A few things I have been thinking about:
A Republican bloodbath in Missouri?- Last year, we saw some key votes in the state legislature that came down to Republicans making sensible decisions and making bi-partisan votes. Don't expect to see that happen much this year. CHIPS is coming to Missouri and I am not talking about the California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops. These are the guys who guided the Kansas GOP on a shift to the right by mounting primary challenges, almost all successful, to Republicans who were not as far to the right as they. It should be another nutty year in Jefferson City.
Turner Report Ramping Up Political Coverage- I plan on adding even more political coverage of the state legislature and other branches of state government than I have had in the past, including videos, news releases, investigative reporting, and commentary. Be sure to check in every day and hopefully, I can help everyone keep things straight. It should be a fascinating session.
Speaking of Political Coverage- I plan to be out and about a lot more as we get closer to the primary election. I hope to attend political events around the area, adding photos, videos, news stories, and commentary. I may even go back to Carthage and bring back the old Garrison Avenue poll. I plan to make the Turner Report, Inside Joplin, and the rest of these blogs the place to be for political coverage in 2014.
Last 12 hours for Small Town News Sale- My first novel, Small Town News, originally published in 2005, is still on sale, in E-book format for another 12 hours from Amazon Kindle.
Will Tomorrow Be the Day?- Barring a barrage of bad weather tonight, it looks like the three new Joplin R-8 schools will open tomorrow morning. It should be exciting times for those attending East Middle School, Irving Elementary School, and Soaring Costs.Elementary School.
Showing posts with label Irving Elementary School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irving Elementary School. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Message to Donors Choose: Thanks for your help, but it doesn't fit in with Joplin's 21st Century schools
Dear Donors Choose,
I really don't know how to go about writing a thank-you letter to people who extended my fellow teachers and me a lifeline at a time when we needed it most.
Donors Choose, of course, is not just one person, but it allows teachers to post projects and then those projects are funded by people who choose them from all of the projects that are listed on your website.
It was something we needed after the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado destroyed our schools and classrooms that our teachers had invested years into making into safe, comfortable learning environments.
Not many Joplin teachers were aware of Donors Choose. That's where one of the true heroes of the Joplin Tornado recovery process stepped in. Debby Guardino did not stand in front of a bank of television cameras, shed tears, and offer platitudes.
She did not even have to get involved. Debby is a classroom teacher, not in Joplin, Missouri, but in Chesapeake, Virginia. When she first heard of the Joplin Tornado, she did not even know anyone in Joplin, as far as I can tell. All she knew was that the teachers and students in Joplin needed help and she knew just the way to do it.
Debby called Joplin R-8 Administration and let them know that she could help the teachers navigate their way through Donors Choose to help replace the items that were lost in the tornado and perhaps obtain new items that would help make their classes more productive when the 2011-2012 school year began or shortly thereafter.
Debby did not have to do that. Nor did she have to fly to Joplin and personally help teachers learn how to submit Donors Choose requests.
That's what heroes do.
Debby Guardino and Donors Choose played a big role in helping Joplin's teachers and students recover from the tornado. More than half a million dollars' worth of projects were funded, many of them for small amounts, at least when it comes to school officials' way of thinking- just a few hundred dollars or maybe a couple of thousand.
The requests were submitted for items of furniture, lamps, shelving, books and some small technology items for projects, posters, everything that makes a school a school.
It was a wonderful opportunity, not just for teachers and students, who were having to turn warehouses and mall stores into schools, but also for people across the United States who wanted to do something, anything, to help the people of Joplin who had just lost one-third of their city and 161 lives to the worst tornado to hit the United States in six decades.
I was not one of the teachers who took advantage of the opportunity that you provided. I had been fortunate and most of the items from my East Middle School classroom were untouched by the storm and most of my decorations were always samples of my students' writing, but I appreciated what you did for my colleagues.
I taught next door to a teacher who was able to turn a warehouse classroom into a semblance of a school through some lamps and furniture so generously provided by donors who gave through your organization.
I saw other teachers use Donors Choose to replace items lost in the tornado, but most of them used their requests to build on to what they had been doing, to do the things they wanted to do to make the classroom experience a memorable one for the students they have dedicated their lives to serving.
Thank you, Donors Choose, for providing an incredible service.
