Braveheart

Caleb's Birthday this year fell on Rosh Hashanah (evening) and he was purposely given a Hebrew name. Caleb in Hebrew (Ka Lev) is translated "Like the heart" or as "Whole Hearted". At the time I was pregnant with him I took a class titled Bible as Literature, and I read the entire bible front to back. In the Hebrew Bible referred to as the (Pentateuch)/Torah. Caleb is one of the 12 men sent by Moses to explore Canaan with Joshua despite the evil reports of the other 10 men the two stay steadily faithful to the word and belief that this is the promised land. Due to his faithful devotion, brave spirit, and unwavering belief Caleb and Joshua are awarded the promise land and generations of his family benefit while the other ten perish. Their belief was the difference between life and death. 

Now, during my pregnancy this story spoke to me for many reasons. The first being Caleb was born 13 months after his stillborn brother. The only thing I had to cling to during his high risk pregnancy was faith. I could only stay true to faith, immense hope, and unwavering belief that this baby would be okay, this time would be different, and there was something miraculous that would come from this. Doubt and fear would not rob me of this joy. Second, Caleb had a rough end to his inutero experience and his birth was very traumatic.  Induced, 36 hours of labor, a baby in fetal distress, c section prepped and wheeled off, only to end up discovering he was too far descended in the birth canal so a c section would've been too risky and they would've had to pull him back up with the cord around his neck . So with an assisted delivery of vacuum and forceps we finally got him out, except he was blue, not crying after several invigorating rubs, and wisked off to get oxygen. I'll never forget looking into his eyes from across the room as the team got him stabilized. I knew this child captured the essence of everything that was brave, faithful, and undeniably whole hearted.  He has always been my little warrior. This boy conquers everything. He IS and will always be defying the odds in life. My very own testament of true faith and prosperity. 

The Beast of the Mixed and Blended Family

Sigh* I think I should be called naive for ever thinking that I wouldn't encounter this beast. I think what has me so annoyed and hung up is that I NEVER thought it would be THIS bad. It's 2017 right? RIGHT? (eye roll) I can't tell. I'm sure plenty of people feel that way in this world but let me explain.

Having a blended family (Brady Bunch Style) is challenging in its own way. You have so many people involved, you're adding to the equation. It's difficult because while adding you are trying to assemble and create a NEW family instead of assimilation to the old family.  On top of that, it's even a bit more challenging when you have more than a few ethnic groups under one roof.  You're mixing cultures, traditions, etc. What happens having a blended and multi ethnic/racial family means that everywhere you go, people try to "match up" what is going on. Are they all one unit? Who belongs to who, and asking personal irrelevant questions. Sometimes comments that are damn demeaning, or possible no ill intentions but still very rude.

I think what gets me above all is that these comments aim to divide and distinguish. So they (anyone) calls to the attention of one child's hair texture/features in front of my others while I stand there looking like I could knock their head off any minute. These kids ARE siblings. Yes, that is right. They were all grown inside the same womb, and yes soon enough they will recognize their differences. My oldest already do, pointing out different features...well that is not the issue. The issue is the way it is done by people and the message behind it, it's done in a shocking/ marveling, almost "praiseful way"
 "Oh my God, XYZ child is so white looking. (clap clap clap)Thank God right because since you are Black I just assumed that they would be little jiggaboos"  Colorism at its finest.

Making comments or even prying questions about race or ethnicity like this is sending the message to all of those in ear shot, that its a blessing ( or AMAZING) for your children to come out light, bright, damn near white. Sarah Jane style from Imitation of Life. I am well aware of what all four of my children look like, and bringing up the skin/hair/etc  makes it seem like "this is a big deal".

Why is it a big deal that they look like this? Why is this comment and conversation worthy? This is what I really want to know truly.

Let me explain the other issue here. There's an obvious hierarchy ranking to skin color assigned in these questions, comments, and conversations along with a dismissive tone to my entire set of genetics. Which drives me nuts all together because all of the people making these comments know nothing about me, my family, or my background.  A common one lately is my youngest son has pretty light brown hair (at least for now) it almost has natural highlights. People automatically comment on the color of it and attribute it to my husband, (why? he doesn't even have light brown hair) when in actuality he claims everyone in his family has very dark black hair even in childhood. So there is no other explanation for it really except I do recall in my childhood my hair frequently was a lighter brown, almost red highlights at times if I had too much sun to it and I was teased called Mufasa. You have seen Mufasas mane right? It is brown. Truthfully we don't really know why Ben has this lighter shade of brown, we can only speculate from what we know of ourselves and our family. I have also been told the babies being born very pale was him too, except ALL BABIES ARE born pale. Like really... did you see me or any of my family as babies? NOPE. Where do people get this stuff from? Certainly not Biology.

