What's new in your school?

What’s new in Texas public schools you ask? Well, you might be surprised.

After all the promises our not so beloved governor made prior reelection, the one thing that has trickled down to the schools is some kind of no competition for school lunches act.

Yes, you read that right!

It seems that we teachers have been doing things that, in the minds of the idiots in Austin, directly compete with the sale of school lunches. Who cares if what we’re doing has any educational value, because that’s not what school’s all about! I mean sure, we want “No Child Left Behind,” but only if we can make a few bucks at the same time.

So here’s what’s taken the ax so far under this wonderful piece of legislation; Our traditional, parent prepared Thanksgiving feast, our end of the six weeks, good behavior pizza parties, the occasional sweet treat reward, (a Hershey Kiss or something similar) the end of school class picnic, parents bringing lunch to school for any child except their own, and basically anything that involves providing something consumable to the students.

You may be wondering how they could get away with this, but our state legislators are a sneaky bunch. It seems they disguised this “get rich quick scheme” as an attempt to try to keep our state’s children healthy. However, when you say you want our children to be eating nutritious meals and then have dozens of different kinds of chips, ice cream and snack cake treats on point of purchase displays right there in the school cafeteria, well that’s just not a push for healthy eating.

The state’s top nutrition experts decided years ago that schools can no longer sell candy to children, because a Snicker’s Bar, for example, has no nutritional value. However, since ice cream has milk, Little Debbie snack cakes have eggs and Nacho Cheese Doritos have corn they fall under the umbrella of what the state of Texas considers to be, healthy foods. Never mind the fact that Blue Bell, Little Debbie and Doritos have most of our states legislators in their back pockets, they contain, milk, eggs and corn…so as far as the state’s concerned, they’re better than freakin’ vitamins!

Combine that with the fact that there are no limits to the number of these items that a child is allowed to buy and you have a sharp contrast the whole idea of healthy eating. I have even seen school cafeteria workers encouraging children to purchase more than one snack item.

So what can we do about this? I don’t really know. Sadly, teachers’ voices are rarely, if ever, listened to in Austin, at least where matters of education are concerned. What I can do is start my own boycott. That’s right, a boycott! It seems to be all about money, and what I can do is not give them any more of mine.

I realize that mine is only one small family…

but change has to start somewhere.

Shabbot Shalom

Last night Melissa and I had the most incredible experience. Our church, Wilshire Baptist Church, was involved in an interfaith worship service at Temple Emanu-El, a Reform Jewish Synagogue here in Dallas.

Their Rabbi and our pastor are friends who get together and discuss all kinds of things. On this occasion, we, the members of Wilshire Baptist Church, came as a group to be a part of the Friday Shabbat Shalom service. Shabbat Shalom is a praise service centered on welcoming the Sabbath.

The service was, as I expected, very liturgical. I was expecting to pray, here some Hebrew and learn a few things. However, what I wasn’t expecting was how worshipful the whole experience would be for me. Sitting there surrounded by people reading, singing and chanting in Hebrew, I found myself trying desperately to mimic the syllables. I didn’t even have any idea what they were saying, but it just seemed like I should do my best to try to be a part of the service.

After the Shabbat Shalom service we moved from the sanctuary to an auditorium where we, the Temple Emanu-El members and the Wilshire Baptist Church members, sat around tables and got to eavesdrop on a conversation our pastor and the rabbi had about the differences and similarities prayer has in our two traditions. There was a short question answer time, and then we all enjoyed meal together.

At my table there were five people from Wilshire and four from Temple Emanu-El, which was exactly the mix this service was designed for. We talked, fellowshipped, asked lots of questions, and learned how much we are alike.

In the end, I think a good time was had by all.

While this is the first interfaith worship service I’ve been a part of, Wilshire and Temple Emanu-El have had several in the past and more planned for the future. Next time it will be at Wilshire, and I can’t wait.

Snow Day!!!

