Humpty Meets Dumpty. Again.

Having a particular interest in special education (gee, I wonder why), I subscribe to a couple of Education newsletters. They're both US-based, of course, but something is better than nothing, says I.

So it was that today I came across a synopsis in Education Week stating that a Tennessee Senator wants to pass a law requiring counselors and other school officials who learn that a student has engaged in homosexual activity to report this information to the parents. Thinking that this sounded interesting in a warped sort of way (and admitting that the thought that some right-wing politician strikes again did cross my mind), I clicked on the story.

The only thing is that (in my reading, at least) the story doesn't quite work as advertised - what the synopsis and article purport to say and what the proposed Bill actually says simply do. not. mesh.

The proposed Bill, you see, would provide that

1. classroom instruction, course materials and other informational resources that are "inconsistent with natural human reproduction" will be classified as" inappropriate" for students from pre-K - Gr 8;
2. any counseling by a school counselor, nurse, principal or assistant principal of a student who is "engaging in, or who may be at risk of engaging in, behavior injurious" to their or another's "physical or mental health and wellbeing" must be done, if possible, in consultation with the student's parents and the parents must be notified that such counseling has occurred; and
3. the parents must be notified of a student "whose circumstances present immediate and urgent safety issues involving human sexuality".

And that, right there, is the problem, you see. Or, at least, the problem I see.

Because, for me at least, a requirement that the parents be notified in the case of a student whose "circumstances present immediate and urgent safety issues involving human sexuality" is very different from requiring notification in the case of homosexual activity. This despite the fact that it would appear that the good Senator, himself, might believe otherwise.

Admitting that, if perhaps you are a total homophobic, you might consider any and all homosexual activity to present immediate and urgent safety issues involving human sexuality, might I suggest that just because you say it or think it does not make it so?

Don't get me wrong, I am not making a comment on the "rightness", "wrongness" or "morality" of homosexuality; what I am saying is I find it very hard (read: impossible) to make the stretch that would equate homosexuality with "urgent safety issues".

The Senator, apparently, considers homosexuality to constitute an urgent safety issue because of the possibility of contracting HIV and AIDS. Putting aside the rather awkward fact that you can also contract HIV through heterosexual contact, doesn't any form of sexual activity open you up to the possibility of contracting various sexually-transmitted diseases (some of them pretty nasty, by the way)?

And, by the by, doesn't heterosexuality by a female open her up to the possibility of pregnancy, which some might see as potentially dangerous (be it physically, emotionally or mentally) depending on the age of said female? We are, after all, talking about students here.

But. Back to my original point (yes, of course, I had one; why do you ask?).

Much along the lines of 'Humpty Dumpty Strikes Again', just because you say it doesn't make it so. And, just as an aside, when you attempt to legislate, you might just want to choose your words carefully. Or else you may just run the risk of legislating "human reproduction" right out of existence, which I'm thinking might have some might nasty consequences, in and of itself.

The Law of Unintended Consequences being what it is.

Knee Meet Jerk

A knee jerk reaction is defined as:

an immediate unthinking emotional reaction produced by an event or statement to which the reacting person is highly sensitive; - in persons with strong feelings on a topic, it may be very predictable.

Synonyms (or perhaps more accurately, symptoms) include:

pavlovian response, absence of thought, automatic reaction,gut reaction, involuntary impulse

So what do you think? Generally speaking ... a good or bad thing?

Now tell me what you think of this.

A 17-year-old high school student has been suspended (and might face expulsion) for writing a dark poem that mentioned the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Her "crime" was, perhaps, one line in the poem; namely a statement that she understood what drove Adam Lanza to do what he did.

But since I'm a big fan of context, let's see how the poem actually read.

They wanna hold me back.
I run, but they still attack.
My innocence, I won't get back.
I use to smile.
They took my kindness for weakness.
The silence the world will never get.
I understand the killings in Connecticut.
I know why he pulled the trigger.
The government is a shame.
Society never wants to take the blame.
Society puts these thoughts in our head.
Misery loves company.

