Enduring Until The End!

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:13 ESV
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  I Corinthians 9:24,25 NIV

Today, I'm participating in a walk-a-thon to raise money for band camp for our students' Marching Band and it appears that we'll be walking in the rain on a cooler morning than we saw yesterday. I will dress to meet the test!.

To get ready for this event, I've been working out to a song for 20 minutes every morning and walking when weather permits. I can normally work a mile in under 20 minutes and recently have walked 2 and half miles in 40 minutes. Today, the goal is to walk 5 miles and I have at least two hours to get it done.

I wonder, if we knew how much time we had left to get living right for God, what we would do. Would we practice living right or just think by some "magical event" it would just happen?

Living right for God according to His Word is a daily exercise--physically and spiritually and the best time to start is early morning--to set the pace for the day. Get into His Word, meditate upon His Word, and then practice what you have read with all you meet and greet throughout the day. Living right for God is not going to just happen--like anything else that we value--we must practice. Exercise faith in the moment every day and watch how God will work in your lives.

Only those who endure--keeping the faith and exercising the Word--will be saved and in my case today--if I endure to the end of the time allotted--I shall reach my goal and will have earned enough from pledges to support two students for band camp.

Our God is awesome and at my age--I need His awesomeness to strengthen me at the turn of every lap until I complete my 20 laps.  Thank You, Lord for power from within and without to achieve-to Your glory!

Chicken, Hawk, or Eagle!

 If someone was to ascribe to you the attributes of a bird—which of these would it be?

Are you grounded, digging in the dirt for what you can find to eat, being manipulated by others to be “a tasty meal” for all to enjoy?

Are you a predator, always on the lookout for that “live one” who’ll be your next victim?

Are you flying above the fray of everyday life, looking down, seeing what’s going on, but not allowing the events to distract or deter you, knowing that sooner or later, the predators will leave behind a morsel that will meet your needs?

Think about these birds. The chicken is food for the hawk and the hawk could be food for the eagle, but the eagle—soaring in the sky—refusing to be caught up in the mundane—seeks elevation for safety, but can hone in on the details below and strike with efficiency—what is intended for them to have.

Which are you? The mediocre chicken—just waiting to be eaten; the hawk who preys upon its live victims or the eagle—who can wait for what is rightfully due them when they can see it from above?

Students Need Wisdom

"Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways." (Proverbs 2:12-15 NIV)

All too often, high performing kids in school will be led astray by other kids who are merely attending. Why? A momentary lapse of wisdom, ignited by a temporary need to fit in with others, can and will cause irreparable damage to a person's reputation--especially when they were once viewed with great esteem.

Getting a little personal--as it pertains to my grandson--I hope to steer parents to paying attention to their kids. On Monday, my grandson was asked, "When you gonna do your 30?" The question was asked by table-mates at lunch, just before the start of his next class. Instead of going directly to class, he and others went into the boys' locker room to do "30 seconds" of fighting--a direct violation of school policy. Both boys were suspended for 10 days.

When I was called to pick him up and he told me what happened, I was floored. My grandson had never been involved in a physical altercation and when I saw the disappointed looks on the faces of his counselor, the assistant principal, and the principal, I knew they were just as surprised as I was. A parent of another student--not involved--contacted me because they said, "he is our mild-mannered, most respectful honor student."

Before we could get home, a six-minute ride, he was disappointed with himself and said so. He realized that he had messed up majorly. I was so quiet he asked me if I was angry and I responded that I was more disappointed than angry because of the disciplinary action permanence on his transcript. He didn't realize the impact of his 30 second action. He does now. I had to sleep on a punishment because it needed to steer him into thinking before acting and in not allowing other people to mislead him.

He's written an essay about the dangers of not paying attention to "time" and the fact that a person cannot get it back. He's missing out on learning, playing in the school band, being with his "real friends" and he knows the absence could result in losing his class ranking, which up to now--was #3 with a 4.154 g.p.a.

We've had all "the talks" before, but he forgot what he was taught and now, he's learned a very valuable lesson about redeeming time. 30 seconds was not worth what he's lost, including privileges at home and an increase in responsibility with household chores--during his 10 day hiatus, which is certainly not a vacation.

