The Education Question In Pennsylvania

Last week I saw two completely separate items in my email arrive in my inbox almost at the same time. While unrelated, they played off of one another in a rather interesting way. The first email was one of many from WalletHub about their most recent national ranking. The subject this time was “The Best and Worst States for Teachers” which immediately had me wondering, based on much of the biased media coverage I have been reading for months, how low Pennsylvania would rank on this list.

To my surprise, they ranked Pennsylvania at #2 based on a variety of variables such as salary, employment opportunity, quality of schools, ratios, and spending per student. The facts supported what I have been saying all along that education in the Commonwealth is not in the sorry state that the Democratic Party would have you believe. This leads me to the other email that arrived just moments later.

The debate the previous night between Governor Corbett and Tom Wolf (in sheep’s clothing) was full of the faulty statistics that have been bandied about in many of the attack ads by the desperate challenger. No one can argue that the education system in the commonwealth needs to be fixed but funding is something that is not lacking and more money is not the solution to those problems. Four things are slowly crippling the education system especially in areas still considered to be economically depressed: unrealistic educational expectations, wasteful spending, an unsustainable pension system, and the financial black hole known as common core.

Also playing a supporting role in the current situation is the evaporating federal funding so heavily relied upon by the previous administration. Even if you only focus on the stimulus numbers, Wolf’s claims don’t hold up. Even the local media has picked up on this fact as was reported on philly.com, “If the federal stimulus money is not counted, it is true: Corbett has increased the state's annual funding for basic education - to $5.5 billion in 2013-14…”

As was reported in another article, “how you count pensions, charter reimbursement and federal stimulus money makes a big difference.” What it comes down to is that you can’t believe the BS that is floating through the radio of teachers complaining about no toilet paper in the schools and blaming the Governor for it. The money is there, more money than ever before, but little is left once the nearly billion and a half pension system takes a chunk, administrative and school inefficiencies chip away a few more dollars, common core requirements suck the marrow out of the funding, and dollars are wasted on thinking all students are the same and all students need to go into higher education.

Unfortunately, the billion dollar illusion still seems to work in the public and in the media despite the curtain having been pulled back and the mirrors broken. People and school districts these days pretty much have the same mentality in that they don’t want to take responsibility for their own shortcomings. So, instead of staying on course and slowly increasing spending at a reasonable rate while trying to make the changes necessary for educational growth and success in the commonwealth, we face the very real possibility of higher income, sales, and real estate taxes under a new administration that will piss away the money that we are forced to give them (regardless of your income). Of course, you can prevent that from happening come November.   

‘Unbiased’ Coverage Of The Safe Carry Protection Act

This past week there was a huge decision made in Georgia that didn’t ripple across the national news… it swept across all media channels like a tsunami. When the southern state came to the realization that more common sense needed to be injected into the national firearms debate, there wasn’t a single silent voice on the subject. However, there was a clear difference in how the new law was reported in a variety of ‘unbiased’ media sources. While it may not be as clear to some, it is rather obvious when you take a second look at the language that is used.

Time Magazine can be balanced on a rare occasion and this was definitely not one of those instances as the first word in the article colored the remaining prose. Here is the title and tag line for the story:

Georgia Passes Sweeping Expansion of Gun Carry Laws

Radical new gun legislation signed into law on Wednesday allows licensed owners to carry guns in more public locations than ever before, as places like churches can opt in to permit the weapons and bars can opt out if they want them banned

The Washington Post offered a little more balance to what is written as they accurate described the expansion of the rights afforded to law abiding citizens:

Law expands rights on carrying guns

Gov. Nathan Deal (R) signed a broad expansion of gun-carry rights into law Wednesday, allowing legal gun owners to take weapons into bars, churches and government buildings under certain conditions.

The measure, which will take effect July 1, also permits hunters to use silencers and authorizes schools to allow staff members to carry weapons on campus.

