Where Are the "Best" Teachers?

No to beat a dead horse, but the buzz about the article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune this week about Minneapolis Public Schools infuriates me.  It infuriates me not only because it is a direct insult to myself, my profession and my abilities as a teacher as well as my choices of where to work and my work ethic and so much more, but because it is taking complex information and making it overly simplified.  I posted a link on facebook to a very well written response to the article from a teacher at Bethune Elementary in Minneapolis, which is the school mentioned in the article as being the poorest school and having the worst teachers.  Of course, the writers of the article base that statement on an extremely complex teacher/school rating system which I am not even going to begin to go into now.

What I want to explain is the simple data and look at what the data really tells us about teachers and schools and who truly is 'the best'.  On the Minnesota Department of Education website, in the data and analytics section you can down load excel spread sheets of any assessment data for any school and compare the data yourself.  Being the data geek that I am, I know and use this site often.  So, I pulled the data for the MCA Reading tests for 2013 and 2014.  For those of you who don't know, the MCA is the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment, a standardized test given to every public school student in Minnesota every spring.  Important to note here too is that the MCA went through a major overhaul in 2013 to line up with the Common Core standards which are much more rigorous than the previous state standards.  Basically, the MCA got a heallovaot harder from 2012 to 2013.  (If you want more of an explanation of this, let me know, I am happy to go into it...but its rather complex and not very interesting.  Just trust me, the test got harder.  A lot harder.)

I looked at Bethune's test scores for 2013 and 2014 and compared them with Hale's.  Before I get into the data, here's some information about the two schools taken directly from their websites and Minneapolis Public School's website.

Bethune's population is 100% free and reduced lunch-100% of the students live in poverty.  At Hale, only 10% do.  At Bethune, 4% of the population (which is already 100% poverty) is also English Language Learners-kiddos whose first language is not English.  At Hale, its 2%.  Bethune's Special Education population makes up 22% of its already free and reduced lunch population.  Hale has 10% Special Education kids.

So, just looking at that, what does it tell you?  The teachers at Bethune are working with a much more complex, challenging, lower academic level, lower economic level population than Hale.  They are essentially starting the race ten minutes after Hale begins.

Now, let me tell you what I found.  I looked at the 3rd graders MCA scores from 2013 and the 4th graders MCA scores from 2014 to see what growth was made in both schools.  Notice I am focusing on GROWTH not how many kids meet or exceed standards.  If you start out with a class where every single student you have is two or three years below grade level, you will not get all of them caught up in one year when dealing with the social, emotional, physical, and developmental needs of the kids as well.
******Note on test scores, the first number is the grade level, the second number is the actual test score ranging from 0-99 with being Meeting Standards.  Again, I am more than happy to explain more of this to you, but I am not going to go into it now...************

The average score for Bethune's 2013 3rd graders MCA Reading was 325.2. In 2014 those same kids, now 4th graders, had an average score of 428.1 which means they increased an average of 3.1 points.  So, they GREW, 3.1 points.  

The average score for the 2013 4th graders was 428.1.  In 2014 as 5th graders, their average was 534.9, an increase of 6.8 points on average.  Again, GROWTH.  And that is BIG growth.

There was growth, but according to the powers that be, the growth wasn't enough because the kids are still below standards.  

Now, lets look at Hale, the school with the stronger population.   In 2013 Hale's 3rd graders average score was 366.4.  That says the majority of the students are above grade level.  In 2014 as 4th graders, the average score was 462.0.  Again way above grade level.  But...the scores dropped by 4.4 points.  Dropped.  As in, got lower.  But to the powers that be, that doesn't matter because the kids are above the standards.

So the teachers with the poorest families, most challenging behaviors, most inconsistent attendance, lowest academic levels, actually made the most growth...

I leave you with the question I started with...where are the "best" teachers? 

Yes I know I only looked at one class in two different schools...my point is, shouldn't we change the way we define successful teachers and schools based on growth?  Shouldn't every single child in every single school be expected to grow academically each school year regardless of where they start out?  Growth matters.  When I have some extra time, I may do the same comparison with other schools...but that's a big undertaking for a crazy single mom working in an inner city school....so it might be a long time coming... :)

Slam into the 21st Century Personalized Ornament Makers!

Yes.  This will be rant.  You have been warned.  Every single Christmas the reality of the nation's definition of family hits me when I get a catalog from the company Personalized Creations.  You see it too when you go to the mall or state fair and see those kiosks were the proudly display and sell personalized ornaments or figurines or puzzles or whatever you want with you and your loved ones' names hand written on them.  Here's the deal personalized creations people, not all families are made up of only white faces.  Not all families have faces of all the same hue in them.  Not all families are made up of a mom, a dad, and a kid or two who look like them.  Not all grandparents have grandkids with peachy faces, blue eyes, and golden locks of hair.  Some families are proud of the diversity they have in hair color, skin tone, eye color, gender, etc and want to celebrate and commemorate those traits in a yearly tradition of getting an ornament to hang on the Christmas tree or wherever.  My family has a set of grandparents (my parents) who are white and their four children, again who are white.  Two of those children are married, two are not.  Then they have eight beautiful, adored grandchildren.  Two are lovely red headed, pale complected, girls with blue eyes; one tall, handsome copper skinned Native American and African American boy with thick, coarse black hair; one tall, handsome; pale boy with brown eyes and brown/blonde hair and freckles sprinkled across his nose; one tall, skinny, caramel colored boy with brown hair and striking light hazel eyes, one short, dark chocolate boy with dark brown eyes and dark, nappy, curly hair; one light caramel creamy skinned boy with big brown eyes, almost blonde tightly curled hair; and one light nutter butter boy with straight, thick brown hair with random red and blonde highlights and beautiful brown eyes.  We would love to be able to find an ornament that celebrates this diversity, but we can't.  As a single mom, I can't even find one that honors just me and my son as a family.  Yeah, can't do the family ones with the last name, because our last names are different.  The ornaments that have just two faces on them are obviously couples.  The family designed ones look like something's missing if you don't have at least three of the round faces.  How hard would it be to create more current designs that reflect the diversity of modern families.  I mean, really?  I am happy to design them if you need some ideas....