The general American people have ZERO concept of genetics. This has become glaringly obvious and even aggravating to me.  I took Biology in high school and college. Does anybody remember doing the DNA project, punnet squares, etc? I digress. However, What you come out actually looking like (Phenotype) comes from the set of DNA you possess (Genotype). So what that means is you carry genetics of traits that you do not actually express (look like). You may have brown hair, but carry a genetic trait of blonde hair. You may be short, but carry a genetic trait of being tall. This is complex because the DNA code mixes with your partner. It is likely a child of yours exhibits a trait you carry but do not express in your own Phenotype if your partner carries that trait too.  So when these people comment and dismiss me, my race, or my entire set of genetics in ANY of my children, its not only infuriating. It is rather inaccurate.

 To be clear, human traits determined by multiple alleles would be hair color, hair texture, eye color, built, physical structures. So Phenotype (what you look like is controlled by at LEAST  three genes with six alleles. Therefore the (Phenotype) of anyone person is complex. There's also the whole Dominant, Recessive, and then the wild card of Incomplete Dominance which results in making a whole new phenotype. 

Phenotype (What you physically look like) This is NOT. I repeat, not like mixing colors.  I think most people think especially with mixed race children that they will come out as a complexion mix of the two kids and a mix of features. This is not true. This is not even close to true as I have seen it. I have seen two people of the same race produce children much lighter or much darker than the both of them.  This is why you see such wide variations of skin/hair/features in any one family. For example, My children have cousins that are born from white mothers and these children have a darker skin tone than them.  Growing up as a child in my own household, I never thought in this "paint mixing" expectations way. For one, I come from a family of people more than one ethnicity myself.
 To be honest, this didn't even become clear to me until I was about 10. I swear to you I think one visit it became apparent when my Aunt Jackie came with my Uncle Allen did I know "Ohhhh these people are Hawaiian?" I didn't know. I  saw many people of different shades but resembled each other in the same family. I never questioned why my cousin was a few shades darker than her Grandfather. I never questioned why my Mom was darker than me or why my Father was lighter than my sister.  I never questioned why my Grandmother was pale. I do not recall ever having the thought! My sister and I are a few shade variations apart depending on the season, and I affectionately was referred to as Casper as a baby. (See picture of me as a baby below) I just thought people sprout out however they come! For me growing up, that was what I saw. Short, tall, light, dark, all normal to me.

The problem with all of this is I am tired of having the notion pushed and brought up it seems like everywhere I go, that my children are different from each other in any sort of hierarchy way.  Yes, they are different. No, we aren't having a conversation "oooooingg and ahhhing" about any such differences while simultaneously dismissing their blackness or affirming to my others how "basic" their brown skin is.  I won't stand for it.

So, this is now my PSA to the world that racism indeed is subtle and creeping. Racism come from strangers comments, it comes from within families, it comes from media, and everywhere else in between.  This type of racism I speak of comes in the form of colorism where people all over of varying ethnic backgrounds believe deep down that lighter is better. They see it, distinguish it, will seek to point it out often, they will marvel at it making inaccurate inappropriate comments.  You know how I know for sure its done with colorism at the root? Because more than a decade has passed by and nobody has ever commented on "how black" any of my children are. NEVER. EVER. They don't seek to comment, lift up, call out, glorify their blackness or black features of any of my kids. Only do they comment or articulate the perceived whiteness. Is it more acceptable? More shocking?  The next time you notice anyone doing this. Please call them on their racist comments and ideologies. They probably will ignore you or deny it, but because I am so fed up with this beast of the mixed and blended family I plan on doing it every single time. Every.Single.Time.

Can we all agree on one thing?

Listen guys, It has been awhile but while I am in the midst of new motherhood again. I am also in the midst of almost killing the next person that offers their unsolicited advice or tries to "one up", and get  "judgy"with me. Can we all agree on one thing? Nobody cares what you do/did with your kids. I say that with as much love and compassion as I can. I don't play Mommy Wars. As a "veteran" or more like warrior mom of 4 kids. For the second time in 11 years I was faced with staying home an extended amount of time with some serious hurdles to clear. it was getting scary for me.  By the way, I would rather light myself on fire then spend months or.years on end at home with no outlet of my own. (Go ahead judge me)  I start to feel like the woman from Charlotte Perkins Gilman's story "The Yellow Wallpaper" when I am home. ( You're Welcome, now you have yourself a new read) let's just say  I now understand why women fought for the right to work.

