One Room School House

Octagonal "One Room" School House
Cowgills Corner Delaware-1836

So as some of you know I have been working hard the past year on my MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) at Wesley College. As the summer comes to an end and we enter the fall season, I will be starting the student teaching portion of the program.  Many people have asked me, "Are you nervous?" The obvious reply is of course, I think everyone gets at least a little nervous before embarking on a new adventure in their grand journey in life. However, my excitement to learn trumps the nerves very quickly.  You see, I believe that we set up our own barriers in life, thanks to the help and education of my late father-in-law, Rod Bullock (and this stems from Larry Wilson's book, Play to Win), once we realize that barrier doesn't really exist, we can move forward and achieve what we thought was impossible.  I had been putting off enrolling in the MAT program for a few years, then one morning on my drive to work it hit me, what was I doing? Sure, I could continue to work as an assistant manager at the bookstore, but I knew I could make a stronger impact as an educator and the only thing keeping me from pursuing that career was me.  I wanted to take a moment and share with those who know what I have been working towards and those who didn't my thoughts as I take these final steps towards my certification to be an educator.

Octagonal School House
National Registry of Historic Places 1971

During the course of the MAT program, I have had the opportunity to really reflect on my own education over the years and consider what I learned from those experiences and really help me determine what I want to carry with me.  One of the things I realized is that I was very fortunate and had several teachers who allowed me to explore not only the subject they were teaching me, but also the world around me. This began with my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Jill Mears, her teaching had a profound impact on how I felt about school.  It is pretty ironic, because if you ask my mother what my first reaction to school was (and this would be after my first day, with Ms. Mears), she will tell you I came home and said, "I am never going back there, they don't know what they are talking about".  My mom convinced me to give it another try by telling me that if I didn't go that the authorities would come and take her away.  Needless to say this worked, and I was thankful (to still have my mother by my side and school).  The things that stick out in my mind that I learned that year were: I got to finger-paint with chocolate pudding (you can paint with more than a brush or painter's knife), learned shapes by creating animals (she had us take a bar of  Dove soap and wrap it in netting to resemble a fish and adorned it with sequins- ovals), she had us read to an alien (stuffed, of course) before we read to our principal, Mrs. Scott (this gave us confidence and taught us not to fear authority, our principal was someone who should be respected), we had guest musicians (I recall my friend, Meagan Reilly's dad coming in and playing the French horn), we had a mini in-class greenhouse where we watched plants grow and be nurtured daily, we went on two field trips (one to see trees be tapped to make maple syrup and one to Bombay Hook to discover nature first hand, I remember scooping tadpoles) and we re-enacted Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  And these were just the big highlights, I also remember loving to play kitchen/house, read the Mr./Mrs. books aka Mrs. Silly, Mrs. Chatterbox, etc. and of course, recess. Mind you all of this was back when there was only 1/2-day kindergarten, and yes, we did all of those things above and more!  Ms. Mears taught me then that learning was fun and creative, and school was a place I wanted to be.

I have had several other teachers along the way who helped me explore my world and made learning something that was not to fear.  So I must take a minute and thank a few of those now: Ms. Roth/Messer, Ms. Chadwick, Ms. Parks, Mr. Filichiccia, Ms. Meek, Ms. Surles, the late Mr. Everett, the late Ms. Carter, Mr. Shalk, Mr. Prillaman, Ms. Bonner and Mr. Shotzberger, as well as, so many of my college professors, particularly Dr. Mask, Professor Cisar, Dr. Laganella, Dr. Cooper and Dr. Clack (these particular professors helped push me further in their particular field to places I did not know I was capable of going). And I must not forget to mention the late principal, Mr. Dickerson, who made it a point to not only know every student's name but know every student.

