Christians—please reject further lockdowns and closing—for the children’s sake

At the K-12 level, the risk of Covid to children is low. The Wall St.  Journal’s Andrew Duehren and Alex Leary report today: The Trump administration is pressing the nation’s school systems to educate children in-person this fall, preparing to offer safety guidelines for reopening, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill search for an agreement to provide schools the federal aid they say they need to do so. Team Trump is encouraged by a recent statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics which notes the negative impact of lockdowns as well as the relatively small Covid risks faced by children. The organization says it “strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school. The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020.” The statement adds: Lengthy time away from school and associated interruption of supportive services often results in social isolation, making it difficult for schools to identify and address important learning deficits as well as child and adolescent physical or sexual abuse, substance use, depression, and suicidal ideation... Policy makers must also consider the mounting evidence regarding COVID-19 in children and adolescents...Although children and adolescents play a major role in amplifying influenza outbreaks, to date, this does not appear to be the case with SARS-CoV-2. Although many questions remain, the preponderance of evidence indicates that children and adolescents are less likely to be symptomatic and less likely to have severe disease resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, children may be less likely to become infected and to spread infection. Policies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within schools must be balanced with the known harms to children, adolescents, families, and the community by keeping children at home.

The benefits of acne

This sounds like a bad joke, but when you think about it, it sort of makes sense. . . Acne as a teen predicts success.

"We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to investigate the association between having acne in middle to high school and subsequent educational and labor market outcomes. We find that having acne is strongly positively associated with overall grade point average in high school, grades in high school English, history, math, and science, and the completion of a college degree. We also find evidence that acne is associated with higher personal labor market earnings for women. We further explore a possible channel through which acne may affect education and earnings."

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/701436

Why are Democrats against school choice?

Every student in the Milwaukee Cristo Rey Jesuit High School graduating class will be the first in their family accepted to college. All 85 graduates received at least two acceptances to four-year colleges. Almost all the students are Hispanic, and almost all attend the school on taxpayer-funded vouchers through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Why are so many on the left against choice in education? Is it because it succeeds?

http://jesuitsmidwest.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20190607125636

http://jesuitsmidwest.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20190529042416

The Columbus Cristo Rey opened in the renovated old School for the Deaf building in September 2014. Preserving buildings and saving children.

https://www.traditionalbuilding.com/projects/historic-high-school?

Perhaps it’s because about 99% of teachers’ unions support the Democrat party?

How safe are our schools?

Highlights on school crime.  https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018036.pdf   It's decreased in this century, but would you know from the news? Reported hate-words have decreased. Would you know that from memes and posts on social media? Also, crimes among juveniles, girls and boys, have decreased 65% since 1996, and arrests significantly from 2006-2015.

• Based on the 2017 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), students ages 12 to 18 experienced 827,000 total victimizations (i.e., theft and nonfatal violent victimization) at school and 503,800 total victimizations away from school.
• From 2000 to 2017, there were 153 casualties (67 killed and 86 wounded) in active shooter incidents at elementary and secondary schools and 143 casualties (70 killed and 73 wounded) in active shooter incidents at postsecondary institutions.
• In 2017, about 6% of students ages 12 to 18 reported being called hate-related words at school during the school year, representing a decrease from 12% in 2001. This percentage also decreased between 2001 and 2017 for male and female students as well as for white, black, and Hispanic students.
• Between 2001 and 2017, the percentage of students ages 12 to 18 who reported that gangs were present at their school during the school year decreased overall (from 20% to 9%), as well as for students from urban areas (from 29% to 11%), suburban areas (from 18% to 8%), and rural areas (from 13% to 7%).
• During the 2015-16 school year, 47% of schools reported one or more crime incidents to police. The percentage of public schools reporting incidents to police was LOWER in 2015-16 than in every prior survey year.

A proud mother on her daughter's graduation

I met this young woman on Facebook, don’t remember exactly how, but I’ve enjoyed her posts over the years.  I’ve also seen photos of her beautiful daughter, so I was thrilled to see this testimony. There's no better sermon than a life of repentance and change. Ayesha Kreutz,  President of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York, writes:

"My oldest has graduated High school and changed her course, deciding to go to college and decided to double major. I suggested it since she got a really good scholarship. I have to say I am super proud of the girl.  See, she grew up with me. When I got pregnant with her it was the first time in my life I was sober, no drugs or alcohol, I quit everything. 

I was a single mother, though I absolutely loved her father, and we tried to make it work, I realized as I got sober he was an addict, more so than I was, his drug use far surpassed mine and after years of trying and going through DT's along with other issues we split for good.

