Apples & Chalkdust

Christmastime

2008-11-21T17:11:00.012-06:00

It all starts the day after Halloween . . . I break out the Christmas music and start talking about putting up the tree. This year, the music started on November 3 when I returned to school and created a Christmas playlist for Media Player. People coming to my office made comments that week about how early it was to be listening to Christmas music, but as time went on, more and more of them started getting out their CDs.

Two weeks ago tonight (that would be the 7th,) we went to Piedmont for Chinese buffet. While we were eating, we found out that the florist from our wedding was having his annual Christmas open house that night, so we stopped in for a couple of hours. After contemplating different purchases, including all new decorations for our existing tree (about $700) or two candles ($40), we found three rustic trees in the corner of the shop, decorated in a woodsy, cabin-type theme. It reminded us of the time we spend in the Smokies and made us look forward to our upcoming trip over Christmas vacation.

When we asked Lester how much the three trees would cost, with decorations, he said he'd just have to take everything off and add it up. We decided to let him do it and go ahead and buy it. After several minutes of pulling decorations, making lists, adding up all the birds, stockings, snowmen, berries, ribbon and trees, and throwing in a few more snowy berry branches, the total price was $400.62. We loaded the decorations and made arrangements to pick up the trees at Lester's house the next morning.

Impulse buys? I don't really think we know how to make any large purchases without making impulse decisions. We often wait and watch before buying things - usually for many months - and then suddenly something jumps out at us as the perfect option and we buy it. I'd been planning to re-do the entire Christmas tree this year anyway, and I'd been watching for colors and themes at Hobby Lobby and Kimmswick. Then, when we found the right one, we knew it.

So . . . the long awaited pictures of our three Christmas trees:

Who's Signing the Check?

2008-08-22T22:04:00.003-05:00

In the class I took this summer, Dr. Buchanan said, "if you're getting a paycheck from a school district, it's a great place to work for." The whole idea behind that thought is that no matter who you work for, and no matter how bad it may seem, the fact that they employ you and give you a paycheck means that they deserve enough respect that you're not bad-mouthing them all the time. I thought about that a lot while we were on vacation the second time this summer, and a few times since then.

What if everyone had the attitude that, because they're being paid by someone, their employer is, at the time, the best to work for? How would service in restaurants and stores change? Now I've been very impressed with some of the employees in some not-so-high-paying jobs lately, but I've also encountered those who complain about everything they have to do and act as though it's a bother just having to talk to me. The difference? Pride in the job they are doing and support for whoever is writing the check. That's what separates those who will bend over backward to keep a customer happy, no matter what the circumstance, and those who would rather see you turn around and walk out than to help you.

But how does a new generation of employees learn this piece of work ethic? Maybe it's time we start modeling that for them in the classroom and the hallways, and challenging them to have a great attitude beginning with the first job they get, even if it's cleaning the grease trap at McDonald's every Friday night.

Hmm - that reminds me of something else I need to post about - our Good Friday experience at Joe's Crab Shack. Coming soon . . . .

Newest Addition

2008-03-11T19:29:00.011-06:00

Can it be . . . I'm actually sitting here in the recliner, watching American Idol and blogging? The two things I've been avoiding like the plague lately. Actually, I've avoided American Idol for its entire run, but without 24 this season (thanks a lot, writers strike,) I've added Idol to the DVR schedule - right there with Family Feud, Andy Griffith, Jack's Big Music Show, and the Backyardigans . . . and I'm actually enjoying it. I've may have made a conscious effort to not get wrapped up in the Idol hype, but I haven't been purposefully avoiding blogging. It just happened. And now I have junior high students, teachers, and friends asking me on a regular basis when I'm going to blog again.

Over the past three months, I've had a few ideas for how to continue blogging. With more demands at work than I was used to in my last job, I've found that there's not much time in my day to sit down, clear my head, and blog. The first idea I had was series blogging - focusing a few posts on a central topic. Possible topics included "Dear Presidential Candidate . . . " where I'd write open letters to all the remaining candidates to tell them why I would or would not vote for them. Another thought I entertained was "Why I'm _____" where I'd explain why I do or believe certain things - Why I'm a Republican; Why I'm a Christian; Why I'm not blogging lately . . . ." The other idea was just continuing just as in the past with a potpourri of life's experiences as they happen and as I take the time to share them. So before this site goes the way of my Xanga site, my first website, and the fifteen email addresses I've had over the past ten years, I'm back after three months of silence, and I'm ready to share some huge things that have been happening in my life.

Two weeks ago yesterday, my wife and I packed our bags and went to bed prepared to head to Farmington the next morning for her to be induced and have our second baby around two o'clock. Everything for baby two was planned - the total opposite of what had happened a little over seventeen months earlier when our daughter surprised us by showing up a month early. This time, we knew the sex of the baby, the day he'd be born, and even the approximate time.

About two hours before we should have started getting ready on Tuesday morning, Jessica woke up with pain that she thought resulted from contractions. We decided to get ready early, and if the pain stopped, we'd just wait around at home until it was time to make our way to the hospital. If the pain continued, we thought it would be better to get an early start in case she was already in labor. By five, we were on the road.

The events of the first three hours in the hospital now seem like a blur. From OB to the emergency room, to the parking lot to get the insurance card, back to the ER, and then back to OB, I felt like the nurses were just trying to keep me busy so I'd stay out of the way as they prepped Jessica for the birth. I'd much rather have revisited the first hour I spent at the hospital when Ella was born, while I sat, sleeping in the emergency room waiting area, thinking we were only there for a quick examination.

With phone calls made and family members headed our way, I was finally able to make it back to the delivery room to find out that we were just minutes away from the epidural . . . perhaps the best part of the whole day . . . and that the doctor had estimated delivery time at 10:15. Our parents and Ella arrived sometime between eight and nine. They were able to take turns visiting with Jessica in the delivery room before the action started picking up. Unfortunately, about the time the epidural started kicking it, it slowed contractions to the point that the anesthesiologist had to add another drug to start them up again. That pushed the estimated delivery time up a little, but we were still going to have a baby by noon.

Recovering from a staph infection or spider bite (what it really was will be disputed for years) and just a day after being diagnosed with a viral infection, I wasn't exactly feeling the adrenaline rush that I should have been throughout the morning. As we neared delivery, the nurses started assembling the necessary tools, and the doctor dressed in his gown and catcher's mit, it seemed as though the heat kept rising and the room started spinning. With six people crowded in half the room and the curtain pulled just behind me, I felt the claustrophobia taking over. Cold sweat beads running down my face, I found myself having to sit down a couple of times. I was able to muster the necessary strength and overcome the queasy feeling just in time to see my son come into the world - and I was down again.

At 11:49, we welcomed the fourth member of our family, Joseph William Marc, into the world. As special as the birth of a first child is, the second child is just as special and the overwhelming pride and joy is just as real. After snapping a few quick pictures, I slid out of the room to leave the professionals to do what they do best (this time, the OB department wasn't as busy, so I didn't have to be the assistant), show the grandparents pictures of their first grandson, and get a breath of cool air. Once I was able to catch my breath, I returned to the delivery room to take more pictures, then brought Ella back to meet her new brother.

For the past two weeks, we've been able to spend a lot of time together, refreshing our relationships and building new bonds with Will. Ella has been a great big sister - helping with feeding and other baby care, and giving him a sweet goodnight kiss each night at bedtime. Being an only child for seventeen months, we were afraid she would be jealous of the new baby taking our attention, but we're trying to make her feel as much a part of what's going on as he is, and she's definitely handled it much better than we had expected.

Jessica and I have fallen in love with our son, and we're excited about where his life will lead. God has a special plan for all of our kids. On the way home from school this afternoon, I was listening to the new MercyMe CD. The first track is a song about living an extraordinary life - one that is God's will and not the ordinary life that we often grow used to. I pray that this will be one song that defines Will's life, and I pray that Philippians 3:12-14 is something that he clings to as I have.

"Goodbye Ordinary"

I wonder when we first bought into this
So satisfied with status quo
Have we convinced ourselves
That this is all there is
Well all that is within me
Says we were meant to break free

Live like there's no tomorrow
Love extravagantly
Lead a life to be followed
Goodbye ordinary
Goodbye ordinary

We were never meant to compromise
Settle for mediocrity
This life was never made
To be a waste of time
Well all that is within me
Says no more just existing

No more complacency
No more just settling
This time goodbye to atrophy
For we were meant to be alive

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Who Would Jesus Vote For?

2007-12-17T15:25:00.000-06:00

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - Ronald Reagan

For some time now, I've waited and watched for a presidential candidate that I could support - one who not only scored high on my issues surveys but also who stood a chance of winning both in the primary and next November. You may remember that Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo fit the first criterion, but were long-shots at best. When I would talk to anyone about either of those candidates, the reply would generally be, "who's that?" For a while, I thought that if Fred Thompson would step up and run, he'd be the answer I'd been looking for, but I've been very disappointed in just about everything he's done. Of course, there's always been Rudy McRomney - the three stooges of the Republican party. I can't really tell the difference between Rudy and Hillary; McCain seems too weak on national security; Romney says his faith doesn't define him, and I remember all too well what happened the last time we had a president whose faith didn't matter.

After several grueling months of campaigning and debating, it almost seemed like Ron Paul was the best candidate . . . and that was REALLY starting to worry me. Enter Mike Huckabee in the blind spots of all the frontrunners, leaving the second- and third-tier candidates behind. Finally, someone who shares my beliefs on fiscal and social issues, national security, and even religion. A Southern Baptist preacher running for president, who recently beat all the Democrats in a head-to-head poll. I never dreamed Huckabee would be a formidable candidate, but it seems like he's in this race to win, and he has as good a chance as any of them.

A few weeks ago, I started worrying that this whole Huckabee craze would wear off by the time the primaries rolled around, or that he might actually win the nomination only to be defeated in the general election by Hillary or Obama. I kept focusing on the negative and thinking about how horrible it would be if that happened. But then I started thinking. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" God already knows who will win the 2008 election - He knows the foreign policy, healthcare plan, and moral values of the next president. He also has the power to make anything happen - He can even put a Southern Baptist preacher in the Oval Office if He wants to. The only thing we can do is pray for His will, and then for the man (or woman) who ultimately gets the job.

Would Jesus vote for Hillary? Obama? Giulianni? McCain? Huckabee? I don't know. I do know that, no matter what happens, God will still be in control on November 5, 2008, and He'll still be in control on January 20, 2009. My favorite verse is Habakkuk 1:5: "Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." That's what I'll be counting on in the weeks and months ahead.

"Recently, out on the campaign trail, a voter asked if my personal faith informed my decisions. My answer was simple, just as it always has been: my faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them." - Mike Huckabee

Aging

2007-12-10T15:25:00.000-06:00

I've come to a point in my life where I've started realizing that the road of life is one-way. There are no u-turns and no slowing down. It feels like I'm in the cab of Jack Monk's eighteen-wheeler, barreling down a winding mountain road somewhere in California, with the brake lines cut. The farther I go, the faster the scenery seems to pass by. Yes, the DVR picked up all the "Monk" episodes that I haven't already seen, and I've been enjoying catching up on the ones I couldn't watch when we didn't get USA.

For some reason, the thought of turning 30 frightens me. In just 389 days, I'll enter the fourth decade of my life. See - I couldn't even type that sentence without getting a knot inside and my heart pounding a little harder. I've never dreaded something quite so much, but I really can't tell you why. I'm excited about the journey of life; I'm secure in my faith and the dreams I have for my life. I love my wife and daughter and am looking forward to the arrival of my first son in a couple of months. There's just something about not being in my 20's that scares me!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went to my wife's grandparents' house for a family reunion. Her cousins from Nashville had spent a few nights there, and they brought their 4-wheelers to pass the time. I'm not really used to riding 4-wheelers that were made for sport riding - I've mainly just enjoyed the utility versions that get the work done. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy going 60-70 mph around the makeshift track behind the house - or running straight lines from the yard to the woods and back as quickly as I could. It was definitely a lot of fun - and I wanted to spend the night so I could do it again the next morning. But I couldn't talk Jessica into staying, so around 10:00 that night, we headed north.

Sometime in the middle of the night - not long after we went to bed - my back started hurting. I've been told countless times that I don't know what "hurting" means until I've carried a baby for nine months and had unmentionable things done to my body in order to get that baby out . . . but that night, I knew that an aching back was enough pain for me. I tossed and turned all night and took a couple of Jessica's prescription pain pills from when Ella was born along with six or eight Tylenol. And I was still in pain. The only thing I could do to keep my back from hurting was to lie on a heating pad on the floor. Every time the thermostat on the pad would kick it off, I'd wake up in pain and have to wait for it to heat up so it would stop hurting long enough for me to go back to sleep. The next morning, I crawled upstairs and into the recliner, where I sat with the heating pad for the rest of the day. By bedtime, I was finally feeling better.

I'm 28 years old. I shouldn't have to give up an entire day of my life to recover from riding a 4-wheeler. What is going on? Is this what getting older feels like? I've had a hard time admitting that age was a contributing factor to my back problem, and I really wanted to blame it on the mattress.

I don't really have anything inspirational to say about the subject . . . I still hate the thought of getting older, and I haven't figured out how to stop it from happening. I'm well on my way to having a Doctorate by the time I'm 38, and I'm headed up the "corporate" ladder of public education. I have the family, house, and cars. I have a relationship with Jesus and a purpose for living. I'm happy with life. But I'd like to just stop the hands of time for just a while. Or maybe I should just start thinking of my age as 21, plus (fill in the blank).

Quiet Time Commitment Number . . . by now, I've lost count

2007-11-18T20:00:00.000-06:00

4,967 days ago, almost to the minute, I took a step in my life that has about as many cliches to describe it as twists and turns in its journey - salvation. Whether you call it "coming to Jesus," "being saved," or, as we call it at Meadow Heights, "beginning a life-changing relationship with Jesus," stepping across that dividing line between being a non-believer to accepting Jesus into your life is the most important moment in your life. In that moment, and for quite a while to follow, it's easy to desire a closer relationship with someone who could be so amazing as to give His life for you. But just as in human relationships, the fire and desire slowly burn out, and from time to time, we all come to a point where we realize the love and passion just aren't there anymore. Not because God no longer loves us - and probably not even because we don't love Him - but because the busyness of life and Satan's meddling in our plans gets us off track.

4,966 days later, I was (again) at one of those points in my life. It definitely wasn't the first time I had realized that my relationship with God was hurting, and it probably won't be the last. Even worse than the realization that I had gotten to this point in my life is the fact that my wife had to point it out to me. Instead of being the spiritual leader of my family, for some time now, I've been riding out life, waiting to see how things fall into place and spending time with God only when it was convenient. For the past few months, I've focused way too much on the first part of my mission (to use my gifts and abilities to make the greatest possible impact on public education in Missouri) and not enough on the last part (while providing the best possible life experiences for my family.) The last part includes spiritual guidance, which I have been failing to provide. Tonight, I'm recommitting (again) to work on growing closer to God and stronger in my faith while building a spiritual legacy for my family.

I love music. I love listening to a great CD or my favorite channels on Sirius, and I enjoy going to concerts when I get the chance. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to see Mercy Me at the Coliseum in Poplar Bluff. I was very disappointed to find out that Aaron Shust would not be traveling with them until the next week, but would be replaced by a group I had never heard of - Shane & Shane. I felt ripped off - like I wasn't going to get my $20's worth because the opening act was some unknown duo. It was kinda like when I buy a CD because I just have to have one particular song, and then when I listen to the whole CD, I find two other songs that I like even better. I was so impressed with Shane & Shane that I bought a CD and had already listened to the first ten seconds of every song by the time we stopped to get gas on the way out of town. Since then, I've heard some of their songs played on Spirit 66 - so they're not as unknown as I originally thought.

One of the songs on Shane & Shane's "Pages" CD that has really stood out to me is called "Embracing Accusation." The first part of the song talks about how "the father of lies, coming to steal, kill and destroy all my hopes of being good enough . . . " is singing the song of the redeemed. My initial reaction? Wait a minute . . . Satan is singing the song of the redeemed? That's blasphemy. And they even ended the verse by saying, "he's right. Hallelujah, he's right!" I couldn't believe they'd be saying that . . . until I listened to the song a few more times. The more I listened, the closer I listened. And I started hearing other parts - "The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed - that I am cursed and gone astray. I cannot gain salvation." Well, that's true - that's what Satan says. It's not until I clearly heard the last few lines of the song that I realized the real meaning of the song: "Oh the devil’s singing over me an age old song - that I am cursed and gone astray. Singing the first verse so conveniently; he’s forgotten the refrain: Jesus saves!"

Two words - that's the difference between God's version of life and Satan's. TWO WORDS.

Ok - back to the topic: Quiet Time Commitment. So now that I'm at this point in my life where I'm committing to spiritual growth (do I have to say "again" again, or have you gotten the point by now?), I think God has given me a specific plan to maybe keep my interest a little longer and help me stay committed to it. I have book that was given to me by my high school band teacher - The One Year Book of Hymns. This devotional book has 365 days' worth of stories behind best-loved and little-known hymns alike. I've read a few on occasion, but I've never read through the book as a devotional. And I'm not going to start. I also have 4Him's "Hymns" CD - a collection of fourteen hymns, presented differently than in traditional arrangements. The plan: read the story/devotion for a hymn on the CD, and then listen to the song to hear the meaning the author intended - not just the same old song that's been sang over and over again. This time, I'll listen for all the words to make sure I understand the real meaning, and to make sure I haven't forgotten the refrain of any of them. I'm also going to try reading through the Bible in 2008 - so I'm getting a little head start, hoping the extra forty-three days might help get it all in.

Tonight, I read the stories behind "Faith of Our Fathers" and "On Christ, the Solid Rock, I Stand." The first one was just the interlude on the CD, so I decided to do two songs. Both of these songs have a great meaning related to the commitment I am making tonight. The first one talks about how our faith has been passed down through generations, in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword. It's a song of commitment saying that we will be true to the faith 'til death. So often, we (I) are more concerned about our reputations and our comfort zones to be true to our faith - to show it and share it with others. Every Wednesday around 12:15, I supervise a group of about thirty high school students who meet in the school library to listen to one of their peers teach a Bible lesson, to pray for their friends, and to sometimes sing songs. The faith of those 7th through 12th graders is so important to them that they don't worry about anything other than sharing it. They get it - they understand that "through the truth that comes from God, mankind shall then be truly free."

The second song I read about and listened to tonight was "On Christ, the Solid Rock, I Stand." The author of this song was introduced to church and to God by the cabinetmaker with whom he apprenticed. It seems as though we're living in the most uncertain times in the history of mankind. The presidential election is less than 51 weeks away, and I'm still not sure who I trust to be the nominee. Congress's approval rating is less than 20%; the president's isn't much better. I wouldn't trust public sentiment to tell me whether I should wear a coat in the morning. Corruption abounds throughout our nation and other nations; the price of oil is unstable; the housing market and interest rates are constantly changing; you can't even trust the safety of toys anymore. What can we trust? The same thing that has been the only thing anyone could trust for the past 2000 years - Jesus' name. "On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand."

Step By Step

2007-10-25T16:06:00.000-05:00

One of the dangers in pouring yourself into any project is the potential for pride to take hold and later destroy - or at least inhibit - the joy that we should feel with the final product. Maybe it's not a problem for everyone, but I have seen Satan use personal pride in achievement to destroy relationships and steal joy from many people, and I've seen him use the pride in my own life to keep me from accepting the help of perfectly capable individuals in order for God to work through their gifts and free me up to use mine to the best of my ability. This week, I think he tried using the same pride to discourage me and make me feel animosity toward others in a situation that I had no reason to feel that way. I'm glad God showed me a better perspective so Satan didn't get the victory!

We finally moved into our new house the second weekend of the month. With our weekends freed back up and nothing standing in our way, we made it to the 9:30 gathering on Sunday morning. What an accomplishment considering we had a hard time making it to church at 11:15 when we lived a mile from the parking lot, and now we have a 40-mile drive. When I walked into the auditorium, I saw a huge, wide-screen projection screen in the background and two large LCD TVs on the sides of the stage, both with crisp, clear, MOVING images . . . large theater lighting . . . four huge speakers mounted throughout the room . . . it was what I'd been dreaming of for the last few years but hadn't seen come to fruition. I started feeling sorry for myself because the quality of the production didn't suffer at all after I left the staff, and it had just taken a major leap forward and I had nothing to do with it. It didn't help that the bulletin had been redesigned and almost all of the elements that I had contributed were gone. For a few minutes, I think Satan was having a lot of fun annihilating the pride I had in the eight years worth of investment I had made.

Then God moved in and shed new light on the situation. First of all, nothing I had done was of my own power or creativity. God has given me any ability that I have, and He has used it in His time to bring us this far. Last fall, He finished using my gifts and chose to use someone else's so that He could use the gifts and abilities that He has given me in other areas of my life. He freed me up to move to a different place in life and allowed others to move to different places in theirs.

Later in the week, I started looking at this whole subject from another perspective. The first time I was asked to create a bulletin for church, I was so excited that I got to transform a publication that had been unchanged for years into something fresh and exciting (for the time). I couldn't believe God had given me the ability to design something in the first place, and for me to be entrusted with the church bulletin was awesome. (I never could have imagined what I would do over the course of the next eight years.) But there were others who came before me who took pride in their work, and had put together what they thought was the best possible design for years. God had given them abilities, and they had used them in His time - time He had given to them. Now it was my turn. I wonder how they felt. I wonder if they had some of the same feelings that I have had now that my time is over.

Some of the responsibilities I have with my new position - curriculum coordinator, A+ coordinator, and special ed director - are requiring me to take programs that were created by someone else and revamp, retool, or recreate to move us to the next step. How do those people feel about what I am doing?

Life is about steps. We never achieve perfection, but we hopefully take something that someone else hands us, improve it, and hand it off to someone else better than we received it. The next time you're tempted to throw yourself a pity party, rip up the invitations and thank God for using you to contribute to the growth and improvement of something - and for opening new doors as you take new steps in life.

Over My Head

2007-09-07T08:14:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt like you've jumped into a situation that just totally overwhelmed you and made you feel very inadequate, but at the same time you just knew that it was God's plan, and you felt right in the center of His will? That's how I've felt for the past month.

Since school started, my "To-Do" list hasn't been empty for a second. As I scratch off one task, I replace it with two or three more. And despite as much as I've learned over the past few weeks, there's still so much to learn. I feel like I have special ed and e-Rate in a manageable state for now; today, I'd love to be able to conquer A+, High Schools That Work, and curriculum . . . but if today goes like any other day, I'll just get to scratch the surface on one of them. And at some point, I have an assignment to finish for class tomorrow.

Some updates from my personal life . . . I have started my Specialist classes, and have chosen the integrated Specialist/Ed.D. track, which means by the summer of '09, I'll be starting my dissertation! After waiting on the bank for over five weeks to get nowhere very quickly, we decided to forgo the manufactured home/land option and found an existing house to buy. Just hours before we were to close on the house, the sellers backed out. So now, a little over a month after moving from Fredericktown, we're no closer to having a place of our own than we were when we locked the moving trailer, which is still sitting in the driveway of our old house.

So . . . after following God's lead to take this job and sell the house, I feel like I'm in over my head. That's why I like Brian Littrell's song, "Over My Head," so much. It describes exactly where I am right now:

I tried to figure it out
Time and time again and time again
I guess there's just some things I'll never understand
'Cause Your ways aren't our ways
But deep down in my soul, down in my soul
There is one thing I know that I know

I'm in over my head
Right where I wanna be
I'm so lost within Your love
The love that always covers me
So high, so deep, so wide
A strong and cleansing tide
My soul has found a place to rest
I'm in over my head

...and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!

What does that make me?

2007-08-14T16:12:00.000-05:00

I've been on the job a little over two weeks, and I'm having a blast, already learning more about the operation of a school district than I learned in the past ten years since starting my undergraduate program . . . ok, maybe not more, but definitely more rapidly! From final expenditure reports to IEP accommodations; from Medicaid billing to grant funding, I'm getting some of the most valuable hands-on experience that an administrator can ask for, while working with an awesome team of fellow administrators and staff.

With the new job comes a longer commute (40-times as long, for a total of 40 miles), and with the drive comes some time to spend alone, listening to the radio and enjoying the view. The drive from Annapolis to Bunker is beautiful. It's almost like being back in the Smokies . . . just a much smaller version. Over 75% of my drive is through National Forest land in the Ozark Mountains, and I drive miles without seeing a house or vehicle. It's hard to get bored while enjoying God's creation.

I usually listen to Fox News Channel or Spirit 66 as I'm driving - I haven't had much of an opportunity to watch the news over the past few weeks, so I figure listening to it is the next best thing. When I flip over to Spirit, I'm able to enjoy great music about God and life, and I've found some great new songs that really express where I am in my personal life and celebrate what God has done over the past few weeks. One of those songs is "Everything Glorious" by the David Crowder Band. The first seven words set the tone for the whole day: "The day is brighter here with You."

Part of the chorus says, "You make everything glorious, and I am Yours. What does that make me?" What a powerful observation. It's easy to get wrapped up in the world's definition of worth . . . wealth, fame, glamor, and achievement . . . and to start thinking that we're not important because we could never be as rich as Donald Trump, famous as Brittney Spears, pretty as Paris Hilton, or talented as Gordon Ramsay. God didn't create Trump Towers, Hilton Hotels, Hell's Kitchen, or whatever it is (if anything) that Brittney has going for her. He did, however, create each of those people, and He created you and me. He created the skies, rocks, trees, mountains, and streams. Everything God created is wonderful and glorious. Including you.

Major Announcements

2007-07-12T06:21:00.000-05:00

I have eight minutes before I'm off to my last day of Master's classes! And I have plenty of news to share.

On July 3, we found out that Ella is going to be a sister in March . . . or since she was so early, it could even be the end of January/beginning of February.

Last Friday, I met with the superintendent at Bunker to discuss the possibility of an administrative position in their district. She offered me the position of special ed director/A+ coordinator/assistant principal. I accepted and received my contract on Tuesday.

As part of the job change, we're going to have to relocate. We put a sign in the front yard on Monday, and as of Wednesday afternoon, we've had three offers on the house. Unfortunately, I can't get the bank and their broker to value it at what the offers have been, so that's my biggest headache right now. However, the last people who made an offer have cash, so we may not need to worry about it!

Tomorrow on my way to Columbia, I'm meeting with a guy in St. Louis to discuss some land that he has in Annapolis. We've looked at the land, and we just have to pick out the piece that we want. We're meeting him at the land on Monday to make our final decision and hopefully make a deposit and sign a contract.

On Tuesday, we went to Gifford's to pick out a house. We have it ready to order as soon as we close on this house!!!

Gotta go!!!

Day Ten - Homeward Bound

2007-07-02T08:54:00.000-05:00

Checkout was 11:00 am on Saturday, but we all agreed that it was too early to leave the mountains. After all, we still had a few things we wanted to do - like drive through the park, go to Clingman's Dome, and see waterfalls. Two years ago when we returned from our honeymoon, Jessica and I ate lunch at Joe's Crabshack in Asheville late in the afternoon. We left North Carolina at 4:00 PM and made it home around midnight. With that in mind, I suggested that we hang around the area until somewhere around three or four and try to be on the road as soon as possible after that.