I woke up at 5:00 am, and sleet was falling as I drove to the gym. I got home about 6:00 and couldn’t get back up the driveway because of all the ice. I parked out front, came inside, turned on the TV and waited. Somehow I knew that we wouldn’t have school today. However, it wasn’t until about 6:45 that Richardson ISD made the decision to cancel school.

I’m quite sure you heard us cheering. Well two of us were cheering. Melissa still had to go to work. They don’t close hospitals when it gets icy…go figure?

I’ve spent the day watching TV, playing PS2 and just being lazy.

Cause baby, it’s a snow day!

I felt like a total ass

I’m discussing the progress of my students with another teacher when I start complaining about how often a certain student in my class has been absent this year. She transferred into my class sometime during the second six weeks and has been absent or tardy close to 20 times. Her saving grace is her sweet personality. She’s never a behavior problem, works hard and always does her best.

I must admit that if she were any kind of a behavior problem I would probably have pitched a fit months ago. However, right or wrong, I tend to be a bit more forgiving with students who work with me.

Anyway, this child was absent three days in a row this week, and that’s why I found myself complaining. When she showed back up on Friday I was quick to tell her we missed her, but either didn’t have the time or the desire to inquire about reason for her latest absences. I just assumed she was sick…again. When she showed me that she had done all her spelling and reading homework I smiled big, said “Wow,” and gave her a Good Citizen, (a reward coupon that our school uses). Then we started our day.

It wasn’t until sometime after lunch that she came up and asked if I wanted to know why she had been gone. I slapped on my best concerned face and said, “Sure.”

“My Daddy died.”

I found myself frantically searching for words. Words that never came. Somehow I managed to blurt out something about being sorry and I gave her a hug.

Turns out he’d been sick for quite a while and many days that’s why she had been gone. She had never said anything about her dad being sick, and to tell the truth I’m not sure why she would have.

After school I was in the office when I told the teacher I had been complaining to about what an ass I was for complaining and not first finding out what was going on in this poor child’s life. That’s when I found out that her mother has cancer.

Standing there I felt awful. How can I expect anyone, let alone a child, to make school a priority when her world is being turned upside-down?


Like I said, I felt like a total ass.

Bikinis and Beer

What is it about a girl in a bikini that makes you stop and buy some beer? Who knows?

There’s one of those drive through beer stores in Dallas on Greenville Ave. At first glance, it looks like a small auto repair shop, but the closer you get it’s simply a warehouse that has two large garage doors at each end with two drive-through lanes that go all the way through the building. Coolers line the walls and there’s a casher’s desk stuck right in the middle. You turn in, go around to the back of the building, pull in through one of the lanes, buy your beer and pull back out onto Greenville all without ever getting out of your car.

It’s been there for several years.

Driving by one day this summer I noticed a couple of bikini-clad girls sitting out front under a big umbrella. Contrary to what I’m forced to assume is the owner’s plan, the first thought that popped into my mind wasn’t, “Hey, I need some beer!” but rather, “I wonder what they’ll do if I honk my horn?”

Sadly, mine must not have been the first horn they had heard that day, because I honked twice and they never even moved.

But it left me wondering…

This guy hires these girls to sit out in front of his store to attract business. (Now I don’t mean to be sexist here, but you have to admit it sounds like a guy owns this place) Does he really think that’s going to help drum up customers? Even if it does, how do you measure the cost effectiveness of this kind of marketing?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have the occasional drive-by bikini sighting, but I just don’t understand the thinking behind this scheme. I’ve never driven by while someone was actually buying beer. Maybe the girls carry the beer to the car, or take the money, or dance, or something.

However, here’s the real quandary. We’re into January and it’s no longer bikini weather, not even here in Texas. I’m driving by yesterday and I see a girl sitting not in a bikini, but jeans with a parka. Not only that, but she was reading a newspaper and once again didn’t look up when I honked.

So what is it about a girl in a bikini that makes you stop and buy some beer?

The world may never know.