Single, out of wedlock parenthood was terrible. We were homeless and I have been on the food stamp system as well. Through the journey of becoming who I am today, I worked hard to give my daughter a better shot than I had started her out on, by being a single mother. I even found a way to home-school while being a single mom and working full-time.

Eventually, by being obedient and faithful to the Word of Truth and building that relationship with Christ, things did turn around. 

I am married and a stay-at-home homeschooling mom and my oldest is a wonderful young lady. My husband Rocks!

She learned from my mistakes and purposed to listen to my wisdom to do better. She loves the Lord, picks good friends, is compassionate, loves her fellow-man, shares Jesus and through out high-school she danced 15 - 20 hours a week, played sports, even got all-star setter for volleyball and now has gotten a scholarship and going to college.

Many kids raised in adversity find ways to be bitter and angry and make excuses for their failure, but she has found ways to push through the excuses and find ways to make excuses to succeed.

So yep I am a proud mommy. I know college years can be even tougher and we really get a chance to see what they are made of.  So please give her a congratulation and if you are a 100% Bible-believing Christian pray for her and share words of wisdom with her."

Bishop Watterson High School

Students at Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, Ohio are petitioning and organizing to have a gay teacher reinstated. Unless they wish to attend a government school, this is a bad idea. Unlike Protestants who protest and regroup at the slightest secular wind change, Catholics have a few more restrictions. Protestants get to have the burden of private interpretation of scripture and see the pope in the mirror every morning; Roman Catholics do not. The government has already destroyed the Catholic adoption agencies by insisting children be placed, not for their best interest, but the desires of the adopting couple. Let's not destroy a very fine school system by misguided beliefs about the purpose of sexuality.

Thomas Jefferson High School again

I don’t buy this.  The whole purpose of high school clubs is to learn leadership skills and develop friendships.  There are plenty of clubs which will mingle children of different races and cultures—math club, Spanish club, thespians—but the leader of the black students club should be an African American.  TJHS doesn’t have very many blacks now; don’t dilute their effectiveness and learning opportunities.  And no, I don’t want a guy in charge of young mothers club.

Of the 1,800 students who attended TJ last year, only 34 were black and 42 were Hispanic, school figures show. The overwhelming majority of their classmates were Asian (906) and white (787).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/problem-or-progress-white-student-leads-black-club-at-n-virginia-high-school/2012/04/01/gIQArXXkpS_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

A simple plan with great benefits

A Columbus school teacher told me that his school has gone to separate lunch hours for boys and girls. "Wow," I said, "What's next? Uniforms?" "I wish," he said.

He says the discipline problems and fights have gone way down. I'm not surprised, but I don't blame the guys, I blame the girls (I be one, you know).

My epiphany was a little late in coming. About 10 years ago we were waiting for our food at the Old Bag of Nails a pub in Tremont Center, our Friday night date spot before we shifted to the Rusty Bucket in the Lane Avenue Center. There was a non-stop noisy table next to us. Much screeching, whooping and screaming--about 6-8 30-something adult women, and two guys younger. It was probably an after work get-together to celebrate something. The 2 guys left for a few moments, either to smoke or to get away from the incessant chattering magpies. The minute they were out of earshot the women settled down. They began quietly discussing things important to them--children, husbands, boyfriends, hopes, dreams--whatever, it was all in hushed tones. Girl talk, not performing for the guys.

I'm all in favor of genderizing the lunch hours in high schools. With separate classes for boys and girls, the girls would do much better, and finally, some of the boys would begin to shine.

Would you call this a hate crime?

"Richmond, California (CNN) -- Investigators say as many as 20 people were involved in or stood and watched the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside a California high school homecoming dance Saturday night.

Police posted a $20,000 reward Tuesday for anyone who comes to them with information that helps arrest and convict those involved in what authorities describe as a 2½-hour assault on the Richmond High School campus in suburban San Francisco."

I only ask if it's a hate crime, because we know unless she's a lesbian, it won't be called that. Singling out some forms of evil as "hate" because the victims are members of a specific, protected group is just dumb and intended to increase tensions between groups. I don't know if the victim was black, white or Hispanic (the two female friends of the victim who spoke at a news conference about it were white), but we know if she were an African American and the attackers white, it would be called a hate crime. I think the "boys" are all Hispanic and black (some have been identified and charged as adults; photos showed relatives).

