Holla Back!

Just discovered a fun new website - HollaBack NYC, created to post pictures of street harassers, since there isn't really much else that can be done. Gotta love this as a response to sexual harassment - their motto is "If you can't slap 'em, snap 'em!"

http://www.hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/

This site was created as a way to empower women who are victims of street harassment - a problem that is of course much harder to address that workplace harassment. Want to slap the harasser, but know that's not a good idea? Using a cell phone camera, take his picture, then send it to the site! The site is an amusing collection of pics and stories about the freaks out there & how women are coping with them.

A user from DC summed up the whole point of it nicely:
"Being called "beautiful" and "sexy" is a compliment when it comes from someone who means it and who you in return find such...not from some random man on the street with half of his teeth missing who's drunk!"

As one of the founders, Emily May, noted:
"When I didn't do anything [to respond to harassment] it didn't feel good, and when I yelled back, it didn't feel good, but now I have a response that genuinely feels good." (from an article in Ms. magazine - summer '06)

BRAVO for both creativity and positivity! :)

Update from Baghdad Burning

New post today from the Girl Blog from Iraq: http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

She says:
"You know your country is in trouble when:
* The UN has to open a special branch just to keep track of the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI, but abovementioned branch cannot be run from your country.

* The only thing the US and Iran can agree about is the deteriorating state of your nation.

* For every 5 hours of no electricity, you get one hour of public electricity - and then the government announces it's going to cut back on providing that hour.

* People consider themselves lucky if they can actually identify the corpse of the relative that's been missing for two weeks."

Scary.

One thing we - who don't have a war within our own borders - tend not to think about so much is the culture of fear that takes over during war. She says, "There is no compensation for the dense, black cloud of fear that hangs over the head of every Iraqi." We have to admit there is no parallel in America. Our unsafe neighborhoods are heaven compared with most of Iraq. We have no clue...

Check out the website for her full post. The least we can do is pay attention.

If you can't trust Jimmy Stewart...

It gets better! Better than a murderous Santa or religious wing-nuts losing at Christmas (see below) we now have an old FBI memo calling the movie It's a Wonderful Life "communist propaganda" for it's pro-common-man, anti-consumerist message and its portrayal of the banker as a bad guy.

You can read the actual FBI memo (with names blotted out) and some entertaining commentary at: http://www.wisebread.com/fbi-considered-its-a-wonderful-life-communist-propaganda#memo1

Even more interesting, blogger Will Chen writes:
"Perhaps the FBI was (and still is) correct when it said It's a Wonderful Life did not reflect American values. If you don't believe me, try telling your loved ones tonight that they won't be getting a materialistic gift from you, because your love for them already makes them the 'richest man in town!'"

Think about that as you reflect on the "reason for the season"! :)

Gotta have a debate, even on Christmas...

Too funny - the latest "PC" challenge apparently comes from reaction to a Santa horror movie being released on Christmas day. It seems that some random Christians don't think it's appropriate for a movie that portrays Santa as a mass-murderer to be released on Christmas.

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2006/12/im_probably_goi.html

Hello - what does Santa have to do with Christianity? Even if you trace back to the original St Nicholas, his story is still not about the Christ child...

So I guess I don't get it. Check out the link to the article & accompanying comments - very funny commentary on the state of pop culture today. Gotta love an article that begins:

"I'm probably going to hell for saying this, but I don't see anything wrong with Santa Claus wanting to murder a bunch of Hollywood pretty people on Christmas day."

So check out the link - probably more entertaining than the movie! :)

Whoosh!

Where did December go?

It's not surprising that Christmas night is the first time I've had in a month to even think about writing, but I didn't realize it had been so long.

Other people I know have more pressing things going happening in their lives - one is waiting for her son to come home from Iraq next week - another just lost her sister in a freak accident a month ago - a third is worrying about a stalker ex-boyfriend. Nothing big like that is going on with me! Both of my U classes ended in the first half of the month, so that's no longer even an excuse.

I guess the work/home/socializing routine just gets stepped up a notch in December. More work, more social engagements, and more going on at home. But nothing earth-shattering.

One thing that's nice - my family is about as functional as they come. While other people stress the holidays and dread being around crazy relatives, I have no such problems. My immediate and extended family are all normal and nice, so the holidays are relaxing for us, not stressful. We are blessed.

Joy to the world, the lord is come! :)

How ironic...

...that the Twin Cities gets to the be symbolic good guy and bad guy in the culture wars this month - all at the same time!

First, we elected Keith Ellison as the first Muslim representative to Congress, and then a US Air flight out of the MSP airport returned & removed 6 Muslim imams because they made other passengers nervous. Sheesh.

On the radio yesterday, they made it sound like the imams were standing up on the plane when they shouldn't have been, but that was not the case. Apparently they made other passengers nervous simply because they were praying and speaking in Arabic.

Then, to add insult to injury, US Air refunded their money but wouldn't sell them new tickets to get home, so they had to go to Northwest. Not sure what that's about, though the NY Times article about the incident notes that US Air has had more complaints from Muslims than other airlines in recent years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/22/us/22muslim.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

At least the media didn't call Keith Ellison to comment on the story!

Perfect!

I wish I could just reproduce this here! Please check out this link!

http://www.gocomics.com/boondocks/2006/11/13/

It's a Boondocks cartoon that totally speaks to the issue of different perspectives. Perfect fit for the whole Lee/Stuart controversy.

And So It Goes...

I am so disappointed that the Strib came out calling for Chris Stewart's head over this Tammy Lee website thing!

http://www.startribune.com/561/story/808634.html

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised! Comfortable white folks miss the point - almost intentionally. The spoof site points at the ugly truth beneath the surface - or at the least the truth as it's perceived by some in communities of color!

It's fine to maintain that Lee's campaign was about more than offering a safe alternative to the muslim black guy - I'm sure it was to Lee! - but we cannot deny that it offered safe harbor to folks who couldn't bring themselves to vote for either Ellison or Fine.

A friend told me today that she voted for Ellison precisely because he's muslim and black - overlooking the parking tickets, et al. I think that's totally appropriate, and told her so. There are plenty of folks in Congress who look & think like us. We can afford to elect one person who's a little different.

What Is Racism?

The following link - the spoof site of Tammy Lee's congressional campaign site, created, apparently, by (or with help from) newly elected MPS school board member Chris Stewart - was forwarded to me with the note that it shows "racism in the black community." I disagree.

http://www.trailblz.info/leetammy/hatesite/hatesite.htm
(In case it goes down soon, here's a quote: "Tammy Lee is the Best Choice to Replace Congressman Martin Sabo. After all, she's white - just like us, and that means we can trust her. We should all agree that a Negro should never replace a great statesman like Martin Sabo.")

I think it points a satirical finger at the real racism that's still out there! Throughout the 5th district Congressional campaign (Keith Ellison/Tammy Lee/Alan Fine) I couldn't shake the feeling that there were a significant number of well-meaning folks who would never vote for the really conservative guy, but just couldn't bring themselves to support the black/muslim guy. Tammy Lee's campaign offered an out (a female, so see, we're not just going for another white guy) but not much else.

The spoof site shares what a lot of folks were thinking, if not saying. It's not that the black folks are racist and wouldn't vote for her because she's white. It's that the black folks could tell that there were really people out there who were more comfortable with a 36-year-old white candidate with little experience than a talented, experienced black candidate with baggage. And the spoof site points that up - with humor.