We made our check-out time with about ten minutes to spare. After a phone call to the reservations office to tell them we were out and to report a few problems we had found (jacuzzi not working, dead phone, and staples in the carpet on the stairs), we no longer had a cabin to go home to, and we were officially homeward bound. We just didn't have any idea which way we'd go.

We stopped a few times to discuss which route to take (depending on what waterfall(s) we wanted to see) and where to eat (when we realized it was almost noon and we were about to leave civilization for at least four hours). We decided to have lunch at the Old Mill again - it was cheap and the portions were large enough to give us enough strength to make it to the top of Clingman's Dome. We were finally ready to leave Pigeon Forge around 1 PM. Not much time to make it through the whole park!

The whole drive had to be rushed because time was still ticking away. We avoided most of the pull-offs along Newfound Gap Road, and we couldn't stay long at Newfound Gap. Just past the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, the road to the right leads up the mountain to Clingman's Dome - the highest point in the Smoky Mountains. When we made it to the top, we couldn't find James and Jennifer anywhere. They had either missed the turn or done a great job losing us without telling us they wanted to separate! By the time we had Ella unloaded and our shoes changed, we saw them come around the corner. Yep - they had missed the turn!

The half-mile trek up the side of the mountain, though on a paved sidewalk, is treacherous when attempted alone. It's made even worse when you add strollers. Benches along the way provided chances to catch our breath. Once we reached the top of the mountain, a spiraling concrete ramp delivered us to the top of the lookout tower.

When we left the cabin, the temperature was starting to rise and the humidity was becoming unbearable. At over 6,600 feet above sea level, it was a chilly 59 degrees, and the mist of clouds pushed through, brushing our faces as we gazed at lakes and mountain peaks miles away. The experience made it worth the pain we were feeling in our legs.

We left the top of the mountain close to three, and we quickly realized we weren't going to be on the road by four. We finished the drive through the park, coming out in Cherokee, and went to Mingo Falls, just outside of town. I took the opportunity to take a lot of pictures of the large fall and the stream that trickled down the hill, beside the trail.

Before leaving Cherokee, we ate at Paul's Restaurant . . . a small hometown-type steak and burger joint. It was nice to see prices closer to $5.00 after growing accustomed to $20.00 meals. After a final stop for souvenirs on the edge of town, we left Cherokee at 7:40, headed up highway 19 toward Maggie Valley, then hit 276 to the interstate. An hour later, we were back in Tennessee.

A few showers along the way were expected - after all, it had rained seven of the eight days we were in the mountains. I love driving at night because there is less traffic and it is a lot cooler in the dark. I hate driving in rain at night, so I was glad that, the few times we did hit rain, it didn't last long. After over 500 miles, two tanks of gas, four stops, and nine hours, we pulled into the driveway at 4:20 AM on Sunday.

Final picture count: 1410

The Traditional Sign Picture

Clouds Rolling In - Atop Clingman's Dome

Highest Point in the Smokies

The Clingman's Dome Tower

A View from the Clingman's Dome Trail

Mingo Falls

The Trickling Stream

Sunset in Maggie Valley, NC

Day Nine - Go Carts & Waterfalls

2007-07-01T13:45:00.001-05:00

With the hours quickly ticking away and the to-do lists still looming overhead, we decided to tackle at least one together, so we headed out to find some amusement attractions and waterfalls. Between the heat and humidity, it wasn't the best day for outdoor fun, but it was our last chance for it.

Kids Country and The Track are just right across Parkway from the road to our cabin. We decided to start there to let the kids have a little fun . . . both the young kids and the old ones. We looked around and figured out we'd need to buy tickets for the rides - just like at the Azalea Festival. We assumed tickets would be a dollar or less . . . thinking a dollar would be a little expensive, but we were willing to pay it. Imagine my shock when I saw that ONE ticket cost $2.69! The kid rides took one ticket, and the go carts took 3. It didn't take long to realize this was going to be some expensive entertainment, and that the aquarium really was a great deal!

A six-pack of tickets provided a small discount, but the 11.5% tax quickly took care of that. Apparently there's a 2% amusement tax added to the already-high 9.5% state and local sales taxes. No matter where we turn, it seems like someone's always eager to take our money!

The girls enjoyed a few of the smaller rides. Ella rode the swings all by herself, and I rode the carousel and train with her. Then James, Julianna and I rode the Wild Woody - go carts that climb and descend a three-story spiral, loop around outside on a concrete portion of track, and then climb and descend the spiral again. I was second out of the starting lane, and quickly started battling for first. The boys directly in front of and behind me were apparently together, and once the one behind me would pass, he would try to pass the other, but never could make it. Then I'd pass him, but I never could get around the first one, either. Finally, while they were fighting for first place, I made it around both of them and quickly passed a couple more cars, including James and Julianna. Because I made it that far, I ended up getting an extra lap!

We finally made it to the Old Mill for lunch. Their turkey and dressing is awesome, and their lunch prices are just as irresistible. After lunch, Jessica, Ella and I spent some time shopping at some of the stores - the Old Mill General Store, the Toy Bin, the candy store - while James, Jennifer and the girls went back to the cabin for a nap.

Sometime in the afternoon, we all headed out to explore some waterfalls . . . separately. James and Jennifer had already been to Laurel Falls, and I wanted to go there. So they headed out with their book to find some roadside falls, and Jessica and I stopped at the visitor center to try to find a waterfall map or book. I bought a two-book/two-map pack that seems to have everything you could want to know about what's available in the park. I told Jessica that she could choose where we'd go, and she had the trip through Gatlinburg to decide. By the time we were half-way through town, she had found Cascade Falls, which was supposed to be just a short walk from Sugarlands visitor center. We decided that would be a good place to start.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw the Equinox - apparently we'd chosen the same falls! Near the end of our "short" (it turned out a little longer than we'd expected) walk to the falls, I could hear Julianna talking. Once we had pictures taken and were ready to head back, we decided to travel together and look for some easy-access roadside falls . . . especially since dusk was quickly approaching.

The next couple of hours provided a couple of great opportunities to see some small falls in a short amount of time, and the journey took us just a few miles from a return visit to Cades Cove. We exited the park at Townsend - fifteen miles from Pigeon Forge. If you ever need it . . . there's a gas station about two miles from Little River Road as you're heading to Cades Cove, where the road splits and heads to Townsend. It was a very welcome sight since I had no idea where I'd be able to fill up and my light was about to come on.

Another late night . . . we had pizza when we got back to the cabin - sometime around ten. Jessica and I worked on packing as much as we could, and I spent some time in the hot tub before finally going to bed sometime after midnight.

Ella & Mommy at Kids Country

Ella liked the swings.

Ella's riding "Mr. America" on the carousel.

Daddy & Ella on the train

After three years, I finally got to ride the go carts!

The sun shinging through the trees near Sugarlands

Cataract Falls

This has a name . . . but I don't know what it is.

Same here - a roadside waterfall.

The moon over the mountains . . . my view from the hot tub Friday night.

Day Eight - Tanger Outlet & Return to Applewood

2007-06-28T20:42:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, we decided to go our separate ways to do some of the things that were still on individual lists of things to do. Jessica, Ella and I headed toward the outlet malls and Jennifer's family drove into the mountains to look for waterfalls, and to the Ober Gatlinburg tram to ride up the side of the mountain. We met at the Apple Barn sometime after noon for fried pies and ice cream.

We hit the scrapbook store and clearance center in Governor's Crossing. For anyone who's interested in scrapbooking, no matter the skill level, you can find just about anything you need in one of the two stores. Old Navy and Dress Barn rounded out our spending spree, giving us a chance to expand our wardrobes for next year. The whole time we were at Five Oaks, it looked like a storm was brewing. Some of the ladies at Dress Barn were talking about hail being mixed in with the storm - wherever it was. But the threat of whatever it was wasn't going to keep us from shopping!

Apple Barn fried pies are always a great treat - complete with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream - for just $2.99. By the time we finished the pies, the wind had started picking up and the dark clouds were rolling in. All signs pointed to another monsoon, just like every other day. We ran to the cars and headed back to the cabin. Nothing. Finally - a day without rain!

I surpassed the 1000-picture mark! By the end of the night, I was up to 1006 total for the week.

Ella in front of the Apple Barn . . .

. . . and on the deck back at the cabin.

Day Seven - Aquarium & Bubba Gump

2007-06-28T19:37:00.000-05:00

We maintain strict criteria for choosing a place to eat on vacation. First, it can't be somewhere we can eat at home - which narrows our list of available restaurants by half. Second, we have a list of "must eats" that we have to get in at some point. Of course third is our list of places to avoid, which currently only contains one restaurant solely because of the price. On Wednesday, we decided to try out a new place for lunch - Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. But first . . . breakfast and the aquarium.

Breakfast was at one of the two Shoney's restaurants in Pigeon Forge. The Shoney's breakfast buffet is a memorable experience from all our childhoods that hasn't been possible in a while since all the restaurants around our area closed down. We enjoyed the breakfast, and I especially liked the strawberries! By the time we finished, they were clearing out the breakfast items to switch over to the lunch buffet.

Carter's had a nice sale, including a $4.99 and under warehouse sale upstairs. Ella bought enough clothes to last through next Summer, at an average of just over $4.00 per piece - a steal for baby clothes!

If you've been to Gatlinburg in the past decade, you know that Ripley's is buying out the whole town, building their museums and attractions, and all but changing the name to Ripleyburg. Or maybe it will be Ripley's Gatlinburg in keeping with the naming tradition of the rest of their empire. The largest Ripley's attraction is the Aquarium of the Smokies - a large, blue building in the center of town where two other streets intersect with Parkway. It's impossible to miss and, as I finally realized this year, just as impossible to avoid. At $19.99 per adult ticket, I had tried to avoid going because I thought it would be a waste of money that could be spent on EATING shrimp, lobster and crab . . . not WATCHING them!

The aquarium was surprisingly more enjoyable than I expected. While some of the smaller exhibits weren't that great, there was a fish that you couldn't see because its camouflaged color made it blend in with the sand, the orange jellies with the blue background were awesome, and there was one kind of dragon fish that looked like a floating bush - it had green things that looked just like leaves! The best part of the aquarium experience was the long conveyor belt that wound its way under a large pool of all sorts of fishes and lots of sharks!

After the aquarium, we were hungry for . . . seafood, of course! So we headed up the street to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. A few weeks ago, I did some research about the area to see what had changed since we were here last year, and I found out that this new restaurant would be opening June 16. I had suggested that we try it out, and it passed our criteria, so we did.

From the time we walked through the door, we could tell that the service at Bubba Gump didn't even compare with what had happened a few days earlier across the street at Lineberger's. All the servers and wait staff work together to make sure customers' needs are met. In the middle of the table, they have license plates that say "Run Forrest Run" and "Stop Forrest Stop." If you have everything you need and you're enjoying your meal, you leave the blue "RUN" sign up. Any time you need something, you flip the plate over the show the "STOP" sign, and someone comes to your table - in our experience, within fifteen to thirty seconds - to see what you need. We used the sign for Jessica's meal, which was delayed in the kitchen a few minutes, and to order dessert. Each time, someone other than our particular server came over (she was busy with other customers) and they were more than happy to check on the food and place our dessert order. We were very impressed with the way everyone pulled together to get the job done, and with the attitudes they had about it.

The food at Bubba Gump wasn't quite as good as Lineberger's, but it was still great. I ordered Shrimper's Heaven - a collection of four different types of shrimp that I can't find on their website menu . . . oh well. Three of the varieties are fried and the other is chilled peel-and-eat. It was a lot of shrimp, and definitely worth the $16.00. Dessert, appetizers, our two meals and a meal for Ella was all the same price as our two meals at Lineberger's. The chocolate cookie sundae was awesome!

We finished our second day's stay in Gatlinburg by shopping in the stores we missed on the first visit. Wednesday's rain came as we were finishing our lunch, then slacked off but continued through most of our shopping. So far, it's rained every day . . . imagine that!

We headed back to the cabin to relax in the hot tub and get to bed.

This fish looks like an American flag!

Fishes . . . duh.

A shark swimming just above our heads!

Ella with Mommy

I held a horseshoe crab!

The fish that looked like a bush

Bubba Gump

The last baby standing (the one on the right!)

Day Six - Cades Cove

2007-06-28T10:09:00.000-05:00

The morning started with hot Krispy Kremes . . . which is always a good way to start, end, or get through any day. After showers, we packed a picnic lunch and headed out toward Cades Cove, an abandoned settlement in a flat area surrounded by mountains.

There are many coves in the Smokies, and they were often chosen by settlers as locations for communities. They provided fields for farming, trees for logging, and streams for milling. At its peak, this particular cove had over 100 families. It was used in the 90's as the setting for the "Christy" TV series based on the novel by Catherine Marshall about her mother's experiences as a teacher in a setting similar to the Cades Cove area.

The winding road to the cove took us over 20 miles from Gatlinburg, so by the time we got there, we were ready to eat. We pulled in to the picnic area and unloaded the ice chest and Wal-Mart bags. Sandwiches and chips were made, and we had just started enjoying the meal when, suddenly, we heard a rustling noise in the trees, growing increasingly loud by the second. We all looked at each other and asked, "is that rain?" I grabbed my camera from the table and stood up, then felt the first drop of rain as I lifted my leg over the table's bench. By the time I made it to the van, the rain was pouring.

By the time we had everything packed away and were all sitting in the van, the rain started to lighten. It moved out more slowly than it moved in, but the rain didn't last over thirty minutes. We finished the picnic in the van and pulled out to start driving the 11-mile loop around the cove.

We've always heard that you can see bears in the cove, but when we were here on our honeymoon, we only saw deer. A few miles into our trip this time, we had seen a few deer and several turkeys, but we were thinking we still weren't going to see a bear. Jessica has been looking forward to seeing a bear since we started planning our vacation, so she was very disappointed.

A little over half-way around the loop, we stopped at the visitor center and farm area. I like this area best because there is a lot to see in one stop, rather than one or two buildings, which is a lot more convenient with three kids and a stroller. When we were in the visitor center, I overheard one of the park employees telling a visitor about a "bear jam," a traffic backup created by the spotting of a bear. He said that if the gentleman had to sit in traffic for a while, that would probably be why.

When we left the center to head down the path exploring the rest of the buildings, I told everyone in our group about the bear. I didn't really think it would be there longer than a few minutes, and I thought that even if we left then, we'd miss it. So I suggested we keep looking around, and if it was still there, we'd see it on our way out. About a half-hour later, we loaded up the van and headed back for the loop. Probably a mile up the road, we saw a long line of traffic barely creeping along. We knew exactly what we were about to see . . . a BEAR!!!

We could finally see the end of the line, and there was a park ranger standing beside the road telling everyone to roll up their windows and not stop. So we did just that . . . closed the van doors, rolled up the windows, and drove by the bear. I steered with my left hand, resting my camera on my arm and snapping pictures with my right hand.

We took a new way home - leaving the beaten path for a less-traveled route. There were originally three roads entering the cove. One of these roads is number 8 on the auto tour - a seven-mile gravel road that heads out toward Townsend, winding up and through the mountains, taking travelers to another cove on the other side. It provides a great look at Cades Cove from high above, and it lets travelers slow down to ponder what it would have been like for the settlers to build and travel the same roads - in much worse condition.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Ella sitting on a split-rail fence

Jessica, Ella & me with the cove and mountains in the background

Ella with the mountains

The bear!

A look at the cove from high above

Day Five - Gatlinburg

2007-06-26T08:55:00.000-05:00

Monday was a slow day - probably the slowest day of our whole vacation. We didn't leave the cabin until 5:00 in the evening. Most of the day was spent napping, hot tubbing, cleaning, and just relaxing around the cabin.

Dinner at Lineberger's was great . . . can't say the same for the service or speed. A Chinese family came in after we had ordered and sat at the table next to ours. They ended up getting our appetizer, they had their food before we finally got our mushrooms, and they had finished their meals and left (and their table had been cleaned off) before we got ours. It took about an hour and a half from the time we walked in until we had our food. We were going to complain, but the food was so good it caused us to not say anything.

After dinner, we did some street shopping in Gatlinburg. The shops sit right on the edge of the Parkway (with a sidewalk, of course) and they sell anything from ice cream to pot pipes . . . guns and knives to purses and t-shirts. And then there are the candy stores!!! The sidewalks are fairly large, compared to those in Fredericktown, but they're kinda small when they're filled with hundreds of people and tons of strollers. It sure doesn't leave much room for a double stroller.

We've lost track of how many times people have come up to us and asked if Ella and Amelia are twins. At Applewood the other day, the hostess asked if they're twins and James said no. She said, "yeah, she's bigger," and pointed to Ella (who's three months younger.) Last night, a man pointed at them and said, "she laughed," meaning Ella, "but he didn't like it," meaning Amelia. Hmm . . . .

We shopped until around 10:30, then headed back to the cabin. Sometime around midnight, we cut into the watermelon (I was VERY disappointed - it wasn't ripe.) Julianna and I had been looking forward to it since we bought it Saturday night. We ended the night relaxing in the hot tub, then headed for bed.

Ella napping in Mommy & Daddy's bed

Aunt Jen pushing the girls around
Amelia taking advantage of Ella being asleep
Julianna enjoying her Baskin-Robbins chocolate ice cream in a chocolate-dipped cone . . . yummy!

Day Four - Apples & Exploration

2007-06-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a slow day – a day of rest. I tried sleeping in, but once everyone else was up, I had to get out of bed to see what was up. I couldn’t stay in bed while something was happening out in the rest of the cabin. We took it slow all morning – hot tub, pool, snacks, and TV. Sometime around 1:00 or 1:30, everyone was finally dressed and ready to go out into the world.

Lunch at Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant was awesome as usual. Their smoked pork loin with apple relish is awesome – and you get a ton of extras to go with your meal . . . apple julep, apple fritters, vegetable soup, salad, rolls, and dessert.

After lunch, we took one of the shorter scenic drives in the area – the Roaring Forks Auto Tour. It’s a winding one-way road up one side of a mountain and back down the other, exploring the area that was once home to some of the area’s earliest settlers. The folks had to abandon their farms and ways of life when the government took their land to create the national park. Some of the buildings we saw were original to their locations, while others had been moved from other neighboring farms and areas. One house we saw had been painted white with blue and yellow trim – the “only three colors Sears and Roebuck sold.” We stopped once along the auto tour to look at some of the buildings and wade in the stream. We also took some time for pictures. So far, I’ve taken 331 pictures since Thursday.

This is the third summer we’ve been here, and it seems like rain is both guaranteed and unpredictable. No sign of rain one minute, and a monsoon the next. That was the case yesterday. On the way back from Gatlinburg, it started raining – a lot. It poured practically the whole way back to the cabin, then let up just long enough for us to unload and get settled in for the evening; then it opened up and poured again – both vertically and horizontally. Sure, a charcoal grill probably works better when you’re not in the middle of a mountainside hurricane . . . but the experience was definitely a unique one!

Ella at Applewood

Old-fashioned ice cream maker

Welcome to the Apple Barn!

Ella at one of the buildings on the auto tour

Ella next to the split-rail fence

Us in the stream

Day Three - Arrival

2007-06-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

Just an hour behind schedule, we left Nashville around 11:00 on Saturday. I was definitely pleased that we were ONLY an hour behind. Somewhere between Crab Orchard and Knoxville, we hit the hardest rain I've ever driven through. Between the sheets of torrential rain, the hail, and the fog, it was all but impossible to see the cars ahead. Hundreds of cars were pulled over on a few-mile stretch of the interstate; we decided to creep along and not take the chance of being stuck on the shoulder for an hour or so.

Around 5:00, we made it to the office to check in to the cabin. We found the cabin and unloaded all our stuff, then went to the Mandarin House Chinese buffet (over 160 items). It was the first time I'd ever eaten potato salad at a Chinese restaurant! Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy our groceries for the week and headed back to the cabin to relax in the hot tub and finally crawl into bed as the calendar changed to day four.

View from the deck door

The kitchen

Wrap-around porch with swings, chairs & hot tub

Lean more about the cabin

Vacation, Days 1 & 2

2007-06-23T09:01:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, we loaded up the van a day early and headed out for a three-day trip to Gatlinburg. Ok, I know it only takes about eight hours, but we decided to take it slow on the way down. On Thursday, we went to Jessica's grandparents' house in Broseley (about half an hour east of Poplar Bluff.) We were greeted by a lunch of barbeque chicken, twice-baked potatoes, fresh tomatoes, macaroni & cheese, and salad. Wow - I can get used to a lunch like that! For dinner, we went to a Chinese buffet in Poplar Bluff.

Friday morning, we packed up and headed to Nashville. Jessica's uncle lives in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee - a suburb of Nashville. They have two twin two-year-old girls. We met Jessica's sister there. She has a three-year-old girl and a one-year-old girl. And we have a nine-month-old girl. Anyone keeping up with the math here? FIVE girls under four!!!

Friday night, we took all the girls to the Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills Mall. Sure, we used half our eating-out budget for one meal, but it was definitely worth it for the experience. We drove out to Phil & Beverly's new house and took the tour - the walls are up and the roof is on. On the way back, we stopped by Dairy Queen. Wow - a large Blizzard is about the size of an extra-small concrete at Dairy Bar. It definitely made us appreciate what we've got!!!

It's 9:09 on Saturday morning and we're getting ready for breakfast. We're hoping to leave Nashville around 10:00 so we can make it to the cabin between 4 and 5. We'll see how it works out - we haven't seen Jennifer all morning . . . it may be a while before she surfaces from the basement. Here are some pictures . . . .

Ella with Granny & Pa's dog, Suzie

Ella in the kitchen floor

Granny reading Ella her bedtime story, Noah and the Ark

Us at the Rainforest Cafe

The Five Girls

I'm Alive . . .

2007-06-07T00:31:00.001-05:00

. . . really, I am. If you've noticed that I haven't posted in . . . um
. . . two weeks . . . it's because I've been frantically working on my
internship. I have the ISLLC test on Saturday (it's the certification
test for administrators - six hours of writing) and comps on the 19th.
I HAVE to get my internship projects finished before the 15th so Dr.
Bertrand can look at them before my comps. Then I have two summer
classes (Foundations of Administration and Administration of Special Ed)
and I'm FINISHED!!! I can't wait! As you can see, I've been way too
busy to blog, but I hope to have time to catch up soon. I'll definitely
try to share some pictures and thoughts from vacation (June 21 - 30) and
maybe I can share some exciting news from the job hunt??? We'll see!
Still working in that department, too! But for now, it's 12:30 AM . . .
time for bed!!!

Last Day of School!

2007-05-23T07:55:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of the 2006-07 school year. In just over three hours, the final bell will ring and the busses will come to take the students home for the last time this year. The staff will meet at a local church camp for the annual retirement dinner, and at 3:00 PM, we'll all go our separate ways for the summer.

Summer . . . . Often cited as one of the best reasons to be a teacher, the two and a half months of "vacation" are usually loaded with tasks and projects, and by the time August rolls around, we'll be ready to get back in the groove just so we can relax.

Relax . . . . For the past few months, I've been building my summer calendar, trying to allow plenty of time for family and relaxation, but also trying to cram in seven more hours of classes and leave time to finish up my internship. I'm passing on summer school because we only had ten students enroll for our yearbook program. Instead, I will use a few of those days to help out for career ladder hours and try to finish some of my internship projects.

Projects . . . . Almost a year ago, I started an addition on our house, creating a spare bedroom and an office. The entire project should have taken about a month, but with some unscheduled life events, I often had to put it on the back burner. So now, eleven months later, I still have carpet and trim to finish. That's one of the things at the top of my to-do list for this summer . . . and it had better get checked off.

Off . . . . That's what people think about teachers when they hear that summer is approaching. Most people think that teachers have three months (but it's really just two and a half) off with nothing to do . . . free vacation . . . and we're getting paid for it. Actually, our salaries are divided over twelve months for convenience, and for most teachers, summer is anything but vacation. Professional development, summer school, college courses, and curriculum meetings are ongoing and take up much of that time. And on August 13, we'll all look back and wonder where the time went.

Jerry Falwell

2007-05-17T11:54:00.000-05:00

I don’t know why I am so drawn to controversial people. I try to avoid being personally involved in controversy at any cost, but for some reason, I admire those who tend to run their mouths a little too much and get things stirred up more than they should. One such person on my top-ten list is Rev. Jerry Falwell.

Shortly after the story broke in 1999 that Rev. Falwell accused Tinky Winky of being gay, I had the opportunity to hear him speak at Bailey Smith’s Real Evangelism Conference at Arnold FBC. He talked about ten signs that would point to the end of the world. I know . . . very encouraging message, right? I wrote them all down and carried them in my Bible for the next few years, and I think the list is even still tucked away in that Bible, on a shelf somewhere.

A man of vision and passion, Rev. Falwell always had an opinion about everything. (Maybe that’s why I admired him so much. I tend to have an opinion about everything, too . . . I just try to keep it to myself.) The founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University, he worked hard to champion the causes for which he lived. I don’t agree with his staunch opposition to public schools, but I do understand the reasons and passion behind his stance. I also appreciate the work he has done in the political arena. Some have credited him with the election of Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George W. Bush.

On Tuesday, conservatives lost a dear friend and strong ally. Through all of the turmoil and controversy, Jerry Falwell was a faithful follower who carried out his mission on earth in the way he believed God wanted him to. I may never be on all the cable news shows for ticking off as many people as he did. I may never establish a church, university, or grassroots political organization. I do hope that when my life ends, someone will be able to look at what I have done and say that I fulfilled God’s purpose in my lifetime.

Back to the Future

2007-05-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

If you could jump ahead about thirty years and see where you’d be in life, would you want to? If you were suddenly thrown into the future and saw the results that your actions had on other people’s lives, what would change in your life?

Last weekend, we returned to the Pine Hill drive-in for our first movie of the 2007 season: “Meet the Robinsons.” As many of you know, I jumped on the whole “boycott Disney” bandwagon a decade ago, and I’ve been very reluctant to jump off. Disney has made some very anti-family moves over the past ten years, and I have a sour taste in my mouth for them. I often have to remember that most companies in today’s society are just like Disney, and in order to appropriately justify my stance against Disney, I’d have to boycott most companies with which I do business on a regular basis. So . . . I saw the movie.

In “Meet the Robinsons,” an orphaned boy travels through time to try to stop an evil villain (the worst evil villain you’ve ever seen, and I don’t mean worst as in a bad guy . . . this guy couldn’t steal an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition because he’d foul up the whole plot before he ever opened the door) from crushing his dream. It’s a very elaborate story with some funny moments (“I have a big head and little arms, and I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through. Master?”)

Spoiler warning: If you haven’t seen the movie yet, stop reading, watch the movie, and then come back. If you have seen it, or you don’t want to see it, keep reading.

In the end, we find out that Lewis grows up to be Cornelius, the patriarch of the Robinson family. His inventions have changed the world, and without his dedication to his personal motto, “Keep moving forward,” many of the inventions of the future world would have never been made. We also find out that the villain was Lewis’s roommate in the orphanage, and some of Lewis’s actions in his childhood were the reasons Goob grew up to be so evil.

