Investing in the Future....

This blog is a reprint of a post I wrote on  February 27, 2012.  I changed the title for this reprinting because of a major legislative issue making the headlines in Missouri news. HB253 will benefit only the very wealthy in Missouri and will be harmful to public schools as well as every other program in Missouri  that receives state funding. 

Each of us must be diligent to devote the time required to research this issue rather than let our minds "latch on" to the first well-done commercial or catchy headline we see. We are bombarded with so much information every time we turn on the computer or walk by a television that happens to be on hitting us with 15 second sound bytes of information, that it's difficult to focus on the actual issues at hand.

With so much information out there, it's difficult to sort fact from fiction, but it's vital that conscientious citizens take responsibility and base their decisions on factual information. When you've finished reading this, whether you are a fellow Missourian, or not, I encourage you to visit http://www.missourifuture.net/ and take a look at the information provided there as well as the list of groups and associations who are committed to making good things happen for the kids of Missouri! 

We are at a crossroads in Missouri.  We must  put divisions aside and make the effort to do what's best for everyone concerned, especially when it involves our children....our future.

Here's the blog....

Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen,

but give us the determination to make the right things happen 

-- Peter Marshall

Over the years, I've spent quite a bit of time as an advocate for public education.  I do this because I believe, as many of our founding fathers did, that an uneducated public is a quick way to put an end to a free society. I do this because I have grandchildren who will attend public schools.  I do this because I want to remind our legislators that when they appropriate money for public education, it's not "paying for" education for our students, it's "investing in the education of" our students.

And, let's just talk about the "return on investment" when it comes to our kids! 

The students enrolled in our high schools right now will be the teachers, doctors, truck drivers, law enforcement officers, soldiers, parents, farmers, engineers, business owners and a myriad of other professionals who  will be the first in line to take the torch of leadership from our generation.  As we "age out" of the work force and "into" retirement, home health care, nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living communities, it is the students we're investing in right now who will "run the show"!

I want them to do well!

I have been very busy, personally and professionally, but when it comes to doing what's right for the 900,000 children in the state of Missouri, I feel a strong sense of urgency when it comes to legislative issues affecting education!  I think they are worth the investment!

At the Missouri School Boards Association Governmental Relations Center, in Jefferson City, there is a quote on the wall that reads: "Education is the foundation of democracy."  This quote, long attributed to Thomas Jefferson sums up my strong feelings regarding public education. 

Thomas Jefferson believed in a society where talent and virtue should be educated regardless of wealth, birth or any other condition.  He believed that democracy could not long exist without education. He believed the education of our children should come at the common expense of our people. He also believed that without wise elected officials at every level, our education system could not thrive. 

Thomas Jefferson saw public education, quite literally, as the means of insuring political liberty for every generation!

My challenge to you is to go online right now and start gathering information about legislation you're interested in. Whether it's education, [such as the issue I mentioned earlier] or another area that affects your life,  see to it that your voice is heard in your state capitol and in the nation's capitol. Develop a determination within you to give your best, do your best, and to encourage others to do the same.

Blessings!

Sharon

Some good sites to visit if you're interested in the education of our future leaders.

http://www.missourifuture.net/

http://www.msbanet.org/

http://www.mo.gov/

http://dese.mo.gov/

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/

http://www.usa.gov/

Make the right things happen...

“Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen,  but give us the determination to make the right things happen.” --Horace Mann

