Young Son of Birmingham Radio Host Drowns

Sphere: Related ContentYoung Son Of Birmingham Radio Host Drowns In Swimming Pool Sunday, Jan 20, 2008 - 07:32 PM By Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - The 2-year-old son of a popular Birmingham radio personality has drowned in a residential swimming pool in Shelby County.In a statement, Sheriff Chris Curry says the child, William Bronner Burgess, the youngest son of Rick and Bubba Show co-host Rick Burgess, was pronounced dead last night at Children's Hospital.Shelby County 911 received a report at 7:24 p.m. Saturday of a possible drowning, according to the sheriff. Deputies and North Shelby Fire and Emergency Medical personnel responded to a house on Indian Crest Drive in Indian Springs Village.The sheriff says a preliminary investigation indicates that this is a tragic accident and he extended "deepest sympathy" to the Burgess family.

A Resource that you may not know about...

People are confused about what each candidate believes and what they actually think while not just relying on what others say they think...spin currently in the practice of the day! It happens so muc that it makes one wonder how modern day politicians remember what they have said that they believe so that they can repeat it a second and third time. As a tool use the following link to help you know more about the candidates running for the top leadership position of this country. Why would this be used on this website or blog that is about providing opportunities? If we do not have the right leader how chances for providing opportunities in education for students as a whole and in particular special needs students will be tremendously hampered. Pass this resource along and use it as just one tool in your toolbox that you will use to help you in making the choice of who you will support for the next President. God-o-MeterThe God-o-Meter "scientifically" measures God-talk effectiveness.http://blog.beliefnet.com/godometer/rss.xml

Choose your words and choose how you use them

"Money and success don t change people; they merely amplify what is already there." - Will Smith Zig Zigler states that one needs to feed the mind to be successful. He goes on in his writings and training to state that one needs to feed it with the right type of things so that one will be prepared for opportunities that will present themself everyday. One can not "get" ready for what comes every day. One must be "ready". Below is a blog posted on Idol Chatter http://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/2007/12/hitler-meant-well-will-smith-s.html It addresses something in the news and the talk shows currently. As with other "Thoughts for the Day" this is not about agreeing or disagreeing but about learning about how the use of words and communication is such an uncertain science and must be something that is continuely worked on by everyone. No one is immune from saying something that "could have been said better." As I always have said ,"I love to eat but the one thing I hate to eat is my words.!" Read below and see the linguistical gymnnastics that are being done by people over Will Smith's words. What do you think he meant? How could he have said his thoughts better? Then notice at the end what some of the postings are and how the semantical word games continue... Power Word for today: Pusillanimous (pyoo-suh-LAN-uh-muhs) adj. - cowardly Example: Gary's robbery of the Orphans Fund was a PUSILLANIMOUS act if there ever was one. Here is a quote from Will Smith. The words are well chosen here...but any time and any place either we can say the wrong thing or be misunderstood... Money and success don t change people; they merely amplify what is already there." - Will Smith Log in Category: Celebrities Hitler Meant Well: Will Smith Speaks and We Wish He Didn't Oy vey. Every time actors speak I find myself holding my breath and hoping that what they'll say will resemble one of the moving, well-written speeches that they deliver during the roles they've taken on in their lifetime. As it turns out, those speeches are crafted by experienced people (I believe they're called "writers," or at least they are when they're not striking) who know how to turn a phrase, and directed by other experienced people who are called "directors." Or sometimes, those emotional moments are brokered by a James Lipton or Barbara Walters or Oprah or Ellen, to get actors to discover the wonderful inner workings of their own minds, to entertaining effect for the audience. Often, these celebrities become spokespeople for wonderful philanthropic causes that help people all over the world, and they should be praised for devoting part of a significant fortune and pulpit to good works. But woe, alas and alack, sometimes it might have been better if the celebrity had said nothing at all. For instance, a recent combination of Will Smith+Scotland=a possible boycott of "I Am Legend," when the former fresh prince made the following opinion known. Smith says he doesn't believe, quote, "Hitler didn't wake up going, "let me do the most evil thing I can do today," adding that Hitler was trying to do what he thought was good, though his mind used "a twisted, backward logic." Do I believe that Will Smith is an anti-Semite? No. Will I never look at his movies the same way again, like what happened in the wake of Mel Gibson's trip to Crazytown? No. Will I insist, as the local JDL is, that Hollywood "shun any future projects involving Smith." Clearly not. But do I find it surprising that Smith would invoke Hitler, the most hated, and most acknowledgedly-evil human to have walked the planet (at least in recent memory) through a haze of attempted comprehension? Uh-huh. The report continues that "Smith himself is angry at the way critics have interpreted his words" [I bet he is] "saying there's no way they should be read to imply that he believes Hitler was anything but "a vile, heinous vicious killer." Good. We all agree. Let's move on. And please, celebrities...whether you yell at Matt Lauer for the evils of meds-prescribing psychologists or try to understand Hitlerian logic, even as an intellectual exercise that challenges the concepts of good and evil, I implore you: think before you speak. Comments (22) Now notice the some of the semantical workings on Smith's thoughts and the commentary on them...go to BeliefNet for more postings... http://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/2007/12/hitler-meant-well-will-smith-s.html Below are some of the 22 comments already posted about the above blog:I really feel for Will Smith right now. I often have my beliefs interperted incorrectly also. But thankfully, mine aren't usually distorted in front of the whole world.He never once said he agreed with or condoned Hitler's actions. He only took the time and wisdom to look at the situation a little deeper. It's very very easy to say that Hitler was pure evil and that's just that. I believe there was an unbelievable amount of evil working in Hitler's heart. But I do not believe he was born that way. I don't know what happened, but something happened. Now before you say "We all have bad things happen to us, and we don't go out and commit genocide." But that's a very simplistic view. Many people are molested as children. Some grow up to be child molestors themselves, and some grow up to be childrens advocates. There is no black & white cut & dry answers to things like these. I will probably get blasted for this, but I believe the real spiritual leaders of our world (Jesus, Ghandi, etc.) would find forgiveness for him. You can forgive and try to understand people and horrific situations without condoning reprehensible (sp?) actions or suggesting that their actions should not have consequences.Acid destroys the container it's kept in. Meaning, forgiveness is always the path to emotional and spiritual freedom. Furthermore, the acid inside Hitler will do more damage to him than anything anyone else could inflict upon him.Namaste'. Posted by: Melanie December 27, 2007 10:26 AM I would be very interested in a definition of Good from Will Smith. I have never been that impressed with the intellect of celebrities and this comment reaffirms my belief that intelligence is not a requirement for working in film. Perhaps Will should read a history book, a dictionary might be helpful. Posted by: beth December 27, 2007 10:27 AM I agree. The Comments aren't shocking, and actually are corect. Hitler didn't wake up and decide to be evil, and didn't see himself as evil. Will Smith didn't say Hitler wasn't evil, he just said Hitler was in his own mind, not evil. So choose your words and choose how you use them by working each day to feed your mind... Richard Reynolds M.Div., M.Ed. ,Ed.S. ...give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach him to fish feed him for a life time...