We really have to know "the language" of kids to help them avoid the snares and pits the enemy plans for them.

Educating Our Future!

Some schools--depending upon where one lives--are already in session for a new school year. Others are going back soon! What are the students going back to do?

Speaking from experience with Detroit Public Schools, many of the inner city students are going back to chaos--overcrowded classrooms, overused testing, and demoralized, unhappy teachers. None the chaos is the fault of the students, but they are the ones who will be negatively impacted by it the most.

First of all--PARENTS--get your act in gear and teach your children to respect authority and property of others. One of the reasons for the overcrowded classrooms is the budget allocation for textbooks which students either take home to keep or deliberately desecrate with profanity--making them inaccessible to others. The other reason for much of the chaos--ill-mannered, ill-behaved students who interfere with the process of learning. They have never learned to do school and when a teacher meets some of the parents--they know the apple truly did not fall far from the tree.

If parents truly want a quality education for their children, they need to engage in the process--get actively involved with the schools and the legislators making decisions about the schools.

The Detroit Public School district has had an assigned Emergency Manager for five years now that has not made a difference in the debt accrued. Why? Too many people coming into the system with the sole purpose of "lining their pockets" and totally forgetting about the kids they are supposed to help educate. This would not happen if we had anyone with integrity having oversight of the Detroit Public Schools. For those who know the power of prayer--it's prayer time--pray for all Emergency Managers to develop a conscience and do their jobs--not line their pockets with the funds that should be spent on educating the children. Everyone needs to get out and vote--getting rid of all those politicians who are only interested in promoting their own--self-serving agendas--not the benefit of all the people.

EDUCATORS--FIGHT BACK--and stop the testing nonsense and spend the time--TEACHING your students. Students do not learn anything from over-testing; they learn from educators who have time to teach them the skills for which they are being tested. If they have not been taught, why are they being tested? A little common sense is needed here.

ADMINISTRATORS--grow a pair--and move out of the way of those teachers who are "still interested" in teaching children what they need to know to survive in this world. Using threats, being demeaning, humiliation and coercion will not accomplish anything other than unhappy, rebellious staff who will only do the minimum required to get you off their backs.Abusing your staff does not make you a great administrator--understanding what your staff needs and supporting them in their efforts will get the job done. If you are an administrator and are only a doormat to the district--resign! Get out of the way so our children can learn!

From observation and research, I know there is a conspiracy afoot to keep students from Detroit in a rut--for manual labor only and everyone who is involved in the system and is not willing to change the way we do education in Detroit is guilty of being a participant in the conspiracy. Our students need to know grammar--for conversational purposes as well as for writing. When the District decided that grammar did not need to be taught (almost 20 years ago)--that should have been a signal for all to understand the complicity in keeping our children--illiterate. Now, we graduate functionally illiterate students who cannot read above the seventh-grade level. Where do they get to work? Fast--food restaurants and anywhere they do not have to think or read with comprehension. Just take a look at the cash registers being used today and you'll understand my point.

So now, what are you going to do? Get mad at me or do something about educating our future?

You can read more in my book, If Parents Cared Enough, Johnny and Juaneshia Could Read  found here: http://www.amazon.com/Mary-M-Hall-Rayford/e/B00BAW31CQ/

Get mad, but get busy when you get over being mad!

Ravaging Politicism (excerpt 2)

Getting back to Arne Duncan’s statement, it seems obvious that no one respects his views—especially legislators who are in bondage to oxymoronic thinking (or perhaps the more apropos term would be—moronic). Otherwise, if their brain cells were actually functioning on “an average level” they would increase budget allocations for education rather than cut them. Giving some states more money has proven that the lack of money is not the problem. The real problems that need addressing are standardized testing that in no way improve test scores. If we want to see an improvement in test scores we need to develop the means to motivate students to want to learn and provide teachers the opportunity to teach, not test. Teachers in classroom across the nation are bombarded with testing which yields no relatable results as to their efforts in the classroom.

