Cruisy Sunday Morning

We had church last night so we went to Macca's for breakfast, played in their park....

then headed over for a steam train ride and play in the park...

I love how everywhere I go I am meeting other mums and people I know from church/through church...

Listening to people's life stories, struggles, and victories...

Being encouraged through other people's lives and triumphs...

Being inspired by their strength, power and dignity...

Most people that I speak to, listen to and are talked to are loving, kind, gentle and encouraging.

Trying to 'control' 3 children at the checkout in Target a stranger lets me know I'm doing well shopping with four. Thanks lots!!

I a also being invited to a huge assortment of meetings/catch ups/hanging out and I LOVE IT!!

These are all appreciated and welcome comments.

So lets encourage and build each other up for it is good for each of us to love and be loved...

here here to a NEW (busy) week

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Dear Delaware, Your Governor is a Bully and Local Control is Dead

My very deeply personal statement to Christina constituents.  This is my opinion and only mine.

Dear Christina,

Tonight, I ceded to the political coercion thrust upon our district through the media manipulation and propaganda campaign purported by the Governor of Delaware and his Department of Education to cripple our board's good faith action to rectify what I truly believe was the poor implementation of the PZ teacher selection process.

I voted with my fellow board mates to rescind the April 19th board action to retain and retrain our teachers at their current campuses.  There has never been a more tortured dilemma before me.  I continue to believe that the Department of Education failed to promote collaboration when they chose to freeze our funding without expressing their concerns directly to the board and giving us the opportunity to re-evaluate and initiate corrective action.

The spirit of collaboration is now dead.  There is no "kinder, gentler DOE," as representatives have so publicly proclaimed.  There is no desire to learn and share best practices.  There is only their way or the highway. Christina, for my naiveté, I am deeply sorry.  I will not rest well tonight.  The weight of this failure weighs much too heavily in my heart. While I am committed to continue the reforms that our community has supported, I will forever know that my vote on April 19th was right, appropriate, fair, and in the best interest of our students. 

The vote I cast tonight, Christina, was for you, to walk the path delineated by the Department of Education, if Christina is ever to reclaim the $11 million stolen from our children.  The future is in their hands.  Apparently, it always has been. 

Jack Markell for President, he'll be right at home in Washington D.C.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

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Caring & Sharing

{Picture Taken July 2009. Amalia 19months, Jarah 1 week old}

My daughter is currently 3 and what I refer to as a 3-yr-old or hard-work. Both titles appear as fitting as each other. She doesn't {like to} share, or care much for her brother's demands/request...

So imagine my utter surprise when I gave her the LAST choc egg (in THIS packet) after it took 40mins to pick up the "ABC's" (homeschooling tool) that she took out and spread around... Jarah asked for more to which I gave the empty packet to. He started his tanty scream... She says to him "I'll bite you half-just wait" and hands over half a tiny chocolate egg!!!

I'd given him 3 or 4 halves already that I bit off for him.

She shared her reward... WOW!

5 Things I am Thankful for:
1. Witness the sharing event
2. No prompting from me
3. Peacefulness from this Sabbath day
4. The relationship that these two have now
5. ALL of my children...

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Another day, another misinformed opinion...

Dear Christina,
Here we go again.  More propaganda and rhetoric designed to distract Delawareans from the issue at hand: a state's over-reaction to an appropriate step to remediate a lack of fidelity to process.  My comments, of course, are in red.  Let the dissection begin:

Christina board chair burns bridges in Race to the Top
8:36 PM, Apr. 28, 2011
Written by PAUL A. HERDMAN
Opinion, Delaware Voice

In his comments at the April 19 meeting of the Christina School District, board chairman John Young made some colorful points.  Absolutely.  Importantly, shared by many who harbor deep concerns about the RTTT reform models. 

Yet, his remarks only served to shortchange the future of the district's 17,000 students and to disrupt the productive relationship that had been built over the past year as the state and the district worked collaboratively to develop a plan to turn around two chronically low-performing schools.  Actually, Paul, it was the state's premature and uneducated response to an issue that they had stipulated was one of local control that has "shortchange(d) the future of the district's 17,000 students" (including my own).  Did the state truly expect that Christina would defile teachers and affirm a corrupted process?  Perhaps, the business community did.  But, five board members were willing stand and support teachers, as the front line educators who are challenged daily by a herd of problems in their classrooms. 

Everyone agrees that Glasgow High School and Stubbs Elementary School need help. Everyone also agrees that bringing great teachers and leaders into the "turnaround" process is essential.  The district also saw that there is great potential in many of our teachers and that there is merit in retaining these teachers and offering intense professional development to improve their skills to meet the challenge. That PD is written into the plan that DOE, CEA, and CSD have all approved.

In fact, the district worked with its local teachers union to determine how the process would proceed, which then was approved by the state. The current controversy appears to stem from the board's interpretation that the interview process to determine which teachers would stay in the two "Partnership Zone" schools and which would be transferred to other schools in the district was somehow unfair. Paul, as Rodel's voice, you above all should recognize that accountability does not exist in a vacuum.  Let's start with the fact that three separate entities weighed in on the plan and MOU and not one of them caught the incongruities between the two documents. It was at the behest of students, parents, alumni, and teachers that the board delved into the process for a thorough review.  Christina's Board did not simply venture down this path because we yearned to dilute the reform process.  Our resolution to rectify missteps actually resulted in an increased scrutiny that will better serve Christina's students.  How can one expect accountability if we fail to ensure fidelity?

Mr. Young brought this problem to the board meeting on April 19. Yet, rather than proposing a resolution, he chose to insult each of the partners who has been working to help his district: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who awarded Delaware $119 million; Delaware's governor and secretary of education, who secured this grant for the state; Vision 2015, in which his own district participates; the Rodel Foundation and its founder, William Budinger; and Delaware's businesses leaders, who have collectively contributed millions of dollars in direct investments, scholarships and mentoring to his district.  Really, Paul?  Really?  Did you bother to listen to the audio recording?  The proposed motion was set forth by Mrs. Saffer.  Mr. Young actually interjected that he believed the CEA President and the Superintendent should meet to attempt to reach an amicable agreement.  However, by this point in the night, the CEA president had left the meeting.  The board, after more intense conversation, then affirmed the motion on the table by a vote of 5 yes and 2 abstentions.  If Mr. Young had not cast his ballot in the affirmative, this action would have still carried by a majority of four.  I suppose that means you should be mis-representing the positions of all five of us. Should I expect my castigation in tomorrow's paper?

This week, the board now claims that the controversy was simply a "process issue" and that the district had never stepped back from "Race to the Top" or its commitment to reform. Some board members publicly affirmed its commitment to the plans last week.  I know you read the blogs, you've referenced them in your visits to Norm Oliver's tv show. Our weakness was our failure to publicly issue a collective statement on behalf of the district due to the start of the spring break and absence of staff.  This has always been a process issue.  A board's most common functionality is to set policy and ensure fidelity to process.

If this were the case, why didn't Mr. Young simply state those things on April 19? Moreover, what message was the full board trying to send with the president's 15 minutes of angry rhetoric if the district is still on board with reform.  The board suspended several rules during the April 19th public comment.  Mr. Young may have spoken for 15 minutes, but the board actually suspended time limits for all speakers.  Each and every constituent who wished to address the board did so without limit because we value the opinions of all stakeholders.  However, you and many others, have seized upon Mr. Young's comments to deflect from the issue at hand: a wholly-local problem that required relief and that five independent board members reviewed the information provided to us and arrived at similar conclusions.
Mr. Young's speech was unfortunate and his comments about our foundation and founder were disrespectful and ill-informed.  Let's agree to disagree.