End of the First Semester

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars. Les Brown

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. Benjamin Franklin

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas Alva Edison

Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. William James (1842 - 1910)

A good conscience is a continual Christmas. Benjamin Franklin

Fear does not have any special power unless you empower it by submitting to it. Les Brown, Communication Bulletin for Managers & Supervisors, June 2004

After Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone ...now is the time to plunge ahead into that hard time to keep the student's attention because of the impending coming of Christmas! Because of that excitement of Christmas the following words have been used as vocabulary words:

1. November

2. December

3. Christmas

4. Present

5. Ornament

6. Snow

7. Carol

8. Give

9. Christmas Eve

10. Shepherds

11. Manger

12. Candles

13. Candy Cane

14. Reindeer

15. Sleigh

Please help your child to learn these words. You can have them to be copied. You discuss the meaning of the words. You can also teach your child how to sound them out focusing on the sounds of the letters as well as the division into syllables.

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Report: U.S. youth reading less than previous generation ASCD SmartBrief 11/26/2007 Young Americans spend an average of 10 minutes or less of their daily leisure time on reading, according to a new National Endowment for the Arts report, raising concerns about their academic performance, career prospects and civic engagement. Focusing on testable reading skills in classrooms does little to instill a love of books, according to Dana Gioia, the organization's chairman. Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (11/19) New York Times, The (11/19)

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Wednesday, August 01, 2007 Readers make better workers Cutbacks To The Arts May Be Depriving Us Of The Best, Brightest, Most Committed And Hardest-Working Diane Stafford, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Published: Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Getty Images File PhotoAsk interviewees if they read for pleasure. The question avoids discrimination rules, but reveals much. Do you read for pleasure? There: A free job interview question for employers who say they can't find good help. Or for managers who say too many questions they want to ask applicants are prohibited by anti-discrimination rules. Ask job hunters if they have a library card. Ask what book they're reading now. Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, inspired that idea when he spoke to Kansas City-area business and philanthropy leaders last week in Kansas City, Mo. People who read, Mr. Gioia said, are more likely to be patrons of the arts and other community efforts. They are more likely to volunteer. They are more likely to know things beyond their specialized career field. And they are more likely to have the knowledge and the communication skills needed in most workplaces. At an event organized by the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City and Commerce Bank, Mr. Gioia told a stark truth: "Thirty-two percent of kids drop out of high school in the United States. As business leaders, you inherit that. People come to you for jobs who don't have a basic level of skills." The United States, he said, as is true with other Western nations, is suffering from decades of budget cuts by local school districts, which decimated arts education in the high schools. In some communities, only the children of wealthy parents who can afford private lessons are being exposed to music and other fine arts, he said. That could mean fewer artists, fewer musicians, fewer authors will discover their creative muses. But equally important is that "we are not producing the next generation of audiences and arts patrons." Nor the next generation of good workers. Nor the next generation of good citizens in a democracy. So ask those job applicants if they read. "The key is reading for pleasure," Mr. Gioia said. "A person who reads is more likely to engage in every form of civic behaviour we can measure." Reading exposes people to larger worlds than their own. It sparks imagination. "It allows people to feel what it's like to live someone else's life," Mr. Gioia said. "It creates compassion and understanding that we're all in this together." That's reason enough to aim for a workplace full of readers. There's more. "Reading requires focused, linear attention -- the ability not to be distracted," he said. "Reading teaches information, syntax, vocabulary. ... It nourishes curiosity and rewards intellect." Employer surveys often rank lack of communication skills, written and oral, as the biggest workforce problem. They say their employees can't follow directions, can't write a memo, can't express themselves well. U.S. businesses spend from US$2-billion to US$5-billion a year on remedial training in the three Rs to bring workers up to skill levels they need, Mr. Gioia said. As head of the government agency, Mr. Gioia is pushing to fund arts education "town by town across the country." "Without arts and patrons, we won't have thriving education centres or communities. We won't have urban centres people want to move to," he warned. Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Technology Opportunities....

