I'm definitely starting to pull back from my engagement in school, school board, my condo, etc. Its a little taste of an approaching ending - setting my affairs in order before the end. If that sounds dramatic, well, becoming immobile, unable to work and barely able to look after myself for months will be a new experience for me. Today my phone rang three times and I did not manage to catch the call (not unusual for me) then on the third try I got this incredibly obnoxious women carrying on about how it was an appointment for a telephone interview requiring 30 minutes of my time, and now it was too late. Since she said it was too late in the day and we are talking about some sort of information not required until next Friday I don't quite see why she felt called upon to start lecturing me about what she thought should have happened. I didn't like her attitude at all so I hung up on her. I may be getting a bit grumpy.
List of items required at hospital: Walker, Crutches, (Cushion) dense foam, Dressing aids (shoe horn, sock puller, pick upper) Slippers, Pjs. All with names on them.
Toothbrush, hair brush
Reading materials
Laptop
Handicapped parking form
For home: Raised toilet seat, Tub transfer bench
Lots of people offering assistance which restores my faith in humanity. I wonder if anyone reads this stuff.
Thursday 24 November 2011
Friday 11 November 2011
Remembering
I never met my great grandmother, but I still feel her sadness at the loss of three of her boys in the trenches of World War1. In 1925 she lost a fourth as well - shot down over Afghanistan of all places. These tragic stories come out every November. They almost seem to find echoes in the weather with the chill wind blowing dead leaves in spirals across the streets.
Everything keeps changing and our little lives are so short and precious. The fresh-faced young cadets will soon become the grey haired seniors with their canes and walkers; if they are that lucky.
After the ceremony I always have some interesting conversations with people I never met before. The civic election is almost upon us, yet it feels somehow inappropriate to use the occasion for political self-promotion. Still, I would not be much of an elected official if I did not make the effort to get out in the community and talk to people. All of the candidates have the same problem - getting known - how are people supposed to know who to vote for if the candidates don't work to hard to contact strangers? We all claim to value democracy, but it does not happen by accident.
During this election I've felt tremendous sympathy for the efforts of the 37 people seeking elected office in Delta. Many elementary schools in Delta teach virtues very directly. Candidates need quite a few: courage, determination, honesty, empathy, diligence, discrimination, optimism, kindness, respect, resilience..... I could go on. I also appreciate the level of civility shown in the debates; although it unfortunately doesn't make for strong media coverage. I hope the voters figure this out and do some research. Won't it be great if the results on November 19th actually do represent the thoughtful choices of a majority of Delta people?
Everything keeps changing and our little lives are so short and precious. The fresh-faced young cadets will soon become the grey haired seniors with their canes and walkers; if they are that lucky.
After the ceremony I always have some interesting conversations with people I never met before. The civic election is almost upon us, yet it feels somehow inappropriate to use the occasion for political self-promotion. Still, I would not be much of an elected official if I did not make the effort to get out in the community and talk to people. All of the candidates have the same problem - getting known - how are people supposed to know who to vote for if the candidates don't work to hard to contact strangers? We all claim to value democracy, but it does not happen by accident.
During this election I've felt tremendous sympathy for the efforts of the 37 people seeking elected office in Delta. Many elementary schools in Delta teach virtues very directly. Candidates need quite a few: courage, determination, honesty, empathy, diligence, discrimination, optimism, kindness, respect, resilience..... I could go on. I also appreciate the level of civility shown in the debates; although it unfortunately doesn't make for strong media coverage. I hope the voters figure this out and do some research. Won't it be great if the results on November 19th actually do represent the thoughtful choices of a majority of Delta people?
Thursday 3 November 2011
School issues are everywhere in the 2011 election campaign in delta
I talk to a wide variety of Delta residents every day - from students to young parents to senior citizens. It has surprised me how often the treatment of kids in schools comes up. The topic may be bullying, homophobia, racial slurs, special needs students or sex offenders. There are more, but they generally come under the heading of student safety. A particularly shocking incident (not in Delta) was when two grade two students held the head of another student in a toilet while a fourth student stood guard to see if anyone was coming. These kinds of incidents are rare in Delta schools, but they DO occur. School staff have to deal with minor incidents almost every day. Fears around bullying cause some parents to choose private schools (at great personal expense) over their local public school.
I was asked if I would support a policy change specifically mentioning homophobia. The Burnaby board of Education recently did this and drew great public discord as a result. I haven't seen the Burnaby policy - in seven newspaper accounts, not one quoted the actual wording - but I get the general idea. "Teach tolerance and acceptance and help students to understand that LGBTQ people are part of our community and are not to be feared." A laudable goal.
Its true that slurs about homosexuality are a frequent and major component in bullying incidents. Its also true that a disproportionate number of teen suicides have self identified as gay. As trustees we need to be very concerned. The purpose of the policy was also to give an overt message of acceptance to those students. But is writing a policy that singles out a certain group of people the most effective way to teach, "....acceptance....not to be feared." What happened in Burnaby suggests the opposite. It brought out crowds of irate parents who, if they didn't fear before, appear to be afraid of something now. The demonstrating parents are not helping the LGBTQ students to feel accepted either. A media circus seldom brings us closer to understanding.