 Now I must take a moment and talk about the one thing I realized I definitely want to try to encourage not only with my future students, but also my fellow educators.  When I reflected back on my education, I realized that along the way I had a few teachers, that were more than just teachers (this happened in college with almost every professor I had, but in high school was where I realized it had a larger impact).  Ms. Bonner and Mr. Shotzberger were teachers that became mentors, they guided you in your learning by showing they cared about you, which helped further build confidence in yourself.  Ms. Bonner taught me the power of writing, the two things I think of when I think of her journalism class: "the pen is mightier than the sword" and write "all the news that's fit to print".  She also helped me learn the importance of word choice and growing your vocabulary.  Mr. Shotzberger aka Shotz taught me so many things, but ultimately that there is more than one way to approach and solve a problem, but the key is to have a plan. And once complete it is important to evaluate the end result and ask yourself is there anything you could have done differently or that would work better?  How did he do this?  First of all, we started with thumbnail sketches, next we executed the project, then we did a self-evaluation, and then we allowed our peers to evaluate our work. These two teachers took the time to get to know you as a student, subtly they asked you what your goals were, where did you want to go in life and they began guiding you in those directions.  Both of these teachers knew I wanted to go to college, both knew I was capable, but both knew that financially this was not something I was going to do straight out of high school. (And I must mention something I think is vitally important here, neither of these teachers had this as a "college talk", the key word is this all occurred through subtle conversations).  They knew that I had a pen pal in Australia, they encouraged me to have an open-mind and explore the world, that school was always something that would be there waiting for me.  And guess what? They were right. Unlike most of my peers, I did not take the traditional route to college, I got a job in retail, saved my money and traveled. I went to Australia, and then, Australia again, with a side trip to London. Then I put myself through cosmetology school, worked in that industry for 7 years. While working in that industry, guess what, I started college.  I was a non-traditional college student, I started by taking a summer class, and in 5 years completed my undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies.   Proving my teachers were right, college would always be there, and I was capable!  This is what I want my future students to know, that there are endless opportunities, that you are capable (as long as you are willing to put in the effort and hard work) and that there is always something new to learn. 

The world is an amazing place to explore and discover yourself! I only hope that I can help my future students know that I can learn as much from them as they can from me. And I also want them to know the importance of thanking those who helped you get to where you are, so thank you to everyone!!!

Summer “Schooling”

So every year as the school year comes to an end, many of us find ourselves counting down until summer break, but have you ever caught yourself complaining?  Now there are several things we might find ourselves complaining about, for instance, “Why is it that as soon as summer break hits my kids have no problem waking up at the crack of dawn?” Or, how about your teacher friend saying, “I really am thankful the school year is over, but I need routine!” As a teacher as I started my first day of summer break, I decided that it was going to start with routine. And that this routine was going to maximize my son waking at the “crack of dawn.” So I was bound and determined to start of my summer break doing something that I longed to do, something that I needed to do, and something my son would benefit from, and that was starting our day with a walk in nature.

Now you might ask why?  Why was walking in nature so important?  Well for starters I wouldn’t be writing this right now, my walk from this morning brought fresh ideas to my head and I needed to pen them down.  So here I am sharing what I think is so vital to educators, teachers, and parents.   Some may think this is just for parents, but those are not the only ones that are affected by this.  You see on my walk this morning, I quickly realized as a teacher and a mother that summer is not a break for us to stop learning.  Believe it or not, my six-year-old son shared with me his thoughts about the book, The Giving Tree.  We were near the end of our walk at the time this conversation started, but he said to me, “Mom, that story isn’t real, that tree it doesn’t exist does it?” And I responded, “Well, it is a story, so it is fake, it is to help teach us a lesson about nature and life”. He said, “Yes, but mom it isn’t real, it didn’t happen”.  I explained to him, that it is fiction, and he said, “But fiction is real, and it’s not.” And I replied, “Fiction is fake, non-fiction is real”.  And it was at that moment that I realized just how amazing this walk had been not only for me, but also for him.  Here I am a 10^th grade English Language Arts teacher, who teaches the differences between fiction and non-fiction all year long.  And yet, here my six-year-old son is having this philosophical conversation about these differences with Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree.  Now, some of you might be thinking, but you are an English teacher of course you will talk to your child like this.  And I must say that as a teacher and parent, we long to be able to talk to our kids this way, but the reality is that the opportunity has to arise.  How can such an opportunity arise if nothing is there to engage it?  And hence, this is why we must rethink and redefine our summer break to summer “schooling”.  We must not let our children have a break from learning.

You see it came to me during this walk, that we must break the stigma that we have tied to “summer school”.  By creating this stigma that “summer school” is a bad thing, we have also taught them that summer is a “break” from learning.  Now some of you are saying, but they need the break and they still get socialized learning.  And I would agree with you; however, children must also see summer as “schooling”.  What I mean by this is that there is just as much for children to learn in the summer as there is throughout the traditional school year.  I decided months ago that my son was not getting the summer off from school.  And I have taken some heat from others about it.  What do I say in my defense, “That he needs to continue to practice what he has learned, so that he doesn’t revert at all”.  However, I realized this morning, that it is not simply maintaining the skills he has learned, but also continuing his education.

