Today is Snow Day No. 11

Today we are embarking on our eleventh snow day of the school year.  And that means our kids are going to be seeing their last day of school pushed from May 16th to somewhere around June 2nd.  I guess it's understandable that most parents are upset that our kids have to makeup these days which can't be avoided.  Mother Nature is a beotch, you know.  Making up snow days really doesn't bother me as much as I'm worried about how it affects the learning process.  Are kids going to recall what they were last studying by the time we get back in class?  It goes without saying that I'm really shocked and saddened by some of the comments left on the school's facebook page.  I don't know why the school allows people to leave comments, I'm pretty sure you can turn off that option in your facebook settings.

Anyhoo.... someone left a comment stating that our state requires 1,050 hours of school each school year.  Hmmmm.  Last night I went to the school's website and printed a copy of the school calendar and then dug through the kids school papers to find their school handbook.  According to the handbook, my kids elementary school day begins at 7:45 and ends at 2:35.  Do a little math and that makes the school day 6 hours and 50 minutes long.  There are 175 days of school scheduled this year.  If you do a little math (175 x 6 hours 50 minutes) my kids are scheduled to be in school for 1,195.8 hours this school year.  Do a little more math (1,195.8 - 1,050) and you will see that my kids are at school for 145.8 hours a year that aren't counted toward their education.

WTF?

Of course, a very helpful person (on FB) pointed out the fallacy of my logic.  You see, that additional time above 6 hours a day that our kids are in school is not counted toward "instructional time".  Nope, lunch, recess, and any time spent in the halls is not counted toward their school day.  I'll have to throw in another WTF here.  You'll have a very difficult time convincing me that kids aren't learning something during these, I don't know what to call them, down times?  I feel confident saying that kids are being "instructed" to sit down and be quiet while they eat their lunch, and to walk in a line and be quiet while in the hallways, and to act like something besides barbarians while running around on the playground.  Instructional time begins the second my kids get out of my car in the morning and ends the second they get back into my car in the evening.

Now, I'm guessing that this additional 50 minutes of each school day is a necessary evil and we are all powerless to have a say in the matter. But, if my child must be present from 7:45-2:35 in order to be counted as "present" for the school day, that entire school day should count toward the total number of time required for the entire school year. Am I crazy for thinking this?  I think not.  And I'm really curious to hear what the Governor's office will say to the inquiry I sent this morning.

My kids have been in public school for just the past few years, but I find myself continually wishing for the confidence to home school them.  Sadly, I never wanted to grow up and become a school teacher.  Just the idea of being in a classroom day after day with thirty or so angelic little faces is enough to give me hives!  But, I can't shake the thought that school is no longer really about learning, it's just about punching a time card and meeting a quota.  And, that just doesn't seem like a good way to do business, if you're business is to educate young minds.  Thoughts?

After Thought:  I just have to mention that I have a very strong dislike for the use of hand sanitizer over good old fashioned hand washing. In the past, I assumed the argument pro-sanitizer would be that there simply isn't enough time for good old fashioned hand washing. Well, now that I know there's fifty throw away minutes in each and every school day, I must say I think there is plenty of time in the school day for good old fashioned hand washing. Next year, for every bottle of sanitizer I'm asked to send, I will be sending a bottle of hand soap and a roll of paper towels instead.

Hand Sanitizer, I Do Not Like Thee

I can't remember exactly when hand sanitizers became all the rage.  Was it before or after the bird flu hysteria began?  I just can't recall.  Remember the good ol' days when the doctor actually washed his hands when entering the exam room.  Boy, those were the days.

If  I've said it once I've said it a thousand times.  Poop is poop no matter how much hand sanitizer you put on it.  Right?  And the CDC pretty much agrees with me.  See that photo?  See the bold line that reads "not as effective when hands are visibly dirty".  Yep, something to think about.

How many of you can honestly say that after leaving the playground your kids hands are not "visibly dirty".  And I don't want to think about their hands when leaving the bathroom.  I've heard enough horror stories about what kids leave in the bathroom to make me loose a months worth of sleep.  Seriously, talk to your school janitor, you will be scarred for life.

Now, take a closer look at the label on your hand sanitizer.  I was quite surprised to see a Drug Facts label just like you find on a bottle of medication.  Did you ever think of hand sanitizer as a drug?  Neither did I.  Now, take a closer look at the label on your hand soap.  No Drug Facts label?  Yea, my soap didn't have one either. 

I did a little online snooping and the CDC and Mayo clinic agree that hand sanitizer should be used when soap and water are not available.  I'd guess that 99.99% of places frequented in America have both running water and soap.  So why is hand sanitizer the go-to option in most situations these days? 

