Why I love Baccalaureate

Posted on 23. Jun, 2010 by kchristieh in education, religion

The night before my oldest child graduated from La Canada High School, our family attended the community-wide Baccalaureate ceremony at our local Catholic church, St. Bede the Venerable. The ecumenical ceremony included prayers, music, a featured speaker, and student speakers of different faiths. I’d never attended such a service, but I really appreciated having a chance to:

• Take time out to reflect upon what matters in life;
• Reflect upon how our children can make our world a better place;
• Appreciate the faith journeys of students of different faiths;
• Find our common ground;
• Gather together as a community of Seniors and their families. Graduation is so crowded, and so rushed afterwards. My best conversations with fellow parents, some of whom I’d met when our kids attended preschool together, occurred at Baccalaureate.

When I spoke to the organizer, she said that she’d tried to get student speakers from more faiths, but that some religious communities either didn’t have any teens they thought would speak or chose not to participate. I offered to help identify students that might be inspirational speakers when she organizes next year’s ceremony.

I’m all for separation of church and state, but I think that was adequately satisfied by holding this off-campus and making it completely optional. Also, because it was ecumenical, it wasn’t pushing one faith over another. I didn’t count, but I think about 1/3 of the students from the graduating class attended.

I meant to blog about this earlier, but I’ve been very busy. I finally did, however, because not only did I see a Facebook thread discussing it, but I hosted friends from Pakistan this morning who spoke about how they organize a big event after Ramadan to bring Christians and Muslims together. We’re so fortunate to live in a country where getting along is a blessing, and not critical for survival.

Stressing out at the fork in the road

Posted on 16. Mar, 2010 by kchristieh in education

‘Tis the season when high school seniors across the country run to the mailbox each day hoping that a big, thick envelope from the university of their choice has arrived. Until it arrives, the internet makes it easy to track how others have fared, and stress out about what that means for you or your child.

Traditional college information sites such as Princeton Review, Students Review, etc. are most useful before a student applies or after they’re accepted at a college. When you’re awaiting a response, it’s easy to get addicted to College Confidential, which hosts discussion forums on a variety of different topics and different colleges. If you’re even moderately stressed about the application process, you should proceed with caution. Once you start scanning the forums for the schools you’re applying to, you might get hooked. And chances are, your level of stress will go up, not down.

Here are some sample postings:

From the Stanford forum:

I’m hosed and depressed
I get straight A’s, but somehow my rank is 27…my classes are challenging. I don’t understand how this could happen. My friend has the exact same schedule as me but is ranked 21. I used to be rank 3 or 4. I don’t understand. I haven’t even met anyone ranked higher than me, I don’t know who these people are that are beating me. Are they tanking extra classes? I don’t know.

My chances of going to Stanford are gone now…my rank was the only thing I had going for me. All I have left are essays. Please, someone help me.

From the UCLA forum:

Welcome in my world everyone !
EVERY SINGLE PERSON told me I had good chances to get into UCLA. And yesterday night, I checked and got rejected.. People with waaaay lower scores than me got in and not me !
Even more, it was my first answer, and almost all of my other choices are Ivy Leagues..
What should I think now ?!

From the Yale forum:

I heard that Yale accepts only 1 person per school, no matter the size or reputation, no matter what. Is this true?

A response to the Yale post read:

as everyone has said, this is untrue. the fact that there is usually only one per year at some mediocre schools is probably due to the quality of the student more than to the quality of the school. it has been true in my case, but as i said that is probably due to the quality of the applicant in my school/town, not to any quota system.

Another useful but possibly-stress-inducing site is the Scattergrams section of Naviance. I believe you can only access this through a specific high school account, but many high schools offer this to their students. It plots how students at a given high school have fared when applying to a specific college, with test scores on the x-axis and GPA on the y-axis. A green dot means a student got in, and a red x means they were rejected. Here’s an example. I removed the college name, since this reflects the students at a specific high school.

Of course, don’t forget Facebook. When letters come from a given college, many kids post whether they were accepted or not.

A friend reminded me the other day that “College is not a prize to be won, but a match to be made.” Wise words to remember. I can’t wait until April 1st, I think.

La Canada High School seeks gently-used piano

Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in education, music

Do you have a gently-used upright piano gathering dust? Give it new life and get a tax-deduction by donating it to the La Canada High School instrumental music program. Funds are tight, so please consider doing your part to keep the music coming.

If you’re interested in donating your piano to this incredible program, please contact Fernando Aenlle-Rocha at or .

Please spread the word to anyone else you know who might have a piano to donate!

Last field trip to Hyperion Treatment Plant

Posted on 06. Jan, 2010 by kchristieh in education, parenting, travel

Yesterday I chaperoned what will probably wind up being my last school field trip ever when I accompanied my daughter’s AP Environmental Science class to the Hyperion Treatment Plant near LAX. Thanks for inviting me, Dr. E!

We got to ride in yellow school buses without seat belts. I had fun sitting next to my friend Sharon S. We sat in front so we wouldn’t make the kids feel awkward. It was strange to be able to see so much in the rear view mirror.  Apparently, other chaperones must choose these seats, too. Of course, all the kids were quite well-behaved.

I knew we were in for some fun when this was the first sign I saw. Once the waste water is processed, the clean water is pumped 5 miles out in the ocean, 90′ below the surface, via a 12′ diameter pipe.

But first, we hung out on Dockweiler State Beach for an hour and a half while the first bus took the tour. Hey, 2006! I found your cellphone!

This plant treats 350 million gallons of wastewater from 3 million Los Angeles residents each day. That’s enough to fill up 3 or 4 Rose Bowls each day.

“Wastewater” refers to what comes from your house, not what goes down the drains in the street. That goes straight to the ocean, which is why it’s particularly important not to litter on the street.