Please don't take what I am going to write next as any reflection of how I feel or how the teachers in the Joplin R-8 School District feel about everything you have made possible. My former colleagues who are moving into brand new, state-of-the-art buildings, specifically designed for 21st Century learning are going to be leaving their Donors Choose gifts behind.
It is not that they wanted to. Teachers do not make much money and they understand that many of your donors who gave money are not rich people, just people who wanted to make a difference. And they certainly did. My former colleagues did not realize, however, that these gifts came with an expiration date.
Joplin R-8 Administration let the teachers know as they prepared to move into their new buildings that the Donors Choose gifts would not fit in. I don't know if it was because they were already two years old and the administrators did not want old items in their sparkling buildings or if the items, chosen specifically by the teachers to meet their specifications, clashed with the 21st Century visions of the top administrators.
Some teachers packed their Donors Choose items and had them sent to the new schools...and the items were sent back.
Don't worry. Your items are not going to be thrown away. My understanding is that they will be sent to other schools in the Joplin R-8 School District, schools that were not hit by the tornado, schools that are not being used as showplaces by administrators and therefore, the items won't stand out when the local and national media are publicizing school buildings that are like none that have been created in the history of K-12 education.
Of course, the teachers who are the recipients of those items will not have the same sentimental attachment to them. These teachers think, and understandably so, that they are being given me hand-me-downs.
Items that are good enough for warehouse schools and mall schools do not fit in at the new East Middle School, Soaring Heights Elementary School, and Irving Elementary School.
Please do not take the actions of these upper-level administrators as evidence that Joplin teachers do not appreciate the wonderful service that you provide and the generosity of all of those who gave their money to help them and their students.
If it were up to them, Donors Choose items would be featured just as prominently in the new buildings. Education is not just grabbing for the latest shiny bauble that comes along. Education should always include a reverence for the past and an appreciation for those who stepped forward and offered a helping hand.
Even if the administrators have put your contributions behind and consigned them to their older schools, the teachers will never forget what you have done.
My apologies for making this letter so long.
Sincerely yours,
Randy Turner
I really don't know how to go about writing a thank-you letter to people who extended my fellow teachers and me a lifeline at a time when we needed it most.
Donors Choose, of course, is not just one person, but it allows teachers to post projects and then those projects are funded by people who choose them from all of the projects that are listed on your website.
It was something we needed after the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado destroyed our schools and classrooms that our teachers had invested years into making into safe, comfortable learning environments.
Not many Joplin teachers were aware of Donors Choose. That's where one of the true heroes of the Joplin Tornado recovery process stepped in. Debby Guardino did not stand in front of a bank of television cameras, shed tears, and offer platitudes.
She did not even have to get involved. Debby is a classroom teacher, not in Joplin, Missouri, but in Chesapeake, Virginia. When she first heard of the Joplin Tornado, she did not even know anyone in Joplin, as far as I can tell. All she knew was that the teachers and students in Joplin needed help and she knew just the way to do it.
Debby called Joplin R-8 Administration and let them know that she could help the teachers navigate their way through Donors Choose to help replace the items that were lost in the tornado and perhaps obtain new items that would help make their classes more productive when the 2011-2012 school year began or shortly thereafter.
Debby did not have to do that. Nor did she have to fly to Joplin and personally help teachers learn how to submit Donors Choose requests.
That's what heroes do.
Debby Guardino and Donors Choose played a big role in helping Joplin's teachers and students recover from the tornado. More than half a million dollars' worth of projects were funded, many of them for small amounts, at least when it comes to school officials' way of thinking- just a few hundred dollars or maybe a couple of thousand.
The requests were submitted for items of furniture, lamps, shelving, books and some small technology items for projects, posters, everything that makes a school a school.
It was a wonderful opportunity, not just for teachers and students, who were having to turn warehouses and mall stores into schools, but also for people across the United States who wanted to do something, anything, to help the people of Joplin who had just lost one-third of their city and 161 lives to the worst tornado to hit the United States in six decades.
I was not one of the teachers who took advantage of the opportunity that you provided. I had been fortunate and most of the items from my East Middle School classroom were untouched by the storm and most of my decorations were always samples of my students' writing, but I appreciated what you did for my colleagues.
I taught next door to a teacher who was able to turn a warehouse classroom into a semblance of a school through some lamps and furniture so generously provided by donors who gave through your organization.
I saw other teachers use Donors Choose to replace items lost in the tornado, but most of them used their requests to build on to what they had been doing, to do the things they wanted to do to make the classroom experience a memorable one for the students they have dedicated their lives to serving.
