The SCARIEST thing I've seen on TV this year.

I caught an rerun of VH1's 'documentary' on Kiddie Beauty Pageants. Hands down this is the scariest thing I have watched this year. These kids don't even look real. Only one of them appeared to be doing it for herself instead of her mom. That's the one who refused hair extensions, spray tan and fake teeth. She's also the only one who didn't get upset when she didn't win a huge prize. She was ok with it and is probably the only one who will grow up semi ok with herself.

The moms of the other girls all claimed that the kids were doing it for themselves. yeah, right. What kid wants to get up at the crack of dawn to spend hours in a chair getting her hair pulled, primped and sprayed. All the while mom is yelling at her to sit still and smile. These contests are judge simply on beauty and the moms let the girls know that if they want to win they have to rely on being pretty. Great message to give the girls. Oddly enough most of the moms were overweight blondes with huge boobs. Except for the one girl who broke the 'rules' and went as natural as you can get at one of those freak shows. It think the moms are trying to relive their own failed beauty pageant days.

The girls are given spray tans, more make up than your average hooker, fake hair and fake teeth called flippers. Then before the show they are given lots of red bull and sugar to hype their personalities up. The crash after the show must be extreme. All the stress and all the sugar and all the tears if they don't win. Mom's tears. And all the backstabbing. Entering your children in these contests should be considered child abuse.

My Job things I Love, things I Hate

I would have to say that I have a pretty good job. I make balloon animals for a living, which is a pretty cool thing to do. Not that there aren't things I don't like about the job, cause there are. Spring is my busy season, so work has been on my mind more often this month. (It's spring despite what the weather would indicate) I decided to make a list of what I do and don't like about my job. I figured that if I put it in writing I might find a way to change some of the don't likes into likes.

Like
I get to look people in the eye and say "I make Balloon animals for a living."
I make people happy.
The Ego stroking. People tell me I am the most wonderful thing they have encountered all day/week/month/year.
I get to be creative.
I don't have a boss other than myself.
Balloon artist conventions are a lot of fun.
The people in the industry are creative and interesting.
I get to meet a lot of cool people.
I don't work in the same place day after day after day.
It pays pretty well in the busy times of year.
My kids & husband get to work with me making it a family business.
The job makes me happy.

Don't like
Paperwork. When you work for yourself, you have to do a lot of paperwork.
I'm my own boss and I'm a bitch to work for.
In the off season money can be tight.
The people in the industry are artists and can get kinda bitch at times.
Balloon conventions are expensive.
Loading the balloon apron takes forever.
Jobs are never close to home or even close together. . I may have a party in Liberty followed by one in Olathe on the same day.
People sometimes have the perception that all balloons are free. This sucks when I am not being paid by the restaurant, but working for tips only.
People think that $1.00 is ok for a sculpture that took 10 balloons and 15 min. to make. Would you want to work for $4/hour? Well, $4 minus the cost of balloons.
Kids who take their sculptures apart and then the parent demands that they be given a place at the head of the line since it "only needs to be fixed." It's not fair to the kids who have been waiting in line.
Parents who let kids chew on the end of their balloons. If the balloon breaks, they could choke to death.

I guess those last ones could be summed up by saying
People who don't think.

All in all it's a great job

My Garden , survival of the fittest - part 3

The frost came and went and I thought many of my plants were goners. I was wrong. This small tree/bush thing has fresh buds coming out where the old ones have started to die off. Soon it will have little pink flowers. The tulips were totally wilted and on their sides. Today with a bit of sunshine they have come back. I'm hoping that the tulips on Troost all do the same.

The ever present mint.

My Grandmother helped make me what I am today.

A post over on The Flogging of America got me thinking about my grandmother. Bessie Lee (Owens) Walker. She was born in 1918 in the middle of nowhere, north Texas. Her father died and her mom remarried making Bessie the oldest of a whole bunch of kids. Between brothers and sisters, full, half or step there were 13 kids. Uncle Jim was the baby and my grandmother took care of him like he was her own most of the time. Even though they lived on a farm she never had a lot of time for farm chores. Too much time spent babysitting. I once had a disagreement with my mom who assumed that her mom knew how to kill a chicken. After all she had lived on a farm during the depression. I said that she spent her time watching kids and the chicken killing was left up to other people. I was right, but not for the reasons I thought. She said her hands were too small to get a good grip on the chickens neck, so she couldn't wring it properly.