Of course, many of us in La Canada have septic tanks, so our effluent never makes it to such a fancy treatment plant. Instead, it collects under our yards and kills our beautiful oak trees. Or mine, anyway.

Guess what’s in this truck? I hope it’s not dumping it near you.

These guys are the facility watchdogs. I think one of them is in the Witness Protection Program.

If you imagine some of the worst things that could wash down the toilet or the drain, they’ve probably been sifted here. I wouldn’t want to explain some of this to younger kids.

Our tourguide says that they’ve found motorcycle parts, money, bowling balls, and even body parts coming through. Eeek!

It smelled bad enough, so I’d hate to be around when the siren sounds.

Everything was really clean on the outside.

Water is being processed under these grids.

The architecture was impressive. The Hyperion plant was named as one of the most amazing public works projects of the 20th century.

Seagulls enjoyed feasting on the bacteria in the skimmer ponds.

Everything looked so sparkling clean. But when I see this, I still smell it…

Nancy, our tour guide, was fantastic. She was sharp, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. Here, she’s showing how water leaves the ponds.

I didn’t take any pictures after this since we went to an underground area where photography wasn’t permitted. It reminded me of Jack Bauer’s haunts at CTU. Many movies and tv shows have been filmed at Hyperion, including Spiderman.

Nancy says that Hyperion is featured in the tourism book . You might be able to take a tour if you call ahead.

The best part of the day occurred before my daughter went to bed, when she thanked me for going on the trip. Awww!! I’m so grateful that my mere presence there didn’t embarrass her. Too bad this is our last field trip together.  :(

LCHS ranks 80th in U.S.

Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in education, local news, startling statistics

Go Spartans! US News & World Report has ranked La Canada High School as #80 among U.S. public high schools. The rankings are based largely on test performance, especially the AP test. Unlike Newsweek’s rankings, the US News methodology gives weight to how schools performed on statewide assessments.

From what I can tell, the only California schools that aren’t a magnet school or a charter school that are ahead of LCHS are Gunn (Palo Alto, #67), Monte Vista (Cupertino, #70) and Piedmont (#73). San Marino, which was the only public non-magnet, non-charter school to beat La Canada on API scores, wasn’t on the top 100 list.

This is wonderful news. All schools on this list should be proud.

It bears mentioning, however, that Gunn High School has been in the news recently because four of its students have committed suicide in the past year. Is it a coincidence that this is happening at the top school? I don’t think so.

I was surprised to see that my alma mater, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (NJ), is even less diverse than when I attended. I assumed that nearly all U.S. high schools are more diverse these days. When I attended RFH, I think about 4% of my class was Black. These days only 1.4% of the school is, and less than 1% of the school is Asian.

Links:

• America’s Best High Schools: Gold Medal List
• California list
• Ranking methodology

The best Red Ribbon Week posters

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in education, life lessons, parenting

One of my goals this year as PTSA President is to make Red Ribbon Week more meaningful. It’s tough to communicate an anti-drug, anti-drinking message to cynical high school kids, especially when so many of them have already experimented with these substances.

Anne Tryba saved the day. She volunteered to be the Red Ribbon Week Chair about a month before it took place, and not only managed to stage an essay contest that garnered nearly 200 entries, but she created the following four posters. These aren’t of the mere “Just say no” variety. I think they’re very effective at shocking kids to take a second look at the consequences of their decisions.

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The Pasadena Star News should have done its homework before they endorsed La Canada school board candidates

Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in education, local news, politics, things that bug me

Today’s Pasadena Star News endorses the wrong school board candidates for the wrong reasons. They endorse the three incumbents: Scott Tracy, Joel Peterson, and Susan Boyd. While I agree with their assessment that the incumbents have done a good job in difficult financial times, they also support them because of the following:

The incumbents have fought drug and alcohol use at the high school, developed a new concentration on average teens as well as AP students and have kept class sizes low.

Did the Star-News actually get statistics that support this assertion? Because my impression, and that of the kids and local youth leaders I know, is that they’re wrong on all three counts.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the La Canada schools. I’m happy (and grateful) to send my kids to them, and I’ve put lots of energy and resources into them over the years. But they’re not perfect. And these three points are definitely weak ones. I’ve never heard of as many kids getting busted on and off campus for drug possession as I have this year, and some of the stories I’m hearing about local parties this year would give even the most liberal parent an ulcer. I don’t see much extra effort put into “average” teens, and am not even sure what this effort is supposed to be. This year’s class sizes appear to be either the same or bigger than in past years at the high school level.

The next time the Star-News makes an endorsement, they should do their homework and get the facts from the source instead of taking a candidate’s campaign claims at face value. For democracy to work, we need accurate information.

And yes, for the record, I’m the campaign manager they refer to. I strongly support Neal Millard, and believe that he’ll not only be a good steward of the district’s financial resources, but he’ll tap into his experience with charter and private schools to bring the best ideas from those worlds to our schools. I worked with Neal on the educational foundation board, and found him to be sharp, reliable, creative and diplomatic. Those qualities will allow him to work with teachers, parents and administrators to improve academics, explore new funding avenues, and improve existing programs. You can read more at www.nealmillard.com.

I like all three incumbents: they’re good, hard-working people. I applaud anyone who’s willing to do this tough job, especially these days. I think there’s room for improvement in our schools, however, and believe that Neal Millard brings our best chance for taking our schools to a higher level.

Women are the solution, not the problem

Posted on 26. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in economy, education, feminism, health, inspirational people, international, startling statistics

Tonight I met one of my heroes: NY Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof. I heard him address an alumni group about his work and his new book, Half the Sky. Other than my family and our president, there’s probably no one I’ve blogged about more. I have immense respect for how eloquently he tells the stories of people who are unfairly treated, and for how deeply he cares about what happens to them.

