I'm Stunned! I'm Shocked! I'm Speechless!

I just got off the phone with the San Bernardino Latino Federation.....and they said I won one of their scholarships. Oh my gosh! I was afraid of that. I'm scared because I'm not Latino, but I guess they liked my essay. It's on here a few pages down. I wrote it in all sincerity. Please refer to my anonymous poll at right. I'd appreciate your responses. Thanks!

Happy 18th Birthday, Joey! (April 16th)

I threw Joey a surprise party tonight. He had no idea. After I drove around picking up seven of his friends, they all packed into the back of the van, hiding down. When I pulled up in front of the house, I called Joey and asked him to come out and help me get some stuff out of the van. He came out, opened the back doors, and "SURPRISE!!!!!" He was so happy! He found a box full of 12 grinders, a cake, drinks, and all his friends.

The guys playing Rock Band, taking turns on guitar, vocal/microphone, and drums.

Even I had to get in there and play Rock Band a little while. It was a blast. I've got to get one of those programs!!

Then I sent them all off with movie tickets to go see the new Jet Li movie. They all went at 10:15--10 of them. Should be a blast. I'm so excited for Joey to be 18. He is truly a pleasure to have raised....well, until that diploma is in hand, we're still in the process. Really though, I can't say he has ever given me any real trouble at all. He has always been a mostly agreeable child. He has a big heart for others and would do anything for a friend. He's going to have so much fun up at Dixie. We'll all miss though for sure! Every family needs a "Joey." Love you bud!

Happy 7th Birthday, Melody! (April 16th)

I sure love Melody. She faithfully snuggles up beside me in my bed every morning between 3-5am. She's a little cuddle-bug. If I read her a book, or help her with something, she will be drawing "I love you Mommy pictures" for the next 48 hours. She loves togetherness. She is telling jokes right and left these days and loves to make us laugh or "get our goat." She does very well in school and is proud to say she has only flipped a card once in class all year for misbehaving. She loves her few best friends and her sisters, brothers, parents, and cat. She's such a pleasure to spend time with and loves to be mom's helper in the kitchen. Her favorite cooking job is breaking the stems off the mushrooms. She picked dinner out at El Torito and we celebrated hers and Joey's birthdays there. It was lots of fun. She wanted a "laptop" for her birthday so I found a kid's style Barbie "laptop" which wasn't exactly the Mac that she had in mind. But she's growing accustomed to it pretty fast.

My "LATINO FEDERATION STUDENT ASSOCIATION" Scholarship Application

(This was one application that the clerk behind the scholarship counter pushed on me to apply for. I was very reluctant for obvious reasons, but she insisted that ALL should apply as it is non-race specific. Here's what I came up with....)

It is a powerful desire within me, to see all Latino children receive a high quality education and reach their fullest potential, that drives my current goals, activities, and academic accomplishments. My goal is to transfer from Chaffey College to C.S.U.-San Bernardino to complete the dual Bachelor’s Degree program in Psychology and Child Development, followed by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Special Education. To become a Special Education teacher at the elementary school level is my dream. It is my belief that a simple language barrier has caused too many Latino children to be classified as mentally disabled or slow learners.

There is inadequate testing available to non-English speakers. We may likely have Latino children among us who are gifted, but whose gift cannot be uncovered without proper testing techniques. I feel it is unfair for those children to be labeled as disabled in any sense and be placed beside children who are truly incapable of keeping up with their respective grade level. A child could be highly intelligent and excel in the Spanish language, but their abilities will go unnoticed in an all English-speaking classroom. I am currently employed as an Instructional Aide in a mild-to-moderate special education class. I am concerned at number of Latino children who may be getting placed in these classrooms for the sole reason that they are not proficient yet in English.

I call many Latinos my friends and I share their concerns as they raise their children. Parents are striving to help their children become educated and pursue the American dream. However, at the same time Latino families have strong feelings of family and heritage that lead them to want to preserve their respective heritage and native language in their children. I see this dilemma all around me.

There must be a better way to accommodate Latino families and help them achieve these goals, while giving their children an education equivalent to the education received by all races. I do not have all the answers, but I am confident that as I work toward completing my education and continue in the path I am on, I will discover ways to identify intelligent Latino children who have been assigned to the Special Education classrooms and are being held back on the basis of a language barrier. My goal is to help identify those children, educate them and return them back to the traditional classrooms, prepared and ready to pursue the American dream along with all of their peers.