Truthfully, this discovery did not just occur out of the blue on this first morning walk of the summer with my son.  I had actually been thinking about this for some time, I knew I needed to map out a routine for summer.  I remembered how helpful nature walks were in the past, they allowed me time to clear my head, sort my thoughts, and the most beneficial part to them was how much inspiration they gave me.  Ah-ha! Yes, you see the reason I am writing this now, is because it was all inspired by my walk this morning.  As several teachers gathered together on the last day to celebrate another year in the books, some of us talked about going on hikes a few times a week.  And I thought to myself, why wait to do it just a few times, this needs to be a daily routine.  And I know some of you are already thinking, but it is so hot in the summer and I hate being hot.  Okay, but remember you must be the example to your student and that means even as a parent, your child is also your student!

The walk we took this morning was 2 miles or two loops. Throughout the walk I explained to my son that we would walk the two loops and afterwards he could play in the playground at the park.  I kept reminding him that in order to “Play hard” we must “work hard”.  So if we were able to make our two laps then he could play in the playground.  Now, here is the teacher as parent part, when you promise your child something, be sure to remind him of the limits.  So, as we finished the last loop, I said, “Okay, now we can go to the playground, but before we enter, remember that you only have 15 minutes, so when we enter the playground I will check the time and count down from there”.  So as my son played and played, I kept checking in with him reminding him you have ten minutes, 7 minutes, 3 minutes.  And some of you may ask, why is she sharing this, well it is always important to establish rules and keep to them.  It is also critical to check in with children and give them reminders. You might be really surprised to discover you will have less meltdown.

So I hope you enjoy your summer and all the discoveries you will encounter along the way!

Censorship: 1. censorial control exercised repressively. 2 : the office, power, or term of a Roman censor.
Okay, so I haven't written a blog in quite awhile, but an article that came across my Facebook feed from a former professor, Susan Redington Bobby caused a guttural reaction that could not be ignored. So here goes...

Dear Tara Shultz,

I am writing to you as an educator and a mother.  First and foremost, you are a 20-year-old college student, who has the right to choose a major and your classes.  I understand that sometimes a major may demand that you take certain courses, but I am also aware that every college has a college board.  If you knew or were concerned that a graphic novel course was going to have material that you found offensive, you might have thought about appealing to the board and asking for a supplemental course.  Instead you made this comment to the Redlands Daily Facts, “I didn’t expect to open the book and see that graphic material within,. I expected Batman and Robin, not pornography".  I strongly encourage you to take a closer look at Batman and Robin, particularly Frank Miller's The Dark Knight. I think you might be surprised that it too portrays violence, examines sexuality and the oppressed, and hints at pornography.  I also would like to know since you say, “I don’t want them taught anymore. I don’t want anyone else to have to read this garbage," what do you recommend be taught in their place?

I ask this, because as an educator when a student comes to me concerned about an assigned reading, they are not excused from the reading. Instead you see, we establish an alternative assignment for the course.  The origin of graphic novels stems back to dime store comic books.  I feel it is important to point this out, as someone who took a graphic novel course as an undergrad, I discovered through research, just how remarkable comic books were to generations of people who had to stop going to school to help out on the family farm.  You see, the "graphic" images helped them to understand the stories being told, and at a dime a piece it was quite the alternative to being illiterate. The Superheroes you may have expected were also created to help readers of the time cope with what was occurring in the world,  evils of war, world war. These comics also helped readers cope with things they could not talk about, they gave them a sense of hope and normalcy.

Is this image from Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis so graphic and horrifying?  She is looking to God to help her understand a revolt in her country. Personally, I found Satrapi's graphic novel gripping, heart-wrenching and humorous.  Something you might not fully understand, but often when people are faced with the most terrifying moments in their lives, they laugh, because it is what helps move them through it.