Here’s a quiz based on what I learned this evening:

1. Which do you think there are more of in the world: males or females?
2. If the 19th century was defined by slavery, and the 20th by totalitarianism, what is likely to define the 21st century?
3. True or false: As many American women died in childbirth during World War I as men died on the battlefield.
4. A female sex slave in Cambodia can be purchased for several hundred dollars. Approximately how much in today’s dollars would a 19th century American slave be worth?
5. Which of the following concerns Kristof the least when he visits an African warlord: car accident, banditry, or dying at the hand of the warlord?
6. In some developing countries, families spend 2% of their income on education. What do they often spend 20% on?

Answers:

1. Males. Even though statistically there should be more females, so many females are aborted and such a low priority is placed on the health of women that in many parts of the world, boys outnumber girls by an outsize margin.
2. Gender inequity. It’s a huge problem in much of the world, and holds many societies back. Also, see question 1.
3. True. American maternal mortality improved when women got the right to vote, and politicians thought the electorate demanded adequate medical care.
4. $40,000. As poorly as American slaves were treated, their masters had more of a financial interest in keeping them healthy and productive. A female sex slave is worth so little that if she causes problems, she’s expendable. In some instances, her fellow slaves are made to beat her to death if she’s a troublemaker.
5. Dying at the hand of the warlord. Caveat: that holds true when he’s in the territory of the warlord. The warlord doesn’t want to be known for being responsible for killing an American journalist. I agree about the car accidents; one of my fellow writers from The Stanford Daily recently died in a car accident in Africa.  :(
6. Tobacco, alcohol, prostitution and elaborate celebrations. Kristof argued that this is why women should be empowered to make more financial decisions. He said he’s seen families whose children have died of malaria for lack of a $5 net, and yet the father spends $1.50 on alcohol 3x a week.

Kristof doesn’t want to just make people feel sorry for the people he writes about: he wants to spur them to action. Here were some areas where he said improvement would make a drastic different not only in the lives of the women they affect, but would have a ripple effect in helping the societies in which they live:

• End sexual slavery. Nearly 1 million women and girls a year are trafficked as sex slaves, and at least one reputable group estimates that there are 27 million people in bondage worldwide at this time.
• Improve female education. He said that when he’s talking to leaders of poor nations, he makes more headway on this issue by explaining that females are their country’s biggest untapped resource than by appealing to moral arguments.
• Improve maternal health. Today, a woman in Niger has a 1 in 7 lifetime chance of dying in childbirth. Women in many other countries don’t fare much better. A poor woman in a rural setting has two strikes against her, but there are techniques and practices which could be used to serve even these women better.
• Empower women financially. Micro-loans have been particularly successful in allowing women to not only provide for their family’s livelihood and education, but it’s allowed them to have more of a say in how the family money is spent.

If I were a journalist, I’d want to be like Kristof. But I’ve chosen a path where I can be around my family more, so I try to do my part by volunteering, creating websites for non-profits, and blogging.

Kristof was correct when he said that what makes us happiest is when we help others. It’s immensely satisfying to have a positive impact on the world. And Kristof definitely does.

If you’re interested in hearing Nicholas Kristof speak, he’ll be in Southern California for a bit longer. Here’s his schedule of events.

California State PTA rules regarding endorsing candidates

Posted on 02. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in education, politics

In case you’re curious, and I’m sure some people are, here are the guidelines from page 118 of the CA State PTA Toolkit regarding endorsing candidates. They specify that a PTA officer’s title may not be used in an endorsement, but it doesn’t say the person can’t endorse someone as a private citizen.

A current or former PTA officer/board member must not use his/her title or the name of the PTA to endorse a candidate even for purposes of identification in any print, electronic, or website candidate literature (e.g., campaign mailer, ballot measure, candidate stationery).

A current PTA officer/board member must not use his/her title, the name of the PTA or the trademark of PTA
• in any election venue unless authorized by a vote of the association, following a study of the issue.
• to take action in opposition to the official California State PTA position.

Although federal election regulations do not prohibit the use of organizational affiliation for identification purpos- es, the California State PTA sets a standard which is higher than law. Failure to comply may result in a viola- tion of California State PTA policy.

For the purpose of this policy, all elections involving candidates are defined as partisan elections, even those for “nonpartisan” offices such as school board or city council. Use of a PTA’s name or the PTA trademark with participation in any partisan activity will endanger PTA’s nonprofit status.

PTA members are not prohibited from running for public office themselves nor from listing PTA involvement as part of their biographical information and/or campaign literature.

Why you should vote for Neal Millard for La Canada School Board

Posted on 21. Sep, 2009 by kchristieh in education, politics

When Neal Millard asked me to be one of his campaign managers for his run for La Canada Unified School District Governing Board, I said “yes” in an instant. I’ve known Neal since our days on the LCF Educational Foundation board, and he’d always impressed me with his ability to ask probing questions and articulate wise positions.

The more I learn about Neal, the more impressed I become. Because his law practice concentrates on charter schools, he’s exposed to creative solutions to problems that plague many schools, including our own. He also has extensive experience in school finance, and is eager to bring parents, teachers, administrators and students together to make our schools the best they can be.

You can learn more about Neal at the website I created for him at www.nealmillard.com. (My favorite page is the Contact page – love that graphic at the top!)

Please if you’re a registered voter here and would like to endorse Neal!

Firefighters honored at La Canada High School assembly

Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by kchristieh in education, inspirational people, local news

Most of today’s spirit assembly at La Canada was dedicated to introducing class mascots and cheering on sports teams. But when local firefighters made a surprise appearance, the students immediately gave them a standing ovation. I was so proud of them. They get it: these are true heroes.

Here’s a picture of the firefighters after they accepted school t-shirts from the songie squad as they listened to a short speech by the ASB president.