I like to dream, but I like to make things happen." --Heidi Klum,supermodel and TV producer/host

Production begins for schoolkid laptops By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology WriterWed Nov 7, 10:55 AM ET The One Laptop Per Child Program, which hopes to spread sub-$200 computers to schoolchildren in developing countries, has reached a milestone with the start of mass production. The nonprofit spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said assembly lines for its "XO" laptops were fired up Tuesday at a Chinese factory run by manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc. That means children should begin getting the green-and-white computers this month. One Laptop Per Child did not specify how many computers will be made or how many orders it has received from international buyers. The program's founder, Nicholas Negroponte, said in September that Quanta would build about 250,000 XOs this year, ramping to 1 million a month in 2008. Negroponte originally expected mass production of several million XOs to have begun by now. But he scaled back that goal after encountering reluctance from potential buyers. The computers were dreamed up as $100 laptops but for now cost $188, and buyers are expected to let children keep the computers and tinker with them at home. The initial recipients will be children in Uruguay, Peru and Mongolia. Also, beginning Monday, people in North America will be able to buy one for themselves and donate the other to a child overseas through http://www.laptopgiving.org. Even with mass production beginning later than expected, One Laptop Per Child can claim success on several fronts. The small yet rugged XOs require low power and can be recharged by hand, have a screen that can be read in full sunlight and boast a user interface designed specially for children. And the impending emergence of the XOs awakened other companies to the potential of a low-cost educational market, greatly expanding the choices that international buyers now have. Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Fire-starting boy a "good kid"

Neighbor: Fire-starting boy a 'good kid' By NOAKI SCHWARTZ, Associated Press WriterThu Nov 1, 11:36 PM ET When arson investigators went looking for the person who set a blaze that scorched 60 square miles and destroyed 21 homes, Linda Conner says she knew right where to send them. Minutes after the fire broke out, Conner said, she had raced up a hill toward the source of the flames. At the top, she saw a stunned-looking 10-year-old boy and his parents frantically trying to beat the flames down with towels. "There's no reason to talk to other people," Conner, a horse trainer at the ranch where the fire started, recalled telling arson investigators. "You need to go straight up the road and talk to that boy." The 10-year-old quickly admitted he had been playing with matches. On Thursday, as authorities considered whether to file criminal charges, neighbors gave conflicting accounts of the boy's behavior. Denise Tomey, who runs the Carousel Ranch where the boy lived in a small trailer with his family, described him as a quiet child who often played outside with his brother and the family's small white and tan dog, Spike. "From what I know, he's a good kid," said Tomey, executive director of the ranch, which provides riding lessons to developmentally disabled children. The boy's father tends horses there and the boy attends a nearby school. "He's a child and I certainly believe that he had no malice, and I absolutely believe it was accidental," Tomey said. Some neighbors, though, called the 10-year-old a troublesome child. Linny Martin, who lives across the road, said she often caught him throwing rocks at her horses. When she yelled at him to stop, she said, he would run up the hill to his family's trailer. "He's got a lot of problems," Martin said. The boy's name is being withheld. Legal experts say arson charges against him are unlikely, given that he may have been too young to understand how much damage his match-play could cause. The fire he admitted starting was one of more than 15 that roared across a wide swath of Southern California last week, blackening 809 square miles from north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border and destroying more than 2,000 homes. Causes have ranged from arson to downed power lines to sparks set off by construction work. The Santa Clarita fire, which started Oct. 21, was traced to an area just outside the boy's hilltop trailer home. Neither the home nor the ranch was damaged. The boy attended a nearby school. Tomey said she never saw him bring classmates home or play with any of the children on the ranch. Authorities originally gave his age as 12, but a Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman said Thursday that was an error. Prosecutors said they would review evidence submitted by investigators before deciding whether to bring charges. In the meantime, the boy and his mother have left the ranch, Tomey said. "Obviously I feel terrible for the people who are affected by the fire, and I know the child felt terrible about it," Tomey said. The fire is believed to have started about 50 yards behind the family's trailer, where a vast triangle of blackened brush dips into a shallow canyon before disappearing over a ridge. Wilted cacti and charred, brittle bushes litter the landscape behind the white mobile home, where Tomey said the family lived for less than a year. It is fronted by potted plants, and a vegetable garden around the back is surrounded by a white picket fence. The blaze was reported by an employee who called 911, Tomey said. Some legal experts say serious criminal charges are unlikely. To win an arson conviction, prosecutors would have to prove the boy intended to cause harm, which would be difficult given that they seem to have accepted his explanation that the fire was an accident, said Cyn Yamashiro, who directs Loyola Law School's Center for Juvenile Law and Policy. The prosecutor's office was "not sure whether they'll bring any charges, given that it was an accidental fire," Los Angeles County fire Capt. Michael Brown said Wednesday. In a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he did not think the child meant any harm. The boy could be incarcerated for three years if found guilty of a lesser charge of unlawfully starting a fire. For that count, prosecutors would have to prove only that he understood the risks of his actions, but Yamashiro said winning a conviction on even that charge could be difficult. "They'd have to prove that at 10 years old he really appreciated what the risk of playing with matches would have been," Yamashiro said. "It's difficult to prosecute him under that theory." If the boy is convicted, state law requires that the court seek monetary damages as restitution for the millions of dollars lost by victims and spent on firefighting, Yamashiro said. His parents, however, wouldn't face criminal charges. Carousel Ranch sits on a canyon road that winds between brush-covered hillsides studded sparsely with homes, many of them one-story clapboard houses with abandoned cars and weathered swingsets out front. Some residents still aren't sure how to react to news that a 10-year-old playing with matches devastated the area. "What do you do? It was a kid," said Peter Kaulbach, 49, who lost his home on his family's Santa Clarita pumpkin farm. "It's almost like I don't have time to think about that issue right now." ___ Associated Press writer Jacob Adelman in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Opportunities through Adversity