Specifically, in Michigan the Detroit Public School system spends money for testing on a monthly and quarterly basis in addition to the State testing. Michigan has the lowest level of literacy across the nation with most only able to read at a fourth-grade level when the student is in high school. However, Michigan’s Tea Party Governor boasts improvement in graduation rates, but does the increase of students graduating mean much when they no reading comprehension skills? We have students who graduated from high school in college settings who do not know how to do simple division—add, subtract, multiply and divide. We cannot even consider their inability to do algebra or higher mathematics. For the record, the federal government and other foundations have poured good money after bad in their attempt to gain a measurable foothold in academics and have failed miserably.

First of all, anyone who wants to teach should know how to teach his or her subject content.  Aspiring teachers should be qualified—through coursework and experiences—that demonstrate their ability to get the job done. In Michigan, twenty years ago—teachers were not tested to see what they knew or understand. They only had to complete the coursework to receive a teaching certificate. This is not to say it is the teachers’ fault! I hate people blaming the downward spiral of academic proficiency on the teachers. Educating a student—any student—should be a partnership between parents, teachers, and the community. At this point in our state (and this is probably true for others), there is no partnership because most parents will not engage in the process! Since I do not wish to be redundant in a diatribe against the Michigan School system, I suggest reading my findings in, “If Parents Cared Enough, Johnny and Juaneshia Could Read” available wherever books are sold.

Another foil to keeping academics competitive was the course of action taken by a Superintendent in Detroit who arbitrarily decided that teachers did not need to teach grammar in an English class. What he really meant was that the “black students” did not need to know grammar or they might be able to compete with their counterparts from the suburbs for quality jobs. For the record, I am not a racist; I just call things the way I see them since there was no justification for this course of action. Even with the foolish, not every black person is incapable of using the language appropriately. After all, I am black and have up to this point, demonstrated competency in using Standard American English.  Now, twenty years later, the students in Detroit School Systems and in surrounding suburbs do not know how to use Standard American English because some idiot(s) decided it should not be taught. This is why, our students cannot write proficiently. They are reading with an inadequate proficiency level because all the testing does not allow time for them to read anything of substance as part of the “standardized” curriculum.

What education really needs is to get back to basics and leave all the pseudo-reforms in the pit they have dug, along with those who proposed them. How does all this factor into resulting in ravaging politicism? The legislative changes that take place that attempt to be politically correct are digging trenches we may not be able to survive. How does this factor into the equation? Textbook publishing companies connect with legislators and they climb into the proverbial bed of allegiance with kickbacks to those creating legislation and money for all to enjoy. This is the real reason for the educational gap in measured achievements.  What we have as our guiding influence in many areas is a pseudo-façade of anyone caring about the students, but all wanting their share of the till.

 More to come--on legislative morality, parenthood, and religious deficits.

And The Beat Goes On 10/31/13

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/maryandtyrone/2013/10/31/and-the-beat-goes-on 

We had a great episode! Hope you enjoy!  Leave a comment, why don't you?

What Writers Do?

The following is a response to an invitation to another writer on Wordpress.com.  Sometimes, I write so much, I forget what I've said.  This serves as a reminder and may inspire, encourage, or motivate others.  

Writing is such a “personal” experience (content, not mechanics) that I’m not sure there is any one way to determine which direction or path anyone should take. I write poetry to vent, blogs to inspire and encourage, devotionals to teach, non-fiction to teach and encourage, and fiction to enjoy or encourage. I read scripture every morning before I blog, I pray for inspiration before I read and then I allow the Holy Spirit to lead me in what I type. For some, this will work well and for others, not so well, especially if their experience with God is not the same.

At any rate, I titled one of my blogs, “Always Thinking and Writing” and the other, “Writing for Life”. Both titles describe what I do with a degree of accuracy, but neither is inclusive of all the passion within or the time I take to make sure my readers get something out of what I say. Who knows–even with my deliberation-they may hate it or ignore it or it just might make them “think”. So, I guess, as I was writing a response to this invitation to share, I have concluded that I write primarily to make people think–not agree–but to think about what I say and how it either aligns or not with how they think or not. Words–have a power of their own–independent of the writer, but very dependent upon the receptivity of the reader.
 

Always open to comments!