« July 2006 | Main | September 2006 »
August 31, 2006
¿Habla Español?
Brown bag lunch anyone? What’s in it? Queso? Fruta? ¿Como se dice sandwich en Español?
Times have changed and so have demographics. Ten years ago about 20% of our population county-wide spoke Spanish. We are now up to over 30% and our most recent projections for kindergarten are that 45% of the parents with children coming into kindergarten speak Spanish.
Pues, necesitamos hacer algo. We need to do something. I speak enough Spanish to get me in trouble-quickly. This summer I took advantage of the Tehama County Spanish Summer Institute to improve my Spanish and to figure out how to set up some programs that will help us be able to communicate with families better.
We’re starting with brown bag lunches. Three of our native Spanish speakers have agreed to help out. The idea is for everyone to be able to say what’s in their lunch before they can eat it. Some folks may starve, or we could be seeing the same lunch over and over for weeks until we learn enough words to get beyond “taco� or “burrito.�
From there the plan is to work on certain word groups-ropa (clothes), la casa (the house), and move to things like classroom words and ways to communicate what goes on in school. We’ll obviously need to do some verbs too and that will be a challenge, but it should be fun. The results are needed.
Many of the children coming to us either know or learn English fairly easily. Some of our parents haven’t learned it or are not comfortable using a language that isn’t their own. When we try to communicate about how kids are doing in school, we aren’t really able to tell the whole story. I’m hoping the effort to come more than part way, to learn as much as we can to speak a common language, should pay off for everyone. The common language of concern for children goes a long way to make communication better.
Posted by Dr Joni at 07:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 15, 2006
Terrorism by Any Name
I’m in London and will attempt to leave tomorrow through Heathrow. Wednesday was the day the terrorists were actually going to blow up planes. I had moved my reservations from Friday to Wednesday before all of this happened. I could easily have been on one of those planes.
It’s a little unnerving to realize you are a possible innocent target of an individual or group of people who want to do you harm including kill you for no reason other than their own ends. I seem to be finding that on two continents lately.
Here, in England, there are people who want to do harm to babies, children, mothers, anyone in order to rattle and force another group to their knees. At home I have an individual who wants to do harm for whatever his personal needs are. There are no bounds to his hurting me and others.
Being targeted by any fanatic is a strange feeling. You can’t control them. They are out of control. You can’t reason. There is no reason. You can’t show facts and make them evaluate their thinking. They have already decided and you are in the way.
I have not had to look at these issues so deeply before, but I now realize on both a large and small scale the depths to which others can go to get their way, taking out physically or emotionally anyone who has opposing viewpoints.
Oh, they’ll argue and tell you it’s because your thinking or actions are wrong or corrupt. You don’t pray to the same God. You don’t belong to the same party or want the same results, but the bottom line is, if they don’t agree with you they’ll use any means to take you out.
Terrorism by any other name-bullying, intimidation, whatever you call it-is still attempting to hold others hostage by any means to get what they want. I’m sorry anyone has to know the results of that.
As I plan to sit at Heathrow tomorrow having my belongings and body searched, I’m just gratefully others took action to take care of this threat. I need to go home and take care of a threat of my own.
Posted by Dr Joni at 12:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2006
Oxford to Paris and Home Through Heathrow
Our last afternoon and evening in Oxford were incredible. Our group spent the afternoon at the Blenheim Palace http://www.blenheimpalace.com/, the home of the Duke of Marlborough. Well, I'm not sure I would call it a home. It has a set of apartments to live in, but it truly is a palace, royalty and all. Twenty-one hundred acres of land and 240,000 pounds was given to the Duke of Marlborough after he defeated the French and Spanish armies in the 1750s. He and his heirs certainly have made the most of the generous reward. Winston Churchill was born and married in the palace and history is everywhere. It was quite a place
After a brief break we went to dinner at Trinity College, Oxford. It was like eating dinner at Hogswort. There were long tables in a huge hall sitting under the scrutiny of ageless portraits on the walls. We celebrated and graduated from the institute, topped off by an original song written and performed by Marie Eaton, just one of the very talented members of this group. I want the words. She commemorated our events very well.
Most of us will leave here with new inspirations and aspirations. This has been truly a wonderful opportunity.
Today's plan is to go to Paris today via the chunnel. Two days in Paris and a few in London seemed like such a good idea when plans were first being made. They still are good plans however a thwarted terrorist attack out of the very airport you'll be using in a few days does have a bit of a sobering effect on you.
I will have more on the events as soon as I have Internet access again, but I can tell you living through history is a bit different than reading about history. Stay tuned.
Posted by Dr Joni at 10:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Ahaa's in Oxford
It’s Thursday at Oxford and I am truly in awe of what we’ve done here. The conference is on Women’s Leadership. Our youngest member is currently finishing her talk and has just summarized what we’ve done this week. She said, “During the week we have dealt with the following:
Monday-Language and lexicon
Tuesday-(help Sydney, I missed what you said about Tuesday)
Wednesday-Assessment and Deconstruction
Thursday-Reconstruction
Friday-Next steps and Moving Forward�
You haven’t been here with the incredible level of intelligence and passion that have come out from the 30 of us who have participated. I don’t believe there are words to be able to provide you a true flavor of what this feels like. All I can tell you is that many of us are going away a “knowing� that we can do things we’ve never been able to do before and there are others who support and want us to do those things.