Bessie married Dawson Walker and moved first to Louisiana and then to Arkansas. Along the way they had 3 kids, all girls. My mother is the middle sister. The 3 girls gave them 10 grandchildren of which I am the oldest. My dad was in the Army, and we traveled a lot. Whenever it was possible my parents would send my brother and I back to Arkansas to visit my grandparents during the summer. Among the things I remember most are shelling beans, wrasslin and the arguments over air conditioners. My grandparents used a couple of window units to cool their house and someone was always coming up and turning them on or off, the other person would always get mad.

Shelling beans was a way of life for many people back then. You grew them or bought a few bushels and shelling was part of getting them ready for preserving. In my grandmother's house this was either done on the front porch or in front of the television if "wrasslin" was on. She loved professional wrestling and had favorites that she would root for. Once we went to the Watermelon Festival on Hope, Arkansas so that she could see The Junkyard Dog wrestle in person. Wrestling bored me, still does, but the watermelon was good and my grandmother was happy. All in all it was a nice trip.

My grandmother died in 1998. She had been battling Alzheimer's for awhile and the Bessie I knew left a long time before her body quit working. Shortly after she died I became pregnant with my youngest child. I decided long before she was born that I was having a daughter and that her name would be Bessie Leigh. Thankfully she didn't turn out to be a he and I got my wish. I named my daughter after my grandmother not just because of the love I felt, but because my grandmother had a lot of the characteristics I would like to see in my daughter. She was strong, sometimes to the point of being obstinate and she was adventurous. She liked to go and try new things and age didn't stop her. If anything as she got older she got more adventurous. Right before she got sick she announced that she was driving to Alaska. She would have done it too if she had been able. I hope that my daughter gets even a tiny bit of that spirit.

My Garden , survival of the fittest - part 2

I don't usually take care of my garden, I promise I don't. I'm a firm believer in letting it grow or die on it's own except in extreme circumstances. The weather lately has been extreme. Last night it was still 30 when I went to bed at midnight, so I didn't rush out and cover the roses. Guess I should have because by the time I woke up it was 19 and the damage had started. The tulips are goners and a couple of the roses don't look so good. A surprising victim was the blackberry bush. I think it will recover, but right now it's not looking so good.

I have covered the plants in preparation for the awful cold tonight. I was not prepared for this blast of arctic weather this week and neither were my plants. I have hope though, some of the roses look pretty good and the mint refuses to succumb, so my garden will go on.

Things I never thought I would say

There have been times I've said things that I never could have imagined myself saying. It happened again today.

Watching some show, can't remember which, a clip of Geraldo debating Bill O'Reilly. I have a dislike for both men and their news styles, so seeing them in one clip is a nightmarish event. Before I could change the channel I got sucked in by the way they were arguing.

- back story- A young girl was killed by a drunk driver, who turned out to be an illegal alien. (from Mexico, not Mars in case you were wondering) Instead of ranting on the evils of mixing autos and alcohol Mr. Reilly decides to have an discussion with Geraldo because everyone knows that Geraldo represents all people who can speak Spanish. - now ya know how the clip got started -

The two pseudo journalists were arguing. At some point it looked like O'Reilly was going to pick up a chair and break Geraldo's nose again. You could practically see his breath as it exploded from his head. Not one to ever back down, Geraldo gave as good as he got. However, in a sad twist of fate, I found myself saying (the thing I never thought I would say) GO GERALDO!!! TELL THIS PIECE OF CRAP WHAT THE REAL STORY IS.

I think I need a drink. I know I need to watch less television.

Of course it could be worse. Among the other things I never thought I would have to say are

"Why is there tang on the ceiling?"
"Don't put syrup on your brother." & my personal favorite
(to Apple customer service) "I have an iguana in my computer and need to know how to take the access panel off."

20 years

Today makes 20 years for Dan & I. It feels a little strange that it's been 2 decades. When I look closely at Dan I can see the changes, but for the most part he's just the same old Dan that I married.

I won't lie and say that it's been 20 years of bliss. We fight like cats and dogs sometimes. We were kids when we got married and growing up isn't easy when you're single much less when you're married. There have been times when I've wanted to just push him off of a cliff and I'm sure he's felt the same. Still for the most part we balance each other out. I'm outgoing, he's shy. I like to spend, he likes to save. I make choices quickly and sometimes rashly. He can't make a decision without hours and hours and hours and hours of thought. (never ask this man what he wants for dinner) I'm pushy, he's patient. He's can be very rigid about following rules, I tend to view rules as 'guidelines' not absolutes. We're not total opposites, we do agree on lots of things, politics and respect for religious views - the stuff that can really tear a marriage apart if you disagree.