I was especially glad there was a way to honor firefighters on 9/11.

Protest over President’s speech to schoolchildren reveals true paranoia

Posted on 05. Sep, 2009 by kchristieh in education, politics

Maybe it’s good that some people are protesting President Obama’s speech to schoolchildren this week. By labeling his call for hard work and staying in school part of a Socialist agenda, they’re revealing how illogical and paranoid they are, and therefore lose any shred of credibility they may have had left. Would they protest so much if he weren’t at all Black? I’m guessing not.

Today’s LA Times reports the following LCUSD position:

“We’re an academic institution, and our responsibility is to cover specific content standards,” said James Stratton, superintendent of schools for La Cañada Unified School District, where the school year got off to a late and rocky start because of the nearby wildfires. In his district, he said, the speech will be shown only in those classes where it “has any relation to the California content standards for that particular class.”

Hopefully my kids’ English and Sociology teachers will decide that the speech relates to “content standards.” It may not relate directly to their lesson plans for the day, but it never hurts to hear good messages about diligence and academic success, and it will demonstrate rhetoric and cultural values. I think it’s also a great message to come from our President. And yes, I’d be saying that if Bush were still in office.

Some day when my grandchildren are taking U.S. History and puzzling over this strange incident, I want my children to be able to say that they heard the speech live and it was indeed inspirational.

Top 10 Tips for the Perfect College Tour, plus Tips for the Tourguides

Posted on 20. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting

As the mother of a junior and a senior in high school, I’ve toured many colleges in the past year, and we’re not done yet. If you’re about to embark on this chapter of life, here are my top 10 tips for making the most of your college visit:

1. Try to tour a school before you apply, so the school can see that you’re serious about them.
2. If possible, set up an interview with an admissions counselor, a coach or someone in the department you’re interested in.
3. Ask questions such as:
   • How many students are in the average class? (NOTE: This is different from the faculty:student ratio, which often includes faculty who do research and don’t teach.)
   • Do TA’s teach classes?
   • What percentage of students live on campus? How many years is housing guaranteed for?
   • How would you describe the students here?
   • What’s your least favorite thing about this school?
   • What percentage of students go on to graduate school, and what ones do they attend?
   • What are the most popular majors on campus?
   • What do students do on weekends?
   • Are there fraternities and sororities on campus?
   • Ask the tour guide why he or she chose to attend that college, and what their other choices were.
   • How many students study overseas? Is it through the school or an outside program? (This can affect how many of your classmates will be overseas with you, and financial aid may not apply if it’s an outside program.)
4. When you see other students on campus, ask them what they think of the school. We’ve found it easiest to ask questions of students working at the student store or in the dining hall.
5. Stay close to the tour guide so you can hear what he or she says.
6. Bring a resume that details your GPA, test scores, advanced classes taken, sports and other activities. Give it to either your interviewer or the person you sign in for the tour with.
7. Take lots of pictures. Post them to Facebook and see how many people know about this school and what they think of it.
8. Have the student write down impressions of the visit right afterwards, so they can remember details when they’re making a decision.
9. If possible, visit while classes are in session so you can get a feel for what the students who attend are like.
10. If you get in and you’re seriously considering it, spend a night with a current student and attend the prospective freshman orientation.

After touring two schools on Tuesday, my kids and I realized we were becoming quite the connoisseurs of fine tour guides, and I promised to blog about it soon. Coincidentally, in yesterday’s NY Times article, Colleges Seek to Remake the Campus Tour, I learned that some schools are re-vamping their tours, often with the advice of an outside consultant. The article mentions two main recommendations: concentrate on anecdotes instead of statistics, and don’t walk backwards.

I’d beg to differ. If I were advising college admissions offices on how they should structure their tours, I’d advise them as follows:

• If you have more than four people on the tour, walk backwards. We went on one tour that had about 10 people, and we had a hard time hearing what the guide was saying since she never turned around.
• If possible, don’t have more than 15 people on a tour. If there are more, the people in the back will have a hard time staying engaged.
• Ask the names, hometowns and potential majors and interests of prospective students at the beginning of the tour. If no one wants to be an engineer, don’t waste our time touring the engineering building.
• Show us the inside of a dorm room. We don’t care if no one lives there at the moment. A student will spend more time there than anywhere else on campus, and we want to see what a typical room looks like.
• Know your statistics. We may not remember all of them, but some of them stick, and can be deal breakers or deal makers. In particular, we want to know what percentage of students live on campus.
• Don’t choose a tour guide just because he or she works in the admissions office. Choose guides that are personable and excited about the school.
• Choose guides that are articulate. We went on one tour where the guide was enthusiastic, but had horrible grammar. I left with the impression that the kids at this school might not be too bright.
• Keep us on well-traveled roads and paths. One tour guide brought us behind all the buildings, and had us enter the dining commons from the delivery entrance, passing by the dumpsters.
• Show us the insides of buildings, including classrooms. We’re not here for an architectural tour; we want to see where students spend their time and hear about those places.
• Don’t try to joke too much. The tour guide probably isn’t a comedian, and too many jokes seemed forced and often fall flat.
• Don’t only let the creme de la creme of your university show us around. We went on a tour of a public university that had four tour guides, and all of them were in the school’s highly selective honors program. I didn’t feel like I got to hear from an “average” student there.
• Give us a meal pass. Let us experience the school as much as possible by eating the food and hanging out in the student areas.
• Give us a coupon for the bookstore. If we buy a sweatshirt, that’ll be great publicity for you.

New website launched: La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA

Posted on 13. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in education, non-profits, work

When I sent my kids off to camp and Costa Rica last month, I finally found time to fulfill my 2008 New Year’s resolution and learn to incorporate a database into a website. You can see the results on the La Canada High School 9-12 PTSA website, lchs912.org. Events and news items are easy to enter and automatically show up on their correct pages and drop off the site when they expire. I’ve even set up sub-categories such as athletics and college recruiting events so that those events also show up on the appropriate pages. Although I took a PHP class last year, I chose to create this website using ExpressionEngine so that it would have a robust content management system that non-professionals would be able to use.

