The Blueberry Story

I've been asked recently, if I am in a teacher's union. I didn't realize that in other parts of the country there are teachers who teach in public schools who choose to not join one. The answer is yes, I am. I don't know personally know any teachers that teach in PA who are not in one. It's a crazy world out there and if some parent decides they are going to sue their teacher because they don't like the grade their kid got, it's nice to have some protection. At any rate, the president of our teacher's union passed this along, and I thought it was great. It's a perfect illustration of why the education world does not equal the business world and why, imo, people like Bill Gates have absolutely no place in it. The Blueberry Story A business leader learns his lesson. by Jamie Robert Vollmer 'If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!" I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in- service training. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife. I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle-1980s when People Magazine chose its blueberry flavor as the "Best Ice Cream in America." I was convinced of two things. First, public schools needed to change; they were archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the Industrial Age and out of step with the needs of our emerging "knowledge society." Second, educators were a major part of the problem: They resisted change, hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! Total Quality Management! Continuous improvement! A school is not an ice cream company: It can't send back its inferior blueberries. In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced—equal parts ignorance and arrogance. As soon as I finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared polite, pleasant. She was, in fact, a razor-edged, veteran high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload. She began quietly, "We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream." I smugly replied, "Best ice cream in America, ma'am." "How nice," she said. "Is it rich and smooth?" "Sixteen percent butterfat," I crowed. "Premium ingredients?" she inquired. "Super-premium! Nothing but triple-A." I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coming. "Mr. Vollmer," she said, leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky, "when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?" In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap. I was dead meat, but I wasn't going to lie. "I send them back." "That's right!" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, confident, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, junior rheumatoid arthritis, and English as their second language. We take them all. Every one. And that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it's not a business. It's school." In an explosion, all 290 teachers, principals, bus drivers, aides, custodians, and secretaries jumped to their feet and yelled, "Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!" Schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs, and health of the communities they serve, and therefore, to improve public education means more than changing our schools, it means changing America. And so began my long transformation. Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material, they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for a reliable revenue stream, and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night. None of this negates the need for change. We must change what, when, and how we teach to give all children maximum opportunity to thrive in a postindustrial society. But educators cannot do this alone; these changes can occur only with the understanding, trust, permission, and active support of the surrounding community. For the most important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs, and health of the communities they serve, and therefore, to improve public education means more than changing our schools, it means changing America. Jamie Robert Vollmer, a former business executive and attorney, is now a keynote presenter and consultant who works to increase community support for public schools. He lives in Fairfield, Iowa, and can be reached by e-mail at jamie@jamievollmer.com.

survey

Favorite time of day: That hour or so after Isaac goes to bed before I fall asleep. Favorite season: Oh gosh...I love them all for different reasons! Spring for the all the flowers blooming and just that feeling of renewal and life. Fall because it is sooooooooooo beautiful. Summer because of vacation and minimal work and the beach and family memories. Winter because of snow days and the holiday merriment. Favorite month: August. We tend to take our family vacation in August and then there is all of the fun back to school stuff. I love the anticipation of a new school year. Favorite holiday: Christmas :) Halloween is a close second.

Favorite subject in school: In high school I loved English and writing. In college I loved psychology classes, especially abnormal psych. After getting my undergrad and Masters...I'm over school for a little bit. When I pay down my student loans perhaps more school is in my future! One of my longterm goals is to get my doctorate. Favorite channel: Probably A and E. I actually don't watch too much TV these days though. Favorite color: pink! Favorite song: Oh gosh, so many. Catapult by Counting Crows will always be a favorite.

Favorite movie: Lars and the Real Girl Favorite celebrity: I do love Adam Duritz Favorite kind of music: Depends. As a general rule, I like pretty much all pop. Favorite TV show: Rupaul's Drag Race,Obsessed, Pushing Daisies, Intervention, Hoarders, Heavy, Beyond Scared Straight, Project Runway. Favorite thing to do: spend time with family, read, run around Philly with friends, go out to eat. Favorite place in the world: Jersey Shore. I'm a simple girl. Give me a beach, a good book, some fudge, and a porch swing and I'm good. Favorite hobby: Zumba. Favorite kind of animal: the cats. I have one good one and one naughty one.... Guess which one is running along the top of my kitchen cabinets? Favorite place to live: I liked living in Oaks. After Isaac is all raised I would like to live in Rittenhouse in the city. Favorite place to vacation: I've never been anywhere too exotic but anywhere I can get a tan is nice :) I really enjoyed spending time at my parent's time share in Orlando. Favorite restaurant: Oh gosh. I don't know. Anything with really good mexican food. Locally, I like every Stephen Starr restaraunt I've set foot in. Favorite food: ice cream :) Favorite thing to cook: Ha! Me? Cook? I make a mean grilled cheese. Favorite drink: Diet Coke. Favorite chore: folding clothes...for some reason I really don't mind this chore! Favorite makeup: Still loving Bare Minerals. Favorite hair products: I like Herbal Essenses. Nothing fancy anymore. Favorite lotion: Bath and Body Works Moonlight Path :) Favorite perfume: I really like Victoria Secret's Pink with a Splash. Also can't go wrong with Candies... Favorite blogger: Sooooooooo many. I love blogs and spend far too much time reading them.