Update: "As horrendous as the allegations against the young men are, there is an even greater shock in revelation that the multiple raping took place outside, in an open area, with at least a dozen onlookers and an untold number of people passing by. Because the gang rape of the 15-year-old girl outside Richmond High School wasn't just the fevered sexual attacks of young men, it was a time-consuming two-and-a-half-hour ordeal where they beat, brutalized, raped, and even robbed the victim. And not one among them bothered to call the police or inform someone in authority.

Not one.

But they did find time to go in and out of the homecoming dance, according to Melissa McEwan at Shakesville, taking place at the time and inform others, who came out and watched and/or participated as well. It was not until after the incident ended, when someone overheard others talking about it, that a phone call was made to Richmond Police that something had occurred." AC Content

Forced Altruism

With every public and private school in the country requiring "community service" hours, there just aren't enough projects for the needy--unless cleaning up your own bedroom, or sweeping out the garage for dad could get on the list. Don't bet on it. Colleges and schools are taking a second look. It's not "volunteer" if it's required, is it? Same way with companies or state agencies that require staff to "volunteer" at various community projects. It builds a "white man's burden" mentality (even if the student isn't white)--the teen version of foreign aid for Africa, causing more harm than good. Since when is the poor's responsibility to teach our spoiled suburbanites "good works?"

However, I do have a suggestion for my own community of Upper Arlington. Our city fathers years ago contracted to have the side walks built right at the street curbs, so when we get the occasional snow storm or blizzard, the plows not only cover the driveways, but they bury the sidewalks in about 4-5' of chunked snow, slush and salt. Northwest Blvd. is about a block from the high school, and many teens park their cars there. It is also a street lined with duplexes where many retirees live. It's a match made in "community service" goals heaven. Send about 10-12 students, short on service hours, over to Northwest Blvd. after the plows go by. Meet phys ed requirements and service requirements both. And the neighbors will be so happy they'll help you with the next bond issue.

HT Joanne Jacobs

Is Juno really a comedy?

The first thing that isn't funny is the cost of Saturday matinee tickets at the Lennox--$7.00--and a small bag of popcorn, $4.50. If the theatre weren't 5 minutes from our house, I'd add travel costs and call it a $20.00 date. And then there's the movie. Not funny, folks. If this is what Canada and the Academy call a comedy, I'd hate to sit through a tragedy. The cast, however, is outstanding as is the writing (Amazon.com says Cody is a former phone sex operater--is that a joke?), directing, the setting, and the graphics. Music not so much.

Spoiler coming, from a member of the Triad, so don't look if you want to be surprised. The plot is about a nerdy, smart-mouth, cursing/cussing teen who gets pregnant by seducing her best friend, a blank faced guy in her band. The sex act isn't explicit, but you certainly get the idea. We see mostly his skinny legs and his love-sick, droopy eyes because he runs track during all seasons and really loves Juno, who never lets him in on a single decision she's making about their baby. The fact that it involved a lounge chair (which she dumps in his front yard when she tells him) is a joke that must appeal to the young. I heard loud guffaws. Same with the toilet scene pregnancy test. I didn't even smile.

Juno and her best (girl) friend first pick out an abortion clinic, which fortunately she rejects while in the waiting room with really obnoxious people, and then together they find an adoptive couple in a fish-wrapper newspaper. This is why the reviewers call her whip-smart and "mature." Again, it didn't impress me.

Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner are outstanding as the mismatched adoptive couple Juno finds in an ad--he hungering for freedom and her longing for a baby. Their part of the story line is also the saddest, in my opinion. Juno will go on with her life (we hope), but that mommy will be raising a baby alone. As far as maturity goes, Juno is way more mature than the father she has picked, who initially she likes more than the would-be mother because they can talk about alternative music (I don't know the genre--what would "Moldy Peaches" be?). Are you beginning to grasp what mature means in today's films?

The one, true, "real" mother in this movie is Juno's step-mother, Brenda. Juno's own mother abandoned her years ago--part of her motivation to find a true family for her baby. The scenes between step-mom and daughter are just delightful. I really did laugh in the scene of the ultrasound, where Bren tells off the tech. Dad (J.K. Simmons) is OK--good lines, but he's about as casual as he is on "The Closer." Always seems to be playing himself.

Would I see it again? Yes. I'd like to catch some of the lines I didn't hear during the inappropriate laughing because people think it is so hilarious when a tiny 16 year old pregnant girl swears like a Marine.

Monday Memories--Is there life after high school

I saw this meme over at Big Mama. She's been out of high school 18 years, so her memories are a little fresher than mine--I've just had my 50th high school reunion. Well, not the 50th reunion, but you know what I mean.

