Georgia's kids deserve REAL OPPORTUNITY!

Have you really looked at the so-called "Opportunity School District" (OSD) amendment that will be on the ballot in November? If not, please take some time to research the implications.

 

Fact:   OSD contains an option to withhold three percent of the school's administrative funds,       resulting in fewer funds for instruction costs.  

Facts:  The OSD: 

• supercedes all contracts with schools.
• the OSD superintendent (chosen by the Governor) will have the authority to waive the policies of the Department of Education.
• will  determine the achievement and growth of the state's schools AND
  subjectively rate public schools (A, B, C, D, F).
• can purchase services from anyone.
• will keep the schools for a minimum of five years but can keep them for ten years.
• will be the sole judge and jury  per the OSD schools' performance and data.
• may add 20 additional schools a year.
• will control all the schools' facilities.
• repeals all laws in conflict with this amendment.
• DOES NOT guarantee the return of the schools to the public district.

Our communities elect the Boards of Education.  These are individuals we see regularly in our daily lives:  we see them at the grocery store, out to eat, at church, etc.  The OSD Superintendent chosen by the Governor may have nothing to do with the State Department of Education or the ELECTED Superintendent of Georgia.  This is a gross intrusion on the local control of our school systems!

Facts:  The OSD may:

• close the school and create another unknown market for any type of school;
• fire every employee in an OSD school without recourse;
• take over the school as a state charter school with a dual governance system; and/or
• take over the school as a state charter school and hire a for-profit management company to run it with no local board input--except to pay for the OSD schools. (This happened in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Detroit.)

More than ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY SCHOOLS in Georgia are eligible for OSD.  

OSD will provide no new resources to help struggling students and schools. Nothing in this proposed amendment addresses improvements in education.  Years of "teaching to the tests" have negatively impacted teachers ability to effectively TEACH students.  Ask your friends who are teachers about their ideas for improving the education process--trust the people you elect to guide the process.  Trust those you know to be great teachers to inform the process, not an unknown quantity, appointed by the Governor (now and in the future). 

YES, some schools have been chronically failing but the path to fixing those failings is NOT to take control and resources from local BOEs.  By not addressing the socioeconomic issues that many failing school districts face, we are not getting to the root of the problem. Our state needs some new and innovate thought processes to address these issues, including the impact of poverty on kids.  What can impact a child's ability to do well in school?  Having enough food to eat, having proper medical care, having the educational resources they need to succeed (access to libraries, school supplies, Internet, etc.), and having positive role models and mentors to guide them.  

The amendment is worded in such a way that a voter who has little knowledge of the background may be misled into thinking the amendment is a positive idea.  Do not be fooled by the flowery language:  "Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance?"

 

Vote NO on SR287 (Opportunity School District)!! 

 

Resources: 

http://www.southerneducation.org/Publications/OSD-Eligible-Schools-Updated-05032016.aspx

http://ga.aft.org/

Does Suicide Mean Eternal Damnation?

Do you go to hell if you commit suicide? 

I’ve asked that question of many people, Christians and non-believers alike.  As you can imagine, I’ve gotten different answers.  Surprisingly, I’ve been told by more than one Christian that suicide is not an automatic “go straight to hell” stamp.  Some believe that if a depressed or otherwise mentally ill person commits suicide, the person is not condemned to hell simply because of that act.  I’ve been told that, if you have accepted Jesus into your heart as your Savior and if you believe in your salvation, that is all it takes to “get into” heaven.  I’ve heard that Jesus died for ALL our sins and that, if you interpret suicide to be a sin (thou shalt not kill) then it is forgiven if you are saved.  Of course I’ve heard that you do indeed burn for eternity if you commit suicide.  It’s a violation of the commandment and it’s contrary to taking care of your “temple.”  It’s an unforgivable sin and it’s a ticket straight to hell if you take your own life.

I’ve done a bit of research on it and I haven’t come up with a definitive answer. First and foremost, I have a lot of trouble with a loving God sending one of His children to hell to suffer eternally for simply endeavoring to END suffering (assuming depression or sickness).  I've made the comment to a few people that it seems supremely unfair to be depressed (or sick) and suffering in life and to have no "out."  It seems that if you suffer through hell on earth, you ought to get some credit for that, especially in the circumstance where you've been struggling for years. In my case, I've been mired in a sticky swamp of depression for almost all of my life.  I don't know what it's like to be "normal" or "happy."  I've had seriously suicidal moments in my life.  The one time I made a half-hearted attempt, I had a sense of peace about it.  I felt as if surely God would understand that I was suffering and that all I wanted was eternal peace.  Of course, it wasn't a successful attempt and now, after time has passed, I'm not so sure of that peace.  It seems a huge gamble to take when you just don't know.  

In my reading, this answer struck me as pretty sensical:

"Q:  Is it true that if you’re a born-again Christian and you commit suicide, you won’t go to hell because God has already given you salvation?