Bill Budinger is one of the nation's most thoughtful, entrepreneurial and generous contributors to public education and other societally pressing problems. He built a technology business, Rodel Inc., from scratch and employed thousands of Delawareans for over 30 years at his plant in Newark (part of the Christina School District).

When he sold his business in 1999, he set aside over $40 million to help Delaware improve its schools. You know, no one spoke to Mr. Budinger's intent.  I believe he thinks that the fruits of his funding are helping Delaware's students.   But, the fact remains that at least two of the Vision Schools, despite years of investment by Vision 2015, were named to the Partnership Zone by Delaware's Secretary of Education.  Some might construe that to be an indictment of Visions' effectiveness.

Over the last decade, his generosity has benefitted thousands of children through investments in early childhood education, parent engagement, district and charter school improvements, and the development of Vision 2015, which brought together hundreds of Delaware's teachers, administrators and business, union and community leaders to develop a nationally recognized strategy for reform. "Teachers, administrators, and business, union, and community leaders."  What's missing?  Parents and their elected school board members.  School boards and parents were strong-armed into this reform process.  In my opinion, that most boards voted unanimously to sign the RTTT MOU was more reflective of our Governor's efforts to decrease education spending via Delaware's dollars and backfill it with one-time federal funds.

Yes, our foundation has a point of view: excellence in education for every Delaware student. Yet for more than four decades, Rodel Inc. and its successor foundation have attempted to interact with respect and humility with educational and community leaders throughout this state to improve the lives of Delaware's students and citizens.

Turning around our lowest-performing schools will be incredibly challenging. I couldn't agree more.  That's why chosing models that are supported by longitudinal data, implementation with fidelity, and the flexibility to tweak and re-tweak when evaluations point to failure are absolutely necessary to ensure any chance of success for our students.  FIDELITY.  This is what this board has attempted to interject into the reform plans.  Yes, we individually harbour concerns about these reform efforts; however, we have never voted, nor even offered a motion, to exit RTTT or PZ.  We have instead interjected a heightened level of scrutiny into the process and asked for and not received the SUPPORT of the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION nor the GOVERNOR of DELAWARE. 

The good news is that Delaware is a place where people have a long history of working together to make amazing things happen.

Unfortunately, the comments made by the Christina School District board president last week burned more bridges than they built. I will assert and re-assert that it was the state's over-reaction that has damaged relations between these parties.  The state, without any notification to the board, went to the press to announce plans to freeze the RTTT and PZ funding.  It is the state, as the purse string holder, that is denying Christina the funding to robustly implement the plans they have approved.  

Going forward, we hope there is a civil exchange of ideas and that real change happens. We remain committed to helping where we can. Our children can't wait.  I can offer only you one question:  Do want reform done right...or do you want reform done fast?

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How Ed Reform Traps Poor Children

I strongly urge the reader to visit http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/04/27/29kohn.h30.html?tkn=OVXFdfnAL1ydr6JM%2F9rcLPBaAy7ge9ixblkk&cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS1 to view the following reprint with all of the hyperlinks not captured here.

Published Online: April 26, 2011

Published in Print: April 27, 2011, as Poor Teaching for Poor Children ... In the Name of School Reform

How Education Reform Traps Poor Children
By Alfie Kohn


Love them or hate them, the proposals collectively known as “school reform” are mostly top-down policies: Divert public money to quasi-private charter schools, pit states against one another in a race for federal funding, offer rewards when test scores go up, fire the teachers or close the schools when they don’t.



Policymakers and the general public have paid much less attention to what happens inside classrooms—the particulars of teaching and learning—especially in low-income neighborhoods. The news here has been discouraging for quite some time, but, in a painfully ironic twist, things seem to be getting worse as a direct result of the “reform” strategies pursued by the Bush administration, then intensified under President Barack Obama, and cheered by corporate executives and journalists.


In an article published in Phi Delta Kappan back in 1991, Martin Haberman, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, coined the phrase “pedagogy of poverty.” Based on his observations in thousands of urban classrooms, Haberman described a tightly controlled routine in which teachers dispense, and then test students on, factual information; assign seatwork; and punish noncompliance. It is a regimen, he said, “in which learners can ‘succeed’ without becoming either involved or thoughtful,” and it is noticeably different from the questioning, discovering, arguing, and collaborating that is more common (though by no means universal) among students in suburban and private schools.


Now, two decades later, Haberman reports that “the overly directive, mind-numbing, ... anti-intellectual acts” that pass for teaching in most urban schools “not only remain the coin of the realm but have become the gold standard.” It is how you’re supposed to teach kids of color.


Earlier this year, Natalie Hopkinson, an African-American writer, put it this way in an article on theRoot.com called “The McEducation of the Negro”: “In the name of reform ... education—for those ‘failing’ urban kids, anyway—is about learning the rules and following directions. Not critical thinking. Not creativity. It’s about how to correctly eliminate three out of four bubbles.”


Those who demand that we close the achievement gap generally focus on results, which in practice refers only to test scores. High-quality instruction is defined as whatever raises those scores. But when teaching strategies are considered, there is wide agreement (again, among noneducators) about what constitutes appropriate instruction in the inner city.


The curriculum consists of a series of separate skills, with more worksheets than real books, more rote practice than exploration of ideas, more memorization (sometimes assisted with chanting and clapping) than thinking. In books like The Shame of the Nation, Jonathan Kozol, another frequent visitor to urban schools, describes a mechanical, precisely paced process for drilling black and Latino children in “obsessively enumerated particles of amputated skill associated with upcoming state exams.”


Not only is the teaching scripted, but a system of almost militaristic behavior control is common, with public humiliation for noncompliance and an array of rewards for obedience that calls to mind the token-economy programs developed in prisons and psychiatric hospitals.


“The children of the suburbs learn to think and to interrogate reality,” says Kozol, whereas inner-city kids “are trained for nonreflective acquiescence.” (Work hard, be nice.) At one of the urban schools he visited, a teacher told him, “If there were middle-class white children here, the parents would rebel at this curriculum and stop it cold.”


Among the research that has confirmed this disparity are two studies based on data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. One found that black children are much more likely than white children to be taught with workbooks or worksheets on a daily basis. The other revealed a racial disparity in how computers are used for instruction, with African-Americans mostly getting drill-and-practice exercises (which, the study also found, are associated with poorer results).


Well before his brief tenure last year as New Jersey’s commissioner of education, Bret Schundler (then the mayor of Jersey City, N.J.) expressed enthusiasm about the sort of teaching that involves repetitive drill and “doesn’t allow children not to answer.” This approach is “bringing a lot of value-added for our children,” he enthused in The New York Times Magazine. Does his use of the word “our” mean that he would send his own kids to that kind of school? Well, no. “Those schools are best for certain children,” he explained.


The result is that “certain children” are left farther and farther behind. The rich get richer, while the poor get worksheets.


To be sure, the gap is not entirely due to how kids are taught. As economist Richard Rothstein reminds us, all school-related variables combined can explain only about one-third of the variation in student achievement. Similarly, if you look closely at those international-test comparisons that supposedly find the United States trailing, it turns out that socioeconomic factors are largely responsible. Our wealthier students do very well compared with students in other countries; our poorer students do not. And we have more poor children than do other industrialized nations.