1. Who was your best friend? My best friend Tina moved to Florida after our junior year. We both lived on Hannah Ave. and would walk to school together, stopping for Kay and Priscilla on the way (probably a 2 mile walk, and longer for her). We also double dated a lot. Lynne's best friend got married that year and left school, so Lynne and I started hanging out together, and we still correspond and see each other when I go home to visit family.

With Lynne and Sylvia in 1999


2. Did you play any sports? Not so you could recognize them. Those were pre-Title 9 days, and in Illinois, there were no competitive sports for women. We did have GAA which allowed us to wear uniforms not seen since my mother's college days. Katie, our PE teacher, was a guest at our reunion in July. What that poor woman had to put up with.

3. What kind of car did you drive? Anything my Dad owned, and he changed cars rather than change oil. I love those 50s cars. I had a boyfriend from Polo that had a 1953 royal blue Plymouth with dual pipes--unbelieveably sweet and loud--the car, not him.

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? With my friends of course, usually at a slumber party after a school athletic event. Or it seems that way in my memory. I was part of a "birthday group" (clique) of 12 girls, and so we'd have at least 12 parties a year, pretty mild by today's teen standards. No boys. Lots of food. Presents. Occasional picnics. Movies.

5. Were you a party animal? See #4.
Christmas Party 1954
6. Were you considered a flirt? Oh yes.

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Yes. I played first chair trombone, and sang in girl's chorus, and whatever that smaller group was called.

8. Were you a nerd? That word hadn't been invented yet, but I was an A student. A brain who didn't study all that hard, and I really paid for that when I got to college and didn't have good study habits. I took all the college prep-courses except Algebra II. I had the classic math anxiety syndrome that afflicts many girls (or I was just dumb in math), although that term wasn't invented yet either.

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? Heavens no! I just got the "we're so disappointed that a young woman of your talent and potential would behave like this" lecture from the principal.

10. Can you sing the fight song? I think we sing it or hum it at our reunions. One year--1987?--the reunion committee brought along band instruments and everyone in the band had to try to play the school fight song. What a hoot. I couldn't even find F on the trombone, let alone play anything.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? For a small school, we had some great teachers and an excellent administration. Warren Burstrom was memorable--managed to get me through physics and chemistry. He was a graduate of Luther College in Iowa. He later went on to teach at a junior college. His wife had been my 8th grade teacher, and she was excellent too, although I think my class was her first and we probably made her regret choosing that career.

12. What was your school mascot? Our school name was so odd, we didn't need a mascot.

13. Did you go to the Prom? All four years. Three proms with the same date.

14. If you could go back, would you? No, at this age, they'd think I wandered in from the retirement home which is next door. Our high school has merged with our biggest rival, much to the grief of the alumni.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? I had to give a speech. I still nearly pass out in front of an audience. I've got it here somewhere on my blog.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? We didn't do such things, at least not as a class, but I think we did the next worst thing for the 1950s--wore jeans to school one day in the last month of our high school career.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? Yes. I worked at Zickuhr's Drug store and the town library, and also filled in during the summer if I was home, which wasn't often. I was thrifty (tight), and had saved enough for my first year of college.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? To the school cafeteria.

19. Have you gained weight since then? Yes, about 10 lbs. Several times. But it has rearranged itself. Some of my measurements are the same--my right thigh is now what my waist was in high school.
20. What did you do after graduation? I went to Manchester College in North Manchester, IN after a summer in Brethren Volunteer Service in Fresno, CA. Then I transferred to the University of Illinois to study Russian.




21. What year did you graduate? 1957. There's a song about that by the Statler Brothers, "The class of '57 had its dream," or something like that.

And the class of '57 had its dreams,
Oh, we all thought we'd change the world with our great works and deeds.
Or maybe we just thought the world would change to fit our needs,
The class of '57 had its dreams.

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? My boyfriend. He had to come home from colllege, but he made the sacrifice. Neither one of us knew how to dance, but we did go to them often.
This is the 1956 prom
23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? I didn't make it to the 10 year, but did get to most of them. In 1967 we had just moved to Ohio from Illinois, and it is about a 10 hour drive to get there.

If you liked this memory meme, tag, you're it.

Monday Memories of Memories

The Tech Reunion

The Committee for the Reunion did a fabulous job. From the nametags, to the dinner to the visit to the campus, it all ran smoothly, and we saw lots of old friends and heard many, "Do you remember when we. . ." I do wonder though what's happening to the classes behind us. There was no 25th or 40th for those classes, even though the other years we've attended there have been. Where are the classes of 1967, or 1972 or 1977?