http://www.claynews.net/

Below is an article from the Clay News

Commentary- Adversity Written by Richard Reynolds- CCHS teacher One Step Forward Adversity has become a buzz word in the Sports world today. Listen to any broadcaster, sports talk show or coach for any length of time and eventually you will hear how the word "adversity." A few years ago when Kevin Winslow was playing for the University of Miami and used the analogy of the football game being like "going to war" he was ridiculed by individuals in the media from every segment of the country from coast to coast. Yet we hear how a team learned about adversity by coming back from being two touchdowns down in the forth quarter. When the Boston Red Sox were down and trailing the Cleveland Indians recently many of the talk shows mentioned that they overcame "adversity" and therefore learned character which gives them an advantage in the World Series. Listen to ESPN, CBS, FOX or local radio talk show host and you will hear this word being used in relationship to something happening during a game. Cries should cry out from shore to shore that this is not adversity. This is a perversion of the word. Adversity is not starting out the season losing or not running for a hundred yards in a game with the San Diego Chargers, but it is waking up and being evacuated from your home because of a wild fire that is out of control. Real adversity is the Tight End recently injured for the Buffalo Bills that is dealing with the possibility of not being able to ever walk again after an injury during a recent game. Adversity is not Kurt Schilling dealing with a bloody sock in a World Series or any other numerous Sports events that are now related to the word even to the point that is becoming synonymous with the word! Adversity is known by the woman and her family that is in the process of fighting breast cancer. Adversity is known by the family that is learning first hand this year what the word "downsize" means because after many years of productive service to a company now a steady paycheck has become a distant memory. Adversity is the mother attempting to raise a family when the father has decided that he really only wanted to donate a chromosome and now does not want to do the rest that goes along with what it takes to go from fathering to being a "dad". Adversity is known by the Parents sitting in Children’s Hospital knowing that no matter how much they would like to help their child overcome their sickness that they are absolutely helpless and all they can do is to stand by watching and praying. As the Baseball season comes to an end with the World Series and Football is beginning to get to the series time of the BCS, high school play offs and the professional teams are beginning to say that every game is critical realize that adversity when correctly used is so much more than a sporting event. During this time of the year is when we turn to think of the holidays and we should think of those who are truly experiencing the harshness of adversity of life every day. Then get your class at school, your civic organization, your church or as an individual to becoming involved during this holiday season in helping making someone’s adversity that they are experiencing being just a little bit less. Help make the day of a widow…become a Big Brother/Big Sister…give a helping hand to someone out of work…being willing to help a class at a local school even though you do not have a child or all your children are grown…in some way or another dedicate yourself to opening your eyes to noticing true cases of adversity and becoming a person that is willing to do something about the adversity that people in our community are experiencing. Even though we have a great community, there are always people that are experiencing adversity. If Auburn or Alabama was down two touchdowns any Saturday, we would want them to overcome adversity and win. We should be that passionate about helping the members of our community this Holiday season and around the year in overcoming the true adversity of life.