At the end of the movie, a Walt Disney quote appears. “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things - because we're curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We're always exploring and experimenting.” At that point, it’s obvious that the creators want the audience to reflect on Cornelius’s motto and realize that Walt’s dream is still alive today.

In life, we have two options. We can either keep moving forward, or we can stop and start pointing fingers. We can choose to be a Lewis or a Goob. Both boys were orphans; they had the same experiences and the same setbacks in life. Lewis chose to keep moving forward, not getting bogged down with the disappointments in life and never giving up when failure reared its ugly head. Goob chose to wallow in self pity and point accusing fingers at others around him, blaming his lack of achievement on anyone but himself and harboring resentment for those who were successful.

In the search for a new job, it’s often easy to give up after trying so hard. I’m getting to the point where I don’t know if I can take one more rejection. I keep remembering that God has a plan, and that I must look back for only a few seconds, taking note of learning experiences; then I must keep moving forward as new doors open and new paths come my way. What about you? Are you looking back, or are you moving forward?

Identity Crisis

2007-05-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

One of the latest trends in commercials deals with identity. You've seen the Hertz commercials where a shifty crony from a cut rate car rental company goes under cover to find out what Hertz offers that makes them the best. Then there are the Mac commercials where the guy portraying a PC is a slightly-overweight, unattractive, nerdy middle-age man who is constantly plagued with malfunctions and a host of other problems, and the guy portraying a Mac is a young, smart, attractive, 20-something who, in a few words, has everything, does everything, and is everything. Perhaps the most popular of all are the Citibank commercials about identity theft, where a voice-over tells how they used an unsuspecting victim's credit card to finance a shopping spree that is obviously unrelated to the victim's way of life.

In each of these examples, identity plays a huge role in the scene, the interest of the audience, and the ultimate message of the commercial. Today's society places a large emphasis on identity and its protection and conveyance.

I have a sneaky suspicion that there is an identity crisis among folks in the education community. Aside from the fact that we claim to be a profession but have never been treated as professionals, we often find that our identity within the school structure is often confused, contributing to conflict, unrealized expectations, and a constant weathering away of morale. While this crisis is prevalent among teachers and classified staff, it begins at the leadership level, where it perhaps inflicts the most damage on the overall climate.

Everyone in K-12 public education begins as a teacher. From there, some become building principals. Some principals become assistant superintendents, superintendents, or fill other central office staff positions. All administrators have, at one time in their career, spent time in a classroom. But it's amazing to me how many of them forgot that part of their identity once they moved from the classroom to the office.

The most effective administrators that I have ever worked with and for remember what it was like in the trenches. They remember how taxing the life of a teacher can be. They remember to make decisions that are in the best interest of students, not parents or board members or community leaders. They remember that test scores mean nothing and that children mean everything.

On the other hand, those who left the role of teacher behind when they accepted an administration position have adopted the philosophy that they are a supervisor of employees who need constant direction. They approach their job with what McGregor called the Theory X type of motivation. They are the micro managers whose mission is to always be a thorn in the side of the teachers, prodding them along to a specified goal. They perform to please their supervisor, the local school board, parents, and the community. They forget the real reason of education and focus on data more than students.

I've often said that when I sit down behind a principal's desk for the first time, I will not be taking off my "teacher" hat and putting on my "principal" hat. I will never say, "I was a teacher; now I'm an administrator." I am a teacher; I have been a teacher; I will always be a teacher. In my new role, I will happen to be the lead teacher in the building - the one who makes the executive decisions and is responsible for the overall operation of the building. By no means will I be the best teacher in the building. I will be a resource for my fellow teachers. I will help them improve; I will help them share ideas; I will help them make a difference in students' lives. I will not simply be a supervisor, making sure employees show up on time and crank out a quality product.

My mission is not to make $50,000 a year, to get the next promotion, or to please a group of people. My purpose in life is to use my gifts and abilities to make the greatest possible impact on public education. If I am going to fulfill that mission, I must make a strong commitment to the identity of a teacher. It will never happen if I fall victim to the identity crisis that often comes with a new title. My title may change, but my identity must always remain, a teacher.

The Merit Pay Debate

2007-05-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

As we approach the end of the school year, there are plenty of controversial conversations springing up in Missouri education. I have a feeling we're in for a few major shifts in the coming years - either by choice or by force. I think we, as educators, can help facilitate those shifts on our own terms so that, even if they are forced upon us, we will have a say in the fallout resulting from them. I also think that, as these changes come about, we have the opportunity to make education the profession we've always longed for it to be.

One of the most controversial topics we're faced with is merit pay. If you mention that in a room full of teachers, be prepared for anything! You never know what kind of response you will get. I definitely understand both sides of the debate, but I truly believe that if we ever want to see what we do make the leap from a job to a profession, we MUST address this issue.

Probably the biggest hurdle we have to get over in this debate is the "we've never done it that way before" mentality. Because our pay scale has traditionally been based solely on seniority and education, those who have been in the profession a while can't imagine any other way working. It's also hard to trust a new system when the current one has "worked" so well for so long.

The second problem we have is with those who are afraid of being compared with others. When opponents say "no one wants to be a loser," they're right. But some people ARE losers. I'm not talking about the ones we walk up to with our fingers in the "L" sign on our forehead, but the ones who have settled into their 8-3 job, nine months a year, with laminated lesson plans. Just like we'll never get 100% of students to score in the top two categories on the MAP, we'll never get all teachers to cover the GLEs and put forth 100% effort. They settle for 75, 80, or 90%. And they're afraid that, when they're compared with other teachers, they won't make as much money. Although there aren't that many of those teachers out there, unfortunately, they're usually very loud and try to stifle those who want to change the status quo.

I'll admit - I'm not a 100% teacher. There are plenty of teachers out there who do a much better job. I try . . . but I fall short plenty of times. But I'm the yearbook adviser, media club sponsor, academic team coach, CTA president, region MSTA past president, and an MSTA board member. When you start talking about merit pay, where do all the extras come in? Do we continue career ladder? Do we restructure it as well? Does involvement in extracurricular activities play into the merit pay? Once we've overcome the "never done it before" mentality and stopped worrying about making comparisons, then we've got to look at how to structure a system to recognize everyone's contributions and efforts.

As I was getting ready for school last week, I was listening to the conversation on Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel. Someone was talking about the differences between the generations, and how the latest generation is having a problem handling criticism on the job. They cry when they're talked to by their supervisors. Someone on the show said that it could have something to do with the fact that we teach kids that there are no winners or losers - in soccer, they play the game, but no team wins. Hmm . . . does that sound familiar? No winners or losers - let's just pay everyone the same, no matter how well or how poorly they do their job. What other "profession" pays its employees that way?

Merit pay unfair? Maybe . . . but life isn't always fair. Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned about it not being fair for a few and concentrate on how much MORE fair it would be for all those who do an excellent job (of course, NEVER based solely on test scores).

My Top Ten

2007-05-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've been directing people to my blog so they can learn a little more about who I am. At some point, I realized that 57 (now 58) posts might be a little overwhelming for a newcomer, and most new readers may only read what's on the first page, not wanting to dig throug the archives. While I think everything I have written has been important in some way (imagine that), there are a few posts that I'd include on my list of favorites. I started with a top five list, but it quickly expanded to a top ten list. So . . . if you've never visited my blog before, or if you've only read recent posts, check out some of my ten favorites! Enjoy!!!

Oh, Baby!
Life Together
Life Plan
Parent Connection
Things That Make You Go Hmmm...
Educational Equality
A Law By Any Other Name
This is Why We Teach
What's That Noise?
Home Improvement

Educational Equality

2007-04-24T14:14:00.000-05:00

Educational equality is a catch phrase that has been thrown around in circles of influence lately. Although a decades-old concept and continuing struggle, it is something that has most recently shaped legislative and executive decisions in both federal and state governments. The lynchpin of the accountability-touting, government-aggrandizing No Child Left Behind Act, the notion of providing an equal educational opportunity to all children has become a pawn in the political arena of education reform.

Perhaps my inexperienced mind has trouble comprehending this concept, but I believe “equal” simply means that everyone is given a fair chance. I also believe it means that no one is given preferential treatment. If you would ask any first-grade student in Missouri, he or she would tell you that “equal” means “the same.” So why do bureaucrats and lawmakers have such a hard time defining the word?

It seems as though, in the spirit of education reform and government intervention, we have given in to the notion that in order to provide an equal educational opportunity, we must not maintain a level playing field. Instead, we must identify groups of students – by race, socioeconomic status, learning ability, etc. – that have traditionally felt marginalized by the education system, and customize the services provided to them at the expense of those groups that have traditionally been successful in the existing setting.

In Missouri, we have subsidized a failing inner-city school system where the grip of teacher’s unions has stifled improvement measures, forced desegregation has depleted the quality of the student base, and district and city leaders have resisted real reform. While the St. Louis Public Schools system spends $9,500 per student, in Southeast Missouri, a small school struggles to maintain quality programs due to decreased funding, spending $7,650 per student and yet out-performing the city schools.

The Missouri legislature currently has a view of educational equality based on the data from one test and the amount of state aid given to certain districts. In their view, the funding formula that they developed is equal for all districts. They do not consider the inequity introduced by the dollar value modifier, which funnels an exponentially greater amount of money to St. Louis city and the districts in its surrounding counties and in some cases provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional funding to one district and not its immediate neighbor.

If the big-heads in Washington, D.C. and Jefferson City would sit down and come up with a definition of “educational equality” from the literal meanings of the words, I believe they would examine the policies that are currently in place and realize that much inequality currently exists in the very measures that they tout as creating equality. We are at a point in the history of our democracy where politicians base much of their rhetoric on their influence in public education – no matter their level of experience in classroom instruction. When conservative ideologies of educational accountability, liberal social agendas, and spending tactics of both sides of the aisle enter the equation, the mess that can result from their ignorant approaches at “fixing” problems is catastrophic.

Something

2007-04-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

Today, our life group is embarking on a forty-day journey through the book of Acts. We will be exploring the lives of those in the early church and looking at how God used ordinary people to chart a course that we're still following two thousands years later. Because Jessica and I are the "Grow Champions" for our group, our leader, Jason, called me at 4:00 last Wednesday, as I was heading home from Jefferson City, and asked if we would create a reading plan and present it to the group on Thursday night. Talk about short notice! Not wanting to let him down, I reluctantly agreed, thinking I would just do a quick Internet search and print off something that someone else had already put together.

There is no 40-day reading plan for Acts . . . anywhere. At least I couldn't find one. After about an hour of searching, I decided if I would have anything to present, I would need to get busy. I started at the beginning, trying to create natural breaks while keeping each day's reading around fifteen verses. For the most part, it worked out that way.

As I flipped through Acts and typed a list of all the topics that we'd be reading about, I began to think about what happened throughout the book. God used ordinary people - sometimes less-than-ordinary people - to carry the most important message to the world. I started to think back to an Old Testament verse that I've claimed as my life verse for the past decade. Habakkuk 1:5 says, "Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” Don't you think that the believers of the early church were shown things that they would never believe?

I originally planned to call our journey "40 Days of Mission," but after thinking about how this verse relates to Acts, and how much it means in my own life, I decided to call it "Something." I think the next forty days will be so important for our group that, before I left school on Thursday, I created a blog for us to share our what God says to us.

I'm watching. I believe that the “something” in my days will be as great as or greater than what Paul and Barnabas and Luke and Peter experienced. And I believe that I will be amazed at what He does in my life, life group, church, community, state, nation, and world.

Count Your Blessings

2007-04-18T07:17:00.000-05:00

It's a trite cliche that you've heard over and over - something that you may often attribute to old blue-haired women without a care in the world who go around spouting religious jargon all the time . . . "suffering for Christ," "bless your soul," "count your blessings . . . ." Or you may think of it as another one of those hymns that has been overused in churches for years. It wouldn't hurt to take a fresh look at the phrase and consider heeding the advice. Take a few minutes today to count your blessings.

Things that make you go, "hmmm..."

2007-04-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

My school began MAP testing yesterday. The annual assessment is Missouri's benchmark program to purportedly rate the improvement of its 524 school districts. Because it compares each class of students with those coming before and after them, it does not provide an accurate picture of the progress, but the idea is at least commendable - they're trying to make the public THINK that comparing apples and oranges is adequate. While the debate about the usefulness of MAP scores in any comparison (between different groups of students, different districts, different buildings, etc.) will continue until something new comes out of Jeff City, we'll keep plugging away, trying our best to teach the concepts and content of the test and bribing students to do their best each year.

Being a MAP administrator is not always a bad thing. It allows content area teachers to see what is tested so they can better understand the expectations of the test. It also gives us a chance to see how students answer the questions, write for prompts, and test in general. As exciting as all of that may seem, the last two days have provided a couple of "chuckle moments" for me.

This morning, as I was reading the prescribed instructions that "must be read verbatim," I noticed that the students were having to close and open their test books a lot. At one point, I smiled as I realized that I had just asked them to look over a part of the session and close their books, and then ten seconds later, I was asking them to open their books to the next part of the session. As amusing as that was to me, a separate set of instructions was even funnier: "Stop. Please close your test books. Please open your test books to . . . ." In almost the SAME BREATH, I was asking them to close and open their books. No wonder MAP testing is so exhausting!

A few of my funny moments can't be shared because they were answers that I noticed students writing. Because there are no "released items" on this year's test, I can't talk about those answers until the items finally are released and the questions are made public. Until then, I'll just remember them from time to time and smile inside as I think about how funny they were.

Our teachers and counselors have found that many pencils do not erase very well - especially Papermate. The absolute best pencil we've found is the Dixon Ticonderoga. There's something about the "lead" and eraser that makes this a great choice for any situation - especially testing. Yesterday, as I was looking at the box that my pencils were in, I noticed the words "An American Original" emblazoned on the front. Feeling my patriotic side tweaked just a bit, I felt proud that our nation had produced such a wonderful product. The pride lasted only a second as I glanced a little lower on the box to notice a sticker that had been haphazardly affixed: "Made in Mexico."

Then there's this . . . with all the concern about terrorism and illegal immigration, you'd think states would have citizenship requirements for its public school teachers. A couple of weeks ago in my School Law class, Dr. Kiehne brought up the topic and asked if I would do a little research. He said there is a lawsuit in New York over a requirement that public school teachers must be US citizens. I'll reference it later when I remember (or find out again) the name of the case. Apparently some states are looking at their requirements for teachers and realizing that no such citizenship requirement exists. The very people who are teaching our children about American government and history . . . about citizenship . . . are not required to be American citizens themselves.

The next morning, I searched the Missouri Revised Statutes and only found that the Commissioner of Education must be a citizen of Missouri, and school board members must be residents of the district on whose board they serve. Other than that, I could find no residency or citizenship requirements in the law. Next, I emailed my information source at MSTA headquarters to find out if DESE had a policy, rule or guideline (or if I had just overlooked something in the law.) She passed my request to someone at DESE who replied that there is nothing that says you must be a US citizen to have a certificate to teach in the state.

After I reported my findings to Dr. Kiehne, he spoke with his state representative, who was not aware that such a loophole existed. He vowed to "check in to it" and see if something could be done. In an effort to see what our Republican House leadership will do when this issue is brought to their attention, I will mention it to Speaker Rod Jetton when I meet with him next Wednesday. Since the current leaders are pandering to their conservative base with resolutions guaranteeing students' rights to silent prayer in public schools and making every possible attempt to push vouchers and private school initiatives, my money is on seeing a bill on next year's calendar making US citizenship a requirement for Missouri teacher certification. Anything less would just be un-American.

In this corner . . .

2007-04-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

If you've been keeping up with the St. Louis Public Schools issue, you're aware that they are now unaccredited, and the state is in the process of taking over. From the reports I've read about recent state board meetings, the fight has begun.

In one corner: SLPS and its board, administrators, teachers, students and parents.
In the other corner: DESE and the state board (and some students and parents).

A transitional board has been appointed, and effective June 15, 2007, students in the district will have the opportunity to transfer to a district in a neighboring county.

The school board met today to authorize an appeal of the unaccreditation, and in a 6-0 vote, they removed their president, who will continue to serve as a board member.

DESE has provided a FAQ sheet to answer questions for those who are interested.

The past few weeks have been interesting as our state makes the first move at revealing the teeth in their school improvement program. It will be very interesting to see where it goes from here. We can only hope that any decisions that are made are in the best interest of the students.

Audrey's Alive!

2007-04-11T14:12:00.000-05:00

For anyone who has ever accused 24 of “jumping the shark,” I say you must not be a true fan. If you were, you’d realize that the Jack Bauer rollercoaster was just plummeting down a hill, and there’s another twist just around the corner. Exhibit A: The phone call at the end of this week’s episode. Congratulations to all the 24 Forum posters who accurately predicted that Audrey in fact wasn’t “died,” but that she would be back soon (I wonder how you ever figured that one out.)

Another memorable line that will live in the annals of 24 – in the previews for next week, when Jack asks Wayne to send someone to get Audrey, and Wayne says no, Jack says, “you owe me.” My opinion? Jack should get anything he asks for – and a lobster dinner on the side.

The Parent Connection

2007-04-11T13:43:00.000-05:00

My wife and I divide our holidays between both of our families, while our sisters usually only have one family to devote time to. That often leads to many people adjusting their schedules around ours, which is something that I am not comfortable with. Fortunately, everyone has been understanding so far.

Since I agreed to work in the tech area at church on Sunday, it wasn’t going to be possible to spend Easter day with both families, so we spent Saturday at my in-laws’ and Sunday afternoon at my parents’. My teenage sister-in-law has her own bathroom in the basement, and since the other one was being used, I was forced to make the journey into the mysterious underworld of . . . well, teenage girl bathrooms. It’s definitely not somewhere I enjoy spending time.

I noticed a large-print Reader’s Digest in the floor, with an eye-catching headline glaring back at me: “How to Raise an A+ Student: Three very different families reveal their secrets to success.” I was hooked. I had to read it.

When the article began with, “when it comes to education, our children are in trouble . . . up to a quarter of them don't finish high school . . . of those who do and go on to college, more than four in ten need remedial classes,” I began to expect that this would be another typical public school bashing that I have become so accustomed to. The author did continue by saying that “there are plenty of reasons for all that failure -- from a stultifying school bureaucracy to reform-resistant teachers unions to poorly qualified teachers.” But then he abandoned the rhetoric to point out something that few people outside of education venture to tackle: home life.

“Dozens of studies have shown that the most consistent indicators of student achievement -- more than income or social status -- are the home environment and parental involvement.” The use of standardized testing to measure school improvement and student success assumes that all children have the same – or at least similar – personal experiences, expectations, and values. These tests and the bureaucratic policymakers who champion them seek to hold schools responsible for every child’s entire education, and they leave no burden for the students themselves or their parents. The research cited in this article begs for this approach to be re-examined.

An old MSTA promo video that I have shown to new hires in our district for the past six years says, “Gone are the days of Mayberry and Wally and Beaver Cleaver.” Back then, parents took active roles in their children’s education. Today, teachers and their curriculum often compete with the complacency of home. Don’t get me wrong – I know there are still parents who do care, and hold their children to high standards. They take an active role in the lives of their children, helping them learn; molding their lives with new experiences; being role models of what it means to be a lifelong learner. In a class of 25-30, I can usually point out the students who come from that kind of home life. Unfortunately, I can often point out the ones who don’t as well. Congruent with the research from this article, I can usually sort the class by grades and draw a line in the middle of the page to show you the same lists.

If parental involvement and home environment are so important to student achievement, why don’t we do something about it? It’s time we, as educators and leaders in our profession, do. MSTA Executive Director Kent King spoke to our CTA recently and devoted a portion of his message to this concept.

We need to start at the local level . . . involve parents more . . . communicate with them more . . . listen to them more. My School Law class meets at Kingston. The first week, I noticed that their sign said they would be offering “parenting classes.” Maybe we should offer training on how to parent a teenager; how to parent a grade-schooler; how to parent a high-schooler. Maybe we should teach parents how to help their children with homework; how important it is to be involved; simple ways they can incorporate learning into their lives.

Next, we need to make this a statewide issue. We need resolutions addressing parental accountability. Kent suggested resolutions for student accountability: “No Pass-No Drive,” and “No Pass-No Play.” Maybe we should have resolutions about parent involvement and holding parents accountable for the children’s education. Kent mentioned “No Pass-No Check.” Maybe that would get some people’s attention. Withhold welfare funds for parents whose children aren’t passing. They’re quick to suggest withholding our paychecks if their children don’t pass.

Finally - and probably hardest - we need to take this to the federal government. "No Child Left Behind" assumes that the school district raises the child. In the interest of political correctness and vote pandering, they want to make everyone think that socio-economic conditions, racial inequities, and gender differences have no effect on education and should be conquerable by changing the curriculum and certification of the teachers. They aren't going to admit that parents - those who go to the ballot box and cast the vote - are responsible as well.

While I realize these topics are very controversial, we must address the issue – and there has to be some way that parents can be held more accountable. Any ideas?

A Parent's Loss

2007-04-11T13:06:00.000-05:00

I’ll admit – I’m addicted to email. My wife has often accused me of it, and I’ve always denied it. But sometimes, it’s just reassuring to check in and make sure I don’t have an unread message waiting for me in cyberspace. If I don’t have a chance to check it during the day, I’ll check it at night – which just reinforces my wife’s theory of addiction.

On Monday, after mowing and trimming the entire yard . . . and even using some total vegetation killer to get rid of the weeds that plague my red-block patio every year, I plugged in the phone line and connected. I was hoping to hear from someone regarding a job – or maybe a reply about some of my coursework – but I only found prayer requests from church . . . quite a few of them, actually.

Most of the requests were the usual . . . health updates, doctor visits, illness, etc. . . . items that you sometimes look at, whisper a prayer, and then delete. But one request got my attention, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since.

Chris Carr, an area native, is well known for his accomplishments on the basketball court – in high school, college, and professionally. Most people around here recognize his name and remember the radio broadcasts of his high school games. Around 4 am Saturday morning, Chris’s four-year-old daughter suddenly died in her mother’s arms. The first prayer request said that she had suffered a heart attack; a later update said that the cause was being cited (pending an autopsy) as heart failure.

I’ve heard people say that there is nothing more unnatural than living through the death of a child. I last heard that comment from one of our MSTA field staff when one of our salary consultants experienced the loss of his son. No matter the age, I can’t imagine the devastation that a parent must feel to go through something so horrible. But for a mother to hold her four-year old in her arms as she breathes her last breath – it must feel unbearable.

The Carr family is leaning on God through this. The girl’s funeral was today, and I know that there have been a lot of people across the country praying for them. The past few nights, I have woken up to a crying baby in the room across the hall. As I would put her pacifier back in and tuck her back into bed, I would think about the wonderful blessing that God has given us in our daughter, and how precious she is. I’d also think about the Carr family and the incredible emptiness they must be feeling without their daughter. As I’d drift back to sleep, I’d ask God to comfort them – especially during the night.

When a parent experiences a loss like this, it’s a reminder to all parents that our children are not ours at all – they belong to God. He is loaning them to us – entrusting them to our care. One day, He will take them back to be with Him. Only He knows when that time will be. We must make the most of every second we are given with them.

Bang for Your Buck

2007-04-04T12:17:00.001-05:00

I'm usually not a supporter of "legislating from the bench." It seems like the court systems have controlled our lives way too much over the last fifty-plus years, and they have often ruled in ways that have made our jobs as educators much more difficult. Our representative form of government ensures - if only in theory - that the will of the people is considered before laws are passed. Activist judges do not answer to constituents, and are therefore free to rule without fear of losing their jobs. So in most cases, law-making ability should, as it does, belong to the legislative branch, and interpretation should, as it does, belong to the judicial branch.

Another beautiful aspect of our government is the system of checks and balances. When one branch of government has overstepped its bounds or not adequately performed its job, another branch can overrule its actions.

During the last legislative session, the Missouri legislature passed, and Governor Blunt signed, a new funding formula for school districts. As a result of threatening legal action from the Committee for Educational Equality, leaders in both houses took up the issue and, in a matter of a few months, passed what they thought was an adequate and equal formula.

Some would say that the legislature succeeded in its attempt to rewrite the way the state funds its 524 school districts. Others contend the new formula caters to certain areas of the state, adversely affects funding of rural districts, and with its seven-year phase-in period, will not be adequately funded for almost an entire generation of students. The CEE followed through with their lawsuit this year.

Alex Bartlett, attorney for the committee, said, "I don’t think that one can say with a straight face that an equal opportunity is being provided to kids throughout the state."

Bartlett's arguments have been countered by the attorney general's office. Chris Quinn asserts that the students and parents have not testified that Missouri's educational system has harmed or hindered them. "This is not a case brought by concerned students or parents," Quinn said. "This case was brought by a political organization funded by Missouri public school boards that voted to fund litigation."

According to msta.org, "many of the superintendents who testified came from districts where ACT and MAP scores were above the state average, Quinn said, making it difficult to argue a lack of achievement."

So here's our problem . . . outsiders who view the state's education system as a burden to society want to link funding and achievement. You can't! You could search all day and not be able to prove that more money equals better education. I agree with Republican leadership that "throwing money at the problem" will never, in and of itself, solve the problems with education.

If you look at the achievement of the districts who are involved in the lawsuit, they are making ends meet - they may have to reduce their work force; they may have to freeze salaries; they may have to use decades-old texts. But the teachers in those districts are doing their jobs. They are performing - and so are their students.

I wonder if Mr. Quinn has looked at the districts who are not in the suit - the suburban and urban districts who have the maximum dollar value modifier . . . the ones who have 75%, 100%, 125% reserves . . . the ones who have high tax levies and assessed valuations. I wonder if he has compared the resources those districts receive and their test scores with the resources poorer districts receive and their test scores. I would bet that if he would, he would see that those districts who are financially strapped are providing the same - if not better - quality of education to their students.

As we reach the end of the 2006-07 school year, and make plans for next year, I see the results of the new formula in two districts - mine and my wife's. My district cannot afford a raise for its teachers, while many similar-sized districts, who are better funded under the new formula, can. My wife's district is freezing salaries for next year. Teachers will not move on the salary schedule - they will be making the same amount next year as they made this year (minus .5% for the increase in retirement contributions.) Both districts are forced to look for areas to cut a few positions to balance their budgets. Will student achievement be hurt? Probably not. Will teachers have to work that much harder to provide a quality education? Probably.

For years, teachers in urban and suburban districts have been paid better while their districts have received substantially more money. And for years, rural educators have settled for lower pay and less resources. It seems to me that our state has been getting a lot of bang for its buck, and I only hope Judge Richard Callahan understands that and forces the legislature to re-examine the formula to provide for districts like mine that continue to improve and perform without adequate funding.

It's Not Rocket Science, Folks!

2007-03-28T13:36:00.000-06:00

"We need to stay the course. The mission is doable, and we don't need to back off that right now." It's not the latest blurb on Iraq or even an attack on the critics of Al Gore's crusade to end global warming. It's not even about finding out who is the father of Anna Nicole's baby. The latest "stay the course" rhetoric is from U.S. Deputy Education Secretary Raymond Simon in "'No Child' Target Is Called Out of Reach: Goal of 100% Proficiency Debated as Congress Weighs Renewal," an article from the March 14 issue of the Washington Post. The mission he's talking about is 100% of students nationwide scoring proficient or advanced on mandatory tests by the year 2012.

