I am happy to spend money on things that are needed.  I am a big supporter of looking for state and federal grants.  Yes, I do understand that there is a fine line between grants and earmarks.

Now a major portion of the Cudahy referendum is for new roofs at Gen. Mitchell and J.E. Jones elementary schools.

I was talking to someone in city government who told me that someone should have looked into state and federal grants to place solar power panels on the roof.  To get the solar power panels up, they would have to replace the roof.

Not only could the school save on electric costs, but also the roofs would have been replaced.

I have included pictures of James Fennimore Cooper Elementary School on the south side of Milwaukee that does have solar power panels.  (click on picture for larger view)

On a similar thought, you can replace the boilers with Geothermal.  The return on investment (ROI) and savings are very quick.

I do think the referendum will pass and I don’t want to hear from people complain about Cudahy’s taxes!

http://www.cudahynow.com/news/cninews/39026137.html

Roof work tops Cudahy referendum spending list

School officials will ask voters for $4.4 million

“The roofs are really driving this,” said Jim Papala, director of financial services. “There’s a potential for increasing the damage to the buildings if we don’t take care of the roofs real soon.”

Papala said state-imposed revenue limits prevent the district from doing big projects such as roof replacements.  If the referendum meets voter approval, the roofs will be repaired this summer.

Other projects include window, lighting and floor repairs and renovations at Cudahy High School, according to a list from the district.

Nothing ‘extravagant’

Superintendent Jim Heiden said nothing on the list is “extravagant or over-the-top.”

“These are all things that need to be taken care of,” he said.

Kutka disputes ‘needs’

Only board member Linda Kutka voted against going to referendum at a meeting earlier this month.

Kutka said not everything on the list is needed, especially at Cudahy High School. She disputed the inclusion of $625,000 for office renovations, $281,000 to construct a circular drive in the school’s parking lot and $35,000 for an electronic welcome sign outside the school.

A parking lot also would be constructed in front of Kosciuszko Elementary School for about $112,000, she said.

“Those projects, I believe, are not needed,” she said.  “We are in difficult times, and we need to ask citizens for exactly what we need.”

She said the unnecessary projects will not boost students’ test scores or allow the district to hire more staff.

30 state school districts seek more taxpayer funds

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Sunday Mar. 29, 2009

Amid one of the worst economic periods the country has seen in years, 30 Wisconsin school districts are poised to ask taxpayers to open their wallets wider.

The majority of the 43 referendum proposals on April 7 local ballots seek to allow the districts to exceed state-imposed revenue limits to finance current programs.  Others, such as the $68.85 million building program proposed for the West Bend School District, request the ability to issue debt to pay for maintenance or new facilities.

But with the state of the economy, and the failures of all nine school referendum proposals on the Feb. 17 ballot, districts likely face a hard sell this year, observers say.

"They do need more revenue, and they're going to the taxpayers to ask for it, but this is also the wrong time to do that," said Michael Birkley, legislative director for Wisconsin Property Taxpayers.  "With people being laid off all over the place, now is not the time to ask and to invest more in education."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/42107312.html

Cudahy was not mentioned in the article!

What is Grandma's House Day Care?  Grandma's House Day Care http://www.grandmashouse.org/ is a Day Care, which offers after care with pickup from the schools to the day care location.  It offers early childhood programs and the home feeling of what would a Grandma’s house would be.

"Grandma's House is a developmentally appropriate child care setting which strives to meet the physical, social, emotional, and educational needs of each child under the guidance of a qualified staff in a warm and caring atmosphere which is licensed by the State of Wisconsin and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  As an accredited program, we have voluntarily undergone a comprehensive process of internal self-study, invited external professional review to verify compliance with the Academy's Criteria, and been found to be in compliance with the Criteria."

Grandma's House Early Childhood Programs

Open Monday-Friday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm

* Licensed by the State of Wisconsin

* Accredited by the National Academy for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

* Home-cooked lunches & snacks

* Developmentally appropriate programs for all children ages 6 weeks through 11 years

* Full-day Kindergarten Program

* Summer Program

Excerpted from the preschool's website

Sorry, to those that are seeing this post again.  I had it posted once, but with all the problems with the blog software and the site I took it down.

Boys Technology and Trade School (Boys Tech) was founded in 1906 and in 1976 the name changed to Milwaukee Trade & Technical High School (Milwaukee Tech or Tech) to allow girls to attend.

In 2002, Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School opened.  Tech specializes in Construction, Communications, Manufacturing and Design.

It no longer has a pool, which the MPS database for expenses caused some talk on how could the school be charged for pool cleaning if one doesn’t exist?