What we are doing is looking at our policies to make them give clearer and stronger guidance to our staff in the formation of procedures dealing with student safety. It must apply to all forms of victimization whether the victim is gay, lesbian, overweight, Aboriginal, black, brown or disabled. Some kids are victimized for no clear reason at all. Its not OK and any student coming to school in a state of fear needs to know we're behind them all the way. We teach our students to respect one another. We will honour the differences between us and teach the kids how wonderful it is that we are not all the same. There are certain behaviours we will not tolerate. We must have systems in place about HOW we will not tolerate certain behaviours. We do handle incidents effectively, most of the time, but in this area there is always room for improvement. As well, the code of silence must be broken and incidents have to be reported promptly. When the adults are involved these kinds of incidents are usually cleared up quite quickly - but not always. Our students reflect the society in which they live. It is up to the parents and teachers to show them, by guidance and example, the best ways to respond.
I was asked if I would support a policy change specifically mentioning homophobia. The Burnaby board of Education recently did this and drew great public discord as a result. I haven't seen the Burnaby policy - in seven newspaper accounts, not one quoted the actual wording - but I get the general idea. "Teach tolerance and acceptance and help students to understand that LGBTQ people are part of our community and are not to be feared." A laudable goal.
Its true that slurs about homosexuality are a frequent and major component in bullying incidents. Its also true that a disproportionate number of teen suicides have self identified as gay. As trustees we need to be very concerned. The purpose of the policy was also to give an overt message of acceptance to those students. But is writing a policy that singles out a certain group of people the most effective way to teach, "....acceptance....not to be feared." What happened in Burnaby suggests the opposite. It brought out crowds of irate parents who, if they didn't fear before, appear to be afraid of something now. The demonstrating parents are not helping the LGBTQ students to feel accepted either. A media circus seldom brings us closer to understanding.
What we are doing is looking at our policies to make them give clearer and stronger guidance to our staff in the formation of procedures dealing with student safety. It must apply to all forms of victimization whether the victim is gay, lesbian, overweight, Aboriginal, black, brown or disabled. Some kids are victimized for no clear reason at all. Its not OK and any student coming to school in a state of fear needs to know we're behind them all the way. We teach our students to respect one another. We will honour the differences between us and teach the kids how wonderful it is that we are not all the same. There are certain behaviours we will not tolerate. We must have systems in place about HOW we will not tolerate certain behaviours. We do handle incidents effectively, most of the time, but in this area there is always room for improvement. As well, the code of silence must be broken and incidents have to be reported promptly. When the adults are involved these kinds of incidents are usually cleared up quite quickly - but not always. Our students reflect the society in which they live. It is up to the parents and teachers to show them, by guidance and example, the best ways to respond.
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Delta Mayoralty Debate - personal reflections
We did learn a bit about the candidates. Lois had the best answers over-all. Heather looked the best and came across as sincere in her desire to serve people. Krista was the most forthcoming as far as giving a clear position and letting us know how she would approach the job. John appeared the most intelligent and relaxed (real) and able to think outside the box to find practical and effective solutions. Lots of applause for Heather and also for some of the more populist statements.
Interesting comments about development where, when and how. Most of it seemed to apply to South Delta and whether the OCP ought to be written in stone. (Should we put up a welcome banner on Highway 17 saying 'Tsawwassen - the Land that Time Forgot'?). There was not much for a North Delta resident - little about Scott Road development or traffic problems here. Densification questions vary greatly from one micro neighbourhood to another. If we must always heed the preferences of the neighbours, how far do you cast your net? Too much about Southlands considering Heather and Lois are still somewhat 'on the fence' (but I don't blame them for that.) Also, it does not appear to residents of the peninsula that popular opinion is what ALL residents think including residents of North Delta, because decisions having bearing on money affect us all. Should have been more heat about the way various community groups have been dealt with (Burns Bog, Recycling, Arts, etc.)
I still want to know how they propose to improve relationships with the school board, but they slid out of that by talking about the liaison committee and the artificial turf for DSS. I'd like to see action, which is more about what happens between the senior staff of both bodies - not much has happened there yet. Many questions were disappointing in that they were narrow focused or unclear. Didn't they have better questions? And we need a moderator who speaks much less. With four candidates there's not much air time and we're not there to listen to him.
Watching live as well as on TV made me think about style. SB candidates will go through this on the 14th. Talking to a camera is very different from talking to a whole auditorium. Lois and Heather did better on TV than was clearly obvious in the theatre.
I thank all four for putting themselves on the line like that. It took courage and commitment and I wish them well.
Interesting comments about development where, when and how. Most of it seemed to apply to South Delta and whether the OCP ought to be written in stone. (Should we put up a welcome banner on Highway 17 saying 'Tsawwassen - the Land that Time Forgot'?). There was not much for a North Delta resident - little about Scott Road development or traffic problems here. Densification questions vary greatly from one micro neighbourhood to another. If we must always heed the preferences of the neighbours, how far do you cast your net? Too much about Southlands considering Heather and Lois are still somewhat 'on the fence' (but I don't blame them for that.) Also, it does not appear to residents of the peninsula that popular opinion is what ALL residents think including residents of North Delta, because decisions having bearing on money affect us all. Should have been more heat about the way various community groups have been dealt with (Burns Bog, Recycling, Arts, etc.)
