Home Gardening

When I lived in SE Texas, gardening was easy. You put it in the ground, it grew, you harvested. Not so much in Dripping Springs, though. I've gardened on and off for the 13 years we've lived here, and have never had what I'd call a "successful" garden. This year, on a kick to grow as much of our own food, cut our grocery bills and have more healthy food, I built a keyhole garden.
"What's a keyhole garden?" you may ask. It is a drought tolerant way to grow a lot of food in a small space. They came out of dry areas of Africa, where, I think you'll agree, the climate might be a bit tougher than ours. After reading a lot about it (the PEC Coop magazine had a good article about them not long ago and there are many videos and articles online as well), I decided to build one.
I built ours out of leftover stone from when our home was built, limestone rocks I found on our property, and about 20 more pieces of limestone I bought because I didn't want to spend a week collecting large rocks. While no one will mistake me for a stonemason, our garden came out okay, and it is certainly sturdy!
We chose not to add all the cardboard to the bottom that is usually recommended, because I was concerned about the chemicals that might leach into the soil from the cardboard manufacture. Instead, I poured leaves in the bottom- a mixture of bamboo, oak and pecan. Next we filled it with The Natural Gardener's Hill Country garden soil and finally, planted it. We have 14 tomato plants- from cherry tomatoes to Big Boys and all sizes in between- 8 peppers, 2 strawberries, a thyme and then I planted seeds for Malabar spinach, mixed lettuces (under the tomatoes, so they'll shade them a bit), cukes and zukes, yellow squash, green beans and okra is soon to follow. It sounds like a lot for a 6-ft diameter garden, but one woman who does keyhole gardens all the time said that she planted 72 tomatoes in 1 bed, so I think that 14 should be fine.
The reason you can plant so intensively in these gardens is the "feeding tube", which is in the middle. It is filled with brown leaves, and then we add our compostables on top of that. Any watering is also done through that tube. As the compost breaks down, it adds water to the soil, so the gardens don't need so much water.
You can read more about how to make a keyhole garden here.
I'm trying to be a "practical conservative" in that I'm doing everything I can to conserve resources and money, but within reason. We use our "solar dryer" (clothes line) as much as possible- we love the feel of cloths dried on the line, + it saves a lot of propane costs. I read a blog called "The Zero Waste Home" and it is very inspiring, but some of it is just a bit too much for what I think I can get my family to do. They're pretty good about conserving, but not extreme about it.
 Send me your practical conservative tips and I'll pass them on. I'm thinking about renaming my blog "The Practical Conservative", but maybe not, as I don't want folks to pass over it or read it just because they think it is a particular political viewpoint. Conservatism, especially about our earth, shouldn't be a Democratic or Republican thing, but, rather, a human thing we do to leave this planet in better shape for those who come after us, but things being what they are......c'est la vie, I guess.

 

(Not my garden, but I hope mine will look this good someday)

photo from afrigadget.com

Music for our Children

There are all sorts of studies about why music is important for children, it is a well-documented fact that children who do music tend to do better in school, but beyond that, it is good for the soul. I think that is what we often miss in our rush to “justify” music to those in power as being something that aids in “STEM” classes so we can keep funding music and the other fine arts in public schools.

Yesterday, we had a quick “run-through” for our “Ad-Hoc Children’s Christmas Concert.” It is a VERY low-stress concert we do every now & then. I send out the songs we’ll sing ("Rudolph" & "Jingle Bells",) the kids learn the words, we’ll have 1 “formal” practice Sunday @1, and the concert is at 2.

We sang over the songs, then some of the children who play instruments ran through their pieces. They’re mostly students of one of the moms, a Suzuki teacher. She plays with them and it is just charming. (See attached video of her playing with her children.)

(Notice the younger children sitting in the foreground, watching & listening.)

After they rehearsed, the moms were standing around talking and 2 of the boys just started playing together. The cellist is a bit more advanced, so he played slowly so the violinist could feel his way to find the notes. It was pure music and pure love of music. The other children sat there, transfixed, as did the moms once we realized was happening.

This is the essence of music.  It opens our children’s souls to beauty, and to collaboration. Imagine, they could have been sitting there with their heads buried in electronic games- instead, they were communicating with each other and sharing with us. Does it get any better?

If you’d like to come to the concert Sunday, it will begin at 2. We’ve got around 8 children playing in various combinations, too, from piano solos to chamber trios with violins and cello. One of the best things I believe you can do for children is encourage them in music, and get them started early. The concert is at Central Presbyterian Church, 200 East Eight St. (at Brazos.) It likely will last barely an hour. Parking is always a little bit of a challenge, but that time of day, you likely can find street parking rather easily. The lot behind the church, IF there is no sign on it saying it is “closed” (we don’t own it) is also fair game for parking- just please don’t block anyone in! They will tow you! You can also park in the alley behind the church that joins San Jacinto to Brazos, or only 2 blocks to the East is First Baptist Church’s parking garage (corner of Trinity & Ninth- enter from Trinity.) They always have parking, but there should also be street parking on Trinity, too. I *think* it is free until around 4, but check and make sure!

Measuring Up?

"You don't get better pork by weighing the pig every day" was my favorite take-away from a meeting I attended on Monday night called" ‘Measuring Up’--a Statewide Conversation on High-Stakes Testing & Accountability" at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. You can read about it HERE.  The quote just about sums up the problem with the testing mania that grips Texas public schools, thanks to the Legislature.

The problem is caused, at least in part, by big business interests, led by Bill Hammond and the big education-for-profit outfit Pearson. They hit the legislature with a lot of BS and, perhaps, campaign "contributions" (If anyone knows an investigative journalist looking for a story, there may well be one here.) The truth, for the majority of our children, is that graduation outcomes are mostly unchanged, SAT and ACT scores haven't gotten higher, and kids are not only learning less, but hating it more. The majority of the Lege bought into the myth that children are products and can be tested as such, after first falling for “No Child Left Behind” when Bush was governor of Texas and later President.

Don't misunderstand. Too many schools in lower socio-economic areas were written off in past years. Not much in the way of funding went to them, and that concerned too few of those in power. That, as far as I can see, is the ONLY redeeming quality of NCLB, but then, again, to close a neighborhood school, as if the building were responsible for the underperformance, is asinine. All children deserve a good education, and we must fund all schools and staff them with the best of the best. That is harder to do with all the cuts and with the ugliness being said about teachers by the far right. I taught in a public school many, many moons ago, fresh out of college. It was hard then;  it is clearly harder now. 

Teachers deserve our respect. They're taking all our blueberries, not matter what shape they're in when they get there and doing their best to turn out kids who love learning. At least that is what they used to do. Now, as one special ed teacher said the other night, they're "making them cry." The testing mania is out of control.  It isn't just the 45-60 days a school year that are wasted on "benchmarks, practice tests and actual tests", but the narrowing of the curriculum, reducing the range electives, and all the emphasis on grades, grades, grades, along with almost a billion dollars that it costs each year.

I remember when homework was to help with mastery of a subject; when if one missed some, it didn't lower one’s grade, but showed the teacher and/or parents where he or she needed to work with that student to help him to master the concept. My child has homework every night, and it is all graded, every piece of it. Shoot, Band members even got a grade (as if it were a test!) for returning a piece of paper requiring a parental signature, telling parents the basis on which the kids would be graded. 

Homework is now punitive, as is far too much of schooling. A Montessori teacher who attended the session Monday night told the panel that Montessori schools DO “project-based” learning and project assessments and that they don't obsess on grades, but on learning. He invited participants to visit a Montessori school to observe the Montessori process. I could say the same about Waldorf Schools. They emphasize teaching how to think and kindling the flame of a lifetime’s love of learning. With the public schools’ emphasis on grades, grades, grades, love of learning can be difficult to come by. 

Here is my big question, based on Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock's assertion that schools must be accountable to the LEGE, if that august body is going to “GIVE” us $34 billion (of our money) for our public schools.

When Republicans argue for tax cuts, they generally claim it is because people know better how to spend their own money. So, why, given that these are OUR schools, in OUR communities, with OUR children and paid for with OUR taxes, are we accountable to the Lege, who have acted only as tax collectors and are too often totally preoccupied with raising campaign cash for themselves rather than bothering with details like working for the betterment of our state and specifically with working on  difficult, complex issues like, say, education policy? 

It wasn’t long ago that locally elected school boards, chosen by us from among our neighbors in our community had this accountability, but not now. Now State Lege and some zealots in the US Congress make these  complex, tough decisions. And, as one person courageously noted, when the Legislature holds hearings, it is the people like Bill Hammond and the head of Pearson who are invited to share "expert testimony."  Among those NOT invited: teachers or school principals—those on the front line every day--and especially not parents or students. Those who demand accountability regard the folks who reap a profit out of this system, but not those whose lives are most affected, as experts with opinions worthy of consideration. Parents haven't really been organized or outraged enough to demand accountability from those who collect our money and set the policies for educating our kids. That is beginning to change this year—and not a minute too soon--thanks to groups like Texans Advocating for Meaningful Assessment.