Tech once was a proud school, which excelled in athletics and education.  What happen to the school?  Well a big part of the problem was that they dropped the entrance exam to attend the school.  The thought process was that since it was a public school you could not disallow students from attending.  Then one by one as a domino effect MPS dismantled the maintain a “C” grade point average, take out the requirement to be in a trade or tech program, close the open lunch and now you are left with just an ordinary MPS High School.

MPS prides itself with “High Standards Start Here,” but that is just an empty slogan.  Look at the headlines for Bradley Tech now.  Guns shots, stabbings, over 200 people in fights, 6 Girls in Fight At Bradley Tech; Crowd Watches Milwaukee Police Officer Punched By 17-Year-Old Girl and so on.  Gone are the good headlines!

I agree with Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan’s statement released February 13, 2009.

Yesterday’s melee at Bradley Tech High School – which included a punch to the face for one of Milwaukee’s fine police officers – is yet another sad example of just how out of control Milwaukee Public Schools have become.

The way Bradley Tech has degenerated is an insult to the tens of thousands of proud graduates of the former Tech, which served as a model school in Milwaukee for decades.

I am proposing that Bradley Tech be closed at the end of this school year so that we can start over.  I propose reopening the school only as a true technical high school, with technical coursework in subjects such as computers, electronics, building/drafting/design, and even carpentry.  Students would be required to take tests to get into the school.

Our businesses and industries are in dire need of workers who could gain valuable skills and know-how at a “new” Bradley Tech.  If nothing else, we owe it to our children and grandchildren to give them a public school that offers solid technical training, a place where they can gain the skills for jobs and careers that will offer a better quality of life.

I believe that is the kind of Bradley Tech we should create, because the current one is a disgrace that is likely causing Jane Pettit to turn over in her grave.

You must be very careful of the lawsuits that will occur once the entrance exams are added back in, but since it is a specialty school, it should have special requirements and special students.

I am proud I attended Milwaukee Tech, but I am embarrassed by what it has become after I left.  Is the entrance exam fair?  Some of my friends that didn’t pass it and were not accepted to attend might tell you NO!  However, without it, all you have is another MPS school, not a shinny gem.

As in incentive, give the students back the open lunch conditionally.  Any fights and the lunch is closed for two weeks.

Adding back in the grade point average requirement along with the trade/tech program requirement will weed out the students that don’t and are not serious about an education. 

Add in that if you are in a fight, you are kicked out.  Find a knife, gun or other weapon you are kicked out.  MPS likes to water down the schools; it is time to rise up the level at this one.  MPS has plenty of other common schools to play with!  You cannot teach or reach students that don’t want it! 

Ban cell phones and install cell phone jammers at the school during school hours.  Having a cell phone and the use of it is NOT a right!  We didn’t have them when I went to school and I am so tired of the parents that say it is a right to have one for emergencies.  What now they cannot call the school’s office and get a message to the student?  Have we as a society become that lazy and self-centered?

Bradley Tech has two full time MPD officers on site and still is a zoo so adding more of a police presence is not the answer.

Right now Bradley Tech resembles more of a school for troublemakers than a school for those wanting an education.  Tech is not just a family/neighborhood school; it embodies the education of trades and technology.

Let us look at MPS reaction to Ald. Bob Donovan's call for the closing of Bradley Tech High School after a brawl there.  I have highlighted a few items and placed my comments in blue.

"This is a statement from MPS Administration regarding comments made today about the Lynde & Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School.

"The actions of a few students who set aside better judgment and chose to act out on Thursday do not speak for the Bradley Tech student body of 1,390. . . . 

"Bradley Tech has 64% fewer suspensions in the first six months of this school year versus the same time period last year.  The school is open for tours for those who'd like to visit; call the office and let the staff know.  (What are the real numbers not %’s)

"MPS continues to provide a structured and safe environment every day for students in all our schools, including Bradley Tech.  The school was created through an intergovernmental agreement between the Milwaukee Public Schools, area business and labor leaders, Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

"The Bradley Tech Commission remains active in the operation, curriculum, and the future, of this valuable trade school.”  (It doesn’t sound like they are.  It sounds like MPS is though!)

In his statement earlier today, Donovan decried the brawl and said the school should require tests for students who want to get in.

Thursday's fight drew a crowd of 150 to 200 students.  Police arrested the student accused of punching an officer assigned to the school, at 700 S. 4th St. As of noon, charges hadn't been filed against the student.  (14% of the total students watched)

Officers gave tickets to 16 other students alleging disorderly conduct.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/39603812.html

Get MPS’s hand out of the school and restore the policies that worked and everything else will work it self out!

I have received an email from Milwaukee Alderman Donovan on this subject about my post.

Randy - Thanks for your support!  I have heard from many, many grads on this issue and they all feel the same way you do.  Let's hope they wise up and make the necessary changes!