Providing New Opportunities Requires New Ways of Thinking

The rules of cycling also apply to life. Take care of yourself. Set goals. Learn from the experts. Share your wisdom. Be prepared." --Karen Bliss Livingston,Olympic cyclist

Published Online: October 26, 2007 Commentary Shift Happens Four crazy ideas that might burst the modern education paradigm. By Mark Weston Evidence suggests that our modern education paradigm, which does a terrific job of educating some students to high levels of learning, may be incapable of educating all students to equally high levels. Moreover, its inability to silence critics, support normal practice, and educate all the students persists despite efforts to the contrary. Have we reached a point where a new insight or fresh perspective might burst the old paradigm? Sound crazy? Consider three such insights from the past that contributed to much broader changes in the world. One insight, Benjamin Franklin’s idea for an American census, revealed that a few thousand British soldiers could not keep millions of colonists in line. It changed the way colonists saw their relationship with Britain and fomented a revolution. Another, Gandhi’s admonition that the peoples of India be “the change you wish to see in the world,” led to an unprecedented, nonviolent shift of power. In a third instance, Einstein’s insights into Newtonian physics demonstrated that space-time is one dimension, not two, which led to a range of new ideas, theories, and questions. In each case, a fresh perspective fueled a paradigm shift. Are there insights whose time may have arrived that would cause us to quit propping up the existing educational paradigm—with more money, more people, more everything—in favor of an alternative? Here are four present-day educational issues, each with a possibly paradigm-bursting twist. Increasing high-school-completion rates has been a goal of nearly every effort to improve education of the past three decades. What would happen if every child who is entitled to attend school, but not currently enrolled—about 30 percent of the school-age population—returned to school? Could the existing facilities accommodate the surge in students? Would instructors have the capacity to meet these students’ educational needs? Could the safety-net programs prevent them from falling through the cracks again? Would “adequate yearly progress” be attainable with so many more students attending school? Could class-size requirements be met? While all students may know that they have the right to attend school, few know that by simply doing so they might change the education system forever. If feedback from all stakeholders drove educational decisions, the nature of the conversation would certainly change, quite possibly for the better. When parents are engaged in their children’s schooling, students do better. Not surprisingly, getting parents engaged has been another widely embraced goal. With most homes and classrooms connected to the Internet, one form of engagement that warrants a deeper look is the use of e-mail. Infrequent—weekly, monthly, quarterly—now characterizes the e-mail exchanges between educators and parents. What would happen if every teacher and parent exchanged one e-mail per day, perhaps about a lesson that day and one for the next? With nearly $7 billion spent annually for educational technology, this is not an outlandish expectation. What would be outlandish is this once-a-day exchange causing havoc to the technological infrastructure of most schools. How confident are we that the system could handle the load? Would teachers have time to manage the e-mails? And if neither teachers nor infrastructure can handle an extra set of e-mails each day, then what makes us think more complex practices would be possible? In short, while engaging parents is the right thing to do, it is not clear that the current education system could withstand the consequences of that actually happening. Most everyone agrees that feedback about performance is an essential ingredient for improving instructional practice, student achievement, and management of limited resources. Not surprisingly, nowadays data-driven decisionmaking is in vogue. What would happen if we brought the feedback loop used in the current paradigm—instructors and administrators evaluating students via formal assessments, portfolios, quizzes, and tests and parents voting on the school board’s makeup—full circle? What if, that is, students provided feedback about the performance of their instructors, instructors about administrators, instructors about parents, and parents about instructors and administrators. Would student learning increase? Would instruction improve? Would parent engagement increase? If feedback from all stakeholders drove educational decisions, the nature of the conversation would certainly change, quite possibly for the better. School buildings throughout America—particularly those in urban areas—are in a state of decay. What would happen if, instead of simply viewing schooling as a place where students go to learn, with buildings to be repaired or replaced, we viewed school as a process through which students gained skills and acquired knowledge? Would giving computing devices to students spark the shift from place to process? Would doing so reduce the need for computer labs and classrooms? Would focusing on process lead to a learning day that produced greater achievement gains than a school day? Crazy ideas? Indeed. The insights of Franklin, Gandhi, and Einstein in their eras were undoubtedly viewed as equally crazy, and look what changes they wrought. So while the insights posited here raise the possibility that getting what we want—higher school-completion rates, engaged parents, data-driven decisions, and school building replacements—could lead to chaos, they also might set the stage for a paradigm shift that results in all children getting the education they deserve. Mark Weston, an education reformer and researcher living in Atlanta, is investigating the shifting educational paradigm in America. He can be reached at mkweston@comcast.net. Vol. 27 from Education Week