My "BLACK FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION"

(When I walked into Chaffey, to the counter to pick up scholarship applications, I had roughly twenty to choose from. I picked the four that had topics I thought I could easily say something about. Then the clerk insisted I take the applications for the Black scholarship that asked "How can you make a positive contribution to the black children in the community?" I declined, pointing out the obvious...my race.....but she insisted that there is no stating your race on the application. I was reluctant supposing they would want to award someone who was black. But again, she insisted. Here's what I came up with....

I strive daily to help educate every child within my circle of influence toward reaching their fullest potential. It is my opinion that there are African-American children who have been assigned to Special Education classes who, for lack of opportunity or otherwise, are being held back to learn at a slower pace than that of which they are capable. My goal, which will promote a positive influence on the African-American community is to identify those African-American children placed beneath their capacity to learn, empower them with confidence and a dream for their future, and help as many as possible to return to their traditional classrooms having reached their grade level or beyond.

Throughout my life, from my childhood years in Orange County to my adult life in San Bernardino County, I have witnessed the unequal treatment of African-Americans in the schools and society-at-large. I grew up seeing the obstacles and discriminatory practices that African-Americans have had to overcome in pursuing the basic human rights of life, liberty, and happiness. The existence of these inequalities, whether they be large or subtle, has troubled me greatly.

As an Instructional Aide, I am assigned to elementary-aged students in a Special Education classroom. I intend to pursue a Master’s degree in Special Education eventually. Everyday I strive to introduce children of various cultures and backgrounds to each other and promote positive interactions between them. Unfortunately, racial prejudice that is passed down from one generation to another is occasionally seen in a classroom. In my capacity as an Aide, I consistently intercept these negative interactions and help “open” the children’s eyes to the similarities between themselves and their fellow students, regardless of racial differences. I do my best to model acceptance and appreciation for the good qualities in every student and help the children look beyond the ethnic diversities and find friendship in one another, instead.

I am troubled by the manner in which educational testing results are sent home with children. These results are broken down by race and too often show the African-American children testing at lower levels. This is inappropriate, unfair, and sends the wrong message to a child of color. As a future Special Education teacher, I will work to stop this trend by treating all children within my classroom with the utmost respect, educating them all to the best of my abilities, thus setting each individual on the path to reaching their highest potential.

My "KEYS TO SUCCESS" Scholarship Application

(This is one of the six scholarships I applied for that required an essay.)

Our success in life is determined largely by what we glean from the trials and challenges we have been confronted with in the past, and how we apply those lessons learned to our future. Bad things can happen to good people. We cannot always control what difficult situations confront us, but we can control how we choose to react to them. Life is not always fair, so it is a challenge to every human being to learn to identify the things they can change and make the best of those situations that they cannot change. Certainly living a life of integrity, being honest in our dealings with our fellowmen, and having an attitude of rendering service to others, are all necessary ingredients of a life well-lived.

One cannot find success in life without having integrity. To be a person of integrity means that others can count on us to do the “right thing” especially when nobody else is watching. Every industry in America would benefit if more individuals lived by a code of personal integrity. There would be less theft in the workplace, less divorce and breakup of families, and less heartache in the world today.

To be honest in our dealings with our fellowmen is an opportunity we are presented with over and over again, day-in and day-out as college students and employees, alike. I could take no personal pride in my academic success if I had achieved my good grades through dishonest means. The level of dishonesty among college students today is very disturbing to me. I plan to be a Special Education teacher someday. I feel that I owe it to all my future students to gain as much knowledge as I can without cutting any corners, to be the kind of teacher the students deserve to have. While taking Psychology, several students approached me to either share my work with them or lower my standard, so as to reduce the grading curve. Surprisingly, these students were parents themselves. I rejected these offers and felt determined to study even harder. I wanted to demonstrate to these students just how well a person can score by simply reading and studying the material. I ended the semester with the highest grade in the class.