I began writing about this topic months ago, around the beginning of the school year, so imagine my surprise when a google search for the best iron-fortified cereal led me to a really great parent resource from a pediatric doctor's office with a page devoted to none other than hand sanitizer vs. hand washing!  Sue me, I was tickled pink.  There's actually a lot of really great information on their website, I'm very impressed and wish they were local for us.  But, back to the hand sanitizer debate. 

Hand sanitizer is equivalent to 124 proof alcohol.  Wow, just wow.  And how many bottles were you asked to send to your child's school this year?  Parents, shouldn't we be worried about this stuff?  It's passed around like crack, I mean candy, in the classroom, readily available to every child in a school, and is absorbed right into your child's delicate skin.  Wonder if you can get a contact buzz that way?  Could we be turning our children into alcoholics because thinking about the long term effect of hand sanitizer use? 

And did I mention that it probably won't kill that pesky virus that's always going around your child's school?  Antibiotics aren't the only thing germs are immune to, obviously they aren't afraid of hand sanitizers either.  Think about all of your children's sick doctor visits lately.  Do you hear more and more often that your child has a virus and antibiotics just aren't going to help?  But, do you know what might help?  HAND WASHING with real SOAP and WATER!!!

I do realize that hand sanitizer is leaps and bounds faster than good ol' fashioned hand washing.  Keep in mind that faster isn't always better.  And I concede that the illnesses which have kept my kids home from school, thus far, this school year would not have been prevented by good ol' fashioned hand washing.  But, this is the last week of November, right at the beginning of cold and flu season, and I believe the spread of communicable illnesses would be lessened by good ol' fashioned hand washing.  Don't you?

Internet Trouble Trouble Trouble...

Wouldn't you think, in this technological day and age, someone somewhere would have invented an Internet modem that never malfunctions?  We recently had to spend, like, two whole days without Internet because our modem croaked.  Plus, we had to pay for the replacement.  And, now, the new one has been behaving badly.  Seriously, I'd send it to time out, but it has so many times without Internet that I just can't punish it anymore!

Obviously, I'm trying to be funny with this post.  To find the humor in a humorless situation.  But, seriously, I should never have to "reset" that tiny little box to get the Internet to work.  Right?

Anyway, did you see the Taylor Swift reference in my post title?  I had to throw that in because we've been jamming to a cover version of her song this morning.  Patty, who really loves Taylor Swift,  was really happy to watch a YouTube video shared by Joy over at I Can Say Mama.  Then I spent about the next fifteen minutes or so to realize why the band name sounded so familiar.  I had downloaded another cover song by this group, which I also found on some one's blog (Pillow Thought)!

Is anyone else having trouble with Hotmail email?

Ug, I am sick and tired of my Hotmail email!  I usually blame my computer, but I don't know what has happened to MSN email lately.  First, I've had this same email account since, somewhere around 2003.  And almost ten years later it is starting to really get on my nerves!  For whatever reason, the website or email account or whatever you call it is not working propperly.  Half the time I get an error notice telling me it can't connect to Hotmail at this time.  What?  You are Hotmail, and you can't connect with yourself?  I wonder if this is just a sign I need to create a new email and move on? 

All Call: Holiday v. Security Threat

Let me just forewarn you before you begin reading this, I am all over the place in the post.  I feel so strongly about this, I am having a difficult time un-jumbling my thoughts so that they flow cohesively.  I hope you can make sense out of it by the end, if not, send me an email or leave a reply.  Just remember, I do not like "anonymous" commenters!

Since the dust has settled and more details have been released....I figure this is as good a time as any to voice my dislike of the "all call" phone system used by our county school system. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't loathe everything about it.  For example, I find it extremely helpful to receive an "all call" when school is cancelled because of something unexpected, like inclement weather.  But, the reminders that school will not be in session for a regularly scheduled holiday, like Christmas and Election Day, are truly irksome to me. 

Don't forget, this is my blog, and it's 100% my opinion.  Stop reading now if you don't like the tone of this post. 

I just find it 100% annoying to get those types of reminder calls.  I am fully capable of reading the nice, glossy calendar the school provided to us.  And, I know I'm just taking this too personally, but it feels like the school system is saying, "hey, parents, we don't think you're responsible and/or capable of raising your kids, so we just want to be sure you don't send your kids to school on Thanksgiving."  Yada yada yada.

And, yes, I do imagine there are some parents that are not responsible.  Want to know what I have to say about that?  Teach sex-ed to the high schoolers and hand out free condoms.  Sorry, that makes it sound like only young parents are not responsible, and that's simply not true, parents of all ages are irresponsible.  But, you know what?  I don't think the school system should interject itself into the matters at home (unless there is an abusive situation involved).  But that's a topic for another day and I'm getting away from the subject at hand.