Yet it is true, there is so much more to ME as a woman then just being a wife and mother 24/7 365. I am sorry I am not sorry. Sitting home as time passed just cleaning, cooking, and changing diapers started to have me very jaded. Almost feeling like "Did I miss the part when this gets to the dream of what people claim they love about it?" "Cause uhhh I need to get dressed and not argue with my 3 year old at least a few hours out of the day"
  I did this baby stint another time just to be sure. I absolutely love and adore my kids but I am a much better mother when I work. I actually thrive on structure and crave my own space. So with that said, while each mother is different. Each mother and family presents different strengths and abilities.  So who are you to  judge them? I can also tell you right now each and every child is different with unique strengths and abilities. I have four kids as different as night and day. While parented relatively the same. So please save me your mommy wars in order to stroke your own ego so you can feel better at night about your own choices.

As my friend Yetunde says" I don't care much if you feed your child fertilizer". I also seriously don't care if you feed your kid formula and they go to daycare.  Chances are I won't even ask, because it is no business of mine. No judgement, because you are doing whats best for YOU, and likely what makes your life work. Please don't talk down to, "one up", or throw someone else under the bus that chooses not to do those things. 

 I would never say to someone "Those kids in daycare are  abused, dirty, and sick all the time." on the flip  "Those who have individual babysitters or nanny's are spoiled or less socialized". "Those who formula feed are lazy" "Those kids that stay home with their moms are coddled, sheltered, and are monsters!"  In contrast to all the stereotypes and generalizations, my third child is more socialized than my first two kids were and they attended a childcare center much longer than he ever did. He defies all "stereotypes". Yet, he was the most precocious of them all!!!  He also had formula from month 4 and he ended up hitting most of his developmental milestones before his other siblings. Yup, meanwhile my son is a perfectionist and my daughter is a creative outside the box soul in gifted and talented. This goes to show children are all different. So, lets agree on one thing here.  STOP with the generalizations, STOP judging. SAVE your mommy wars. Open your mind a bit to differences. Parent the way YOU need to parent and stay in your own lane.

There's a kid somewhere right now who was abandoned as a child with an above average IQ and an advanced college degree out here saving the world.

My 9 year old has an ipod

This post is inspired from the recent Christmas gift my 9 year old received from this grandmother. This morning my fiancée told me that he wants to "hold off" on the technological devices for awhile with our youngest son. Now, immediately I already know he felt this way for some time now...... as we both discussed these things for awhile. My immediate reaction was not to take offense, but to explain to him why he should have an open mind.   I want to call attention to something, when I had my first child I ran through a list of things I WOULD NEVER EVER DO. I remember my mom chuckling at me heartily. She then told me in her most sincerest voice,  I am sure your ideologies will evolve if you "just live a little".  I was in full belief that MY children would NEVER watch TV, or play video games. I felt as though it created aloof zombies exposed to too much violence and sexual content. I blew her off, knowing that I would cling to my ideologies. I wasn't going to change or let up.  You know what, though? Mama was right. Mama lived long enough and had two kids to know that she too evolved. After awhile, everything changes.  Nothing stays the same.

The last 13 years of my life I have worked with kids, had my own kids, and lived with kids from working as a daycare assistant, Nanny, Head Teacher, Preschool Teacher, Kindergarten Assistant Teacher, High School Teacher, and Middle School Teacher and because I have lived more experience with children I have learned that TV doesn't single handedly expose children to be unintelligible zombies. It DOES have the potential to, but that is why you PARENT your children. You choose what shows they watch, when, and what they are exposed to. As they grow up they have no desire to watch things they know are "not for them". They already have a "core" if you will.  If you are not going to do that, then yes I would say it is best to just avoid TV all together.