Sure, keep blaming the teachers, why not?

For the last two decades or so, as public education in the United States keeps getting worse and worse, the teachers keep getting the blame.  Its our fault kids don't meet state standards on standardized state assessments and national standards based on nationally normed exams.  What no one talks about is the fact that the only thing teachers control at any level within the classroom is...well...nothing.  Standards and tests and levels and curriculum are set and chosen by people higher up the educational food chain and pay scale than we are, mostly by people who have never ever been a teacher of the content or grade level that they are choosing or creating the curriculum or standards for.  We, the folks who work with the kids all day, every day, year in and year out, are not considered experts at our craft or content or management.  We have to get our directives from those powers that be that I previously mentioned.  And, those directives can be sure to change every two to four years or change when a new power that be takes control and that person has a stake in some new fangled way of teaching Math, or Science, or Social Studies, or penmanship...oh wait, that got tossed out.  Kids don't need to know how to write or sign their names, we live in a digital age!  That is, unless they want to fill out a job application or sign a legally binding document...but that's not important.  

Why do teachers leave the chaos that is the educational system in the US?  Especially in urban areas?  Because we can't take it anymore.  The expectations are too high with zero voice and zero support.  For example, in several schools I have worked at personal safety is a real issue.  Urban middle school students have a lot of issues going on in their hormone and emotion filled bodies and when they snap-and snap they will under the pressure of life-its the teachers who feel it.  Sure there are "Behavior Deans" and "Security" personnel at high poverty urban schools.  The issue is that there are not enough of them.  In the five different urban schools I have been in, none of them had a system in place to actually prevent violence or protect teachers and staff.  Its only by the grace of God that I haven't been hurt or been in a situation where a student got hurt because of rampage of another student in my classroom.  "Well, why don't you just call for help?" you ask, with an accusing tone in your voice.  Well gee, why didn't I think of that?  I DID call for help.  My coworkers DID call for help.  Dozens of times.  We called the behavior team number, we called each secretary in the office, we called the social worker, we called the special education teachers, we called every single number in the entire school directory to get help...and guess what?  No one picked up the phone.  This is not an isolated incident.  It doesn't just happen to me.  Teachers are completely unsupported in certain situations and left without any sense of back up.  Its a very scary place to be-to be responsible for 25-35 young lives with no back up.  Its a feeling of complete helplessness and fear that you can do nothing about.  There is always some reason for no one coming...they were dealing with another discipline issue....they were at lunch duty....they were out of the building...they were away from their desk for a meeting...there isn't enough staff...there isn't enough money...and on and on and on.  Its only a matter of time before something truly tragic happens when one of those kids snap in a classroom and teacher calls for support and no one answers and no one comes.  Then what?

As outsiders look at the data for high poverty schools and the so called 'ratings' and 'teaching ability' of those teachers, do they consider these factors?  Do they consider other factors?

For example, I was teaching in a high poverty school where I had to use a curriculum that was designed to be taught in a 90 minute class period.  I had 50 minutes.  Students were expected to use this very expensive online computer program and record themselves reading.  This highly effective program required the use of headphones and microphones.  That worked.  I didn't have any.  I requested them.  Oh, there's no money for that, you have to work with what you have or buy your own.  This curriculum also expected each student to have a workbook/textbook that they wrote in every single day.  Its a very interactive program where students need to highlight, mark text, answer questions, use graphic organizers, etc IN the workbook.  Yeah, there was only enough money for five or ten workbooks. So, not only could students NOT write in the required workbook at all but we didn't have enough for every student to have one book at the same time.  Just make copies for the other kids, right?  Um, have you seen the copy budget or the actual copiers in urban schools?  Not gonna happen.  If the copier is working and doesn't run out of toner or jam every other job, its a good day.  The other component of this program was independent reading.  Students had to read books at their reading level for 20 minutes a day.  Where did these books come from?  Yeah, no where.  The program also had lovely audio books the kids could listen to.  But yeah, no CD players or headphones were available.  That year, I spent a small fortune on my classroom.

Of course, when test scores came back, my kids made gains but certainly not the gains the district or school expected.  Oh I also forgot to mention that there was a knock down, drag out fight probably once a week....and attendance was spotty at best...and kids kept choosing to switch classes...and my class became the behavior dumping ground rather than reading intervention course....and parents didn't come to conferences or return calls or sometimes even have the same phone number for more than a week..but none of that is considered.  I am expected, as the teacher of these kids who are below grade level, to catch them up.  Build relationships with them.  Have high expectations.  Teach like a champion.

Reality is, my time teaching in urban schools always felt like I was attempting to swim across the ocean with no arms.  But, I am expected to make it across faster than the person swimming in a climate controlled pool, with googles, a wet suit, flippers, a cheering squad, and every other possible support and resource known to swimming.  

We have to look at the whole picture when looking at the job teachers do.  We have to look from the top down and the inside out.  We have to consider every aspect of the job and the classroom and the school before we compare teachers or decide who is the best and who is the worst.  I'd love to see some of those bad teacher blaming folks who think they can do it better to take a month in some of the classrooms I have been in.  If you can do it better, then do it.  Otherwise work to support teachers.  Encourage teachers.  Reform schools.  Call on administrators and school boards to change their policies.  Demand better resources and support for the teachers.