Rep. Aycock asks how we can be sure that schools are teaching.  To answer, I direct his attention to what some schools in New York City have developed: a measurable performance assessment. It allows the students to a meaningful role and involves local community members. What could be better? Of course, in New York these schools are being sued for not using New York's version of high-stake testing. I'm willing to bet that the educational industrial complex is behind the lawsuits. They can't let these schools "get away" with actual teaching, right? It will adversely affect Pearson's bottom line!

The hope here is that this is the year that more parents will involve themselves. When deciding for whom to vote, especially for the State House and State Senate, demand to know where your candidates stand on high-stakes testing, as well as funding for schools. If they were in the Lege last year, check to see if Bill Hammond, Sandy Kress, or anyone else who is lobbying for or involved with Pearson Education in any way has given them campaign donations. See how they voted, not only on the school funding bills, but also on Rep. Donna Howard's common sense bill that  would have put money back into public schools if the Rainy Day Fund grew beyond a certain level. (Had the bill not been voted down, it would have meant additional state funding this year, because the Rainy Day Fund did exceed the specified level.)

Where there are good, pro-public education candidates this year, elect them. Let's don't send the exact same people to the Legislature, because, as my Mother said, "If you do the same things you've always done, you'll get the same results you always have."

 Finally, to my homeschooling friends:

Public education is important to you, too, even when you don't directly partake of it. The majority of kids are educated in pubic schools. That is the reality. It is to everyone’s advantage that they receive a good education, one that will allow them to make a decent living once they get out of high school, whether after they go on to a Career & Tech school, a community college or a four-year university. We all benefit when public schools are strong because these kids are far less likely to need social services, which are expensive, or to land in prison, which is even more expensive. I strongly believe in parents’ right to decide how their kids are schooled, whether that is public, private/homeschool, or any combination of these.

 

Why won’t Donna Debate?

Donna Campbell seems to think she’s Rick Perry- refusing to meet with mainstream newspapers or debate her opponents. What is she afraid of? Since we don’t know, let’s guess:

  She’s afraid:

1. of showing how ignorant she is on all issues over which the State actually has purview;
2. that she will show how woefully ill-prepared she is to do anything other than spout tea-party slogans and obstruct;
3. that people will realize she’s a carpet-bagger, with no real knowledge of SD25 or our concerns and problems;
4. that if she engages with our population at large, they might actually expect her to govern for all of us, not just the extreme right;
5. that if enough people find out just how extremist she is, there is no way they will vote for her;
6. that folks will realize she isn’t the solution, but an even bigger problem, and no way do we need that;
7. that too many folks will understand she wants to gut public schools in order to privatize education so that education, too, becomes a profit center;
8. if enough people hear her, and can question her, no way will they vote for her, that following Rick Perry’s model of refusing to meet with editorial boards or debate opponents will help her, but remember how badly Perry did when he finally got under public scrutiny- do we want the same? Once elected, the State Senator will be with us for 4 years- far too long to have an incompetent in office.
9.  all of the above being not only true, but found out by all the voters.

 There’s a story about a guy who was dying and St. Peter told him he had been 50/50, so he could take his choice, heaven or hell. Being a good consumer, he wanted to check both out. First, he went to hell, and there were golf courses, beautiful women skimpily dressed, the best food you could imagine, great weather, and just everything else he could want. He couldn’t believe his eyes! Next, he went to heaven, which was lovely, but WAY more staid. He took a second to think and said he thought he’s be happier in hell. Poof, he was in hell, but it wasn’t the same. It was hot, burning hot. People were screaming in agony, it was nothing like he’d seen on his visit. He saw the Devil and asked what happened. The Devil looked at him and said “When you came first, you were a prospect, now you’re a customer.” 

Bottom line, if Ms. Campbell treats us like this now, when she needs our votes, imagine how she’ll treat us if she gets elected. She won’t be answering to us, but to a far, far right extremist few whose mantra seems to be “mine, mine, mine.” I was brought up to believe that there is enough for all, that none of us are well off if one of us suffers, that, as a Christian, what we do for “the least of us” is indeed what we do to Him. Ms. Campbell spouts off a lot about her faith, but from hearing what she says, if she didn't tell us she was a woman of faith, you'd never know it from her words. She brings to mind the saying that "I can't hear what you're saying because your actions are so much louder than your words."

John Courage, her Democratic opponent, is a veteran, a school teacher, and has lived in the district since the early 1970’s. He has served our country in the military, and his community on Alamo Community College District Board of Trustees in San Antonio, San Antonio Teachers' Council Board, and on San Antonio Literacy Commission, as well as teaching special education and history in San Antonio schools. John has campaigned for “Clean Elections”- getting the big money out of elections so that our officials are beholden only to the voters, not big moneyed special interests. I will add that Mr Courage is ready to debate Ms. Campbell at any time, as well as meet with editorial boards.

With John Courage, we in Senate District 25 have the opportunity to elect a leader with deep roots in the community and a proven record on the #1 issue of our day - education. Courage is a living example of the mainstream Texas values of family, faith, freedom, and fairness.

STEAM not STEM? YES!

There has been much made of the STEM curriculum- Science, Technology, Engineering & Math. These are most certainly important subjects to study, but where the USA has always excelled is in imaginative innovation and we're losing that.

I've written about The Creativity Gap in the past. Recently I read that for every child in the USA who takes piano or violin lessons, 6 in China are taking those musical lessons. In the USA, we have devalued music and other fine arts, but the truth is, having those fine arts in our lives helps our creativity. Here's a couple of links about this:  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/52349.php
http://www.educationoasis.com/resources/Articles/building_babys_brain.htm

Now comes yet another study, saying that employers don't just want folks who can do math, but folks who can creatively figure ways to use that math.  What is being said now is that, instead of just STEM, we need STEAM- adding fine arts back into our schools as an important part of the school day. That creativity doesn't come from doing page after page of math problems, it comes from having creative arts in the curriculum- music, art, drama. The Waldorf Schools probably do the best job of this, as Waldorf education incorporates music and/or art in just about all lessons in some shape or form. The creativity in Waldorf schools is off the scale and it is really exciting to take a tour of a Waldorf School & see what the students are doing. In my daughter's 5th grade class last year, she got music once a week and art once a week, for about 30 minutes- not exactly enough time for the teachers to even begin to teach all that the State of Texas says students should be able to learn in their classes and certainly not enough time to teach any child music who didn't already know it.  Our daughter has taken piano for years, starting in Kindermusik at age 3, and then gradually transitioning to all keyboard. By age 5 they were almost entirely on piano and now, at age 11, she plays better than I did in college. She is no prodigy, but she practices every day and loves her music. It is a part of our lives, yet many public schools, driven by "No Child Left Behind" and State Legislative mandates, cut fine arts to the bone. This year in our school district, because of budget cuts, 6th graders only get 1 elective, so instead of being able to take band and drama, as our daughter wanted, she will only be able to take band. I must admit, too, I'm beginning to question how much "creativity" our kid are getting in band these days with all the emphasis on contests, rather than on teaching music and exposing children to many different pieces of music, but that's another blog.

At this point, I encourage you to read the liked articles and to advocate to our Legislature for fine arts to be considered "core subjects" in public schools. As the article says- imagine Apple without its creativity- it would be...IBM, which is a good product, but it doesn't elicit the excitement of a new Apple product. If the USA is to compete worldwide, we need that creativity, and we're more likely to have it when our children get meaningful fine arts in public schools.

Platforms are the Heart of Political Parties

 We attended the Texas Democratic Party’s state convention last week in Houston. This year, because the primary was held so late, the Dems and Repubs held their conventions at the same time (difference cities) and the contract couldn’t have been more marked. This is the first time I recall the Democratic Platform actually standing up to what we've long said we believe. I'm a proponent of us standing up for what we believe, even if it isn't popular in some places. I like people who know what they believe, and who stand for it, no matter if there is opposition to some of it. Show our backbone- it is about time!

At our convention, we passed the most progressive platform ever in Texas and among the most progressive in the nation. We didn’t do it because we’re "radicals," but because these “planks” were the right things to support-they are "doing justice." On the other hand, while the Repubs did take out “illegals” word, they still have a basically regressive platform. They seem to think that by replacing “illegals” with “undocumented persons” they can wipe away the memory of the hateful legislation that they passed this past year that discriminated against brown people.They do havea plank that calls for not allowing noncitizen children with undocumented parents to attend public school (in spite of a Supreme Court ruling that says states can’t deny them and in spite of the fact that having these kids educated helps us, rather than puts even more uneducated people here who will need more and more social services.)

By contrast, the Democratic platform calls for an end to the death penalty, not because we’re “soft on crime”, but because there is evidence that we’ve executed innocent people, and the fact that the death penalty costs millions, whereas life without parole is an effective way to punish someone who has committed an awful crime and keeps them out of society permanently.