Thank you, Donors Choose, for providing an incredible service.
Please don't take what I am going to write next as any reflection of how I feel or how the teachers in the Joplin R-8 School District feel about everything you have made possible. My former colleagues who are moving into brand new, state-of-the-art buildings, specifically designed for 21st Century learning are going to be leaving their Donors Choose gifts behind.
It is not that they wanted to. Teachers do not make much money and they understand that many of your donors who gave money are not rich people, just people who wanted to make a difference. And they certainly did. My former colleagues did not realize, however, that these gifts came with an expiration date.
Joplin R-8 Administration let the teachers know as they prepared to move into their new buildings that the Donors Choose gifts would not fit in. I don't know if it was because they were already two years old and the administrators did not want old items in their sparkling buildings or if the items, chosen specifically by the teachers to meet their specifications, clashed with the 21st Century visions of the top administrators.
Some teachers packed their Donors Choose items and had them sent to the new schools...and the items were sent back.
Don't worry. Your items are not going to be thrown away. My understanding is that they will be sent to other schools in the Joplin R-8 School District, schools that were not hit by the tornado, schools that are not being used as showplaces by administrators and therefore, the items won't stand out when the local and national media are publicizing school buildings that are like none that have been created in the history of K-12 education.
Of course, the teachers who are the recipients of those items will not have the same sentimental attachment to them. These teachers think, and understandably so, that they are being given me hand-me-downs.
Items that are good enough for warehouse schools and mall schools do not fit in at the new East Middle School, Soaring Heights Elementary School, and Irving Elementary School.
Please do not take the actions of these upper-level administrators as evidence that Joplin teachers do not appreciate the wonderful service that you provide and the generosity of all of those who gave their money to help them and their students.
If it were up to them, Donors Choose items would be featured just as prominently in the new buildings. Education is not just grabbing for the latest shiny bauble that comes along. Education should always include a reverence for the past and an appreciation for those who stepped forward and offered a helping hand.
Even if the administrators have put your contributions behind and consigned them to their older schools, the teachers will never forget what you have done.
My apologies for making this letter so long.
Sincerely yours,
Randy Turner
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Things I'm Thinking About, January 1
-Viewing for New Joplin Schools- I read where the viewing for the new East Middle School, Soaring Heights Elementary School, and Irving Elementary School is set for Sunday, January 12. Can anyone tell me when the visitation and services will be held.
-An Apology to Anson Burlingame- Earlier this evening, I called Anson Burlingame an idiot. I should have simply printed what he wrote and let Turner Report readers come to that decision for themselves. Same result, but I should have handled it better.
-It's Not the Same- I stopped by Books-A-Million this afternoon and, as usual, it made me miss Hastings. It has been nearly two years since Hastings closed, and while I am glad Books-A-Million is still in Joplin (even though it has never carried any of my books) and I enjoy visiting Vintage Stock on the Mall (which does carry them), it's just not the same not having Hastings in Joplin any more. Thankfully, we do still have some locally-owned book stores in Joplin, which is the subject of the next paragraph.
-Update on My Books- Speaking of my books, a reminder that Let Teachers Teach is now available at Always Buying Books and Changing Hands Book Shoppe in Joplin for $10. For those who have asked if I am going to have a book version of The Devil's on Facebook, in addition to the e-book, which is available now on Amazon Kindle, the paperback will be available in July or August. And thanks for asking.
-2014 Plans for the Turner Report and Inside Joplin- I plan on writing a post tomorrow detailing what I plan to do in 2014 with the Turner Report, Inside Joplin, and my other blogs.
-An Apology to Anson Burlingame- Earlier this evening, I called Anson Burlingame an idiot. I should have simply printed what he wrote and let Turner Report readers come to that decision for themselves. Same result, but I should have handled it better.
-It's Not the Same- I stopped by Books-A-Million this afternoon and, as usual, it made me miss Hastings. It has been nearly two years since Hastings closed, and while I am glad Books-A-Million is still in Joplin (even though it has never carried any of my books) and I enjoy visiting Vintage Stock on the Mall (which does carry them), it's just not the same not having Hastings in Joplin any more. Thankfully, we do still have some locally-owned book stores in Joplin, which is the subject of the next paragraph.