Born in 1796, Horace Mann is considered to be one of our nation's first education reformers.  He believed that "universal public education was the best way to turn the nation's unruly children into disciplined, ...judicious citizens." Mann served as state representative, senator, and Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts and went on to serve that state in the United States House of Representatives.  A well-educated man, and brother-in-law to famed  writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, he placed a great deal of value on education and believed heartily in public support of local schools that should be made available to the masses. He believed that children should be educated and that such education should be provided by an interested public.  To that end, Mann worked to improve many facets of education.  He was a supporter of higher pay for teachers, quality training for teachers, a broader curriculum for all students, and  he believed the American people should provide "more and better equipped school houses." Over the decades that have come and gone, those same values are just as true today as they were then.  As a matter of fact, with the advances of technology and the sheer amount of information our students and teachers are responsible for, it is even more true today!   We must be able to pay high-quality teachers enough to attract them to the profession and keep them there.   We must continually update curriculum to be certain our children are learning the right things at the right time in their academic careers. And, we must take the responsibility of building and maintaining our public school "houses" to the highest standards available.  Those school "houses" are the living and learning environment for our children for a majority of their days.  To learn and achieve at the levels expected of them, our school "houses" must be safe, clean and comfortable.  It makes sense that when a student has a great environment to learn in, and great teachers to lead them to become learners, they will succeed in life. Tomorrow is Election Day in my home town of Houston, Missouri,  and there is an issue on the ballot that will make a difference in the future of our city, the surrounding community, and most importantly, it will make a difference in the lives of our children.  It is an instance in time when a "YES" vote will have an immediate and far-reaching affect on our future.   The passage of this particular school bond issue will make it possible to improve the learning environment for our students, so I hope that when my fellow citizens head to the polls tomorrow they think like Horace Mann and have a "determination to make the right things happen" for our most important commodity -- our children! Blessings, Sharon

What are you doing?

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. 

I acted and behold, service was joy.

Rabindranith Tagore

I just finished reading excerpts from an  article that was posted in August 2011 in the journal Health Psychology.  The writers quoted statistics from a study that was done in Wisconsin, where a random sample of over 10,000 Wisconsin residents who had graduated from high school in the late 1950's were interviewed over a 16 year period.


The article states: *** "In 2004, the participants reported how often they had volunteered within the past 10 years. They also explained their reasons for volunteering, or, in the cases of those who had not volunteered  but were planning to, the reasons they would.

Some of the participants' motives were more oriented toward others, such as "I feel it is important to help others" or "Volunteering is an important activity to the people I know best." Other respondents, however, had more self-oriented reasons for volunteering, such as "Volunteering is a good escape from my own troubles," or "Volunteering makes me feel better about myself."

Researchers then compared the participants' responses with physical health information that had mostly been collected in 1992. The researchers also considered the respondents' socioeconomic status, mental health, social support, marital status and health risk factors, including smoking, body mass index and alcohol use.

The findings showed that those who volunteered for more altruistic reasons had lower mortality rates as of 2008 than people who did not volunteer. Of the 2,384 non-volunteers, 4.3 percent were deceased four years later, compared with 1.6 percent of altruistic volunteers who had died.

However, people who said they volunteered for their own personal satisfaction had nearly the same mortality rate (4 percent) as people who did not volunteer at all.

"It is reasonable for people to volunteer in part because of benefits to the self; however, our research implies that, ironically, should these benefits to the self become the main motive for volunteering, they may not see those benefits," said study researcher Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis, also of the University of Michigan." ***

My  mother-in-law, who is 78 years old still volunteers one day a week at the local food pantry and does volunteer sewing for the charitable organization, Newborns in Need.  She does this because she loves to help where help is needed! The added benefit is that she is healthier and happier because of her service to others!

My challenge today is this: Look around your community and find something that needs to be done.  We all have opportunities to help.  


You may find, like my mother-in-law and many others that the blessings of volunteerism are worth it!

Blessings,

Sharon

*** To read the entire article about the benefits of volunteering go to: http://news.yahoo.com/people-volunteer-live-longer-study-suggests-115806902.html

Whose job is it?

The wise man must remember that while he is a descendant of the past, 

he is a "parent" of the future.

Herbert Spencer

With so much political news everywhere we turn, it's hard not to think about upcoming elections -- from local school board elections that will happen very soon to the "Big One" in the fall, we all have a duty to vote.  


However, with  that duty comes a responsibility to know the candidates, what they stand for, and where their major support lies throughout the community, state or nation.


When I think of our responsibility to find and vote for the best candidate for each office, I am reminded of a particularly balmy evening, several years ago, when I was with friends visiting the various national memorials in Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.


Early in the evening, my friends and I stood  in front of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall and I was moved to tears as a very dear friend of mine told me that on an earlier trip to D.C., her  young son stood and read the names of the soldiers lost in that war while listening to the sounds of the running water.  After a conversation with  her, and after listening to her description of the purpose of The Wall, he acknowledged his belief that the running waters in front of that memorial were symbolic of the tears shed for all those lost in the war. 


For one so young, he had an amazing grasp on the reality of the actual purpose of that memorial!