What you don’t see in this second example is the photo that was selected and prominently displayed at the top of the page before a single word is read. The caption to the photo of a grieving family standing over a casket reads, “Judith Skinner, mother of Indianapolis police officer Kim Carmack, and Dustin Carmack, son of Kim Carmack, take one last look at the casket after the burial services at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Carmack was slain by her ex-husband and fellow officer who then killed himself.” The story itself was a great piece of reporting but during the process that took place between the writing of the article by and the posting of the story was skewed by someone who clearly disagrees with the new law.

The law (House Bill 60 or the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014), supported by politicians from both sides of the isle in the Georgia legislature (including President Jimmy Carter’s grandson) “specifies where Georgia residents can carry weapons. Included are provisions that allow residents who have concealed carry permits to take guns into some bars, churches, school zones, government buildings and certain parts of airports.” Essentially, those with carry permits (having no criminal background and are familiar with and accept the responsibility of carrying a firearm) will have greater freedom to carry in a variety of previously restricted places.

Is it a perfect bill? No, there are a few flaws in my view namely with the inability of law enforcement to question those carrying. However, if you are driving a car down the road a police officer needs just cause to pull you over and ask you for your license so, in that regard, I understand and accept this aspect. Honestly, I would rather lean on the side of individual rights and freedoms rather than control and fear mongering that seem to be so prevalent in the vocal views of the minority.

What do you expect from a group of people who have their priorities confused? While they teach children to fear firearms they teach them to respect and even revere an overbearing government. It should be the exact opposite… teach the next generation to respect firearms, treat them responsibility, and revere life. Fear those who strip you of your rights and freedom. Maybe if this fundamental formula was embraced by all we wouldn’t be having this debate and objects wouldn’t be feared because of the actions of criminals, law abiding people wouldn’t be punished for the monstrous acts of the insane. Maybe people should be our focus and the next generation should be our passion.

I Think I Agreed With Obama And I Feel Sick!

Yes, I said it. I agree with the President. It occurred a month ago and it felt a little odd, like I was getting sick or passing a stone. I wasn’t sure at the time what to make of the feeling but then I realized that the nauseated feeling churning in the pot of my stomach was caused by me agreeing with one simple statement uttered by Obama at the national prayer breakfast in Washington, DC. During that event he uttered the words "around the world, freedom of religion is under threat."

Obviously, I wasn’t motivated at the time to blog about this strange feeling but certain actions by the Department of Justice have motivated me to finally sit down and write about this one moment when the hell was buried by a blizzard. Actually, it was something I read this week, a local news story that has gone international that served as the catalyst for this post. As was reported at United Press International (UPI), the DOJ is doing wonders for the public school budget in Philadelphia:

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint in U.S. District Court alleging that the School District of Philadelphia’s grooming policy is discriminatory.

The federal lawsuit claims that the policy discriminates against employees who don’t trim their beards because of religious reasons. District rules currently prevent school police and security officers from having beards that are more than a quarter of an inch long.

According to the suit, school police officer Siddiq Abu-Bakr’s Islamic faith requires him to allow his beard to grow. He had allowed his beard to grow uncut for 27 years while working for the district before being informed that he had to trim it via a written reprimand. Abu-Bakr was told continuing to violate the policy would result in “further disciplinary action.”

Abu-Bakr filed a religious discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the matter was referred to the DOJ.

“No employee should be forced to violate his religious beliefs in order to earn a living,” Spencer Lewis Jr., the director of the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, said in a statement. “Modifying a dress or grooming code is a reasonable accommodation that enables employees to keep working without posing an undue hardship on the employer.”

While the beard policy is a bit questionable (remember this does apply to religious Jews and Muslims alike) should it really be part of the DOJ’s purview to sue the Philadelphia public schools. Seems more like a waste of time and money, tax payer money. But, in light of my recent revelation, I am moved to support this fight for religious freedom and the expression thereof. While we may not understand many religions it doesn’t mean we should limit them, right? It is a right protected by the first amendment and we know that, as someone who taught constitutional law, the President would do anything to fight for the rights affirmed in the constitution.

Certainly, the DOJ will continue to fight for the religious freedom that we all enjoy and have the full support of this current administration. They would never force someone to do something against their religious beliefs. They would fight for us to make sure those rights are not infringed.