Her poem actually reminds me of something I read in a high school English class. An assigned reading. I can't quite recall now whether it was meant to be a suicide note or something written and handed in by the young man as part of a class assignment, shortly before he hung himself but I believe the latter.

At any rate, that poem has stuck with me my whole life. Not the exact words, of course, but the ideas, the pictures and thoughts remain bright in my mind.

Written in the the third person, the poem told the story of a little boy who started school so full of energy, curiosity and a desire to learn. So full of life. It goes on to tell what the school experience was like from his perspective and although my memory falters in some places, the ending remains crystal clear. Essentially, from his perspective, school had sucked all the colour out of life (starting with things as simple as being repeatedly told to "colour within the lines" in the primary grades), emphasizing demanding conformity in writing, dress and actions. It the end, it sucked the very life out of him.

That was assigned reading in a high school English class and despite the subject matter, it was a very good poem. Both from the perspective of how it was written and because it accomplished what I believe literature, at its best, is meant to accomplish: it made you stop and think. To this day, that little boy still comes back to haunt me.

Now, you might quite rightly point out that poem was assigned in a different time - a time when "school shootings" were unheard of, at any level. In a more innocent time, a time when parents felt safe sending their children to school. When horrors such as Sandy Hook were unimaginable, even in the movies. So it was.

But one of my immediate reactions when I first read that poem (which has stuck with me to this day and makes me think that it was something the young man handed in at school before he took his own life) was to wonder why ... why no one had paid attention to what he had to say, why no one could hear his scream for help, why he was simply given a grade and handed the poem back.

Much like reading the article about Courtni Webb and her poem makes me wonder why.

Why, if the school took this matter so seriously, did they simply suspend her? Did anyone sit down and actually talk to her before this decision was made? Was the first question that crossed administration's mind really "Should we suspend her"? Really? Seriously?

Did it occur to anyone to actually express some concern about the girl, herself? If the poem is to be interpreted as the school so obviously has, shouldn't there have some concern for the state of her mental health? Did we learn nothing from Sandy Hook? Other than that lesson pounded into granite for so many years? Cover. Your. Ass.

But you know what?

I really doubt whether anyone talked too much to Courtni about what she may or may have been thinking when she wrote this poem. But realizing that I am only basing this on the short interview I've watched where Courtni explained the poem, how about if you tell me what you think.



Sociopathic killer? Potential mass murderer? Possibly, I suppose. We are all well aware that we live in a world where anything, indeed, is possible.

Or, perhaps, merely (an apparently bright) high school student using her writing to work through her feelings?

I didn't hear a threat of violence in her words. Which has to make me wonder if the blunt mechanism of suspension was not used because she supposedly somehow violated a zero-tolerance policy or because of a perceived threat of violence, as alleged but simply to "punish" the young woman for her lack of good taste in writing such things so soon after all those little children were so senselessly murdered.

Either way, whether Courtni was actually contemplating violence or simply writing a poem, threatening and intending to threaten no one, if that poem caused concern for those who knew her, the first priority should have been (and should continue to be) her mental health.

Knee. Meet. Jerk.

It's Baaaack ...

That's right - your dreams have been answered. Year in a Blog is back.

You know the drill ... the first sentence (or paragraph, depending on my mood) of the first post for each month of 2012. Drum roll please ...

January 2012 - Come on. I double dog dare you. Try it. Forget twenty times. Just once. As fast as you can.

February 2012 - Wow, check this out - a man who was upset that a Tennessee couple unfriended his adult daughter has been charged with killing the couple.

March 2012 - I really shouldn't be here. The hour is late ... very late ... and I have to work tomorrow. But that is what happens when you spend a couple of hours floating around the internets, reading and responding to tributes to a man you've never even "met". But that you knew so well. Oh well, something tells me sleep will be a might bit difficult tonight this morning anyway.