We are educating in a changing world with changing values

Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response." --Mildred Barthel, Teen Challenges Silence Law By AP/CARLA K. JOHNSON (Chicago) — A 14-year-old girl and her outspoken atheist father filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging a new Illinois law requiring a brief period of prayer or reflective silence at the start of every school day. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the law unconstitutional, said attorney Gregory Kulis, who represents Dawn Sherman, a freshman at Buffalo Grove High School, and her father Robert Sherman, a radio talk show host. Kulis said the law is an attempt to inject religion into public schools in violation of the First Amendment. The suit also seeks a temporary restraining order to halt schools' obeying the law until the case is decided. A judge will consider that request at a hearing Monday. The lawsuit names Gov. Rod Blagojevich and officials of Township High School District 214 as defendants. School district spokeswoman Venetia Miles said schools will continue to comply with the law. Blagojevich spokesman Abby Ottenhoff said the law was passed over the governor's veto. "We don't believe requiring time for reflection is the role of government," Ottenhoff said. Sherman said he went to court after he asked the school board to ignore the law and was rebuffed. The school district informed him it would carry out the moment of silence during third period, beginning Tuesday, the lawsuit said. "What we object to is Christians passing a law that requires the public school teacher to stop teaching during instructional time, paid for by the taxpayers, so that Christians can pray," Sherman told The Associated Press. An Illinois law called the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act already allowed schools to observe a moment of silence if they wanted. A new measure changed just a single word: "may" observe became "shall" observe. The Illinois law originally passed during the spring legislative session, but Blagojevich vetoed it, saying he had doubts about its constitutionality. Lawmakers overrode the veto this month. It's not Sherman's first church-and-state lawsuit and not the first to involve his children. He has sought removal of religious symbols from city seals and a ban on Boy Scout meetings at public schools. Some school administrators have complained the law is too ill-defined and puts many teachers and some students in an awkward position. The Shermans may have legitimate concerns, but they are suing the wrong party when they target the school district, said Brian McCarthy, an attorney for the district. "The General Assembly — for better, worse, foolish or wise — passed this law and it's not up to school districts to pick and choose which laws they follow," McCarthy said. "He needs to go after the entity that enforces that law." http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1677066,00.html Copyright ? 2007 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Providing Opportunities through getting the word spread far and wide about our progress

Jacket lets parents keep track of kids By KATE SCHUMAN, Associated Press WriterLONDON - Parents may worry less about losing their child - and the kid's expensive coat - with a new piece of winter wear that includes a global positioning tracker. The jackets, released this week by the British clothing company Bladerunner, have a GPS tracking device in the lining. The device can track the jacket anywhere in the world, within 43 square feet. "The jacket is not something that was released due to people losing their kids," said Adrian Davis, a partner at Bladerunner. "It was originally made for mountain climbers, skiers and snowboarders." Davis said the company decided to make a children's version of the jacket aimed at parents concerned about their children's safety. Using Google Earth maps, users can watch the jacket wearer move. The movements are updated every 10 seconds. But they don't need to be online to find out where the person is. Users can also receive alerts to their e-mail or cell phone when the jacket leaves the boundary, meaning parents could potentially receive alerts whenever their children skipped school, left the neighborhood or went to their boyfriend's house - so long as the child was wearing the jacket. Bladerunner, which designed the jacket and commissioned Asset Monitoring Solutions to craft the tracking device, made headlines in the spring when they released slash-resistant clothing for children, aimed at those worried about increasing knife crime in London. The new jacket is also equipped with the slash-resistant lining. The tracking device uses a rechargeable battery that can last for about 18 hours. A children's tracking jacket costs $500, plus $20 a month for the tracking technology. An adult jacket costs $700. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner. © Copyright 2007, The News & Observer Publishing Company A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company

Below is an article that has been written by Suzie Smith for the Alabama Education Association monthly newspaper periodical. I wanted to share the good news about what is going on in our class!

It came off my email .... Richard below is the story. Please let me know if I got anything wrong. Ihave used several pictures that I took with the names of students and also one from the picnic and one with the student in a canoe. Again, Is it ok touse the photos and names of the students? I used photos of Geoffrey, Ashley,Austin, and Jessica. Let me know. Good Luck! Suzie Smith Special education teacher wants more for students Jefferson County Education Association member Richard Reynolds is on a mission, one that he hopes will garner the necessary funds to transform hisclassroom into one that better meets the needs of the special educationstudents at Clay-Chalkville High School.This is Reynolds¹ first year at the school and he has been very busy, along with the paraprofessionals assigned to his classroom, making sure that his students are ³experiencing new horizons.² He began the year by taking the 11 students in his class, who have a wide range of special needs, on fieldtrips to learn aquatic safety at Camp Coleman and canoeing at Oak Mountain State Park.Though Reynolds is proud that he could take his students outside the classroom, he really wants to offer them more opportunities in the classroom to learn life skills. He has great ideas, but no funds to make his classroom suitable to offer life skills training and this is his mission.His classroom now features a couch and rug that he brought from home tooffer his students a cozy place to read. But he wants to rejuvenate his classroom to include a kitchen area with a sink, stove, refrigerator,microwave, dishwasher, and a washer and dryer.He also wants an assistive-technology computer center including softwarethat can pinpoint the specific needs of each student while tailoring each lesson to a particular student¹s learning style.His plans also include a wheelchair compatible work area in the classroom for art projects. ³Even though we have a small number of students, the severity of their disabilities, the wide range of their reading levels, and their different learning styles would be much better served with the assistive-computer technology,² Reynolds said.To reach his goal for his classroom, Reynolds has embarked on a constant and steady plan of pursuing every grant he hears about that might help in his quest to raise $18,000 to make the changes in the classroom.³A student might enter my classroom around age 14 and stay in my room until age 21 before they must leave the school,² said Reynolds. ³During that time they need to learn their phonics, writing, and math, but if these years are to be beneficial they must also be accompanied by life skills such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, and personal finance. That¹s why I am on a quest to secure grants to transform the classroom into a place that offers centers for students to learn life skills in addition to their academic work,² Reynolds said.According to Reynolds, ³These students need to experience a practical application daily through the living skills kitchen center where they can make the needed strides to hopefully become somewhat independent when they leave this school. We will not truly be able to measure effectiveness until after the students have transitioned to life after the school years and see how successful they are in becoming independent and working.²So far this year Reynolds has applied for more than 15 grants from a variety of organizations and other grant funding sources including a proposal that he sent to the producers of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. He anxiously checks his mail every day. If you have a place that you know of that works with the community to fund projects through grants or donations please let me know. Many times a business or corporation where a person works will give special consideration to a grant proposal because of an employee's family involvement. Also many offerings of assistance are never told to the public and are only known by the workers of an establishment. I am willing to write and apply for the needed financial assistance to gain technology, instructional materials and other items but to provide the opportunities that these students need we must be aggressive in seeking out funding sources. With your help we can form a team that allows us to make great strides this school year for this class of students! I believe people run marathons every day of their lives in one way or another, and we need to remember to give ourselves the finishers' medals we deserve." Zoe Koplowitz,author and marathon competitor

