipod and .... well, wait. It was me and God. So I wasn't alone. And that is yet another reason why I love the Lord.
"I love the Lord." I really love the Lord. Not because of the next line, but I love Him because He is God. Yes, I get impatient. Yes, I don't always act right. Yes, things don't always go my way. But I love Him - everyday!
"He heard my cry." Let's be honest, He's God. He really doesn't have to come down and deal with me and my mess but He does because He loves me back. He listens to me. He corrects me. He loves me inspite of my mess and responds to my cry. Not because I am special but because I am His.
"And pitied every groan.." Every groan. You know we complain alot. Humans complain from not winning a race, to the red light staying red too long. We are a whiny bunch. (Notice I said "we.") But He takes the time to listen to every complaint. Now He could really say "well looky here.. you got yourself in a pickle, didn't you? Now you knew good and well that what you were doing was wrong but you had to do it anyway, didn't you? Ummm hmmmm. I left you the Bible to guide you and you were too busy reading Essence or Facebook to crack open the book to see which way to go.. and now you wanna call on Me to fix it. I should let you go to hell, shouldn't I? Maybe then you'll believe that fire burns." That's the message that I should have gotten many times, but did He say it? Nope.
"Long as I live and troubles rise.." Job 14:1 says "Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble." Trouble happens. Satan attacks. You mess up. Things happen. But the next line offers a course of action..
"I hasten to His throne." We have a place where we can seek refuge. Where we can go and get our minds right. Let's be real. Where ever your mind is, that's where your attitude is and normally your behind is too. If bad things are happening and you are counting "it all joy" then you are going to have a great attitude and find a way tomake it through. But if you start thinking "woe is me", your attitude is going to sink, then your behind will be in more trouble.
This morning I had to hasten to His throne. I was running behind on someplace I needed to be, and when I got there I had to spend a little time alone. Me and my ipod and .... well, wait. It was me and God. So I wasn't alone. And that is yet another reason why I love the Lord.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Dialogue With My Readers
Sometimes my faithful readers get a bit perturbed about the things that I write here. It's understandable. I try to be honest in my writing and it isn't always pretty. Sometimes the light is shining on myself or my own missteps. Other times the light is turned outward and folks are blinded by it. That's something I won't apologize for. Period.
Recently, a major point of contention is how what I write here isn't directly conveyed in my face to face dealings. Example: if I know someone is a drunk and write about dealing with demons and snares here. That doesn't mean when I see them out I would hollar "Hey Drunk!" That doesn't make sense, does it? Yes, I try to be respectful in public. Shouldn't I be? I write about my observations/life/musings so that lots of people can benefit from the observation. Honestly, when I write about the metaphorical drunk, normally it's not for the drunk's sake. It's a cautionary tale for others. It's a "beware because that way leads do spiritual death" tome. While I wish I can help the drunk and give them 12 steps, that isn't for me to do. See,Jesus saves, not me. All I can do is shine a light and hope that myself and others can read the signs and stay on the path. The drunk may never regret taking a drink. But I can pray that they repent and turn their life around.
My words may never have an impact, and that's ok. That means that I am not writing for you (but thank you for reading). Maybe my words are just little seeds that will bear fruit later when watered with His Word.
Recently, a major point of contention is how what I write here isn't directly conveyed in my face to face dealings. Example: if I know someone is a drunk and write about dealing with demons and snares here. That doesn't mean when I see them out I would hollar "Hey Drunk!" That doesn't make sense, does it? Yes, I try to be respectful in public. Shouldn't I be? I write about my observations/life/musings so that lots of people can benefit from the observation. Honestly, when I write about the metaphorical drunk, normally it's not for the drunk's sake. It's a cautionary tale for others. It's a "beware because that way leads do spiritual death" tome. While I wish I can help the drunk and give them 12 steps, that isn't for me to do. See,Jesus saves, not me. All I can do is shine a light and hope that myself and others can read the signs and stay on the path. The drunk may never regret taking a drink. But I can pray that they repent and turn their life around.
My words may never have an impact, and that's ok. That means that I am not writing for you (but thank you for reading). Maybe my words are just little seeds that will bear fruit later when watered with His Word.
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