Minnesota has prided itself on being progressive and open-armed, but I think the old saying about Minnesota nice still holds: a Minnesotan will give you directions to anywhere - except their own home.

We've come a long way, sure, but there are miles to go...

Finally!!!

Keith Ellison won! For the first time in history, we have:
* a muslim elected to US Congress
* a black representative from the state of MN

http://www.keithellison.org/

And for some Americans, it's about time!!! Beyond the ignorant & racist "fox in the henhouse" rhetoric from some corners, I think it's OUTSTANDING that there is someone of color representing Minnesota, and a muslim person representing all of us.

Progress!

Tick... Tick... Tick...

The countdown to the election promises to be nothing but interesting! Replacing the scary pedophile senator scandal with Kerry's bad joke scandal... what's next? Can't wait to see!

It's sad that the days of office-holders running on their record - "here's what I've done that you can be proud of" - are so over. Every time I see/hear a negative ad, all I can think is how pathetic it is that incumbents don't seem to have much to run on. And even sadder - negative ads are used because they work! America is not, apparently, a land of geniuses...

One very cool thing is that most of the big-office candidates in MN this year are younger! Quite a few are in their 40's: Pawlenty 46, Klobuchar 46, Kennedy 49, Ellison 43, and Tammy Lee is only 35! Gotta love it. (And Bill Clinton, who used to be Mr. Young Guy, is now 60!) Only Ellison & Lee are really Gen X, but the others are still early career, and I think that's awesome.

The Cure...

It's interesting to me that the cure for feeling overwhelmed and stressed out by too much work and too many commitments is... to drop it all and go out dancing!

In honor of the halloween weekend, the girls put on party dresses with kitty ears and devil horns and went downtown! I REALLY didn't want to go because I couldn't shake the feeling of having SO much work to do - but having already cancelled most of my other weekend plans in the name of busyness I decided not to bow out of this too.

We had an awesome time! Just exactly what I needed to get my equilibrium back and feel on top of the world again. I went to church this morning feeling that God is so good!

Ironic - but true. What a cure. :)

Freedom

“Freedom is the awareness of alternatives & the ability to choose.”
– Alan Wheelis

I wish my students understood the extent to which they curtail their own freedom with lackluster academic performance! They don't get deferred gratification - the way their hard work today will pay off in the future. They are not only NOT aware of all the alternatives out there, but they don't see that they DO have the power to choose - IF they lay the foundation now...

Sigh.

Since When is Social Justice "PC"?

I was both amused and disturbed by Mona Charen’s column this week about Columbia Teacher’s College and the politics of education.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MonaCharen/2006/10/13/letting_the_pc_slip_show

I have long suspected that one of the real reasons for the attacks on public schools since the 80’s is the realization by the right that the empowerment of the underclasses happens predominantly through the schools! It is teachers who say “you can become anything you want, and I’ll show you the path to get there.” Poor parents are not all going to either know the path or to believe in it. Hence, if they can decimate the schools, they can preserve the upper class as is into the future.

So Charen attacks Columbia’s statement that “we see teaching as an ethical and political act” as totally inappropriate, and the notion that teaching is part of “a larger struggle for social justice” as just wrong. (Then of course she goes on to blame the teacher’s unions for schools offering less than great education – typical.)

Because I can see through her rhetoric, I can afford to be amused by it. But given that much of her readership may not stop to think about public schools as the foundation of the democracy (and that democracy itself has been under attack in recent years) her column is still disturbing.

Gen X on Sex

More from “I’m Not a Feminist, But…”
> Why did Viagra hit the market before a male oral contraceptive?
>If women suffer from penis envy, why do men have more sex changes?
> When men complain that wearing a condom is a hardship, are they comparing it to giving birth, or having an abortion?

The Old Scout Goes Off!

I don't usually think of Garrison Keillor as especially political or fiery, but this week's "Old Scout" column is serious! I often scan his columns in the Sunday Strib - and am sometimes bored - but not this time.

He begins: "I would not send my college kid off for a semester abroad if I were you. Last week, we suspended human rights in America, and what goes around comes around. Ixnay habeus corpus."

Turns out that Congress in its wisdom has determined that an "enemy combatant" is simply any noncitizen that the president declares to be an enemy combatant - and that person can be arrested and held for as long as authorities wish without any right of trial. Imagine now that your brother or sister - an American citizen - were suddenly arrested & held in another country - and you could not contact them, and they could not even contact a lawyer. For years. Oh, and it's up to the president how much torture is OK while they're imprisoned, too. Yup - America 2006.

We'd do well to remember - what goes around comes around...

"I was a Republican..."

"I was a Republican until they lost their minds."
- Charles Barkley

In his Oct 2 New York Times column, Paul Krugman includes this quote as an example of how the "right-wing coalition" of religious and economic conservatives seems to be crumbling. He argues that because the alliance was never one of shared goals, but rather of utility, it was always vulnerable to the kind of stress it feels today.

No shock there...

The Foley scandal cracks me up - the hypocrisy is nothing but amusing. And now that the Republicans are bringing their convention to the Twin Cities in 2008 (great strategy to push our purple state a little redder!) it makes me wonder how the cities will like playing host to all that! I found extensive coverage of their last convention still archived on New York Magazine's site: http://nymag.com/rnc/index.htm - some very funny stuff!

Ancient Chinese Wisdom

"A leader is best
When people barely know he exists…
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say: we did it ourselves."
- Lao-tzu

I wonder how much good Gen X leaders are fulfilling this ideal and thus not getting much credit for taking the reigns from the boomers...?

Sidebar: As I was researching, I was amused to find that there is a whole company - actually more than one - devoted to translating the wisdom of Sun-Tsu's ancient "Art of War" into modern business - and it makes a lot of sense! I'm not sure this is what I went back to grad school for, but it is interesting...

Thinking about X

I haven't thought much about Gen X lately - probably because I'm too busy. Is that where we all are right now? Too busy to stop & think about the state of the world and our place in it?

A classmate was talking about that yesterday - that one thing he hopes to get out of this class (grad level leadership theory - more fun than it sounds) is the chance to stop & think about things, and not just go-go-go.

I agree. Sometimes I think I'm nuts for pursuing another degree when all it's really getting me is debt, but I love the opportunity to spend time wrapping my brain around (arguably) important issues.

It's interesting to me that there is so little in the press about Gen X and where we are right now. Maybe as more leaders like Keith Ellison, Meria Carstarphen and Barak Obama ascend we'll see folks taking a little more time to think about it...

More on the Gap

A bold editorial on the black/white achievement gap in MN from the PiPress by a colleague & friend of mine who knows from where he speaks…

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/opinion/15289585.htm

I think he's right on. I also think that the issue is more complicated in MN because we have a hard time keeping a black professional class here. The culture of "MN Nice" makes it feel like quicksand to folks of color from other places - they can never tell what someone really thinks of them - so it can be a very uncomfortable place to live. Then the city kids don't have good role models, so they think "being black" means being ghetto, not being successful. Hence, the gap.

White folks? Comments?

Before the Primary

So the primary is in two days... I think there has been a lot of energy generated and the voting turnout will be good - at least I hope so! It's interesting to have several very competitive races at this point.