 From his text this morning, I could  discern that my fiancée already has in his mind that being a "child" means you don't call and text people from your ipod. Perhaps maybe not owning one at all.
 However, have you seen how the world and EVERYTHING has been redefined each and every generation? When I was a child his age I had a Tamagotchi "digital" pet and a Super Nintendo. Two things my PARENTS did not even have. I had dolls that talked and walked. My parents defined childhood for their generation by playing outside jumping rope and playing tag. My generation defines childhood as Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Baby Alive, AOL, AIM, Trolls, Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi, Pogs, Slap Bands, and yes STILL playing outside and riding bikes.
 Childhood definitions change from generation to generation. Technology and toys alike have merged and evolved and for lack of a better comparison My Tamagotchi IS his version of an Ipod. They don't make Tamagotchi toys anymore, therefore this ipod all in one device where you can listen , download music, Facetime, play with apps that have animals, games, internet, etc. is encompassing to what "we had" in 1995.
We used to have 10 toys that did that, (I did have the internet in my house at 10)  Can we say....Dial up?? In comparison, texting is the new age form of AOL instant messenger.  Point is, sometimes we have to think about how much our world has evolved and how we either change with it or get left in the dust. A few years ago, I would have said no to this type of technology in his hands. However, I truly believe that growth comes in many forms, you can't fight the power of "what is occurring" with youth and technology.  So for that reason, I can accept it and teach them how to use it correctly. Or  I can avoid it all together by making blanket statements such as "ipods kill childhood".
 As a parent, you need to teach your kids acceptable use of many things, which is also a teachable moment. The idea is not to deprive kids but to teach them how to use things that can be "dangerous" appropriately so that when they do get their hands on it, they aren't using it to "bully" or for "pornographic sites".  I won't make each and every potentially dangerous thing taboo or off the table because eventually when they do get to it (computer, alcohol, driving) They will use it like a typical moron because nobody has had the discussion or the ability to coach them doing it correctly.
See, making technology commonplace meant I already went over the sharing of his password, what music he CAN listen to, and who he CAN text/Facetime with. 
As opposed to keeping it out of his hands until he is 16/17 like this was some bad invention that he would have the power to really hide any and all reckless use on it then. I suppose I go about parenting all in moderation. Too much of anything all the time is a bad look. Whether you are 2 or 92.
 In the same ideology that Burgers don't make people fat. People who eat burgers everyday of their life make themselves fat. Ipods don't take the childhood innocence away from a child. Parents who let their kids use technology  irresponsibly without teaching right and wrong take their childhood innocence from their child. I am proud to say we went to the eye doctor yesterday and while in the exam room waiting he was playing a Fruit Ninja or Santa Ninja game on the ipod but soon as someone knocked on the door, he rolled it up and PUT IT AWAY.  Two snaps for Caleb!! That was because we already had the discussion about when it is appropriate to use it.  That showed me he listened and respected what I said. I did not have to reprimand him for it.

Then there is the teacher side of me, PARCC. Yeah I said it, children as young as 9 are being asked to sit 10.5 hours to take an assessment on a computer. That requires quite a bit of technological proficiency. Okay, it requires a hell of a lot of typing, opening tabs, reading on a screen, scrolling, closing tabs, and of course simply knowing how to manage themselves on a technological device. Now I know many folks think an ipod, ipad, phone, xbox wont help my child on the PARCC.  Let's go farther... It won't hurt! Getting my students used to reading on screen is the hardest, right under them typing or KNOWING the keyboard!  My 6th graders have no idea where the underscore on the keyboard was. I wanted to fall to the floor in tears! Are they really going to utilize these computer based assessments to evaluate teachers and schools? This is a whole separate host of skills that will affect what they are able to produce on the assessment.
The texting keyboard on apple devices is a QWERTY keyboard. On these technological devices they can also download books, and read on screen aiding the ability to learn to read left and right while simultaneously having to scroll up and down. This is a skill many adults don't even realize is a skill. A skill that needs to be practiced before one can actually read and comprehend. Think rubbing belly and patting head at the same time.
   I get emails from his teacher about how to increase technological proficiency in 4th grades. Many of these "tips" are having your child type notes, read on screen, and play games on devices.  Can you imagine this; my evaluation will be tied to test scores of kids taking tests on a computer that they have no idea how to use. (INSERT SCREAM HERE)
It wasn't until just this last year that in grad school I did a 21 page action research proposal on Technological Proficiency in Special Populations. You see what we once referenced as "The Achievement Gap" between minorities in urban areas is now also showing "The Digital Divide". Let's just call this the "Have and Have Nots".  Children who have technology, higher SES, and parents that are educated perform better and they always have. Children who have not had the above have typically performed worse.   Educators such as myself are being taught in graduate school now how to not just teach LITERACY, but digital literacy. Imagine my surprise, as I sign myself up for a Masters in Education for reading and literacy and I am in classes for teaching digital literacy. Why? My title as a Reading Specialist just doesn't rely on me being able to have skills and strategies to utilize books, but to realize that this child may have a digital literacy problem, and thus have skills and strategies to help and aid that need. So that they too can be successful. Once upon a time Reading Specialist were only used as support for/with books, just like Once upon a time the library was called a library now it is a Library Media Center; full of technology to utilize.
I can even say that the "reform" and push in teaching is using technology. I will never have an evaluation where I am not using technology. It falls under a Danielson Domain. In all honesty, How can I teach 21st century learners using chalk? The way I learned, is not reflective of the world they live in, the way they learn, nor need to learn. It is the equivalent to training an operator using a switchboard. It is not 1888 or 1975, we have automatic switching. We don't use that anymore! Just in that sense that job does not exist because we have a new way of doing it with technology.