Wait, what’s that? What did you just scream at the screen? Hobby what?  

Oh, that’s right. The DOJ, with the full support of this administration, selectively fights for the religious freedom of the people. Those they don’t agree with they tend to get very angry and judgmental and fight to quash there overly conservative, outdated ideals because if it is not something they believe then it can’t be true and must be suppressed. If that weren’t bad enough, throw in Obamacare and we really have a constitutional CF on our hands. As Ed Whelan write in The National Review:

The pertinent legal question under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause is whether the massive fines that an employer faces for providing an employee health plan that does not comply with the HHS mandate substantially burden the employer’s exercise of religion. As Hobby Lobby spells out (pp. 34-44 of its brief), the answer to that question is clearly “yes” under the Court’s precedents. Indeed, “‘a fine imposed for adherence to religious beliefs is as direct and obvious a burden as one could imagine.” (Brief at 36-37.)… But a victory for Hobby Lobby will not change the fact that the decision whether or not to use embryo-killing drugs or devices will remain entirely with the employees. What it will mean is that employers will not be dragooned to be complicit in conduct that violates their religious consciences.  

Oh, wait, that’s right, Obama doesn’t really care about our rights or the constitution. I am starting to feel much better now. It might have just been gas but I think the origination of the stench was from an external source. All it took was a reminder of how much the President enjoys lying to us all, liberal and conservative alike, as a means to further his own agenda. This is the reason why he picks and choses which amendments to support and which ones he tries to rip from the parchment. And the ones he does ‘support’ only apply to those with whom he agrees.

This is, at the very least, a disturbing stance which has been adopted by both the President and the Department of Justice. We must be vocal in our opposition to such hypocrisy and pay particularly close attention to those who promote ‘ideals’ that are supported by selective adherence to the Constitution! That is our responsibility to ourselves and to our country.

One If By Hand, Two If By PC

(L-R) Guest Speaker Dr. Beverly Moskowitz and President Elect Sean M. Teaford

Most people don’t give much thought to the legibility of their own handwriting. Poor penmanship is something that we tend to only notice when we have to read a note, a form, or, all too often for some, a prescription. But on a day to day basis we really don’t think about this.

As I have said before, one of the wonderful aspects of Rotary is meeting people and hearing speakers who introduce concepts and ideas that we wouldn’t normally give significant consideration in our everyday lives. The importance of handwriting and the legibility thereof is something that Dr. Beverly Moskowitz has dedicated her life to for the majority of her 37 years of experience as a pediatric Occupational Therapist. In 2011, she authored the largest research study ever conducted with the primary focus placed on handwriting with her program proven to be 99.9% effective in the classroom.

During our meeting she shared with us the evidence generated from that study of why handwriting instruction still matters and how learning institutions can embed effective, efficient, measurable and fun manuscript instruction into the school day. The results, to say the least, are staggering and the need for further instruction in this simple fine motor skill is one that not only provides the basic benefit of clear written communication but it has a much longer lasting impact on the functionality and effectiveness of the written word which students carry with them throughout their lives. The ability to formulate concise thoughts and articulate them efficiently and effectively is rooted in the fundamentals of putting the tip of the pen or pencil on the paper.

This breakthrough is a result of Dr. Moskowitz’s extensive real world experience as a school therapist where she has serviced more than fifteen school districts and over 60 different schools. Her broad exposure to a variety of teaching methods, administrative styles, and treatment interventions has confirmed her resolve to insure function, participation and inclusion for all students without wasting time. The result of this lifetime of experience in conjunction with her creative background has been a body of intellectual property and products that reflect current educational policy, practices and problems alongside the latest evidence and curricular demands.

In 2010, after spending years in the field as well as authoring numerous publications (including Practical Strategies for Increasing the Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Impact of your School-Based Occupational Therapy Practice) and lecturing across the country through the Bureau of Education and Research, Dr. Moskowitz launched Real OT Solutions, Inc. The company’s mission, as both a service and product-oriented business is to provide consumers (therapists, teachers, parents and kids) with Effective, Efficient, Affordable and Fun solutions. Guided by evidence and literature on best practices regarding optimum function, independence and accessibility, they create tools to make kids successful, documentation fast, teachers cooperative, and parents satisfied.