To whatever extent education does matter, though, the pedagogy of poverty traps those who are subject to it. The problem isn’t that their education lacks “rigor”—in fact, a single-minded focus on “raising the bar” has served mostly to push more low-income youths out of school—but that it lacks depth and relevance and the capacity to engage students. As Deborah Stipek, the dean of Stanford University’s school of education, once commented, drill-and-skill instruction isn’t how middle-class children got their edge, so “why use a strategy to help poor kids catch up that didn’t help middle-class kids in the first place?”


Rather than viewing the pedagogy of poverty as a disgrace, however, many of the charter schools championed by the new reformers have concentrated on perfecting and intensifying techniques to keep children “on task” and compel them to follow directions. (Interestingly, their carrot-and-stick methods mirror those used by policymakers to control educators.) Bunches of eager, mostly white, college students are invited to drop by for a couple of years to lend their energy to this dubious enterprise.


Is racism to blame here? Or could it be that, at its core, the corporate version of “school reform” was never intended to promote thinking—let alone interest in learning—but merely to improve test results? That pressure is highest in the inner cities, where the scores are lowest. And indeed the pedagogy of poverty can sometimes “work” to raise those scores, but at a huge price. Because the tests measure what matters least, it’s possible for the accountability movement to simultaneously narrow the test-score gap and widen the learning gap.


According to Deborah Meier, the founder of extraordinary schools in New York City and Boston: “Only secretly rebellious teachers have ever done right by our least advantaged kids.” To do right by them in the open, we would need structural changes that make the best kind of teaching available to the kids who need it most.


And we know it can work—which is to say, the pedagogy of poverty is not what’s best for the poor. Even back in 1992, a three-year study (published by the U.S. Department of Education) of 140 low-income elementary classrooms found that students whose teachers emphasized “meaning and understanding” flourished. The researchers concluded by decisively rejecting as unhelpful “schooling for the children of poverty ... [that] emphasizes basic skills, sequential curricula, and tight control of instruction by the teacher.”


Remarkable results with low-income students have also been found with the Reggio Emilia model of early-childhood education, the “performance assessment” high schools in New York, and Big Picture schools around the country. All of these approaches start with students’ interests and questions; learning is organized around real-life problems and projects. Exploration is both active and interactive, reflecting the simple truth that children learn how to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions. Finally, success is judged by authentic indicators of thinking and motivation, not by multiple-choice tests.


That last point is critical. Standardized exams serve mostly to make dreadful forms of teaching appear successful. As long as they remain our primary way of evaluating, we may never see real school reform—only an intensification of traditional practices, with the worst reserved for the disadvantaged.


A British educator named David Gribble was once speaking in favor of the kind of education that honors children’s interests and helps them think deeply about questions that matter. Of course, he added, that sort of education is appropriate for affluent children. For disadvantaged children, on the other hand, it is ... essential.
Copyright © 2011 by Alfie Kohn

Alfie Kohn is the author of a dozen books on education and human behavior, the latest of which is Feel-Bad Education ... and Other Contrarian Essays on Children and Schooling (Beacon Press, 2011). He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org.

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Getting out... of the house... QUICKLY... with lots of little kids...

Yesterday one of my beloved sister-in-laws returned a phone call announcing she was meant to be at afternoon tea... The same afternoon tea I was meant to be at... That 5 day weekend did me no good in the 'perception of what day it was'. I was sure it was monday not wednesday...

Anyway...

We were half an hour late and me with 4 kids and myself to get ready...

I clap my hands together and announce "ALRIGHT! GET SOME CLOTHES ON WE ARE GOING OUT! GO! GO! GO!" and hunt as fast as possible for some semi-suitable clothes for myself. I generally don't feel comfortable going out wearing my home-only, can't-get-the-zipper-shut type of pants. You might catch me in them hanging up the washing whilst praying they won't fall down any further or making a mad dash to get the garbage bin out as the truck comes pelting down our street. I am sure they see alot of strange things in their job.

Anyway...

Another clap and some "HURRY UP! GET JARAH'S CLOTHES". I usually dress bubba first thing in the morning and she's generally all good for the rest of the day. Otherwise I'll chuck a change of clothes in my bag. Actually I still have a change in their. Now that is called 'being prepared'.

I always have my bag packed and ready to go so I usually have to find my keys. And so long as *I* was the last driver of my car I know where they are. As long as a certain toddler hasn't decided to get into my wallet and re-arrange its contents. I haven't yet been caught out without the bank card. Oh so thankful!

My kids usually take their shoes off in the car so that's where they are when we go out. Otherwise they might possibly be in the shoes box outside our front door. At least they are not scattered around the backyard again but that was taken care of when our pup ran away Praise God! Usually the shoes will be put on when we arrive at our destination as they will have to be put on again if I did so before we left. Always a frightening experience as I realise that one kids shoes are in the shoebox and I stupidly forgot to check that child had shoes. Prompts the other kids to take their shoes off. Grrr...

Sometimes I'll grab a lacky and quickly put my daughters mop-top up. Yesterday I didn't. But I did notice she has the beginings of really good dreadlocks. Another few days without brushing that and I reckon they're done. I can hardly imagine how I'm going to manage two heads to do in a years time??

As long as there is no giant mud puddle behind our car at the gate I can announce "GET IN THE CAR! COME ON! COME ON! COME ON!" in marching order fashion. As long as we walk quickly past the dog water bucket we could possibly get three kids into the car without getting muddy and/or wet. Such joy when this happens!

The kids climb up into the tank and while this part still needs perfecting we sure get out enough during the week that it should hopefully be perfected sooner rather than later. I just wish that the time it takes to get that obedience kicked into gear and those kids climbing in as if they were at the park climbing equipment but unfortunately small rocks and piles of sand always seems to tempt them away from the task at hand.

I have heard so often of these two year olds who strap there own seat belt on and I have to admit. I feel the pangs of jealousy as my 3yr old announces "I CAN'T DO IT!" I am sure she could if she tried but usually I am in a rush so I don't have the time to wait for forever for her to decide she's going to give it a shot. Atleast she can put her arms in when she's trying to do the right thing. Either that or I've yelled so much my voice has just about lept out and done it itself.

I have thought about bringing the car seats inside for a few days. Lining them up against the wall and getting them to practice and no I'm not joking.

Fortunately that as I get bubba into her carseat and strap her in they are all inside the car making attempts at getting into the right car seat and the beginings of strapping Jarah in the boot-seat has being done.

Usually I can go back inside grab my bag, the keys, lock the door and scan the room incase I have forgotten to bring something. Sometimes I might kick a path from the front door to the lounge room door if the toys are still spread out but usually it's okay. At least hubby can make his way through the house if he dodges stuff.

By the time I return the car, start the car, open the gate, drive out of the gate, get out of the car, shut the gate I might have just one more buckle to buckle before we are on our way.

Boy... was that hard work... and that was just writing it... You tired now? Thought as much... Cos now I am about to proceed... I am meant to be somewhere in 15 minutes and I'm not even dressed yet!!!

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How to keep your cool when children push your buttons...

When all you see is this:

Do this:

(well because its not the bestest picture, and perhaps you can't quite tell, cos it's not the one I was looking for... 5 or 6 lackies in very strange positions... usually one on top of the head and wonky piggy tails out the side :) )

It'll work. Every time you look at her... you'll LAUGH :)

No guarantee it will work on husbands but it's worth a shot...

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Birth Story #2 - Amalia Joy

We lived in Brisbane at the time of Amalia's birth. With no family and one friend we had Michael's brother and sister and our sister-in-law-to-hopefully-one-day-be(came about Dec last year) to babysit our 24 month old Isaiah while we laboured and birthed our first girl.