 I would not be able to sleep at night knowing my technological skills were not up to par to teach a generation of kids who will need to rely on their technological skill to obtain a job or career of choice.  Just last month students in my school had a video chat with Senator Corey Booker. I did not do that as a child! I was so happy for them. In the same breath, I use formative assessments from websites such as Socratic and poll everywhere in my class where students can respond using any type of technological device. So in my classroom and my home.... I say bring on the ipods, ipads, Macbooks, chromebooks, Apple TVs, because I promise you in ten years they will be teaching coding in schools and probably requiring students to bring their own devices. These online assessments are not disappearing, jobs are not going back to manual "paper and pen".  The only way I think I can prepare my kids for their world is to move with the times.  I go to trainings that are BYOD, so I already realize this is a movement that is not going away. It is going to get more complicated before it gets less.  I could kick and scream for my students sake, I could cry for my evaluation sake, and my fiancée could not change his mind about kids, childhood, and technology, but the whole wide world is changing.

 Due to the fact I admit that, I am not ashamed to say "YES, my 9 year old has an ipod". My 6 year old has a tablet, and I am almost certain it will advance them in a myriad of ways and not be a detriment because beyond all this technology is one informed and educated Mama. 
Here is a fun video for you too :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUMf7FWGdCw

Why I'm Not A SAHM

You know I always find it funny amongst the "Mommy Wars" the assumptions that are made when a woman "decides" that working AND having her career is what she wants to do instead of not going back to work or continuing her work endeavors.   I never understood why people ask "Are you going back to work?" As if raising a child/children was impossible unless you stopped and put a halt to all your endeavors. Why don't people say to men, "Why did you return to work?" Better yet, "You must hate leaving your wife and kids to go to work?" Nobody ever asks a dad that, yet in the stereotypical gender role WOMEN ASK WOMEN that all the time.  It puzzles me to no end. I thought the whole progressive woman's rights movements was so that we could have those choices, yet when women choose that they are asked.... WHY?! Truth be told....I wanted to find a stay at home FATHER for the longest! Not to "effeminate" him, but to allow me to conquer MY DREAMS AND ASPIRATONS and not worry about having to jump so many hurdles to do it. I say and do believe a woman IS and CAN be just as good of a provider as a man.  I also believe a man can be just as good of a nurturer as a woman. I guess you can call me a feminist. I don't care which label you choose to slap on it.

 Why must we WOMEN play into gender stereotypes all the time? Someone said to me today "Oh, you must hate leaving that face!" In the back of my mind, I didn't know how to respond. Of course, I miss my  adorable children when I am working, but for heaven sakes I don't HATE to leave.  I realize they said that without much thought, but it prompted more thought from me. It was more of a compliment to how cute my baby was. I realize that, but I actually had to think.....In reality I like leaving.  I work 6.5 hours a day for 180 days a year. While my job is a lot of stress and paper work to juggle; I work half the days in the year. 180/352 COME ON! Some folks work 6-7 days a week all year. I feel blessed I CAN have a career that empowers me and I also believe by me working they learn so much from me "leaving". My oldest two are elementary school age and are in school the same hours I work, which works out well because they also have obligations.  Subconsciously, they learn how to work and play with others outside of our family, learn how to form healthy relationships without relying on me all the time, they learn it is okay to pursue your own life or have goals while still having the ability to care for your family. They learn that Dad's can do pick up/drop off/ and dinner.  There are many ways to do many things for many families. In other words I like showing them there are more than a few ways to "skin a cat".  I could go on and on since there are many reasons, but mainly I think it is healthy for ME on many different levels.  All of anything for me is not good.  I spent a significant amount of time learning myself. I am a person of balance. I go crazy with the all or nothing lifestyle.