I sent the following email last week to just about everyone I know who lives in the 5th... I am still frustrated by otherwise thoughtful people who are not supporting Ellison but can't give any significant reason WHY - which I interpret as "I'm not ready to vote for the black/muslim guy". Bums me out! So I tried to provide a lot of info to help folks clarify their thinking:

Friends in the 5th-
We all know that the primary on 9/12 will all but determine our next 5th district representative to congress. Keith Ellison deserves your time to show up and vote for him on Tuesday! But I know many of you are still struggling with this decision, so I've pulled together some info for you. Ellison has been endorsed by Mondale, Rybak, Frasier, McCollum, Kelliher, McLaughlin, Pogemiller, Kelley, Moe, Spear... and of course the American Federation of Teachers, among many others! See the full list: http://www.keithellison.org/endorsements.htm Before you vote, please read the recent City Pages article about Ellison & this race:
http://citypages.com/databank/27/1343/article14661.asp And Nick Coleman's July Strib column about all the controversy: http://www.startribune.com/357/story/539892.html MPR's website has some audio clips of various Ellison speeches & interviews, as well as articles: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/2006/campaign/congress/ellison/

And if you haven't recycled it yet, read the Friday 9/1 Strib article, "Email smear is traced to rival aide" (buried on p. B7) about the "anonymous emails" that turned out to be from Paul Ostrow's campaign chair! Ostrow has fired the man and denied any knowledge of it, but it does point out to us that all the negative press has not been just because Ellison has baggage, but because someone purposely - and anonymously - made sure the media knew about it. How sad. [Also provided info on upcoming debates which have now passed.]

Bottom line in my mind:
Like me, you believe God wants better for people who are not doing as well as we are. You know we should do something about it, and Ellison has presented us with "something". Ellison will be a great rep if given the chance. His work on the north side and in the legislature has shown that again and again. The people of the north side - and the south side - and the suburbs - deserve a leader they can look up to, who inspires hope for meaningful change. YOU can make this happen. I hope you do! :) Please pass this on ASAP to other 5th district voters, and take the time to vote on Sept 12th! THANK YOU!!!

Food for Thought…

“The best way to fight tyranny is always to create something beautiful, because tyranny can't understand beauty, and thus can't destroy it.”

Saw this on a colleague's classroom wall. Put it on my own office wall & am still pondering it...

This is Real

Hope you're keeping an eye on: http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

The girl who writes Baghdad Burning says that so many people have left Iraq this summer she wonders if it’s hundreds of thousands. Of course there are no official figures for something like that…

She says that residents of Baghdad are “systematically being pushed out of the city.” No one trusts the government, the Americans, the military, or anyone but friends & relatives. The only hope is to say alive – “not safe, not secure - just alive.” We can’t even IMAGINE what that feels like.

Not that I read all the news on this subject – how can anyone without being permanently depressed? – but I have yet to see this info in the news…

More from “I’m Not a Feminist But…”

* If childrearing is the most important job in the world, why is it an unpaid position? (And why don't more men do it full time?!)

* Why are modeling and prostitution the only two fields in which women routinely out-earn men?

* If intelligent women are unaffected by media images, why do a quarter of female college students develop eating disorders?

What is Chick Lit?

As an English major and fan of literature from a female perspective, I have read lots of novels by women. Some of them probably fall into the "chick lit" category - the definition of which I'm not sure I really understand, and have honestly not thought much about.

So when I saw two book covers: "This Is Not Chick Lit" and "This Is Chick Lit" I just assumed they were spoofs - until I read the accompanying text and realized they are both anthologies being published this summer. Check it out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/2006/08/10/this-blog-post-is-not-chi_e_26955.html


As I thought about it, I realized that I am guilty of two things:
* I probably tend to avoid most "chick lit" because I assume (ah, we know about that word!) that it's stereotype-filled fluff that's not worth my time,
* I just read and really enjoyed Candice Bushnell's "Lipstick Jungle".

Lipstick Jungle is not a story from which I learned anything or even got any new ideas, but it was a fun read and very affirming of women in leadership and women who don't operate within traditional roles. That is probably the essence of chick lit - and if so, why avoid it?

Rights

Ran across this in my law class:

"Having the right to do something does not mean that doing something is right."

No doubt!

Question of the Day

from “I’m Not a Feminist, But…”:

Why are women warned to stay in at night for their own safety, when home is the place they’re most likely to be assaulted?

Has it really been 20 years???

Whirlwind reunion weekend – and then it’s over. After months of planning & organizing, the weekend itself came & went quickly! Being there - after the amusement of seeing who has & has not changed - didn't feel much different from high school itself. We have been out of high school for 20 years – but I don’t feel old!

My girls got together today to relax & recap – and be thankful once again that we stuck together through all this time. We all had a great time both nights – and felt pretty good about where our lives are at this point! Most people seemed to be doing fine, (though of course some of them probably worried about going bald or being fat or not being married or whatever,) but who knows how the people who didn’t come are doing? Most of the people that I wanted to see did show up, but there were a few that I was disappointed not to see. Hope they are well!

I'm not sure what I expected, but the whole thing wasn't exactly life-changing. It was just two nights of big fun parties. Or is that what it's supposed to be? :)

Those who forget history are doomed to...

Given America's current state of war, lack of international good will, national debt, polarized political parties and citizen dissatisfaction, what society in early 20th century history do we most resemble?

Think about it for a minute...

If you guessed Germany's pre-Hitler Weimar Republic, you're right!

If you didn't... no surprise, most of us would never think of that comparison. But Brian E. Fogarty, a sociology professor at St Kate's, makes that case in today's StarTribune - with interesting results. Not to imply that we're on the brink of fascism, but he does assert that we're on the brink of losing sight of our democratic ideals out of fear and distraction. Hmm...

See what you think: http://www.startribune.com/562/story/574377.html

FLOW

FLOW: A NorthSide ArtsCrawl is this Friday night 6-10pm – visual & performing arts of all kinds, at several different venues - www.flownorthside.com for more info.

I’m a little annoyed that I haven’t seen anything in the press about this yet. It’s the kind of wonderful, positive thing that happens on the north side but doesn’t get the coverage that the big killings do! Our poets are performing, along with many other youth & adults. It’s going to be great – if the city actually finds out about it!

Courage

“Courage is the most important virtue, because without it we cannot practice any other virtue consistently.”
- Maya Angelou

I have had this as a poster on my classroom walls for years. Bottom-line truth! We talk about all the things that people should do, but so much in life is easier said than done. What’s tough requires courage.

More Flashbacks!

RSVPs are (finally) pouring in for our 20th reunion next month, and I’m talking with people I have not seen in years! Some in Minnesota but not nearby – some in other states – one just moved back. I’m impressed with the positivity I’ve heard in all the conversations – people who have not registered yet are working on childcare or their spouse’s work schedule, but they are planning or at least hoping to come. I’ve made several calls to old friends and not one has said that they don’t want to come. I’m really looking forward to seeing people – I had a lot of fun in high school and expect the reunion weekend to be a lot of fun too!

I still wonder what can really be said of our generation – how are we different, unique? Maybe I'll have some insight after seeing everyone...

Questions

From a fun little book called "I'm Not a Feminist, But.." by Lang & Rajah:

* Why is doing anything "like a girl" a bad thing - even for a girl?

* Why is it that when you own 51% of a company's stock you control the company, but if you make up 51% of a society you don't control a thing?

* Why is a bachelor always eligible, but a spinster never so?

* Why aren't there any father-in-law jokes?