Maybe you would have preferred to read about Wonder Woman and her lasso of truth? However, I would ask that you delve a little deeper and study her creator, William Moulton Marston. Yes, the inventor of the lie detector test.  A man who not only had a wife, but a mistress, both of which fathered his children. Marston had an interest in women's suffrage, but also centerfolds, which many people overlook until they start to study the origin of the this legendary comic book icon. I mean seriously did you ever think about the fact that whenever a man binds her in chains, she loses all her powers? You see, comic books explain so many things, the suffragette movement and the rise of feminism.

Furthermore, I have to say that you are fortunate that Ryan Barlett was your professor for this course, because I probably would have added the graphic novel by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Saga to the syllabus. And based on popularity I may have even added The Walking Dead and Chew.

Lastly, as a mother, I must point out that you are a 20-year-old, so stop relying on your parents to stand by your side and start standing on your own two feet, you, Tara Shultz, are an adult, not a child.

Sincerely,
An educator, mother and comic book fan girl

The Power of Surrounding Yourself with Learners and Creative Minds

So as many of you know I  recently started a Master of Arts in Education program and so you can only imagine what I am immersing myself in.  But I must say I am always pleasantly surprised at what I had been holding off from for so long. You see, we often are afraid of the things that challenge us, I decided that I wasn't going to let that get in my way anymore. Instead I decided let me face the challenge and go forth, the outcomes are always worth it and when you face the challenge, accept it and jump in you find a power within yourself. 

By immersing myself in this challenge, I have rediscovered what I love about education- the power of learners grasping for knowledge and getting creative.  I am currently taking two courses: Curriculum Building and Learning Theory. I am well aware of the fact that not everyone within in a classroom is ready to learn the knowledge of that class.  So I hope that I can keep motivated, stay connected, and keep renewing my thrive to learn and share it.  So far, I have taken many trips down memory lane, exploring my past schooling, how was I taught, what worked for me, what didn't work, what kept me engaged...it has really made me start thinking that all of us are pretty complex creatures and we all do things a little differently. I know that ultimately the learner must be engaged in the subject and the teacher has to find a way to get the student engaged. So as the student, this is what I am currently doing, engaging the subject and engaging the teacher.

So as I take these classes I also try to keep engaged beyond what I am learning in the classroom. I try to look around at my world, what is going on...I turn to TED talks.  Recently I shared a link on facebook about the Bee Bummer, which I really feel is crucial to our future.  If I was in a classroom I would make sure to share this talk with my students, regardless if I wasn't teaching science, because this problem goes further and transcends many subjects, such as, agricultural, sustainability, food sources, population, etc.  As a teacher you have to find a way to connect this topic to your subject area. Today, my co-worker shared with me a link about phonebloks, this is a invention currently, that has not been picked up, but in an age where technology is constantly being changed every moment, this seems like the way to go for smartphones. I am hoping that by sharing this link about phonebloks on my Instagram and hashtagging #shouldbeatedtalk and #tedtalk that it will actually make it to a TEDtalk and actually make it possible to own. If you have never watched a TED talk I encourage you to get connected and search for one on You Tube...they are pretty amazing and really get you thinking beyond our current political spectrum which seems so bogged down on blaming the opposite sides of the aisle instead of actually working.  What I am saying is don't get discouraged in our future, don't give up, get connected to what is out there working for the greater good of mankind.  Let's get educated, get connected and get our creative minds connected.

I will try to check in with you when I can, for now, I just wanted you to know where I was, what I am working towards...this is a journey..."the obstacle is the path"-Pirsig.

Someone whispers, "She's having a mid-life crisis." I say, "No I am pursuing my dreams, which means accepting the challenges"

So I have been recently reading Willie Nelson's memoir, "Roll me up and smoke me when I die, musings from the road," and it really is helping me keep my perspective on life.  In the introduction, it talks about Nelson's advice on songwriting and he says, "I will never say anything to discourage a songwriter, but if you are a real songwriter, nothing I could say would discourage you, anyhow. If my opinion could change your mind about being a songwriter, then you really weren't a songwriter to begin with and I would have done you a favor by making you look for a different career.  If a real songwriter happened to hear that I didn't like his work, he would say, 'What the hell does Willie Nelson know? Fuck Willie Nelson" (ix, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Willie Nelson). So as some of you know, I recently took my Praxis I test, which I fretted about and studied for and yes, to my surprise passed.  All of my cheerleaders knew I would pass it, but I doubted myself, as I always do, mostly I think because we all have a fear of failure.  I knew that if I failed it I could take the test again, but if I had it would have caused doubt within myself.  So passing it of course has just further encouraged me and the path that lies ahead...Needless to say, I am determined.