April 2012 - Time goes on. As does life, doesn't it?
And although time doesn't really heal all wounds, it does tend to provide a protective coating, a scab, if you will. Which, I suppose, is why it hurts so bad if and when that scab, for whatever reason, gets ripped off.

May 2012 - Today's the day. It's here. It. Has. Arrived. Most definitely. I think.

June 2012 - I've always suspected it. And now I have proof! All Some good things do come to those who wait.

July 2012 - So, here we go again ... what's up with some people's apparent need to define words however they think they should be defined, either because it suits their own immediate purposes or ... it gets them in the news, perhaps? Hell, if I know.

August 2012 - 1. It's too hot.

September 2012 - There was absolutely no doubt when I stepped outside on Sunday - we have definitely entered my favourite time of the year.

October 2012 -  crickets

November 2012 -  I must admit I am quite disappointed in myself.

December 2012 -

Happy New Year

But remember, what we write is up to us:

A Merry Christmas to All ...

... And to All A Good Night

Only in Nova Scotia, You Say ...

H/T to the Chronicle Herald

These Are A Few of My Favourite Things ...

UPDATE: I hadn't watched the Dreamers video for quite a while and when I watched it again last night, it really spoke to me:

Whatever happened to the dreamers?  

They always look beyond the sky 

Saw a world they could believe in  

But only when they close their eyes 

Where are they now? 

They've all left town  

Bring in the clouds 

Whoever posted the video dedicated it to their brother. I hereby re-dedicate it to Lex.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

My computer having been without sound for close to nine months, it was mighty nice to get it back a few weeks ago. So nice, in fact, that one of the first things I did was start jiving with some of my favourite tunes.

Which got me thinking that, really, it was only fair to share some of those favourites (via video) with you.

So here you go, for your (and my) listening pleasure, I offer a few of my favourite things.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

One of my absolute favourite songs to listen to. It always puts a grin on my face,
I offer you Teterboro.




A beautiful video posted by Lex in the way back.




Only makes sense that this should be one of my favourite things, seeing as how many
days of my life it seems to capture lately.




Okay, not musical but ... it's always good for a grin.
And, just for the record, it's TOPGUN, one word, no caps. Fools.




I post this video pretty much every Remembrance Day.  The fact that it's sung, not
just by a Canadian, but by a Nova Scotian (Terry Kelly) certainly doesn't hurt but
it really grabs me because it's a beautiful, moving video and song.




In the category of "Not Music But I Could Easily Listen To It Over And Over Again",
I offer you what I like to title "You Can Call Them An Inspiration or You Can Can
Call Them Your Friend".




In the same category as the above - I find this incredibly moving.




What can I say? I am Canadian, eh?




This? This. Is. Just. Funny.




RFLOL




And last, but not least, a song so nice I named my blog after it.




And there you have it. Just a few of my favourite things.

To Dream the Impossible Dream

It's been eighteen years since I've practiced law. That's right. Eighteen years.

Long time, no?

You see, I've always said I wouldn't go back to practice unless I could have just a "disability" practice.

In other words, not unless I could only take cases involving disability-related issues. But considering that most families with a disabled family member can't afford a lawyer and I figure that it will likely take Nova Scotia a good 20 years to get to the point where the government helps subsidize the cost of legal representation for families ... I just wasn't feeling the love.

But for the past year or so, I've been playing around with the idea of doing just that ... going back to the practice of law. No, I hadn't given up on what I really wanted or lowered my standards. Nor was the thought born out of desperation.

But I had finally come to realize (with a little bit of help from some friends) that I could use what I have been doing with the NS Legal Guardianship Kit and the presentations on disability-related topics as a springboard.

What if I went back to practice? Just on a part-time basis?