Adversity?

Adversity? Adversity has become a buzz word in the Sports world today. Listen to any broadcaster, sports talk show or coach for any length of time and eventually you will hear how the word , “:adversity.” A few years ago when Kevin Winslow was playing for the University of Miami and used the analogy of the football game being like “going to war” he was ridiculed by individuals in the media from every segment of the country from coast to coast. Yet we hear how a team learned about adversity by coming back from being two touchdowns down in the forth quarter. When the Boston Red Sox were down and trailing the Cleveland Indians recently many of the talk shows mentioned that they overcame “adversity” and therefore learned character which gives them an advantage in the World Series. Listen to ESPN, CBS, FOX or local radio talk show host and you will hear this word being used in relationship to something happening during a game. Cries should cry out from shore to shore that this is not adversity! This is a perversion of the word! Adversity LT is finding out is not starting out the season loosing or not running for a hundred yards in a game with the San Diego Chargers but is waking up and being evacuated from your home because of a Wild Fire that is out of control! Real adversity is the Tight End recently injured for the Buffalo B ills that is dealing with the possibility of not being able to ever walk again after an injury during a recent game. Adversity is not Kurt Schilling dealing with a bloody sock in a World Series or any other numerous Sports events that are now related to the word even to the point that is becoming synonymous with the word! Adversity is known by the woman and her family that is in the process of fighting breast cancer. Adversity is known by the family that is learning first hand this year what the word “downsize” means because after many years of productive service to a company now a steady paycheck has become a distant memory. Adversity is the mother attempting to raise a family when the father has decided that he really only wanted to donate a chromosome and now does not want to do the rest that goes along with what it takes to go from fathering to being a “dad”. Adversity is known by the Parents sitting in Children’s Hospital knowing that no matter how much they would like to help their child overcome their sickness that they are absolutely helpless and all they can do is to stand by watching and praying! As the Baseball season comes to an end with the World Series and Football is beginning to get to the series time of the BCS, High School Play Offs and the Pro Teams are beginning to say that every game is critical realize that adversity when correctly used is so much more than a Sporting Event. During this time of the year is when we turn to think of the Holidays and we should think of those that are truly experiencing the harshness of adversity of life every day. Then get your class at school, your civic organization, your church or as an individual to becoming involved during this Holiday Season in helping making someone’s adversity that they are experiencing being just a little bit less. Help make the day of a widow…become a Big Brother/Big Sister…give a helping hand to someone out of work…being willing to help a class at a local school even though you do not have a child or all your children are grown…in some way or another dedicate yourself to opening your eyes to noticing true cases of adversity and becoming a person that is willing to do something about the adversity that people in our community are experiencing. Even though we have a great community there are always people that are experiencing adversity. If Auburn or Alabama was down two touchdowns any Saturday we would want them to overcome adversity and win! We should be that passionate about helping the members of our community this Holiday season and around the year in overcoming the true adversity of life!

Have you heard of Carew International ? http://www.carew.com/ Bringing you only the best resources to take a new step forward and provide opportunities...