I still want to know how they propose to improve relationships with the school board, but they slid out of that by talking about the liaison committee and the artificial turf for DSS. I'd like to see action, which is more about what happens between the senior staff of both bodies - not much has happened there yet. Many questions were disappointing in that they were narrow focused or unclear. Didn't they have better questions? And we need a moderator who speaks much less. With four candidates there's not much air time and we're not there to listen to him.
Watching live as well as on TV made me think about style. SB candidates will go through this on the 14th. Talking to a camera is very different from talking to a whole auditorium. Lois and Heather did better on TV than was clearly obvious in the theatre.
I thank all four for putting themselves on the line like that. It took courage and commitment and I wish them well.
Thursday 27 October 2011
Blogging is frustrating, but I do have an idea.....
Here's my message for the week: politics is like driving in that everyone has a blind spot where they absolutely cannot see. If you doubt this, just spend a half an hour listening to any politician. Sometimes a vehicle comes flying out of your blind spot and gives you one heck of a shock. Often your adversaries can see your blind spot(s) very clearly. For this reason it is valuable to do two things:
1) Surround yourself with friends, but make sure there's at least one who will tell you the truth without any embellishment, saving your feelings etc. That's one good reason not to run as an independent. Of course some of you have a spouse who happily plays the role.
2) Make a point of listening to people with whom you disagree. If its painful you have a chance of learning something. Of course the person might simply be a jerk, in which case you're wasting your time. If you're lucky they may be helping you out with that blind spot.
An example: Some bigwigs at the BCPSEA are trying to convince the LRB that teachers' refusal to write reports is costing the system the equivalent of 20% of their salary. They've forgotten what school is like. Consider your own schooldays. Maybe if that teacher in your past had spent less time doing paper work (which may or may not have been a true reflection of your actual development) he or she would have spent MORE time helping you with your..... (fill in the blank yourself) I suggest that is exactly what is happening right now in BC schools.
1) Surround yourself with friends, but make sure there's at least one who will tell you the truth without any embellishment, saving your feelings etc. That's one good reason not to run as an independent. Of course some of you have a spouse who happily plays the role.
2) Make a point of listening to people with whom you disagree. If its painful you have a chance of learning something. Of course the person might simply be a jerk, in which case you're wasting your time. If you're lucky they may be helping you out with that blind spot.
An example: Some bigwigs at the BCPSEA are trying to convince the LRB that teachers' refusal to write reports is costing the system the equivalent of 20% of their salary. They've forgotten what school is like. Consider your own schooldays. Maybe if that teacher in your past had spent less time doing paper work (which may or may not have been a true reflection of your actual development) he or she would have spent MORE time helping you with your..... (fill in the blank yourself) I suggest that is exactly what is happening right now in BC schools.
Monday 24 October 2011
Progress of a retro-techno peasant
Greetings!
This has taken forever to get to my first blog. Like Starbucks Coffee there are just way too many choices.
To the point ~ Why would anyone want to be a School Trustee? Apparently in Delta - 20 people do. I'm looking forward to the candidates' meetings in order to find out their reasons.
Here are mine:
1. I've always wanted a cause - not being female, person of colour, LBGT or physically handicapped - and the fight to overcome ignorance is close to my heart.
2. As a teacher I've often felt like a character in someone else's dream, or nightmare. I want to be one of the dreamers so I can be a character in my own dream. Its a good one.
3. For education in BC to be truly 'public' people must participate actively. Otherwise it would just be 'government controlled' education instead of 'public' education.
4. I don't have the answers, but I ask the right questions. EG: "Who is it for?" and "If educating the masses is expensive, what is the cost of ignorance?"
5. Our system can become a well-oiled machine, but where is it going? This is a question trustees must address, because elected trustees represent the community.
6. As a community, if we do not USE this role we will lose it.
This has taken forever to get to my first blog. Like Starbucks Coffee there are just way too many choices.
To the point ~ Why would anyone want to be a School Trustee? Apparently in Delta - 20 people do. I'm looking forward to the candidates' meetings in order to find out their reasons.
Here are mine:
1. I've always wanted a cause - not being female, person of colour, LBGT or physically handicapped - and the fight to overcome ignorance is close to my heart.
2. As a teacher I've often felt like a character in someone else's dream, or nightmare. I want to be one of the dreamers so I can be a character in my own dream. Its a good one.
3. For education in BC to be truly 'public' people must participate actively. Otherwise it would just be 'government controlled' education instead of 'public' education.
4. I don't have the answers, but I ask the right questions. EG: "Who is it for?" and "If educating the masses is expensive, what is the cost of ignorance?"
5. Our system can become a well-oiled machine, but where is it going? This is a question trustees must address, because elected trustees represent the community.
6. As a community, if we do not USE this role we will lose it.
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