Operation Radical Simplification #1

Since my days of forced simple living from 1999-2000 with Team Voltron for Mission Year I have been dabbling in the discipline of simplicity.  As I have gotten older and lived more I realize every single day how much stuff I have accumulated and how truly meaningless 95% of that stuff is.  American culture is a consumer driven culture.  We, as good citizens, are expected to fuel our economy and help create jobs and wealth by making sure we participate in our economy.  The problem is, its all gotten completely out of hand.  We have become a throw away society.  We get rid of stuff not because its no longer useful or its been used up but simply because we don't like it anymore.  The pattern on the couch doesn't compliment those we see on television or in magazines.  Trends change so our decor must keep up.  Same with our clothes, beauty products, shoes, rugs, picture frames, cars, houses, bedding, plates, cookware, socks, etc.  Its really ridiculous when you think about it.  In our global society that is media driven and saturated with information every single person in ht United States is woefully aware of how other people around the world live on much, much less than we do.  The crazy thing is, we usually feel pity for those poor souls with no expendable income to buy more clothes, shoes, video games, and random crap to sit around on our coffee tables, counters and shelves to make us look chic.  I don't feel pity for those people.  I am envious of their freedom.  Of course, I am talking about people who have food, shelter, running water, etc....well maybe not even running water...but people who are able to live with less and be content.  And be happy.

This year I am consciously starting Operation Radical Simplification.  I have done tons of reading, tons of soul searching, tons of thinking on the topic and now, I am moving closer to where I want to be.  Before I moved into my home just over a year ago, I went through a major purge.  I am in the process of doing that again now.

It's taken me a while to get going with the actual removal of stuff from my home because of the guilt I felt.  My house is full of gifts people have given me and stuff that I have foolishly spent my hard earned money on over the years.  Again, the vast majority of that stuff is truly meaningless to me at this point in my quest for simplicity.  Please don't be offended or misunderstand me.  I understand that some stuff holds a great deal of meaning for people  I have books that I will never part with.  I have gifts from friends-like a small statue of three cats that my coworker Tasha gave me during my first year of teaching in Chicago, pictures in frames that I love, a yellow flowered napkin holder that holds endless happy memories from my childhood days visiting my Aunt Amy and Uncle Pete.  But there are also many, many things that simply have no meaning for me any longer or were bought during a random phase in my life or were bought simply to decorate.  Again, decorating is fine, but I want my decor to be simple and intentional.  I don't want a house full of stuff that just sits around with no real purpose.  Of course, I will have some things around and I will choose those items carefully and with intention.  And, some things will inevitably end up in a box to be kept in storage because they still have meaning for me but I don't want them out.  Eventually, my goal is to even let go of those things that sit in boxes in the shed.

I've been struggling with this shift to minimalist simplicity for a long time because it is completely counter cultural.  For the last six weeks stores have been full of Halloween decorations.  Now, they are full of Christmas decorations.  While at WalMart today (generally I don't shop at WalMart but my mom wanted bath rugs that were there, so there I was) I had a hard time not stocking on up on clearance Halloween stuff and getting some Christmas decor for this year.  But I stopped myself and I thought about it...and when I really, truly think about it, I don't want any of that.  I don't want to take the time or spend the money on changing my decor for the seasons. I'd rather use my money to provide food, shelter, clothing, education or hope in some way to the world.

This journey has been a long journey because it is so counter cultural.  To choose to live simply and to choose to reject consumerism and cultural expectations of stuff is hard.  Every day I see the decorations, I see the new trends, I hear people discussing their plans for redecorating, I see the cute, fun stuff at Target or wherever I am, I see the endless ads that pop up on facebook and get the daily emails of great deals that are in my future to make my life better.  I'm focusing my heart, soul and mind on realizing that the stuff they are selling will not make my life better.  Its stuff that will take my money, take my time, and add to stuff in my life and home I have to take care of.

My goal is for every thing within my home to be one of the following: useful or meaningful and lasting.  Useful means it is something I have used within the last year.  There are things that we all have that we don't use every day-or even every month-but they are still useful and worth keeping around.  My cookie press for example, only comes out at Christmas time for baking.  My pie plates are used mostly at Thanksgiving.  My extra casserole dishes are used only sometimes.  But even with that stuff, as I am going through this process I am being strict with myself.  If it hasn't been used in a year, it needs to go.  And then the flip side comes in, when shopping, I need to be intentional as well.  I have to limit myself to only purchasing something that I know I will use immediately and repeatedly.  And if there is any question as to the object in question's true usefulness, it needs to stay in the store.

I also want everything in my home to bring me joy.  That is going to take longer to make happen because it will involve carefully, intentionally saving up money to buy furniture that will be lasting and useful.  That requires a lot of planning, measuring, and shopping around.

I have no idea how long this process will take or what the end result will be...but I am on my way...today there are three big bags of clothing/blankets/etc and a couple of boxes of other stuff to be given away...

Failure IS an Option

In July of 2008 a close friend and I started a tradition of meeting once a year to reflect on the year and to set goals for the upcoming year together so we could hold each other accountable and therefore, be more likely to reach our goals.  This year was our 6th accountability day.  Yes day.  We meet at Caribou and start out b reading the reflections and goals from the prior years and then write a reflection on the last year, then we set new goals and share them with each other.  There is true vulnerability and honesty between us so we allow plenty of time to discuss and share with one another.  Its been a profoundly interesting experience.  Each year, we have set some of the same basic goals-get financially stable, eat better, lose weight, etc, etc, etc.  At this point in time, she is at the highest weight she has been since we started meeting and I am still horrible with my finances and haven't set or stuck to a budget.  We have made progress in other areas though, in the goals that we set that were very specific.  For example, last year one of my goals was to host a holiday dinner/event for my family and I did, indeed succeed!  I even hosted TWO-Christmas Eve and Easter with success.  She had successes as well.  However, the two biggest goals showed up every year with little to no progress. 