• There's people I know IRL (Deeva has Spoken, Because All The Cool People Are Doing It)
• People I barely know IRL whose blogs I follow and enjoy (not linking up for fear of outing myself as a creeper)
• People I know in IRL who's blogs are not super interesting to me, but that I read occasionally to be supportive (sorry Tushar, tech talk is Greek to me--- Technical Fowl)
• Education reform type blogs (Leaving Behind the PSSA)
• Classroom idea blogs (Sarah's First Grade Snippets)
• Blogs by moms I met when I was pregnant on a babycenter forum and we've been in touch ever since watching our kids grow up (Tea and Topaz)
• Single gal blogs(Pillow Talk is Extra)
• Single mom blogs(Single Mom Survives!),
• Single Mormon girl blogs (The Law of Chastity and the Modern Mormon Girl

I could go on and on. I'm sure I probably have at least 100 blogs in my reader. Favorite thing to blog about: oh about anything. I always get a good response to the "e-harmony reject pile" posts. Favorite books: Oh gosh. I don't know. I try to read most of the current "Best Sellers". Also a fan of fluffy "Chick Lit". Favorite thing to wear: Sundress, flip flops, huge sunglasses. Favorite kind of day: One where I can sleep in, eat lunch my mom or girlfriends, Zwahlen's, some kind of fun adventure somewhere locally, a long, hot shower, then bed! Favorite memory: How do you choose a favorite? Disney with my parents and sister last year was a fantastic memory...

What I Love lately...

This necklace from Lia Sophia. My friend is having a party next week and I was browsing around on their sight to see if there was anything I could afford that appealed to me. This one is so darling.

Celestial Seasonings in Lemon Zinger. I have been starting off my mornings at work with this and also sipping on it in the evenings. So yummy... Ulta Eyeshadow in Peacock. My friend's sister works for Ulta and she tossed me a ton of full sized eye shadows. I ignored this one for a while because I felt like it was too wacky but it's actually very pretty. I wore it Friday night to my friend's birthday party and today for church. It's highly pigmented but it blends nicely. This song by Tiny Vipers. (Disclaimer - I am known to like really depressing music). My friend dragged me along to see her at Burlap and Bean last weekend. Honestly, she is a little on the awkward side live but I've been obsessed with this song ever since. I think it's so pretty especially 3:14 on.

love you postsecret.com

another lovely one

from the local paper's Sound Off: "When teacher's sign a contract they take an oath of fidelity to do evil". yup. Good thing I'm just in education for the "amazing money"....

Saturday

Thanks everyone for the dishwasher advice and the budget software advice. I have heard a lot about mint.com but I've never checked it out. Things at work have been less stressful lately, and I am so grateful. I feel a lot better this week and ready to start excercising, eat better and getting my life in order again.

It's finally starting to feel like spring here and I love it!!! Although, I'm not going to lie, part of me is still hoping it's not too late to have one more snow day. There are no days off scheduled into March. Except for my personal day. Isaac's school does a "mystery reader" every Thursday. I secretly took off work to be one. I know he will be shocked to see me, and I am excited to get a peek at him in his classroom with his friends.

We have been fighting each morning about getting dressed. He has now decided he only wants to wear warm-up pants or sweat suits. He has about four pairs but he wants to wear them over and over again. And he only wants to wear short sleeved mesh soccer jerseys, which isn't so great for winter. He has sooooooooooo many really nice pairs of jeans and khakis but it's a fight to get him to wear them. I have read that fights over clothing are common with six year olds though. He has been rocking the Phillies cap he got for his birthday almost every day though, which I find to be very cute.