Food for thought! :)

Think About It...

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

- Albert Einstein

Coleman on Ellison

Getting to the point on Keith Ellison's candidacy for Congress, Nick Coleman articulates in yesterday's column the view - which I share - that all the news about his parking tickets and late report filings is really much more about our DFL-endorsed candidate being black and Muslim. Even though it's 2006, I guess that still freaks some people out.

He points out that our governor has had much larger sanctions for doing much worse things than Ellison ever did while campaigning, and that many of our fearless leaders in the state legislature & executive branch have lots of driving & parking tickets too. (And none of them were pulled over for DWB...)

http://www.startribune.com/357/story/539892.html

It's nice to see someone cut so articulately through the BS...

Post from Santa Cruz

I was too busy to get to the computer while in Santa Cruz this week, but we can pretend! ;) Interesting to be in California & have the weather be cooler than Minneapolis, but that was the case. It was beautiful, but mostly in the 70's.

The training I attended was an excellent example not only of great professional development, but of Gen X at the helm - an organization run by 3 people pretty close to my age! The guy who ran our training was actually several years younger than I am. (I love that!) The woman who led the small group I worked with for the week was about 27, but had no problem leading folks of all ages.

When folks know what they're doing - become experts in one particular area - age ceases to matter and expertise becomes the currency. Onward & upward, Gen X! :)

Who Thinks up This Stuff???

A fun website: http://www.thecoolhunter.net/home/

Endless entertainment – just click & scroll. Crazy-interesting ideas, from practical to just-for-fun. I was intrigued by the wheelchair car, the floating pool lamps, and the landmark houses. I love things that make me ask: Who thinks up this stuff???

Unbelievable - and yet not so shocking...

Someone has actually come up with a reason why not to rely on wind power as an alternative to oil…

Military radar. That’s right – wind turbines just might interfere with military radar. We don't know - but they might... so they must be studied, and the FAA has decreed that no more can be built (by refusing to issue the required safety permits) until the Department of Defense study – with no published completion timeline – is finished.

Yea, and we believe ya, too.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/14855761.htm

MIAMI WINS!!!

Yea for the Miami Heat - '06 NBA champions! :)

I don't have any really great reason for liking Miami - other than maybe ha ha to Kobe Bryant - but I'm glad Miami won!!! See the celebration: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/

An Interesting Look at AYP

I was surprised to read that only 28 percent of Florida schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) this year, so I went searching to see how Minnesota compares. According to the MN Dept of Ed, 82 percent of our schools were making AYP as of October ’05. That did not surprise me so much.

The Bush vs. Bush article is amusing – apparently now Jeb is saying that the Florida rating system is more meaningful than his brother's AYP system... because it makes the FL schools look much better. Watching how one brother has to distance himself from the other in order to make excuses for his state's poor performance is pretty entertaining! While I do suspect that the whole AYP system is rigged to produce failure and open the door for vouchers, I also believe that it has done some good in forcing schools to take a hard look at who’s learning what. The problem is not the tests or the standards, but the sanctions. We need more help, not less!

I would love to see a state-by-state breakdown of AYP rates. Bet the blue states do better.

Check out the Florida numbers:
http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/ (Bush vs. Bush: AYP vs. FCAT)

And the Minnesota numbers:
http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Data/Data_Downloads/Accountability_Data/NCLB_AYP/index.html

A Question for Fathers...

Interesting article in the current Fast Company magazine - "What Kind of Dad Are You?" - blames men for being conspirators in a corporate culture that continues to see juggling work & family as a female problem, and offers suggestions for how dads can actually change the culture where they work!

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/07/138whatkind.html

It's nice to think that we're inching closer to the day when childcare will be considered a family problem, not just a women's problem...

Father's Day

Great ad for The Economist magazine:

“Have more intelligent fights with your father.”

Since my dad was a CPA, I can relate! :)

"Covering"

I am intrigued by a new book called “Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights” by Kenji Yoshino, a Yale law professor.

The premise is that prejudice has evolved beyond the pressure to convert – as for gays to try to be straight, for example – through the pressure to pass – like the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy – to a new place where those who don’t share the majority culture are expected to “tone it down” or downplay their differences.

I think it’s probably true.

One thing that’s been bugging me for the last few years is the notion that white America is no longer prejudiced against blacks per se – and in fact embraces those blacks who choose to embrace a suburban lifestyle – but still looks down on urban blacks who make different lifestyle choices. A black man in a polo shirt & khakis is welcomed just about anywhere, but a black man wearing headgear and a baggy T-shirt is not.

According to Yoshino, today’s civil rights laws protect people based only on what they are, not on what they do. So a woman can’t be fired for being black, but she can be fired for wearing her hair in cornrows. (True story.) She can’t be fired for being gay, but she can be fired after having a public commitment ceremony with her partner. (Another true story.)

How far have we really come, baby?

Brooks on the Sexes

David Brooks’ column this week surprised me – not because he makes a case for gender-separate education, but because a normally articulate columnist is reduced to ridiculous generalizations to make his points.

AAUW did pretty extensive research on gender-separate education in the 90’s and came up with a clear conclusion: it’s good for girls, but not for boys. Girls relax in a more cooperative, less competitive atmosphere where they can excel without fear of not being feminine enough. Boys, however, are left with each other – competitive and annoying. They generally don’t learn more or achieve more.

But Brooks ignores this research completely, relying instead on one random author to make his case. He then throws out some ridiculous statements:

For example: “…these new-wave young adult problem novels, which all seem to be about…” – has he read them all? How on earth would he know what they “all” are about? There is a ton of young-adult literature out there today. I’m an English teacher & I haven’t begun to read it all.

And “…men and women can excel at any subject. They just have to be taught in different ways.” Have to? Or else what – they will fail to learn? Such a sweeping statement is easily refuted by just a glace through several centuries of American education.

Too bad Brooks didn’t do his homework – he could have written a meaningful piece instead of a superficial, one-sided argument that will go no further than entertaining dinner-table conversation.

Read the column “The Gender Gap at School” at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/davidbrooks/index.html?8qa

Mpls MOSAIC begins today

The mayor was right in his letter to the Strib today (http://www.startribune.com/563/story/484346.html) - amid the current immigration debate, it makes sense to pause & notice the amazing mosaic of ethnicities in the twin cities! This weekend, the Mpls MOSAIC arts festival kicks off a celebration of the many facets of who we are with performances by local folks with roots from around the world.

Some of our Youth Slam League spoken word artists will be on stage at 9:30 - and myriad other options run up Hennepin avenue as well. Check it out 6-10pm tonight!

Details & event schedules: http://www.minneapolismosaic.com/

Youth Speak!

Spoken word as the movement of the future - I am coming to believe in it more & more! My students are able to articulate really important concepts and ideas through spoken word poetry, and that is step one toward impacting the world! Call me crazy, but the potential for voices to be heard & understood that often are not because they don't embrace standard English - huge. And exciting!

We had a blast with the Youth Poetry Slam League this spring - went undefeated! - and they just continue to grow, both in skills and in readiness to speak to the world. The most fun I had in all the great facets of my job this spring was with them. I am inspired every day.

Check out their web page!
http://henry.mpls.k12.mn.us/Spoken_Word.html

Go Patriots!

Great article about the "magic" of our school in the paper today! Bravo Patrick Henry HS!

http://www.startribune.com/1592/story/471108.html

Interestingly, the genesis for the article several months ago was, "Why is this school doing so much better than all the others with tough kids?" but over the course of his research it turned toward a theme of, "Can we sustain our success through all the budget cuts?" Of course the answer is no. Everyone's exhausted!

I'll believe money doesn't matter in education the day I see the exclusive private schools accomplish what we do within our budget.

We have a lot to be proud of. Go Patriots! :)

Another Young One at the Helm

I mentioned a few weeks ago that both the superintendent and teacher's union president in St Paul are in their 30's - and now we can add the new teacher's union president in Minneapolis to the list too! Even though I voted for his Boomer-age opponent and don't like some of his positions, I still think it's fun to have a Gen X teacher at the helm. Makes for interesting times! :)

Face it...

"Not everything we face can be changed, but we must face things in order to change them."
- James Baldwin

Post from Chicago

We drove down in Anne’s convertible Mustang – excellent way to start the Memorial weekend! I could feel the stresses of the week blowing away as we drove.

Shopping, sushi, sleeping late… walking by the water, chatting with the girls, wine & cheese in the sun… a most relaxing weekend so far! We’re here with little agenda other than a good time.

Some interesting options to consider:
http://girlsguidetocitylife.com/chicago/
I love this website & wish they covered Minneapolis! We found some cool stuff for Philadelphia when we were there in April. Great way to get the "inside info" on a town.

Imagine My Surprise

Having lived here my whole life, I am not at all surprised that a new study found that immigrants in Minnesota (legal and illegal) are a net benefit to the state, not a burden. Duh!

Interestingly, a recent article in the St Paul Pioneer Press notes that immigrants here do not mirror the national immigrant population – they are better educated, tend to be younger, and are more likely to be from Asia or Africa than South America.

Which does not explain why our governor seems to be more conservative & hard-line on immigration than our President…

The article also notes that the report released earlier by the Pawlenty administration “failed to take into account the ‘magnitude of state revenues generated by illegal immigrants’… something Pawlenty's communications director Brian McClung admits.”

Interesting how that works!

Read it all: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/14669195.htm

How Fun Is This???

Reason #46 we love living in the Twin Cities… a gay black rap artist is making it here!

Working in a high school & living with a teenager, I am coming more & more to believe that each generation is more progressive than the last when it comes to challenging stereotypes – so I shouldn't be surprised to read that Tori Fixx feels being gay is not holding him back in the rap world. Very cool. Hard to imagine back in the 80's, but very cool!

Check out the whole story: http://www.startribune.com/1371/story/454969.html

Walk the World to Fight Hunger on May 21

According to one.org, 825 million people around the globe do not have enough to eat on any given day. That's more than the populations of the U.S., Canada and the European Union combined…

Walk the World is literally walking around the globe to fight child hunger – in Minneapolis, our part is 7:30-10:30am tomorrow. Although I will not be getting up that early, it’s a great cause & I think it’s a cool way to get people involved with an important issue! Sometimes, a little creativity is in order!

We don’t do enough. But at least this is a start.

http://www.fighthunger.org/wtw06/minneapolis_mn
http://www.one.org/blog/?blog_KEY=1&limit=10&end=20

Post from Madison

Why is it that we are all so flippin' busy??? One of the hallmarks of Gen X philosophy has always been having a life outside of work - but that life doesn't seem to include much down time!

Or is it just me?

I'm at a conference in Madison that is really interesting - but it means I'm not doing 5 other things that I wish I had time for! And we're driving back early tomorrow because I have not one but two events I can't miss... our team has a poetry slam home meet, and then Louise Erdrich is doing a book talk for a parent group... both fun, so I shouldn't complain!

OK, maybe it is just me. But there isn't anything I can think of that I'd like to cut out - I just need more hours in the day.

Hey, there's a solution! :)

I Gotta Stay In More…

I was bummed to see that the NYTimes polled “a couple of hundred prominent writers, critics, editors and other literary sages” asking what they thought the best fiction of the last quarter-century was… and I have only read ONE of the books that made the list. Because I like to be able to say I’ve read everything Toni Morrison has written, I at least have read “Beloved” - but I haven’t even heard of half the other books on the list. Where have I been?

Maybe I can blame it on going back to grad school – as I look around my living room, the only books getting any use seem to be textbooks! That’s not cool. At least now I have a summer reading list that’s not from a professor…

www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/books/fiction-25-years.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Flashback!

My 20th high school reunion is coming up this summer, and I’ve been working with the planning committee for the last few months. Interesting times...

It’s really fun to see how people are turning out. I doubt anyone who knew me in high school would have guessed I would become a teacher & administrator!

Planning this one has been affected by two major cultural trends – technology and mobility. On the one hand, very few of us have parents still living in the house they did when we were in high school – and even classmates with updated addresses from the 10-year reunion have all moved - probably more than once. On the other hand, it’s much easier to find people now that we have email, a website, and “classmates.com”!

Immigrant Appreciation Day

I was listening to MPR talk about the effects of the nationwide boycott today as I drove up to Chipotle – and found it closed! Apparently they closed about 15 of their stores today to support all their workers who were planning to join the boycott today to challenge immigration policy. It was amusing to see that, YES, this issue affects me personally – exactly the point of the whole thing!

Then, as I was reflecting on it all, I realized that, in a way, it’s about my own daughter! We don’t think about her immigrant status that much because MN law protects minors in state custody who are brought here illegally through no fault of their own, so she was never at any risk of deportation. Still, it took us 4 years to navigate Homeland Security & get her a green card. Imagine what people without resources go through!

Here’s what I don’t get: why was it OK for all of our ancestors to come here illegally, but it’s not OK for people today? How many Americans can honestly say that all their ancestors were WANTED here when they came? Not many! I doubt Native people were too thrilled when my English ancestors sailed up, and I don’t think my German Quaker ancestors were so well received by the English Americans! Not sure how it was for the Swedes, but that group was pretty low on the social hierarchy in MN around the time my people came to the Midwest, so I doubt they were too popular.

Given all that, how on earth can I complain about other people coming here “illegally”? What’s legal is arbitrary, anyway – Congress can change the laws anytime. The bigger question is why people feel the need to keep anyone out...

What would happen if we just let anyone come who wanted to?

I doubt the country would crumble.

New in Minnesota...

It seems to me that each generation is more progressive than the last. In my mother's youth, she had non-white friends at school or through sports, but it was understood that she would not bring them to her suburban Philadelphia home. Not spoken, maybe, but understood. I, on the other hand, had kids of color at my birthday parties before I was old enough to invite them myself. Growing up in the city meant always having non-white friends. When I dated a boy of color, however, that was a little different story. It was "OK," but not exactly applauded. Today, we have progressed even further: my daughter's dates have been Jewish, Latino, black and white. Her friends could hardly care less. Racial & cultural differences are interesting, not unusual.

I was intrigued a few months ago when a friend emailed to say that another friend was starting up a group for multiracial families - since that does describe both my immediate and extended family!

MOSAIC - multi-cultural off-spring and interracial couples - got started with about 8 couples/families, and is steadily growing! I think it's a cool idea. Next weekend the group gathers again both for play and for learning - children play (supervised) while the adults gather for discussion.

The mission is twofold - for support and for socializing. Research shows that it's important for mixed kids to hang out with other children like them, so this gives kids a venue through which to see their families as the norm! Ditto for the adults - a place to relax & enjoy the company of other couples with similar experiences. (Heaven knows Minnesotans can be a pretty homogenous lot - though Minneapolis is home to a very interesting mix of folks!)