For me, I will be leaving my position as County Superintendent at the end of this year. I’ve spent almost 40 years in this profession and know that I have given everything I can to make a difference and improve education for children and adults. That won’t change in the future. It will just not be in the capacity I have been in before.
Although I knew I was leaving I had yet to determine exactly where I wanted to be other than working on the Parent Playbooks I have written and shared with you (www.edsuccess.com). This week my vision and plan came together. These women helped me do that.
I met a woman who wants to write a book with me. There’s a series I want to write on my own. I “know� as I leave here there are more things to be done and as I just speaker just said, “I know which way is North.�
Thank you Oxford Round Table friends. I love you all.
Posted by Dr Joni at 03:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 09, 2006
Oxford and Alice
80,000+/- students at Oxford and two other institutes of higher education in town means lots of students. They’re everywhere. In Chico, our home base University, we think we have a lot of students. Let me tell you. Here, they’re everywhere.
The system is so different though. It isn’t like Chico where there’s one university with a variety of different studies in it. Here there are 39 colleges within the Oxford University system. Each colleges is organized around where students live and study. Tutors are provided for one to three students, a paper is required every week, and lectures are optional. Now if you don’t go you won’t get the material to pass the two major required exams, so students go especially when their tutor tells them not to miss something. University is only three years, but not liberal arts at all. They get into their specific course of study and go for it. It’s intense.
Each college has a library, a chapel, classrooms, and places to live. Oh, they also have quads and green areas. St. John’s College probably has the most beautiful gardens where I would love to go sit and read and study that I have ever seen.
So you can tell, after our daily presentations and discussions, we’re getting to see how Oxford works.
Oh, and before I go today I want to tell you about Lewis Carroll. Remember Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Its author was Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson, a mathematician from Oxford). What I found on yesterday’s afternoon tour at the Oxford Museum, was Carroll took his characters from the museum. “Alice� was probably a child of one of his friends who he took to the museum to see the Dodo that’s there, the caterpillar, and the Mad Hatter. This whole trip I have seen the thinking of authors who’s books I have read from Alice to Science Fiction to Sir Walter Scott.
Besides the wonderful presentations and the connections I’ve made, there are so many new realizations and learnings that are coming from this. A woman next to me just expressed it well. “I’m even looking at my religion from a different perspective.� Yes, it’s made us think and question and value. It’s truly fascinating.
Posted by Dr Joni at 01:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 08, 2006
Oxford
I have a unique experience today as I sit at the table with 30+ invitees to Oxford University. It’s a Round Table discussion and presentations on Women’s Leadership. One lone man sits at the table, which is truly not round, it’s shaped in a square-but you get the idea-while the rest of us are obviously women.
Most of the attendees are from universities from all over the United States. There are two of us who are superintendents and one is a commissioner/board of supervisor’s member in our terms. There are three of us from California and someone said to me, “Oh, there’s someone else here from northern California.� I hope they weren’t talking about the wonderful lady from Santa Ana. There’s little perception of how big the state is!
What a cross representation of skills and discipline. I’m amazed and learning so much besides making wonderful connections. The discussions are rich with support and understanding for women and women’s issues without being fanatically feminist.
What I’m finding is a group of individuals who are truly dedicated to their areas of interest yet are willing to share and support others in their area as well as to learn from each other. I’m glad to be here. I’ll learn more and share what I can.
Posted by Dr Joni at 04:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 07, 2006
Edinburgh and the Highlands of Scotland
I mentioned in a previous post that I had been asked to present a paper at Oxford. I’m on my way, but never having been in Europe before, I decided to take a bit of a holiday first. Look at that. I’ve been here a week and I already sound like those around me!
A friend and I have spent the last week in Scotland traveling around the countryside exploring castles, churches, and the fantastic scenery. I think our favorite word has been “Wow.�
Edinburgh Castle to Lock Ness to the northern most point of the UK. It’s been an incredible trip. I’m impressed by a great deal, but one of the most startling is the history. I’ve visited Washington DC and been impressed by the history there, but this history dates back to the 12th Century and earlier. We’ve been visiting castles that are 800 years old. Yesterday we were in one walking on steps that were walked on by Mary Queen of Scots and the day before we visited a favorite spot of the Queen Mother. We’ve learned more about Scottish history than I ever thought I’d know.
I can tell you about William Wallace, James I, the Jacobites and the Hanovers, and Nessy. Unfortunately I didn’t see any of the above including Nessy, but it was fun to look. We’ve passed on the Parliament building and the many distilleries in the area, but we’ve seen at least one castle a day, several churches and yesterday visited Roslyn Chapel for those of you who are DaVinci Code fans. http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/
It’s also interesting to match some of my reading with what I’m seeing. I now understand some of Sir Walter Scott’s poetry, the reason why so many gothic novels were set in the strange and rugged Scottish highlands, and Alice in Wonderland’s gardens and “oft with their head� queen.
I’ve always believed history from a book is somewhat hard to really fathom. A good imagination helps, but sometimes you just can’t get the real thing. I’m feeling very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience history up close and personal.
Posted by Dr Joni at 02:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack