9/11 In My Classroom

On September 10 in my American Government/Current Events class, I presented a very effective lesson on 9/11. I made the day “come alive” for my students and the parents who were sitting in on the class. Not a dry eye in the room by the time I was done.

I personalized the lesson with details that my students will never read in history books: the days-long chirping of those cell phones at Ground Zero, the very small body parts, the pink mist in the air, the several hours I spent as I awaited word of the fate of one of my friends in the Pentagon (He, a wonderful man with several kids and a disabled wife, was called out of the building, out of the very room that was destroyed, a few minutes before the plane struck), the children who perished in the day care center at the Pentagon, tales of recovery personnel and what they went through in those weeks following 9/11, the anthrax attacks (the devil in the mail box), the many lost freedoms and the many resulting inconveniences, how this generation will never be as free as my generation, the travesty of the Flight 93 Memorial, and more — including the whitewash of Islam and my anger at today’s dhimmitude and political correctness.

I spoke without notes.

I spoke from the heart.

The last segment of my lesson plan consisted of playing Bruce Springsteen’s “You’re Missing” on the classroom's excellent sound system:

THE LORAX? REALLY?

Last week, I conversed with a parent concerned about the education that her seventh-grade daughter is receiving in one of the "finest" public schools in one of the "finest" school districts in the United States.

The account I received was beyond disconcerting.

It was dismaying!

The student, dedicated to learning and enrolled in the gifted and talented program, returned from a week's absence due to illness and inquired of the teacher as to what work needed to be completed.  The teacher chirped, "Oh, there's nothing to make up.  The class spent all last week watching The Lorax."

The film The Lorax, based on the book of the same title, is eighty-six minutes long.  Apparently, the class discussed the film in class, but no written work was assigned.

The situation did not involve a flu epidemic with too many absences for the teacher to forge ahead, nor die  the situation involve a substitute in charge of the class for the week.  Therefore, I have to wonder if spending an entire week on this film was part of county-approved program of studies.

These two bits of information (HERE and HERE) may provide clues as to why an "advanced" seventh-grade class spent an entire week on The Lorax.

America is turning into an idiocracy, and public education is one means to attaining that particular type of dystopia, defined as a society characterized by human misery — in this case, a dystopia characterized by miserable mindlessness.

Additional reading of possible interest: Marxism in Education: Infiltration of Our School Systems by the Common Core Standards.

DOES YOUR DWELLING COMPLY?

Obama Administration Says All Americans Must Have 'Healthy Housing':

(CNSNews.com) - Under the broad banner of "health," the federal government not only is telling Americans what to eat, it's also telling us to make our homes safer.

This week, the Obama administration released a "bold new vision for addressing the nation's health and economic burdens caused by preventable hazards associated with the home."

The project has a name: "Advancing Healthy Housing: A Strategy for Action."...

About so-called electrical deficiencies....

This old house (the family homestead) doesn't come up to the county's electrical code. I've had my house inspected by more than one independent electrician. According to these electricians, this house is perfectly safe!

If I had to bring this house up to county code, the entire house would have to be demolished because of the brick-and-plaster structure and the hot-water radiator heat.

So far, the county building-code Nazis allow my husband and me to live here.  The county does, however, forbid our renting the house to any tenant but family.

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I have to wonder if "healthy housing" will put a limit on the square footage allowed per occupant. It's not "healthy" for the environment for a couple to own and dwell in "too much square footage," right?

A REVEALING MEETING

On October 8, I met with R, a former student of many years ago.  She hunted me down on the Internet and asked if I would advise her. This young lady, who did not go into teaching directly from college but rather pursued another career for a few years, thought that teaching would be relatively easy.  She actually said to me, "When you were teaching me, I thought that teaching looked so easy!"

This first year as a classroom teacher, R is finding out the hard way that effective teaching is anything but easy, particularly during those first years.

R's lack of experience, however, is only the beginning of her woes as a first-year teacher....

Read the rest at Always On Watch to learn more about some of the serious flaws with our education system. 

To flourish, our republic needs an educated citizenry.