Check it out: http://www.mosaicmn.com/

Some day, I expect that my daughter will create her own mixed family. Maybe she won't need it, but I hope there's a group like this around for her.

New Perspective

New addition to the blogroll today - Riverbend's "Baghdad Burning". I just received her book from my brother for my birthday, and then today (before I even had a chance to look up her blog) I came across it on another site. The stars align! A first-hand perspective on the war in Iraq - not something I would normally be devoting a lot of space here too, but it's just in my face this week, and I'm intrigued! Blessedly, this blog is not just news - recent posts are very funny!

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the war and just tune out... until a relative or friend gets called up & it gets personal...

Saw a great political button the other day: "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

Yes, these concepts connect somehow... I think when it comes to the war, it's true that I'm not outraged BECAUSE I'm not paying attention. I tune it out. I have the excuse that my work is difficult and my students take most of my energy - and my daughter gets the rest - so I don't have much left with which to worry about how America is destroying itself as it destroys Iraq...

Lame but true. Which begs the question: to what extent is this true of much of our generation?

X Runs the Schools

How cool is this?

The new superintendent of schools for St Paul is only 36! And the president of the St Paul teachers' union is in her 30's as well. Interesting times! :)

Check it out: http://www.startribune.com/1592/story/345465.html

It's fun to have a younger person in a position of authority with people significantly older than she is - not the traditional "put in your time" hierarchy model. It will be interesting to see how everyone responds to her!

Gen X in charge - woo hoo!

Feeling my age!

Holy cow - no better way to feel every minute of 38 years old than visit colleges with my KID! We did the whirlwind college tour of DC and PA last week - Penn, Georgetown, GW, Howard... it was interesting, but strange to be the parent in that scenario.

One entertaining way to look at it: I'll be an empty-nester before I'm 40! Looking at it that way, I don't feel so old...

Also cool - got to celebrate my b-day with extended family on the big day, and got to celebrate with my two April b-day friends in Washington whom I have not seen in person for our b-days in years. Will continue the celebrations this weekend with friends at home, so it's all good. 38 doesn't suck too much. :)

I'm a Gr'up...

This idea has been brewing in the back of my mind, but now is front & center in mainstream media! Check it out - a new article from New York magazine (a favorite of mine) about Gen X as adults.

One interesting thought from the article: "If being a Grup [contraction for grown-up] means being 35, and having a job, and using a messenger bag instead of a briefcase, and staying out too late too often, and owning more pairs of sneakers (eleven) than suits (one), and downloading a Hot Hot Heat song from iTunes because it was on a playlist titled “Saturday Errands,” and generally being uneasy and slightly confused about just what it means to be an adult in these modern times—in short, if it means living your life in fundamentally the same way that you did when you were, say, 22—then, let’s face it, I’m a Grup."

I can relate. I may not stay out "too" late or wear sneakers, but I use a pink shoulder bag instead of a briefcase and believe I am still allowed to have fun at a dance club even though I'm over 30. I think the confusion they refer to comes from forging a new path - it's always harder to make our own way than to follow our parents. I do not live the way my mom did at this age - and that's a conscious choice.

It's nice to see that I have a lot of company! :)

Quotes for April

Some great quotes I came across today (thanks bcbutterfly!)...

"I've learned there are troubles of more than one kind.

Some come from ahead and some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat, I'm all ready you see.

Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me."

- Dr. Seuss

"Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed.
Maybe they're supposed to run wild
until they find someone -- just as wild -- to run with."
- SatC

"Life doesn't have to be perfect in order to be wonderful."
- Annette Funicello

The big April Fool's joke today is that it's daylight savings - the first Saturday of my spring break & we lose an hour! Not so funny! But that's OK because I'm on break - I don't have to get up early anyway! :)

Three Very Interesting Weeks...

So the logic board fritzed out on my laptop, and for reasons I will never understand it took Apple over 2 weeks to find a logic board to put in it, after which it took about a day & a half to repair & return it. I finally have it back - but going without it was a lifestyle change in itself! Even though I have another computer at home & at work, it was still really frustrating...

...which I know is really pathetic.

And then my car has also been in the shop for 3 weeks - the SAME 3 weeks, coincidentally - so that's been an adventure. I was eventually able to go up & get a bunch of stuff I didn't think to grab before they towed it away, and that helped. But even though I have my old car to drive, it's not the same! I want my car back! Hopefully, it will be done tomorrow...

The first two weeks, I actually did OK. I waited and got on with other things. But that was long enough. The third week has just been nothing but a pain.

Yes, the experience has made me thankful for my many blessings, blah blah blah... but it has mostly made me thankful for insurance and for God. This has been a lesson in patience that I know I sorely needed. So OK, I get it. I'm working on it. I promise.

Can I have my car back now???????

Blessings on a Bad Day

Amazing how a day of problems can be, in retrospect, a day of blessings! Monday I started the day (Monday, remember) waking up to my cell phone ringing - which it shouldn't have been not only because sane people don't call each other at 6am, but also because I usually keep it on vibrate to avoid such problems! BUT I realized as I woke up that I had no power - and no alarm - and it was already 6am so I was thankful for the wake-up after all! :)

Then out to drive to work in a snowstorm - yuck - but made it safely, so thankful for that! Only about 1/4 of the students came to school, so although my plans for the week were messed up (grr) it was a mellow & enjoyable day, so that was nice too. Got a lot of work done - thankful again.

Driving home through the ice & snow to pick up my daughter, my car spun out on the freeway & slammed into the concrete median - smashed up the car pretty badly - but I'm mostly fine, I have good insurance, AAA, a great mom who will go pick up my kid when I can't, and another car to use while this one's in the shop, so I'm again feeling blessed & thankful.

And one more little blessing: my laptop is in the shop - huge annoyance - but it wasn't in the car to get thrown around the back seat like the folders in my bag!

Life is good! :)

CRASH

OK, before the results are revealed, I want to be on the record... Crash is the movie that SHOULD win the Oscar, and whether or not it does, I still think it's the real groundbreaking movie this year.

Rent it!

If You're Not...

A colleague once said to me:

“If you’re not liberal when you’re young, you have no heart. But if you’re not conservative when you’re older…”

“You have no money?” I guessed.

“You have no brains,” he replied.

Ha.

Juxtaposition

I was struck this morning by a one-two reality punch.

First, George Will’s column about why conservatives are happier than liberals – for the first time EVER, I agreed with the whole thing. I usually think he’s full of it, but in this case I thought he was right on – he says conservatives have lower expectations, so they are not often disappointed. Makes sense. Even his requisite FDR attack was not completely unreasonable…

But then I turned to Nick Coleman’s local column, and his reminder of why we can’t leave people – little children in particular – to their bootstraps was like a slap in my momentarily complacent face. The sate of MN has cut $61 million in child-care spending – who knew we ever spent that much in the first place?!! Imagine for a minute how many pre-schools can be run on $61 million a year… and are now closed.

I suspect that most folks would agree that being liberal with children & conservative with adults is fair – and yet policy never quite gets there.

Someday?

Read the columns:
WILL
COLEMAN

Top Jobs?