So Monday, August 26th, I begin working towards my Masters in Education.  I will take this on, while being a wife, a mother, working my full-time job, as well as, starting yet another endeavor.  One of the presents that I received on my birthday was discovering that I had been accepted into a Grad Assistantship position with the English department at Wesley College.  I am super excited about this position, as it means I get to work with professors that I admire and have been mentors to me since my undergrad work. 

I must say it now, loud and clear, I could not do any of this, without the support system of my family.  First I must thank my husband, Kyle who has supported me in every dream that I ever wanted to pursue and is my biggest cheerleader.  Secondly a huge shout out to my mother, who helps take care of my son, Finn during the week, so that I can go to work.  She is an amazing human being and the strongest woman I know, I love you, mom!!! Third (and like Third Man Records, always groovin' along with us), my in-laws, Anita and Rod, for being our sounding board when we need someone to listen or reaffirm our thoughts, for helping with Finn, and for seriously just making music with us or rockin' out to music.  Rachel and Jeremy, for meeting up for cousin play dates at impromptu times and supporting our dreams.  Next let me thank the rest of our extended families both sides, too many of you to mention, you know who you are, whether its sending us happy hump day notes on Facebook, random text messages of encouragement, liking our photos, posts or blogs, we welcome all of your love. Ah, and then there are our friends, again too many to mention, you know who you are,...you may not know how you help us, for some its knowing that you are thinking of us (keeping us in your thoughts and knowing you love us is a good feeling).  Friends seriously cover so much, but I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you. Special shout out to my friend, Emma who lives on the other side of the world, because oceans and continents have never separated her support for me (and her family's support for me)!  So thank you all!

I just celebrated a birthday this past week, and I must say, that every year just gets better and better.  I am pursuing these dreams, in the words of Joseph Campbell, "following my bliss," even if that means slaying some dragons along the way!  How I love the feeling of defeating those dragons, in the words of Robert Pirsig, "the obstacle is the path." 

Finn playing the Ukulele

My husband and my son gave me my first ukulele for my birthday this year.  Some of you may think this is an odd present, but for those who know my love of music you will understand that it is very special.  I haven't had an opportunity yet, to write a blog post about the ukulele's appearances on stage at Firefly. Some of you may have seen my pic of Amanda Palmer, who is infamous for playing the ukulele, but after our amazing moment in the tent with Amanda Palmer and Sabrina the volunteer who played Gotye....Kyle and I grabbed our beer from the brewery and headed to the main stage to catch LP. As we made our way, the sky opened up and we were caught in the downpour, we didn't care we went with it. LP thought these Firefly fans were awesome for standing and toughing it out...but the treat we got was seeing yet, another ukulele player.  So you see, this ukulele present is something that is magical, because Kyle has always listened to me, that weekend I talked about how the men were the headliners, but the women were the ones who really rocked Firefly this year (and how awesome was the ukulele). So this year, as I take on this new adventure, when I feel overwhelmed or stressed, guess what I am going to be working on, oh yeah, strumming on my ukulele (and maybe teaching Finn his first musical instrument, because he thinks my present is his, but it's okay).

So if you don't see as many blog posts don't fret...I am still here, I am still creatively embracing life and pursuing dreams.  And you may get more recipes from me during this time, as I have many started in drafts, just haven't gotten them posted. You may also just get posts of photos, because I take tons of them, but bare with me as I follow my bliss and slay some dragons. And in the words of Joe Dirt, "Life's a garden, dig it!"

Be patient, let him ponder Picasso

 People are always coming up with "new" parenting tips, advice and methods on raising children.  The most recent one, that my sister-in-law, Rachel recently shared with me, and a personal favorite is the CTFD method, Calm the Fuck Down.  Basically whenever you feel overwhelmed, feel on the verge of exploding or melting down,  feel your child isn't learning as fast as your friend's child, just remember CTFD.  With that said, I wanted to share with you some thoughts that go hand in hand with the CTFD method, because we have all been there...your child is exploring the world and decides to _______________ and you are about to overreact, when you remember to CTFD...and then I want you to think about how to change the situation.