Today as I was sharing my reflection, she looked over at my paper and noticed that next to each of last year's goals I wrote in all capital letters:  FAIL.  Of course, next to the one about hosting holiday dinners I put a check mark or smiley face or something.  When she noticed my FAIL note by each of the unmet goals, she looked at me with a sad face and said that wasn't very nice.  She was super encouraging and said, "you tried", etc, etc, etc.  I responded, "but that is what I did.  I FAILED.  I failed to meet my goals."

This brief exchange got me to thinking about how we address failure in our culture.  In schools, we adopted the No Child Left Behind law which has that goal of all kids meeting standards, no one failing.  Before my friend got to our meeting, I overheard a group of ladies complaining about how their kids are just passed on to the next grade or next class regardless of their academic progress or ability or learning because of the law.  As a teacher, I am all to familiar with this.  In kids' sports, every kid gets trophy for participation in sports.  The blessing of failure has been killed.

Blessing of failure?  Yes.  By failing you learn what you can and cannot do.  You learn what hard work really means.  You learn to re-evaluate your actions so that you can meet your goal, or you adjust your goal to meet your abilities and needs.  I fear we have become people addicted to mediocrity and every body wins philosophy in the name of encouragement and building self esteem.  But...but telling kids everyone is a winner and rewarding all abilities the same, aren't we, in fact, harming self esteem by creating unrealistic self images? 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we need to degrade or insult kids or start emphasizing the losers in a situation.  But kids need to learn early on that failure is an option. They can be unsuccessful.  That is reality.  There will more than likely be someone better than them at something at some point in their life-which is good!  If they fail, and its handled correctly, its not a shameful, embarrassing, paralyzing experience.  Its empowering.   By not winning all their games, the kids learn the importance of practice.  By not passing a class, they learn the importance of homework or paying attention or not being on their friggen cell phones all day long instead of focusing on learning.  By not making the team, the learn that they are better at a different sport or-gasp-they are a musician instead of an athlete (and vice versa). 

We need to adjust our thinking about failure to see it as what it is: a part of life.  No one is perfect.  No one excels at everything.  By failing we learn.  We adjust.  Or at least we should...since no one is failing anymore, is anyone really succeeding?

The key word in the phrase is OPTION.  It's not inevitable.  You don't have to fail, but it is possible.  It is an option you can CHOOSE.  Failure isn't some obscure, random event that happens.  Its a consequence of actions.  Why did I fail to meet my goals?  Because I didn't do the work to achieve those goals.  Of course circumstances beyond our control can impede our progress.  I had an unplanned pregnancy and got laid off from jobs.  These events were unexpected and threw a wrench into my plans.  My friend's husband had a stroke and ended up losing his company and was unable to work causing financial ruin. That impeded her progress.  But, do these events release us from all responsibility?  No.

Being unemployed for the periods of time I was should have (and could have) been times of incredible growth and progress for me.  Being pregnant could have (and should have) been strong motivation to eat better, exercise and save money.  But they weren't.  I used them as excuses to fail.  And, people around me let me.  We are so afraid of being honest with people regarding life progress and meeting goals that we have become the failure killers.  And, by killing failure, we enable cycles of non growth and non progress.  Its time to realize and accept that failure is an option and face it in healthy, motivating, honest ways. 

This realization today helped us to address our goals in a different way. We are focusing on three words for this year:  Planning, Discipline and Choice.  These three actions are the key to success...more on this later...

Grilled cheese AND Chicken nuggets...the battle of wills.

Few parents will tell you the gory details of parenthood.  Most like to gloss over the struggles so as not to scare those without children or to avoid judgement by super parents out there with always clean, always submissive, always angelic little lovelies.  My four year old son and I have had some epic battles over the last four years. Tonight it was the great Grilled Cheese/Chicken Nugget battle of 2014.  Caleb asked for dinner, I said, okay what do you want?  This is our usual dinner time set up-I know, I know, I should plan meals, we should sit at a table and eat together at the same time every night, I had that growing up and it was wonderful.  I'm a single mom.  Its me and him.  When I make a nice dinner generally he will only pick at it and eat half and I eat my portion and we have tons of leftovers that never really get eaten...so I have given up the "lets sit together and have dinner and eat the same thing battle" for now.  We do sit down together, but we don't always eat the same thing. 

Okay, back to the point-the battle.  So, Caleb said, "I want grilled cheese AND chicken nuggets for dinner!"  He was in a good mood but did miss a nap today so I should have been on the offensive and been prepared.  I should have just offered him one thing rather than leaving it open for him to choose...alas hindsight is 20/20 and being proactive as a parent is always good.  I dropped the ball on this one.  I responded, choose one.  You can't have both.  Holy hell you would think I was asking him to make Sophie's Choice.  He began yelling, screaming, begging, pleading "I WANT BOTH!"  I put him in his room and shut the door telling him when he's ready to choose and calm down, to let me know.  That was going on 30 minutes ago.  I check on him every ten or so minutes.  The cry is still the same, "I WANT BOTH!"

