Birthday greetings

Today is the day that the world welcomed Maria into its arms. I for one, am extremely grateful that she is here among us. Happy Birthday! May all your dreams come true.
Mom

HMMMMM

dogknows
Originally uploaded by notyouagain.

The picture speaks for itself...

halloween dogs

halloween (6)
Originally uploaded by notyouagain.

This old dogs tried some new ways to get treats this halloween.

barofun

barofun
Originally uploaded by notyouagain.

Don't have too much fun this holiday!

I Support the Troops By Bill Shine

I Support the Troops

By Bill Shein / Berkshire Eagle

I SUPPORT the troops by remembering -- every day -- that we are at war.
I support the troops by crying at the loss of their young lives, the pain suffered by their families, and the indefensible choices my government has made.
I support the troops not by cheering the war they've been sent to wage, or celebrating the battles they've won, but instead, by joining the effort to bring them home now.
I support the troops by asking why a senior Pentagon official appeared before Congress and didn't know the number of soldiers who had lost their lives.

I support the troops by imagining a day when chants of "USA! USA!" interrupt speeches about ending poverty and hunger, not those that boast of America's ability to rain fire onto human beings.
I support the troops by embracing Gandhi's dictum, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."
I support the troops by ridiculing the notion that anyone can build a "culture of life" here at home while spreading death and destruction abroad.
I support the troops by fighting for quality public schools and a living wage, so the military is no longer the career of last resort for America's most vulnerable.
I support the troops by remembering 9/11 -- watching from my bedroom window as smoke rose from the Pentagon, and then, in the days and weeks afterwards, weeping over heartbreaking stories of children left without parents.
I support the troops by asking which "moral value" is on display when we avenge the horrific murder of 3,000 innocents by killing 100,000 more.


I support the troops by rejecting the morality of a "pre-emptive war" that turns foreign soil into a graveyard for innocent foreign civilians -- a policy whose adherents improperly claim is a legal, moral and legitimate alternative to "fighting the enemy here at home."
I support the troops by denouncing wartime "journalism" provided by embedded reporters, retired generals and partisan spinners, especially when it ignores the voices of those with the hope and idealism to suggest a better way.
I support the troops by abhorring violence against nations, people, animals and the environment -- a belief system approaching its 2,000th birthday. Because you don't have to be a Christian to know what Jesus would do.
I support the troops by protesting the new language of war, which labels the death of innocent children as "collateral damage"; the accidental murder of their mothers "regrettable"; the killing of journalists who seek the truth "unfortunate"; the slaughter of the wounded as a "mop-up operation"; and that reduces human beings to "targets" to be "destroyed."


I support the troops with regret -- that we train them to kill, send them to war, and then leave them to struggle throughout life with searing memories of battlefield horrors. Because while the war makers do their best to dehumanize war, they can't dehumanize the human beings they send to fight it.


And as we begin our holiday season, I support the troops by spreading the story of the week-long Christmas Truce of 1914, when soldiers from Germany, France, England and Belgium spontaneously decided not to fight and kill. Instead, they put down their weapons, climbed out of their trenches and met -- on common ground -- to share food and cigars and games of soccer. They exchanged photos of sons and daughters and wives, of a life beyond the battlefield where they could easily be neighbors sharing a meal or watching a quiet sunset.


Incredibly, they befriended those whom their governments had demanded they kill. From that brief and remarkable moment, we know that peace is possible -- and inevitable -- as soon as human beings have the courage to say,


"Enough!"

Save the Turkey day!

Alright. I am in! Happy Tofurkey day everybody!
I hope you are all enjoying your day and I hope you are
now drinking and eating well. Well I thought that you
might have a little extra time to check your email and
the blog over the holiday weekend, so I decided to put
a few links in. These are some movies that have been
created, some are political, some are just fun. I am still
working on getting pictures attached, so that will have
to wait until next time.

Check out Yogi Bush:
http://www.campchaos.com/show.php?iID=1

This is for all of you James Brown or Gary Oldman fans:
http://usa.bmwfilms.com/clap.asp?template=delivery&country=usa&film=beatthedevil

No Child Left Behind

I know this isn't an education blog but I just have to share the latest thing I heard at a faculty meeting on No Child Left Behind. One of the big things effecting my school is the poplulation of English Language Learners aka children whose native language is not English. The 2003/2004 goal was that 13.6% of those students would be proficient or advanced in the English Language Arts portion of the state standadized test. That goal is of course increased each year. Now, here is the amazing part; by 2014 the federal goal is that 100% of the English Language Learners will be proficient or advanced. I'm not sure where to begin with this... Are we closing the borders so all the ELL students we currently have will be the total ELL population in 2014? What about special ed? We know that approximately 10% of all students are special ed and will certainly not be proficent, let alone advanced. What am I missing here? Must be that "fuzzy math" they were talking about a few years ago.

Our Family Gives Thanks

P8041630, originally uploaded by maria-carter-giannini.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Giving Thanks

As it is Thanksgiving week, I would like to start a conversation about the many blessings in our lives. I will start it off..