According to Fast Company magazine, the "top jobs" for 2006 are those that combine high demand, high salary & education - and are appealing to an educated person, so in putting together the list they focused on business, professional, and creative fields. See what you think:

• Lawyer
• Personal financial advisor
• Sales manager
• Management analyst
• Computer and information systems manager
• Financial manager
• Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agent
• Marketing manager
• Computer software engineer
• Chiropractor
• Postsecondary education administrator
• Medical scientist
• Market research analyst
• Dentist
• Medical and health services manager
• Producers and directors
• Financial analyst
• Wholesale and manufacturing sales representative
• Engineering manager
• Advertising and promotions manager
• Compensation and benefits manager
• Clinical, counseling, and school psychologist
• Real estate sales agent
• Training and development manager
• Public relations manager

Check out the whole article at: http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2006/01/top-jobs-main.html

A lot of health care & management! Where's the creativity? Good thing I'm not job-hunting because none of them look interesting to me... and I don't think they would look interesting to my daughter, either.

It's fascinating looking at the world through the eyes of a 17-year-old... what she considers for college majors & careers is only what she enjoys - everything is potential! No worries about making a living or being successful - just figuring out what she loves. What an amazing place to be in life! (Remember when? :)

College Hunting

OK, this is a million miles away from most Gen X minds, but because my daughter happens to be a high school junior, I’ve got colleges on the brain! And because her SAT scores were good (yea! :) there are many to choose from. It’s dizzying.

I just spent over an hour on college websites this morning…

Granted, colleges didn’t have websites in the ‘80’s. But even if they had, I doubt I would have spent much time pouring over them. I had a big box of mail from colleges, much of which I don’t recall reading at all. I knew what I wanted.

I’m not sure why I was so dead-set on attending the University of MN myself – I didn’t even apply anywhere else. (Maybe because they accepted me in my junior year so that allowed me to float through my senior year without concern for my GPA? Nah…) I do remember looking through the course catalog – which at the U was a novel-size book – and drooling over the extensive History and interesting Journalism offerings.

But my daughter is approaching it on another level entirely! Our spring break will be spent visiting schools in DC and Philly – and I anticipate trips this summer and next fall as well. She's looking everywhere from Boston to LA. Because she’s not so sure what she wants, the culture of the place – how it feels to be there – will be important for her.

It’s going to be an interesting year!

Smile!

X Perspective got its first link! Io Palmer, from Folwell Urban Initiatives, has been working w/ our students at PHHS and some of their work is one Northside Stories site – cool stuff! Also check out some of our students with Teens Rock the Mic at the Juno Collective site. Much to be proud of!

Kisses!

Quick - what was your most memorable kiss?

A much more interesting question, I think, than what's the most memorable Hollywood kiss? (Check out answers to that one at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11257793/ - Spiderman or Casablanca or...)

To the first?

8th grade making out with Mario at CTC - with braces, of course... around '94 with Mark in the back entryway of my building as he wasn't leaving... first kiss with Matt overlooking the nighttime city skyline... in high school making out in a movie when suddenly the whole theater goes silent & we realize we just missed the tragic death scene...

Happy Valentines Day!

Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About

Today's column by David Brooks of the NY Times makes the interesting point that what he calls "Islamists" (as distiguished from Muslims - apparently this is a new label for fundamentalists) don't just have different ideas than we do, they have a different realtionship to ideas. They are opposed to freedom of thought, not just freedom of speech. Scary!

Scarier, to me, is the mention that many of these radical leaders were "educated in the West" but recoiled from a society they found not just distasteful, but shocking. So these are not ignorant people - they are educated & understand our way of life - and they loathe it.

Try to walk a mile in those shoes!

Incidentally, I was amused that you can't read Brooks' column on line at NYTimes w/o paying a fee, but you can read it on the STrib's website, no problem. Lucky for us! :) Check it out!

What Do You REALLY Think?

So it turns out that what we THINK we think and what we REALLY think are not always the same! Our conscious and unconscious opinions are not as much the same as we would like… Malcolm Gladwell got into this in his book “Blink”, and Project Implict, a joint effort of Harvard University, U of Virginia and the U of Washington, is currently conducting research on the topic.

To check it out – and even participate – go to:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/research/

They have 100 different quizzes, assigned randomly. I just took a quiz on attitudes toward corporations & no-profits, and came out with an implicit attitude leaning toward corporations - not what you might expect if you know me.

Gladwell’s book has an association quiz on race that’s really interesting, too. Even non-white people (Gladwell included) tended to have more positive views of whites than blacks.

Oh, the power of modern media!

Something Other Than the SOTU

This morning on NPR I was surprised to hear a commentator say it was a shame the Red Lake school shooter was a coward & killed himself… hello? Why is that a shame – because we can't get an eye for an eye? We want to get him back, and can’t do that because he already took care of it for us?

I was thinking that, if God is a just God, murderers will spend eternity as servants of their victims. How cool would that be?

Great bumper sticker from www.gaialovegraffiti.com: "Any Fool can Start a War… Peace takes Leadership" This is more true in middle school than anywhere! :)

What Do Gen X Workers Want?

Fortune mag asks the question & comes up with some interesting info – including some from a book called The NeXt Revolution. Check out the article: http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/17/news/companies/bestcos_genx/index.htm?cnn=yes

I found the stats on workplace turnover & priorities interesting…
* 77% of Gen X poll respondents say they'd quit in a minute if offered "increased intellectual stimulation" at a different company
* 51% would quit for the chance to telecommute
* 61% of Gen X women would leave their current jobs if they were offered more flexible hours elsewhere
* The average employee in his or her late twenties has already switched jobs five or six times.

So one stereotype of us that seems to bear out is that we’re not “company men” in the traditionalist sense – whereas my dad worked for one firm (through three mergers) for over 20 years. Not too common these days!

The poll also said that the top three things Gen X respondents want in a job are:
- positive relationships with colleagues,
- interesting work,
- continuous opportunities for learning.

True?

Controversy

“Generation X” turns out to be a controversial term! Apparently, some people think of “Gen X” as the equivalent of “slacker” – which few of us are, so I admit that is annoying.

And it may or may not coincide with the “baby bust” years, which according to some sources are not ’64-77, as is commonly cited, but closer to ’58-68. Hmmm. (You’d think that was just a matter of statistics… why the disagreement?) To be honest, I always thought that “Gen X” and “Baby Bust” were different labels for the same thing – but not so! (Amazing what you can learn on the Internet…)

I agree with a friend who commented – because she doesn’t like the Gen X label – that you just can’t lump her in a group w/ other people by age, because who we have things in common with is not always age-related! True.

Maybe we just have to acknowledge that all the labels & generalizations are for the media, and not for us!

More on X

I am teaching the work of Malcolm X for the first time – and I’m intrigued. The real man is quite different from the image I’ve had. For some reason, it seems that Martin Luther King has always been presented as the good guy and Malcolm X as the bad guy, (did you have that idea, too?) even though X was the one who was faithful to his wife and religion, didn’t drink, modeled a positive lifestyle, and really tried to do the right thing. (After he got out of prison, of course.) His thinking also evolved a lot during his years as an activist, and many of his positions changed as he traveled and learned.

What do we, commonly called Generation X, have in common with him?

Malcolm was born Malcolm Little, but abandoned his last name when he learned that most slaves had their master’s last names. I bring him up because our generation shares a name with him – a somewhat random, but still interesting, connection….

Generation XIII

I used to think that Gen X referred to us being the tenth generation in America, but it turns out we are really the 13th. Who knew?