This is where the real nuts and bolts, hardcore parenting comes in.  The stuff that they don't tell you about.  Does it really matter what he has for dinner?  Could I make him grilled cheese and chicken nuggets without destroying the world?  Of course.  However, the battle is not about what to eat.  The battles are never about what they seem.  The fact of the matter is, I said "no, choose one."  So, I have to stick to that.  If I want any level of respect from my son, I have to stick to what I say.  Is it stupid?  Yes.  Does it drive me insane that I am listening to him scream and cry and yell for now going on 45 minutes about something that I can easily fix?  Sure does.  But, as a parent, you always have to keep the bigger picture in mind.  Caleb need to know that what I say means something.  He needs to know that he can't always get what he wants.  He needs to know how to submit.  Which is completely against his nature because it is also against mine.  I know this about him and I know the struggles he will have in life if he doesn't learn how to accept things and make tough choices.

This is certainly not the first, nor will it be the last battle.  To parent, you need to be okay with hearing a kid scream and making him unhappy.  You have to let them struggle.  You have to let them be angry at you.  You can not take battles personally or be afraid to stand your ground.  Its exhausting....but worth it.  

Flirting with Minimalism...time to commit?

Back during my time in Chicago with Mission Year, I was first introduced to the concept of minimalism by reading the simply profound book by Richard Foster The Freedom of Simplicity.  At that time in my life it was incredibly easy to follow the guidelines for simple living because I had no real control over my own life or choices.  I was committed to the Mission year lifestyle-they controlled my finances-I got $45 a month 'spending money' which was all I had for shampoo, conditioner, make up, coffee, etc.  And, we got $120 a week for groceries for six people.  The beautiful thing is, we did it.  For a year (okay 11 months if you want to get technical) I happily lived that way.  My team of six people learned how to budget, plan meals, and spend our grocery money wisely-even with a vegetarian in the house-and were even able to splurge for a Lou Malnati's pizza every now and again.  Why did it work?  Because the control was taken from us.  We had no access to finances.  Our job was to learn how to show Christ's love to people in the neighborhood by building relationships, being good neighbors, listening, and learning from the people around us.  That time in my life was 14 years ago....holy crap am I getting old or what???  Since then, I have made and wasted more money than I can possibly imagine.  Honestly, if I sat down and actually analyzed my finances over the last 14 years, Richard Foster would actively and loudly shame me and Mission Year would not claim me as an alumni. 

Recently, the discipline of simplicity and minimalism and the battle against consumerism has come to the forefront of my mind and soul again.  Last August I moved into a new home and in the process started phase one of operation simplify and downsize.  In the process of packing I gave away truckloads of stuff that I knew I didn't use, need, or want anymore.  Then I moved and unpacked and phase two began, where I gave away even more stuff.  Now, I've been in my new place for almost a year-it will be a year in August 2014-and I still have five or so boxes of stuff that haven't been unpacked.  In a frantic search for my car title, I sifted through most of those boxes over the last couple of days and ya know what?  I don't need any of it.  The question is, do I want it?  And if I do what it, for what?  Which brings me to phase 3 in my quest for simplicity...changing my mindset and desires and definitions to fit the concept of minimalism. 

Meaning, I have to redefine and retrain myself about what it means to want vs need.  I need to redefine what is useful and what is not.  And, I need to act on and live those definitions in every day life.  This is where the commitment comes into play.  Sure, I can flirt with the concept of minimalist simplicity.  I can read the blogs, share the snappy quotes, give stuff away every season but if I just buy new stuff that I don't really need or want to replace the stuff I gave away, what does it matter?  Or if I am not changing the way I take care of the possessions I do have to ensure they last a long time, it doesn't matter.  Its all talk.  I don't want it to be all talk.  I need to redefine contentment and happiness for myself and my son and build the foundation of our lives on the values I believe in so that we are living an authentic life. 

This all begs the question, "how the hell do I do that?"  Which is what I am pondering this beautiful Saturday morning in May while on my porch listening to birds sing and enjoying a light breeze.  The more and more I think about it, the more I think it all comes down to intentionality and planning. Planning meaning, taking the time each week to sit down and plan meals-exactly and stick to that plan and use that plan to buy groceries for the week-just what we need, just what we will use.  Sit down and plan what we will wear each day and make sure those clothes are clean and in the process, go through my closet and get rid of every single piece of clothing that I have not worn and...this is the kicker...and not replace those pieces with anything unless its an intentional, planned, valuable expense that lines up with the rest of the plan.  (Of course, what the rest of the plan is, I don't know yet.)

My friend Angela and I once declared ourselves superheros.  My superhero name was RandomGirl because I have no plan.  I have no routine.  I crave structure and routine and plans yet when I have them, I reject them because they feel restrictive and limiting and what if I want something else for dinner?  What if I don't feel like wearing that outfit on Tuesday?  The answer: who cares?  Why does it matter what I wear which day of the week?  Why does it matter if its a planned outfit?  Its clothing for crying out loud not heart surgery.  Why do I feel stifled by the idea of planning choices ahead of time?  I feel like its taking away my freedom to choose.  In reality, its not.  I'm still choosing, I just made the choice earlier than usual and, in making that choice earlier, I am giving myself more freedom because I am eliminating a level of chaos from my life.

This summer I am going to slowly step up my commitment to simplicity and minimalism...the hamster wheel in my brain is spinning with ideas and plans to start, tools to put in place to help me on the journey.  I'm marinating on those thoughts and ideas and working out a plan...as the plan grows to fruition, I will share it and share my progress on the commitment and plan...its overwhelming but in a good, manageable way.