So, the reason I wanted to address this topic is the "all call" made yesterday to alert parents that a threat had been made against Central High School.  I first learned of this threat as I walked Patty into her elementary school yesterday.  Her school wasn't threatened and I still considered walking her back to the car and driving her home.  You just can not gamble with the safety of even one child when a threat of violence has been made.  Now, because I feel that Patty is safe at her school, I did walk her to class and go on about my day.  But, had I thought for a second that her school wasn't capable of keeping her safe, I would have brought her home.  And that is MY choice to make, not the school system's.  By failing to notify each and every parent, the school system took a life and death risk with our children's safety.

I received the "all call" a little over an hour after I dropped Patty at school, and I now know that the call was made about 14 hours after the threat was reported.  That is simply not acceptable.  I can not believe there is no contingency plan in place to notify parents in a more timely manner for a situation like this.  For God's sake, the Paducah school shooting took place an hour car ride away from here!  In my opinion, an "all call" should have gone out before bedtime Wednesday night altering families of the situation and that there was no need to keep kids home from school.  If it wasn't safe enough for kids to be at school, the "all call" should have notified us that school was cancelled. 
But, either way, there should have been some policy in place to ensure families would be notified - in advance - and not after the fact.

I read the surfKY news coverage of the press conference and am glad to see that the school system acknowledged they dropped the ball, in a manner of speaking.  And that's the only thing I was happy about.  The article actually raised another concern: the school system didn't realize word was spreading like wild fire via social media.  Really?  I'm just envisioning school personnel riding their dinos into work yesterday.  Let me take a moment while you get your rock and chisel out.  Seriously, the folks in charge didn't realize that everyone on social media would be all over this?  Really?  OK, I will apologize for those Flinstones references, because I know they are particularly harsh.  But, I think it may be time to hire some folks who are a little better at keeping up with the latest trends.  I mean, social media has been around for a while, if you're not living under a rock, you've probably heard of it.

I will also say:  THANK HEAVENS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA, AND THE ABILITY TO GET THE WORD OUT IN A TIMELY MANNER.  Because our school system wasn't on top of it. 

I want to leave you with a little food for thought:  this is an election year.  There are three Board of Ed members on the ballot in the upcoming election.  If you're lucky enough to reside in one of the voting districts, think very carefully before you mark your ballot.  If I'm not mistaken, it is these very board of ed members who bear the responsibility of renewing employment contracts for the folks running our school system.

1-Hour Photo Copyright Release

So, I loathe the copyright release forms at the 1-hour photo labs.  Just can not stand them.  And, I'll tell you why.  See this picture on the right?  It's a picture I took and edited for my cousin's upcoming wedding.  I printed two sets of photos without any mention of a copyright release.  Went to pick up my third set and got presented with the good ol' copyright release.  It's not a big deal.  I did take them and I do give myself permission to print them! 

But, seriously, these days you can't reasonably tell the difference between professional pictures and photos taken by an individual.  For starters, who has the right to hold a copyright?  Can I just snap a picture with my camera and automatically have a copyright?  I kind of doubt it would hold up in court. 

Plus, it kind of weirds me out that anyone is looking at the pictures I'm printing.  Not so much with these pictures, but when I print photos of the kids, I just don't like the idea of a stranger going through them.  I want an expectation of privacy.  I think there is a warning when you order your photos online about having the permission to print.  If I proceed with the online order, the photo lab should assume I have permission and leave it at that.  I have never gotten a copyright release from MPIX or Shutterfly, for crying out loud!

iPhone Round Two

Well, all of the notes didn't "restore" with the reboot of my iPhone.  I just briefly opened the notes thingy, saw there were entries, and went about inspecting all of the other areas of the renewed version of my phone.  Sadly, only the "backed up" entries survived which means all of the recent notes are gone.  So much for that book list I had been laboring to create over the last year or so!

Updating My iPhone

I've tried purchasing a few apps lately only to receive this error message: iOS 4.3 required.  Not good. 

Hey Nick Jr, I Didn't Appreciate your Mother Funny Programming

My kids love Nick Jr.  If you don't have kids, Nick Jr is a channel with preschool age cartoons and kids shows like Umizoomis and Dora.  We often fall asleep to the cartoons on Nick Jr.  But, that's a routine we are no longer allowing in our house.

Just Throw Your Trash Away Already!

Wow.  It has been a full day around here and it's barely noon!  Before we headed to school this morning I had already battled ants in the kitchen, hosted a burial at sea (RIP: Ola), printed coupons and updated my shopping list, and emptied and re-loaded the dishwasher. 