# 1 is my family

My children and their great loves
My greatest joy has been to witness not only Maria and Dave's development into responsible adults but their willingness and desire to commit their lives and their love to another.

The ever-growing extended family
I have been blessed to have been warmly welcomed into the Ferraro and Bunt/Carter clans. They have added a huge dose of love and laughter - and that's what life is all about!

My grandfather
I am lucky enough to still have him in my life sharing his deep abiding love and his clear sensible wisdom. He is my model for so many aspects of my life.

My parents
Mom and Dad continue to guide and support me (even when we disagree). Their love has been a constant that has kept me standing through my most difficult times.

Mike and Vickie
My "big brother" is one of the most important people in life. He still protects me from the bullies of the world. One of his greatest gifts to me was bringing Vickie into my life.

Paul and Arma Jo
They are so much more than an aunt and uncle to me. I am thankful for their listening ears and loving hearts.

CIA intelligence

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/umedia/cx_ariail_umedia/latest

SICK OF THOSE HIGH PAID TEACHERS?

SICK OF THOSE HIGH PAID TEACHERS?

I, for one, am sick and tired of those high paid teachers. Their hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do...baby-sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage. That's right...I would give them $3.00 dollars an hour and only the hours they worked, not any of that silly planning, meeting, and correcting time. That would be 15 dollars a day. Each parent should pay 15 dollars a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now, how many do they teach in a day.... maybe 35. Then that's 15 X> 35=$525 a day. But remember they only work 180 days a year! I'm not going to pay them for any vacations. Let's see... that's 525 x... (Hold on, my calculator must need batteries!)

What about those special teachers or the ones with master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Let's round it off to $6.00 an hour. Of course, they teach fewer students. That would be $6 times 5 hours times 25 children times 180 days =$135,000.00 per year. Wait a minute, there is something wrong here!!! There sure is, duuh????!! Make a teacher smile, send this to him or her!
Christopher Siegfried\> \chrissiegfried@earthlink.net\\> Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.

Problems with joining blogger

Hello all, it seems that some people are having trouble signing on to blogger. If that is the case, email me at maria.carter.giannini@gmail.com and I will send another invitation and see if that solves the problem.
Maria

Profiles

Hello all! We're starting to get some new contributors! Yay! Since there are people that have been invited from all over the spectrum, some people may need some introductions. So when you sign up let's try to put profiles together.
Thanks!

The Measure of a Great Teacher (sent by my amazing principal April Scott)

THE MEASURE OF A GREAT TEACHER
Fixing public education seems to involve a constant quest for the one
true thing, the magic bullet, what experts call systemic reform -- higher
standards, proven curriculums, small schools, large schools, even uniform
dress codes.

Yet the one true thing never appears, writes Anemona Hartocollis.
But many children and their parents think they have found
the one true thing. They remember a great teacher and, if they are lucky,
more than one. It is the teacher who made them understand algebra for the
first time, or love literature, or feel as if they would grow up to be
somebody worthwhile. Ask any parent how school is going this year, and if they're
happy, the first thing they say is that their child has a great teacher.
No one remembers a great school system or a great chancellor, a great
textbook, or a great curriculum that came straight out of the can, with
little room for deviation or idiosyncrasy. Ideally, the measurable
outcomes of teaching, like test scores or graduation rates or college
entrance rates, would correlate somehow with the teachers people
remember.

In general, Dr. Ronald F. Ferguson has found that effective teachers not
only know their subjects but also have high expectations, do whatever it
takes to help children understand the material and don't let them give
up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/education/edlife/117TEA.html

Meatloaf Causes Student Riot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A cafeteria food fight on "meat loaf day" led to the suspension of the entire eighth-grade class at a Memphis school. The students were suspended after refusing to clean up the mess they caused.
"Given an opportunity first to apologize for their behavior and help with the cleanup, most of the class refused to cooperate," school spokesman Vince McGaskill said.
The food fight broke out Wednesday at Geeter Middle School, which has 637 students in grades six through eight. Meat loaf and chicken were on the menu.

Principal Jada Meeks suspended students who were in the cafeteria during the fight, meaning the youngsters' parents must meet with school officials before the children can return to class.
The cause of the disturbance was not immediately known. No serious injuries were reported.
"Suspending students is never desirable," McGaskill said. "In this case, the principal felt that strong, some may say shocking measures, were called for to spur change."

Welcome to the Dog House Blog House!

Hello! And welcome to the Dog House Blog House! This is our first blog so I'm sure we'll all be learning as we go along. We decided to set up a blog for several reasons. First, its a fast and painless way to keep up to date with family and friends. We can all post updates and pictures, like a Christmas letter but all year round! Second, around the time of the election Bill and I got into some very interesting discussions with some of the Carter Clan and thought a blog would be a nice way to keep that going even when the future of our nation is not at stake. Third, it is a great time waster! We can post useless polls and kookie information that we always seem to stumble across. So let the blogging begin!
Maria and Bill