We’ve passed a plank to decriminalize marijuana, not because we like drugs, but because we’ve seen this “war on drugs” draining resources for over 40 years at a cost of over a billion dollars, yet the violence from drug cartels has only increased as their profit has grown. As long as America has a hunger for drugs, the cartels will find a way to get them to us- whether by bribing or murdering. Even Fox “News” knows it has been a failure.  If marijuana is decriminalized, then it will be treated like alcohol- highly regulated and taxed. The money from the taxes can be used for treatment centers, for those who have gone to harder drugs and need to get off of them. Prohibition didn’t work and the war on drugs is a joke. I’ll be honest and say that, as much as I hate drugs, I think they should all be decriminalized, highly regulated and highly taxed. Thousands of people have died in South & Central America, as well as in Mexico, because of the drug cartels. If drugs are legalized, then the profit motive is gone, and we can cut the cartels off at the knees. For now, I’d like to see an education program that shows school students that when they use drugs, they’re often accessories to murder-truly vicious murder, because their drug use does fuel those murders. IF we can get the drug use down, legalize and regulate it, then we can help to do away with the biggest motive for the violence- profit.

Marriage equality is one of the planks of which I’m most proud that got passed. At the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) meeting, they didn’t pass it, because some were too scared to vote for it. At the County Conventions, many counties passed the resolution. Our local Dem club had passed it and sent it on to our county. Between County Conventions and the State Convention, President Obama said he believed in marriage equality, and the opposition melted away. Since then, the NAACP has come out in favor of marriage equality.

While I respect someone’s right to believe that marriage should only be between a man and woman if they believe that from their religious standpoint, I will also remind that someone that we are a country where religion is NOT supposed to make our laws-that would be Iran, folks! You can believe in the Easter Bunny and Santa or not, but same gender couples do exist, and "not believing" in them doesn't make them go away. In countries and US states where marriage equality has passed, the sky hasn’t fallen, the world hasn’t ended, it has just allowed two committed adults who love each other, and who have often lived together for decades, to have the legal commitment that my husband and I enjoy because we were able to go to the courthouse, pay a fee, and get a legal document (marriage license) that gave us not only legal rights, but many obligations as well. Why should any two adults be denied this legal protection? If we realize that marriage, at its heart, is a legal arrangement, then the opposition to marriage equality should go away. We don’t deny LGBT folks any other legal contract- they can buy homes with a mortgage, they can sue people, they can have any other legal contract we have, but we’ve denied them this marriage contract on the basis of some people’s religious beliefs. With marriage equality,  these families (and many do include children) receive the legal protection that our family enjoys. There is nothing that forces any religious leader to perform a religious marriage, only the legal right to the civil contract of marriage. IF the couple is religious and they are part of a religious body that supports same gender marriage, then they can also have a religious ceremony, but no one is forced to do this. Consider the Catholic Church-currently if one of the couple has been divorced, unless they go through a Catholic Church annulment, or if one of the couple is not Christian, they cannot get married in the Catholic Church, and they’re not considered married by the Catholic Church, even if they have a legal ceremony in another church or venue, or a civil ceremony. They are still legally married, but that church just doesn't "recognize" it. No one forces the Catholic Church to recognize those weddings, and that is how it will be with marriage equality. My guess is that LGBT folks will migrate away from the Catholic Church if they continue to deny them as full members, but that will be a matter of choice. With marriage equality, there are obligations that come- one partner can’t just walk away at the drop of a hat, they’ll have the legal right to visit each other in the hospital and the other partner’s bio family can’t deny them that right (which has happened.) They’ll have the right of inheritance, as will their children. If our friends who are same gender couples can legally marry in our state, it in no way impacts my marriage negatively. It simply helps their family be stronger.

Our platform includes language against the high stakes testing in public schools, and the need to move to another system, for the betterment of our children’s education. It isn’t there because of teachers, it is there because many of us parents got this resolution passed at the local level and sent it on. Hundreds of school districts and now PTA’s have passed the resolution, or will be passing it once school starts this fall. Did you hear the report that to “pass” Algebra I part of the new “STARR” test, a student needs only 31% rating to pass- that’s right- a 31%- in other words, a low F, yet, it is “passing” yet only 83% of students did that! If you didn’t realize that something is wrong with this system, that should be an awakening call.

I encourage you to check out the platforms of both parties (note that it may take a week or so for both to be posted) and for my friends who are people of faith, see which one actually more closely resembles the tenets of your faith, which ones calls for "doing justice and loving mercy," which one "does to the least of these" what we'd want to do for our Lord. If you look at them like that, I think some of you may be surprised.