As the evening progressed, we walked by all the national memorials, stopping to remember family members and friends who had served and died in various wars....I will never forget the moment we stood in front of one particular statue at the Korean War Memorial that seemed to be a true artist's perception of the way my own father would have looked as he trudged into battle wearing his rain gear, wielding a combat rifle, ready to die for his country.


Later, during our continuing  tour of the park, I  found myself all alone in the Jefferson Memorial. As I looked around that beautiful hall, I was taken aback by the fact that in this busy city, surrounded by all the visitors to the park, including the group I was with, I stood alone. It was as if that moment in time was meant especially for me.  It seemed I could sense there was a purpose for my chance to have that time to absorb the immense greatness of the place I stood!


In the dim light of that memorial, I found myself studying the words of the inscriptions engraved upon the walls and under the dome of this beautiful monument...Words that had been penned by Thomas Jefferson during the birth of our nation. 


"...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." 


During those quiet moments when I was literally alone with my thoughts, I  found myself coming to a point in time that some would call a "crisis of belief" where I had to stop and ask myself, "Who am I that I should do anything but serve in this great nation when so many have given so much more than I will ever be asked to give?"


Later, as I left the memorial and was visiting with my friends and colleagues who were visiting the park with our group that night, I was moved to tears to know that I was in the company of friends who felt, as I did, that we each have a responsibility to our children -- to our future -- to work diligently to stand for the good, the true, and the beautiful things life  has to offer.


That evening was the culmination of a thought process I had been reflecting on for many months. Because of  those moments of reverence and awe spent remembering those who have blazed the path for us,  I know  I left the beauty and reverence of Potomac Park that evening forever changed. 


I left  knowing that I would always feel a sense of pride and reverence for every military man or woman, as well as every public servant elected to represent the people of our great nation.


That said, I ask that you not consider time spent as an advocate for children, education and the well-being of our young people as "working for kids" -- rather, I ask that you consider  time spent on behalf of our children as an "investment"  in the future of our nation and in  better things to come for those who follow us.


I challenge you to find a cause that is beneficial for children and do what you can to further that mission!  I challenge you to do it now...you're already online reading this blog!  Google it! 


Look for a cause you're comfortable with that encourages or supports our kids and their education or well-being and get involved!


We truly are the "parents" of the future! 


Blessings to you and to your cause!


Sharon

Investing your time....

Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, 

but give us the determination to make the right things happen 

-- Peter Marshall

Over the years, I've spent quite a bit of time as an advocate for public education.  I do this because I believe, as many of our founding fathers did, that an uneducated public is a quick way to put an end to a free society. I do this because I have grandchildren who will attend public schools.  I do this because I want to remind our legislators that when they appropriate money for public education, it's not "paying for" education for our students, it's "investing in the education of" our students.


And, let's just talk about the "return on investment" when it comes to our kids! 


The students enrolled in our high schools right now will be the teachers, doctors, truck drivers, law enforcement officers, soldiers, parents, farmers, engineers, business owners and a myriad of other professionals who  will be the first in line to take the torch of leadership from our generation.  As we "age out" of the work force and "into" retirement, home health care, nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living communities, it is the students we're investing in right now who will "run the show"!


I want them to do well!


I have been very busy, personally and professionally, but when it comes to doing what's right for the 900,000 children in the state of Missouri, I feel a strong sense of urgency when it comes to legislative issues affecting education!  I think they are worth the investment!


At the Missouri School Boards Association Governmental Relations Center, in Jefferson City,  there is a quote on the wall that reads: "Education is the foundation of democracy."  This quote, long attributed to Thomas Jefferson sums up my strong feelings regarding public education. 


Thomas Jefferson believed in a society where talent and virtue should be educated regardless of wealth, birth or any other condition.  He believed that democracy could not long exist without eduction, that the education of our children should come at the common expense of our people and that without wise elected officials at every level, our education system could not thrive. 


Thomas Jefferson saw public education, quite literally, as the means of insuring political liberty for every generation!


My challenge to you is to go online right now and start gathering information about legislation you're interested in. Whether it's education, or another area that affects your life,  see to it that your voice is heard in your state capitol and in the nation's capitol. Develop a determination within you to give your best, do your best, and to encourage others to do the same.


Blessings!


Sharon