She was due on Christmas day, same as me, same as two friends bubs the year before and one friends bub a year later. I was certain she would not arrive on the day.

A week before our babysitters were due to arrive at 38 weeks I woke around 7:30am to some different kind of 'baby kicking'. I told Michael gee she's really pushing differently today!

About an hour later another of this 'pushing'. We had to take Isaiah to a Child Health Appointment at our local busy shopping centre. I had a 'pushing' at the door way on the way in... and one on the way out. I was so thankful that nothing happened while I was waiting at the child health place as I really didn't like them, and I really didn't want anything to do with them while in labour.

As the day went on I was clearly in denial that I was actually IN labour. I had no babysitter! I pottered around tidying, cleaning, etc.

Come around 9:30pm I began to agree that yes I probably WAS in labour and I probably was not going to STAY in labour for the week waiting for our babysitters to get here.

Around 10:30pm these contractions came on quicker and slightly stronger. Yeah okay I told myself... I AM in labour, and I WILL be having this baby withOUT our babysitter. But still pretended I wasn't. I tried to get some sleep (Funny hey!).

Around 11:30 we finally called our midwife who said yeah come in. Contractions were about 5mins apart steady and we were 45minutes from the hospital. 45minutes during the day mind you.

Michael called our only friend who lived 15-20minutes away to look after Isaiah.

We packed my bag, Isaiah's bag, 'labour' bag, portacot for Isaiah, blankets etc. Michael was begining to panic and TRYING to rush me into the car. I wanted to stay home!! My hearts desire was NOT to birth in the hospital.

I put my wheat bag into the microwave to heat up. Then I asked Michael to get my wheat bag OUT of the microwave. So he cooked it again. And almost burnt our house down. I really missed the heat from that wheat bag as it sat smouldering in our front yard for a few days. I don't know why but for some reason I giggled about that on our journey to the hospital. I really can not believe how out of his mind he must have been to have cooked it again HA HA!

Anyway... he raced us to our babysitters. My only brisbane friend. As I sat in the car waiting for the drop off, having contraction after contraction with NO wheat bag she cracked a ton of jokes. In the end she asked me if she was funny. I shook my head NO, she asked if I wanted her to stop, I said yes. then she asked if she should pray. I agreed. lol

Michael pulled out of the driveway and went the wrong way. I told him you can't get out through this way. He disagreed. I was proven right as we turned down a ton of streets trying to get out.

Finally on the way to the hospital. Street lights shining, not much traffic, over the bridge, down the highways, green lights, speedo going higher and higher, contractions coming steady, fast and strong. Me screaming, Michael driving,... faster... faster... faster... He told me that if he got pulled up by the cops he wasn't stopping and that they could fine him at the hospital. 100km in a 60zone? I think they'd have taken his licence!

Michael told me to take my seatbelt off. Once I did that the contractions eased off. Eased off because the belt had been so tight it was causing the pain!

Soon afterwards I am sure that I heard a 'pop' sound of my waters breaking. But no fluid.

At some point my screams changed and Michael announced to me that she was coming. I moved up on my seat and the broken waters gushed out. I felt her head with my hand. One more push and I was holding my wet, silent baby in the dark in my hands. She had arrived... Only 3 minutes from the hospital. 12:52am 6lb 13ou on the 14th December 2009.

As we arrived at the hospital Michael jumped out and said my wife had a baby. About 20 people came running over. It was so embarrassing. But praise God my midwife came out, shooed them all away and took us up to our room. We didn't get a good look at her until we were up in our room and I pulled her out from under my shirt.

The placenta took over half an hour and was more painful then birth. No tears, no drugs, no trouble, all natural beautiful birth that had fulfilled the desire of MY heart!

Mik says to me not long after birth... "see? we could easily have ten kids" TEN KIDS!! I reply "No! *I* could easily have ten kids... you didn't DO anything" lol I'm thinking the man is NUTS I JUST GAVE BIRTH Thank you very much...

We laugh at the 'torch and giant needle' but it sure made me scream my head off!!

Poor Michael was exhausted!

10 Things I am Thankful for:
1. The desire of my heart was to birth not in the hospital
2. Safe, fast, drug free, natural delivery
3. Being booked into the birthing centre and not a regular hospital
4. Our midwife!!
5. NO CARS on the road and no speeding fines!
6. Prayers of friends and baby sitting :)
7. Power of Prayer and Praise
8. A small baby
9. A girl bubby
10. My hubby

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Dealing... with lots of little kids...

... Firstly I don't consider myself to have LOTS of littlies but I do have a few...

I learned through watching others, listening to others, gaining the experience with my own children. Through trial and error I found some things that worked well for us that I want to share and remember for my own family/sanity. I wish that I had been a part of MORE mentors/women's lives during the younger years to glean their experiences and wisdom. Unfortunately for all of us our circumstances prevented those kinds of opportunities. All in their seasons...


I used to have a 3.5yr old, a 19mth old, babysit a 10mth old and a newborn. I loved and cherished those times and grew considerably through them. Actually I kind of miss those days now :S

Now I have a 5, 3, 1yr old with a newborn. I sometimes find it challenging but overall rewarding. Believe it or not parenting is not an area in my life where I struggle.

Anyhoo... Here is my list:


* Pray! Be strengthened in His Word (DAILY)

* Practice the "Herding" technique of having all your children with you. A supervised child gets into less mischief, makes less mess for you to clean up and allows you to pick up on behaviour immediately.
With a 3.5yr old, 19mth old and a newborn the trip to the toilet means taking two toddlers along with you, leaving the door open and talking loudly so you know what they are doing - Actually for me it meant I'd get them to put dirty washing into the washing machine :)
Now we all school in the same room together. Toddler gets put into the playpen if I need him out of my direct way. I am able to put clean washing away while the children do independent work/activities.

* Relish the season of your life. I look back and think Oh I wish I did this more or that more because the times have long gone of having an extra baby during the day, or having two kids, or having my oldest a toddler. That was only last year and the year before.

* Know that this season will end. Whatever 'place' you are in you will eventually be out of and into a new season. As your children grow they will become more independent and (finally) be able to help you to clean up their OWN mess. As mine have grown I have been able to give more and more responsibility out to them. I no longer have to pick up the dirty washing and put it in the basket, pick up the toys after play, clean the children's room and make their bed, etc. I remember having to find clothes for THREE kids and dressing THREE kids just so I could go down town to get something quick from the shops - THEN I had one to dress and find clothes for. Now I am back to two. See? Things change!

* As soon as they are able begin teaching them or showing them how to do jobs. It makes your jobs last a bit longer and can be frustrating with the sheer speed of things getting done but truthfully those training times have PAID THEMSELVES OFF!! Now if only I knew this before hindsight I'd have been more diligent in this! EVEN if it is only ONE part of the 'job' - they will catch on REAL fast and even show you the amazing job they did.

* Plan all your errands, shopping etc and do on one day altogether. One day per week of having to go out here and there and everywhere else is better then splitting it up into two or three or four days in the week.

* Pay bills online - One less visit to pay a bill is time and energy saved

* Take your children along with you from an early age and train them how to behave. I remember thinking there is NO WAY I was taking TWO children shopping with me and to do errands etc. But the Lord told me I needed to which I am grateful of now. Each week I dragged two, three and four children to hubbies work for his pay, to the bank to pay rent, to the post office if needed and then to the shopping centre for groceries.

(Know how you carry so many kids? You put a carry kid in a sling, another kid on your hip, hold your toddlers hand and hope she uses those feet and get the oldest kid to hold the toddlers hand with the hopes that by holding his hand she is being kept 'in line'.)