Another great feature of this website is the online One Check Order Form. This form used to be about 15 printed pages that were mailed to every school family. It would take a long time to fill out, as you’d need to re-enter your name and address on each page since they’d be sent to various committee chairs. I used Icebrrg to create this online form, and it takes about 3 minutes to fill out. It then takes you to PayPal to complete your payment. Icebrrg keeps track of all entries in an online or downloadable spreadsheet, so it’ll be easy for our Financial Secretary to pass the information input on to the committee chairs. Over 100 people have already clicked on the link in my Constant Contact email and completed the form.

I’m confident that this will make my job as PTSA President easier, and will make it easier to pass the website on to my successor in a few years when both my kids have graduated.

How to kill a teen’s love of reading

Posted on 11. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in books, education

Shouldn’t one of the goals of high school English be to emphasize the joy of reading? If so, then the following isn’t likely to achieve that goal:

• Step 1: Tell students which book they have to read. Don’t give them a choice.
• Step 2: Make them read it over the summer.
• Step 3: Require them to annotate at least three comments in the margins of every page.
• Repeat with several more books.

I know someone who’s annotating George Orwell’s this week. Instead of appreciating the greater themes at the pace that the author intended, this teen is slogging through this book so slowly that all the life is being sucked out of it. It’s bittersweet when a kid says, “It actually seems like a really good book, but I’m not able to enjoy it when I do this assignment.” Big Brother, can you hear this?

I told the child that hopefully they’d remember that reading can be fun, and that when they graduate they’ll rediscover that.

Links:

• A explaining why annotating is considered so valuable. I think it’s a recipe for sucking the fun out of reading.
• My list of Non-”Teen” Books for Teens, Plus Books for Boys. Please let me know if you have any books to add.

La Canada Flintridge parcel tax passes with nearly 75% of the vote

Posted on 30. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in economy, education, local news

La Canada Flintridge voters have overwhelmingly approved Measure LC, a tax of $150 per parcel to help fund local schools. Election results as of this evening indicate that nearly 75% of the votes approved of the tax. Some votes have yet to be counted, but they won’t bring the percentage below the 2/3 needed to pass the tax.

This will bring about $900,000 per year to our local school district. It won’t cover the whole shortfall the district will need to cover due to decreased state funding, but it’ll definitely help lessen the pain.

Thanks to all who supported Measure LC and our schools!!

I found my perfect college major, 28 years too late

Posted on 23. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education, work

When I arrived at college in the Fall of 1981, I was pretty certain I’d be an engineer, but I didn’t know which kind I wanted to be. I took classes in most (all?) of the engineering disciplines, and quickly settled upon Industrial Engineering. It was the most social of the engineering majors, and appealed to my organized side and my desire to do computer programming. There wasn’t a computer science major at the time, so that wasn’t an option. It wasn’t perfect – I didn’t really see myself doing time studies for the rest of my life – but I wound up getting my BS and my MS in it anyway.

If I were starting college this Fall, I’d want to major in Web Design and Engineering. I didn’t even know this major existed until I saw it on a poster in the admissions office at Santa Clara University yesterday before our tour. Here’s how their website describes it:

An interdisciplinary program that blends computing, engineering, and graphic design while developing an understanding of, and sensitivity to, the relationships between the Web and those who use it.

Oh. My. Gosh. Is that not the coolest major? It’s not just programming and it’s not just graphic design. I wish I could teach this course! Even if my kids go there, I don’t think they’ll major in this. They seem to have other interests. But, at least it’s available. Lucky!!!

It’s still not an option at my alma mater, but if I were there now I’d try to get departmental approval to design my own major. I guess that’s what I’ve done since I’ve graduated anyway.  :)

It’s official: South Pasadena passed its parcel tax

Posted on 20. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education

In the past month,

• San Marino passed a parcel tax for $795
• South Pasadena passed a parcel tax for $288

Clearly, the residents of both of these communities are willing to pay to help their public schools.

I hope La Canada’s willing to pass a parcel tax for $150.

If you want to vote for this, get your ballot in NOW. They must be received by June 30th. Postmarks don’t count.

Have questions? Visit www.measurelc.org.

I never ate this well at school

Posted on 16. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education, food

Ah, the end of the school year. Finals, stress, searching for lost textbooks, and FOOD! The best food is that which earns extra credit.

Last night my teenage son made a Key Lime Pie all by himself for his end-of-year English class party. He used a recipe from our cookbook and even managed to cut the fancy lime slice to put on top. Maybe last summer’s get-off-the-couch-and-cook deal is paying off.

Sorry the picture’s not better. I figured I was lucky he even let me take one as he ran out the door.

Meet the overseas competition: cramming for exams in China

Posted on 13. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education, food, international, things that bug me

If you thought that the 5.5 hour a day, 5 days a week, 14-week Elite SAT review course that I described in yesterday’s post was excessive, then definitely don’t move to China. Today’s NY Times article, “China’s College Entry Test Is an Obsession,” describes how the Chinese standardized test is:

• The only criteria for entry to university
• Only offered once a year
• Nine hours long
• Taken by 10 million students each year, of whom only 3 out of 5 make the cut

Not surprisingly, students cram like crazy for this test. The article described a class of kids that studied in a hospital hooked up to oxygen so that they could concentrate better, and a boy who studied 14-16 hours a day for a year, and only took one day off every three weeks.

It’s too bad there aren’t enough spaces in Chinese universities for everyone who wants an education. At least here in the U.S., there’s a space for nearly everyone to have some sort of higher education.

