Isaac did NOT ask not once but twice who was coming over in response to me vacumming and tidying up. I tried to explain that no one was coming over, I just want the house to be clean, but I'm not sure he is entirely convinced. And while on said cleaning spree I did NOT clean the crumbs and debris off the kitchen counters using the vacuum cleaner. That would be lazy and sort of gross. I did NOT spend half of my grocery budget on the Toy Story 2 DVD for Isaac. That would be ridiculous and excessive and not at all in keeping with my new less-is-more lifestyle. I did NOT let Isaac believe that the tickets I got him to the Reading Phillies (minor league team) were tickets to the actual Phillies. He did NOT see the real Phillies on tv the next day and ask me a million questions about why their uniforms were different. I did NOT go to the outlets with my gf Saturday and convince her to give me free flip flops on the buy one get one free shoe deal at Ann Taylor Loft. What things have you NOT done lately?

It's Fun to Be Hated...

The Pennsylvania pension mess: Teachers will help fix it, but they must be fairly compensated Wednesday, May 19, 2010 By James P. Testerman Recent media reports have given considerable coverage to the expected 2012-2013 increase in school district pension costs and what it could mean for taxpayers. That's fine, but as this public discussion proceeds, we must not overlook how pension policies affect our schools, students and teachers. To find real solutions, we must assess the situation from a broader perspective. The 2001 passage of the controversial No Child Left Behind law redefined expectations. Without getting into the pros and cons of the legislation, it did raise standards for student achievement. So how have we done? The Center for Education Policy has applauded Pennsylvania for recording gains in all academic categories from 2002 through 2008. Pennsylvania eight-graders showed larger gains than their counterparts in 41 other states on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test, and their scores ranked among the highest in the nation. More Pennsylvania students than ever are choosing higher education. If Pennsylvania students were a football team, we'd be celebrating their top rankings. Unfortunately, this good news is rarely reported. While student scores have steadily improved, salaries for school employees have struggled to keep pace with inflation. By at least one measure, educators' average salary has actually fallen. Salary is the biggest component of teacher compensation, and a study by the Economic Policy Institute found Pennsylvania teachers earn 18 percent less on average than other college graduates. So why do school employees keep doing their best without complaining? Teaching is a calling. College graduates choose our profession to help future generations, not because they expect to get rich. School employees anticipate that they will earn a middle-class salary, with good benefits and the promise of a secure retirement. Benefit packages help to keep top-quality educators in the classroom. Even as their salaries have stagnated or declined, Pennsylvania public school employees have been the one group that has continued to contribute money to the pension fund on schedule, consistently paying their share with every paycheck. The state government and school districts have delayed their payments. Over the past decade, school employees have contributed almost twice as much as school districts and the commonwealth combined ($7.35 billion compared to $3.76 billion). And as the districts and the state took their "pension holiday," two historic stock-market downturns depleted the pension fund and contributed to the looming increase in costs required for them to meet their obligations. Think of it this way: You walk into a furniture store and see an offer for "no money down and no interest" for a number of years. You get good use out of your kitchen table for years, but eventually the bill comes due. Same goes for pension costs. Eventually the bill comes due, and the costs will be high. This history matters because the looming increase in pension contribution rates, the so-called pension spike, is based on costs already incurred for which the bill is now coming due, not for benefits to be earned in the future. Approximately 75 percent of the 2012-2013 employer obligation is for pensions already owed to school employees. And the price will be high because the district and the commonwealth put off their installments. Proposals to reduce the level of future benefits, or to switch to alternative, 401(k)-type systems, cannot significantly address the increase in employer contribution rates. They simply would further erode the modest retirement security of working Pennsylvanians whose salaries already have been slipping -- and make it harder for Pennsylvania to keep and attract the high-quality teachers needed to produce further improvements in student achievement. It's appropriate to re-examine pension programs to ensure their long-term health. But the solution should not be a race to the bottom. Policy makers should try to restore the ability of all middle-class workers to achieve a modest, secure retirement. The Pennsylvania State Education Association is committed to working with elected officials to find solutions that recognize these challenging economic times, are fair to taxpayers and public school employees, make the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars and promote high-quality education for Pennsylvania schoolchildren. For this important discussion to begin in earnest, we must first understand the history of the problem, respect those who have worked to improve student achievement and agree to make decisions today that won't hurt Pennsylvania workers in the future. James P. Testerman is a science teacher in the Central York School District and president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (www.psea.org).

I die...

