BlogHers Act! My Issue

As I mentioned, I’m attending BlogHer this year. BlogHer wants to know about my hot button issue.

Education.

I have a lot of hot button issues, but this is one that I think everyone can get behind and impact locally, and globally.

I live in a state that struggles to adequately fund public education solely through property taxes. Now the courts are involved. Our legislature is up against a deadline and it is getting heated with no real sign of resolution anytime soon.

Kindergarten is not required in our state! Most of those districts that do offer it usually only offer half day programs Helloooo?

No Child Left Behind is a joke. The intentions are good, but the results are disastrous. So, sorry Uncle Sam, but you can’t lay down mandates and set standards expecting to get results without providing adequate funding. The only difference these days is that teachers teach our kids how to succeed on standardized tests. They don’t have time to teach the kids skills they will actually use in the real world.

Oh and don’t get me started on education of the disabled. I live this hell annually with my kids. By law, districts can’t talk about money, but the reality is that the bottom line drives every decision a district makes on a child’s behalf. This has to stop. There also has to be an end to the “learn it our way or no way“ mentality in public schools. I firmly believe this would cut the number of kids in Special Education by at least 1/3. If you don’t get phonics, you are screwed and that just isn’t right. We all have different learning styles and teachers need to be given the latitude, time and resources to teach in ways that accommodate all students. Go listen to Flowers are Red by Harry Chapin.

But education extends beyond our children. Education or the lack of it touches everyone. It is time we made education at all levels more accessible and affordable. You don’t need a degree from Harvard to put a roof over your head and food on the table, but in this day and age, a high school diploma doesn’t even qualify you to live at the poverty line.

Education doesn’t have to be 4 years of college. Education means, mentorships, internships, technical training. There needs to be more of it and at a lower cost. SInce we’ve got so many people that are so far behind the curve, we also need to look at providing resources to support those that truly want to make more of their lives e.g. college dorms for mothers (or fathers) with kids.

The old adage holds true, if you give a woman a fish she can eat once (okay twice, we women are ingenious like that), but teach her to fish and she thrive for a life time.

It is time we gave everyone a REAL chance to thrive.

Blogher, 2007, I’m IN!

I stumbled over BlogHer.org last year. I was intrigued. There was an announcement about their upcoming conference. I drooled, but California was just too far and besides, what business did I have going to a blogging conference anyway. I didn’t even have a blog.

A year later, I have 3, one for my family, one for my ramblings and one for my business. None get a lot of attention, but I’m proud of them none-the-less.

Blogging speaks to me. It is my kind of writing. I love people and I love to know about their lives. Blogs provide snipets or sometimes entire episodes of peoples lives. I’m fascinated.

I love to tell stories too and I’m told I’m pretty good at it, yet some how blogging seems to fall to the bottom of my task list even though it brings me great pleasure.

So, when I saw the announcement for Blogher 2007. I was tickled, then panicked.

I futzed. I fussed. I stalled. I finally asked a friend for a push and she came through, so I’m going.

Can’t friggin wait.

“You say it’s your birthday . . . It’s my birthday too yeah”

I recently had a birthday. While the world thinks big birthdays end in zeros, I typically struggle more with the nine birthdays.
To me, the nines represent the end of a decade. The zero birthdays mark the beginning of the next decade.
When I turned 29, It struck me that I now had a history. A tale if you will. When you are 19, you’ve only just dipped your toe into the pool of adulthood. By 29, you’ve usually gotten stuck in the deep end a few times and you’ve had time to learn. I wasn’t unhappy with where I was in life at 29, but there was so much more I wanted to accomplish and not being a patient person, I was questioning what was taking me so long.

This time, I feel as though I have accomplished many of my life goals. I am still happily married, but now I can add two beautiful children, and a job I love to that list. I’ve contributed to my community, we have a nice home and I am blessed with great friends and strong family ties.

If I die tomorrow (here’s hoping I don’t!), I will have left a positive mark on this world and that is a good feeling. That’s not to say there isn’t more to do.

I hope at the end of my next decade, I can say that my marriage and children continue to thrive. I want to continue to enjoy the work I do and I pray that our family ties only grow stronger. I hope that I get better at taking time for me. As the children grow, I hope we find shared interests that allow us to remain close. I want to get better at knitting. I want to write more. I hope I can work less. I hope we have taken some memorable family vacations.

I guess since ultimatly I can only control what I do, my goals should be about me.

I hope that I continue to explore my sexuality.
I want to read more and watch TV less. I hope my husband and I continue to love and respect each other

I want to kayak. I want to take the kids white water canoeing and rafting.

There is so much potential

Maybe I’ll draw?Paint? Improve my pottery? Finally learn to scrapbook?

Learning a foreign language doesn’t appeal to me. Will I change jobs? I guess I always known that I’m not meant to continue to do the same thing forever, so I suppose I ought to say I wonder what I’ll do next. I can’t imagine going back to work for anyone else. I love the flexibility too much.

I love to learn and I hope I never stop. The day I do, is the day I die.

I want to meet more people make new friends.

Technology will probably always play a role in my life can’t see that changing. I love gadgets.

While 39 is an ending, it is also the beginning of my 4th decade on this planet. I wonder where this roller coaster ride will take me next!