It was when I spent such a long time being unemployed or underemployed with my first two kids that I dreamt of the day I had my  "career job".  I remember walking by in yoga pants looking at Jimmy Choo heels and thinking, "one day". I wanted to dress up and have my own niche outside of my home, studies, and my kids.  I worked hard for 7 years and spent so many thousands of dollars on an education to be productive in a field of MY choice.  Every year that I work in that career I build a resume that makes me more attractive in that field of choice for more opportunity. It also means not taking time off  or away from a career I worked so hard for  that I won't live in fear that I will be subject to the dreaded "age discrimination" and "practice gap".  Many of my colleagues warned me of the idea that when theory evolves and practice changes year to year  and you were absent from the field you are "missing from professional development and relevant content knowledge" and thus no employer wants YOU over the fresh new student teacher or rookie out of school. I also think it is important when I retire I can collect a bigger benefit for our senior years together providing much more financial security for our kids lives such as college and weddings. That means that working for ME is me reaping the benefits of all those years I put in that investment. It also means I provide myself and my children the freedom and ability to "get ahead". It means not relying on one income solely allows me the freedom and peace of mind that what I bring to the table helps my family do things I used to only dream about, like buying a bigger car, a bigger house, and paying off debt.

Freedom of choice...thats just it.  I'm not a SAHM for many reasons, but mainly because I have the freedom to work and earn my own money. I enjoy my freedom.  I don't see why I have to pass all of that up just because I had a child. In many families they do what works for them, they have that freedom to make the choice that best fits their lifestyle, personality, and ideologies.  I just think we as a society need to embrace that idea more.  Simply because one day I don't want to be out with my kids and not get strange/dirty looks when I tell people I love my career and I like working.

 

An Open Letter to My Daughter

The moment I found out you were a girl (though I had my intuition all along), I knew you were going to be a special one. That isn't to say your brothers rank less than you, but you have something that oozes out of you as a female that is not only rare, but amazing to watch.

 While I remember my dear friend Jenna asking me at that moment, "Will she be as crazy as us?" Oh, I knew any female born with my genetics was going to be a force to deal with. Sugar and Spice and everything nice right?  Wrong! Spark and Spunk and everything wild.  At just 6 years old, I see more personality in you than I see in many grown women my age.  For that, I write you this letter.

At just 6 years old your favorite things include adventure, speed, fighting, strength (your favorite pose flexing your muscles), and "beating" your opponent.  Your range of activities go from zero to 100.  It has occurred to me that you are just one big ball of spark, fun, and excitement or as others put it "good luck when she is a teenager". Strong willed you are, but I never want you to lose it. Unconventional you are, but that is not to be confused with "weird" or "irregular". You my darling are just different in a way that will only inspire others to question why they have been living inside their shell, box, or why they aren't daring to be different themselves. You bring out the best in all those lucky to be around you.

 While you love to care for animals, perform, and draw pictures. I see from that you possess this natural talent of being confident, self-aware, and true to your own desires. It is probably something you never even realize or notice, because it is just who you are. You have this "Je Nais Se Quoi" about you that makes you atypical like a Mac in a room full of PC's. You have managed to be yourself and stand out in a world that is dying to make you fit in. My girl you take Boss lady to a whole different level.

When I went to pick you up last week you built a house that was standing alone out of marshmallows and not one other single child in the class managed to even connect their marshmallows to make them stand to do anything.  Maybe it was all the Lego's you played with as a tot with your brother. Maybe it is because you have a knack for working with your hands. Maybe you are meant to be an architect or builder. Those moments and many others show me that your out of the box connection and creativity is really amazing.  I never want you to lose it.    In some literary comparison you remind me of Juliet from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. My favorite line from that play is when Juliet says to her mother, "Tis an honor I dream not of." When discussing marriage, she was only 13 and was so self assured that she was fine with turning down the idea of marriage.  In a time when women ONLY aspired for marriage, she was confident and secure enough to decide, that marriage was not the honor she wanted. That reminds me of you, so confident and secure you do what makes you happy and not what society has deemed makes everyone else happy.