A:  Life is lived at three levels: the spirit, the soul, and the body. Understand that when we accept Jesus, it is our spirit that is actually born again. Jesus gives us a brand-new spirit. He doesn’t give us a brand-new soul or body. We need to change our thinking by believing the Scriptures and adapting our thinking to line up with the Bible.

The Bible talks about the renewing of your mind in Romans 12. This is where depression and suicidal thoughts enter in, through the mind and the emotions. If your spirit is born again, according to John 3 and Ezekiel 36, it is your spirit that will spend eternity with God. You cannot damage your spirit by committing sin; you cannot damage your spirit by committing suicide. Because depression and suicidal thoughts come from the soul realm, if someone does commit suicide and Jesus Christ is that person’s true Savior, then I believe he or she will go to heaven. It’s also my belief that if someone is truly saved and truly born again, that person is not going to want to commit suicide. If you are born again and you still have suicidal thoughts, then you need to go to the Bible and hope that God can change you. That’s the most important thing of all."
(http://changinglives.org/tabid/2623/Default.aspx?cat=Suicide) 

Here are a few other links with (mostly) contrary opinions. I'd be interested in hearing feedback from others, whichever you believe.  But no chastising, please.  No bullying or browbeating.  Just opinions, please. 

http://www.clarifyingchristianity.com/suicide.shtml

https://bible.org/question/if-christian-commits-suicide-will-they-go-heaven

http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/christians_who_kill_themselves.html

Can You Choose The Story You Tell?

“What do we get to keep from something that already happened?”

Most of you have “heard” my stories about being bullied, being overweight, struggling with social anxiety and depression, etc.  As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time pondering just why I am still depressed…why I still let the past own my future. I tend to filter all things that happen to me through the eyes of that 8^th grade girl who had a tack put in her seat by a few classmates who thought it would be funny to see the fat girl jump and scream.  In other words, every bad (or even mediocre) thing that happens, I tend to think, “Well, that’s just my life.  It’s how things go for me.” 

Of late, however, I’ve been trying to “reframe” how I look at things.  I’m not that shy, fat, scared little girl any more.  These days, I’ve got all the things in the world going for me: I’m a 45 year old woman;  I have a great kid and I’m pretty proud of her;  I have a husband who loves me;  I’ve got a job that I love (most days);  and I’ve got the best set of friends anybody could possibly ask for.  So, why can’t I look at life TODAY with the eyes of that grown woman, instead of the sad eyes of that little girl?  

I’ll tell you why:  because we all filter our everyday occurrences through our past experiences.  It makes perfect sense—it’s classic behavior mod.  We learn positive behaviors from our past (either from positive reinforcement or punishment).  We train ourselves to behave certain ways based upon how others react to us and that’s mostly good, I think.  In some cases, however, past experiences become an albatross  around our necks and we end up reacting to current life events in negative ways, not because they are horrible events but because of how our PAST has shaped us.  I “learned” early on that as a fat, poor, shy kid that I was not as “good” as the other kids.  These days, I still find myself feeling that way in many situations.  It’s an old script and I’ve kept it way too long. 

A good friend sent this video to me several days ago and I’ve been thinking a lot about it.  Of course, my knee-jerk reaction to it is to roll my eyes.  I can rewrite the past by reframing it?  Seriously?  <massive eye roll>  But I listened closely, not with my rational ears, but with my spiritual ears.   Can we change our past experiences simply by CHOOSING the story we tell?  Can reframing or recontextualizing the thoughts and events of the past actually change the physiological reactions we have?  It makes sense, in a hippy dippy, drug-trippy sort of way.  I know that if I think back to particularly embarrassing experiences from my past that I can, quite literally, feel that blushy feeling, that drop of the stomach.   It is a real, physiological reaction.  Those things are in the past—there is no current stimulus for a blush and a sick feeling in the stomach, for current embarrassment in response to an old event.  But I can still call up that response.  I kept those memories and they shaped me and became real and they remain real today, years later.  What if we could learn to reshape those memories and shift them and view them in a more positive light?  

It’s a pretty fantastical idea.  I’m not sure that I buy into it.  I do think that we can definitely reframe the way we perceive current events by looking at them through positive eyes rather than negative.  Saturday night was a very stressful night for me.  I felt, for the first time in many years, like that awkward, shy, unpopular girl who sat alone at lunch and at recess so many times.  I wasn’t physically alone.  I had a couple of really good friends on either side of me, keeping me grounded.  But in my mind, I was alone and afraid.  I clearly felt the feelings that I felt so long ago.  Every time I would slip into that “old script” I would redirect my thoughts—I’m not that girl.  I’m a grown woman with so many positives and I don’t need to live my life through that old, cloudy lens.   I’m happy to say that I made it through the night and feel much stronger and more empowered not in spite of those challenges but BECAUSE of them.  