First of all, I want you to YouTube, Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk entitled, "How Schools Kill Creativity".  I first watched this video as I was finishing up my undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies.  Back then, I decided that it was of such importance to the education world, that I sent it to all of my professors that I felt had allowed me to explore outside the molded system and allowed me to use creativity in my approach to assignments.  What happened? Most of them emailed it or showed other friends of theirs within the education world.  I think that this video is important for everyone to watch, because Robinson raises some important points.  The first is educating our children for the future, when we seriously cannot predict five years down the road, let alone twenty years down the road. Let me not spoil the entire thing, just take the time and watch it, then read some of my CTFD reactionary moments.

"Frank sent this" reactionary moments after you CTFD:

Coloring on the wall of the Book Nook

1- When your child decides to draw outside the box, off the coloring book and onto the walls, CTFD.  The walls can be painted and scrubbed.  If its wallpaper, even better, I still have a childhood drawing I did on my wall as a child of the sun that I did with a bright orange, permanent market (it could not be painted over), but it was on painted wallpaper...so eventually the wallpaper was stripped. My plan now, to frame it as a reminder to not hinder creativity, let it shine like the sun and warm my soul.

2- When your child decides to pick up a stick and fling dirt with it, and then put his dirty fingers in his mouth, CTFD.  Hands can be washed, and keep this lovely quote from author, Bill Bryson in mind when you want to stress about bacteria, "There is no point trying to hide from your bacteria, for they are on you and around you always, in numbers you can't conceive of. If you are in good health and averagely diligent about your hygiene, you will have a herd of about one trillion bacteria grazing on your fleshy plains - about one hundred thousand of them on every square centimetre of skin. And those are just the bacteria that inhabit your skin... Every human body consists of about ten quadrillion cells, but it is host to about a hundred quadrillion bacterial cells. They are, in short, a big part of us. From the bacteria's point of view, of course, we are a rather small part of them… This is their planet, and we are only on it because they allow us to be”. We need bacteria to survive. Lay off the hand sanitizer, we do not need another member of the OCD club. Do not be afraid of science.



Poppa says something about Churchill
and "carrying a big stick"

Dirty Hands with Dad

3-  When your child is admiring their uncle, grandfather or father working on a car or motorcycle, do not be afraid of letting them get a little greasy, CTFD.  Allow your child to understand how the world has changed over the years...the interchangeable part and the industrialized revolution...ah, history!  Let them really work on their motor skills.  Allow them to see that turning a wrench and a screwdriver is okay...these are life skills regardless of whatever profession or career path they choose later in life.  We all have had to pay for someone to fix something, that we felt was too much, because they knew what screw to turn.

a little light motorc

4-  When your child chooses a "book" from the magazine bin of your bookshelf, instead of from his "children" books, CTFD.  If he shows interest in something, let him "read" and study about it.  Engineers and Architects draw out their visions for things all the time.  If we study what works and look at what could be designed differently, who knows what we could come up with.  Remember to remind them of pulleys, and how wheels work...LEGOS are great for this!!!

I wandered lonely as a cloud...
when all at once I saw a crowd
a host of golden daffodils-Wadsworth

5- When they pull or whack at the flowers at the park with a stick, CTFD.  Think back to when you were a child and how large the world looked to you.  Remember that two weeks prior when you were at the park, these flowers weren't there. This is a time to explain how fragile and beautiful life is...when you come home bring out their baby book, remind them of how little they were (I know, it hasn't been that long, but even from the first few weeks to 8 months is a huge difference...remember how delicate their head was...how they couldn't lift it).  This is also a good time to start reminding them of the colors in the world, and introduce them to famous artists, like O'Keefe, Matisse, and Picasso (there are several great children's books out there...When Pigasso met Mootisse by Nina Laden).

Righty tighty, Lefty Loosey

 

6- When they want to help dad put together their new table and chair set, CTFD.  Don't squander their excitement for new things.  Remember if they help put something together they will learn what it means to have pride in something.  When our son, Finn, helped his dad put these table and chairs together he loved showing them off to whoever came to visit.  He also loved rearranging all the chairs.  Now he has learned to quietly move these chairs and use them as stools to reach the things he couldn't before, again CTFD...he is just exploring the world at new heights!