  While 100 other girls are drooling for Disney Princesses and ballet bags there is 1 Mailee dressed in a spy suit dying to be a ninja.  I see you following your hearts desires no matter what.  Perhaps a traveling artist, a veterinarian, a corporate CEO, or maybe even an architect.  Your confidence exudes from rocking a fearless "faux hawk" for crazy hair day, breakdancing to "Little Sally Walker", playing Ninja Turtles with the boys, dying to beat the pants off Caleb in Madden, being Sonic the Hedgehog for Halloween, correcting others when they are wrong, or torturing your brother as you "doctor" him. I see it now girls envy you as they simultaneously giggle and cheer you on, and the boys are so intrigued by your type they pick you first on their team (knowing you will do what it takes to win).

I hope you continue to breakdance when it calls for a sweet skip, I hope you catch the ball and throw it back to the boys when they think you will toss it sweetly, I  hope you turn down the big frilly prom dress for a sleek modern bodysuit, I hope you continue to defy the expectations and roles for your gender because you're a diamond in the rough.  Beware that conformity is what people will try to push on you from here on out. 

Above all, I hope you know you make me proud beyond your 6 years.  I want you to know that before I had a daughter I could only dream about a fictional character as my favorite heroine, now I wake up to her everyday. <3

her·o·ine

ˈherəwən/

noun

noun: heroine; plural noun: heroines

1. 
   

   a female admired or idealized for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

   

Common Core...... I'm going to go there!

Now, I have held off on this topic for a variety of diplomatic reasons, but let me say this. Common Core IS NOT the devil. The actual standards are reasonable. I took an entire Graduate School Class on Standards Based Education and Common Core. With that said, prior to Common Core New Jersey HAD its own STANDARDS  for every public school called. NJCCS.  So, let me discuss further.

Standards Based Education is the "Standard" (Standardized) list of what kids should know and be able to do in each grade. Which means that a child in Kindergarten should know their letters and letter sounds. A child in 6th grade should be able to use clues from the text to determine word meaning. This is not inherently a bad idea.

Standards based education came about when people decided that a child's zip code largely determined their academic success. Children from "better" and more affluent areas have more resources and seem to do better on everything from standardized exams to actual grades. Children from less affluent areas, rural and otherwise urban or city areas perform less on these exams. This disparity got many people thinking it was "WHAT" was being taught that was different. They thought well over here, they teach DIFFERENT skills, or in such town or state. So they came up with the idea that the entire United Stated needed to get on (THE SAME PAGE) as to what we are teaching our children, and as to when. A second grader in California shouldn't be learning long division, when a second grader in New Jersey has just started Multiplication. They also felt that with the rise of technology and creating 21st century learners living in a global society we could not send our kids to "work and compete" with other children who were far advanced than they were in "what" they were taught. So the standards call for more "rigorous" work. In ELA students need to read a lot more nonfiction, be able to cite answers with text evidence(Answer the question, but tell where they got their answer), and each year be able to elevate in text complexity. I don't think that is realistic for many children until a much older age (HS). I think the whole "College and Career Ready" slogan goes too far when we want 3rd grades immersed in nonfiction text.  In 4th grade I didn't read nonfiction AT ALL. It wasn't until 13-14 was I even remotely interested in nonfiction.  I seemingly still ended up able to read nonfiction in college, and was placed in Advanced Placement in HS,  and as an adult that is all I read practically. We can't decide that shoving "Career and College" down everybody's throat s beneficial at 6 years old, the fact is that while we need to educate our kids for the future, they are KIDS.

   You can watch this short video for more detail.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/common-core-standards-ela

"The CC standards are organized in an intoxicatingly simple, linear fashion that acknowledges that the work of a first grade teacher contributes to the growth of a tenth grade student. This connectedness between grade levels is a welcome departure from some previous state standards that jumped from topic to topic, addressing a particular skill one year, dropping it the next, and returning to it later on or not at all.  Because the content and assessments will be the same from state to state, a unified system of measure can be used to compare student growth from one part of the country to another. And states will be able to compete for Federal money, but that’s another topic.

The standards address the fact that literacy demands in college, the workplace, and life in general are getting higher, not lower, and to thrive in an information-rich, digital global age, we need a highly literate population."