Introverted Single Mother

I always thought  was an extrovert.  The first inklings I had to my true introverted nature came during my Grad School/Teaching residency experience in 2005-2006.  During that time, I was with people 12 or more hours a day.  I worked in a classroom with students for a full school day then attended classes with my cohort in the evenings.  During this incredibly insane time I became a bit of a hermit.  At the time, I just figured it was stress and the work load of being a full time Masters degree student and a full time teacher.  Then came my first year of teaching.  Again, I was solely responsible for the learning of 35-42 high energy eighth grade students on the 2nd floor of the school where there was only one other teacher housed.  Well, that's not completely true.  On the far other end of the second floor were the art and drama teachers but on our end, it was me and the 7th grade teacher and about 75 urban middle school kids.  That year I lived about two miles from the school I worked at and I remember never turning the radio on in my car for the brief ride home-usually after working for at least 10 hours.  And I remember coming home and just sitting on my couch to decompress for awhile not even wanting my adorable cats to come near me for at least an hour.  I didn't turn the tv on.  I didn't turn music on.  I pushed my cats away.  I needed to be alone.  Completely and utterly alone to refuel for at least an hour or so.  Again, that year was a pretty dry year in terms of my social life.  The following year was similar due to the school I was working at.  Then I moved back to Minneapolis from Chicago and became somewhat more social.  I have never been a social butterfly.   I prefer small groups of friends with intimate connections to large parties, etc.  I hate striking up conversations with people and small talk terrifies me.  Still, during these times I thought of myself as an extrovert.  Why?  I have no idea.  Probably because I enjoy being around people...but I don't particularly enjoy actually interacting with people.  Its a fine line to walk.  I love working at a coffee shop. I love the bustle of people and the music playing but I don't want to actually interact with the bustle or the people.  I'm there for the ambiance and the illusion of social networking.  The truth of my introvertedness hit me like a ton of bricks when I became a single mother working full time. 

A definition I found for introvert is:  "Introverts are more concerned with the inner world of the mind. They enjoy thinking, exploring their thoughts and feelings. They often avoid social situations because being around people drains their energy. This is true even if they have good social skills. After being with people for any length of time, such as at a party, they need time alone to "recharge.""

As a truly single parent (meaning I am solely responsible for the care of my child 24/7/365 because his father chooses not to be an active parent and lives 450 miles away.  Yes he pays child support but the actual care giving is all me, all the time), I have been in a state of constant exhaustion.  Not simply from the demands of parenthood and working and the balancing act that is life but because I don't have the much needed alone time to recharge my introverted nature.  I chose a profession where I am with people and giving myself to students during the entire workday.  I don't even have an office to myself-its shared with the entire English department.  I don't even have a classroom to myself-I move to different rooms each hour.  During the school day from 7:10am until 2:50pm I am surrounded by people.  Non stop.  Then, I have a quick (again silent) 10 minute drive to pick up my precious boy who I am then with until bedtime.  And, he is a kid who doesn't need a lot of sleep, so his bedtime is usually pretty much the same as mine.  This begs the question, when does this introvert recharge?   I think that is what I need to figure out...I need to schedule a little bit of decompression time into my daily and weekly routine.  I need to be creative to figure it out and force myself to take the time for my own sanity and to be the best mother I can be.  This realization came to me over the last few weeks as I was trying to figure out why I always feel so completely exhausted and overwhelmed. Its because I am not taking care of my introverted single mother self and am allowing myself to become drained to the point of no return...to the point where I am no good to anyone and my energy is completely gone.

So, time to get creative and figure out how to incorporate that recharging time...

treasures, hearts and legacy

Throughout my life I have struggled with financial responsibility.  I suck at paying my bills on time (if at all), my credit is crap, I owe family members lots and lots of moolah.  I've been reading a lot of financial planning/responsibility books/articles by all the big names: Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, stuff from Richard Foster, pocket your dollars, the minimalist movement, etc.  I know in my head what I need to do to become financially wise, stable and responsible.  Its not at all a knowledge issue.  I know without a doubt that having McDonalds for breakfast and dinner is not financially responsible, wise or being a good steward of the immeasurable gifts God has given me.  Yet, I make that choice.  So the issue becomes an issue of will.  Sure there are lots of 'reasons' I suck with money.  Lots of excuses I could make.  I could spend even more time and money going to counseling to get to the deep roots of what need I am trying to feed with my bad spending...but...none of that really matters.  What matters is the choices I make.  And, thanks to the TV show Lucky Dog, what motivates me.  See, on Lucky Dog this week on CBS the dog training guru Brandon McMillan was attempting to train a high energy rescue dog named Charlie so she can be adopted into a family with a dog who needs a friend.  As he was working with Charlie (who is part lab part some other crazy high energy, playful dog), he started off offering her treats to listen to his commands.  She didn't give a flying fig about the delectable snacks he offered.  Charlie was not motivated by food.  So, rather than keep up the crazy food motivation, the wise Brandon took out a tennis ball in an attempt to lure sweet Charlie into obedience.  And ya know what?  It worked!  That spazzy, immature, stray dog became calm, motivated, ready to please and so whatever it took to get the green fuzzy sphere of fun that Brandon controlled.  This got me thinking...how does that apply to human behavior?  Specifically me and my issues with money.

The books I have read and articles I have come across mostly use money and wealth to motivated people to use money and wealth wisely.  Like: invest your money now so you can retire early and travel the world, or get a nice car, or get a fancy schamancy house or fill in the blank with the materialistic desire of your heart.  For me, this is the problem.  I am not motivated by that stuff.  I don't really want to be rich for the sake of being able to buy bigger, better stuff.  I don't even really want to be rich at all.  My financial desire for my live is to be stable-pay all my bills, have a nice size savings account so that when my car needs breaks or the washer breaks down I can pay cash and get er done, have money for Caleb's college, and, perhaps, be able to take some vacations every now and again AND be able to give.  To give ridiculously generously to whomever I choose for whatever reason I choose without abandon.