If you are able (no joke) take one along with you. Great one-on-one time with that child, they feel special, the act high and mighty when they come and you get to find out things about them that you may not have noticed before hand. Oh and the TRAINING that gets had!!!

* Have activities on hand ready to keep those kids occupied. Keep them altogether (wherever possible) so you can just grab a box and sit down with them. I think I counted 20 boxes of different activities. We all sit together and open that one box. Then everything gets put in that box and put back on the shelf.

* Sit on the floor WITH your children while they play. When the floor gets sore use floor cushions or a favourite bean bag.

* Keep your lounge or play area UN-CLUTTERED!! No Joke! Our lounge consists of two lounge chairs, a wooden box and a toy box. Nothing is left on the floor, everything is packed in the toy box. Just about always looks tidy.

* Down Time computer and internet time. My laptop and internet is by far my biggest time wasters. I have often let the credit run out and not used it for weeks on end in which case my ability to get projects completed comes to a sudden increase and plummets when I turn back. What are you biggest time wasters?

* Be prepared. Always prepare ahead. A builder builds a house according to his well written plans. Meals, outings, errands, activities, household chores, having snacks on hand,.

* Relax and simply BE with your children. They can be the most enjoyable people in the world when you sit back relax and have fun alongside of them.

* Get a decent sleep, eat decent meals, get a bit of exercise = look after yourself so you wont get run down and start losing it at every opportunity

* Dont waste your precious time with people who make you feel less then worthy, like your failing, like your an idiot or make you angry/upset/etc. The way you feel impacts the children. An angry/upset mother loses her temper quicker then a calm and encouraged one.

* Encourage one another during your day. Loving, Kind and Gentle words bring a calmer environment and build the self esteem of your children whilst also reminding yourself how wonderful, how delightful, how much you love that child.

So many different things that we as parents can do to deal with having lots of littlies in the home. My list isn't perfect or complete but it's a start and they work/ed for me/us at some point.

Remain Blessed
xx

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{reposted from February 1st 2011}

Keeping It Real...

... After 'closing' my little world on the web down for a little while I've decided to re-open it on the basis this is my life, my journey, my walk. I don't claim to be perfect, to walk in perfection, to have everything altogether, to know everything, or to know alot. The truth is I am extremely imperfect, I have a hugely imperfect life, I don't have anything together (currently), and I know nothing. If you don't like it or you don't like me that's okay. There are hundreds and thousands of more interesting blogs to read of more perfect people who know a lot more than I do.

I hope to be able to look back upon this journey that is my own and see deep personal growth within myself, my husband, our marriage, our children, our life. Everything really because I guess that is really what life is all about.

I am reminded of Job. Job suffered losses from all surrounds and yet he still Praised God. And at the end of his trial he came to know Him deeper and more personally than he knew him before. To me that has to be a blessing in itself. But I can honestly tell you that the journey is hard, those losses hurt deeply, the friends are so... self-wise? misguided? stupid? arrogant? condemning?!

Our family has had a tough and lonely year and yet somewhat it feels that this year continues on from the last. I mope from the constant braxton hicks, the feeling of being tired, the children fighting, Mik not having found reasonable employment after 4 months, the financial stresses we are currently under, our future, our past, our present, the current weather is hot hot hot and NO breeze, and forget the part about thankfulness.

I stress on how I am going to manage 4 kids 5yrs of age and under, whether we will get enough home schooling down, our vehicle situation (we have no car and none available in our town in our price range), our debts, our bills, our shopping bill. How am I going to manage to feed her when my past dictates that stress decreases my milk supply to non-existant.

I discovered that the stress hormone (cortisol?) when present in the mothers body is also present in the amniotic fluid. The higher and longer the stress in the mothers body the higher the levels the baby is receiving. Stats are showing that these babies are born early and a low birth weight. Oh the stress :( This has been the most exhausting pregnancy with the most amount of changes and the most amount of stresses that I have had this far. Certainly doesn't make me feel relaxed knowing all this.

Furthermore I am at an extremely high risk of getting PND. Trying to 'sort it out' and 'reduce the risk' or 'make the transition smoother' or 'make life easier' type things. I've told those that matter that I am highly likely to and they are so lovely, so wonderful, so serving that they have all said "don't worry about it we'll help" and I know that they will - they love us THAT much!! (Any hints to help with this part of the process???)

Yet on top of this my husband whom I love most of the time has been diagnosed with Clinical Depression... What a load to deal with all.at.once.

So there you have it, you know that life as I know it isn't just an easy breeze, a walk in the park, a swim in the ocean. It is tough going, it always has been possibly always will be.

I love my God, I love my husband, I love each of my children and I am grateful that I have all of them. xx

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{Reposted from January 9th 2011}

Whatever...

From time to time the burdens seem so heavy, the weight of the world, the weight of my family, the weight of our past/our present/ our future weigh me down so greatly that I wish not to continue upon my journey, my path, my life as I know it.

As I dwelt upon the responsibilities laid heavily upon me at insane hours of this morning I 'spoke' my piece, I read a blog post or more, I picked up my bible and found this...

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever is true,

whatever is honourable,

whatever is right,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is of good repute,

if there is any excellence and if anything worth of praise,

dwell on these things.

My burdens have been lifted - I know what needs to be done.
I have lovely things to dwell on...
I know truths...
I know (some of the things) what is right...
I am pure in His sight...
I know plenty of praiseworthy things...


5 Things I am Thankful for that I consider to be Praiseworthy:
1. The gift the Lord has given me in the form of Isaiah, Amalia, Jarah & one more to come
2. Fulfilment of being a mother
3. Grace given to me even though I am certainly not worthy of it
4. His Unfailing Love
5. His Truth

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The Birth Nazi

I am continuously amazed at the way people twist my words all around.  I have a friend that said that to me the other day.  She said the comments I get on my blog are consistently 50/50 -- some supportive, some thinking I'm void of any compassion whatsoever and have totally lost my marbles.

Most of you don't know me in real life, but suffice it to say, I am very much the same sitting here at the computer as I am in person.  I will tell you what I think, and I'm OK with you telling me what you think, as long as it is kept respectful.  That's why I do not delete comments from my blog, even the ones that more or less call me a Birth Nazi.  You have the right to your opinion, just as I have the right to mine.

Before I go any further, I want to address my use of the word "Nazi" in this post.  I am using this word because I have heard myself referred to in this manner.  The "Soup Nazi" episode of Seinfeld has been laughed about for years, but when used in this manner, it's not funny.  At least I don't think it's funny.  I, personally, am quite offended by the use of the word, especially in reference to myself.  

Let's address a very interesting topic that I read several blog posts and Facebook statuses about this week:  Is it OK, even good, to expect a good birth experience?  According to most of them, no!  At least this is my interpretation:  You shouldn't get your hopes up because you might be let down.

A very fast recap of my birth experiences:  I have had 4 different births.  My first was an epidural birth where I narrowly escaped a c-section.  My second was my most emotional where I definitely experienced that "birth high." My third sucked and was my hardest (no one's fault but my own), and my fourth was the "easiest" but emotionally hard knowing it was my last and my son would never have a brother.  The only birth I cried tears of joy was my second.  The others, I was just mostly glad they were over.  Does that mean they were bad births because I didn't weep with joy?  Of course not.  They were all just different.  I learned very different things from each experience.  I hope those things I learned, I am able to pass on to my students.  Sometimes it's a case of "Do as I say, not as I did!"

There is this idea that Donna Ryan is an unforgiving natural childbirth educator.  If you have an epidural, I will make you feel awful about it.  And a c-section, forget it!  You might-as-well crawl into a hole!