Having an attitude of rendering service to those less fortunate has helped me and my family to not take for granted the comforts and luxuries in life that many of us enjoy. We strive not to judge others by their circumstance or their appearance. I have tried to teach my children that if we give to every person who comes to us for help, we will never miss the one who really stands in need. We may not always have much to give, but we give what we can.

I can recall my own circumstance as a young woman of twenty-something. I was a wife and a mother to my young son when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. After being told I would never again have children, blood tests revealed I not only had cancer, but was also pregnant. I had to stop my part-time job and cancel my son’s attendance at an in-home preschool run by a most wonderful woman. She refused to let my son quit and insisted that I bring him to her school three times per week or else she would come calling for him herself. Somehow, she knew I would be visiting the medical center more than once a week for the next thirteen months.

I lived like an elderly person that year, pregnant, and on chemotherapy the last six months of my pregnancy. I was never able to stand more than ten minutes. Miss Kathy, as the children called her, would not accept any money from me, though I tried to insist. My son was in good hands and I could never have survived the ordeal without her help. After nine months had past, I gave birth to another son who was healthy and unscathed by the experience. Three months after his birth and bouts of radiation therapy, I was pronounced to be in remission, though I had no more strength than the I did at the onset.

The day I made my last plea to pay Miss Kathy for her year of unending service to me and my family, she refused and left me with advice that I have never forgotten. She told me there were times in her life that she needed help from others, and this had been an opportunity for her to give something back, to me. Her only request was that I “pass it on.” She was correct when she said there would be times in the future when I would hear of others less fortunate than myself, who would need me. “When that time comes,” she said, “just pass the help on to them, and that will make me happy.” I have done my best to follow Miss Kathy’s advice and it has brought my family great joy and satisfaction. Now, I am working toward dual Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Child Development, and eventually a Master’s degree in Special Education. I presently am employed as an Instructional Aide in an elementary-level Special Day Class. In order to be successful in my daily life with my family and these children with special needs, I must be a woman of integrity, honest in heart, and have compassion toward others. By so doing, the joy and happiness that comes to me is immeasurable and makes me feel that my life thus far, has been a success.

Post #400: I'VE WON A SCHOLARSHIP!

Imagine that! At my age even! Hope you can come and be there. It would be awesome! I'm still in shock. It could be $250, $500, $750, $1000, $1500 or a combination not to exceed $1500. I applied for six of them and I don't find out which one I won until the May 8th ceremony. Click on the letter to see it up close. It's been running about $1000/year total to go to Chaffey, so if I get a good one, it will pay for my final year there. They wouldn't tell me over the phone---The suspense is killing me, but I called to ask which one I won and she said, "that's the beauty of it----the element of surprise." So I won't know until I get there the night of May 8th.

Predicting the Effects of the "No Child Left Behind Act"