Tonight we probably won't go out and do anything fancy. Dan knows better than to buy me roses (I hate dead plants, a rose bush that i can plant is a better choice) I know better than to buy him anything (he hates to spend) Tonight we will work on getting more signatures for the referendum petition we've been working on. Another day of the same old same old, but it's still special. We get to work together on something that we both feel passionately about. For us that's better than sitting in a restaurant trying to make conversation that's different than what we would talk about at home. Besides, the kids are going to call us 900 times anyway. I think we'll save the fancy meals for days when they are off on their own. Or maybe we'll keep doing things the way we do them now.

My friend Sam

My friend Sam just turned 3. He's at that great age where there is so much exciting stuff to explore and when it gets too much you still have mom and dad to hold you. I met Sam nearly 3 years ago when his big sister became friends with my youngest daughter. Since then a baby brother has also joined the family. It's been a delight to watch Sam go from baby to toddler and now he's becoming his own little person. He's not quite a toddler, not quite a kid. He's at that perfect in between stage. Admittedly his independence is more fun for me than it is for his parents. I don't have to be the one correcting behavior or deal with the question "why" for hours on end. They do a great job and I do remember the days when I had 3 small kids to deal with, so I admire their Patience. I wish I had been more like them back in those days.

Anyway, Sam is fun for me. I get the good stuff. The games, the giggles, the smiles and an occasional hug without ever having to deal with any of the bad. I also get reminded that there is a joy in life that we sometimes forget to find as we get older. Everything is new and exciting to Sam. The puddle, the sand, a pretzel. As I watched him contemplate the joy of jumping in a puddle that he knew his parents wanted him to avoid I was struck by how much people miss out on. We become so hooked on the rules that we forget to think about if we should follow them or not. Very few of societies rules should be absolutes. I'm not talking about the law here, though you should sometimes question that too, I'm referring to the rules of behavior.

There are so many unwritten rules that govern our behavior in every day life. Simple things like facing forward in an elevator. Would your life be so much worse off it you turned to the person sharing this box with you, smiled and said "hello"? Will the world end if you have pasta for breakfast and pancakes for supper? Sometimes the smiles are to be found when you take leave of societies rules and follow your own instincts.

For the record, Sam walked through the puddle. His mom rolled her eyes and said "at least his shoes are fast drying." She's pretty good that way.

Say it with me boys and girls...

NO! See, that wasn't so hard. It's a word people are afraid to use. Watching city hall I have never seen any of them use the word. If an issue comes up on their docket,they pass it. Occasionally people will step out of the room and refuse to vote 'in protest'. That's the same as saying YES folks. I spent far too many years on the PTA board. The only person who ever voted no for anything was me. People would vote yes and grumble about it.

That's the same problem with panhandlers. People say yes by giving them money and then grumble about how they are forced into it. Say NO. I do it all the time. Panhandling goes away when the money goes away. Say no unless you really want to say yes.

No is a magic word. It frees the soul. The world would be a better place if more people used it more often. How many 11 year old kids NEED a cell phone? Just say no. How many 16 year old kids need a fast death mobile of a sports car? Just say no. You don't want to listen to a hard luck story from a guy on the street, look him in the eye and say no.

Instead of doing these things we rely on the government to say no for us. We don't have to grow up and take responsibility for anything when we can have the power mongers make a law, so that even though we want to say yes, we can't. See, it's not our fault. We would if we could, but the lawmakers said no to that activity. Blah, blah, blah

Grow up people. It's a short word, probably one you said a lot at ages 2 and 3, learn to use it again.

Red Bridge Road

The more people look at this den of snakes masquerading as a city council the more corruption there is to see. It's a horrific sight. The Red Bridge project being a prime example of this.

I love the Red Bridge area. I go hiking there during the warmer months. There are few really cool paths over behind minor park and down Blue River Rd. If Eddy and his slithering friends on the council have their way, this will go away. Visit www.redbridgeroad.org for exact details and how you can help.