This idea of a "uniform" education in skills and concepts is not a bad one, what IS bad is how it has been implemented and the many "forgets" that are not realistic. We forget children do not think abstractly for a while, we forget children love fiction stories and that a whole different set of skills is needed to attack nonfiction text. We forget that making content more "rigorous" is making kids who loved it hate it all together, and those who may have done poorly now just don't even attempt it.  All of this is ironic because the literacy standards were developed upon the developmental literacy stages of a child. This is more like crawling and walking. (we know most children crawl between 6-9 months). Well within literacy we know children begin scribbling and thinking they are writing words from 3-5 years. We know children typically begin kid writing (misspelling) words that they are writing because they know letter sounds.  There is a Foundation, Early Emergent, Emergent Stage, Developmental... Fluent Stage.. etc. These stages discuss the behaviors and abilities of typical children, and the standards were matched off them.  Sounds legit, and it is. Here is an example of a literacy standard for my class.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

Due to the fact kids are typically  fluent readers by 6th grade it does make sense they should be able to figure out the theme (moral message) of a text and provide a summary of the text without their own opinion, just a simple recount of it.

"Like anything else, how the CC Standards are implemented will make all the difference. The authors are very clear: CCSS does not include information about how teachers should teach. From this, I infer that they understand the complexity of teaching and learning. I suspect they know that binders of ready-made packaged programs and curriculum are worthless without a high quality teacher who’s given the opportunity, respect, and support to design learning for his or her students.

It’s this clear message that makes classroom teachers so vulnerable. We don’t know how, exactly, CCSS will be implemented at the state, district, and school levels. Will teachers get to design new units of study? Will they be offered an opportunity to collaborate around the idea of what these standards mean for their students? Will they have a chance to reflect on student progress, to refine their practice, and make meaningful instructional decisions? To believe in something, you have to own it.

If teachers don’t own it, the full potential of CCSS will get lost in the bureaucratic minefield of our public schools. My hope is that the implementation of CCSS will pair with empowering the most influential person in the classroom: the teacher.

  I put that in to say.. Common Core has been adopted by States due to federal bribery money. Moreover, they dropped it off with no direction. No workshops, nothing. Teachers began using Common Core (for me 2011) without any real idea as to "how" just all I had was a "what" this in many cases is GOOD. Except many districts already had an idea how they wanted to utilize it, which program they are buying, and what books or materials you will utilize to teach it.

I mean that takes away the freedom to teach the standards in the way that best personalizes them for the learner, the other problem is that because we are rolling out with a new Standardized Test called PARCC, we don't really "know" all the ins and outs despite the few test sample questions they have on their website for subject areas. Once they changed the standards, they had to change the Assessment.

I personally feel as though the Ed reform movement is about politics and money. Due to the fact the federal education department dumped off new standards on almost 45 states (which may be more now), there has been a NEED for educational consultants, educational technology,  new educational textbooks, programs, new assessments, more computers to take PARCC (because it is a computer based test).. you name it. Everything MUST GO, out with the old in with the new, except we keep forgetting that  it wasn't so much WHAT was taught that was creating an achievement gap or inequality in education. It was really the lack of resources and support in various areas that led to a academic failure.  Now that we are all on (One page), why haven't the scores suddenly shot up? I understand change doesn't happen in just 3 years but there should be SOME growth if it was the WHAT was taught, not the HOW.  All I see are states cashing in, educational companies like Pearson cashing in, politicians cashing in, schools buying more technology to keep up; but when it comes to student failure that's  Teachers and Students are losing out. Also, as I said before... HOW the standards contribute to Ed reform and how they are utilized has been another big problem.  A Teacher who teaches in the worst district still faces the resource gap, and what are we doing to fix that? There is not a silver bullet fix to American Education, there needs to be a comprehensive overhaul.  The inconsistency we have now is apparent in not WHAT we teach, but how we teach it and some districts don't even have the technology so all their students can take PARCC. I am not sure how that all adds up to "fixing" anything, sounds like in effort to fix one thing we opened up a box of  ooopppsssss now we have other problems..........   What do you think attribute to the achievement gap? Is it WHAT is taught? Is it lack of resources?  If you ask me, its how we teach and how we test. In many private and affluent public schools kids learn for the sake of learning, and by way they are engaged and interested. They automatically become critical thinkers because it was as if they had the "key" or "seed" placed and as time progresses, it happened naturally. All too often we look for the silver bullet instead of looking at teaching and learning in an authentic manner. If you do what is right, the knowledge will come ANYWAY.  Utilizing real world application and performance based assessments.  We have to stop differentiating all year long in instruction, only to administer an exam that decides who my kids are and what type of teacher I am that is administered to everyone. When will we start personalizing education in assessments the same we do in our lessons? It is rather ass backwards to me.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/23/colorado-teacher-i-refuse-to-administer-the-parcc-common-core-test-to-my-students/