Last night my brother Tom came over so I could sneak out to my friend Becca's 30th birthday party. It was cocktail attire and very fun. I tried to curl my hair for the occasion. It was dirty and I set it in hot rollers and then went in with the curling iron and then sprayed the heck out of it. It was curly when I left the house. When I got to the party it was wavy and by the end of the night it wa spoker straight again. I give up. I will always be jealous of girls with curly hair who can wear it curly or straight.

Tom had brought Mario Kart over so I know he and Isaac were occupied with that for hours. When I came home, Tom was passed out on the couch sound asleep.

I'm only happy when it rains....

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. I finally have some time to sit down and type because (insert angel chorus) it's the weekend!!! I've been under a lot of stress from work and it seems like when I am stressed everything in my life unravels. I start eating crappy (like Oreos for dinner badly) and then I don't bother to work out and I stop cleaning my house and pretty much everything falls apart. WIWW falls by the wayside. The vacumm cleaner goes untouched. On and on. Anyways, I can't write about it specifically (of course) but it is a terrible continuation of the stressful situation from about this time last year that caused me to flee to Florida for a while. Also the continuous stresses of never having enough money. I have been tutoring after school like crazy. It's still never enough though. I'm wondering if I might need to get some kind of weekend job to hold me over until summer. I feel like I am barely squeaking by with the monthly expenses. And then there's everything else. The dishwasher is not really cleaning the dishes anymore. I need rear brakes for my car. It goes on and on. I'm trying hard to look for the positivity, because I do have so many blessing in my life and so many people that help me. While we are on that topic, here's one I probably need to record for prosperity. Last week Isaac and I left to meet up with my brother Tom at Costco (mom got us a membership for Christmas and we never went to fill out the paperwork-- isn't that an awesome present?) which is a decent drive from my house. Afterwards we stopped at Game Stop because Isaac's birthday money was burning a hole in his pocket. Then we decided to stop by Zwahlen's for some ice cream, just to make a night out of it. By the time we drove all the way home we had been out for several hours. I opened the door for Isaac and went to bring in my trashcan from the curb. Isaac came running out of the house screaming "Mom, there is water everywhere!!!!" I came in and sure enough water was POURING out of the kitchen ceiling through a big gaping opening along the seam of the dry wall. There were puddles on the floor, and my work laptop was sitting in a pool of water on the counter. I ran upstairs to see that Isaac didn't turn the water off when he used the bathroom before we left. Unfortunately, the sink that was left on was the sink that has been draining extremely slowly for the past few weeks. Water was flowing over the edge of the sink and there were several inches of water on the bathroom floor, and soaked into the carpet outside the bathroom on the landing of my stairs. It was bad. I freaked out. Isaac was terrified. We turned into a two man clean up team. Water continued to pour of the ceiling out of the gaping crack in the drywall of the kitchen and in eight different spots in the living room ceiling for the rest of the night. I had to put out huge mixing bowls and pots to collect it all in. I was pretty much hysterical envisioning rotting drywall, mildewy carpet pads, tons of home repairs. But the next day after I returned home from work I discovered that everything was pretty much dry. All of the holes and spots in the ceiling that had gallons of water flowing through them were barely noticeable 24 hours later. The carpet that had been totally saturated with water was only mildly damp. My work computer still worked fine. Tons of water poured out on either side of my TV and TV stand but all of my electronics stayed dry. Even the kitchen cieling which was the worst was quite dry and the somehow didn't seem as gaping as the day before.

It was pretty much a little personal miracle and I'm not quite sure why it worked out that way but I'm so grateful.

So what else is new?

Not to get political, but why does it seem like everything in this country is going to hell in a handbasket? NPR and Planned Parenthood are being defunded. The Postal Service is in real trouble. I will refrain from posting a million links about terrible things that are happening in education locally and nationally. It can be so discouraging. I went to the movies last night and saw The King's Speech. We pretty much just chose that one by default. There are no good movies playing. It came down to that or the Justin Beiber movie (seriously). I had my doubts about a period movie about a guy with a stammer, but as everyone I knew who had seen it assured me, it was really, really good. Not too sure why it was rated R though. I guess because of all of the swear words. (He doesn't stammer when he swears and the speech therapist sort of runs with that).

I have had this book:

for book club for nearly a month and I haven't opened it. It is really long and my coworkers who have already started it aren't crazy about it, so I haven't gotten the motivation to start it. Maybe I will just skip this month. January I was tearing through books, but lately I can't seem to get interested in reading (see first paragraph about being in a funk). Anyone read it?

Anyways, I guess I should get out of bed and crank up the Lady Gaga station on slacker radio and get to crossing things off my to-do list. Happy Saturday everyone!