MLK Day

As we pause to remember the man who changed America… oh wait, most people are working today. Other than teachers & postal workers, who gets MLK Day off anymore?

Bigger question: who will be our generation's MLK?

A Better Way to Change the World?

Fast Company's "Social Capitalist Awards 2006" identifies 25 Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World - a nod to companies & groups who are not just trying to make a difference, but succeeding. Interesting list! The magazine lauds them for: " a better way to do good... using the disciplines of the corporate world to tackle daunting social problems."

Check it out: http://www.fastcompany.com/social/

Question Your Work

I have read that Gen X is more likely than its predecessors to work just for the income rather than insisting on finding joy (or at least satisfaction) at work. I don’t believe it. I would agree that we expect a well-rounded life and are more likely to leave at 5pm for friends or family, but I don’t see the “it’s just a job” mind-set in people I know. My Gen X friends are proud of their professional accomplishments!

I remember my dad (a traditionalist – not a boomer) explaining that he didn’t expect to love his work, because work was what he did so that he could do what he loved outside of work. (And he had a great, successful career!) I didn’t buy it. I still think if you’re going to put that many hours into something, you had better love it.

Check out Suzy Welch’s questions (thanks Oprah mag 9-05) for determining the best job for you:

1. Does this job allow me to work with “my people” – individuals who share my sensibilities about life – or do I have to put on a persona to get through the day?
2. Does this job challenge, stretch, change, and otherwise make me smarter – or does it leave my brain in neutral?
3. Does this job, because of the company’s brand or my level of responsibility, open the door to future opportunities?
4. Does this job represent a considerable compromise for the sake of my family, and if so, do I sincerely accept that deal with all of its consequences?
5. Does this job – the stuff I actually do day-to-day – touch my heart and feed my soul in meaningful ways?

For me, these questions are affirming that although my job is really frustrating at times, I do love it and it’s perfect for me. ¿Y tu?

Who’s Afraid of Illegal Immigrants?

Does it occur to anyone that the reason people enter the US illegally is because we make legal entrance so darn difficult? And why is that, anyway? This country has not only survived many massive waves of immigration, but thrived precisely because of it – and yet the zenophobes howl that we should keep more people out. Why?

So now the state of Minnesota (of all places) is in a tizzy about how much illegal immigrants are costing us. And Congress is considering making it a crime to give aid at the border. Imagine: a group of conservative Christians making the Good Samaritan a criminal.

Lord have mercy on us all.

Not Thinking about Poverty

I just figured out that one reason my winter break (from teaching) has been so relaxing is that I have not had to deal with poverty in almost two weeks. I – and pretty much everyone around me – have been comfortable. My daily work life is immersed in trying to mitigate the effects of poverty on my students, (and in figuring out the extent to which the schools can even do that,) punctuated by dealing with the crises that arise, often linked to poverty and the cultures of generational poverty.

It’s exhausting. I believe in fighting the good fight, but it’s been pretty great to have a break.

We're Sick of Talking about Abortion...

You see "abortion" in the title and want to scroll right on by. We all know what we believe, what we want to see happen in this country, and what we are personally willing to do about it. (If Alito is confirmed, this apathy will be part of the reason!) But here's a twist to consider:

From Andrew Sullivan (http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php 1-5-06)
"We do well to remember that banning something doesn't stop people from doing it, it just allows the government to punish those who do... If zygotes or blastulae or embryoes become 14th Amendment persons, entitled to all the protections thereof, how do we go about ensuring their protection against say, negligent acts by the mother? Could we start refusing to sell alcohol to breeding-age women? Refuse to let them ski, ride horseback, or cycle? All those activities can cause miscarriages, and 14th Amendment persons have the right to be protected from other 14th Amendment persons' harm, intentional or otherwise..."

Of course, we say, we would never let that happen. But are we paying enough attention to where abortion laws are going in this country? There are no doctors in the state of South Dakota performing abortions anymore. If not for four doctors flying in once in awhile from Minnesota, there would be no abortions available there at all.

Unlike G Bush senior - who wanted abortion to be illegal but said he would support his own granddaughters having one - I suspect most Gen X members are the opposite: would not choose it for themselves, but want it to be legal for other people.

Makes sense to me. Wish it made sense to the Bushes...

Windows

Where does our generation find hope?

We are not known as an optimistic group - why not?

What nurtures our optimism? (What kills it? Ooh, that's an easy list...)

Windows symbolize hope - possibility - opportunity - make me smile.

A New Gender Gap?

In yesterday’s NY Times, columnist John Tierney points out that 57% of today’s college graduates are female, and as the trend continues, we will very soon see three female college graduates for every two males. So he asks: Who will the third woman marry?

According to Tierney, research says that while men don’t mind a spouse who makes more money than they do, women DO mind a spouse who makes less. This seems to create a conundrum for both high-school educated men and college-educated women.

Feels to me like more of the: “Oh no, if you’re not married by 30 you never will be!” alarmism that rears its ugly head to scare women in new variations every decade or so.

I’m 37 and single. Divorced, even. With two college degrees. Looks like my marriage prospects are pretty slim.

Oh no, oh no!

A Good Heart

Friday night I was out with some friends for drinks, and as we encouraged one guy to move on to new relationships, we asked him what his criteria was for a woman he’d date (in case we had one to set him up with, of course). His first response: a good heart. This provoked a lively discussion about how exactly that’s defined: what constitutes a good heart? What does that mean?

Later, it got me thinking – as this time of year always does – about the extent to which I can believe with confidence that I have a “good heart”. On the surface, I seem to have the credentials: foster mother, urban teacher, faithful Christian…

However, since my divorce I have suspected that I may be a rather selfish person – I really didn’t want to “stay & work it out” – I wanted to run my own life. I was never able to make my life revolve around my husband, or even to make him feel like he was the center of my universe. What does that say about my heart?

I come from a Scandinavian Methodist tradition: faith = good works. We don’t talk much about it, we just do the right thing. Integrity is everything. It is very important to me not only to be perceived to be doing the right thing, but actually to be doing the right thing, and so… when what’s right for me is not the same as what’s right for someone else, (hence, my divorce,) I struggle. Who am I to put myself first? Though it feels necessary, it doesn’t always feel right.

I wonder why not.

The X Perspective

So is there such a thing as the Gen X perspective? It is certainly not well represented in the mainstream media – if we believe that entertainers do not necessarily represent the rest of us. So what I know about “us” comes from my friends, colleagues and acquaintances, not from any research I’ve come across so far.

I suppose it should be perspectives, plural… but I find it interesting to think about what the common threads are through our generation. We are an interesting group!

Much of what has been written about us does not really resonate with me. Although I may have been a partier, (I admit nothing!) I never considered myself – or anyone I knew – a “slacker”. I knew a few burn-outs & bums, sure, but every generation has those. As the research now shows, we have always been a very hardworking group.

I also don’t relate so much to those who are pessimistic about America or about our leadership. I don’t think Gen X is particularly "tuned out" or apathetic. We do care, and when we eventually take the reins – we’re already beginning, in many ways – and I think we’ll do better job than our predecessors. There is every reason to be optimistic about America with Gen X running things! One stereotype that I suspect IS true about us is that, comparatively, we don’t tolerate bullshit the way others seem to, which may help in Washington…

So what do we have in common? How do we tend to see the world, and our place in it? And who cares?