It’s food for thought.  Watch the video with an open mind.  See what you think.   Jason Silva says, "You can choose the story you tell, my friends.  You can choose the story you tell."  I think maybe he's on to something.

Stronger Together

I started writing this afternoon—a page-long diatribe against Donald Trump.  I, like so many of my liberal brethren, am so sick and tired of the hate and vitriol, the noisome rhetoric.  But then, it occurred to me that I have been infected by his hatred.  That is not who I am, not as a person and not as a liberal. It was time to channel that hatred into something positive.

I took some time.  I watched Khizr Khan’s speech and Reverend William Barber’s speech. I watched Michelle Obama. Finally, I watched Vice President Joe Biden’s and President Barack Obama’s speech.  Suddenly, I had a tiny epiphany.  I remembered what it means to be a liberal. To put a spin on the great catchphrase, “It’s the issues, silly!!”  Healthcare, education, climate change, pay equality, civil rights….those are the issues!!   AND, it’s our spirit—our undying and loving spirit and the audacity of hope. 

It was with hope that I listened to these great speakers.  They spoke of coming together, not dividing our country.  They spoke of compromise and common ground. They spoke of making the world better for our children and of revival and the American Dream.  They spoke of true democracy.   They spoke of trying and failing, not of sitting on the sidelines. 

President Obama said something in his speech that I have said often of late—how important it is that we get out and vote the ENTIRE ticket. Vote for Mayors, Senators, and Representatives who share our views and our platforms. We need to support those who will get in there and get the work done that NEEDS to be done to move forward on the issues that drive us as a party.  But there is something else.  We need to harness the excitement and fire of the presidential election year and remember it in two years when the mid-term elections come around.  Liberals are particularly wont to “sit back on our laurels” after we’ve won.  That hasn’t worked for us in the last two mid-term elections and it won’t work going forward. We can do everything we can to get Hillary Clinton elected….but a President can’t do it alone.  A Vice President or Senator or Representative can’t do it alone.  We need to support ALL of our elected officials because, as they say—we’re stronger together. 

How much is too much?

Let me preface this by saying that I am NOT looking for an argument about religion or spirituality.  You can't define what's in a person's heart.  You can try to beat it out of them but I promise you are just making it stronger in the end.  This is more or less freethink.  Just trying to put some order to how I feel. I am also not expecting any great revelations.  At the ripe old age of 45, if I haven't figured this out I doubt a ray of light is going to shine down on me and imbue me with some incredible knowledge not yet ever granted to any other person walking this earth today.  Again--just thinking "aloud."

I have struggled MIGHTILY with my depression for the last couple of weeks (and the last 40+ years but I digress).  I'm pretty good at pasting on that big, toothy grin and pretending that I'm okay--putting on my game face, I suppose.  But there is a limit to that.  A tipping point.  I've reach that point.

While I am constantly questioning religion, I am pretty spiritual and pretty sure about God, Jesus, heaven, and hell.  I believe that Jesus is the son of God and I believe that if I am saved and live "right" I will go to heaven.  I'm not sure what "right" is but I tend to think of it in very general terms.  Do unto others and all that jazz.  The guide book that we use gives me heartburn but that is the subject for another blog post.

As I was pondering things today, trudging along, just trying to get through the day, I thought about the graphics and memes that you see on Facebook and the like.  You know, the ones that say something to the effect of, "I know God says he'll never give me more than I can handle.  God must think I'm a bada$$."  I wonder.....how much IS too much?  Is there ever a tipping point in that regard?  Does God really give people more than they can handle?  Can you fail that test?  What happens when you know, deep in your soul, down below the deepest layers of coherent thought, down to the very core of your being....that you have quite literally taken all you can take?  Does the pressure and pain and the worry and wonder suddenly stop?  Is there then blessed assurance?  Do you then get some relief?

According to conventional Christian wisdom, God is omnipotent--an all-knowing, all-seeing "being."  He has all the knowledge of the ages before him.  He knows every step you are going to make before you are conceived.  According to that same wisdom, he loves his earthly children so much that he gave his son's life for their sins--so that they could come be with Him someday. 

How can He love me so much and allow me to suffer at the same time?  The free will covenant?  I've prayed, begged, pleaded, bargained....and still it continues.  An endless merry-go-round of worry, doubt, fear, pain, longing, need.  God knows (pun intended) that I have it a thousand times better than some.  No, a million.  I've got food and clothes and a car and a job.  I've got a family and friends.  But it doesn't alleviate the suffering.  The next natural thought is that I am being selfish and ridiculous--a spoiled rotten brat throwing a tantrum for not getting what I want.  Then I feel guilty.  I vow to STOP and be grateful.  and I try.  But eventually, we wind back around to the first paragraph, that tipping point.  And the whole relentless cycle starts again.

I'm open to thoughts but not to debate.  I'm just too weary to argue.