A particularly disgusting bit of information on this project is how they attempted to ram it through the council and bypassing the committee process. The goal was clearly to make sure that the public didn't get a chance to be heard any more than necessary. Of course at the last min. they made it an open meeting and wonder of wonders supporters of the project new in time to show up and testify. Now the snakes can rest easy in their black little hearts. After all, if the opposition wanted to testify, they had a chance, right?

Go to their website www.redbridgeroad.org and send the council a letter. Write the incoming council and tell them you disapprove of this project. Write the Star, the Pitch, the Call, any and all papers. The current council will slither off to private lives soon, let's do what we can to keep this proposal from going through before then.

When you ignore the Media you learn all sorts of useful stuff.

I don't pay much attention to local news on the tv. One channel here has local news on for something like 2 hours, broken into half hour shows all pretty much reporting on the same thing. Over and Over. I think the idea is for people who miss one to be able to catch the next. Whatever the thought behind it, their show, just like most stations, consists of more "no news" than news. The KC Star is a little too establishment and sometimes the Pitch is too far out there to be a serious news source. (I do read it faithfully though) I don't find the national news stations to be much better - though I do read the Wall Street Journal and like the reporting in it.

So the media fails to report on stuff that you need to know, what's left? For me it's the internet. Don't roll your eyes. I know there's a lot of bad information floating around the net as truth - but that's true of mainstream media too. I have found that if you want to know what's going on you should read a variety of bloggers. They all write from their own bias, but you know that before you read. Most people are pretty straight forward about what they support or don't support and you know their bias up front. The same can NOT be said of mainstream media, which often presents itself as fair and honest.

I bring this up because of something I read on The Flogging of America. Btyfrd has many interesting links in this post, but one hit home for me. The fact that police officers are not able to exercise all their rights politically. My father is a police officer in Georgia. I did some checking and Georgia seems to be more progressive than Missouri on this issue.

Anywho - time for rant- How on earth can they expect a police officer to give up so much for his or her job? This job entails long hours, traditionally low pay, and you spend a LOT of time dealing with people society wishes didn't exist. It's on the news when cops shoot people (as it should be) but when they get shot in the line of duty it's not always a major story. This is one of those jobs that can kill you way before your time. Taking this job should be something that is rewarded, not punished. Police officers should do their best not to bring their own biases to the job (it happens, they are just people) but they shouldn't be forced into not having views. If they want to join a committee for their political party they should be allowed to. If they want to solicit donations for their candidate, as long as they don't do it in uniform or as part of the dept., they should be allowed to. When they take off their uniform they are regular people and should be accorded the rights and responsibilities of regular people. Part of what is supposed to make our nation great is the freedom to choose what we think, say and believe. Other employees of the city and state are allowed to participate fully in their political party, why not police officers? Write your representatives and tell them to put this issue back on the table. - rant over-

Now this issue is not the only one mentioned in that post, just the first one I chose to talk about. She details a lot of stuff you may not be aware of. I know that I wasn't aware of most of it. I didn't know that Missouri chose not to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. I probably wouldn't have known except for a blogger who did some research and put it on the web. The Flogging of America is not the only blog I read, there are quite a few I check out daily, it was just the first one I read this morning. And see, I've already learned more valuable information than I would have if I had watched any of the insipid morning news shows.

KC chooses Funkhouser

Last night Mark Funkhouser won the election by a slim margin - just over 1000 votes. We donated a few balloons to his 'nail biter' party and were there until about 10:30. I would have stayed later, but Dan needed to get home. Shame because only 20 min or so later they announced Mark as the winner. It was a very exciting night thanks to Mark's early lead. Even though Brooks narrowed the margin, Mark stayed consistently in front. That gave his supporters reason to have a party attitude.

I supported Funkhouser for several reasons, but one of the big ones for me is that he isn't a career politician. Mr. Brooks seems like a nice guy, but he's been in the political scene for far too long. After my experiences with local politics I have come to the conclusion that politics can make all but the strongest of souls evil. Let's hope that Mark has a very strong soul. If not, at least we're starting out with a fresh one.

And of course I have a special place in my heart for geeky, logical, chess playing guys. (been married to one for 20 years now)

1000 Reasons To Smile

I have a new Flickr! group called 1000 Reasons To Smile. Basically, it's pictures of things that make me smile. Check it out and if you have a picture of something that makes you smile - add it to the group. The hyacinth mentioned in my last post is one of those things that makes me smile.

