The Talk That Wasn't

Thank you Kelly, for your kind thought.  Sadly, the first speaker took up the entire meeting and I bore my testimony and sat down.  However, I told the bishopric that I wanted to give my talk so they said they would schedule me for  . . . sometime.  Hmm.  We'll see what happens.

Andrea, I hope your talk went well today!

An interesting read--want your take on it

I just read a really interesting article: "Ruby Slippers on Her Feet: Reflections on the Ordain Women Website" by V. H. Cassler.

I've gone to the Ordain Women website and was favorably impressed with the tone of the website (there is no bashing of church leaders, for example).  If you haven't heard of it, you will.  It is a website agitating for the priesthood for women.  They use this quote under the FAQ section:

In questioning Church policies, aren’t you questioning God?

No. In fact, the challenge to advocate for women’s ordination was articulated by former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in a 1997 interview with reporter David Ransom. When Ransom asked if the policy on denying priesthood to women could be changed, much like it had for black men, President Hinckley responded, “Yes. But there’s no agitation for that.”

Ordain Women joins a new generation of faithful Mormon women who are rising up and responding to this challenge.

This quote always gives me pause.  What does it mean???  I've long believed, due to the temple, that women will have the priesthood in the hereafter and that the more stringent male/female roles outlined in the Proclamation will not really exist there.  Especially as I believe quite firmly that there will be no church in the hereafter, and only family units.  Since we are perfect equals in a marriage here and in the hereafter and creation can only take place in the Celestial Kingdom, it seems clear that those roles are more interchangeable.  

But I am still on the fence about ordination in this life.  Not that I wouldn't follow the prophet on this issue either way since there is no scriptural basis for preventing women having the priesthood, but I wish I knew for sure how I felt about it.  I really like that my husband gives my children blessings--it connects him to our children in a powerful way.  I certainly don't want the priesthood here in this life, and I don't feel that I have been in any way subordinated within the church as it currently operates.  

But then there is the quote by President Hinckley and the temple ordinances.  

So . . . enough about me.  Read this article http://squaretwo.org/Sq2ArticleCasslerRubySlippers.html.  I think she sums up a lot of how I feel--that I don't need to hold the priesthood to claim my power as a daughter of God and especially as a daughter of our Heavenly Mother.

Then read this: http://squaretwo.org/Sq2ArticleCasslerPaulsenPulido.html.  I'm downloading the article and am pretty sure that my mother's day talk in Sacrament meeting will be all about our Heavenly Mother.  

See--I'm not really for the priesthood for women--mostly because I don't want it, but I am for some of the changes being made like Mission Leadership Councils and articles in the Ensign specifically written to dispel old cultural myths (http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/04/equal-partnership-in-marriage?lang=eng) about women's subordination to men because of the priesthood and more information about our Heavenly Mother (I want to know everything possible about Her!).  Does that make me a radical that those things make me happy??

I'm off to bed.  Would love to hear your thoughts.

Aaaaaaaargh!

Kami, that makes me SO MAD on your behalf. Argh! So frustrating!!! I wish I could write the school a strongly worded letter for you. >:(

Criminal Me

So I'm now into criminal activity. Yes, by keeping my daughter home for 8 days spaced throughout the school year, I received a letter today from my local police department informing me of my crime. And I quote, "This is a crime." Forget that Texas has THE MOST HOURS OF INSTRUCTIONAL TIME of any state in the country, (and one of the most in the ENTIRE WORLD) but I'm required to take my daughter to the school nurse to PROVE she's sick. And while I admit she wasn't sick all those days (she was some of them and oops, I didn't take her in--I QUIT jobs that required me to go in to prove I was sick) I did feel strongly that she needed a break. For example, two weeks ago after I got a note from the teacher that she hadn't been paying attention that day, I let her stay home, took her to preschool with her sister, let her play at the park, play with her friends, and spend almost the whole day outside. She's a bit temperamental (more so than my other kids) and had been screaming and upset at home as well. Problem solved, she was fine the next week and back to her normal self. But as the parent, I am obviously am so stupid and inept at raising my own children that I can't be allowed to give my 5 year a break from the long school day (more breaks are required by law for adult workers than my child gets). Because mental health is so OBVIOUSLY unimportant in this country, and no terrible crimes are ever committed because a child's mental well-being is ignored. 
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Time-in-school-How-does-the-US-compare

Common Core Meeting

Thanks for the thought, Marilyn!!!  I didn't make it to the meeting but from what I'm hearing it was more of the same.  We don't want questions.  No straight answers.  Hoopla and hooey.

I did get a food order done, two sisters visited, my children fed, dog poo removed, and various and sundry other life details.

Good luck to us all tomorrow!

Andrea

I wish I could watch your kids for you.

Because I really want you to be at that common core meeting. And I am NOT good at things like that, I get flustered and cry. I would much rather watch your adorable children. :)

Mother's Day Talk

So now that I gave my bishopric the big lecture on getting high quality talks for mother's day--they gave me the opportunity to speak.  No pressure, right?  :)  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I wish I had unlimited time to spend on preparing the talk but I am also teaching in RS the first Sunday in May and I'm supposed to be calling the sisters to repentance because nobody in our ward will accept callings.  (Currently the junior primary has teachers for only one class.)  I'm also supposed to be putting together an addendum to the visiting teaching message for May about the same topic.