What if I could offer people the option of either purchasing the Guardianship Kit or hiring me to bring their guardianship application? Not only would my fees be significantly lower than the majority of lawyers' but I had also started to develop a reputation in the disability community. People were already asking if they could hire me to bring guardianship applications and I had to explain that no, I wasn't practicing.

So it was that I've been playing around with this idea for a while now.

Tried to talk myself out of it ... after 18 years of not practicing, just how many hoops would the Barristers' Society make me go through before granting me practicing status again? For a while, that seemed like a good enough reason not to proceed any further.

But eventually I realized that I might just be staring in the face (and yet not seeing) exactly what I have been looking for so hard for quite a while now - having convinced myself that I would never go back to practice because, after all, who could financially survive financially with the type of practice I wanted, I had been thinking that maybe the solution was finding work for a disability organization in a position where I could use my legal background and training. But that opportunity simply was not presenting itself. Although, in all honesty, I had come across what looked like the perfect job a few years ago. There was only one problem ... it was in BC. As in clear across the other side of the country. So, yeah. Not so much.

And yet this has been my passion for so many years now - how long have I been telling people that if I could find a way to marry law and disability (and get paid for it), I would be truly happy? Trust me, a long time. Said to a lot of people.

And so it was that eventually, very slowly, light began to dawn on marblehead (that would be me, in case you were wondering) and I "made the decision" (well, kind of, sort of anyway ... who says I'm not decisive?*) to take the leap and return to practice. 

The only problem was that required applying for a change of status (and forwarding the appropriate application fee) to the Bar Society, who would review my application and then tell me what hoops I would have to go through.

Now, really, that change of application fee would be hardly significant for most people. It shouldn't have been a big deal. And yet once I (kind of, sort of) made the decision to go back to practice, there just wasn't any money to spare to make the application. And then every time I planned on doing it (as in as soon as I get paid for ... whatever), something would happen and the money would be demanded elsewhere.

Oh what a tangled web we weave ....

Anyway, on a different note, guess what I did today? Come on. Guess.

No, I didn't finally *find* the money for the application fee.

No, I didn't finally start the required paperwork.

Give up? Are you sure?

All right, all right. I will tell you.

Listen carefully now.

  

(crickets)

Today. I. Mailed. The. Application.

(With. The. Cheque. Of. Course).

To. The. Bar. Society.

(more crickets)

Proud of me? I am. 

Proud. And excited. And more than a little nervous.

And so it is that the adventure continues. Wish me luck!

* In my defence, I did have a few good personal reasons for hesitating about taking the plunge. One being my health. But, hey, why let a little thing like that stop me, right? I figure if I don't try, I'll never know.

World Record

I think we just set the record for the world's shortest IPP meeting. Ever. Well, at least the shortest one I've ever attended in 15 years of being involved with special education.

The funny thing is how I walked out of the world's shortest IPP meeting feeling quite good about the whole thing. Better than I have in the past 3 years of IPP meetings, in fact. And that after half an hour as opposed to the usual 1.5 - 2 hour meetings.

The reason, you ask? Might shorter, in and of itself, actually be better?

No. No, not at all. In fact, we have another IPP meeting scheduled for next week (minus the subject teachers who were present today but with the addition of the autism specialist) that I am sure will run much closer to what I am use to.

No, here, my dear friends, is the difference. Today's meeting was (finally) chaired by a Resource teacher that gets it.

Previous Resource teachers, although extremely experienced, who should have (and, no doubt, did) know their stuff, were so stuck in their ways of doing things that there was absolutely no room for anything different.

Did I mention there was no room? Because, really. There. Was. No. Room.

I'm sorry, but the term dinosaur does come to mind. While they may have been very good at what they did many years ago, they clearly couldn't (or, I'm thinking, more likely wouldn't) adapt to the times. It was their way. Or the highway.

But our current Resource teacher, while relatively new to "Intensive Resource", has family members with disabilities and he really seems to get it. To get the importance of life skills for a young adult like the Blue Jay. To get the importance of life skills for so many of the students in that class.