OK, this is what Donna Ryan teaches.  Pay attention, Donna-haters!  I believe that there are some really awful OBs out there that are happiest when they are performing surgery.  They know nothing about natural childbirth and frankly, don't want to know.  They will scare you into an induction or make you beg for an epidural ("haha, let's keep her pit turned high and strap her to a monitor!"), or they will give you an episiotomy so long you will wish you had a c-section.  (Yes, I've heard a nurse say she heard an OB say this.) Are all OBs like this?  Of course not.  They do exist.  I think that the majority of them have not attended natural, intervention-free births enough to know what that looks like, sounds like, or how to help and encourage a couple on this journey.  Most of them will find a way to put you on their turf, where they are comfortable -- in a bed, strapped to a monitor, legs in stirrups, epidural, pitocin, etc.  See past blog post.

There are other resources in your community.  You may have to dig around to find them, but they likely exist.  Resources that support and encourage natural normal birth.  In Fort Worth, Texas there are so many resources available to families -- amazing midwives, in and out of the hospital.  With choices available, you need to use them.  These are the people who will help you have the birth you want -- or in some cases avoid the birth you don't want!  They encourage you to do the opposite of the (bad) OBs;  things like walking, intermittent monitoring, light food and drink throughout labor, choice of pushing positions, and just plain ole encouragement!  What a difference between a nurse (or midwife) saying, "You got this!  You sound wonderful.  Keep making those low, slow sounds," and "Oh, honey, if you think this is hard now, just wait till you're an 8!  Are you sure you don't want an epidural?"  Well, when you put it that way, of course I want an epidural!

I expect my couples to make the appropriate changes if necessary.  Don't ignore the red flags!  Nearly everyone that sits through my class does change their care provider and/or hospital if they see those red flags.  If you ignore them -- now, this does sound harsh, but it's true -- you have no one to blame but yourself for a "bad" birth if you do not make the necessary changes during the pregnancy.  It's not much fun to be left wondering if that c-section really was necessary. 

Your labor should be a wonderful, yet challenging, time in your life.  Your birth team is critical.  I've said that a million times here over the last three years.  Birth is probably the hardest thing you will ever do.  I never paint a rosy picture.  We don't get to pick the way your birth is going to play out, but you will have a very good idea of what normal birth looks like.  We go through lots of variations of normal too.

This is what I teach about an epidural:  You know what normal birth looks like.  You know what to do, what not to do, you have prepared in every way possible (birth team, relaxation, exercise, nutrition, hired a doula), and you know when you are out of the "normal" range, which can mean a lot of different things.  You have the education to know when you are on the path to a c-section.  Many an epidural has saved a mom from a c-section.  We all hope that an epidural is not a part of the birth equation, but sometimes it is, and sometimes it's even a good thing, a necessary intervention that saves a mom from a c-section.

I have never -- not even once -- told a mom that she failed when she had that epidural.  Or a c-section.  I would never do that.  In many instances, I've put myself in their shoes, and have no doubt that I would have made the exact same decision.  Now, I can't say that a mom won't beat herself up over it, but it's not because I made her feel bad. 

Here's the reality:  When people sit through my class and do all the "right" things and their birth does not go as they had hoped (epidural, transfer, c-section), rarely do I have someone seem to dwell on it and have a hard time getting over it.  Most people know that there are things in birth that are not within our control, but you do your part, roll with the punches, understand why those things became necessary in your birth, and move on!  Learn from them.  Don't become a victim of your birth!  I am seeing this all the time.  It's exhausting.  Your birth does not define who you are as a person.  How you deal with things that happen in your life is more important than the actual things that happen. 

There are some midwives that have told me that the reason they refer to my classes is not necessarily because they love The Bradley Method®, but because my couples seem to bounce back easier when things go differently from their original plans.  My couples also know that they can trust them to help them on this road and if they say they need intervention or medication, it's OK to trust them.  Attitude is everything.

I simply want to see women believe in themselves enough to give birth their all.  Sometimes, that may not mean an unmedicated birth.  It might even mean a c-section in the end.  But if you do your part -- not just become a victim of a very broken maternity system -- you will have a good birth!  Does that make me a Birth Nazi?  Then so be it.

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What does Gov. Markell want from Christina?

Excerpt from Gov. Markell's Delaware Voice Column in today's News Journal:

When the Christina School District was told that Glasgow and Stubbs would be two of the four schools chosen for the Partnership Zone reform effort, they were given several options to make change happen for those kids. They chose to provide their own detailed plan for how they would transform those schools. The state accepted the plan, and the district committed to implementing it.
This week, the school board members seem to have voted to change their mind. Instead of making progress and moving forward, some members decided instead to point fingers at the state for local implementation issues they could have identified and solved. They offered angry speeches instead of offering options on how they were going to keep the commitment they made to the kids in those schools. They injected tremendous uncertainty about what those schools will look like next year.

Dear Gov.

This is a personal letter, in a public forum, submitting one individual's own interpretation of the recent series of events in Delaware:

As of Easter Sunday, you still don't have your facts right.  I strongly suspect that you have not listened to the audio file of the April 19th meeting that is readily available to the entire listening public on the Christina District website.  If you had, you would drawn vastly different conclusions.

You would know that Christina absolutely recognized that the fidelity of the implementation to the MOU as a local issue.  You would know that members of this board did seek out your Sec. of Education for guidance on this issue before April 19th. And that she confirmed this was a local issue.  You would know that this board agonized over what was the right and fair remedy and that we all spent many hours of our own personal time outside this meeting responding to constituents and researching our options. 

If you had listened to that audio file, you would know that this board owned the errors of process and the mistakes of implementation.  We accepted that as the elected policy-makers and custodians of the district.  We feel deeply that true reform will happen only with fidelity to the plan and that the absence of fidelity will result in the failure of this plan. 

If you had listened to that audio file, you would know that this board never, at any point, discussed deviating from the approved-reform plan, although many board members do have gut-wrenching concerns over the reform models and the total instability that these models are inflicting upon our students.

If you had listened, you would know that this board voted to "retain and retrain" its teachers.  That it is committed to moving the reform plan forward utilizing among other commitments, the professional development avenues already imbedded into the plan.   The retention of 19 teachers at these two schools did not in any way walk the PZ plan backwards and therefore did not jeopardize your Race to the Top. 

If you had listened, you would know that we at no time threatened your Race to the Top legacy.  As the PZ is regulated, we have no option but to continue on course.  You would know that the decision this board made was one based upon integrity, not fear, nor threats.  It was a vote to support our students and that one's word is as valuable as one's actions.  We made a promise to the teachers at our PZ schools that decisions regarding their futures would be informed by multiple measures.  We failed to keep our word.  We acted within the province of local control to remedy those errors. 

If you had listened you would know that the MOU could only be changed by mutual agreement of the two signing parties.  The board was one, the CEA, the other.  The DOE has no vote. 

If you had cared to contact us after the meeting and before you froze our funding, you would know that the CEA leadership has expressed their gratitude and support for undoing what was truly a tragedy to some wonderful educators. 

If you had cared to contact us before you froze our funding, we might very well have worked through these issues before they became national news and thrust Delaware and Christina into a bad light.  We may have avoided the angry rhetoric and propaganda campaign embarked upon by the state. 

You would know, Gov, that this board never walked away from the table and that the only party injecting tremendous uncertainty is your department of education.  CEA is committed.  Christina is committed.  Are you and DOE? 