You'd think someone in charge of the nation's education system would know a little bit about statistics and probability, but according to Robert L. Linn, co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing at UCLA, Mr. Simon's mission is impossible. "There is a zero percent chance that we will ever reach a 100 percent target," Linn said. "But because the title of the law is so rhetorically brilliant, politicians are afraid to change this completely unrealistic standard. They don't want to be accused of leaving some children behind."

Brilliant! Teachers from coast to coast have been arguing Mr. Linn's point for years, but we've been accused of trying to lower standards, giving up on kids, and avoiding our professional responsibility.

No Child Left Behind has not been entirely bad, and there are aspects that should probably be salvaged. It has spurred plenty of conversation and brought everyone's attention to school improvement measures. It has made us reconsider why we teach what we teach, and in some cases it has been a good tool for such evaluation. Besides the fact that it tries to shift responsibility for education from the states and local communities to the federal government and peddles unfunded mandates like crazy, the crucial fault lies with the law's preposterous notion that 100% of any group of students can score proficient or advanced on a single test.

President Bush, Secretary Spellings and Deputy Secretary Simon, listen to the experts. As Southeast Missourians like to say, "ain't gonna happen."

Ch- Ch- Changes

2007-03-28T11:10:00.000-06:00

From a Roman prison, Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Philippi, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." We usually read that verse and say, "aw, that's nice," and then move on through the rest of the letter. How often do we stop and think about what Paul was saying then - and what God has for us to learn from it today? "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am."

Since I got my driver's license in 1995, I have owned six different vehicles. I've worked at four part-time jobs over the last ten years (switching between two of them a couple different times), and I have looked or applied for a different job each year since I started teaching. If my wife would let me, I'd try to find a different house every other year. For some reason, I'm never content - always wanting something new . . . something different . . . something better.

Over the last seven months, my blog has been an ever-evolving creation. Not happy with the original template I chose (mostly because it was a two-column design and I wanted three), I set out to find a custom template from the Internet. When I finally found one I liked, I started tweaking it to add new features and create just the right look for me. When I ran into limitations with the template's structure, I went searching for codes I could use to bypass certain features that couldn't be turned off or modified.

The biggest challenge I've run into so far has been getting rid of the generic header with title and subhead and replacing it with my own graphic. Today, I finally accomplished it! It was a VERY easy fix - I just had to change the fixed value to 'true' and then I was able to remove it on the page elements screen and add the picture. (I also had to figure out how wide to make the pic - just a little trial and error.) Now I can change the picture whenever the notion strikes - until I get exactly what I'm looking for.

Yesterday, I discovered Shelfari - a free online book community where you can set up groups and share lots of information about the books you own, maintain a top-ten list, current reading list, wishlist, and more . . . I really haven't explored that much about it. What I like about it is that you can share your list on your blog - and it uses the actual picture of the book cover. What I haven't figured out is how to share two different lists on the same blog. I want to share my bookshelf AND the books I'm currently reading . . . but I'm still working on that one. Until I figure that out, you can click on the link above the bookshelf to go to my personal Shelfari page.

Where will I go from here? Who knows! Every day I think of new features I could add and design changes that could improve the look and function. As long as the blog stays active, it will continue to change.

Change . . . you either love it or you hate it. You either long for it or you resist it. Paul said that he learned to be content. Contentment does not come naturally. I'm at a point in my life where I'm not very content at all. When I think about the size of my house or certain aspects about my job, it's really easy for me to start complaining and long for something better. Will I ever be content with what I have? No. I'll always want something bigger, newer, better. I have to remember the great things I already have - a wonderful wife, a beautiful daughter, countless friends, the love of God . . . and I have to learn to be content.

Southeast Region Meeting 2007

2007-03-26T11:21:00.000-06:00

On Friday, I had the privelege of presiding over the Southeast Region MSTA Spring Teachers Meeting. The marathon of meetings began at 9:00 am with the executive committee, followed by the 10:00 Assembly of Delegates and 11:30 Honorees Luncheon - complete with a visit from the Governor!

Here is my President's Report . . . .

It has been a privilege to serve as your Southeast Region MSTA President this year. As I traveled around the region and met with many of you, I found that our region has some of the best teachers and leaders in the state, eager to work together for the benefit of the students they serve. Whether you braved a blizzard to lobby at the Capitol, drove across the state to the Convention in Kansas City, or attended a region-sponsored event here in Southeast Missouri, your support for our Association has been tremendous!

Our 150th year as an Association has been a huge success! Local leaders brought professional development opportunities and member services to their CTAs throughout the year. In November, we adopted new governing documents that prepare our Association for business in the 21st century. With your help, we made it through another legislative session without the Betty Thompson Scholarship bill passing, although it came closer to becoming a reality than ever before.

As we begin to think about next year, consider some of the challenges that we face. It seems as though there’s never black and white when it comes to public education. Because we've never faced these challenges before, there's no clear path for us to take in tackling them.

Differentiated salaries: We need to start a dialogue about this topic so everyone knows what’s at stake. Kent brought it up in the spring School & Community and at LeaderU, Too! MSTA must provide direction to assure that salaries are never tied to test scores, and that teachers create the guidelines for any program that is implemented.

Accountability from the state board: The state board is a political machine. It's hard to get those in control to change its structure. MSTA has a dream to add three practicing educators and impose term limits. It’s time we accomplish that dream.

Collective bargaining: From time to time, groups try to force collective bargaining on teachers. Other education associations have been eager to see legislation passed and some have even resorted to lawsuits. We must be vigilant of attacks on our right to choose the organization to which we belong, and we must continue to protect students against teacher strikes.

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of speaking to 200 high school students at the regional FTA meeting. Many of these individuals have dreams of being teachers some day. Their generation is excited about making a difference in the world, and I can’t think of a better way to accomplish that dream than by becoming a teacher. I’d like for you to do something that I asked those students to do – close your eyes for a moment and picture a board-room table. Around this table, I want you to place the seven most important people in your life - the people who have made the greatest impact on who you are – the people you admire most. Look at their faces. Now open your eyes. How many of you had at least one teacher seated at your table? How many of you are here today because one of those teachers made an impact on your life, and you wanted to follow in their footsteps?

As we look back on the accomplishments of this year and forward on the challenges that lie ahead, let’s not forget why we exist. “Children First” is more than a slogan or book title. It’s the philosophy of our organization, and it’s the philosophy of thousands of MSTA members across Southeast Missouri who step into a classroom every day to make a difference in the life of a child. Thank you for accepting the call to be a world changer – to be a teacher.

Here are some pictures . . . .

2006-07 Executive Committee with MSTA President Valerie Moats
2007-08 Executive Committee with MSTA President Valerie Moats
The President & First Lady
The President & The Governor
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
Receiving Past President's Plaque

Fair and Balanced Free Speech

2007-03-21T13:40:00.000-06:00

Is it just me or does it seem like the First Amendment only applies to anyone with a liberal agenda? It seems like any right-leaning American has lost the freedom to express his or her views on a topic without someone screaming bigotry. Just when it looked like the hope of fair and balanced free speech was gone, the Supreme Court stepped up earlier this month to make a bold statement against viewpoint-based censorship. Score one of the red team!

According to firstamendmentcenter.org, in 2004, Poway High School student Tyler Chase was suspended for wearing a t-shirt to school with the messages "I will not accept what God has condemned," and "Homosexuality is shameful. Romans 1:27." The analysis of the case states that "He wore the shirt on the school district's 'Day of Silence,' meant to encourage tolerance of gays. Students were allowed to wear t-shirts conveying pro-gay messages. School officials, claiming that Harper's 'negative' message could be disruptive, suspended him after he refused to take off the shirt."

The pride of all liberal activists, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled against Harper, saying the school had a right to suspend him for not changing his shirt. Judge Reinhardt said, "Those who administer our public educational institutions need not tolerate verbal assaults that may destroy the self-esteem of our most vulnerable teenagers and interfere with their educational development. Because a school sponsors a 'Day of Religious Tolerance,' it need not permit its students to wear t-shirts reading, 'Jews are Christ-Killers' or 'All Muslims Are Evil Doers.'"

Judge Alex Kozinski, in his dissent, said that the school district had offered no evidence that the shirt was or could be disruptive (the test set forth in Tinker v. Des Moines). He said the dialogue resulting from the shirt's message would be educational - especially on a day dedicated to tolerance.

The Supreme Court did not place the case on its docket, but instead vacated the decision of the 9th Circuit, sending it back to them to declare the case moot. Justice Stephen Breyer dissented.

I shared this case with my School Law class during the "topics of the day" section last night. It seemed as though the general consensus of the class was that they shared my sentiments that we have gone too far as a nation in worrying about offending someone or hurting their feelings - to the point that people no longer have a right to present opposing viewpoints. The shirt was not slanderous (as were the shirts in the hypothetical comparison made by Reinhardt.)

We have, for now, a victory for conservative free speech . . . for fair and balanced debate . . . for a while. At some point, this issue will come up again and the liberal 9th Circuit will be ready to limit speech of anyone with an opinion not supported by their ideology.

So Reinhardt was concerned that vulnerable teenagers' self-esteem would be damaged . . . is it possible that the pro-gay shirts were offensive to conservatives like Harper?

"God, No! Amen."

2007-03-21T12:52:00.000-06:00

At Meadow Heights, our pastor has a prayer that he prays on a regular basis, and he encourages us to all pray the same thing: "God, yes! Amen." It's a simple prayer of surrender to God, trusting in Him to show His will in His time. Inherent in this prayer is an attitude of complete trust in God, giving up control of the situation and trusting Him to lead the way. It was introduced during the "Next" series when Bryan challenged us to take the next steps in our lives as related to the five biblical purposes of the church. Since then, he's often reminded us to pray it in various situations in life.

Most people who know me realize that I am a control freak. I don't trust anyone. That's been a huge stumbling block in my life for some time as I tried to do way too much and not let others come along side and help. My philosophy has been it will be easier to do it myself than to show someone else how to do it or go behind them and change it when I'm not happy with the outcome. A good way to make friends? Not really. Recipe for a stressful life? You bet!

For a few months, I've been practicing the art of delegation - I've found very competent leaders to help out in various situations and I've given them responsibilities and watched them be successful. I've watched them grow, and in the process, I've been able to accomplish much more. I've actually enjoyed it!

My lack of trust for other people has, from time to time, hindered my ability to pray the "God, yes! Amen" prayer. In fact, I've often found myself wanting to scream out just the opposite: "God, NO! Amen." I'm in one of those places right now where I'm finding it more and more enticing to just tell God that I don't want to wait for His timing, that I have plans I want to pursue, and I'd like to call the shots for a little while.

Today, I sent application materials to a school district for an administration position . . . the twelfth position I've applied for. I'd like to tell God "no" when He tells me to be patient and wait for the position that He has in store for me.

This past weekend, we started a 21-day campaign of prayer, fasting and Bible reading to prepare for what the future has in store for Meadow Heights (there's a link in the right column of my blog to some of the things I find during the campaign.) Last night, as I sat down to eat brown rice and lintels, I wanted to tell God "no" and pull out the bag of M&Ms that's nestled in the cabinet over the oven.

A few years ago, I got tired of waiting for the spouse that God had in mind for me. I wanted to tell Him "no" and go out to search for her on my own. I tried. It didn't work.

I wonder if Jesus ever wanted to just look up at heaven and scream, "no!" I wonder if he got tired of waiting on God's timing and doing God's will. You know how we often think that we're smarter than our parents - I wonder if Jesus ever thought, for a split second, that he was smarter than his Father.

Right now I'm in that place where it's very tempting. Sometimes I think about giving up God's best plans for my life to try to feel like I'm in control. Then I remember all that He's brought me through so far, and all the times when I didn't think He knew what He was doing. I look at the results of all the times that God led me through in His time and I remember that "no" is not an option. If I want the best things in life, I just have to say "God, yes! Amen."

Boy Meets Grill

2007-03-15T08:59:00.000-06:00

My wife has never been an avid fan of my cooking. I make a chicken and potatoes dish that she loves, but that's about all. For a few years, she has been very reluctant to let me fire up the grill. I have, on occasion, hosted barbeques and received compliments on my grilling ability, but she is still concerned that I will overcook the food (she likes it blood).

Monday afternoon, we started walking. We drove to town and parked in the armory parking lot. We walked up West College to Marshall; Marshall to West Marvin; West Marvin to South Wood. Then we turned around and took West Marvin back to South Main; South Main to West College; West College back to the armory. Our forty-five minute walk was very refreshing and we decided we would commit to doing it every afternoon (if possible).

Monday, as we were coming down West College on the home stretch, we smelled someone grilling. It was a wonderful smell - as though spring were making its debut. Since we already had ham and beans in the crock pot at home, we decided we wouldn't change the meal plan but we would lay out some pork steaks to grill on Tuesday.

After our walk on Tuesday, we decided to drive the route we had been walking to see just how far we were actually going. My wife thought we may have walked 1.3 miles; I told her it was probably more like 1.5. Don't trust us to judge distances! When we pulled back into the armory parking lot, we had gone exactly 2.3 miles. Wow . . . were we impressed - but not nearly as impressed as Jessica was with my grilled pork steaks! And she made some awesome smashed potatoes to go with them!

Yesterday was our third day to walk and my second day to grill. After school, I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some pictures, and while I was there I bought a bag of Sweet Tart jelly beans. On the way home, I stopped at Sonic to pick up our daily Route 44 lemon slushes. By the time Jessica and Ella were home, I had my candy and slush in hand and I was ready to walk!

Halfway through our walk, Jessica flipped out because I was eating candy, so she grabbed the whole bag and dumped it in someone's flowerbed. I was so angry - she wasted $1.66 worth of candy! Her argument was that as long as I was eating it, I was wasting my time walking. My argument was that if I ate it while I was walking, it wouldn't be as harmful as eating it while sitting. It made perfect sense to me! Anyway, since she had wasted my candy, she decided to run by Wal-Mart to replace it.

In our Life Plan, we identified trips to Wal-Mart as an area of weakness, so we addressed it in our financial covenant. We decided that, besides our monthly shopping trip, we would limit additional trips to emergency situations only. I broke the rule first by going after school and spending over $20 on pictures, a frame, and candy. Then she broke the rule second (and worse) when she went back after walking. You see, the second part of our Wal-Mart weakness is that we spend more when we're together; I usually spend less by myself because I only get what I went for. So instead of letting me go in to get the candy (or instead of her going in by herself, since I smelled like sweat and didn't want to be seen in public), she made us all go in.

Our mission: replace the candy and get hamburger buns. However, as we continued to aimlessly wander the aisles of the store, we found more and more things we could buy. It didn't help that I was hungry and thinking about what I could grill. I started with shrimp. On Tuesday, I had had the ribs and shrimp combo at Logan's Roadhouse, and I decided that I wanted to try grilling shrimp. We got a bag of large shrimp, an onion, a pepper, and grape tomatoes. We also got lettuce, tomatoes and cheese for our hamburgers and for Life Group. Candy and hamburger buns could have been carried out in one hand, but the items we ended up with took two bags. Mission accomplished, and then some!

Jessica made a butter, cavenders and garlic salt glaze for the shrimp; I also put it on the burgers. With half a lemon squeezed over the skewers, the meal was complete! Between the two of us, we had over forty shrimp, two burgers, and the leftover potatoes from pork night. It was amazing! And I definitely scored some points with the wife!

I think my next grilling project will be ribs. We watched Emeril on Tuesday night. He showed an easy way to tenderize ribs and a glaze that looked awesome. I can't wait to try them. I think I'll grill some shrimp to go with them . . . maybe just half the bag this time!

Two Systems of Education

2007-03-07T14:27:00.000-06:00

My goal for this blog was never to post on a daily basis like many people do. When I realized that my posts were pages long, while most blog posts are only a paragraph, I decided that I should strive for a post a week. So I am just as surprised as my readers that this is my second post in as many days, but I ran across some information to support yesterday's post and I can't help sharing it.

I've mentioned before that I am carrying eighteen hours of graduate credit this semester to try to finish up my Master's program and get my administration certification by the end of the summer. One of my six classes is Methods of Research, a web-based course on quantitative and qualitative educational research facilitated (I hesitate to use the word "taught") by a member of the counseling department faculty. This is, by far, my least favorite class at SEMO, and I can't wait until it's over!

The title of my research paper is "The Principal’s Commitment to the School Climate and the Development of the Vision of Learning." If you click on the internship link on the right-hand side of my blog and go to project 6, you can read the updated version as I continue writing it. Chapter Two is due this Friday, and I am frantically working to complete the review of related literature. In doing so, I am skimming all of my references for useable information and copying and pasting the text into my paper. When I finish (hopefully tomorrow morning), I will go through all of the information to paraphrase, delete, quote, etc. to finish the chapter.

One of the resources that I reviewed earlier today is the Southern Regional Education Board's "Teachers in the Workplace: A Staff Development Approach That Benefits Faculty and Students." This is an interesting publication from the group that created High Schools That Work, the school improvement philosophy that our high school uses. While there is no information in the twenty-two page document that would be useful for my paper, I did stumble across a very interesting set of statistics to support my theory that the view that one has of public education depends on his or her role, and therefore more than one education system exists in the United States:

A majority of the general public (60 percent) believe schools should place more emphasis on academic skills. Most teachers (66 percent) think schools already do so.
A majority of the general public (52 percent) think students need to learn more mathematics, science and computer skills. Most teachers think students learn enough of these subjects.
Almost half (47 percent) of the public and 63 percent of community leaders do not believe a high school diploma guarantees that a young person has learned the basics. Seven in 10 teachers think it does.

It's clear from these statistics that the public school system that the public sees is vastly different from the system that teachers see. And now we've reached our first hurdle in education reform: whose view is more accurate?

Making the Grade

2007-03-06T09:25:00.000-06:00

In previous posts, I've discussed my newfound obsession with many of Google's convenient applications, including Google Reader. I found that Reader was a very convenient way to read and share posts from other blogs, but last week I found a new use - reading rss feeds from news and other sites. I now receive instant updates from DESE, the US Department of Education, the MO House, the DN, the Southeast Missourian, and the Post-Dispatch. I'm amazed at the amount of information that is available in one location. I no longer have to surf through ten different websites to catch up on news - I open Reader, and all of my updates are on one page!

I've read the Southeast Missourian a few times over the last couple of decades, but I've never been a regular reader. Last month, when the Rod Jetton/Scott Lipke story was the talk of Southeast Missouri, I did read a few items in the Speak Out section. This section, devoted to providing a forum for readers to speak their minds, allows anyone to share opinions without being identified. When I was in high school, a local backroom newspaper publisher decided to try this approach to improve readership of his paper. The administrator of the local hospital was practically burned at the stake by the community, and the publication didn't survive long after that.

One of my personal philosophies is that if you are going to share your opinion, you should step up and take responsibility for it. I don't have much respect for anyone who remains anonymous because they are ashamed of being associated with their beliefs. It's a shame that our society produces people with such a lack of courage. I am willing to listen to anyone's opinion, and I believe you are entitled to your own opinion even if it conflicts with mine . . . as long as you can backup what you say, and as long as you are willing to stand behind it.

As I scan through my Google Reader items, I always stop and read the Southeast Missourian's Speak Out section. Saturday's Speak Out contained the following comment about inflating grades:

AN ITEM receiving lots of attention in the news is the fact that a study shows that grades are up but test scores are down. Somebody had the bright idea to do a study. It isn't needed. As a substitute teacher for various schools in the area with 10-plus years of experience, I can assure you that teachers give enough extra credit to float a barge. Many students are allowed to redo assignments or tests they do poorly on, and some teachers flat-out inflate grades. Why? To keep administrators and parents from complaining. I know some outraged teachers are going to call in and deny this vigorously, but remember what Shakespeare said, "The lady doth protest too much."

Any outraged teachers? Anyone? Where to start . . . .

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards talks of "two Americas," a concept that receives praise from the liberal media and scoffs from the conservatives. While I tend to agree that there is one United States and the idea of pandering to those who believe otherwise is way overused by certain politicians, I do believe that there is more than one education system. Whether there are two, three or four, I don't know. I do believe that when the topic is addressed, reality emerges from the viewpoint of the participants.

What are these systems of public education? Teachers, parents, the community, legislators, DESE and the court system all have different views of the school system, its policies, and its practice. Each group sees education, and therefore judges its performance, from its own perspective. As with any topic in education, the views of these groups are often as different as snowflakes, and when they are all thrown out in a discussion, the ensuing blizzard can become very dangerous.

The validity of grades is something that educators have been dealing with for some time. It's a very complicated concept to address - mostly a product of tradition - and one that becomes more complicated as reform movements come and go and as the latest craze for school and teacher accountability moves through our society. To begin fully understanding the concept, we must peel back some of the layers of the issue and ask some fundamental questions: What is the purpose of grades? What are they intended to measure? What is the meaning of an A, B or C? Why do we assign the work? What is the public perception of grades? What is the teacher's perception of grades?

What is the purpose of grades? What are grades intended to measure? Grades are usually assigned for correct answers on homework and test papers. Students usually get points for each correct answer. Does this adequately measure the education the student is receiving? Does it assess a student's progress? If we are measuring knowledge, then shouldn't a student deserve a second chance, if his or her knowledge has increased, to prove what is known? The part that I have a problem with is allowing students with mountains of late assignments to turn in those assignments days, weeks, or even a month or two late.

Two students are in a social studies class. One student already knows the information (from reading outside of class, watching the news, etc.) and the other is learning it for the first time. The first student breezes through a worksheet and receives the 50 possible points; the other struggles to get 35 points. By the time the chapter test is given, the second student has retained the knowledge enough to earn all 100 points on the test, and the first student also earns the 100 points. The student who had the advantage now has a 100% in the class, while the student who did not have prior knowledge only has a 90%. Does this adequately reflect the learning that took place in the class? I am not arguing that all classes operate this way, or that the philosophy behind grading this way is flawed - I'm simply posing a question that should be considered. Is there a better way to assess the students' progress? Perhaps the second student lacks research skills and was unable to find information in his or her text as easily as the first. Is that adequate justification of the grade? Maybe it's time we started a discussion on the purpose of grades and what they should measure. Maybe the way we do it now is the right way; maybe there's a better way. Either way, reflection and evaluation would definitely benefit today's educators.

What does an "A" mean? The typical, accepted definition is that an "A" is for above-average work. It means that the student is performing above expectations and in the top percentile in the class. A "C" is supposed to be average. In writing curriculum, we often say that 75% is acceptable work. If students achieve 75%, then they have adequate understanding of the material and we can progress. I believe we have created a society in which parents believe "B" is average and their child is not average. Many parents that I have conferenced with are concerned about the letter on the report card and not what is being measured. They ask for extra credit for their child, or they expect missing assignments can be made up, and they show no concern for what their child may or may not be learning. By no means are all parents concerned about the grade alone. There are many parents who take active roles in their child's learning. They understand the many facets of learning, not just the letter on the report card. What can we do to change the notion that grades matter more than knowledge?

So now we have a substitute teacher who is an expert on grade inflation and has first-hand knowledge of the subject . . . how??? Yes, grades are up and test scores are down. But there is a lot more involved in this discussion than extra credit, redoing assignments, and "flat-out" inflating grades. Tests are necessary evils that the education community deals with. Real-life assessment would be a better measurement tool, but no one has come up with a way to implement that and convince the public that it is acceptable. Students are not held accountable for their effort on the MAP, so their best performance is not guaranteed. Most importantly, some students are not good test-takers. We make accommodations for students' individual educational needs and modify our teaching methods to reach all sorts of learning styles, yet the test is given in a prescribed format with no variation whatsoever.

To argue that teachers inflate grades "to keep administrators and parents form complaining" is absurd. When will we get over playing the blame game - pointing accusing fingers at educators - and work together to find meaningful answers to the problems that we face? It may be argued that I inflate the grades of my eighth grade English class, but I believe that my policy is fair for everyone. On every assignment (including tests), I set the maximum possible points at the highest score received. If the highest score on a 100-point test is only 85, then it becomes an 85-point test. I believe that is an adequate way of gauging all students' progress because it considers any shortfall in my teaching of the material or the ability of the students to learn it. I'm definitely open to suggestions, but until I find a better way to judge my students' progress, I will continue to use what I believe is the most fair and adequate way to assign grades.

School Finance 101

2007-02-27T10:53:00.000-06:00

It's been said that money is the root of all evil. In public education, it is often believed that money is the root of all failure. Many teachers, consciously or not, point to low socio-economic status as one factor in low student achievement. Administrators cite a lack of state funding as the reason they cannot provide services that will improve performance, and parents and community members often believe the state pours more than enough money into public education causing a lack of focus by increasing programs and overpaying teachers, which (I'm sure) could be blamed for low student achievement.

Opinions aside, school finance is a topic that many in our profession do not understand - either by choice or by circumstance. Teachers are not financial gurus - if we were, we'd be accountants or stock brokers. For the most part, we do well keeping our own checkbooks balanced and making provisions for retirement. We don't spend a lot of time researching tax structures, budgets and funding formulas. So it's no wonder many of us do not realize what is involved in school finance. We are usually content to let the "experts" handle that as we go about our daily lives doing what we're experts at - teaching.

Last night, I attended the Southeast Region MSTA School Finance & Salary Workshop. Each year, we bring in MSTA salary consultants who complete "workups" based on school districts' budgets. They take information from the current and preceding five years, plug it into a proprietary computer program, and print out sixteen tables that provide a glimpse at each district's financial condition, including estimates for the next year. This information provides local salary committees a starting point for negotiating salary increases.

The best place to start in understanding school finance is with the philosophy behind the funding formula. Prior to this school year, districts were funded based on a tax-driven formula. The calculations for funding were based on the district's tax levy, and any amount above the minimum $2.75 per $100 assessed valuation was beneficial for districts in that they received more local monies and more state monies. While the old formula was in place, our district passed a levy increase (the first increase in years) to $3.20. It was a huge victory for our school, but one that was very short-lived.

The new operating levy was in effect for the 2003-04 school year, providing a half-million new dollars for the district. This was around the time that then-Governor Holden withheld funding from school districts and the funding debate had almost reached a boiling point in the state Capitol. The next two school years would see a lawsuit that forced the legislature to address the issue, ultimately resulting in a new, student-needs-driven formula.

The 2006-07 school year was the first in the seven-year phase-in period. This year, we received 85% of our funding from the 05-06 formula and 15% from the SB287 formula. By the year 2012-2013 (ironically, the year after 100% of the students must score in the top two levels on the MAP,) we will be receiving 100% of our funding from the new formula. The phase-in period was set to allow for an increase in school funding without any statewide tax increases.

The basic elements of the new formula include

Weighted ADA (average daily attendance),
State Adequacy Target ($6,117 per student),
Dollar Value Modifier (presumed to adjust for cost of living),
and Local Effort (the amount of money the district collects from local taxes).