For some reason, we don't have a copy of my husband's senior picture--red hair and sparkling green eyes.

These two friends hadn't seen each other since 1960, and without an announcement, probably couldn't have found each other at the dinner. My husband became an architect and Ron (on the right) became a very successful commercial artist. Now in retirement, they are both painters.

My new Tech friend Barb (on the right) who loves RV-ing, seeing the country, and reads my blog! Check out her reunion site for more photos and memories.

The Tech campus has 76 acres with many new buildings since the 1950s, but this landmark is called Stuart Hall, opened in 1940, named for the first principal. The first students arrived September 11, 1912 and classes began 5 days later.


My husband earned a letter in track and cross country. It is one of the few schools in the country where you could run cross country and not leave the campus.

The class gathered on the steps of the Arsenal Building for their class photo. There were more people at the evening event, and some here that didn't come to the dinner. If I'd been in charge, of course, I'd have asked all the ladies to put aside their purses and papers, and tell everyone to take off their sun glasses. However, no one appointed me to problem solve for the class photo. The Arsenal Building stored military supplies during the Civil War, and today has administrative offices.

The Awards Ceremony was held in Anderson Auditorium (1975), and the Alumni Choir sang below an American flag with 34 stars (found in the attic of one of the buildings).

Three members of The Slobs (social club) standing on the second floor of The Barracks, which at one time was under the command of the U.S. government (which owned the entire site). It was the building in which these guys had ROTC. One of The Slobs, Scott, brought his mom to the Alumni awards ceremony and lunch--a Tech grad of 75 years ago. And she's still beautiful!
Good-bye Tech. Maybe we'll see you 5 years for the 100th anniversary of your founding.

3708

Prom wasn't this tough when I was in school

This is a photo of a permission slip for . . . well, read it here. I didn't know things were this bad in schools. Are the children totally out of control or do administrators just not have enough to do? Maybe the folks who want to reinstate Bible reading and Creationism are right. Story at Travelin' Librarian.

3227 High School science way back when

Although I didn't know it until a few minutes ago, my high school science curriculum was similar to my grandmother's and was established by The Committee of Ten back in 1893. It seems I had a lot more science instruction than many students get today. Freshman: General Science; Sophomore: Biology; Junior: Physics; Senior: Chemistry. Even over 100 years ago, there was a debate on the amount of "hands-on" time and lab work a student needed for a good science education. The authors propose that biology has become so complex that it needs some understanding of physics and chemistry and needs a different spot in the sequence. However, they point out:

"The Committee of Ten report may be considered an "old document" by many contemporary players in education, but it holds an important place in science education history as a reform document that brought science teaching and learning to the forefront of education. More than 100 years after the report was issued, most of our schools still offer high school science courses in the sequence suggested by the Committee of Ten. Science education is still debating what criteria should define the coherence of our science curriculum to lead to scientific literacy for all. If there is one lesson to be learned from my argument, it is that the Committee of Ten did not anticipate that more than 100 years later its recommendations would continue to be a matter of dispute and that one of the subjects proposed to improve the learning experience of our high school students is still a subject of plasticity in the reform efforts during the twenty-first century."

This is a very interesting article in a great on-line journal, CBE Life Sciences Education. Browsing the 2006 issues, I see an article on best web sites for science in each issue, as well as great book reviews.

See the article about the Committee of 10 at High School Biology Today; What the committee of ten did not anticipate

#21 High School letter sweaters

My friend Nancy is amazed that I was able to have a “vintage clothes closet” in our former home of 34 years. No attic. No basement. And the cleanest garage in town in which both vehicles were parked.

Among my vintage clothes is my high school letter sweater. It is a wool, deep red cardigan with tiny moth holes, and no block-letter black “M,” which was probably removed if I wore the sweater in college.

We also still have my husband’s high school letter sweater--a deep hunter green V-neck with a bold white block “T” sewn on the front. The difference being, he was actually an athlete (cross-country) and I was in the pep club. And his high school was larger than my home town.

In the early 80’s it was popular at our daughter’s school for the girls to wear their father’s clothing--blazers, top coats and sweaters. It wasn’t the grunge or the baggy look, but I don’t recall what that fad was called.

One day she wore her dad’s letter sweater to school. She was (and still is) very striking, with a “build” as we used to say. So you can imagine what the boys said about that letter “T” on her chest.

She got a little flustered, and couldn’t remember the name of the high school (Arsenal Technical High School), so she assured the young men that it stood for “Arsenical High.”

It killed them, I’m sure.