I appreciate that my kids don’t have to go through this sort of cramming. However, we also need to remember that our kids aren’t just competing against other American kids; they’re competing against the rest of the world. And they’re hungry, figuratively and literally.

Here’s the breakfast of champions described in the article: “a bread stick next to two eggs, symbolizing a 100 percent score.”

Maybe I’ll present that to my son the morning of his PSAT this Fall. Or maybe he’ll stick to his Cheerios.

Meet the competition: SAT Review Gone Wild

Posted on 12. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting

I’m not sure which part of the following Elite of Arcadia SAT review course ad scares my children more. Is it the special “2400 Club” class for kids who have already scored above 2200 and are seeking a perfect score? Or is it the Monday – Friday, 14 week, 5.5 hour/day Boot Camp?

When you’re in a district that’s ranked highly by Newsweek, you compete against kids who take these classes. One child I know said these classes should be called “mental hospitals,” since this child swears that many of the kids who take them are on a verge of a breakdown. Perhaps they are. And perhaps they and/or their parents think it’s worth it.

The Wall St. Journal recently featured an article titled, “SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores — Barely.” It said that,

Families can spend thousands of dollars on coaching to help college-bound students boost their SAT scores. But a new report finds that these test-preparation courses aren’t as beneficial as consumers are led to believe.

The report, to be released Wednesday by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, criticizes common test-prep-industry marketing practices, including promises of big score gains with no hard data to back up such claims. The report also finds fault with the frequent use of mock SAT tests because they can be devised to inflate score gains when students take the actual SAT.

On the other hand, the article continued that,

The report also noted that some college-admissions officers indirectly encourage applicants to sign up for SAT-prep courses by setting score cutoffs. A survey included in the report found that more than a third of schools with tight selection criteria said that an increase of just 20 points in the math section of the SAT, and of 10 points in the critical reading section, would “significantly improve students’ likelihood of admission.”

Either way, my kids won’t be taking these classes. My daughter took her last SAT on Saturday, and my son would rue me forever if I made him take this class. Hopefully they’ll gain good life, spiritual, athletic and academic experiences from the summer we have plannned.

PTSA President 3.0: I have the gavel

Posted on 01. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in education, local news, my life

Today I achieved the Triple Crown of PTA: I was installed as President of our high school’s PTSA. I’ve already been an elementary school PTA president and a junior high school PTA president, so I’m optimistic that those have prepared me well for this job. Unlike parenting, which gets more difficult as the kids get older, PTA President gets easier. At the elementary school I had 90 (!) positions under me, with numerous fundraisers, room representatives, docents and programs. When you added a dash of confusion over PTA bylaws, it got stressful at times. At the high school, we have only a few straightforward fundraisers, no room reps (our kids would kill us!), one program (Red Ribbon Week – any ideas?) and no docents. I’ve got a GREAT group of people on my Executive Board, and all have years of experience. I’m following in the steps of an amazing woman, and she’s done a wonderful job of paving the way.

We’re looking forward to another great year!

Tips for graduating seniors on their way to college

Posted on 31. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education

Here are some of the best tips I’ve seen for graduating seniors, along with favorite excerpts from each:

• 10 Things Students Need to Know About College But Don’t
  “Two thirds of the work is done at home.”
• The 15 Habits of Top College Students
  “Don’t kid themselves. For instance, when you think you’re studying but you’re really tweeting about how you barely survived your bonfire-jumping last night. Or when you’re alternating between reading the E-article and checking out your friend’s Facebook page every eight seconds or so.”
• Top 10 Things You’ll Discover at College
  “No one tells you what to do. Gone are teachers who will remind you umpteen times to do your homework and be ready for the Civil War test next Friday. Now you’re on your own.”
• What You’ll Wish You’d Known
  “But if you’re trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, the other one is probably right.”

My poor kids. I send them stuff like this all the time. I even have reminders to send it to them when they graduate high school and the month before they enter college. If only I could be guaranteed they’d read it and take it to heart.

How to survive sending your child to college

Posted on 14. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting

I have two high schoolers – a sophomore and a junior – so I truly appreciated today’s college panel at Parent Ed. Our instructor moderated a panel of five mothers of college students, and asked them questions about what to expect when your kid leaves for college.

Here are a few things they said:

• Your family will change once your child leaves for college. It may get quieter or crazier once they leave, depending upon who’s still home, but it’s likely to be different. Also, don’t assume you’ll spend the whole time pining for Junior: several moms said they’ve enjoyed getting to spend more time with their husbands and appreciate the freedom they have to go on vacations and out to dinner whenever they wish.
• The actual first dropoff at school can be difficult. The mother of a Westmont student said that Westmont has a tradition where new freshmen walk up the hill as bagpipers play “Amazing Grace” and people cheer, and then when they graduate they do the same but walking down the hill. She said she would have lost it if she hadn’t seen another kid’s parents totally blubbering. I can barely hear “Amazing Grace” under the best of circumstances without crying, and for that reason have actually written into my will NOT to play that at my funeral. But I digress. Anyway, after the bagpipes play, parents are asked to leave campus within 30 minutes. Yes, that much emotion in that short a timespan would be tough.
• Don’t expect to have a slow, meaningful dinner after you help your child set up his or her dorm room. They’re going to want to meet new friends. It’s best to have that dinner before you arrive on campus.
• Don’t freak out when your kid calls you and makes it sound like the world is about to end. Chances are that within a few hours they’ll be fine. If not, then try to distinguish between a temporary setback and a bigger issue.
• Be on the same page as your child’s other parent. If Junior’s freaking out and wants to come home, and you want to make him stay, make sure the other parent isn’t on Expedia buying the plane ticket back home.
• Don’t let your child have a car at school freshman year. They don’t need it, and colleges generally discourage it anyway. If they do have a car, expect that they will become an airport shuttle service, or worse, a party shuttle service.
• Make sure you talk to your kid about all the difficult but important topics you can think of (i.e., sex, drugs, drinking). This is one of your last best chances to do so. Make sure they know to never accept an open soda can or drink punch.
• Warn them that one of the dangers of playing beer pong is that they can catch mono by sharing cups.
• Don’t expect a big college to inform you if your child is skipping class or having a problem.
• Give your child space so that they can learn to be independent. If you feel like you aren’t communicating enough, try texting. Also, you might want to set up a time each week that you can talk. On the other hand, some kids will call you all the time as they walk between classes.
• Make sure your child knows how to do laundry and balance finances before leaving for college.
• Be sure your child knows what to do if he has a bad roommate or gets sick.
• Most kids will switch majors at least once.
• Although it’s helpful to visit schools before your child applies, don’t sweat it if they don’t. Several parents said they were glad they didn’t waste money on expensive East Coast college trips because their child wound up falling in love with a school in California or Oregon.
• Support your child’s college choice. Wherever they choose, someone will criticize his or her choice. Make sure they know not to take that personally, and that you’re happy they found somewhere they’re excited about. And if they’re not excited at some point, that will probably pass as they make more friends.
• Each time your child returns for break, they’ll probably be different. (Hopefully in increased maturity!) Make sure you lay some expectations out regarding curfews, laundry, working, etc. so everyone’s on the same page. Watch out that you’re not too tough on them, or they may not want to return in the future.
• If you’re religious, keep your child in your prayers. They’ll need it.

I’m sure I’m missing something, since I wasn’t taking notes. Do you have any advice to add?

Apparently our school college counselor puts on a program like this, but with college kids on the panel and aimed at high school students and their parents. I’ll keep an eye out for that this fall!

Playground Surfaces: How far we’ve come. Or not.

Posted on 12. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education, my life, parenting, work

When my kids were in their early elementary school years, there was a rash of serious injuries caused by kids falling from their school’s play equipment onto the sand surface beneath. Committees convened, research was conducted, and parents implored the school and district administration to make the playground safer.

At one point, the school superintendent said she didn’t care what parents said. Ooooh – you.don’t.say.that.to.us!!

That’s when I joined the fight. I had more free time than ever, since eToys had just imploded, and my website design business was still in its infancy. I linked arms with other mothers and fathers as news crews filmed us on the playground, and eventually and installed a safer, poured rubber surface. Soon after that, the superintendent left, and a year later, I became the PTA president.

So I REALLY enjoyed making this website for Spectraturf. They have incredibly creative designs, and I enjoyed using their bright colors and rounded surfaces on the site. They’re still filling in content, but here’s what it looks like:

This is a BIG step up from the asphalt playground at my elementary school playground! Don’t believe me? It’s hard to believe, but it’s STILL asphalt! Here’s a recent image of Jefferson School in North Arlington, NJ from Google Maps:

At least they let the girls wear pants now. It was kind of tough to play with gusto in a dress.  :(

Combining Etsy, Chemistry, Physics and Mother’s Day

Posted on 08. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education, shopping

Today I’m going to interview candidates for high school teaching positions in chemistry and physics.

In honor of today’s efforts and Sunday’s holiday, here’s an amazing Mother’s Day card I found on Etsy that uses the periodic table notations for chemical elements to spell out “mo th er s.”

I’ll be very impressed if anyone wears this to their interview:

May the
m x a
be with all of today’s candidates and interviewers!

Save the babies + educate the kids = healthy society

Posted on 06. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education, feminism, inspirational people, international, non-profits, quotes

One of the biggest lessons Greg Mortenson has learned since he started to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan is to LISTEN. I think he’s learned it quite well. He’s listened to children, their parents and village elders who have asked him to build schools for their villages. He’s listened to mothers who have asked him to help reduce the infant and maternal mortality rates. And as a result, boys and girls are being educated in greater and greater numbers each year, and those children are coming back and helping their villages escape the cycle of poverty and ignorance that serves as a breeding ground for Taliban extremists.

I had the privilege of hearing Greg speak at the California Distinguished Speakers Series this evening in Pasadena. He’s just like how he describes himself in his bestselling book, Three Cups of Tea: just an ordinary, humble guy. But that’s what makes him so extraordinary. He’s made it his life’s mission to educate the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is particularly interested in making sure that girls get an education. He said that when a girl learns to read, she is likely to teach her mother to read, to read newspapers to her family, and to someday deny her son the blessing that he requires to go on a jihad. Greg is the son of former missionaries, and doesn’t have much money. But he’s determined and passionate, and gets others excited about making a difference in the world.

One of the first slides he showed was of this African proverb:

Teach a boy and you teach an individual

Teach a girl and you teach a community.

At first glance it’s easy to dismiss that as being more applicable to Third World countries, but I found it interesting that he said that many of the American politicians and military readers who say they’ve been touched by Greg’s book say they read it because their wives encouraged them to. I was pleased to hear that the new administration is taking Greg’s ideas seriously. Maybe Barack Obama does read my blog!  ;)

Many thanks to Robin R., who gave me the tickets (my hubby accompanied me – I’d given him the book to read last summer!) since she wasn’t feeling well. I hope she gets better soon! Now I need to sleep and stay healthy to continue making a difference and to have the energy to do even more things!!

What high schools should really teach

Posted on 02. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education

Do you use everything you learned in high school? I doubt it. Aren’t there subjects you wish you’d studied in high school, or you wish that your children would learn? If I were in charge, here’s what I’d propose that students learn in high school in order to challenge them, excite them, and teach them lessons and skills that will enrich them and teach them to lead more productive lives:

Math: Teach geometry and algebra, but try to provide more real-life examples of when you’d use them. Instead of automatically moving kids on to trigonometry and calculus after that, encourage them to take logic and statistics. They’re much more useful, even in the teenage years. Can you imagine how cool it would be if a course could actually teach teens to be logical?