The basic formula is (WADA) X (SAT) X (DVM) - (LE) = State Funding. The philosophy behind the formula is admirable, and the effort put forth by the legislature and the Governor to pass a new funding formula to address the needs of students and districts is commendable. Unfortunately, certain provisions in the formula still contribute to inequity among districts and put more of a burden on some districts than exists for others.

For our district, the Dollar Value Modifier is the most detrimental aspect of the new formula. In our consultation last night, we were assured that the position that our superintendent has taken is correct, and that our DVM value is hurting our school. This index, presumably a way to adjust revenue for districts based on their costs to operate in their geographic location, was part of a compromise between rural and suburban legislators that had to be settled before the funding bill would pass. The philosophy behind the DVM was that a suburban district would have higher costs (construction, utilities, salaries, etc.) than a rural district. The compromise was to tie a factor, ranging from 1.000 to 1.104, to the new funding. While a district with a 1.000 DVM would receive $6117 per student, a district with a 1.104 DVM would receive $6753 per student. In our district, this would be a difference of $1,204,965.60.

When the DVM chart was first published, superintendents like ours started looking at neighboring counties and seeing that districts not far from them were given DVMs that were much different than their own. The distance of a few miles could mean the difference of up to 1% of the total budget, and that didn't sit well many administrators. At first, I dismissed this notion as unwarranted jealousy. Over the past couple of years and after last night's meeting, I am more convinced now than ever that something must be done to ensure equity among economically similar districts. In a future post, I will address the issue of Dollar Value Modifier and what can be done to fix the disparities. For now, I want to shift gears and talk about the real reason for the workshop - salary analysis.

In the six years that I have worked in this district, we have increased salaries twice. Besides normal steps on the schedule for experience and education, our teachers have not received adequate raises. While surrounding districts have topped the $30,000 mark for starting salaries, we are still stuck at $25,500. There is no financial appeal for a new teacher to take a job in our district, and if they do settle for one, the salary schedule does not entice them to stay. For the past few years, we have lost first- and second-year teachers to neighboring districts because they were offered a more attractive salary schedule.

I have prepared a chart that shows MSTA salary statistics for eleven districts in our area. Most of these are in the MAAA Conference. Of the eleven, we rank tenth in overall salary analysis. This chart is not something for our community to be proud of. The administration and school board realize this and would do anything they could to improve. With the current funding situation, their hands are tied at the moment.

Based on MSTA data collected from our budget and analyzed yesterday afternoon, the total net monies available for total teacher fund budget change for 2007-08 will be $309,006. Considerations must be made for the .5% increase in retirement for all employees, after which only a portion of the remaining increase could be used for salary increases. At this time, the analysis shows that our district should once again refrain from increasing salaries - a move that will leave us even further behind others in our area.

It is time for our teachers, administrators and patrons to take action - to lobby for a revision of the Dollar Value Modifier and seek out alternative ways to increase the teacher fund to be able to afford increased salaries. We have a long way to go to just catch up - and our race will only get longer with every year that passes. Until we are able to find an effective way to increase teacher salaries in our district, the officers of CARE are afraid that we will continue to lose quality teachers to neighboring districts.

Based on the financial analysis, I plan to put forth a challenge to the executive committee and members of CARE to work with the administration and board to take an active role in fighting for our fair share. In this ballgame, the ball is in our court. We've been holding it for far too long, and time is almost over. We must act quickly, and we must act decisively. We can't wait for the legislators to make the call - we've gotta run the play.

Welcome to Taco Hell. May I take your order?

2007-02-26T14:09:00.000-06:00

I've resisted the whole Google craze as long as I could. I was never a fan of simple, especially when it came to computers. The more complicated, the better. A search engine with a white screen and a box just didn't do anything for me - I wanted more . . . more colors, more functions. But over the past few months, I've noticed that I need simple in my life. In fact, there are probably a few areas where I could stand to simplify to better manage my time and increase my productivity. It would also rid my life of some clutter - both mental and physical.

I found myself using Google's Blogger and exploring some of the simple yet neat features that it offers. I've also discovered Google Toolbar isn't annoying, but actually very helpful. I can login on my computer at school (or any other one that has the toolbar), and my bookmarks that I use at home will show up on the toolbar. Google Reader is a great (simple) way to keep up with all the blogs that I read. When I use Google Toolbar to access my Google Reader page (one-click access), I can immediately see all new items from any blog. I can also share items on my own blog with just one click. A box on the right side of my blog allows my readers to read items from other blogs that I've found interesting.

One of the first items that I shared using Google Reader was my friend Michael's complaint about the horrible service he had received from the satellite Internet provider and its subcontractors. The satellite Internet is something that we dealt with at church for over five years, and it's one of the things that I definitely DON'T miss about being on staff. Being a couple hundred feet from the DSL line, we were never able to talk SBC into installing service, and for some reason, cable was never an option. We were stuck with satellite - like it or not (we always chose the not). To follow up on Michael's "good example of BAD customer service," I'll provide my own such story from this past weekend.

Our Academic Team is approaching the end of a very interesting season. This past Friday, we made up the meet that was postponed due to the snow storm that provided for a very unique Capitol Day experience. With no other available dates in February, the other coach and I settled on a Friday afternoon. The meet was horrible - we lost by fifteen points (our worst defeat yet) to bring our record to 3-4. Leaving the school, I allowed the team to vote on where we would eat - between White Castle, Arby's, Burger King and Taco Bell. They chose Taco Bell.

There was a Taco Bell in the town where we were, and there was one in a town we were driving through. I told the bus driver we would just eat in the town where we were so we wouldn't have to get off the highway . . . and I said that it would be cleaner, anyway. Around 5:15, we piled off the bus and headed into the restaurant. It was the worst mistake I've made in a long time, and one that I'll regret for a long time to come.

I should have realized, when we walked into the restaurant, that seeing six people with individual orders waiting on their food was not a good sign. Furthermore, after watching the employees preparing the food, I should have drawn a conclusion that their speed was anything but adequate to keep up with the light volume of the restaurant, and so we should turn around and walk out. Unfortunately, by the time I realized that, five of my students had placed their orders and we were past the point of no return.

Our first order was placed at 5:22. We had sixteen people in our group, with eleven orders between them. The last order (mine) was placed at 5:36. Should it take fourteen minutes to take eleven orders? I would definitely think not. But I'm easy to get along with, and I try to be patient, so I didn't get upset. I started getting upset, however, when I realized that none of the people who were waiting on their food when we walked in had been served in the time that it took us to place our orders.

As I stood in the restaurant waiting for my food, I started taking mental notes about everything going on around me (well, more behind the counter than around me). On the bus ride home that night, I jotted down a few of the things that stood out:

At one point, the lady taking orders had been sweeping. When customers entered the restaurant, she put the broom between her legs as she took their orders.
An empty hamburger container (like the ones at Wal-Mart) was sitting at the end of the assembly line. It had raw hamburger dripping from its edges onto the counter where they were preparing the food.
One man assembling food was doing so without gloves on his hands.
Another man who had been assembling food was carrying around brochures without taking off his gloves.
My assistant and some of the students watched one man who was preparing food as he dropped the guacomole squirt bottle. It landed with the point hitting the ground; he picked it up, put it on the counter, and continued using it without cleaning it off.
Everyone was moving slowly, including the managers. And yet, they had the hardest time keeping the food picked up off the assembly line, and they still couldn't find time to completely wrap the food before putting it into the bags.
My order number was 127. After I had waited about thirty minutes for my order, another man who had been waiting a much shorter amount of time said that he was tired of waiting, and so he politely asked one of the employees if they could fix his order out of turn. She gladly took his receipt and another lady's receipt and fixed theirs before the rest of my group's and five other people who had been waiting longer than they had.

Forty-five minutes after I placed my order, my number was called. My six crunchy tacos were finally ready! When we walked out of the restaurant around 6:30, they were serving number 133 and were taking orders above 150. My final complaint about the service of the restaurant is that they took people's orders and their money, knowing full well that it was taking close to an hour to prepare the food, and yet they would not warn the customers. Unsuspecting customers who thought they were making a quick fast food stop were waiting longer for their food at Taco Bell than I waited on Saturday for my jumbo shrimp platter at Landry's; longer than it took to wait for a table then order, eat, and pay for yesterday's lunch, including the unlimited salad, at the Pasta House.

Most restaurants are busy on Friday evenings, especially between five and seven. And most restaurants take some time to fill orders for large groups. However, this restaurant wasn't keeping up with the flow before we ever arrived, and our group wasn't really that large. This season, we have eaten at Subway and McDonald's and never had to wait more than fifteen minutes for everyone's order to be taken AND filled. My wife takes a group of fifty students and parents to Jefferson City each year in May. We stop at McDonald's on the way back, and they are able to serve us in under twenty minutes. There is no excuse for a restaurant to not be able to serve eleven orders in a timely manner. Needless to say, we will not be returning to that establishment any time soon.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

2007-02-23T13:19:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was the official start of the 2007 NASCAR season, with the Daytona 500. Since Dale's accident in 2001, I hadn't had a favorite driver. I would watch as often as I could, but I never seemed to get involved as much as I'd like. This year, I decided to try a little harder to watch more races and stay informed about the season. I started with the Budweiser Shootout on the tenth, and that night I chose a new drive to follow: David Gilliland.

His first time at Daytona, the Yates Team driver finished second to Tony Stewart. He said, "I've always dreamed about racing here at Daytona and to be able to come and do it -- my first race ever and bring home a second-place finish -- is a dream come true." A new addition to the NASCAR lineup, David Gilliand has potential and determination, and I think that's part of the reason I've chosen him as my replacement for Dale. Not only did he have a great finish at the Shootout, he went on to land the pole position in qualifying for the 500 - next to his teammate, Ricky Rudd. His performance on the big night was anything but beginner's luck.

Starting first in any race is definitely not a guarantee that you will win . . . or even be in the top ten. That's just a fact of life. So going into the race, I didn't think that he was most people's pick to win. I wasn't expecting him to drop from first to last with a bump on pit-road. But in NASCAR, circumstances can change quickly (ask Mark Martin, who thought sure he had won the race on a caution flag, only to find out that they waited to throw it until the two lead cars were past the finish line). As I saw his standing move from 1 to 42 on Lap 83, I almost gave up hope of my driver even landing in the top half. Almost.

Down a lap in Lap 132, he finally got his break in Lap 154 to catch back up to the back end when the caution flag flew. That's all he needed to start his comeback. He quickly went from 35 to 25, and the number kept getting smaller. I told my wife that he would end up winning the race. She said he'd be lucky to end up in the top ten. As the race continued, I watched his place climb, little by little, until he had reached 12th by Lap 190. With ten laps to go, the #38 M&M car pushed into 12th place, and four laps later, he was number 4. The night was getting exciting.

Then a major wreck pulled the red flag, and all cars came to a dead stop. The tension was building. Staring at all those cars, just sitting on the track, I could tell that something big was going to happen. Not an ideal way to end a race, the drivers were looking at a green-white-checkered finish, meaning they would go one lap on green, one on white (signaling the last lap) and then the checkered flag would fly.

Fourth place . . . almost a top-five finish for the comeback kid of the night. From first to last, and back to fourth - it almost seemed to good to be true. As they ran the last laps, I held out hope that he could get low enough to round the lead cars and go on to victory, but in the last few seconds of the race, things started to fall apart. Out of nowhere came Kevin Harvick. Gilliland tried to go up, but he started losing spots and cars started crashing all around him. One even ended up sliding across the finish line on its top. When the smoke cleared, the debris landed, and all of the out-of-control cars came to a stop, the final stats had David Gilliland in eighth place.

First to last to fourth to eighth - that's the story of the M&M car. Impossible situations, and improbable odds were no match for David Gilliland. He fought with everything he had, and he never accepted defeat. All the way to the end, his performance promised a fantastic finish. The wreck in the last seconds claimed his top-five finish, but it definitely didn't touch his determination. "...so stuff happens. It's Daytona and a green-white-checkered finish."

I'm convinced that we haven't seen anything yet from the #38 Ford Fusion, and I'll keep my eyes on those red, yellow, blue and green M&Ms.

Who Am I?

2007-02-22T09:36:00.000-06:00

Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered, "Who am I, and how did I get here?" Those are questions we usually don't ask, unless we have amnesia or have taken too much Darvocet. But from time to time, I think we should all stop and ask ourselves the most fundamental questions about our existence.

This week, I've been contemplating those questions as I stand back and look at my life experiences over the past few months. With everything that I have been through and am going through, I just have to ask, "Who am I that I should be living this life? How did I get where I am today?"

I grew up the son of a carpenter and stay-at-home mom. During my late-elementary years, my mom went to college to become a teacher. My childhood wasn't glamorous; we never had the nicest clothes, shoes, or cars. But we had each other, and we knew right from wrong. Dad, Mom, son, daughter, dog, cat . . . in our area, we were the average family.

A graduate of a very small high school in Southeast Missouri, second in my class of seventeen, I grew up a big fish in a small pond. Sure, I was the overachiever involved in all the clubs, band, and any out-of-school opportunity that came up (not sports), but compared with those from larger schools, I was just the average high-schooler. I spent a semester in South Carolina chasing a dream of becoming a pilot, changing my mind shortly after entering college. When I decided to become a teacher, I moved back to Missouri to attend community college then a Baptist college in St. Louis. There's nothing special about my education - for the most part, it's the average story.

Fresh out of college, I landed the first job I interviewed for, bought a house and a car, and started my life. A few years later, I met a beautiful, wonderful girl and married her a year and a half later. Sound familiar? The average story of entering adulthood.

When I stop and think about my average life, certain parts stick out as being anything but average:

For eight years, I continuously amazed myself with my graphic and media abilities in my position at church.
I'm the president of the Southeast Region MSTA - a region that encompasses over 70 school districts and represents most of the teachers in those schools.
I have the most beautiful, well behaved, precious daughter in the world.
I'm on the Board of Directors of the 40,000 member MSTA, helping to shape the direction and lead the operation of the Association.
I led our local teachers association through constitutional changes that reshaped the organization and changed its name.
I recently finished second of thirty-eight applicants for an assistant principalship in a mid-sized high school.
I stood in front of 1,000 teachers to run as a write-in candidate for MSTA Vice President, and lost by less than 10% of the vote.

When I think about those above-average highlights, I have to wonder, "Who am I?" I'm not a public speaker. When I even think about addressing a group of people, I begin to panic. My heart starts racing and my hands sweat. I'm not a great dad - the first time we took our daughter on a picnic, I forgot to buckle her in the car seat. Sometimes I forget to shake her bottle to mix the powdered formula with the water. I'm not a leader. Given an entire school year, I can't even make a yearbook deadline. Who am I?

In those times that I wonder "who am I," I remember that nothing I have ever accomplished, and nothing I will ever accomplish, is because of who I am. It's all because of who God is. I love the words of the Casting Crowns song, "Not because of who I am, but because of what you've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of who you are." I really am a "flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, (and) a vapor in the wind." But God is none of those. He has always been there, and he will always be there. He's the beginning and the end.

I'm twenty-eight years old. While I like to think that I have many years ahead of me(hopefully over fifty), I know that my life on earth will not last forever. No one is promised another day of life. I must choose to live each day based on who God is, not on what I can do; on what He has done in me, not on who I am. That's the only way that I can accomplish my life mission - to use my gifts and abilities to make the greatest impact on Missouri public education while providing the best possible life experience for my family.

I've always had a desire to plan my own funeral. Control freak that I am, I just can't stand to think that someone else might pick out sad, slow songs that I've never liked or miss the opportunity to share God's love and purpose by preaching a feel-good message or, worse, one that has nothing to do with life and death. One of the songs that I would like used in my funeral is "How Great is Our God," with the chorus of "How Great Thou Art" at the end. It's a version that we've used at church before - one of the best pictures of the greatness of God, with words that focus on His amazing splendor and majesty:

The splendor of the King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at his voice, and trembles at his voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age he stands, and time is in His Hands
Beginning and the End, Beginning and the End
The Godhead, Three in one, Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb

Name above all names, worthy of our praise
My heart will sing, how great is our God
Name above all names, worthy of our praise
My heart will sing, how great is our God

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Who am I? I belong to God, and I am only who I am because of Him. The lyrics of that song remind me that I can be and do anything, only because of His greatness. Who are you? We all have limited life experiences that sometimes seem to be sub-par for the accomplishments in our lives. Everyone has that mirror moment when we feel inadequate to face the challenges of life. We wonder how we made it this far, and we are amazed at the paths our lives have taken. How did you get where you are? What have you done to deserve the life that you have? What qualifications do you possess that make you the person you are? Where did they come from? Think about it for a moment. And don't forget to give credit to the One who deserves it!

Valentine's Day

2007-02-15T14:01:00.000-06:00

My wife and I have known each other for four Valentine's Days, and so far, we had not spent the evening together. Until this year.

When we looked at the calendar last month and realized that I would have class on February 14, my wife was not exactly thrilled. She reminded me that the first year we were together, I had gone to a wedding; the second year, I was in Jefferson City while she had her wisdom teeth removed; and last year, I had an Academic Team meet at North County and was late getting home. She just wanted one Valentine's Day that I could devote to her.

A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Kiehne offered an assignment in lieu of class on Valentine's Day. I was very thankful for the offer, and surveyed the rest of the class to see if they were also interested. They all accepted, and we got the night off. As part of the agreement, Dr. Kiehne also told me that I would have to bring proof of what I did for my wife (a receipt from a restaurant or pictures of dinner), so in the spirit of overdoing things, I will also write a summary of the day.

It started with a phone call at 9:30 Tuesday night. I was almost asleep, and definitely not expecting the day off, but on the other end of the phone, my snow tree caller told me that we'd have one more day to enjoy. That was just what I needed to prepare a memorable evening. As I snuggled back into bed, I started scheming about the next day.

I've said before that Jessica traded vehicles and is now driving my van. Even though she wasn't taking Ella with her, she was going to take it anyway so she wouldn't have to stop for gas in the Equinox. I heard an awful sound of squealing tires and a revving engine, and I looked out to see her backing off the carport, but the back tires weren't spinning. I opened the window to yell at her, and she said that the brakes were frozen from driving through the babysitter's creek. Afraid she was going to damage my van, I told her to stop trying to free the brakes and just take the Equinox. That's when her bad day started.

Later in the morning, I sat down to check our bank balance and realized that we were $124 overdrawn. I keep a constant eye on our finances, and I know where every dollar goes. There was no way we could be overdrawn! As I checked the details, I noticed that on Sunday, Jessica had used our debit card, thinking she was using the credit card (which is the same color) to pay for my new suit and shoes at Value City. That charge had caused the next four to overdraw, resulting in $80 worth of service charges. So I emailed her to let her know what she had done. And her day got worse.

As mad as I was, I didn't want my wife to have an awful Valentine's Day, so I went to work trying to make things better. I emailed the bank and got the $80 refunded, moved some payments around and lowered the van payment for this month, and brought our balance back into the black. Then I looked up the recipe for Pasta House salad (Jessica's favorite) and started the laundry.

Laundry is one of those monsters that we still haven't conquered. It's an ongoing, vicious pile that seems to always grow, no matter how many loads we wash. My first goal for the day was to fold all of the clean clothes, sort the dirty ones, and get a system started to tackle the entire pile by 4:00. Goal two was to clean the rest of the house as I was doing the laundry. And I was going to achieve these goals while watching Ella.

I do have to say that Ella was the perfect baby yesterday. She watched Dora, played in her bouncy seat, and napped without fussing at all. There is no way I would have been able to get everything done had she been worse.

By noon, I was on my way to accomplishing goal one, and my first load of dirty dishes was in the dishwasher. Ella started her nap around 12:30, and by 1:30, I was ready to go to Wal-Mart. Inconvenient timing, but necessary. So I woke her up and strapped her in, hoping she would sleep on the way there. I knew that nothing I was doing would matter if she didn't get her nap in and messed up the evening.

At Wal-Mart, Ella was wide awake, laughing, looking, and trying to talk to anyone (or thing) that would listen. And since I was in a hurry, I had to see people I hadn't talked to in a while and high school students who wanted to see my baby . . . so my half-hour trip turned into a full hour trip. I even realized that I didn't have my list of ingredients for the salad, and Ella couldn't remember what they were, so I had to buy them from memory. And I got everything right - 100%! We bought roses and cards (it was easier when I only had to pick out one, but now I had to get a wife card and a daughter card and a mommy card . . . ), and I even let Ella pick out her present. (She got a puppy dog with a picture frame.)

We got home at 2:30 and it was crunch time. I threw Ella back in bed, started setting the table, and realized that I hadn't set out our wedding cake top. Since we couldn't drag it to Gatlinburg for our honeymoon, we had decided we'd eat it for Valentine's Day. I knew it was frozen and would need time to thaw, but I wasn't sure if a few hours would be enough. I got it out, anyway, and arranged the cake topper and flowers to resemble what it looked like on our wedding day.

I started the chicken and potatoes dish that I fixed on our first date, and because I've learned that chicken and potatoes is not a mean in itself, I started fixing the salad . . . three loads of laundry to go, and the house almost finished. It wasn't all going to get done, but at least it would look like I tried!

When Jessica walked in, I had the table set, the salad tossed, and the chicken cooking. I just had to slice the potatoes and add the salad dressing. In the meantime, I told her she could give Ella a bath and spend some time with her. She fed her and got her ready for bed, and then they both opened their cards.

After Ella was in bed, it was time to serve up the food. We enjoyed a special candlelight dinner (I didn't know that we had to turn off the lights - I thought we could just light the candles and leave the light on so we could see our food), and then we watched our favorite together movie, Love Actually. We have our own favorite movies, but this is one that we share - it's the first one we watched together in the theater.

Shortly after 9:00, we cut into the cake and found that it was almost completely thawed. I was disappointed to find out that it was white, and she was excited that it wasn't chocolate. We shared the first piece, covered the rest, and went to bed.

What a day . . . .

A Capitol Visit Like No Other

2007-02-15T13:56:00.000-06:00

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will slow our state's government . . . or keep MSTA from lobbying for public education!

The morning of February 13, I awoke to find a half-inch of ice and six or seven inches of snow covering my car. I had seen the weather reports, and I knew what to expect, but I had ignored all the warnings and traveled to Jefferson City the night before. Faced with the choice to skip the Capitol visit or dig out of the snow, I decided to brave the elements and go for it.

With no ice scraper and no gloves, I found myself shoveling snow off my windshield with an MSTA calendar (you know, the ones that say, "compliments of the Southeast Region"). Fortunately, the car warmed up fast enough that the ice began to melt and I could just wipe it off.

As I drove around the hotel to find the entrance to Bingham's so I could take advantage of the complimentary breakfast, I slid a few times and almost didn't make it up the hill. But with some patience and steady maneuvering, I managed to slide into an area that I could use as a make-shift parking space and trudge my way into the restaurant.

Because street crews hadn't had time to clear any side roads, and with cars piling up all around the area, a Jefferson City policeman suggested that I not use the access road in front of the hotel to get to the highway, but instead take the road behind the hotel to Southwest and then to Missouri Blvd. He probably saved me a huge repair bill, because I really don't think I could have made it up either hill going the other way.

As I walked through the Truman building and up the hill toward the Capitol, I was impressed with the efficiency of our state's government workers and the city's public servants. They were doing a great job clearing walks, taking safety precautions, and going on with their daily routines. In the Capitol, besides the decreased number of visitors, it was again business as usual.

I hate the word "props" . . . I guess because I try to avoid popular buzzwords . . . but I've got to give props to the Cape CTA representatives. This group of five dedicated teachers (including one first-year teacher and an assistant principal) also braved the elements to participate. All other groups (the smart ones) stayed home.

After our meeting with Mike Wood, Director of Governmental Relations, we were on our way to visit with legislators. I tagged along with the Cape group to visit Scott Lipke and try to see Jason Crowell, who was out for most of the day. After that, the Cape group decided to head for home, and Sheryl and I headed toward Rod Jetton's office to meet up with Renee to go to the top of the Capitol.

If you've never been to the top of the Missouri Capitol, you're missing an awesome experience. Seeing the structure and realizing what it must have taken to build such a magnificent building in the early 1900s is quite the experience. Walking around the whispering gallery and climbing the spiral staircase to the top of the dome provide indescribable views. Even after making the climb ten or more times, I was still excited to go once more - this time to experience it with snow.

We met Audie for lunch at Madison's . . . and had quite a few laughs. It seemed like there were mirrors all over the place :-).

The drive home was less than enjoyable, and I was never so glad to walk in, take off my coat, and change into comfortable clothes. Now I understand why they always say, "if you don't have to go anywhere, stay home," and next time, I just might head their advice. But I know that God doesn't waste an experience, and this one was definitely one that He had in store for us.

When we have snow days and get to stay in our warm, safe houses, there are plenty of people out there taking risks to get to work and keep our government running. From the Jefferson City policeman who wouldn't need to be directing traffic if I would just listen and not go anywhere . . . to the MODOT workers plowing the roads . . . to the legislators and their staff who were there for the 10:00 bell, they're dedicated to keeping Missouri moving. And the MSTA staff and volunteer leaders who brave the elements for a Capitol visit in the middle of a blizzard are devoted to seeing our legislative priorities accomplished, come rain, sleet, or snow.

Where's My $34.06?

2007-02-09T13:36:00.000-06:00

My wife and I are from families of teachers. Her mom and sister are teachers; my mom is a former teacher; I have two aunts who are teachers. Family conversation usually revolves around education, unless of course I throw in a political jab or two to stir things up.

On most Sundays, my family gets together at the nursing home where my grandpa is. We sit around and share life together - talking about what we've done, where we've been, and the like. This time of year, the topic of snow pervades the conversation, and the three teachers in the room - my aunt, my wife and I - endure the ribbing of the rest of the crowd because they don't get snow days, or they don't get Christmas vacations.

We've all heard the arguments about teachers having an easy job - summers off, working 8 to 3, snow days . . . and the topic usually comes up because someone thinks we're overpaid. I've passed this notion off for a few years, and I'll continue to ignore it as I fight for increased teacher salaries - especially considering our district ranks 331st of the 524 in the state. Unfortunately, there are people out there who are fighting against us, as demonstrated in a recent opinion article in the Wall Street Journal:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009612

In the article, Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters state that the average public school teachers make $34.06 an hour. They compare this "statistic" to other occupations by saying that teachers make "36% more than the hourly wage of the average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker." The footnote to the article states that "Mr. Greene holds the endowed chair of education reform at the University of Arkansas and is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where Mr. Winters is a senior research associate."

My contract says I will work 185 days. I am required to be at school from 7:45 AM until 3:15 PM. I have been teaching 6 years and have 15 hours of graduate credit. This year, if I work only the hours I am required, I will make $21.08 an hour - far less than the $47.28 that Greene and Winters site as the average pay in Detroit, the $45.79 in New York, or the $44.03 in Los Angeles. Of course, rural Missouri has a much lower cost of living, and incomes of most people around here don't compare with incomes of people from those areas.