It's not too late to listen.  But, prepare yourself, it was a seven hour meeting.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Scheinberg

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{reposted from February 7th 2011}

Random things we've learnt...

# Cats sit down when they eat

# Texta's are not suitable drawing utensils for children 3yrs and under (lids NEVER get put back on)

# Neither are crayons

# Walls and doors are the preferred drawing area for children of all ages - regardless of just being cleaned by the mother hours before hand

# Rabbits don't wait 3 days for you to look for them, catch them and return them to their cage

# Older children teach younger children to count without permission or knowledge of their parents

# Sibling Tormenting begins at early ages such as 15 month old babies

# If you yell at the pets to shut up, get out, sit down, liklihood is the baby will learn these words in place of other 'nicer' words such as "Quiet please doggy and stop barking" "outside" "sit"

# Fly killing is like a sport

# Cats don't run away when being tortured by children

# Cats cannot move when dressed in doll clothing hence them lying there enduring all sorts of 'play'

# Formal homeschooling can be put 'on hold' for extended periods of time but children will still pull their work out and do it without you

# Children listen really carefully to what you are saying and can repeat such things days afterwards (NO JOKE!) BUT they can not do what you tell them to do, when you tell them to do it (NO JOKE!)


What have you learnt recently??

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{re-posted from February 15th 2011}

repition is paying off...

... sometimes in *our* homeschool it feels like all we do is the same thing over and over and over. Don't get me wrong for the most part I love it - but I want to do more, do different, be more 'advanced' than where we are at with it all. More so when I check out curriculum and the feeling of 'not enough' grabs hold.



When the failure side of myself seeps in and I begin to wonder if my child is dyslexic, or has an illness or a learning disability. When I begin to think that *I* can not teach him enough and that he's behind the other kids and would be better off in school.

Then a moment occurs where I sit one-on-one and realise that yes this child can do this work, that repitition is paying off and he knows what he's doing, he knows what it means, he knows what he's been learning and he doesn't need my help.
I suddenly feel proud of his achievements. They are his achievements not mine. And I get to be the first inline to view this child learning these things and not somebody else, not someone who will be in his life for a year at the most, not a stranger who doesn't love or care for him as much as I do.

Especially given that just an hour ago he was having a major melt down - and now he is once again a soft and placid little busy homeschooling boy. Especially given we/I had an absolutely terrible day yesterday and we had our family night last night with a movie and late to bed. Begining the day off with a terrible start. Actually - he came outside with me at 6:30am and pulled all the dry washing off the line WITHOUT being asked/told - first for him taking washing off the line! He's been doing other things without being asked too. Such as getting dressed and putting his PJs under his pillow, and getting his PJs on, clearing up, and some of his other regular routine jobs. Makes a Mama like me feel proud.

5 Things I am Thankful for:
1. Having the opportunity to view my child's learning take hold
2. Effective uses of time out and bed
3. Quiet times in the arvo when the babies are in bed and its just me and the boy
4. Duplo
5. A quiet spirited child

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As I sit...

... here pondering all that is going on around and within me...

I hear the soft snoring of my newest babe breathing in her bed fast asleep and oblivious to the troubles in the world...

I hear the cries and clanging of my second last babe whimpering away while pushing a little people bus through the house...

I hear the noises of my first two born children... playing... outside... and no I have not given them permission to be out there... and I have little intention of returning them to the safety and (dis)comfort of our home...

It is hot, there is no breeze, I am tired, I am possibly over tired, I have been having night mares, and staying awake too long, I am emotional (der), and I have had enough.

I want to be still, to hear quiet, to feel peace,...

I want to not have little people touch me, or climb on me, or need me, or cling on me,...

I need patience,
I need meekness,
I need the deep-heart-feeling of love...

Instead I have 9% battery left, and an empty packet of cadbury easter eggs...

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Flea Control - or out of control...

Our delightfully flea ridden dog having a bath...

Our delightfully flea ridden dog having a bath...

But remember that ginger cat???
It *might* have looked like this:

Well... He got a bath too... Awhile ago now... and he STILL lives with us :)
(Actually I hear he also had a ride down town in the back of our ute also)

Everyday I was getting bitten by fleas. I would rather be bitten by mosquitos. Apparantly in Esperance the houses on the sand hills are perfect breeding grounds for fleas to breed and apparantly they are really hard to get rid of. Sitting in the lounge feeding bubba they'd pounce on me and start eating. It was a season of itching and scratching, moaning and whining.

Now it is a season of healing and praising.

5 Things I am Thankful for:
1. Flea's have been taken care of and we no longer get bitten
2. A clean(er) dog
3. The wussy'iest cat - perfect for *our* kids
4. Poisons
5. Praises to Him

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She Speaks: Christina's Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2011
CONTACT

Wendy Lapham, Public Information Officer, Christina School District, 302-552-2610

Christina School District Committed to Transformation of Glasgow High School and Stubbs Elementary School

Wilmington, DE – The Christina School District remains committed to the process of transformation at both Glasgow High School and Stubbs Elementary. We are continuing along the path set out by the Partnership Zone plan and are confident our efforts are aligned with the goals of radically changing these two schools. The DOE’s decision to freeze funding will ultimately put that process on hold. The ongoing commitment of the Christina School District demands that we must proceed without delay. We are anxious for the State to revisit its decision to freeze federal funds marked for these reforms so that we may serve the students of Christina per the state approved Partnership Zone plan supported by Delaware regulation. We look forward to working with the DOE and the CEA to expeditiously resolve this issue on behalf of the children of Christina.

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Goliath's Agenda: Correcting DOE's Propaganda Campaign Against Christina

My comments are bold and in RED.

April 21, 2011 DOE PRESS RELEASE
State To Freeze Christina School District’s Race To The Top Dollars

Secretary of Education Lillian M. Lowery announced today that the Delaware Department of Education will freeze more than $11 million in federal Race to the Top (RTTT) dollars previously dedicated to the Christina School District. This action follows the Christina School Board’s vote Tuesday not to honor its agreement to implement its own previously approved reform plan at two of Delaware's lowest-performing schools.

The Christina Board of Education did not vote "not to honor its agreement to implement its own previously approved reform plan."  The CBOE discovered errors and/or flaws in the two documents governing the selection process for the teachers at the two PZ schools.  The Board voted to take corrective action - to retain and retrain the affected teachers - to offer positions to the 19 teachers.  The district has already committed in the DOE-approved PZ plan to providing the necessary professional development for all educators at the PZ schools.

In addition to the more than $11 million in reform dollars, the district will also lose out on programs paid for with the state's portion of RTTT funding. The Department also is reviewing what other fiscal and regulatory impacts could result from Christina’s actions.

In January 2010, the CBOE met in public session with Dr. Lowery to discuss the RTTT MOU.  At that time, I asked Dr. Lowery what would happen if a district did not sign the MOU?  She responded that, should Delaware win the RTTT funding, such a district would still benefit from the services that the DOE was committing to providing.  She cited data coaches as an example.   She also stated that PZ would become a regulation and participation would not be voluntary.

“Over the last three years, the average math and English Language Arts proficiency for students at Stubbs Elementary School has declined from 54.65% in 2008 to only 40.42% in 2010. Similarly, at Glasgow High School, the math and English Language Arts average proficiency declined from 41.28% in 2008 to 35.59% in 2010.” Lowery said. “We have a moral obligation to these children to do better for them, and the school board’s recent action retreats from that obligation.”

We absolutely have a moral obligation to do better for our children.  I would argue that it is the Department of Education's hasty and unreasonable response to an issue of local control that is a retreat from that obligation.