How Much Does It Cost To Elect A President?

It's still more than two months until the presidential election and I can officially say that I am so OVER it already!  I have always felt like voting for president is one of the greatest honors bestowed upon US citizens.  For the past four presidential elections, I can say that I have been proud to exercise my right to vote.  I loved the "rock the vote" campaigns and couldn't understand why anyone would choose not to vote.  My gosh how my views have changed over the past sixteen years.

First Day Update

OMG!  To say Patty had a rough first day would be an understatement.  The poor kid cried so much that her eyes are bright pink underneath!  When I first laid eyes on her at pickup, I actually thought she'd been hit in the face.  Totally wasn't prepared for the sight.

Is Public School Separate but Equal?

PLEASE NOTE: This is 110% my opinion.  If you don't like my opinions, please spare yourself a rise in blood pressure and read something else.  I hear the weather channel can be riveting.

Like some of you, I took AP US History in High School.  Segregation and Civil Rights were the two things that made the greatest impact on me from that entire school year.  You may find it surprising that Brown v. The Board of Education was the first thing I thought of when I learned that at least one elementary school in Hopkins County had hosted a Kindergarten Graduation for it's students.  It shouldn't surprise you that Patty's school was not one of those elementary schools.

So, I asked myself: Is Public School Separate but Equal? 

I had previously heard that some schools have art programs and some don't.  Some have music and some don't.  I had noticed this past school year that some schools have more "events" than others.  It's no secret that some schools are in better repair than others.  Instead of depriving students based on race, we are depriving our students based on what?  Zip code?

It feels like each school in our district operates independently.  This really surprises me since all of our public schools are PUBLIC schools.  Shouldn't each school be equal?  Shouldn't each school be using the same curriculum?  Offer the same electives?  If a school in a larger zip code can provide art class to it's students, my children in a smaller zip code should be experiencing the same thing.  The more exposure kids receive, the more well rounded they will become, right?  But only if you live in the right zip code?

It really aggravates me that Patty and her kindergarten classmates did not get to enjoy a graduation ceremony.  That we as parents did not get to watch our kids sing and dance and receive their little diplomas.  I'd really like to know why we missed out?  Does it come down to parent involvement?  Is the decision left up to the teachers?  The principal? 

Since these things are taking place at the school level, I've got to assume that the difference is inside the school.  But, isn't anyone in the Board of Ed taking note that some schools are doing more for their students?  Where's the report card for each school?  I want to know how my kids school compares to the school down the road or across the county.  Don't you?

Sometimes, You Just Have to Ruffle a Few Feathers

Oh, wow, it seems I have ruffled a few feathers with my blog post about the school board meeting.  I'm happy to see that two individuals took the time to comment on my ill-informed rant.  I'm really just happy two people read it!  If you were one of the two anonymous commenters, please head back to that post to read my replies.  If you hadn't cared enough to comment, I wouldn't have been told that the Licensed Educational Interpreter is for hearing impaired students.  Thank you for sharing that with me.  I wouldn't have known that the Special Ed CIAs who have been pink slipped, will be rehired later in the summer.  Do you know how scary it was, as a parent of a special needs student, to hear that the CIAs in the department designed to help my child were getting cut?  Thank you for giving me the hope that an appropriate number of staff will be provided to meet the needs of not just my child, but all of the students in special education next year.

What is a Perkins Grant?

I have been told, via a comment left by an anonymous source, that the MNHHS Greenhouse was funded by a Perkins Grant and that it was not financed by my "tax dollars".  My tax dollars were never a concern for me, by the way.  But, in the effort of being better informed, I did a little research into the Perkins Grant Program. 

The Board of Ed spent how much?

Oh my, if you haven't read it, you need to head over to SurfKY and read the summary of last night's Hopkins County Schools Board Meeting. 

You Need to Read This

I have just been perusing the SurfKY News website and stumbled upon one of the smartest things I have ever read.  You need to read it, too.  It's called Letter to the Editor by Shaun Roberts.  Just click that pretty blue text and it should open a new window directly to the article.  I'm going to have to find out which district Mr. Roberts magistrates, because I'm really hoping it's my district.  I will never pretend to follow the politics here in our great county, but I am in love with Mr. Roberts take on a couple things going on locally. 

This Mother's Outrage

Good Sunday morning.  Well, it might be a good Sunday morning for some folks, but my day isn't turning out as good as I had planned.  All week I've been reminding my husband that we have to pick up a copy of the Sunday Messenger because it's going to contain coverage of the "Olympic Field Day" hosted at Central High last Monday.  All week I've been looking forward to this.  And now, with newspaper in hand, I can simply say that I am outraged.  OUTRAGED!