The Difference The other day, I ran across this quote: “The difference between genius and stupidity, is that genius has its limits……” I loved the quote, as all of us have experienced limitless acts of stupidity. In fact, I can remember a time or two where I have stretched the boundaries “where no man has gone before” to quote Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame, and the results were not pretty. How does stupidity apply to sales? Certainly Jack%&#, the movie(s) and television series, has proven there are few limits to a willingness to go the extra mile in the name of stupidity, but in sales, we all have that governor that creates boundaries. Unfortunately, many of us as individuals or our companies as organizations, have touched the edge of the abyss of stupidity and plunged headfirst into it. Inside our Corporate Lore, there are shining examples of poor decision making that could have been avoided but are spoken about in hushed tones. So how do these things, that everyone knows in the sanest moments should never occur, OCCUR? There are a few answers: company policies and culture, emotion and loss of focus on the big picture, and lastly, the inability to separate emotion from logic. Bear witness to a recent example that just came across my radar (names, measures and product have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty): a customer calls to report a problem with a shipment; it seems the order was for about 100 tons and 1000 tons showed up. The customer, while liking the idea of extra inventory, really does not have room for an extra 900 tons. Respectfully, he calls the customer service representative who is not authorized to accept returns, and who quickly reports to the customer the computer and says to the customer, “You ordered 1000 tons, so it must be a mistake on your end.” The customer respectfully says, “Well there must be some kind of mistake, because our Purchase Order clearly says 100 tons not 1000, so if you could just correct the system and pick up the extra 900 tons, we will all be very happy.” The Customer Service Representative replies, &l! dquo;We would be happy to pick up the 900 tons for a 10% restocking fee and the freight cost to return to the factory.” The customer figures restocking and freight might actually be as much as the original order and asks to transfer to a Sales Representative, and the story goes on, on and on. Three days, 10 phone calls, and sales management involvement later, the problem is finally resolved by losing entire order and the customer. At this point you might be saying, “How can these things happen? No one in his or her right mind would ever do something like this!” Well friends, it happens every day. These little “snafu’s” are there, and the major cause is best captured by Will Rodgers: “The thing about common sense is that it is Not Common.” An organization’s decisions, rules, and approvals are generally put in place to control costs, NOT potential customer issues, and the bottom line is sometimes, you have to just put a governor on rules that provide limitless stupidity. One of the ways to prevent such disasters is to have an understanding with the leadership that if the decision is obvious, you have the approval in advance to make the call in favor of the customer. In today’s world of 10 to 15 sales professionals with one sales manager, it is a no-win situation for anybody (customer, sales professional, leader and company). Many times, we get caught in the moment with no escape route; we are being challenged by the customer, and everybody has high emotion. Having an escape route helps make the situation controllable and helps maintain the composure of all parties. An effective tool is in the next meeting with your sales manager. Role play a difficult situation and see how he or she responds as you make decisions that may not be following the exact corporate policy. This will help each person to understand the emergency ground rules and give you a sense as to how each should react during and after the crisis and will help set boundaries on stupidity. Discussing difficult situations in advance and role playing them out to conclusion provides confidence to step in and save the account where necessary. More importantly, during one of these inevitable crises, your customers will see your real genius and value what ! timely and relevant decision-making accomplishes. Customer relationships are fortified in these situations and both the customer and your manager both know you have the customer’s and company’s best interests at the front of your decision-making.

WWE Wrestler Benoit...Steroids or something else you decide...

Read about the WWE Wrestler Benoit and what do you think happened? June 26th, 2007 Do you think it was steroids? Read about Chris Benoit Authorities await autopsies in deaths of wrestler Chris Benoit, wife, 7-year-old son td.yspwidearticlebody By DEBBIE NEWBY, Associated Press WriterJune 26, 2007FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Pro wrestler Chris Benoit canceled a pay-per-view appearance at the “Vengeance” event in Houston because of “personal reasons” a day before he, his wife and their 7-year-old son were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Details of the deaths “are going to prove a little bizarre” when released to the public, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Fayette County Coroner C.J. Mowell did not return calls seeking comment. The answering service for his funeral home said he was out of town.Authorities also declined to say whether drugs or steroids were found inside the house. “We’re not releasing any information as far as what was located inside the house,” sheriff’s Sgt. Keith Whiteside said Tuesday. Asked about the condition of the interior of the house, Whiteside said investigators found “nothing really out of the ordinary.” He said Benoit was found in the home’s weight room, his wife in an office and the son in an upstairs bedroom. Whiteside said toxicology tests could take up to a week or longer to complete. World Wrestling Entertainment said on its Web site that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received “several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning.” The WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., said it had been asked by authorities not to release further information on the deaths. Benoit was born in Montreal. He was a former world heavyweight champion, Intercontinental champion and held several tag-team titles over his career. He was known by several names including “The Canadian Crippler.” “WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy,” the company said in a statement on its Web site. Benoit had maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling. The Fayette County Tax Assessors Office lists the value of the house, situated on more than 8.5 acres, at nearly $900,000. The WWE canceled its live “Monday Night RAW” card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast. Benoit’s wife managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name “Woman,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing story line on World Championship Wrestling, the newspaper said. Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship. Benoit became a standout at an early age among wrestling prospects who trained in the dungeon basement of the house where fellow Canadians and professional wrestlers Owen and Bret Hart trained. Owen Hart was killed during a wrestling event in 1999. “He was like a family member to me, and everyone in my family is taking it real hard,” said Bret Hart, a five-time champion with the now-defunct World Wrestling Federation. Updated on Tuesday, Jun 26, 2007 11:37 am EDT This is something our teenagers and children follow. WWE and the characters that play on their USA Channel shows present a life or violence and steroids. Do you think this was a result of steroids also?