Helping Mom in the Garden

7- When your child decides to rip all the flowers off, not just the dead ones, or decides to pick the tomatoes when they are green instead of ripe red, CTFD.  Remember they are trying to understand what you are showing them. They are mimicking your behavior, they just don't fully understand it all, just yet. They will in time, just keep explaining it to them. On a side note, my marigolds have never had so many blooms, so maybe pulling the newbies off sometimes helps.








Washing Dad's Car

8- When your child decides to take the hose and wet the car down in their pajamas, CTFD.  Use this as an opportunity to show them how to care for and maintain your car, as well as, everything else.  Explain its just like bath time...its good to get dirty, but we also need to clean-up. Don't stop with the car, when you are cleaning windows hand them some paper towels. Also keep in mind the teenage years will eventually come...be thankful they want to help now!

Finn's Custom Bikes

9-  When you come home from work, and your husband has created a funhouse out of large boxes (that motorcycle tires came in), CTFD.  Make this playhouse into everything imaginable...currently for us, it is Finn's Custom Bikes (a garage like daddy's).  During the day this is a great way to play motorcycle garage, house, or whatever they want it to be...at night, however, we like to take all the couch pillows and position towards the television and watch cartoons. Who needs new toys? When you have cardboard boxes...think of the savings. You can also teach them about graffiti artist like Bansky, and graffiti the sides with cool drawings.

Finn @ Funland, Rehoboth Beach, DE

10- When they decide they are not going to take a nap in a strange place, CTFD.  Instead go ahead with your afternoon plans, take them to Funland (Rehoboth Beach, DE) and let their eyes be amazed by all the lights and shiny rides. Let their ears take in the sounds of the waves crashing outside, the bells ringing on all the little kids rides, and all the other sounds of a mini amusement park, as the smell of Thrashers' French Fries collides with the wave of coconut scented lotions and ocean air circles around you.  Soon the thousand yard stare will transcend upon their eyes and you know it will be time to go home (they will be fast asleep in the car).  Remember to teach them we work hard, to play hard.  So turn up the music, dance like no one is watching, and take every moment with your child and make it an educational experience filled with creativity (keep in mind you are their first teacher!)

Sign here "X" please

Last fall I remember being astounded to find out that cursive writing was no longer a part of my local elementary school's curriculum. I simply could not understand why cursive writing would be taken out of school, because to me it is not simply a means of writing. Cursive writing allows each and every one of us to develop our own style. A style that includes our personal signature- something that we use to separate ourselves as a form of identification. So to me it seemed illogical to take cursive writing out of the curriculum of our educational institutions.

Some of my friends and even members of the educational system told me to accept this change, because it was a sign of our times. They implored me to accept the new ways in which children were processing information such as, Text messaging, e-mail, and computers. I simply could not fathom this as an excuse to eliminate cursive writing from the educational process. My head was spinning, my argument to them was the question that popped into my head when I first heard this news, and that was: "If we don't teach our children how to write in cursive, how will they sign their name on important documents, such as, their Social Security card, car loans, bank loans, passport, and even their mortgages?" I was eager for an answer, because the responses I was getting was "They'll pick it up somewhere" or "That is the result of state mandated tests, they are taking up teachers' time so the kids have to pick it up on their own". And my thought was, "Really, really, we are going to leave this educational teaching to ...they will pick it up on their own!?! or blaming it on state tests!?!"

I was not only irritated by these thoughts, but appalled by the lack of understanding for what a loss this is for us as a society. How are we to compare with other nations, when we refuse to teach our children basic concepts? To me, cursive writing was a major part of my education, it was the big important step alongside multiplication tables prior to entering middle school. I mean when you look back at your childhood there are important stages and concepts one remembers learning: tying your shoes,someone reading you a story, how to read on your own, spelling your name, making your first friend, adding numbers, riding your bike without training wheels, calling someone on the phone. Cursive writing was among these, some students of course, dreaded the process, but others practiced until they reached their goals. And honestly, the same can be said for multiplication tables, some of us, hated every moment of the process, while others embraced the concept of numbers. My point is just because some of us despise learning something, does it make it not important to our well-being as a citizen?

Of course, not. Oftentimes the concepts that were harder for us to grasp are the ones we need most. Therefore, I think we should not just replace our well-established technology for new. Does this mean I think we should toss all new technology out, of course, not, but there needs to be a happy medium.
This point was raised in an article written by Associated Press Writer Tom Breen, entitled "Cursive writing may be fading skill, but so what?". In this article, Breen quotes Paula Sassi, a certified master graphologist, "People still have to write, even if it's just scribbling".