The future of No Child Left Behind appears hopeful for some, yet dismal and bleak for others. The lucky students with the highest IQ’s will have no problem scoring high, in turn helping their respective schools to make the AYP or adequate yearly progress. However, the students with the lowest I.Q.’s or those who speak a language other than English are most likely to be the students who are left behind. I am predicting that it will take until 2013, or until the kindergarteners of 2001 have reached their senior year of high school before any damage done by NCLB will be clear enough to produce change. Researchers will follow students schooled under the NCLB Act from elementary through high school. I expect that they will eventually reveal a wider achievement gap than that which influenced the creation of the act. Two-thirds of the population falls into a common I.Q. range between 85 and 115.[1] The assessment tests, which the federal government calls challenging, might be easy for someone with an I.Q. over 110, but would be extremely difficult for someone with an I.Q. of 70. For this reason, I believe that the expectation of one hundred percent compliance is unreasonable and will not be achieved. The NCLB does waive testing for the severely mentally disabled, which leaves the remaining children with I.Q.’s over 65, facing the same requirement to achieve their grade level or above, in reading and math by the year 2014.[2] Most of us have probably seen someone working in society who has a mild mental disability. This person may be an adult and capable of carrying out the simplest of repetitive tasks, under close supervision. I propose that this individual was not capable of achieving competency in reading and math at any of the grade levels past elementary school. Under NCLB, such a student would have continually scored below grade level, jeopardized their school’s Adequate Annual Progress score, and perhaps contributed to their school being penalized financially. I predict that the very scenario I have given will be the cause of an increasing number of children with mild learning disabilities being classified as having a severe mental impairment, thus exempting them from the testing pool. I further expect that these children will be left behind, without any educator feeling motivated to try to help them reach their fullest potential, academically. I predict that the white children, for the most part, will come close to reaching the one-hundred percent achievement. Those who are gifted will settle for grade-level achievement and be a low priority for the respective schools, which they attend. Hispanic children in high-income families, with both parents speaking English and supporting academics, will likely find success. Black children, I predict, who come from low-income families without strong support at home, will not reach the grade-level standard. To reduce the chance of a class showing inadequate progress, I predict that teachers will be more motivated to identify children for placement into the Special Education program, alongside children on the autism spectrum, children classified as mentally retarded, as well as children with learning disabilities arising from birth defects. Children who are non-proficient in English are at the greatest disadvantage. These children are pulled in two different directions. First, more immigrants are trying to hold on to their culture by insuring that their children speak Spanish on the home front. Second, you have the teachers at school stressing English-only in the classroom. The children who are the struggling English-learners stand to lose the most in the future, under NCLB. Spanish-speaking children who are gifted and may be well educated in Spanish will go unrecognized. If they cannot communicate their abilities through the English assessment tests, they will be failures within our education system. The next step would be to move them down to the Special Education classes, where the pace is very slow and the expectations are the lowest. With the greatest emphasis placed on reading and math in the classrooms, there is going to be less time and resources available for science, social studies, music, art, and physical education. Struggling English learners will be impacted, as they will not comprehend instruction given on the subjects of science and social studies. I predict that with teachers focused mainly on the reading and math, the only children getting instruction in music, art, and sports, will be those who are English speaking, from wealthy income brackets and taking private lessons. I predict that the end-result for the struggling English learners is that they will be less likely to graduate from high school, nor find themselves capable of anything more than manual labor for low wages. In conclusion, I predict that accountability through testing and the practice of hiring qualified teachers across the country will be practices retained for years to come. Drop out rates will increase among minority groups. Hard-wired cultural attitudes and practices among minority groups will contribute to their declining achievements, unless changes start on the home front. Furthermore, I predict that the NCLB act will not achieve its goal of one hundred percent compliance by 2014. [1] Rothstein, Richard. "Leaving 'No Child Left Behind' behind: our No. 1 education program is incoherent, unworkable, and doomed. But the next president still can have a huge impact on improving American schooling.(EDUCATION)." The American Prospect 19.1 (Jan-Feb 2008): 50(4). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Chaffey College. 14 Apr. 2008 . [2] Ibid.

Joey Goes Out With My Friend's Daughter!

Joey asked my friend, Arlene's daughter out to the church prom tonight. They decorate it all up as nice as any wedding reception, serve a fancy dinner, take professional pictures, and put on a dance. Joey drove down to Fountain Valley to pick her up tonight. He was looked terrific in his new tux wearing one shiny black, patent-leather shoe on one foot, and a .....black cast on the other. Nothing stops Joey from doing what he wants to do. (I could write an entire blog on that sentence alone :D. His friend Randy rode down with him and then they were picking up three other friends of Joey along with their dates. They'll hit Denny's afterwards for dessert, and then he has to have her home between 1-1:30am. He's taking Randy along for that ride too to help him stay awake on the ride back. It's 100 miles round trip. Arlene was snapping pictures as fast as she could and was back in the house, on the computer loading them up and shooting off the emails as quick as she could. I can't wait to hear how it went! Don't they look great? Arlene and I used to walk Joey and Heather in their strollers a couple days a week around Mile Square Park and around the lake over in Irvine between 1990 and 1992. We had so much fun.

I'M BEING PUBLISHED!

Wow, was this ever a surprise! About four to six months ago I saw the Ensign magazine ask for people to send in articles if they had a positive experience joining Relief Society. I immediately thought back on my good times with mom when I was quite young and she was still a rather new member. I wrote my story and sent it by email. Now, I had nearly forgot about it when I get this contract in the mail for me to sign and mail back so they can publish it. They even pay $75. I don't know when it will get published, but the article will be called "Joining Relief Society." I wanted to put it here in a blog, but the contract is all about them having the "first rights to publish".