Look what showed up in my work e-mail: Field Study for Educators Peru: The Amazon to the Andes August 9th - 19th, 2010 Designed for teachers, students, and the adventurous, this once in a lifetime experience will immerse you in a study of Peru’s lowland tropical rainforest and its Andean sub-tropical cloud forest. The focus will be on transforming our relationship with the natural world and translating the adventure into meaningful learning experiences for K-12 students. Pre-Departure Workshop: August 7th-8th on the West Chester University Campus Cost: $2,775 + Airfare to Lima (Optional Machu Picchu Extension: Aug 18-21: $600) For credit (optional): Register for EDO420-41/EDO520-41 Summer Session III WCU Outdoor and Place-Based Education (3 credits) Additional required dates for credit: August 2nd-7th (9:00am-5:00pm) in West Chester, PA *Deadline for registration and payment of $500 deposit: May 31st, 2010 More information: Mary Ann Robinson mrobinson@wcupa.edu Dr. Paul Morgan, 610-436-6945 pmorgan@wcupa.edu Itinerary and Registration Forms: Visit http://www.wcupa.edu/aceer/workshops.asp or call 610-738-0477 Sponsors: The Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER) West Chester University of Pennsylvania (WCU)

I've always wanted to go to Machu Picchu. I love how they think you can afford a trip like that on a few weeks notice. We are TEACHERS after all. Maybe next year...

life soundtrack

I'm back

I haven't posted lately because I've been busy doing this:

and this:

and a little bit of this:

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It could not have been more lovely, relaxing and fun.

• The weather was fabulous.
• We had the perfect mix of going out (Disney and Epcot) and staying at the resort lounging around the many pools under the palm trees. Everything was at our own pace. No over-scheduling.
• I purposely didn't bring my laptop. The school e-mail went untouched and the cell was used only for communicating with family while in the parks.
• My parents (of course) were the perfect hosts and it was so good to spend time with my sister.
• Isaac is the most fabulous traveling companion under the age of six there ever was.

But....

Now I'm home and reality has hit me like a ton of bricks.

There are lots of thoughts churning through my head so hopefully I will be posting more soon.

arbitrary thoughts

1. Packing for vacation is so much fun.
2. Especially when it is just for a few days in a hotel.
3. Instead of a whole week in a beachhouse where I must transport a ton more stuff.
4. In contrast, unpacking from vacation is like, the worst thing ever.
5. I've got Lady Gaga blasting and everything is all organized.
6. The luggage leaves with mom and dad for FL tomorrow.
7. They are driving.
8. We will meet them there (via airplane) on Friday.
9. I love how I already packed my blow dryer and most of my make-up.
10. Because I know I won't use any of it before Friday.
11. Now I just have the dreaded short list of things I need to use in the meantime.
12. That also need to be packed to come with.
13. And yes, this vacation falls into the category of "Things Lisa Should Have Said No To In Order To Stick to Her New Frugal Lifestyle."
14. But it's too late now.
15. And darn it, I wanna go to Disney World!
16. I hope the weather in FL is better than the weather here.
17. It has been rather chilly and gray lately.
18. Which I felt bad. It has been 70s/80s/90s for the past few weeks.
19. And so I advised my sister to pack more summer clothes.
20. Now of course she is here and it's freezing.
21. I'm craving brownies.
22. I will settle for sucking on a few chocolate chips.
23. I've been trying to come up with a reponse post to this and the posts/comments referenced within it.
24. I think I could start write about twenty typed pages about feelings of "not belonging" at church.
25. So who knows. If I could get my thoughts together in a coherant way there could be a post about it soon.
26. Apparently Isaac has been begging to learn piano.
27. My folks pulled out all the old basic piano books from the basement for him.
28. I have to admit, that one overwhelms me.
29. Piano lessons were so painful and not fun for me that I almost don't want to go there with him.
30. We'll see though.
31. In online dating anecdotes: my friend Jenni was checking her e-mail at lunch today on her iphone.
32. She announced that she had recieved an e-mail from a guy saying "Damn, you have some hot friends".
33. Needless to say, she hit ignore.
34. This guy at church the other day was straight up clipping his daughters toenails in the middle of the service.
35. And as if that weren't bad enough he was using the little file part to scrap junk out from underneath them.
36. I'm not exaggerating, I almost threw up.
37. Am I the only person left in the universe that has to do T9 texting?

That's all I got tonight...

What I've Been Listening to Lately

These are the ones I keep skipping ahead to on my ipod.

What are you listening to these days? I need some fresh songs...