I'm reading an historical fiction novel by Bodie Thoene called When Jesus Wept.  Its a beautifully written, creatively told, take on the relationship Jesus had with Lazarus, Mary and Martha.  (Note:  it is FICTION, so please please please don't get into some crazy fundamentalist debate with me about the accuracy of the story.)  In the story, after Mary experiences the transforming love of Christ in person, she opens her home and wealth up to the least of these among her.  When her brother and sister (who had not had their own intimate interactions with Jesus yet) found out about this reckless abandon and dramatic change in her life, Lazarus said, "It seemed to me, Mary's generosity to the needy had become careless and profligate."  For those of you who, like me didn't know, profligate means:  recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources. 

This part brought to my mind the verses about storing up treasures in heaven rather than on earth where rust and moth destroy and where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Many people see the verse about storing up treasures in heaven to mean as you do good work on earth, your material treasure in heaven is bigger and better.  You get more jewels in your crown, etc.  But I wonder, does that materialistic view of treasures in heaven really line up with Jesus?  I mean, if different people have different jewels and materials in heaven, how is that paradise?  I wonder if it means more of intangible treasures.  I wonder if Jesus is talking about lives impacted.  Society helped.  People encouraged.  I wonder if the treasures are really more legacies.  Legacies of recklessly extravagant generosity.  Not building up a mountain of money, investments, houses, boats, vacation homes, etc that will all be left to rust or get fought over by people seeking more consumer pleasure from your hard work.  What if, its about providing meals to people who need them?  Or clothes?  Or cars?  Or homes?  Or being recklessly extravagant in your funding of missionaries and community developers or educators around the world (or in your neighborhood) you are doing the hard work of kingdom building that not all of us are called to or able to do?  Doesn't that line up more with the God of love and provision that we know?  God provides for the children He created and loves THROUGH the children he created and loves.  The incredible wealth of Christians in America is staggering...if we started to give like Mary...if we sought to invest in a legacy...if we became truly, honestly, intentionally, deeply, recklessly extravagant and free in our generosity what could be accomplished?

That is my motivation for financial security.  I want to be able to freely, generously, recklessly give as the generous lover of my soul guides me to. And to do this all without keeping a record, or looking for a tax deduction, or expecting anything in return.  Just giving with God as my guide and faith in the legacy and long term.  People take advantage of these situations, I know, but so what?  I want to be in a place where financially, it won't hurt if that happens.  Sure, it will hurt my heart, but if I am giving by God's leading, then the giving is His not mine.  All I have is His.  He will guide and take care of the rest. 

I'm also not talking about the KTIS "Drive Through Difference" thing-buying souls for Jesus.  I'm talking about really providing for someone's deepest needs-not a cup of five dollar coffee on their way to work.  (Yes, I know, I am cynical and evil but I HATE the Drive Through Difference being made into a sharing the gospel kind of thing...its about being kind and generous but I find it very hard to believe the someones ENTIRE LIFE was changed and they found Jesus and salvation because someone bough their over indulgent coffee.  If someone is IN the drive through already ordering a $5 latte, they HAVE the money to buy it.  Its not a blessing in the sense of meeting someone's true need.  Yes, it brings a smile to their face.  Yes, it sends some light into the world.  Yes, hopefully it makes them a little kinder.  But is it life changing?  No. End of rant.)

I'm talking about making financial choices in a whole different way on every level of life in a way that intentionally impacts the Kingdom of God.  Thinking about needs vs wants in a deeper way.  Considering where you shop and why.  Looking into the practices of companies you support-what is their salary scale?  What benefits are offered?  How do they treat their wealth?  Asking tough questions of yourself.  Living a less consumer driven life...What that looks like in reality...I dunno yet.  Is it even possible?  I have no idea...its an inspiring vision though...I'll keep you posted.  

Graceful kindness versus being a dormat...is balance possible?

My son's father, who lives in Chicago, had not seen Caleb since July.  Before that, it was January of 2013.  I have mounds and mounds of single mother guilt because my boy doesn't see his father on a regular basis.  Because we were not married when Caleb was conceived we have not had to set up an official custody or visitation agreement.  We did go to court and do child support, which has been paid consistently and fully.  Because of the distance between us-400ish miles-I have worked very hard to be graceful and kind regarding visits from dad.  When Caleb was a baby/toddler I allowed the dad to stay at my house when he wanted to visit Caleb.  While he stayed with us, I split the cost of meals out and opened all aspects of my home to him.  (Sidenote:  there is absolutely no romantic or sexual attraction or feelings or anything remotely like that happening between us-to be perfectly honest, the reverse is true.  When I am with him, I breathe a sigh of relief that the relationship is in the past.)  Dad has been bugging me to allow Caleb to go to Chicago to meet that side of his family by himself....as in...without me.   I said that was not going to happen-Caleb is is too young to take that trip on his own and be in a completely unfamiliar situation with essential strangers without his mommy.   This is a huge reason why I allowed him to stay at my home when he visited...to ease some of the financial burden of the expense of traveling.  That's the graceful kindness coming out again.  My financial situation has been precarious since Caleb was born with several job changes, layoffs, etc but has finally stabilized over the last six months.  Dad doesn't pay for anything other than child support.  I asked him to split the cost of Caleb's soccer this fall and he said he couldn't afford it because he had to get new windows for his house.  The total cost was less than $40.  The man refused to come up with $20 so his son could play soccer.  But I digress...