My Garden , survival of the fittest

Spring is here and my garden is coming to life. Someone flipped a switch somewhere and the plants all said 'It's time to grow'. I love my garden and spend a lot of time out there, but probably not in the way many gardeners do. I don't actually consider myself a gardener, I'm just the person who sticks the plants in the ground. After that, it's pretty much up to the plants themselves. I'll water them, and pull any weeds over 6 inches (city will write me up if they get longer than that), but I'm a hands off garden manager for the most part.

My attitude gives certain plants a real advantage over their needier cousins. For example, Mint does well in my herb bed. I have LOTS of mint, several varieties and they are all thriving. Mint doesn't ask you to prune, mulch or in any way baby it. You stick it in the ground and it grows. Same with the lemon balm, oregano and vinca. The chives are holding their own, but have never spread out as much as the mints, as have the lavenders. I did notice that one of the lavender plants has spread out and now I will have two of that variety this year.

My biggest, most aggressively happy plant? The blackberry bush. It's a thornless blackberry that I picked up for 2 bucks at some hardware store a couple of years ago. I planted it by the pond and that first year it was just a stick. The second year it game a few berries. Last year I got a lot of berries and this year looks to be a bumper crop. It has gone from stick to large bush with several small outcroppings in the wildflower bed. The birds love it and so do I. I can't wait to see how big it gets this year.

On the other end of the spectrum are the roses. Why I was possessed to plant roses I will never know. Something so tempting about them at the garden center. Over the years I have randomly purchased lots of small cheap roses and stuck them in various places around the yard. Mostly I put them in places I don't want the kids and pets to walk - works pretty well. Some have turned out to be climbing roses, despite their labels, so this year I will be forced to add trellises to my yard. I don't prune them, I don't add special vitamins and so forth. They do ok. Some of the pickier varieties gave it up and went to that great compost heap in the sky, but 6 of the plants have hung in there, even through this year's crazy hot/cold/warm/freezing weather. My neglect has turned them into hardy plants and it looks to be a bumper year for roses this year too.

For a long time honeysuckle was among the plants I could never get to grow. It's wild EVERYWHERE, but wouldn't grow in my yard. I bought plant after plant and they just didn't go anywhere. Then I got smart and went to the woods, dug up a plant and brought it home. First year was touch and go, but it took root and this year has already grown quite a bit. Last year it didn't flower, but I think it will this year.

Bulbs are another of those picky plants that doesn't always do too well in my yard. I plant them, the squirrels dig them up and eat half of them, and a few grow. Last fall I gave my youngest a little shovel and a bag of Hyacinth bulbs. I'm just now discovering all the places she planted them. None of those places appear to be anywhere near an established flower bed. We have hyacinth in the middle of the yard, by the tree, with the mint, by the honeysuckle there are even a few near the driveway. My husband wants me to dig them up and move them to an organized flower bed. Sweet man, but he really married the wrong woman for organized. I'm content to discover the surprises as they bloom. Besides, they only probably lived because they were hidden from the squirrels.

The blackberry bush starts its springtime return.

Disturbing Story

A little boy in California tried to kill himself while at school. He had been bullied to the point where he didn't think he wanted to live anymore, so he tried to hang himself. Actually he tried 3 times. What did the school do about this? Not much, they sent him home by himself and then notified the mother the NEXT DAY.

I'm usually annoyed when the school people feel like they have to be in every part of your children's lives, but come on folks, if there was ever a time to call the parents this was it. What if the boy had tried to kill himself on the way home, just stepped out into traffic?

He's only 9, so little to have so much pain. It's easy to say "what's wrong with him?" but that 's not really fair. I have 4 kids, have been on the PTA and a Scout leader for more years than I wish to count, and I have seen what happens on the playground. I actually pulled my older son out of school in favor of homeschooling after observing him on the playground and what was going on. Today he's a self confident, intelligent high school freshman. At the time he was a small for his age, quiet 3rd grader. On my daily walk I would often pass by the school during the time he had recess. On several occasions I noticed a bigger boy picking on him. More than once he had my son in a head lock. All of this went unnoticed by the teachers who were out there, but talking to each other, not watching the kids. Problems of this type happened less when there were recess aides, but the school budget cuts eliminated them. I spoke to the school, but the problem didn't go away, so I took my kid home. Not every parent has the ability, time or desire to homeschool, so it's not an option for everyone.