“We hope Christina’s leadership will come back to the table and return to the work they pledged to complete,” Lowery said. “The children in these struggling schools are counting on them to do so.”

Christina's leadership did not walk away from the table nor the work they have pledged to complete. CBOE did NOT vote to exit the RTTT MOU or the PZ.  Those suggestions were never even on the table, nor were they even discussed at the April 19th board meeting.  The audio from that meeting is available on the Christina School District's website.


This is blatant misinformation being dispensed by the Department of Education.  Since April 19th, the DOE has chosen to communicate with the board through press releases and local media.  They have not directed any concerns to this board member nor the board as a whole.

The children in these struggling schools are counting on the DOE to honor its commitment to fund the RTTT and PZ plans that Christina is actively implementing.

Because of the long-term failure of both schools to meet the needs of Delaware's students, reform is needed.

Despite serious concerns regarding the models of reform offered to PZ schools and the lack of longitudinal data to support these reforms, and despite a culture of continuous reform and instability, I continue to support my educators who are dedicated to improving the achievement of our students.

In September, the state selected Christina’s Glasgow High and Stubbs Elementary schools as two of the first four schools in the state’s new Partnership Zone. Six more schools will be named this summer. As a key component of Delaware’s $119 Race to the Top plan, the Partnership Zone targets the state’s lowest performing schools with additional financial resources and technical assistance to implement aggressive reforms. Each school’s leadership chose a reform method and locally drafted a plan. Secretary Lowery approved those local plans in January.

Secretary Lowery has repeatedly articulated the need for learning from our mistakes and sharing best practices between the first cohort of PZ schools and six yet-to-be-named schools.  CBOE has identified mistakes in the utilization of process.  Rather than support CBOE in their exercise of local control and rectification, the DOE has frozen our funding.  Sadly, actions are indeed louder than words.

Christina chose the transformation model for both of its schools. Among other important changes -- including shifts in curricula, the addition of content-specific academies, extended instructional hours and intense intervention models – the plan developed by the district calls for school leadership and staff to re-interview for positions. Those not invited back would be moved to a position in another building that better complemented their talents. No teacher would lose any salary, benefits or seniority.

Yes, the plan called for teachers to re-interview for positions. However, when the board evaluated the results of the interviews the governing documents were found to be misleading.  There were several interpretations of what should have occurred.  Ultimately, the 20 minute interview was the only rubric used to determine selection when the documents indicate that other factors would be considered.  In addition, the board found that there were violations of some requirements such as having the Campus Principal present at the interviews.  The process also failed to be completed by assigned deadlines.

Christina, with the support of its teacher union, created a process for that selection that included a review panel dominated by teacher and local administrative representation. The district followed the process with fidelity, but on Tuesday, the school board voted not to accept the results of that process and to return teachers to their original classrooms.

1.  Yes, the CEA  and the district supported the process as it was designed.  However, during the review of the utilization, the board identified flaws. 
2.  Board members voiced serious concerns about the fidelity of the process, the clarity of which was muddied by potentially conflicting documents. 
3. The affected teachers were never removed from their original classrooms as the DOE press release would lead one to believe. In reality, the corrective action that the board chose to employ was to offer these teachers positions at the PZ schools next year, to retain and train.  The teachers also retained the right to voluntarily transfer out of the PZ schools.

“The staffing process in dispute was outlined in an agreement that Christina’s leadership crafted, signed off on, and was charged with implementing,” Lowery said. “After implementing the process they agreed to, the Christina School Board now wants to change those rules. That’s not fair to anyone, particularly the students who could lose out.”

The board stipulated that union and district leadership "crafted, signed off on, and was charged with implementing" the agreement.  This was not a matter of board seeking to change the rules.  Again, we learned that we had failed to implement with fidelity and we took corrective action.   

“The Christina School District developed its reform plan and sought federal/state financial assistance to make the plan a reality. The Christina School Board now seeks to back away from the very plan that resulted in the awarding of these funds.”

A Complete and Total LIE.  The CBOE has not taken any steps "to back away from" that plan.

Lowery said she understands that real reform is going to bring push back.
“Change is hard, but it’s the only way to get different results,” she said. “Our children can’t afford for us to stick with the status quo because it’s easier or more comfortable. They deserve better, and as leaders, it’s our job to give them better.”

Improved outcomes for children:  Do you want your plan implemented correctly?  Or do you want it fast?  This board chose to do it RIGHT.  DOE has compelled the process to occur FAST.  The only thing here that is STATUS QUO is the constant culture of DEFORM. 


My message tonight to Christina, is that there are some among us who will continue to stand strong for our children, our students, who will work to cultivate an environment of success and achievement.  We will fight for this district, we will fight for you.

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Book: The Lion and the Mouse

I remember LOVING this story as a kid. I was so pleased to come across it at our local library yesterday. Already the children are enjoying the story.

I particularly like the end page:
The Moral "It holds through the whole scale of Creation,
that the Great and the Little have need, one of another."

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Pink Milk

Today I braved the shops to do groceries right before the easter break weekend and in the middle of school holidays. It was crazy but the kids were great.

I am feeling quite chuffed at a 'savings' that I made today. Not sure why it never occured to me before. I bought a 1L carton of milk AND a tin of strawberry nesquick. The little 250ml pink milks are $1.55 so I saved myself .80cents :) but it means that we can have pink milk until its all gone. SCORE!!

I remember drinking nesquik as a kid. Creating family traditions/memories for our children. And yeah I do feel it important to create things for our children to remember in years to come :)

5 Things I am Thankful for:
1. Slight saving on the pink milk
2. Kids being good at the shops
3. Aunty Katie being there to help/do her shopping
4. A checkout opening just in front of me
5. Having a small grocery list

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SUCH a smart idea!!!

Today:

I had a physio appointment - for my sore achy back...

I thought about taking the children with me *briefly* then thought even I am not brave enough to do that!!!

SO I called in a babysitter (two actually)... One to cover the first part before mopedding off to work and the second to cover the second part so the first could go to work... Why didn't I just use the second for the whole time? Wow... What a weirdo :S

Anyhoo...

I got even smarter and asked if she'd come an hour earlier... She said YES! WOO HOO

So I ran my errands with just Avigail. FIVE errands in an HOUR!!! WOWSERS...

Had I written that as a list and done them with the four kids I'd have fought them every place and not got them all done and it'd have taken me atleast 3-4hours.


[This is what got done while I was AWAY + all previous washing put away + dishes done + more!!!!! Jealous?? You should be ;) ]


SO PLEASED!!! TO SAY THE LEAST :)

5 Things I am Thankful for:
1. Babysitters, who go above and beyond for ME
2. Babysitters, who LOVE & ADORE my kids
3. running those errands so quickly
4. Physio appointment
5. My Trustworthy Babysitters

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kitty love???

OR torture.... ... ... ...

For a period of time...

over a few weeks...

EVERY MORNING!!...

I'd awake to this:




























and just so you know...

baby suits WITH feet = a disabled cat!! They can not (or will not) walk...

BUT...

a jump suit... with buttons for easy nappy changes means the tail can stick out the button hole...

AND...

it can still walk!!!

Just sayin'...

you know... in case you need to know!!












5 Things I am Thankful for:
1. EXTREMELY placid kittens
2. FREE kittens (erm.. they weren't free when you add food, medical needs and equipment = expensive free kittens!!)
3. first thing in the morning was a laugh... at the kitty's expense... DAILY :)
4. doll clothes... and not baby clothes... as in MY baby clothes!!!
5. EXTREMELY EXTREME placid kittens

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