I can actually see him building a resource program that will be so much better than what this school previously had. I can actually see it benefiting so many more students. My only real complaint is that the Blue Jay didn't have access to such a program three years ago, when she first entered high school, as she should have.

Well, that and the fact that when our previous dinosaurs teachers ruled the land, nobody (and I mean nobody) seemed to have any issue with the way things were done or the way they insisted things had to be done. They were backed up all the way.

Nope, nobody had any issues with them. Nobody except me, that is.

Interestingly enough, now that they've retired, I am finding people starting to agree with what I've consistently been saying (and thinking) for the past couple of years - that things didn't have to be (and, in fact, shouldn't have been) done their way. That, dare I say it, these particular teachers were the problem.

Apparently, now they are. But then they weren't. Go figure.

Disappointed

I must admit I am quite disappointed in myself.

This is the first time, since I started this blog in 2007, that I missed posting for an entire month. Not that my record over the last couple of years was anything to be particularly proud of but still ...

My. Bad.

However, the one bright spot (and in my favour) is the fact that I did significantly change the look of the blog last month. And I think it looks mighty purty at the moment, if I do say so myself.

~  ~  ~

By the by, you might notice a new pic at the top of the sidebar. It's been six months since that horrible day and Nov. 9th would have been Lex's 52nd birthday.

Please raise a glass in honour of His Honour.

And if you’re wondering whether you can buy me a beer, the answer is yes.
Yes, you can.

Not Meant To Be

There was absolutely no doubt when I stepped outside on Sunday - we have definitely entered my favourite time of the year.

I love Fall; the shining sun; a clear blue sky; warm, maybe even hot but without that summer heat and humidity that sucks the life right out of me; and, of course, the beautiful colours. What more could a girl ask for?

Well, one tiny thing perhaps ...

We live in the beautiful Annapolis Valley, well-known for its agriculture and bountiful crops. A little less well-known, perhaps, for its wineries. But we have those too.  Three, in fact, within a 15-minute drive from my place.

And yet ... and yet, I have never even been to a winery, let alone toured one. And that is something I have always wanted to do.

No excuse, really. Once or twice every year, the wineries are open for tours. And, of course, wine-tastings.

Yep, you guessed it - Sunday was one of those days.

Open Farm Day they call it. Come out and see where your food really comes from.

I must confess I am a littles less than interested in seeing where my food comes from. I mean, I ain't no city slicker, I live in the Valley ... I know exactly where my food comes from for heaven's sake.

But if you're suggesting that I should come out and see where my wine really comes from (while I taste some of yours) ... yeah, I could go for that. I mean, I wouldn't want to be rude, right?

Alas, it was not meant to be. 'Tis to weep.

I tried. I really did. But apparently first we had to go visit Farmer John's Farm (I kid you not - its real name) where summer savoury is grown. Yep, summer savoury.  Which, surprisingly, was interesting. In a strange sort of way.

But then ... then it was my turn. Right?

Sure. Kind of. We headed out to the Muir Murray Estate Winery.

A beautiful day.  A gorgeous spot.

And yet, as I said, apparently it was not meant to be. We arrived at 3:30 and the last tour was at 3:00. We even (just) missed a hay ride, which although not really my cup of tea, would have taken us through the vineyard.

Thwarted again!

There was still the wine-tasting, of course. 

Too bad that I wasn't particularly fond of any of the wines that I tried. Equally too bad was the fact that the one wine I would have really loved to try cost $5 for a "taste".

So, yeah. Thanks. But no thanks.

So that was that. Until I got back home, of course. Where I promptly had myself a glass of wine. What do you expect? Hey, I was craving the stuff by then.

They're trying to tell me that we will always have next year. But, really, just how much wine will I be forced to consume while I'm waiting?

'To Swerve and Protect'

Heh.



H/T to Kris from Noodling On It