Back in October I started asking dad what his plans were for the holidays.  He never initiates conversations about visits.  He mentioned paying for Caleb's flight and a hotel if we came out there for part of the upcoming holiday break.  I did some research and told him about great deals I had found-flights for $89 round trip, nice hotel near him for less than $500/week.  He dilly dallied around and didn't get back to me about what he wanted to do until the week before our break.  At that time, my aunt had died unexpectedly so our holiday plans got moved back so that I could attend the funeral in Milwaukee.  I texted dad and told him that the trip wasn't going to work out because of the funeral, etc.  Long story short, after several discussions, it was decided that I would drive Caleb and I to Chicago IF dad agreed to pay for the gas and the hotel room and meals.  I gave him an honest estimate about the cost of gas-around $200.  He agreed to that and to provide dinner for me and Caleb each night.  So, I packed us up and headed out.  Giving up five days of my break.  Five days of my time.  Out of gracious kindness.  Honestly, when we planned it, I was happy to do it.  I want my son to know his father.  I want him to spend time with him and his family.  Of course, things did not go as planned in many, many ways.  At one point, there was a blow out where he called me selfish and said that he would get official visitation set up so that I couldn't be so selfish with our son.

I didn't react too much.  I wanted to explode.  I wanted to tell him everything he didn't want to know about himself.  I didn't though.  I held back and simply said that he can feel free to file the paperwork to get an official visitation agreement set up.  This was the start of the tipping point for me.  When we got ready to leave, the final tipping point happened...he handed me an envelope of money.  I had given him the receipts for the cost of the gas on the trip there which totaled $105.  So, I expected that the envelope would contain at least $200.  He hands me the money and says, "its about $170 because I had to break a $20 a buy Caleb dinner last night."  Again, I didn't react as I could have...but I was furious.  Livid.  To top it off, I brought some of Caleb's most recent school pictures to see if he wanted to buy some to share with his friends and family.  I gave him the big, fancy collage picture as a gift.  As I packing things up to head home, I noticed that he took the envelope of pictures and put them in his stuff.  I took it back.  Missing was one 8 x 10 photo.  I asked him where it was.  His response, "I took it."  I asked him if he was going to ay for the photos?  Again, he said no.  Again, I feel completely taken advantage of and angry.  I informed him that the cost of the pictures (with the copyright release so I can print additional images on my own) was $110.  I informed him that if he wanted any additional copies of the pictures to share with friends and family, he would have to pay for half.  He was angry.  My graceful kindness has run out.  And I feel guilty.  Because I want my son to know his father and I have mounds of single mother guilt.

The events of this weekend have made me wonder if its possible to have a balance between graceful kindness and being taken advantage of in this situation and in others.  We encounter things like this all time and Christians (which I am) are expected and 'called' to be graceful, turn the other cheek, etc, etc, etc.  But I wonder, to what end?  I have known several good Christian people (mostly women) who give above and beyond to be graceful in all circumstances, sacrificing incredible amounts of themselves and their resources to care for and help others...and they have ended up with nothing (or less than nothing) in several situations.  Yes, they have given their all to help others but what have they lost in the lack of equal exchange?  I learned this weekend, that I can not give any more to the father of my son without some sort of return on the investment.  I'm not asking for financial compensation...its about appreciation.  Understanding.  Some level of gratitude.  In this situation, I am the giver and he is the taker and I have no more to give.  The tricky part is that I feel like I should give more.  I feel like its my responsibility to do all I can to facilitate that relationship (between my son and his father).  Where does that guilt come from?  Is the the Judeo-Christian "grace" guilt?  Is it the "you got knocked up by a man who lives 400 miles away without being married to him" guilt?  Is it my fault that Caleb's dad is not in his life?  I know in my head that its not...I even know in my heart that's not true.  But I still battle those feelings and struggle to achieve some sort of balance and boundaries in this relationship.  I don't want things to get nasty or angry or to have any fights like we had this weekend again...but I don't know how to move forward.  How do I stand my ground without things becoming combative?  How do I move forward with this without it appearing that I am keeping Caleb from his dad?  Because that is not at all my desire.  I want him to know his dad.  I want him to spend time with his dad.  I want it to be safe, and non stressful for Caleb.  I want to know that my boy is not freaking out.  After this trip, I know that Caleb would be okay without me right there.  But I also know that I am not investing any time or money into out of state visits without some sort of official agreement set up.   Boundaries need to be set...and kept.

So I come home from the weekend happy that Caleb got to spend time with his dad and grateful that he got to meet people from that side of his family and ecstatic that the daddy/Cale time went well and my boy was happy...but I also came home overwhelmed with what happens now.  I gotta figure out how to be graceful without being a doormat...being strong without being manipulative....being firm without being mean.  I also have to learn that the perception the dad has really doesn't matter.  What matters is Caleb.  If the dad wants to believe I am selfish and manipulative and evil, that is his choice and I have to accept that.  I am learning that I do not have to be 'friends' with Caleb's dad.  I don't have to include him in our family.  He is a grown up who is responsible for facilitating his relationship with Caleb on his own.

Additional side note...when dad took Caleb for the day, I sent him with some toys and Caleb's bunny-who he loves and sleeps with almost every night.  I explained to dad the importance of this bunny and asked him to make sure it returned.  It didn't.  Bunny is missing....and it breaks my heart.  Because it says so much to me about his dad.  He cares about what is important to him, not to anyone else.  Its evident not only in the loss of bunny but in the lack of naps the days dad took Caleb as well as the lack of planning of the visit.  Dad had no plans arranged with any of his family or friends before we arrived.  He came late to breakfast.  He didn't bring Caleb back to take his naps liked I asked him to.  The bottom line is, the dad is incredibly selfish and I am not-which is why the grace has finally run out....