I have plenty of problems with this "report," as I'm sure any public school teacher would. Of the eleven reader responses posted on the website, only two even remotely hint at supporting the opinion that teachers are overpaid:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/responses.html?article_id=110009612

I think Michael McKain, from Seaford, Delaware, summed it up best in his response: "While I think this piece makes valid points regarding the fact that new reforms are needed beyond "throwing money at the problem," the fact remains that many do not go into teaching, particularly in needed areas such as science and math where America lags behind, because more money can be made in other sectors. This is a problem that needs to be remedied; articles such as this are counterproductive to that end."

Nothing gets my blood boiling more than reading someone's opinion slandering my profession and life mission. My question is . . . if teachers are so well paid, why aren't more of those white-collar workers and specialty or trade workers not taking advantage of some of these new alternative certification tricks and becoming teachers? If the job is so easy, and the pay so wonderful, why is there still a shortage of teachers - especially in the areas where those allegedly lower-paid workers currently are?

A Law By Any Other Name...

2007-02-05T11:48:00.001-06:00

For Christmas this year, my wife and I decided to pick out our own gifts. She created an online shopping cart from JCPenney, and I spent hours researching the difference between XM and Sirius satellite radios. A few days before Christmas, I logged in and ordered her clothes, and she set up an account with Sirius and ordered my radio. Ok, I ordered the radio, too, but it sounds better to say that she did it.

I was excited to get over 100 channels of CD-quality music and talk, available at my fingertips anywhere in the country. I was so eager to listen that I installed the receiver in my van on Christmas Eve night so we could listen to it on the way to Annapolis the next morning. I was really starting to like my gift . . . until my wife announced that, effective January 2, she would be driving my van to school, and I would have to drive the Equinox. So, you guessed it, she got her Christmas gift . . . and mine!

When we take any trips together, we always take the van. That's where the car seat base is, and one of the reasons for buying it was to reduce the number of miles we were putting on the Equinox. So usually at least once a week, I get to drive the van! Of course, since she listens to the radio at least two hours a day, my wife has some channels already picked out, and she usually takes control. For the past couple of weeks, we've listened to Blue Collar Comedy and Laugh Break - alternating as the mood strikes. Sometimes, Blue Collar Comedy has some vulgar language or crude humor, so we switch to Laugh Break, which bills itself as family friendly and, so far, hasn't had anything offensive.

This weekend, it seemed like Kathleen Madigan was on Laugh Break quite a bit. I don't know much about her, but most of her material was funny. She said it seems like Republicans don't have as much of a problem getting bills passed as Democrats. Of course, we know that, at the time, it was because we had the majority in both houses. But Kathleen pointed out another reason that the Republicans had such a high success rate with some of their initiatives: they know how to name them.

One of the most widely known pieces of legislation that has resulted from the current administration and the Republican-controlled congress is the Patriot Act. Kathleen pointed out that no one in their right mind would vote against a piece of legislation called the "Patriot Act." If they did, they'd be viewed as unpatriotic. When it comes to education legislation, the Republicans again had the right idea in choosing a name. Instead of calling the bill "The Education Bill of Blah Blah Blah," they put a twist on it and called it "No Child Left Behind." Again . . . who's going to vote for leaving children behind??? More appropriate titles would include "The Federal Intervention in Education Act," "The Threaten School Districts with Takeover Act," or "The No Teacher Left in the Classroom Act." Then again, who would vote for those bills - even if their titles do accurately reflect the intent of the legislation?

Then we have our Missouri legislators (and even the Governor.) Last year, Governor Blunt had his "65 Percent Solution," which anyone could see was not a solution, no matter how it was spun. The pro-voucher chair of the House Education Committee has sponsored legislation to set up a scholarship fund for school choice that would give tax credits to contributors and drain up to $40 million from the state's general revenue. Over the past few years, she's tried titles such as "The Angel Scholarship" and "The Betty Thompson Scholarship," but apparently she made a call to D.C. this year to get some advice on naming - because she's now calling it "The Milton Friedman 'Put Parents in Charge' Education Program." How can you justify voting against putting parents in charge of their children's education? No one votes for "The Use Public Money to Fund Private Institutions Bill," but when you mask the truth with a lie about putting parents in control of their children's education, then it takes on a whole new meaning.

No matter what it's called, a piece of legislation is only as good as the bill itself. A tuition tax credit bill will always undermine the local public school district and divert public money to private schools - no matter what the bill is called. As we round the first turn in the 2007 legislative season, we must be vigilant of attempts to pass a wolf off for a sheep, whether it's done internally by hiding bad policy inside a good piece of legislation, or externally by putting an appealing name on the outside of a rotten bill.

Step Into My Office!

2007-02-02T22:14:00.000-06:00

This is my first post from my almost-finished home office! Yep, I'm almost finished with the addition that I started back in early July. It's been an ongoing project - and for those of you who've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember an update back in September when I ran into some problems wiring the ceiling fans. Well, the last large part of the project that I had tackled was painting. I had almost finished it in September . . . September 15 to be exact. In fact, I took a personal day on that Friday to stay home and finish the painting and paint the rest of the house. Then Ella came the next day, and since then, home improvement has been at the bottom of my to-do list.

I've taken a few small steps in the past four months (and I mean SMALL steps). I hung a door and finished painting some of the corners and cutting in around the ceiling. Then came the snow. After I complained all winter about not having any snow days (although we have had a couple of ice days), I was more than thrilled to wake up sometime early Thursday morning to see white ground . . . for the first time in a while. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to get two days off, and I decided to use those two days to get ready for the carpet.

I now have all the doors hung and most of them painted. I put together my desk and chairs (which had been delivered on September 15, and were sitting in the middle of my office since then, collecting junk), and I even hung some pictures. Today, I built a cabinet-type thing around the electrical panel so it's still accessible but doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. Now that it's coming together, I'm getting really excited about having somewhere to work besides the couch or rocking chair.

The next step (after finishing the paint on the spare bedroom doors) is carpet, and then baseboards and window trim. Then there's a little paint touch-up left to do, and it's all finished!!! So, my summer project has turned into a seven-month ordeal, but that's ok - it's about to be finished!

I'm a dot com!

2007-01-26T10:42:00.001-06:00

I've dreamed of it for years, and now I have finally arrived. I'm a dot com!

After the recent email glitches at school, including our email scanner labeling blogspot.com as "spam," I bought joeclauser.com. I had a link to my blog as the signature on all my email messages, but since our email scanner thought it was spam, it wouldn't let messages back in. So if someone would respond to my message, their response would bounce back to them as undeliverable. Since having the address as my signature is my main source of "advertising," I decided that I needed another way to direct people to my blog and still be able to receive replies.

My new address, joeclauser.com, offers many possibilities for communication and navigation of my web presence. For now, I have my main page, as well as blog.joeclauser.com, pointed to my blog site. Soon, internship.joeclauser.com will be pointed to my internship portfolio. I can also create URLs such as work.joeclauser.com, church.joeclauser.com, or anything else imaginable, point those addresses to various websites, and be able to share my life with the world in a whole new way.

I'm excited about the possibilities that this new venture provides - all for only $8.50 a year - just 2 cents a day!

Life Plan

2007-01-22T14:57:00.000-06:00

Procrastinator that I am, I usually find time to do things weeks, months, or even years after I should have actually done them. When I finally take the time to complete something, I realize that I shouldn't have put it off so long. It's usually not that I don't want to do it - it's just that other, more pressing things, seem to take precedence at the time.

Take, for instance, my Life Plan. This time last year, we were going through the series at church. We were challenged to write out the plan that we thought God had for our life and some goals that we would work toward accomplishing in the coming year. I never took the time to sit down and flesh the whole thing out - I put a lot of thought into it, and I had some idea of what it would look like, but I never had anything on paper that I could take out to and say, "this is my Life Plan." Until last night.

My wife decided that we should have a weekly family meeting - every Sunday night. Ok . . . good idea. But what would we talk about? I thought we needed some sort of plan for what we would discuss at the meeting. What a perfect time to sit down and write out our Life Plans together, then use them for the "agenda" at our family meetings!

After two hours of hashing over words and discovering the goals that we each have, we came up with individual Life Plans and a family Life Plan. The three plans contain a mission statement, core values, and goals. Our individual plans also include our spiritual gifts.

My core values are authenticity, character, creativity, devotion, excellence, teamwork, integrity, leadership, learning, loyalty, servant leadership, and family. My spiritual gifts include encouragement, wisdom, knowledge, service, leadership and administration.

I wrote three goals that I would like to accomplish this year. Some will be harder than others: have a consistent quiet time, lose 20 pounds before August, and find an administration position that will allow me to provide leadership for a school building.

Our mission statements are short descriptions of the purpose we believe God has for our lives. This is who we are, and why we exist.

My mission statement:
"To use my gifts and abilities to make the greatest possible impact on Missouri public education while providing the best possible life experience for my family."

Jessica's mission statement:
"To raise my children at home in order to instill morals and give them a stable and loving childhood."

Our family mission statement:
"To challenge each member of our family to be a moral, productive individual who commits to follow God and actively seek His will for his or her life."

Now that we have taken the time to flesh out the details of our Life Plans and commit to live them out, we can hold each other accountable for the progress. If you'd like more information about Life Plan, check out meadowheights.com and click on the GROW tab.

This Is Why We Teach.

2007-01-19T10:55:00.000-06:00

On occasion, teachers have those magic moments when the world seems to stop for a second and we realize that we are making a difference in the life of a student. Something happens that brings a tear to our eye or makes us sit a little taller and take pride in an experience that we've helped create that we know will change one child or a group of children forever. I had one of those moments this morning.

Every Friday, my English class reads the Scholastic Scope magazine. There is always a classroom play that we try to do first, and then we continue through the stories and activities in the rest of the magazine. This morning, we read the play "Freedom Writers," which is based on the 1999 novel and subsequent movie that I had never heard of. The movie stars Hilary Swank as teacher Erin Gruwell who shows students the power of their words and help them reject gang life. The teacher uses Homer's The Odyssey to introduce them to the concept of overcoming obstacles on the journey of life. She also uses The Diary of Anne Frank to illustrate how racial injustice and gang violence can hurt society. She then assigns the students a journaling assignment - for the rest of the year, they keep a journal that can be private or shown to Ms. Gruwell. She tells them she will look at everyone's journal to make sure they are doing the assignment, but she will only read them if they are left in a cabinet in the room. And so no one else will read them, the cabinet will be locked when she is not in the room.

After reading the play, we had about twenty minutes of class time left. I decided to have my students write a journal entry about an obstacle they had overcome. This could be something I would read or something they could take home and throw away. Either way, I would check to make sure they wrote something.

After fifteen minutes, I decided to kill the remaining five minutes of class by allowing the students to read their journal entries if they chose. Unlike other times that I have asked them to share orally, I told them I would not give bonus points - I was simply offering the opportunity and there was no bribery involved.

One student shared his story of getting his four-wheeler stuck in a muddy pond. It was a typical middle school boy story about making a foolish decision and somehow having fun almost tearing up a piece of equipment. And of course, the other boys thought that was cool. The other student to volunteer was a girl - not a popular girl, but one who is often rejected by her classmates. Not the brightest student in the class, but one who struggles to pull off a passing grade. Not a well spoken student with eloquent writing, but one whose speech is hard to understand. Even with those obstacles already against her, she had the nerve to volunteer to walk to the front of the room, stand in front of twenty-six of her peers, and pour her heart out in a way that most kids her age wouldn't dream.

She started by sharing that her mom gave her to her aunt and uncle when she was one, but later changed her mind and took her back so she could "get her check for cigarette money." Her real dad was never around, and although her mom was there, she was never available for her. "...all I felt like I was was just something to give her the name 'mom'." She never had nice clothes, she wore shirts that were too big for her and shoes that were too small. In first grade, she was taken away from her mom. There was a large fight and she recalls having to tell the police officer how her mom would see things "on the wall and everything else."

She remembers how two elementary teachers helped her through that time in her life, and how she never knew where she would be going each day after school. When she was asked to decide where she wanted to live, she chose her aunt and uncle, and after four years of legal battles, she was finally adopted. She closed by saying, "I am happy where I'm staying now with my aunt and uncle. They are my new mom and dad."

As she walked away from the podium to return to her seat, everyone clapped and no one spoke a word. She had cried through the whole story, and I have a feeling some of them had, too. I sat on the other side of the room, smiling on the outside and crying on the inside. I was so excited that she was sharing her most difficult struggle with the rest of the class, but I was hurting because I could not imagine the pain she had suffered throughout her childhood. I knew that sharing her story wasn't easy for her to do, but I could just imagine the freedom she was feeling by getting it off her mind and allowing her peers to share it with her.

After class, a few girls came up to her to give her a hug and say something to her. Some of them even walked with her through the hall as she went to her next class. I don't know that she had ever shared any of that with her classmates. Something we have to deal with in public schools is the vast spectrum of personal experience that students bring to the classroom. We work with kids from every walk of life.

In the play that we read in class, one student wrote in her journal, "I'm envious of kids with fathers. I hope they don't take for granted all the little things he does like say 'Good morning' or 'Goodnight.'" Or just asking what they did in school that day. That would be the perfect Cinderella story for me - no glass slippers, just a 'How was school today?'" I wonder what that girl in my class was thinking as those words were read. I wonder how many others feel the same way. And I wonder how many of them hear "How was school today?" and think that having that $100 pair of shoes or that new iPod is their Cinderella story.

Teachers have the best job in the world - we get to help mold lives forever. Whether it's those second grade teachers who helped a struggling girl cope with being taken from her family or the eighth grade teacher encouraging her to share her story with the class, we never know when we'll have that opportunity to make a difference. I'm glad I had that opportunity this morning - I'll never forget it.

My Radio Debut

2007-01-17T09:48:00.000-06:00

Each Wednesday, Mark Toti interviews a Fredericktown School District employee about an education topic. This morning, I was in the hot seat to talk about the Middle School Academic Team. I was a little nervous because it was a live interview, so if I messed up, there was no way to go back and fix it before broadcast. But it was actually a lot better than I expected. Like most interviews, it turned into a very casual conversation and most of the thoughts flowed very well - until he asked me for a sample question, and I wasn't prepared. I recovered, but it was a little awkward not being prepared for that.

Here's a summary of what I shared with Mark about the team.

This is my fifth year coaching the team. Each year, I've been assisted by Jane Stephenson, and I don't know that I could have done it without her. I really appreciate her willingness to help out. Every year, we have a team that represents our school well. I have been very proud of all of them. Two years ago, we placed 3rd at the conference tournament.

This year, we have thirteen team members (grades 7 & 8) and two managers (sixth graders). We compete against other schools on Tuesdays and Thursdays in February.

Matches consist of four rounds lasting fifteen minutes or fifty questions. The questions are about topics such as math, science, literature, grammar, history, geography, and current events.

This year, we have three returning members; the other ten are new. Even with the lack of experience, I think this will be a great season for our team. We started practicing in November, and we'll have eighteen practices in before our first match. This team has worked very well together, and I think that they definitely know the meaning of teamwork.

I think the best thing that involvement with Academic Team can offer a Middle School student is a sense of belonging and community. They learn that each of them is just as important as the other. When one of them gets discouraged because he or she hasn't answered any questions, my assistant coach tells the story of cookie baking. When you make cookies, you only use a pinch of salt, but that little bit of salt is just as important as all the flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients that seem more important. When a match is close (and they are sometimes won or lost by one or two points), the contribution of the teammate who answered one question is just as important as the one who answered ten.

We start the season January 30 when we host Farmington at 4:00 in the Middle School cafeteria. Parents and other spectators are welcome!

Jack's Back

2007-01-16T07:26:00.001-06:00

When Fox announced a new show back in 2001, promising edge-of-your-seat thrills and surprises at every turn, with a countdown clock that followed a man through twenty-four hours, I wasn't very impressed. I didn't want to watch it, and for the first three or four episodes, I didn't. Until the night I watched the last half of an episode . . . and then I was hooked. I've been a 24 addict for five seasons, and this weekend I started the sixth season like most other Bauer devotees - in front of the TV through the intense four-hour season premiere. And like every season before, it's clear to see that the next five months will be VERY interesting.

After two years in a Chinese prison, Jack was brought back to die. But since the show revolves around him, he couldn't - and he escaped. Did anyone not see that coming? And that was just the first five minutes. It's amazing what Jack can do in a few minutes - even more so in an hour. In the past hour, I got dressed, fed Ella a bottle, drove to school, and checked my email. That's it - my hour is up. In an hour last night, Jack was asked by the President to lead the search to find a nuclear scientist, drove across town to Jillian's house, convinced Curtis to work with Assad, got a Presidential pardon for the terrorist, shot his friend, lost it, told Buchanan he quit, and watched a nuclear bomb explode. We both had 1 hour - 60 minutes - 360 seconds.

At the end of hour four, Jack was faced with one of the toughest decisions we've ever seen him make - let Curtis shoot Assad, or shoot Curtis. My heart stopped for a few seconds when Jack pulled the trigger and shot the man who had protected him and worked with him for years - possibly his best friend now that Tony is gone - and I could only imagine what he felt in that split second. Thinking that was the biggest shock of the night (and it was definitely big enough), I was almost numb as I watched the guy push the detonator on the nuclear bomb and the mushroom cloud rise above the city. Jack and his team weren't able to stop the terrorists this time, but as all 24 fans know, there must be a bigger plan. We got a glimpse of it in next week's previews, and it looks like we're in for an exciting season.

In 24, Jack Bauer has twenty-four hours to save the world. For the past five seasons, he hasn't let us down. He's faced with many difficult decisions, and most of them deal with national security. Each day, we all get twenty-four hours to use as we choose. We are faced with many decisions, and most of them do NOT deal with national security. Actually, many of the decisions we make on a daily basis are more important than that. Each day, we are given choices that affect eternal security - for ourselves, for those we love, and for those we've never met. How are you using the time that God has given you? If we could all sit down and watch twenty-four hours of your life tick by on a TV screen, it may not be as exciting as Jack's story, but would it be as powerful? Would we see you make good decisions, do the right thing, and protect the Word of God the way Jack protects the constitution? Jack works for the President of the United States, but we work for the King of the Universe. Live life like every second counts!

Weather Woes

2007-01-16T06:58:00.001-06:00

Ok, what's up with the weather? Everyone else in Missouri got ice and snow from the storm over the weekend, but it was warm enough here that we only got rain - and a lot of it. Then I wake up this morning and the temperature is twelve degrees, and there's a trace of snow blowing around. Where was the cold when we had the moisture - and now that we have the cold, where's the moisture? I've about had it! I want snow!

2008 Presidential Candidate Selector

2007-01-11T09:45:00.000-06:00

Nothing about politics gets under my skin more than for someone to say, "I vote based on the issues, not the party," but when they're asked about the stance of their candidate of choice, they don't seem to know the candidate's position on most issues. They don't read newspapers; they don't really watch the news; they simply listen to media hype and spin and vote based on what they take for granted is the person's platform, based on party affiliation. I've watched the vicious cycle in my own family for far too long.

A few years ago, I stumbled across a site that allows you to select responses to various positions on current issues. It then provides a list of the forerunners in the campaign, with a percentage match based on your choices. There are over 20,000 selectors for all kinds of topics, from religion to refreshments; from Harry Potter to hair styling products. While many of the decisions that the site can help with are menial and should require no thought at all, more important decisions, such as who to vote for, can be well worth the investment of time.

Check out the 2008 Presidential Selector today!

Here are my top five five:
(100%) 1: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R)
(87%) 2: Rep. Tom Tancredo (R)
(80%) 3: Sen. Sam Brownback (R)
(66%) 4: Sen. John McCain (R)
(66%) 5: Ex-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R)

And bottom five:
(27%) 19: Sen. Christopher Dodd (D)
(22%) 20: Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D)
(22%) 21: Ex-VP Al Gore (D)
(22%) 22: Sen. John Kerry (D)
(16%) 23: Sen. Barack Obama (D)

Life Together

2007-01-09T12:31:00.000-06:00

When I was on staff at church, our annual retreats often began with a time called "Celebrate and Evaluate." We would share three accomplishments in our particular area for the past year, and then three challenges or goals that we faced for the coming year. It was a time to celebrate what God had done in our ministries and be honest about where we needed to work to improve in the future.

I decided to take that concept and have a similar time of reflection for the Southeast Region MSTA Executive Committee at our January meeting last night. When I emailed the members of the committee to remind them of the meeting, I asked that they each begin thinking about something (personal or professional) that they could share during that time. Once I started concentrating on the agenda and trying to finish the meeting in a timely manner, I forgot all about the reflection time. At 7:30, I adjourned the meeting and thought the night was over. Then one of our field reps reminded me that I had overlooked part of my plan.

When I originally considered the share time, I almost backed out, thinking no one would want to participate. Why would they want me prying into their personal and professional lives? They are volunteers, serving on a committee, meeting every other month to make decisions concerning the regional organization. What business do I have asking them to reflect on 2006 and make plans for 2007? When the night was over, I understood that the entire exercise was not at all about me leading a time of reflection - it was about God showing up in a group of nine teachers and touching their lives.

As we went around the table, we shared personal burdens, health concerns, family issues, financial decisions and career challenges. We had plenty to be thankful for - don't get me wrong. We weren't having a pity party for ourselves. God provided in big ways in 2006 - from new babies to spiritual breakthroughs; support at work to reaffirmation in leadership. It is amazing to me, as I sit here thinking back over everything that was shared, how much God did through nine very ordinary individuals in just 365 days.

What I had intended to be a five-to-ten-minute time of sharing turned into forty-five minutes of building relationships. I'm quite sure that at no point in our lives will any of us look back on January 8, 2007, and say, "I wish we would have left forty-five minutes earlier," but from time to time we will all look back and say, "remember when we sat around that table and shared life together? Remember that struggle you were facing? How are you doing? Remember what I was concerned about last year? Look what God has done in my life since then."

How many times do we look at our professional lives as an obligation to get the work done, without any thought to the struggles and victories of the people we are working with? Sharing life together is as simple as asking a group of nine people to share one thing they're thankful for and one challenge they face. God may not bless all the time that you invest in turning a profit, making a name for yourself, or being the leader of the pack. But I know that He will bless every second that you spend investing in others.

Sometimes "Not Yet"

2007-01-08T14:13:00.000-06:00

Words are all around us. We see them, hear them, and speak them every day. Loving words and harsh words . . . words to encourage others and words to tear them down . . . memorable quotes and trite cliches . . . informative snipits and meaningless babble. Words are all around us.

From time to time, godly people speak words of truth into my life. Sometimes it's unwanted (but needed) advice; other times, it's something supportive. I've appreciated the wisdom of many people over the past few years on my journey into adulthood. Last year, one of those individuals shared an insight that stuck with me through 2006 and reminds me not to get discouraged when what seems like defeat comes my way.

Last fall, I applied for a job that I thought was made for me. On my list of dream jobs, this one was definitely at the top, and I just knew that God had provided the opportunity just for me. A lot of people were praying for me through the whole process, including the person who was retiring from the position. For months, I poured everything I could into getting the job.

I can still remember every detail of the day I was interviewed. I can visually walk through the entire day and relive almost everything that was said. At the end of the interview, one of the men interviewing said, "sometimes God says 'yes,' sometimes he says 'no,' and sometimes he says 'not yet.'" I didn't realize how important that sentence would be until I read the letter saying someone else had been chosen to fill the position.

Since that time, I've worked with the person who was chosen for the position, and I understand where I was not quite as qualified at the time. I'm aware of the areas where I need to improve to be a better candidate the next time, and I will continue working on those things. I still believe that the position is one that God is preparing me for in the future, but for now I will continue to seek His will for the steps between here and there and remember that His answer is not always either "yes" or "no." Sometimes, He's just saying "not yet."

The Right Man

2007-01-04T10:37:00.000-06:00

I'm facinated with the proceedings of a state funeral - the pomp and grandeur surrounding the final farewell to a public servant who has devoted a lifetime to making a difference. Over the past few years, I have been glued to the television through three such funerals, including Governor Carnahan and Presidents Reagan and Ford.

I recorded Carnahan's funeral via a very fuzzy antenna connection and watched it on a 9-inch black and white TV. A few years later, I had Tivo for capturing all the sights and sounds of Reagan's funeral to watch and dump to VHS later. For Ford's funeral, I not only had the DVR going at home, but I was able to listen live on satellite radio as the motorcade moved from the National Cathedral to Andrews AFB.

The past week has been filled with bipartisan praise for the nation's 38th president, fostering a sense of political unity in Washington, D.C. that was again abandoned this morning as the power in both houses was shifted to a different party and talk of shutting one party out of legislative decision-making took the spotlight on Fox & Friends. What was it about Gerald Ford that made politicians from both sides get along? Was it just a dream that Jimmy Carter and Donald Rumsfeld both eulogized the same political leader? Was Gerald Ford really that great, or was it all just a show of respect?

I grew up in a family of Democrats. I've commented before that my dad and grandpa thought Bill Clinton walked on water, and if it were possible for him to be elected again, they would vote for him over any other person alive. Reagan and Bush were bad words in our house. Growing up, the only thing I ever heard my dad say about Ford was "he wasn't bad for someone that no one elected." That was better than anything I heard about other Republicans. Over the past few days, I've learned a lot about the man who occupied the White House for 895 days just a few years before I was born.

Shortly after 9-11, David Frum wrote a book about President Bush called The Right Man. It's an insider's view about how Bush handled the national crisis in a way that few others would, and how he was the right man for the job. The same title could be used for a biography of Gerald Ford. Given a failing economy, a presidential scandal and a war, few men would have had the ability and courage to lead the country the way President Ford did, especially with a nation that was so hurt by the previous administration. Then again, few men would have been the right man for the job.

Normally, pardoning a president with such a record as Richard Nixon's would be political suicide, and in 1974 it would make sense that many people would hold that against the newly installed leader. It stands to reason that those whose confidence in elected officials had been so deeply hurt by the Watergate scandal would be ready to burn Ford at the stake for allowing such actions to go unpunished. Anyone could clearly reason that it was a case of someone who had been hand-selected as Nixon's replacement repaying the deed to his friend by granting a presidential pardon. But Ford had something else in mind, and he disregarded what political pundits and the general public believed and chose, instead, to do what he felt was best for the country. In hindsight, we can see that his decision to forego allowing the nation's nightmare to continue with hearings and lawsuits to take down the entire leadership was the right choice. Unfortunately for Ford, it wasn't easy to see at the time, and it cost him the gratitude he deserved and instead bought the scorn of the country.

Being the only president to ever serve without being elected president or vice president, Ford didn't carry the baggage that burdens most politicians. He was thrust into the position in a matter of months and was given the chance to heal the nation in its greatest time of need. It must have been a humbling experience to stand in the Oval Office and realize that he did not belong there - that he was not the person chosen for the job - but that he was entrusted with the course of the country. We've been told that he was chosen because of his impecable character - something that Nixon lacked, but something he sought in a vice presidential appointment, knowing he would soon be leaving office. The humility with which Ford approached his new position must have been something rarely seen behind the president's desk. That humility and servantheartedness was made clear as he stood before the cameras and told the American people, "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your President with your prayers."

As a member of what has come to be known as "the Greatest Generation," Gerald Ford was a true patriot. As a World War II veteran, his national pride was the backbone of his presidency. He knew the sacrifices that had been made to create and protect the government that he was now charged with defending.