What's the solution? Well, for one the elementary schools need to bring back recess aides. Most of the problems happen during recess and the teachers are not always observant. They have lessons to plan, meetings to discuss and a lot on their plates. Designate a person who's job it is to keep track of the kids during their outside time. Actually our school had 2 people for ever recess. They stood on opposite sides of the playground and kept an eye on things. Schools do need to take a lead in stopping bully behavior. Middle schoolers might be a different story, but at the elementary school age school authorities can have a lot of influence.

More importantly the parents should be notified when a problem arises. Sometimes kids are too embarrassed to talk to their parents, but if there is a problem at school someone should call home and talk to mom and dad about it. Parents need to spend more time talking to their kids too. Find out what's going on at school, even if it's hard to get information at first. Keep at it. The kids want to talk, but it's hard for them sometimes. Other adults, like PTA parents and scout leaders should keep an ear out too - and not be afraid to mention a potential problem to the parents.

This little boy tried to kill himself. How could the school just turn a blind eye and let it go for the rest of the day? They should have called home and talked to his parents immediately. They should be held accountable for their delay and given some sort of reprimand.

Scooby-Doo I secretly love you

I was nearly 3 when Scooby first aired. I don't know how old I was when I first watched the show, but it was sometime in the 70s during it's first incarnation. The writing was awful, the plots were predictable and the animation quality was pretty low. Still, I loved it. For some odd reason I still do. Except the the Period where they focused on Scooby as a puppy, never cared for that series.

Today my youngest turned on some newer version of the show and I managed to get sucked back in just like in decades past. It's like being in front of a box of hot Krispy Kreme donuts. You know it's bad, but you want it anyway. Someone should analyze this show frame by frame to see if there is anything subliminal going on. Cop Rock was awful, I never felt the urge to watch it...so why this show? How on earth did it become a cultural phenomenon?

Maybe it's just me. I still like Count Chocula cereal as well as Captain Crunch with crunchberries, and I do make balloon animals for a living. I also have it on good authority from my teenagers that I am 'not normal'. Whatever the reason, if you play the Scooby theme song, you can bet I'll sing along.

Who is Dan Beyer

And why does he hate Mike Hendricks so much? As I was reading Mike's columns about the IHOP incident I noticed that several had been made by Dan Beyer. Nothing of any substance, but the same complaint over and over.

I get it, you hate Mike's type of journalism. One post would suffice. And I thought I had too much time on my hands.

Lesbians Sharing Lipstick

Recently two women were kicked out of a Grandview IHOP because one of them kissed the person she was in love with. Unfortunately for them, the person she is in love with is the 2nd woman. I live in Grandview and you couldn't have paid me to eat in that IHOP BEFORE this incident because of the management. Small minded, prickheads - but that's a personal thing with me. We've dealt with them in the past.

As the mother of 4 kids I can tell you that there are so many worse things for kids to witness than people in love, even if those people are of the same gender. How about two people making out who have no emotions towards each other at all. Yeah, that sends a so much better message. Have the people who complained ever really looked around at our society and said "WTF????" Women or Men kissing other women and men is not a huge issue when you think of everything else going on in today's world. Hell, even if you think it's wrong (and you have to ask yourself why you even care) surely you can find other, more important things to focus your energies on. Let the kisser and the kissee take their behavior up with whatever God they do or don't believe in.

The messages I have been seeing on the internet are most shocking to me. Accusations that the women were flaunting their sexuality and trying to get a reaction. Damnation of all things kissable. Suggestions that bans be placed on people expressing all sexualilty and affection....the list goes on and on.

Get over it people. If you saw it and didn't go blind, accept the fact that witnessing such an event won't actually hurt you. Same goes for reading about it and hearing about it. If you are overly upset maybe it's because nobody has tried to kiss you lately. Try being nicer.

More school?

A friend of mine told me about this program that is being tested in Boston. I can't imagine sending my kids to school for that long every day? The American educational system seems to think that if it's not working, let's just add more. 20 years ago they managed to teach more in shorter days, why do they need longer ones now? I don't think it's because kids are stupider. I think it's because
1. Society and parents expect school to teach the kids everything - including stuff they should be learning at home.

2. Sometimes the old fashioned way of doing things works and we've invested far too much time and energy in quick fix ways to teach kids. Instead of giving them challenges we want learning to be super easy for them. Kids respond to challenges and super easy leads to laziness, not learning.

Blogging for myself

For a change I'll be blogging for myself. Currently I spend far too much time on that damned ordinance, and it really is time to take back my life.