On reading Ravitch and helping in classrooms

Kids are not widgets. Kids are living, breathing wonders.

We will never be able to mass produce intelligent students by increasing the number of quality control assessments. Technological advances, when paired with qualified support staff, create energy and interest and avenues for in-depth topic exploration.  Alone, technology is just a pacifier for unruly behaviors or a distraction for a child who needs a break from the realities of operating in an environment requiring high levels of social interaction, navigation of the many grey areas and the need to learn to read between the lines.

Classrooms need caring grown ups,  in addition to the teacher, to handle behavioral outbursts and learning styles for a variety of diverse student populations and to offer a smile, encouragement and sometimes bi-lingual support for teacher and student.

Schools need teachers well-trained in curriculum and classroom management, more time for learning AND playing, smaller class sizes and parental engagement in the operations of the school.

Students benefit from community support and awareness of the collaborative (not competitive) charter schools emerging in some districts in Wisconsin. Success,  through cost-effective models where traditional public schools and non-traditional public instrumentality charter schools find ways to work together, combines resources and exposes parents to alternative ways to meet the academic and social needs for students from a variety of cultures, incomes and abilities.

It takes many big people to grow little humans.

Additional resources for those interested in exploring education topics:

http://www.dianeravitch.com/articles.html

http://blog.coreknowledge.org/

http://educationnext.org/author/hwalberg/

A. Woz

May 17, 2012 for ChildGrower Blog

Red Tent Bookclub Picks

From Robin: Okay, this is for all my FB friends who frequently ask me what our book club is reading. We got together last night and made our selections for the next 12 months. Here’s our list:

JUne 7- at Robin’s- Bad Marie

The Moonflower Vine. Jetta Carleton

The Submission. Amy Waldmann
The Marriage Plot. Eugendies
The Poisoners Handbook. Deborah Blum
Tigers Wife. Tea Obreht
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote
Bossy Pants. Tina Fey
Unorthodox. Deborah Feldman
The Night Circus. Erin Morgenstern
The Human Stain. Philp Roth

Covergirls May2012 – Dec2012

Welcome to the Book Pick list for the Covergirls!

Updates, in Purple,  added May 4, 2012 . Mya’s book changed, new links to Amazon for books search. (Hmmm…maybe next time I should link to a local book store)

We technically need a host for MAY and JUNE:  Karen has signed up for May and September but really May is not her turn! Any newer members willing to give it a whirl???

Theresa mentioned June might work so she must confirm.

We will continue to meet on the 3rd Thursday of the Month to discuss the book suggested by the host for that same month.

If someone is unable to host on the 3rd Thursday then please let the rest of the group know and someone else will step in to host for you at her house OR we will meet at a restaurant or bookstore of alternate’s choice. This way we can all keep our calendars solid.

Note: JK Rowling’ new book The Casual Vacancy is coming out in September if you are curious to see what she can write that is not like Harry Potter!

And: Barnes and Noble will gladly order multiple books for registered bookclubs and HOLD them on the shelf in the upstairs area for any bookclub member. Good place to browse and see what other bookclubs are reading, too.

The WHENs and the WHEREs and the WHATs and the WHOs

Karen- May 17 The Elegance of the Hedgehog- by ?

Theresa- June 14 TBA (suggested titles by the crowd include The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obrent, The Kitchen House by Kathleen Glisson)

Marcia-July 19 Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

Mya-August 16 Cutting for Stone by Verghese  The Willpower Instinct by McGonigal

Karen- September 20 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Annita-October 18 The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenites (coming out in paperback in mid September)

Michelle- Nov 15 In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

Carol- Dec 6th Holiday Book exchange and discussion of The Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’nan

SPRING CHALLENGE : Can we reconstruct the list of books we’ve read since we began meeting?

#A. Woz

Everyday Politics

 

Sometimes I wish politics didn’t play such an important role in everyday life. But it does.

After a year of polarizing issues in Wisconsin, everyday politics means we carefully choose our words because we know after we take a stance on an issue we will be sitting in the bleachers, next to our friends and neighbors, for the rest of the game.

Thankfully, there are people like Erika Hotchkiss who decide now is the perfect time to take everyday politics a step further.  With a passion for social justice, she brings the first fair trade coffee shop to Verona, organizes community forums and mixes business with politics by letting recall petitioners meet and greet at a table inside her local shop.  As if this isn’t enough to help her community and bring working family issues to the forefront, Erika sets her sights on a position with the Dane County Board and trains for political leadership by enrolling in Emerge WI.

She’s ready to serve the community with more than just talk.

Her endorsement list is long, but it’s Erika’s authenticity that earns my support.  Her actions align with her beliefs.

Erika Hotchkiss is an inspiration. If she can make time for politics, it must be time for everyday people to take our politics beyond the bleachers. It’s time to vote.

I support Erika Hotchkiss for Dane County Board and encourage you to enter politics in your own way by examining her platform http://www.erikahotchkiss.com/ and casting your vote for Erika, either in person or by absentee ballot, on April 3^rd.

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Letter to the editor in support of Erika Hotchkiss for Dane County Board

Submitted to Verona Press on March 20th, 2012.

by A. Woz@ChildGrower Blog

Spirit of Wrestling Shines Through

Letter to the Editor

March 5, 2012

Kudos to the Verona Youth Wrestling Club (VYWC) coaches, officers and volunteers for their work hosting about 500wrestlers for the annual Warm Up to Regionals tourney in Verona last Saturday.

Volunteer coordination, set in motion weeks ago by dedicated youth club leaders, organized an enormous amount of volunteer hours from current and former K-12 wrestling families.  The community support from Miller & Sons, Cousins Subs, Colonial Bakery and Culvers is outstanding. The janitors at VAHS are top notch and the ordinary dads who do the heavy lifting of the concession supplies and all those mats are extraordinary in their service.  Volunteers feed about 1500 spectators during the day. Wrestling families navigate a packed gym with 5 full-size wrestling mats buzzing with back to back matches.

If you haven’t been to a youth tourney, it’s quite the sight and very noisy! Volunteer referees donate an entire day to keeping kids safe and scoring the fast-paced action of youth wrestling. Most refs are high schoolers doing a tremendous job teaching wrestling to young competitors as they call the points.

Facing pretzel-like pinning combinations, young wrestlers-some boys, some girls- shake hands, look into the faces of opponents and then wrestle hard.  Sometimes it kinda hurts.  That courage is mirrored in the brave faces of the moms and dads who send them out to the mats to face one on one competition. There truly is no other sport like this!

We’d also like to recognize Verona’s positive matside parents and coaches who enthusiastically support club wrestlers without acting like fanatics. These grown-ups demonstrate good sportsmanship when referees make mistakes and offer a solid handshake to both wrestlers when it is over.  If a young wrestler gets discouraged or bent out of shape, the parents shrug it off with a hug, send them to the coaches for a little pep talk, and then get a good grip on the life lessons of winning and losing at the grade school level.

Verona’s youth wrestling leadership promotes having fun, a positive environment, quality coaching and uses parent-driven decisions to determine competition readiness. Good approach. We feel confident that someday, these youth wrestlers will be able to repeat the words of Verona high school wrestler, Eric Schmid, a 2012 state wrestling place winner and graduate of VYWC, who proudly says after finishing his first season on the varsity mat, “I love my time here.”

This is exactly what Verona’s K-12 Verona wrestling program is all about. Well done VYWC.

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ChildGrower, A. Woz.

A version of this post appeared in the Verona Press on Thursday 3/18/2012.