Another point, I would like to make is that texting is becoming its' own language. I personally have friends who are younger and grew up with owning a cellphone in their early teen years and I will admit, trying to decipher their encrypted words can be rather challenging. I also have many friends that are college professors and become very irritated when their students turn in essays in a text-language format. And I deeply understand this frustation because many of the words become intangible for instance, bak = back, but if one is reading this as it is written, one might first think this is a shorter version of bake or black. Another one that I have encountered is dis = this, but from slang definitions, this could appear to mean that one is avoiding another person, or disapproving of that person or thing. The other two that I truly just do not get are: bi = by and wit = with. I do not understand using bi in place of by because, it is not any shorter and bi by definition usually means two of something. Nor do I understand wit in place of with, when in writing, texting or emailing it would be just as easy to use w/, to show with. Now with that said, I am not against text-language, but I also admit, I am not totally text-language savvy.

In conclusion I think that we must realize that there need to be foundations, if we want to develop a society, where a majority are sufficiently skilled writers, then we need to teach them how to start with rough drafts and this includes taking notes by hand and transferring them into larger concepts through a word processor.

I originally wrote this piece back in 2009, since then a few more things have occurred to me regarding the need to teach cursive writing.  When I first realized this wasn't being taught anymore, my first response was, but people need their own signature as way of identity.  I still agree with this thought, I mean every time a new president is elected into office one of the first things we do is have a graphologist interpret what their signature says about them. I was recently told that cursive writing is not critical to one's education. I want to argue this point, it is critical, or we need to admit that by removing something from our education, something else will replace it.  Ah! Ha! And just what is going to replace it...have you given much thought to biometric identification? Consider Frank Abagnale on steroids, don't remember who he is, have you seen Catch Me, If You Can?

And this leads me to pose the new things that have occurred to me since I wrote this back in 2009. The first thing that came across my mind when I wanted to argue with the person who told me cursive writing is no longer critical was ,but how are students meant to read and interpret documents?  You see, my undergraduate work was in Liberal Studies, which meant I had three concentrations: English, History and Religion.  So you can well imagine the types of "old" documents I came across in my studies. And yeah, sure they are often translated in a form of standard English that one can read, but then I am relying on the person(s) that translated those documents.  And for me, if we just use the Bible as an example of how relying on someone's translation can lead us to interpreting things in one way is problematic.  I chose the Bible because there have been so many translations made, making it clear that certain words simply do not translate from one language to another. It also shows that depending on who is commissioning the work/document to be translated can have it translated with certain meanings swayed to their direction of power.  Another point to be made with translating is often words are removed or left out, which also changes the document. When I raised this point to a peer in my education studies, she realized that if her students can't write cursive they may not be able to read it; and therefore, would not be able to read The Declaration of Independence without it being translated. As a teacher, this seems easy enough to tackle, just get a translation of the document and proceed with your lesson. But, yet again, this raised an "ah! ha!" moment for me.

If students are not being taught cursive then are they able to read cursive writing?  The answer, probably not.  So to all of you teachers who are writing responses on your students' assignments , whether high school or college aged, did it ever occur to you why they may not understand you at all?  This raises another point, what type of deprivation is this?  Is this print deprivation or something else and how do we shrink the gap that has occurred with the growth of generations without this knowledge and are consumed by the technical age?

This brings me back to Frank Abagnale on steroids and the dawn of the age of biometric identification. Biometric identification will be the future signature of every individual, whether it is our fingerprint or scanning our eye (optimapping).  I would like to see us revert back and teaching our children to write in cursive, but sadly I think that time has passed.  For me, cursive writing teaches a person to slow down, to pay attention to detail, and to realize the beauty of all languages. Its' dying flame saddens me as it makes me aware that the children of today will not be able to read the letters and diaries of their grandparents, and quite possibly their parents, unless someone is able to translate for them. So yet another chapter closes and we say so long to the discoveries in the boxes in the attic. 

As for me, I plan to continue to teach whoever is willing to learn the art of cursive writing, because as my high school journalism teacher, Ms. Bonner taught me, "the pen is mightier than the sword" -Edward Bulwer-Lytton from his play, Richelieu .