One more observation of Ford's character - as a former president, he did not openly criticize the actions of the sitting president. Although he disagreed, he kept remarks private, insisting that they not be released until that president's administration had ended. One of the most respectable virtues of a true American President is the ability to disagree with current policy and not be vocal about that disagreement. I believe Ford showed true respect for the office throughout his post-White House years.

He had the character to make the unpopular decisions, the humility to serve a country in need with no regard to his own ambitions, and the dedication of a true patriot. In the "hour of history that (troubled) our minds and (hurt) our hearts," Gerald Ford was the right man. My prayer is that when history writes its stories about my life, the same can be said of me.

Home . . . Sick

2007-01-02T17:06:00.000-06:00

Wow . . . the past two weeks have flown by. Today is the last day of Christmas vacation, and tomorrow it's back to the normal routine for a while. Most people have lots of plans for their vacation. This year, my family and I spent ours at home . . . sick.

The first night of vacation, Ella began running a fever. We kept an eye on it overnight and then called the nurse help line around 5 am when her temperature reached 102. The nurse suggested calling the pediatrician when the office opened, but she said not to get too concerned until it reached 105. After a checkup and a nose swab at the lab, we found out that she had Type A Flu (the popular version that was the illness of choice in Madison County all month). We were quarantined for Christmas vacation! We were able to go to our parents' houses on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The next week provided even more time stuck at home! How exciting! We were able to get out on Wednesday when my mother-in-law stayed with Ella for a while. We used most of that time to catch up on sleep that we've lost over the past four months, so I'm not complaining about not being able to get out. It saves money and gives us an opportunity to rest that we would not otherwise have.

Yesterday, Jessica felt sick, and Ella started running a temperature again. Hopefully we're not headed into round two!

Rest is God's way of renewing our bodies, souls and minds. I usually don't take time to slow down and rest, and my wife often reminds me that it's not a sin. Even with all that I should have done this December and all that I just wanted to do, taking a break and just staying home was probably not that bad. Especially since it gave all three of us a chance to just spend lots of time together.

The Next Chapter

2006-12-14T12:49:00.000-06:00

After nearly eight years of part-time employment, I have resigned my position at Meadow Heights, effective December 31. The past eight years have been the greatest of my life. I have developed friendships that I cherish more than anything else in life. I have learned leadership skills and developed abilities that I never dreamed possible. The past eight years have provided opportunities to grow personally, professionally, and spiritually, and for that I will be forever grateful. But as 2007 approaches, it is time for me to move on from this point in my life - to begin a new chapter, beginning with this step.

When I started attending Meadow Heights, we were a small, country church with an average attendance of around 75. I started attending the weekend after Bryan and his family began, and we've been together since. At that time, he was the youth pastor, and I was in the youth group. A couple of years later, he asked me to serve as the youth representative on his new advisory council. At that time, I never would have dreamed that our journey would have lasted this long and reached this far.

In 1998, when he formed a group of volunteers to transform the student ministry (called the Dream Team), Bryan asked me to come alongside and volunteer as his administrative assistant. I attended Dream Team meetings that lasted until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning; we dreamed huge, unimaginable dreams for the student ministry and for the church. I created flyers and bulletins and PowerPoint presentations for the student ministry; I maintained the database and kept him supplied with reports; I helped promote Youth Explosion, with posters, mailouts, another database, and even some websites. In the fall of 1999, Bryan offered to pay me $25 a week to help compensate for the time commitment and so that I could qualify for a scholarship as a church employee. And then the fun began!

Throughout my junior and senior years of college, I would drive home from St. Louis every weekend to perform my duties at church - and during the week, we operated virtual offices through email and IM. I was in my dorm in St. Louis and he was in his classroom at FMS. I can't imagine how much bandwidth we used sending stuff back and forth to get ready for the next big event. I also kept up with some of the work while I was holding down the midnight shift at Black River Electric on the weekends, and during my stints at the gas station, I would sometimes field cell phone calls about church work.

Then, sometime in 2000, I was sitting in my dorm room and the phone rang. It was Bryan. He had some news to share. Our pastor, Jim, was resigning. Things on the church-wide level were about to shake up, and that was about to take me from being the youth pastor's assistant to being the interim pastor's assistant, all the way to being the pastor's assistant . . . in a very short period of time.

After the change in leadership at the church-wide level, the philosophy of the church began to change. We began to abandon the traditions of Southern Baptist practices in exchange for simpler, more biblical ways of doing church. We adopted mission and vision statements to reflect who we were, and we began to be the purpose-driven church that God had in mind. With a new pastor with a background in education, the style of the messages also went away from a traditional sermon to more of a teaching style, and with that, PowerPoint support was added in the messages. Hymnals had all but been replaced by PowerPoint slides a few years earlier. And the design and presentation of the songs and message became my responsibility. I loved it!

Most churches lose members and attenders while they experience a change in leadership. Many become stagnate and take a while to start growing again, if they ever do. But Meadow Heights had grown during the interim, and we continued to grow as Bryan took the lead. So by now, it was time to add a second service, and that was about the time that Bryan asked me to start designing the bulletin rather than the secretary. I didn't think it could get any better than that!

We were on the fast-track to creating a new image in the community and being able to promote our church and the gospel in a way that few other churches around could do. We had a website! And at some point in there, we started a whole identity campaign, including a logo, that has really professionalized what we do ever since. I remember sitting in my bedroom floor, staring at a preliminary logo design, and talking on the phone with Bryan. We were trying to figure out if the sun had enough rays, if the rays were the right shape, if the MH looked right . . . it just went on and on. The preliminary design also had green on the top and blue on the bottom. We decided if that would be flipped, it would look like the sky and a field. Some people would have referred to us as idiots . . . but the logo was VERY important to us, and we had to get it just right. That was just one of many items that we've discussed and debated for well over an hour.

We started pumping out a more professional bulletin, mailouts, and newspaper ads. We bought a huge, color laser printer to do most of the printing in-house. It was about this time that I started focusing mainly on technology and graphic design, and my official title became Director of Technology & Publications. We went through some secretarial changes for a while, which provided the opportunity to professionalize the operation of the office.

With the addition of a third service came a change in my life. I was introduced to my future wife, and with that came a desire to back off from my commitment to church a little. I had become so involved that there really wasn't much room left for her in my life. There was a period of adjustment, but we worked through it well. That's when I started seeing the need for help. I couldn't devote every Sunday to being at church all morning (5:30 am - 12:30 pm) and still keep my sanity and help her keep her own. I had to get help. Dave was a huge asset to me by allowing me time away during those first couple of years of grown-up life. I would get everything ready for the weekend, and then he would run PowerPoint when I needed him to.

Then came service number 4 - Saturday nights. The days of the one-man technology show were over. I had been married a few months, and I already knew that adding that commitment was not going to work. I recruited additional help and started training them so they could take the weekend load. They have been great! We've also added more staff members - many of whom have taken some of the load that I used to carry. By the end of 2006, my weekend responsibilities are almost gone. I've worked maybe ten of the last fifty weekends, and I've loved it! I've been able to enjoy the weekend services . . . gatherings . . . as a participant rather than a performer. And I've been able to go to church with my wife (and now with my daughter). Having that opportunity over the past year is something I'll always be thankful for.

So 2006 is wrapping up. With only seventeen days left, it's almost history. With the end of this year comes the end of an era for me . . . almost a decade of being employed by Meadow Heights. With all of the wonderful memories that I've shared, you may wonder why I'm giving it up. After all, I'm resigning - not being fired. If I've loved it so much, why am I walking away? It's very simple - one four-letter word: E-L-L-A.

I've said it before - parenthood changes everything. It's time for me to re-evaluate my course in life and decide where God is leading me, then focus on that. I have to give up the good stuff that I've been a part of for the great things He has in store. In that re-evaluation, I've realized that I'm holding onto a part-time job to supplement my income, while taking time away from my family each week - sometimes their best time. As a member of the church, and as a follower of Christ, I'll continue to serve, but I need to step away from the position as an employee. I met with Michael this morning to work out a transition plan . . . an "exit strategy" . . . and to talk about some of the things that I will continue to do as a volunteer. By the first of the year, I will only have one job - after having two (and at times three) for the past six years. But more importantly than any job that I could have, I now have a family to devote my time and attention to.

To those of you that I have worked with over the past eight years, thank you for the opportunity to serve with you and to share life together. To the members of Meadow Heights, thank you for the opportunity to serve God and you. To everyone else, if you've never taken the opportunity to volunteer or work in your church - if you ever have that opportunity - go for it. If God can take what I was in 1998 and put me in the position I have been in since then and use and change me the way He has, I know that He has something in store for you, too.

Fifteen Down . . . Twenty-Five to Go!

2006-12-13T12:15:00.000-06:00

Last week, I finished my fifth class toward my Master's degree. I now have fifteen hours of graduate work behind me, and I'm looking forward to graduation . . . with only twenty-five more hours in my way. No problem! I have registered for eighteen hours this spring, and I'll take seven over the summer. If I can finish my internship before the end of the summer, I'll be finished. If not, I'll have the fall to complete it. Either way, I'll graduate next December.

With all the excitement of tripling up on classes to finish early, I've also been caught up in planning the next step in my education. I'm weighing the options of working on a Specialist degree or going straight from Master's to Doctorate. A large part of that decision will be based on cost and the programs offered at various universities. I narrowed my list to four institutions: Southern Illinois University, St. Louis University, Ohio State University, and Mizzou. From there, I started looking at tuition, availablity of distance learning (which is a must), and the overall convenience of the program.

This morning, I found out that SEMO is part of a cooperative program through Mizzou where I can get my degree through Mizzou without leaving Southeast Missouri . . . much. I also found out that my current advisor received her Doctorate through the program. So . . . I have decided (subject to God's approval) that I will enroll in Specialist classes through SEMO following graduation next year, and then in the Doctoral program through Mizzou.

Lofty goals? Maybe. Some people have the philosophy that if you "aim for the moon, you'll land among the stars." I believe we must always keep dreaming about the next step - in our professional lives, in our spiritual lives, and in our relationships. Do you have plans for your future? God does. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." He's not satisfied with the plans that we have conjured up based on our limited knowledge. He's dreaming big things for me and you - things that we couldn't imagine, even if we were told.

Dream Big. I am!

Quiz Time!

2006-12-11T14:42:00.000-06:00

Quiz: What's Your American IQ?
Questions from the citizenship exam.

Friends

2006-11-29T10:55:00.000-06:00

Here is my president's report for November. It was written for certain people, but it also applies to many other people that I am blessed to call friends.

At the end of the Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life," George Bailey opens the book that his guardian angel has left for him to read the inscription, "No man is a failure who has friends."

The past few months have been very interesting for MSTA and for our region. Since we met last, we had a very successful Open Hearing and Assembly of Delegates, where issues that are near to the heart of our region's educators were brought up for discussion. Election night came and went, and with it, 90% of MSTA's endorsed candidates won. This year's Convention marked a milestone that few associations ever achieve, and we celebrated it in style. We also adopted revised Articles of Incorporation and By-laws that will allow us to operate in the 21st century as the professional organization and business that we have become. We have plenty to celebrate!

We're just getting started. Following Convention, the board met for five hours to discuss the future of our Association. The future has never been brighter for MSTA. We are poised to take on Jefferson City this year and come out with victories like we haven't seen in some time. We have passionate leaders who will lead the charge, and we have many more passionate members who will be right behind them.

With all the excitement from November, there was also some disappointment. On election night, half of the candidates lost. Some of them lost by a large margin; others by just a vote or two. I was also disappointed by the outcome of an election when I lost the write-in campaign for MSTA Vice President. I understood the disappointment felt by so many political candidates just a week earlier. But I was also encouraged by the support that I received from so many members from across the state and from our region.

The quote from "It's a Wonderful Life" helped me remember that success and failure aren't determined by how much you accomplish or at what level you lead. If you look around at the people you call friends and consider why they call you their friend, it's easy to remember the successes you've had in life. As I think about the friendships I have with fellow leaders throughout the state, I realize the impact of my involvement up to this point. And as I think about those of you that I am blessed to call my Southeast Region friends, I can't help but think I'm the most successful person in the world. You are the greatest friends anyone could ask for, and I appreciate your support and service to the children of Southeast Missouri.

Mistakes We've Made

2006-11-10T15:02:00.000-06:00

Individually, people make mistakes. Collectively, they make even bigger mistakes. No one's perfect. This form of government that we call democracy protects the rights of the minority, and it gives privileges to the majority. Sometimes the minority is wrong. Sometimes the majority is wrong.

Since I converted to a Republican in October 1996 (wow - ten years ago) I have never heard the Republican party referred to as the minority. We were the party in control back when I still believed my dad and grandpa when they said Bill Clinton walked on water. We had control of Congress for twelve years. Half of that time, we had control of Congress AND the White House. A lot has happened in those years.

Tuesday night, I watched helplessly as the majority became the minority - as we lost races all across the country to give up control of the House. I awoke in the middle of the night to find out that we even lost our own Senate seat to the other party. And then I finally realized yesterday that we had lost control of the Senate, too. It's just been a week of loss!

But no matter how horrible we feel about what happened this week, or how much we think life as we know it is about to end, we have to remember that it's not as bad as it seems. God didn't wake up in the middle of the night on Tuesday to realize that Claire McCaskill won, or that the cloning amendment passed. He wasn't surprised by that. He knew it was going to happen long before Claire was talked into running, or Michael J. Fox sat in front of that camera. He's in control. He knows what's going on.

Neil Cavuto had an interesting take on the whole ordeal. It seems like the media just added to the despair that I was feeling and the depression that many Republicans were sinking into as headlines and bright-colored graphics announced to the world that the Democrats ruled. Headlines don't last. Heroes are mortal. Life really is, as Neil described it, "a series of snapshots." It changes all the time. They won this time, but we'll have our chance again.

"Don't Know What You've Got Until it's Gone"
by Neil Cavuto

"Good headlines. Enjoy 'em while you got 'em. Because unfortunately they do not last.

Just ask Donald Rumsfeld. There was a time he was a media rock star. His press conferences were legendary. His reputation even more so. That was when the Iraq war was going well. Then it wasn't. Then he wasn't. Then he resigned. Happens all the time.

Two years ago Republicans were feeling pretty cocky, a president re-elected, a House and Senate secure. They got arrogant. Then, they got walloped.

Just like Democrats got arrogant in 1974, when they rode an anti-Republican Watergate-dominated mid-term election wave that two years later produced a Democratic president... Only to lose it all in 1980 to something called a Reagan revolution.

Twenty years later Republicans were feeling pretty cocky, convinced that their takeover of the House had all but madeBill Clinton a one-termer. It hadn't.

I guess nothing shocking or profound here, save this:

Take life as a series of snapshots. A flash in time. That changes...all the time. In the moment, at the moment, we in the media record them as great seismic events. Until they're not. And the only debate is who's the greater fool...the folks who thought the good headlines would last forever...or the folks who wrote 'em?"

Politics aren't eternal. Relationships are - relationships with God and with others. Make the most of both.

The Name Game

2006-11-03T11:52:00.000-06:00

Most expectant parents have nine months to choose a name. We had eight. But we had agreed on four names before we were even engaged, so that made the whole process much smoother. Of course, since that was two years ago, her feelings about some of the names has changed. So I don't really know if we will stick with our original agreement or compromise. Either way, we are trying to make our children's names very meaningful.

We decided to name our first daughter Ella Rose. As soon as we tell most people, they say, "that's pretty. It sounds like a family name." To which we reply, "it is!" You see, my wife and I have two wonderful grandmothers. We have very special memories of these two women who helped to shape our lives. My grandmother who passed away in July was Fern Castella. My wife's grandmother is Rosanna (with no middle name). To honor both grandmothers, we took Ella from Castella and Rose from Rosanna.

Ella has a cousin named Julianna Rose, who was born on September 15, 2003. Ella was born on September 16, 2006. We didn't know she would be born so closely to Julianna's birthday when we chose to use the same middle name, but that is something else that adds some meaning to her name.

Other names that we still have are

Joseph William Marc (my name, my dad's name, and my father-in-law's name),
Jace Henry (we just like Jace - and my grandpa had an uncle Jake, and Henry is my grandpa's middle name and his dad's first name), and
Allison Lynn (my great grandma was Alice, and my wife's middle name in Lynn).

Now if we can just have two boys and another girl, we’ll be set!

The names that we give children are special to us. We call them by their names; they answer us; when they’re babies, we sit and rock them and repeat their names over and over and over and over. One day, they may be famous. Their names may be on billboards or in newspapers. They may be in books or important documents filed in government offices. They may be on TV or radio or known across the globe. Or they may only be known to a few local people and nothing more.

I have two goals for my children’s names:

That when someone else hears my son or daughter’s name, the only thought is about what a difference he or she has made, and
That one day, when time is over here on earth, they’ll all be written in the only book that matters for eternity – the Book of Life.

Nothing else matters. You see, when we get to heaven and get our time to speak to God, He’s not going to be the wicked judge that people imagine. He’s not going to point out all of our faults and tell us how we don’t deserve to be there. He’s not going to point to all the good things we did and tell us how much we deserve to be there. The only thing God is going to say related to why you should be in heaven will be “what did you do with My Son?” and “what did you do with what you were given?”

My goals for my children’s names will give them the answers for those two questions. To the question “what did you do with My Son?” I want my children to be able to answer, “I accepted Him and served Him with my life.” And to the question “what did you do with what you were given?” I want them to be able to answer, “I used it all to make a difference in the lives of others.”

Are you playing the name game? Am I playing the name game? Are we chasing fame for fame’s sake? Are we striving to achieve power and prestige just to be able to impress people or have a lot of money? Or are we striving to make the name of God known? Are we striving to make a difference in the world?

I think so many times we get the whole idea of names wrong. We think our names should be known on earth, and God’s name should be known in heaven. But that’s backward. God’s name should be known all over the earth, and your name should be known in heaven.

Two things – Honor God. Love People.

Education/Political Rants...

2006-10-29T16:58:00.000-06:00

Ok - I couldn't come up with a creative title! So . . . here's a little bit of what's on my mind about politicians, related to education.

Wouldn't it be great if those in power would seek advice from teachers before passing laws that shape what we do in classrooms? I believe MSTA has the ears of many of the movers and shakers in Jeff City. Many times we've spoken, and they have listened. But there are still people in control of our profession who never stepped into a classroom in their adult lives before entering politics and having more power over what we do in classrooms than we do. Including the US Secretary of Education!

As we turn for the homestretch of this year's campaigns, we are being bombarded with ads from people who want to control education. And isn't it great how many of them use "holding teachers accountable" as a reason they should be elected? And then they throw in "mandatory testing" to garner public support.

It's funny how the constituents who will vote for these candidates have no idea what they are talking about or supporting . . . but they are eager to vote for them because they're "improving education." Unfortunately, when it comes to education, we have a very uneducated public.

We had parent-teacher conferences this past week. As I explained MAP scores to the parents, many of them commented that 100% of the students achieving proficient or advance would be impossible. Hmm . . . .

How many people know that NCLB requires 100% of students in every school district to score either proficient or advanced by the year 2014 or else the state will take over? I would bet the only people who know that are teachers . . . and maybe their spouses. How many parents know that their child's "Proficient" score actually means they performed ABOVE grade-level?

Maybe we just need a little honesty in campaign ads! Maybe instead of saying, "I will hold teachers accountable," candidates should just be honest and say, "I will set unattainable goals for schools and then when they don't meet them, I will fire all the teachers and replace them with political appointees who will do a better job." Instead of saying, "I will improve education in all schools," they should say, "I will give schools just enough money to entice them to start programs that will help their students achieve, and then I will cut off the money so they will be forced to find it somewhere else or cut the program."

Ok . . . I'll stop now. Make sure you vote on November 7. Vote your conscience; vote your morals; vote for education!

Suit up!

2006-10-26T19:33:00.000-05:00

Any "How I Met Your Mother" addicts??? Every time Barney wants someone to join him on a new adventure, he says, "Suit up!" Well . . . this whole parenthood thing is a new adventure for me. So . . . SUIT UP!

Parenthood changes everything. Don't argue. Just believe me.

I never believed that - I thought it was a crutch that people used to get out of responsibilities . . . to not be involved as much as they were when they were single or just married. I thought I could handle a new baby and everything else that I did before . . . and more!

The last six weeks . . . wow - it's been six weeks already??? . . . have changed the way I see everything in life. From relationships to positions to my life's purpose. This has been an opportunity to re-evaluate everything that I do and stand for.

Now don't get me wrong - pre-September 16, I was just as purpose-driven as I am today. I knew that I should give up some good things to do God's best. I knew that my life had a purpose that was much greater than myself, and I wanted to fulfill that purpose with everything within me. Parenthood didn't change my approach - it just gave me another filter to see the world through.

I can't wait to get home every afternoon and hold my baby girl. I love rocking her to sleep; I love having her sleep on my chest; I love watching her look around the room in amazement. I don't love when she cries and I can tell that she's in pain . . . but that will go away eventually. The time I spend with her is invaluable.

A few months ago, my wife and I decided that we were going to try everything possible to put us in a financial position that would allow her to quit her job and stay home to raise our children. When we set the goal, we knew that it would be important. We understood that being a stay-at-home mom was a very noble undertaking that would have lasting effects on our kids. We didn't know, however, how much that would mean to us once the babies started coming.

A week before she has to go back to work, my wife is now wishing she could stay home immediately. She doesn't want to leave our daughter during the day while she drives an hour each way to work and spends seven hours in a classroom. She loves teaching - but she loves mothering even more. I see the care in her eyes when she cries at night, wishing that she didn't have to work. I know how much that means to her, and I want nothing more than to make that dream happen . . . soon.

So we have worked on a budget. We've paid off a lot of debt. We traded in my 2000 Ford Expedition for a 2004 Dodge Caravan so we can have a longer-lasting vehicle that will be cheaper to maintain and that we can pay off in a year's time. We are devoting 66% of our gross income to paying off as much debt as we can so we can refinance our house and just have one payment next year. No one could imagine the sacrifices that she is making so we can do that. I am really proud of her for her dedication to making this dream a reality.

So now I've started thinking. Am I making the most of my time that I have for my family? Are they included in everything that I do? Is it worth the sacrifices that I make to be away from them in order to make money? Hmm . . . should I quit my job and do something where I could work from home? Ok - maybe that's pushing it a little. But my new goal is to maximize my potential to provide for my family in the best possible way while not robbing any more time from them than I absolutely have to. Will there be changes in the future? Probably. Do I know what they will be? Maybe. I'll definitely keep you posted. But for now, I am in a state of re-evaluation that may lead me down some paths that I may not have ever imagined traveling just a few months ago.

Parenthood changes everything. Don't argue. I'm living it right now. I am seeing why so many people give up jobs, positions, and dreams to take part in the greatest thing that God has to offer. My priorities are still the same: family, God, kids. My calling is still the same - make a difference in the lives of kids. In fact, knowing that I have a child who will be going through public schools in five years is even more of a reason for me to work for the improvement of education in Missouri. What I work to accomplish in life will never change. How I accomplish it may be changing soon. I'm ready for the journey. I'm strapping in for the ride. I'm excited that you will share the ride with me!

The Number One Education Issue

2006-10-23T11:56:00.000-05:00

Most of my conversations related to education are with fellow educators. I spend a lot of time communicating in online communities, reading blogs, and forwarding emails - but it seems like my circle includes mostly fellow MSTA members from across the state, or teachers in Southeast Missouri or my school district.

When I visit with anyone outside of the education community, it's either with people from church or family. In those cases, conversation usually focuses on church or family issues (unless, of course, the person is also a teacher, which is often the case).

So you see, I realized this morning that I don't often get an outsider's perspective on education issues. What does an average Missouri citizen think about the state of our education system? What improvements do they think we need to tackle? Where do they feel we fall short as educators, or as school districts? What is the number one education problem?

Comments are definitely welcome!

Why I'm Running for MSTA Vice President

2006-10-20T11:41:00.000-05:00

Here is the text of a speech that I gave to the Southwest Region MSTA last week:

At this year's Convention, I will share with you about the journey that MSTA has been on over the past 150 years. I will relate our journey to that of Lewis and Clark, and share the answers to three very important questions about our future: Where are we going? How will we get there? And who will take us there?

The challenges we will face in the next few years are not easy. There is no black and white when it comes to public education. Because we've never faced these challenges before, there's no clear path for us to take in tackling them. Let's look at some of them:

• Differentiated salaries: Earlier this month, I started a conversation on the online forum to discuss this issue. I played devil's advocate and posed some strong arguments held by proponents of differentiated salaries. Without direction from MSTA, this may become a reality in the future.

• Accountability from the state board: The state board is a political machine. It's hard to get those in control to change its structure. MSTA has a dream to add three practicing educators and impose term limits. I have the resolve to see us accomplish that dream.

• School choice: Here's another topic that I brought up on the online forum. Doesn't it seem like this topic is never going away? We must address the underlying causes that lead people to push for vouchers. When we fight against school choice for students in failing districts, are we doing a disservice to them? It's time we stop pushing so hard against vouchers and start helping to find solutions to the root of the problem without diverting public money to private institutions.

• Funding: We got our formula passed – now it's time to make sure it works. When it doesn't – when it is no longer providing an adequate and equitable education to our students – we must address necessary changes – we can't wait ten years – we must continually evaluate it.

• Teacher Preparation: We must take a stand and demand that teacher preparation courses provide real-life experiences to their students long before they enter a classroom to complete their student teaching. Prospective teachers also deserve instructors who have recent classroom experience – not retired administrators who haven't been in a classroom in twenty years.

These are just a few issues we will face – I'll share more in November when I give you a map of where I plan to go over the next four years.

On the journey that MSTA is taking, you have two choices for your leader. Why should you choose me?

• Our Association is ready for new leadership – 21st century ideas to tackle 21st century problems. It's time we start looking to the future generation to provide that leadership. I am the candidate who will provide that leadership.

• The problems MSTA faces demand specific goals and strategic plans. When we meet again next month, I will share with you some very specific accomplishments that I plan for MSTA to celebrate in the near future. I will share with you my strategic plans for where this journey will take us. I am not content to give lip service to the issues we face – I am the candidate with the plan.

• The MSTA Executive Board is the governing body of the Association. The officers direct the business of the Board. Our Board and Association deserve a Vice President who has served as a Board member before running for office. I am the candidate with that experience.

I have been told that, in the 150-year history of MSTA, no one has ever won an election as a write-in candidate. It's time for a change. Next month, you will have a chance to make history. If you want a Vice President who is an experienced board member, with 21st century ideas to tackle the challenges ahead, write in JOE as your choice of MSTA Vice President!

No More Public Schools

2006-10-17T11:48:00.000-05:00

I receive Edutopia - a free magazine published by the George Lucas Foundation. There are often a lot of good articles - cutting edge, thought-provoking ideas - thoughts to challenge the way we view our profession and help us think outside the box. Overall, I've been pleased with the magazine. Until this month.

On page 60 (www.edutopia.org/1654), there is an interview with Penn & Teller. I have never really thought much of this duo - I haven't had much respect for them since I started hearing about their series on Showtime. They are very opinionated - and their opinions are rarely the same as mine. Including their views on education.

