pic by Joanna Van Eych

My son had to memorize and present to a poem on prejudice in school this semester.  He choose the verse below.  I present the poem here to remind us all that during hard economic times not all individuals are effected equally.  Decisions that one thinks is fair may in reality be devastating to someone or a group of individuals.   When opposing a specific decisions be willing to offer an alternative solution.  Public Policy is creating change that is effecting just about every fabric of ones life in some manner.  Accountability is even more critical during this time as well as transparency. 

We The People 

As the trees sway,

What games does the world play?

Wasn’t all mankind created equal?

Why are some not treated equal? 

Handicapped; good or bad.

Deviance; everyone has had.

Disability; sometimes treated.

Stigma; the world doesn’t need it. 

Black or white, fast or slow.

Prejudice, let it go.

Blind or deaf, their not dead.

What’s this crap; off with their heads.

 No matter what, all have functions.

Think a minute within this commotion.

By knowing what pleasure’s not.

It’s easy to know what pleasure ought. 

October 7, 1979

by empyreau

1. Has the financial market got you stressed out?
2. Has your older neighbor been dupe into a mortgage they never wanted?
3. Has your definition of conservative investing still resulted in funds being invested in high risk?

Facts:

• The mortgage industry created no income verification loans and the manipulation and fraud took off.
• The financial institutions created financial products promoting liquidity and cash equivalents.
• The federal and state government stood by and watched.

Fraud on the consumer is just wrong and should be dealt with sharply by the courts.  If the deal was fraudulent, the loan should be terminated and the investor should lose.

Individuals and organizations have the right to be angry and express to their government representative how they feel and have been effected.  So propose legislation that makes Greed a penalty too high to risk.

cartoon by simon wilches

I always get told to turn off the light by my dad. So I do what he asks. To save electricity turn off the light when your out or going to bed so we don’t have a blackout. I don’t want to have a war about electricity. So please try to save electricity or YOU may die from the angry mob.

cartoon by YoSpilt

On the surface when one invests for their future it is important to understand what your investing in.  Auction rate securities were suppose to be ultra safe bonds that were sold by financial firms as cash like securities.  Without warning the auction rate market closed.

Who got hurt the most: municipalities, hospitals, universities and many other types of nonprofits.  Cash flow suffered on two levels.

1. First, organizations were locked out of accessing their money.
2. Two, organizations needed to increase their borrowing to cover cash needs at higher rates.

Safe is suppose to mean that ones cash is secure.

If your organization was effected file a compliant with your state Attorney General and the regulators for the financial institution that provided the investment.  Making them honor the terms of the bond as like equivalents takes work. If that does not work it may be time to reach out to an Attorney.

Do not let the delivery of the product be dependent upon outside influences.  Hold the financial institution accountable to their actions to deliver upon what you bought.

cartoon by morgana

Volunteer trips is a shift in volunteerism.  Volunteers want to reap a benefit just as much as helping others.  Giving money is impersonal.  Most people want to have a hands on impact.  As more volunteer trips are completed it has created a preaching group of advocates as to the virtues of volunteer vacations.

The biggest benefit to the volunteer is a cultural exchange.  Linking these cultural exchanges to the public education system provides a means of enriching the students education and providing the support to expand the ability of students.

pic by lisashort staff 333

Check out the Kindle by Amazon as a solution to increase the accessing of knowledge by students.  It is also a resource to create a reduction in the budget of the cost of textbooks for schools, it has an ability to search content, it has an ability for students to write notes in the margin and no back pain for the students from being loaded down with textbooks.  As an electronic instrument set up for individual needs and interests the IT unit of the school can ensure the tools for each student is one step away from them.

Great idea for businesses and foundations to support their local public schools and see an immediate result.

cartoon by moranga

Education requires teamwork from multiple people and institutions.  A good example is a recent fund raiser I was part of for my sons school.  Businesses donated goods and services for the auction, more partnerships were formed board members were responsible to bring 10 people to the party, parents donated their time and money, neighbors and friends attended a party.  Everyone was entertained, fed and made at least one new connection.  The result is money to enrich the education of students.

This is the fifth year the nonprofit group created to support a particular public school has built upon previous connections to improve.  The results show that even in a down economy, the strength of the past connections and building blocks helped to weather an expected decrease in giving.
Every public school should have a 501c 3 organization supporting their efforts because support for education starts locally.

pic via Flickr by erinbellavia27

Do you want to be a grown up man if your a kid then do your homework. If you do your homework you will soon feel that you want to be like your dad or something so get your homework done. Also try to use the computer. I always wanted my own computer.  If you want something and if you have money then save it. BUT don’t use it on something that’s not going to be used for about five seconds. It’s what makes the right choice that you choose that makes you happy.

My papa upon reading this said chewing on ones impulses makes for a better result.    As I get older he said I will be able to better digest the idea. When I saw this cartoon it made me want to be able to eat my books.

cartoon by TFT

The weight of educational standards vs achievements needs to be more on the educational system to produce results than on the backs of the students.

Fordham Institute using the standards of a state to evaluate schools found Massachusetts to be one of the highest standards and Wisconsin to be one of the lowest.  Further, it found that 2,000 high schools out of 28,000 produced half the dropouts.

The need for a national standard is shown to be an important means to create more equality in the US for achieving an education.  Education should not be dependent upon the luck of where you live.  Such a standard would mean a form of segregation.

Vouchers are not the answer for improving the public education system because it improves the private education system and they are not held to the same testing standards required of the public education system.  However, Charter schools are part of the public education system and bring new facilities, private money and a redistribution of each dollar to focus on the education of the student.  The current city/town run public education system has many layers of administration that the cost per student must cover.  Charter schools have a thin layer of administration and bring additional funds into the public education system.  Further, it brings back into the public education system those students that have paid to attend private schools.

Charter schools are about reducing the burden on students to learn, reducing the barriers the student must over come to be able to learn and bringing resources to bear for each student to utilize to achieve their goal of a diploma and college as an option.

Every one  says that school is boring but it’s not. It’s where you learn to do what you think is right. Be a Police man,  A dancer, a Football player or anything you want.  Well all that stuff you can do and anything else but you have to finish school .  If YOU learn about it, your wishes will come true. Don’t listen to your friends.  Telling you school is dumb, stupid and boring means they are not a smart person. It is not about how well you do.  The smart move and cool thing is staying in school.

If you are thinking school is not for you, make your own home school.  But I think you should go to school so you can learn new things.

Heh adults support us kids to learn more.  Consider helping your neighborhood school.

Write me and tell me what you did to help.