English: I wince when my sophomore son says, “I hate reading.” I don’t think he does, but I don’t blame him for saying it when he’s forced to annotate books written in non-standard English with adult themes. English class should teach kids to appreciate the power and beauty of our language, and give them the tools to comprehend and communicate. It’s important that they’re familiar with classic literature, but they’ll lose the joy of reading it if they have to pick it apart sentence by sentence. After all, that’s not what most authors intend when they write. As for contemporary literature, I’d empower kids by giving them choices, or at least not force them to read books with adult themes that perpetuate racial stereotypes. We should also expose our kids to great poetry, songs, speeches, and other forms of communication. As they learn what makes each work great, they should practice writing and speaking their own words and thoughts.

Social Studies: There’s not enough time in high school to cover all the social sciences needed to become an informed and responsible citizen, and I actually think that most high schools do an admirable job of trying. It’s important to take a general social studies course, an American history course (in America), and an economics course. When possible, I’d also recommend European history, world history, or government. I’d incorporate teaching how ethics and religion tie into any of the aforementioned classes.

Science: Instead of just concentrating on biology, chemistry and physics, I love the fact that our high school offers geology and environmental science. The last one is probably most likely to be used in the future by the most students. I’d also include some sort of computer science course in the science curriculum.

Foreign Language: I dream of the day when every American child is bilingual by the time they leave high school. I wish more kids could attend language immersion schools at younger ages, and feel confident in their language abilities by the time they enter high school. But since that’s not likely to happen soon, I’d propose that schools make more of an effort to reduce class sizes in foreign languages. Learning a foreign language requires that kids have the chance to practice it with a seasoned speaker, and that can’t happen when you have 35 kids in a class.

Physical Education: Forget running around the track and doing calisthenics. Kids should do fun activities and sports in P.E. so that they learn to enjoy exercise, and perhaps find something they’ll enjoy doing for the rest of their lives. Also, instead of requiring kids to take P.E. for 5 hours a week for freshman and sophomore years and 0 hours for junior and senior years, require 2.5 hours a week for all four years. Spread it out so that they can continue to stay in shape.

Electives: There are already many fine electives that well-funded American high schools offer, including art, drama and music. Here are a few that are often not taught:

• Accounting: Unless you’re some sort of business major in college, you probably won’t take accounting. And yet, it’s important for most people in their lives and careers. I think many high school students could handle and would benefit from an accounting class.
• Family Life / Health / Sex Ed.: Teach kids the basics of running a household, keeping healthy, and family planning.
• Typing: Supposedly kids learn it in elementary school, but I’m skeptical. Typing is so important to so many careers these days, so I’d make sure kids have this basic skill down pat.

Other notes:

• Class size: In order to implement these suggestions, class sizes would have to be small enough for teachers to give students individual attention in both the classroom and when grading papers.
• # of periods per day: Schools need to divide their school day into more than six periods to accomplish these goals.
• Teacher quality: As I’ve said in this blog before, I wish that schools had more freedom and resources to reward teachers that do a great job, mentor teachers that need help, and let go of teachers that aren’t working out in the classroom. I also wish that there were more ways to give feedback about teacher quality.
• Standardized testing: Find a way to reduce it: kids are spending too much time being tested when they could be learning. For example, if a kid achieves a certain score on the PSAT, don’t make him take the CAHSEE (CA High School Exit Exam). Don’t require the SAT II if a kid is enrolled in an AP class.

This is just a partial list. I’m sure I’d think of more things if I weren’t so determined to post this today. Please add your comments and suggestions!

My favorite online college search sites

Posted on 10. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in cool websites, education, parenting

This week my family took tours of five colleges and drove through several more, all in the quest to find schools that would match our teenagers’ interests, talents and personalities.

Visiting the schools when classes were in session was invaluable. It was important for my kids to see what the students were like, and to see whether they could imagine themselves fitting in with them. My kids were also very concerned with school energy and spirit, so it was good for them to see which schools shined or failed in that department.

We did lots of research beforehand, also. We purchased several college guides, including one that included student reviews, and copied the relevant pages and brought them with us on our trip. I also looked up all the schools we considered visiting on our trip on the internet. I especially appreciated student review sites. I kept in mind that there will always be disgruntled people at any school, but I looked for trends in the comments.

We’ve only scratched the surface for visiting colleges, so I’ve started a College Resource page on this blog. You can either click here to visit it, or find it in the list of pages to the right. I’ll continue to update it as I find more useful college resource sites. It includes much of the same information that I’ve put on our high school PTSA website, www.lchs912.org.

Hope it helps!

Spiffing up the school

Posted on 29. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, things that bug me

Yesterday I attended Servathon at La Canada High School. Throngs of students and parents descended upon campus to plant, paint, scrub and scrape. Imagine our horror when we saw this new graffiti on the front of the cafeteria. I’ve never seen graffiti at our high school, and neither had the boys that were with me.

It didn’t take long for Assistant Principal Kevin Buchanan to spring into action and paint over the offensive scrawlings.

All over campus there were kids planting new plants,

and cleaning lockers.

My brave crew found a dark hallway on the third floor that was clearly at the bottom of the list for preferred locker spaces. Many of the lockers didn’t have locks on them, so we opened them up to see if there was anything inside we needed to clean up.

We struck the motherlode when we opened this locker. It was full of abandoned sandwiches and other lunch items. They were crawling with bugs and maggots. Why can’t kids just throw them out? Or better yet, eat them when they’re fresh? Kids in developing nations would be stunned.  :(

We were amazed at how much dirt there was.

We found this in one of the lockers. We’re not taking it personally.