In the middle of the interview, Penn & Teller were asked "If you could change one thing about education, what would it be?" Penn answered, "No public schools!" Teller, a former public high school teacher from New Jersey, said, "Stop it from being compulsory."

I don't even know that Penn's answer deserves the energy it takes to type a response. What would happen if we didn't have public schools? I was just outraged by that comment. Maybe you have some idea of what it would be like? Would we only have private schools, so only those who could afford it would be educated? Would we leave education up to individual families? That will never work. He didn't indicate any reason for his answer, or any alternative for public schools - so I guess it's open to interpretation. And I really don't think many people share the same opinion, anyway.

Teller's remark, on the other hand, had a qualifier: "Children are taught from an early age that learning is something they're stuck with. They have to go to school, just as you have to pay taxes. Making something compulsory negates all value and joy." Possibly true, but unfortunately, not everyone sees the value in a quality education, and I'm afraid that without compulsory school laws, we might as well go with the "no public schools" philosophy.

So . . . here are some things to think about: How do we improve the image of public education so that the Penns and Tellers of the world are not so critical of our profession and the institution that we so whole-heartedly believe in? Do we fail to make school something that children look forward to, thereby negating "all value and joy"? If so, where? What can we do about it?

Then when you're ready for a positive take on education, check out the September issue's interview with Dolly Parton: www.edutopia.org/1618

What's That Noise?

2006-10-09T12:20:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love it when your wife wakes you up in the middle of the night and asks, "did you hear that?" It's a common occurrence around our house * probably because I could sleep through a freight train hitting the house, but she wakes up when she hears a cricket outside the window.

When the air conditioner fell out of the bedroom window, it was probably as loud as a freight train. But last night, the sound really wasn’t much louder than a cricket. It was a rustling noise from behind the house. It took me a while to hear it, and I tried to make her believe it was thunder. I just wanted sleep!

A few minutes later, I was slipping on my jeans and heading down the dark hallway * I really wasn’t as brave as I seemed. I kept thinking about someone trying to break in; I just knew I was about to die. But I kept going * trying to be the brave warrior, eager to protect my family.

When I got to the back porch, I heard the noise, and it sounded like it was under the house. In times like this, I always think it’s a person making the noise (probably not logical, but who thinks logically when they should be ASLEEP?!?!?!) I thought someone had removed the glass panel and crawled under the house * even though there was a large trash can, the water hose caddy, and an aquarium in the way.

Afraid, I didn’t want to be on the back porch in case the person would see me and have a gun! I ran back into the house, and into the utility room, where I could get a good look into the corner. I hit the window, hoping whatever it was would show itself * nothing. My frightened wife, apparently thinking something was attacking me, came in to see if I was ok.

I decided to take the screen out of the window. I would still be protected by being in the house, but I could have a closer look, and I could use the rake that was leaning on the house, to find the source of the noise. When we noticed the trashcan moving, I assumed something was under it. With the rake, I hit the trashcan . . . moved it around . . . still nothing. The stupid thing had run away while I was taking the screen out. But that argument wouldn’t satisfy my wife. No * I had to go out there and make sure.

With a broom in hand, I slowly opened the back door, and reached out to turn on the light. When I did, I looked down into the trashcan by the steps, and there it was * an opossum! It was stuck. Now what?

The brains of our operation (you’ve probably figured by now that was NOT me) suggested putting the lid on the trashcan and taking the opossum out in the yard to let it go. As I got closer to the trashcan, its mouth opened wider, revealing some pretty mean-looking teeth. I wasn’t sure if it would bite, but I definitely didn’t want to take the chance.

To finish this story as quickly as possible, once I got the trashcan out into the yard, and I realized that tipping it over and trying to pry the lid off wouldn’t work, I took off the lid, stepped back as far as I could, tipped over the can with the broom, and ran like crazy.

I didn’t look back.

Thank you, President Bush.

2006-10-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, when the economy was on the way south and gas prices were beginning to rise, everyone jumped on the "blame the President" bandwagon. Somehow, a lot of people rationalized that the President single-handedly controls the stock market and the price of crude oil. Following that rationale, fine - let's blame him. Let's bad-mouth him on the radio and in the newspaper. In fact, let's devote a month of front page stories to the awful job he is doing.

But if you hold to the thought that Mr. Bush is to blame when things go wrong, why not give him credit when things improve? The price of gas is below $2.00 a gallon; the Dow continues to climb into record territory. So where are the front page stories about the great job the President is doing? Where is the thanks that he deserves for single-handedly straightening out the economy . . . while dealing with a war, a Congressional scandal, and a mid-term election?

You may remember back in the nineties when another President was given credit for a great economy and a positive job outlook. The Dow set an all-time high during his presidency, and he received praise all over the place. And when things took a turn for the worse, I don't recall anyone blaming him.

It seems as though the political climate in the United States has a double standard. It's time that we recognize the good and the bad in everyone - don't put on blinders just because you're affiliated with a certain political party; don't hold one leader to a different standard than you hold another one to. And either get over the idea that one person single-handedly controls the price of anything, or start writing the thank-you notes . . . because if it's good enough for one President, it's good enough for the other.

I'm Running!

2006-09-27T13:08:00.000-05:00

I announced this morning that I will be running for Vice President of the Missouri State Teachers Association at this year's Annual Convention. I am excited about the opportunities that this campaign will allow me. God has allowed a few things to happen in my life recently that confirmed that this is the time to step up and run. Unlike candidates who turn in paperwork in advance and go through the Open Hearing campaign circuit, I will be nominated from the floor of the Assembly of Delegates. It is something that has not been done since 1987, although it is an option every year. Watch for more posts about the campaign and an update on what's going on.

President's Report

2006-09-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

Following is the report I will be giving to the Southeast Region MSTA tomorrow.

Two hundred years ago this past Saturday, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned to St. Louis to complete the expedition they had departed on nearly two and a half years earlier. They had just explored the Louisiana Purchase and had been given up for dead by the citizens of the young country. When they returned, the pair was treated as national heroes. On their return to Washington, D.C., balls and galas were held in towns they passed through. One senator told Lewis it was as if he had just returned from the moon. The men received double pay and 320 acres of land; Lewis was named governor of the Louisiana Territory; Clark was made Indian agent for the West and brigadier general of the militia. It was a milestone in our nation’s history that has been celebrated and taught in history classes for years.

Nearly fifty years later, 110 educators in Missouri met in the same city to form what would become the Missouri State Teachers Association. They came from all over the state * by horse and buggy, train, or steamboat. One hundred fifty years later, MSTA has had many milestones. We’ve even made it to Washington, D.C. We’ve thrown a few balls and galas over the years, but we really haven’t been treated as national heroes. Our accomplishments aren’t known by many and we definitely haven’t received double pay. Why? Because MSTA’s influence isn’t in the heart of the nation * it’s in the hearts of children.

MSTA is a state organization, with headquarters and staff to support its purposes. MSTA is a regional organization, with offices and field staff to serve and support local leaders. MSTA is a local organization, with over hundreds of community teachers associations to support and influence local education. MSTA is a personal organization, with over forty thousand members who teach in classrooms, drive busses, serve meals, take temperatures, file papers, and influence one child at a time. There is only one purpose for the services and structure of MSTA * kids first.

With that in mind, we are entering the season of resolutions and legislative priorities. The weeks leading up to the annual Convention give members the opportunity to influence the policies of their association. I would like to encourage all members to take a serious look at the resolutions of our association and take advantage of the processes put in place for the grassroots operation of MSTA. The ownership afforded members by these processes is a very unique benefit of membership.

I hope your year is off to a great start, and as we continue our journey together this year, I look forward to many accomplishments. When we come to the end of the journey, I hope that we will be able to look back and realize that, even if we’re not treated as national heroes, as long as we kept kids first, we have done what is right * we’ve accomplished our mission.

Oh, Baby!

2006-09-20T22:18:00.000-05:00

This is the first of many posts about my new baby girl.

I was awakened around 7:30 by the sound of trickling water from the other side of the bed. I could only imagine what it was. My wife said, “Either my water broke or I just wet the bed.” I was shocked!

From the time we found out we were expecting our first child, the due date had been October 13. I plugged in all the information on webmd.com and walmart.com. Both of these sites gave the same date, and the doctor’s six-week ultrasound confirmed it. So on September 16, I found it very hard to believe that her water had just broken.

We called my sister-in-law, and then the hospital. We were told that we should go to the hospital to be checked out, and I read in our pregnancy book that it’s better to err on the side of caution. But we already had plans for the day, and a visit to the hospital really didn’t fit into those plans.

Some time around 8:00, we started taking showers, preparing to go to our niece’s birthday party, and we thought we would stop by the hospital to let them tell us that everything was fine. But the water kept coming. Maybe it wasn’t an accident - maybe it was her water. We just didn’t believe it.

An hour and a half after we awoke, we were on our way. My wife kept telling me not to worry about taking anything because they weren’t going to keep us at the hospital. I still took the camera, under the pretense that I needed to take pictures at the birthday party.

When we arrived at the hospital, we went straight to the OB department. When we walked in, a nurse asked if she could help us. We just stared. Finally, I said, “she thinks her water broke,” and before I could say anymore, the nurse said, “I’ll take her back here, and you need to go to the emergency room. We’ll get some paperwork filled out.” The emergency room? I just assumed that’s where she would come out when they were finished checking her, so I went to the ER waiting room. I read a newspaper. I watched TV. I even fell asleep!

It was probably twenty minutes later when a nurse came in to ask if I had filled out admissions papers. Me? It wasn’t my water! Why would I be filling out paperwork? The real reason I was sent to the ER was not to wait - it was to check in with the registrar and sign outpatient admission forms. Then I was supposed to go back to OB. That made more sense . . . I just hadn’t thought of that!

I made it back to the OB department and into the room where they had my wife hooked up to a fetal/maternal monitor. She was now in a hospital gown. I guess I had missed a lot while I was napping! When I asked if they had told her anything, she said she had no idea what was going on. Then a nurse came in and said, “Well, you’re dilated to six or seven.” And I asked, “Did her water break?” If you know much about pregnancy and childbirth, you probably know that was a stupid question . . . but remember . . . I was the one who had just spent twenty minutes in the ER waiting room!

By now it was a little after ten, and things were about to get exciting. I guess I was just full of stupid questions. We had just been to our first childbirth class the Monday before, and we still had two sessions left. The teacher of the class was the nurse who was now answering all my stupid questions. Before thinking, I asked, “does this mean we’ll have a baby today?” Well maybe she gets this kind of question all the time!

I had phone calls to make! But wait . . . I wasn’t ready. This definitely didn’t fit into my plans. Earlier that week, I had created a call list. I started with people to notify on the way to the hospital, and then I made a list of those to call once the baby was born. I had grouped people in the first category so that I had four calls to make, and then those people could call others in the category. It would definitely make for a less stressful day . . . had I had the list. Thinking we still had a month, I didn’t print the list.

I had to go half-way down the hall to get a cell phone signal. I started with my wife’s sister who was given her assignment and had to make the decision to cancel or postpone the birthday party. Then I tried my parents but wasn’t able to reach them. By this time, I decided that the next person I talked to would be assigned the rest of the calls. My uncle was given this task - one he readily accepted. I had to get back to the room.

Because my wife’s entire family was headed to the birthday party just ten miles up the road, most of them were there within minutes. My family arrived a little later. It seemed like information overload was about to hit . . . there was so much I had to remember from childbirth class, but there was so much more that I was having to find out along the way.

Sometime around 12:45, my dad went to the cafeteria to get me a barbequed hamburger, baked beans, and chips. I sat in the waiting room eating my lunch, and then I went to the cafeteria to say “hi” to my wife’s family so they wouldn’t think I was being unsociable. Then I headed back to the OB department to find the doctor preparing the room.

While I had been eating, the anesthetist was starting the epidural. What a God-send. When I returned to the room, my wife said, “I don’t hate everyone anymore. I don’t wish you would blow up.” And then came the next stupid question . . . “can I take some of that home with me?”

We had now been at the hospital a little over three hours. I asked the doctor how far she had dilated. She was now at 10. The rest of the conversation went something like this: “So we’re having a baby?” “We’re having a baby.” “Soon?” “Soon.” “Like how soon . . . within the hour?” “We’re having a baby within the hour.” Wow! The whole ordeal had just started a little over five hours ago, and now we were less than an hour away from the arrival of our first child. I couldn’t believe it!

If you know me, you know that I am very squeamish. I can’t watch the Red Cross first aid training video without passing out; I can’t stand the thought of pain; I almost passed out when the dentist said my wisdom teeth had to come out! So my plan for labor and delivery was to stand as close to the head of the bed as possible and not look at anything. But since when had any of this day followed my plan? It wasn’t about to change now.

The doctor said, “Since you’re in here, I’m not going to call in a nurse. You’re going to help me. Mock me.” I responded with, “What does that mean?” Now I have a Bachelor’s degree and I’m currently working toward my Master’s. I know what mock me means. But I didn’t want to do it, so I was hoping he meant something else. He said, “Do everything I do.” Luckily, he didn’t mean EVERYTHING! But I did hike up my wife’s leg and put her foot to my chest. As she would have a contraction, we would push on her legs so she could push the baby. I even had to get gloves out of the drawer for him! Keep in mind, this was about five minutes after I ate a barbequed hamburger and baked beans. I was now wishing I hadn’t!

After about thirty minutes of labor, the baby was almost here. I made it all the way to the episiotomy; I even saw the first cut. After that, I looked away until he finished it. I’d made it this far; I wasn’t ready to pass out now! The episiotomy seemed to make everything go much easier, and within a matter of minutes, the baby’s head was out and the doctor pulled the rest of the body out. When my wife asked, “what is it?” I choked back tears to say, “It’s a girl.”

All women over 40 have some way of telling if the baby is a boy or girl. For the past few weeks, everyone said this baby was a boy. We knew that meant nothing, and we definitely didn’t accept it as truth, but we were beginning to think that they must be right. But as I looked at that beautiful baby girl lying there with her umbilical cord still attached and covered in white slime, I was eager to welcome my daughter into the world.

Nothing in life is as miraculous as the development and birth of a baby. The past eight months have been wonderful, and they have led to the most amazing event I have ever witnessed. Seeing that new life enter the world is something that I will never forget. I’m looking forward to sharing life with her. I know she has many new experiences in store for me, and she has many lessons to teach me. It will definitely be a journey - one that I am so excited to begin!

September Eleventh

2006-09-11T13:40:00.000-05:00

Chances are you didn't wake up yesterday and remember what you were doing five years ago. You didn't relive the events of September 10, 2001, as you went about your day. Chances are, yesterday was just another day. But not today. Today is September 11.

Each morning, my wife leaves the TVs on as she leaves for work and I climb into the shower. Both the bedroom and living room TVs are tuned to Fox News, so I can hear what they are saying no matter where I go in the house as I am getting ready to start my day. Unfortunately, that's usually the only news I get in a day's time. Today on Fox & Friends, they replayed clips of the morning news from five years ago. I started subtracting an hour from the times they were showing and thinking about what I was doing then.

I can remember coming into my classroom that morning and turning on the TV. That was before I was married, but I still watched Fox News before I left for work, and then I usually turned on the TV at school to watch until the first bell. That morning, I watched a normal newscast, and when the first bell rang, they had just said that they believed a small plane had hit the World Trade Center. I turned it off. The next time I turned it on, both towers had been hit, and so had the Pentagon. The rest of the day, I watched as newscasters tried to make sense of the devastation playing out before our eyes.

I can vividly remember everything that happened that day - students who made comments, thing I did after school, and people I talked to that evening. That day was truly one that no one will forget. It was a life-changing day for Americans - both personally and as a country.

Leading up to this fifth anniversary, cable and satellite channels have been full of programming about September 11. From documentaries on the engineering aspects of the towers to made-for-TV movies about flight 93, there have been plenty of opportunities to learn more about the events that led up to that day and the fallout thereafter. And then there's the World Trade Center movie at the theater - a dramatization of the lives of two firemen rescued from the collapsed buildings. The information age has not failed to provide an over-abundance of knowledge about the event. Knowledge is good.

At our MSTA board meeting this past weekend, Executive Director Kent King reminded us that even if prayer does nothing else, it changes the pray-er. Knowledge works in much the same way. It changes the know-er. You see, five years ago, I was fresh out of college, a first-time homeowner, with a year-old blue Mustang convertible. I had been a teacher for four weeks. God had been good to me. I had all of that on September 10, 2001, and I still had it on September 12. The only difference was that gas for my car was almost double what it was two days earlier. I didn't know much about New York; I wasn't very politically savvy; hijacked airplanes were not something that I needed to worry about. That wasn't my problem. But knowledge changes the know-er.

The more I learn about the people involved on September 11, and the more I see how the tragedy impacted lives of real people, the more I understand that they were everyday, ordinary Americans, just doing their jobs. They really did make the ultimate sacrifice - willingly or not - for our freedom.

It seems like this year's news theme is "are we safer now than we were then?" A couple of nights ago, one Fox News viewer emailed a comment that I thought answered the question very well. He said that George W. Bush says we "are" safer, and Harry Reid says we "feel" less safe. They're both right. We are safer because we have captured many of the terrorists and we have increased national security. We feel less safe because we know about the threats now, and we didn't back then. We can never go back to the innocence that existed before that day, when we thought the US was not vulnerable to attack. We always have to be aware.

On my shelf at school, I have a book called September 12th, We Knew Everything Would Be Alright. It was written and illustrated by first-grade students of H. Byron Masterson Elementary in Kennett, Missouri, and published by Scholastic.

"On September 11, 2001, many bad things happened. September 12th was a new day. We knew everything would be alright because... the sun cam up and the birds started singing again. We came to school the same way. We knew everything would be alright when we saw our teacher smiling at the door. We said the pledge like always. We sang the National Anthem very loudly. Our teacher sat and read us lots of good books. We had recess again. We knew everything would be alright because we had homework. 2+2 still added up to 4. Our thought for the day became "America United." We saw lots of flags. Red, white and blue suddenly became everyone's favorite colors. On television we heard our President tell us everything would be alright. On September 12th, our parents still tucked us in our warm, safe beds. Our parents talked to us about the bad things that had happened the day before. We knew we would be alright because our parents said they loved us. We knew everything would be alright because the stars and moon came out and America went to sleep. And the next morning the sun came up again."

Whether or not you agree with our political leaders, they are the ones God has given us. George W. Bush isn't perfect - he makes mistakes. He's human. He has chosen a staff of imperfect humans, and they all make mistakes, too. We would all agree that he has had a harder presidency than many of his predecessors. But how many times do we pray for our president and other leaders? Take time today, and every day, to pray for God's guidance in their lives. Many of them profess to be Christians, and President Bush often seeks guidance from respected pastors and Christian leaders. I believe that if we as Americans will lift up our leaders, God will work through them to bless our country.

The sun will come up tomorrow. When it does, if you feel like everything is alright, whisper a prayer to God * thank Him for freedom . . . thank Him for life . . . and most of all, thank Him for eternity, where we won’t even know the word “terrorism.”

Home Improvement

2006-09-08T08:25:00.000-05:00

Everyone's seen the show Home Improvement, where Tim Allen is the absent-minded Tim "the Toolman" Taylor. It's a very funny show. Sometimes my life resembles Tim's a little more than I would like - whether it's saying something stupid to my wife and having to talk my way out of it, or taking on a new DIY project and ending up with a bigger mess than I bargained for. The latest Taylorism that I have taken on is boxing in the carport on our house.

I started the project in early July, and thinking I could do it all myself. And for the most part, that has worked. I tore out the existing closet, took all the siding of the side of the house, framed in the new part, and tied it all together. I had a little help from my brother-in-law with the plywood - it's awkward and it's definitely a job for two people. Then came the drywall . . . and time to call in the professional.

My dad is a carpenter - he worked in residential construction for twenty years and has been in commercial construction for the past twelve. So he knows what he's doing when it comes to this sort of thing. He helped with hanging and finishing, and then last weekend we texturized the walls. I can definitely say that without his help, the finished product would look TERRIBLE! I'm horrible at finishing drywall!

I have now taken on the next two areas of this project simultaneously . . . painting and wiring. Now I ran the wires back when I was framing . . . over a month ago. So much has happened in the past month that I have now forgotten some of the details - and of course, I didn't make a diagram! So for the past four nights, I have been trying to wire the ceiling fan. It's not really a complicated matter - unless you think the hot wire coming from the junction box is actually the wire from the switch, and the hot wire going to the switch is from somewhere else. Needless to say, it hasn't been going well!

Then last night, after I had cut a few wires too short and pushed them back into the walls because I thought I no longer needed them, I figured out I did! So I had to cut holes in the wall of the closet and splice a short piece of wire onto the now-to-short one. Now that I have it all figured out, it works!

Painting has been another episode, since I had to start with primer, then a coat of paint - and we're not talking one color here - my office has three different colors. I'm also repainting the rest of the house, starting with the wall that stretches the width of the house, half in the kitchen and half in the living room. The blue painter's tape doesn't work on textured walls and ceilings, and I now have red paint drips on my wood grain baseboards - I'm not really happy about it!

But it will all come together - eventually . . . right? There are so many thoughts that can be pulled from this whole ordeal, and I could probably write a book about all the mistakes I've made and the lessons I've learned as I've tackled this project. The most important thing to me is that the project is expanding our home so that as our family begins to grow, we'll have room to spread out. And the love and determination that has gone into addition makes it an invaluable part of our home.

Just like home improvement, I routinely fall into the trap of attempting self improvement by myself. Yeah, sometimes I get it right, after weeks or months of trial and error. And sometimes I just give up and call the professional. God is the ultimate personal improvement expert. If I need to clean out cobwebs, repaint some walls, or even add on to my life, it works best if I seek his help from the start. Does that mean that's what I always do? Of course not - I'm driven by accomplishments, and if I can accomplish anything on my own, it makes me feel great. But I have to remember what Jesus told his disciples when they asked who could be saved: "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (Mark 10:27)

How many times have I said I would quit doing something? How many times have I said I would START doing something? How many promises have I broken to my wife, or to other people, or worse - to God? With myself, these things are impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.

The Drive-In

2006-08-31T11:54:00.000-05:00

The past two weekends, I have watched a movie at a theater. For the past few years, I've averaged two visits to the theater a year. I've already doubled that for 2006. My wife and I saw only one or two movies in the theater when we were dating - I'm just not a fan of paying $5.00 each to see a movie that I'll soon be able to buy at Movie Gallery for $8.00 or less. But I love the theater - the smell of the popcorn, the HUGE screen (especially when I'm sitting in the front) and the sound. So when I am going to be willing to pay that much to see a movie, it's gotta be good.

The day after school started, I saw World Trade Center at Farmington. I'll devote a complete post to 9/11 later. It was a great movie (I cried) and seeing it in the theater made it even more realistic and helped me to empathize with the characters even more.

Then last weekend I had a new experience - going to a drive-in. Now I've been to Sonic hundres of times - it's one of my favorite fast food restaurants - but I had never been to a drive-in theater. We saw The Ant Bully - another good movie. And I even splurged and bought the large popcorn and a large soda (ending my four-year no soda streak). My wife and I agreed that this was a special occasion, and that it was ok to drink soda for a special occasion. But the main reason was that 44 oz of soda was much cheaper than 20 oz of water!

The drive-in is a symbol of our country's heritage. As we pulled in, I couldn't help but think of all the cars that had occupied the parking spaces over the past forty years. Most of the cars there that night were mid-nineties and newer; a few were older; one in particular was an early-seventies model. And I thought . . . no matter how much has changed around the drive-in, it's still the same - they still use the original popcorn popper; the concession stand is still the original building; the white posts dividing the parking spots are still there. All that has changed are the cars, the people, and the movies - all of which come to the drive-in each night to experience a piece of Americana.

I always had a preconceived idea that when you go to the drive-in, you sit in your car, watch the movie, and go home. I had no idea that kids played games in front of the screen while they were waiting for it to get dark. I didn't know that the audience sat outside in lawn chairs and visited with each other. I wasn't aware that everyone just rolled down their windows and tuned their radios to a station and turned it up to hear the movie. It has the feel of a neighborhood. I like that. In a theater, everyone files in - usually in the dark - and sits in their chair, staring at the screen until the movie starts. They sit in the dark and watch the movie, then get up and leave. No one remembers who was sitting next to them, unless they were a nuisance (which reminds me of World Trade Center - there were a few nuisances there.)

Maybe movie-going is a reflection on the way our society has changed. In today's busy life, we rush to the theater, slide into our seats, watch a movie on a huge screen right in front of our eyes, listen to the pristine sourround sound, then get up and hurry out. Or we pull into a parking spot, stretch out the lawn chair, visit the concession stand, speak to the neighbors, watch the kids play, and wait patiently for the sun to set . . . then we watch the movie on a far-away screen, listening to our car stereo (and our neighbor's). And if we're patient enough, we may even see a shooting star.

Do you live life as though it's a theater or a drive-in?

The Beginning . . . .

2006-08-24T15:12:00.000-05:00

You know, for a techie, I'm way behind on the whole blogging scene. I guess I might as well jump right into the middle of it. At our church staff retreat earlier this month, we were challenged about our spiritual habits . . . quiet time, Bible reading, prayer, tithing, accountability, journaling . . . I must admit I have been a VERY lazy Christ-follower for quite some time now. So it's time that I pick up some of the habits that I let slip, and start some new ones that I have never tried. Journaling is one of the new ones . . . and what better way than electronically through a blog?!

I believe God's purposes for my life are in three areas - church, school, and politics . . . three things most people run from, but the three driving forces of my life (aside from family and my relationship with God.) My posts will probably focus on God's direction in those areas.

For today, I'd like to leave you with something that I've already shared with some people. My family experienced the hardest week of our lives at the end of July. My grandma, who meant the world to all of us, died at age 80. Eighty years seems like a long time to live, and 27 years seems like a long time to get to spend with your grandmother, but when it's someone so special, no amount of time seems like enough. The unrelenting disease of Alzheimer's had taken her from us over a period of four years and that time - especially the last year - was very hard for all of us. I'll tell more about her in a future post, but for now I want to share this:

I started reading The Purpose Driven Life again this week . . . third try's a charm, right??? Today was Day 4, so I should know next week ifI am going to make it through this time! There were a couple of things that really stood out to me today more than they did the last two attempts:

1. "You weren't put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity."

2. Later, he talks about how we long for immortality, and we want those we know and love to live forever. He says, "The reason we feel we should live forever is that God wired our brains with that desire!"

3. Then he quotes C.S. Lewis from the last page of the Chronicles of Narnia: "For us this is the end of all the stories . . . . But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world . . . had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever and in which every chapter is better than the one before."

Our 70, 80, 90 years are just the cover and the title page. Wow . . . it's just so hard to imagine how, when we think about how much there is to life, we haven't even begun to live. And when we die, that's the BEGINNING of chapter one! And every chapter gets better?

Just think - for us, July 25 was the end of a lot of great stories . . . . But for her it was only the beginning of the real story. All her life in this world had only been the cover and the title page; now she has begun Chapter One of the Great Story, which we haven't read, which goes on forever and in which every chapter is better than the one before!

Until next time . . . .