Thanksgiving Blessings

Yes, there is much wrong on the political scene.

But at my blog, I took a break from politics and posted about what I'm personally thankful for.

On this Thanksgiving Day, let us count our blessings! We all have many blessings, even if life has taken a terrible turn.

GETTING READY TO SHELTER IN PLACE

(Photo of my side yard, taken last week by The Merry Widow, when we got a mere five inches of snow)

A huge snowstorm is bearing down on Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area.

We have been advised to shelter in place for three days!

My personal essay on the matter is here.

If I hear one more word about global warming, I'm going to bust a gasket!

OUR HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM AND THE NANNY STATE

The essay below relates an aspect of my personal experience in dealing with our health-care system when Mr. AOW had a serious stroke last fall. He remained in medical-care facilities from September 15 to November 25.

No doubt about it, when Mr. AOW was released from the inpatient hospital stroke rehabilitation center on October 16, he was unable to be cared for at home. In addition to being completely paralyzed on the left side (limbs and trunk), his sense of balance was completely awry: he could fall forward, backward, or to either side at any given moment. His brain didn't know what direction up was! He also suffered from mental confusion. For example, he said, "I know I'm in the hospital here in Virginia, but I feel like I'm in California."

In fact, in spite of the ninety days of coverage supposedly provided by the health-insurance plan the hospital refused to keep Mr. AOW any longer than two weeks or to release him to home. Instead, the hospital and the nursing home teamed up to release him only to a skilled nursing facility, which costs a minimum of $350 per day.

At both the rehab hospital and the nursing home, both of which were in-network facilities of Mr. AOW's health-insurance plan, I was repeatedly advised to obtain Medicare and Medicaid. This mandate, in spite of the fact that Mr. AOW was not eligible for Medicare at the age of fifty-nine and has always had health insurance for, lo, three decades!

When I pointed out to the hospital and the nursing home that Mr. AOW and I had too many assets to qualify for either Medicare or Medicaid, I was advised to liquidate all those assets that Mr. AOW and I had spent a lifetime accumulating, go bankrupt once those assets were consumed by medical care, and become beneficiaries of the Nanny State. By the way, all assets were on the table, including retirement accounts (IRA's).

Looking back, I realize that both the hospital and the nursing home anticipated that Mr. AOW would always be a resident of the nursing home, never mind that he was admitted there for stroke therapy and not as a long-term resident.

After Mr. AOW made substantial progress after several weeks in the nursing home, the day arrived when I informed the health-insurance company and the nursing home that I would be bringing Mr. AOW home in a few weeks. The representative from the health-insurance company again advised me to seek out Medicaid coverage. Talk about having their needle stuck!

Once we established that Medicaid was not an option and that I was indeed determined to bring Mr. AOW home, I was threatened: "We'll have to report you to adult protective services."

So, how did I bring Mr. AOW home without getting arrested? I had in place the necessary paperwork: complete power of attorney and the advanced medical directive, both of which documents gave me conseiderable legal power. I also had on my side our family physician, who was willing to sign the release orders. This last is very important! Had I not placed Mr. AOW under the care of the family physician, the nursing-home physician could have refused to release Mr. AOW, thus forcing us into bankruptcy.

Also of help was a bit of name dropping, specifically, the name of my husband's personal attorney, famous as "the attorney of attorneys." Were he called in, he would own the nursing home by the time he was finished! At that point, the nursing home, recognizing the kind of legal proceedings they could be up against, agreed to starting the necessary paperwork for Mr. AOW's release from the nursing home. The one requirement: that Mr. AOW receive occasional visits from a registered nurse.

I have learned there is some truth in what some of my older relatives used to say: "Once I go into the hospital, I'll never come back home." Hospitals and nursing homes do have the power to hold patients and their families hostage.

Via the necessary legal documents and before illness strikes, arm yourself in advance so that you don't become a victim of the health-care system's trying to push you and your family under the care of the Nanny State. Believe me, the health-care system will try hard to push you in that direction!

And what would have happened under ObamaKare?