-Update on My Books- Speaking of my books, a reminder that Let Teachers Teach is now available at Always Buying Books and Changing Hands Book Shoppe in Joplin for $10. For those who have asked if I am going to have a book version of The Devil's on Facebook, in addition to the e-book, which is available now on Amazon Kindle, the paperback will be available in July or August. And thanks for asking.
-2014 Plans for the Turner Report and Inside Joplin- I plan on writing a post tomorrow detailing what I plan to do in 2014 with the Turner Report, Inside Joplin, and my other blogs.
Globe Editorial: We support all of C. J. Huff and Mark Rohr's decisions
Whatever the chief administrators for the city of Joplin and the Joplin R-8 School District decide to do is the approach that is right, no matter what the consequences.
The Globe has every right to express that opinion on its editorial pages; that is what the First Amendment is all about.
But when you use your news pages to back up your editorial page views, you are doing a disservice to your readers and to the truth.
Joplin teachers told to lie about cost of new buildings
As the walls continue to fall around the Joplin R-8 Administration, the next problem C. J. Huff and company have to deal with is a public backlash over the cost of the buildings that are scheduled to open in five days.
No expense has been spared in the construction of East Middle School, Soaring Heights Elementary School, and Irving Elementary School, and administration officials are preparing for the questions.
The media is not going to be a big problem. As can be noted from the article in this morning's Joplin Globe, publicity will be centered around the opening of the schools with, of course, the reminder that the original schools were destroyed in the May 22, 2011, tornado.
While C. J. Huff appears to have local media well in hand, the public is a different matter, and often when the public wants to know what is going on in the schools, it asks the people with whom it has direct contact- the teachers.
So the teachers have been told to lie.
Sources at the schools have told the Turner Report that they have been told to lie if parents ask questions about the cost of some of the frills that the buildings have, including the eye-catching graphics.
The word "lie" was never used; the teachers were provided with information that was not true.
Simply telling the parents that they did not know how much these items cost was not a workable plan, officials apparently decided, since this would almost be an admission that money was wasted, so teachers were told to tell parents that the expensive items "did not cost much."
Of course, that might not be a lie, depending on your definition of what "expensive" is.
The Turner Report has been told by an administration source that the cost of graphics and "special touches" for the new buildings is well into seven figures.
Even worse for students, the rush to get the buildings ready for next Monday that is described in this morning's Globe will be a problem as far as their education is concerned. Contractors have confided that it should be a matter of weeks, perhaps a month or two, and not five days before these buildings are opened.
The buildings not only are not going to be finished by Monday, but there are reportedly safety concerns that have not been addressed, not the kind that will cause problems during a regular school day, but ones that could create serious problems if something out of the ordinary happens.
Some areas of at least one school do not have a safe place for children to go in the case of a lockdown, the Turner Report was told.
No expense has been spared in the construction of East Middle School, Soaring Heights Elementary School, and Irving Elementary School, and administration officials are preparing for the questions.
The media is not going to be a big problem. As can be noted from the article in this morning's Joplin Globe, publicity will be centered around the opening of the schools with, of course, the reminder that the original schools were destroyed in the May 22, 2011, tornado.
While C. J. Huff appears to have local media well in hand, the public is a different matter, and often when the public wants to know what is going on in the schools, it asks the people with whom it has direct contact- the teachers.
So the teachers have been told to lie.
Sources at the schools have told the Turner Report that they have been told to lie if parents ask questions about the cost of some of the frills that the buildings have, including the eye-catching graphics.
The word "lie" was never used; the teachers were provided with information that was not true.
Simply telling the parents that they did not know how much these items cost was not a workable plan, officials apparently decided, since this would almost be an admission that money was wasted, so teachers were told to tell parents that the expensive items "did not cost much."
Of course, that might not be a lie, depending on your definition of what "expensive" is.
The Turner Report has been told by an administration source that the cost of graphics and "special touches" for the new buildings is well into seven figures.
Even worse for students, the rush to get the buildings ready for next Monday that is described in this morning's Globe will be a problem as far as their education is concerned. Contractors have confided that it should be a matter of weeks, perhaps a month or two, and not five days before these buildings are opened.
The buildings not only are not going to be finished by Monday, but there are reportedly safety concerns that have not been addressed, not the kind that will cause problems during a regular school day, but ones that could create serious problems if something out of the ordinary happens.
Some areas of at least one school do not have a safe place for children to go in the case of a lockdown, the Turner Report was told.
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