I'm also supposed to be doing a ton of stuff for our combined RS/YW activity about self-reliance/knowledge.  I'll post details so you can offer suggestions when I have time.  Ha.  Time.

And this week I have three food orders to do and one commodities order and I handed off a needs assessment to my first counselor because I was feeling daunted by this week.  Plus we're supposed to do visits tonight in our meeting because the Bishop had a person that must. be. visited. this. week.

The bishop also wants me to meet with our prospective new second counselor to feel her out on whether or not she'd accept such an undertaking before the Bishop calls her in.

What I really wanted to do was attend a meeting tonight with the assistant state superintendent of education about the testing associated with common core.  I am vehemently opposed to common core and wanted to be on hand because I am pretty okay with speaking up in front of people and I'm not easy to push around on these issues because I'm a parent/teacher.  Can't pit me against myself.  :)  But . . . no babysitter to be found from 4-6 in the afternoon.  Wonder why they chose that time?  Oh yeah, they don't want people to actually learn about common core.  Sigh.

And I'm off now to tackle my day.  I came on to ask for advice for the mother's day talk and ended up rambling.

PS We're having our children's new favorite recipe for breakfast this morning: hulled barley cooked in blended up pears and water and cinnamon served with milk and craisins.  If you are interested in the details, let me know.  Barley has the most fiber of any grain and it is delicious.

Goodbye for real now.

Yes, my day does scare me, how can you tell?

Really now--I'm off.

My letter--any recommendations?

My name is Kami Latorre and I have two children in KISD and three more to follow. I am concerned about the enormous amount of time the K-5 children spend in classroom with only one recess.  I was dismayed when I received a minute to minute schedule of my child’s 7 + hour long Kindergarten day and found she had one 15 minute recess. 

As a nurse, I know that scientific research clearly shows that increased movement increases the blood flow to the brain, which in turn releases nerve growth factor which helps the brain grow, develop, and concentrate better.  It also releases hormones that counter anxiety, mellow moods, and increase happiness and self-esteem.  Even the CDC recommends at least 20 minutes of recess per school day.  Physical education classes are not held every day, so that does not make up the difference.

While I understand that KISD desires to educate children to a high academic standard and I support that, I do not believe that standard will be sacrificed by allowing the children a longer, or preferably, more recesses.  In fact, several academic studies, e.g. The Long-Run Impacts of Early Childhood Education, DeCicca & Smith, 2011,  I have researched have shown that many children, especially boys, are often not developmentally ready for long classroom days in Kindergarten, and their initial negative experiences leads to poorer academic performance throughout their primary and secondary education.  

Also, many countries that perform better than the US in international testing, have longer recesses and/or shorter school instructional time.  For instance, in Canada--which ranks higher and has a similar diverse population, school system, economy and culture--the province of Alberta requires 200 elementary school days a year and 950 hours of instructional time.  KISD has only 178 school days and Texas requires 1260 instructional hours. Hence, Alberta students are able to enjoy a relaxed schedule of starting later, releasing earlier, having two recesses and an hour long lunch break, while maintaining a high academic performance and healthy balance of work and play. 

I would urge you to increase the length and number of recesses in KISD for the K-5 grades.  If hours in the classroom cannot be sacrificed, then I would support lengthening the school year while adding more recesses and/or shortening the school day. I would also request that recess never be taken away as a form of punishment.  

My children deserve a robust education with opportunities for creative and engaging learning, as well as opportunities to release energy, move, be happy, and cope with stress naturally.  

Sincerely,

Kami Latorre

RS/YW activity

I am not chock full of ideas, but I can tell you a couple things I know.

One of our YW said that she wants to learn useful skills like budgeting, cooking, care maintenance etc., because she is recognizing that she will soon be living on her own and she wants to be prepared.

Fundraising in the church is discouraged, except under very specific conditions.  See Church Handbook 13.6.8, so anything you do there would definitely have to be cleared with the Bishop.  I'm not sure about soliciting materials - I know that the church is somewhat specific on that, but the paragraph about it was hard to find.  BUT, I love the idea of helping to set up the school room for the homeless shelter.  Are they gearing it towards adults or children?  You could make school supplies for kids like book bags, soft ABC books, etc.  Or make curtains or cozy cushions for seating.  Make mini chalkboards for practicing writing skills?  I don't know.  This is not my forte.

I like the idea of using your Dad as a speaker!  Especially if he's funny.  ;-)

Another educational topic would be First Aid, which is something from my growing up years that I have used over and over again as a Mom (thanks to the Red Cross babysitting class and Girls Camp for the knowledge!).

Your ideas so far sound great.  I am getting to be a bigger and bigger proponent of RS and YW meeting together more often.  I think YW need to think of Relief Society as an extension of Young Women, and not as a separate and totally lame program for old ladies. ;-)