I personally have little background in the field of education beyond my participation as a student and a few stints as a teaching assistant. However, I have spent the majority of my life putting pen to page which has made me who I am today. I know for a fact that the inability to accomplish this simple task is something that has a detrimental effect on the creative, processing, and overall mental abilities of an individual.

This is, in large part, why the annual survey results of incoming college freshmen outlined in the Beloit College Mindset List because in 2010 it was revealed that the majority, and a large one at that, of incoming students didn’t know how to write in cursive. My immediate thought is that if you can’t write cursive how do you expect to read, or more accurately put decipher, something written in the hand of someone else? It just goes to show that history is not the only thing that is lost on much of the younger generations. How long before they forget the name Paul Revere (we have already forgotten Israel Bissell)? After all, kids can’t even read anything written in his hand anyway.  

In the end this is not just a generational disconnect but also a modern social division as well. On a screen everyone seems equal but when you put pens in people’s hands there is an erosion of both confidence and the ability to communicate as well as clear evidence of the degradation that exists in the school systems. Confidence in writing breeds confidence in thought and communication. Effective communication is the great equalizer so if you want to achieve true equality in the schools you much make sure that all students can communicate.  

Traveling With A Purpose

Saturday was, once again, a travel day but one with a completely different purpose from previous weekends. While my employment situation has not changed, my wife was offered a full time job and now we are in search for a new place to live (once our current lease expires). So, with that in mind we headed west to explore different towns and areas for us to consider. While there are no pictures this time around as we continue to explore in greater depth I am certain that I will be posting photos of our findings.

As we got into the car and began driving we discussed the things that are most important to us in this search. After about 30 minutes, we came to the conclusion that as we head into this exploration we need to keep the following ten criteria in mind: 

1. Distance – While I have no problem with driving more than an hour to work, my wife has specified that she would like to be within an hour of her new job.
2. Traffic – We both expect traffic no matter where we live but we would like to minimize the congestion we experience on a daily basis.
3. Space – We would like to live in a place where our neighbors are not on top of us.
4. Nature – Ideally I would like to be in the mountains but that doesn’t seem to be a logistical reality. I am also happy in the woods so it would be nice if we could be surrounded by dense trees.
5. Main Street – We don’t have to be in a down town area but we would like to be close to a nice little town (think Stars Hollow).
6. Easy Access – In addition to the town aspect, we would like to be close to various stores for groceries and other such essentials.
7. Price – Cost of living is hugely important. We want to be somewhere that allows us to live comfortably rather than a place where we struggle simply to cover the bare essentials.
8. Long Term – We want to find a place that is not just right for us now but somewhere that will suit us long term. Not necessarily the same exact place but the same town/area.  
9. Schools – Again, a long term item as we look forward to the day when we are able to start a family and we want them to have a decent education
10. Family – While we want to have our own space away from family we also want to be able to easily visit whenever we want to. This, of course, is why we moved back to Pennsylvania in the first place.

This simple list eliminates a lot of places including, generally speaking, the entire Main Line where we currently live and where we both grew up. This list is the reason for our explorations westward this past weekend. There are a lot of places to see and it will take numerous trips to accumulate even a handful of options. Rotary Clubs and Masonic Lodges are everywhere so I am not concerned about finding a club or lodge where ever we end up.

This past trip had a wide variety of places, some good and some that we will never return to again. While I-176 didn’t offer much (Birdsboro, Morgantown, and Reading), Route 100 had some potential (Pughtown and Coventry). We will have to explore further on these roads in future trips and stop in each one of the potential towns rather than simply driving by as we did on Saturday. That is when we will really be able to determine if some of these places should continue to be considered.

When we arrived back at our apartment building the sun was beginning to set and it reminded me that no matter where we end up, some things will never change. We will always have each other, we will continue to explore as much as possible, and, as long as we take the time to do so, we will always be able to enjoy a sunset (hopefully without the train lines).