Bob

Robert G. Donovan

Alderman, 8th District

City of Milwaukee

Phone: 414-286-3533

Fax: 414-286-3456

http://www.commonsensemilwaukee.com/

CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is a combination of a series of rescue breathing and chest compressions to someone in need after the heart stops pumping blood.  Most of us way back in Health class, have done this on a practice dummy.

Please Click Here For Adult CPR Demonstration Video

This adult life saving measure of 2 BREATHS, each breath should take 1 second, and 30 PUMPS with hand over hand (both hands) to the chest faster than once per second repeatedly done until help can arrive.

But what about babies and small children?  Do you remember anything from class on them?  Did they even cover it in your Health Class? 

Please Click Here For Child CPR Demonstration Video

CPR for Children (Ages 1-8)

CPR for children is similar to CPR for adults.  The compression to ventilation ratio is 30:2.  There are, however, 3 differences.

1) If you are alone with the child give two minutes of CPR before calling 911

2) Use the heel of one hand as for adults for chest compressions

3) Press the sternum approximately one-third the depth of the chest

CPR for Infants (Age <1)

There are vastly different things that have to be done for a baby.  Key items are covering the mouth and nose, watch how hard you give the pumps, the use of two or three fingers to give the compression inside of the hand.

Please Click Here For Baby CPR Demonstration Video

1. Shout and Tap

Shout and gently tap the child on the shoulder.  If there is no response, position the infant on his or her back

 2. Open The Airway

Open the airway using a head tilt lifting of chin.  Do not tilt the head too far back

 3. Give 2 Gentle Breaths

If the baby is NOT breathing give 2 small gentle breaths.  Cover the baby's mouth and nose with your mouth.  Each breath should be 1 second long.  You should see the baby's chest rise with each breath.

 4. Give 30 Compressions

Give 30 gentle chest compressions at the rate of 100 per minute.  Use two or three fingers in the center of the chest just below the nipples.  Press down approximately one-third the depth of the chest.

  5. Repeat

Repeat with 2 breath and 30 compressions.  After two minutes of repeated cycles call 911 and continue giving breaths and compressions.

http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/infantcpr.html

More information on Saving Your Baby's Life please visit http://www.babyzoneandbeyond.com/

More Video Demonstrations

Reminder For compressions:

Adults = two hands

Small Child = the heel of one hand

Baby = 2 or 3 fingers

This was the information from my wife’s teaching co-op class in the form of a handout.

You are your child’s first teacher.  As a father, mother, or other family member you begin teaching your newborn about language as you welcome him into the world with smiles and caring words.  By responding to your child's coos, babbles, early words, and simple sentences, you encourage him to learn.  By reading to your child, you encourage him to read and write.  Thus by the time your child is old enough for preschool, he knows a lot about language, because of all the time your family has spent listening, talking, reading, and writing with him.

Below are 10 tips to help you teach your child.

• Talk with and listen to your child as you play and do daily activities together.
• Read with your child at a regular time every day and whenever he asks you.
• Take toddlers and preschoolers to the library.  Let them choose books to read at home.
• Create a special place in your home where your child can read and write.
• Keep books and other reading materials where your child can reach them.  Add a new book at least every month.
• Keep writing materials such as washable, nontoxic crayons and markers, paints and brushes, and different kinds of paper where your child can reach them.
• Take books and writing materials with you whenever you go out, so your child can read or write at the doctor's office, on the bus, and in the car.
• Show your child how you read and write every day to have fun and to get things done.
• Point out printed words in your home and in the community to your child.
• Encourage your child to do things for himself.  Let him feed and dress himself, and clean up after himself even if these tasks take more time and are not done perfectly

1. Identify and write the letters of the alphabet, upper and lower case.
2. Write full name, first and last, using upper case letters at the beginning only.
3. Know birthday- date and year.
4. Know address: house number, street, town, state and country.
5. Identify and write numbers 1-10.
6. Recognize own name.
7. Know phone number.
8. Know shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle

Know colors: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, pink, brown, black and white.

Day 20 – Still No real response from the Mayor – Inability to make decisions based on anything other than his own self-interest

I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day and pauses to remember those in the military that are no longer with us!

In one of my writing classes in college years ago, my teacher gave us a print out/hand out of Logical Fallacies to watch for.  I have scanned them and converted them to word.  There was no mention of a source nor did she cite it (I guess teachers can forget to work cite in handouts, such an oversight.  Should we flog them or let them off.  What do you think Mike?).  I was able to track down the current source of it as the Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers, Seventh Edition and it has a few new things to which I didn’t include.

She said it was so important to watch these unfold in debates.  Since we are in the mitts of the Presidential debates, each week I will post one.  Watch for them and you will see them happen all around you.  You might even become more educated/informed and isn’t that a good thing.  To one person I think not.

Logic is correct reasoning.  Logic is the process by which statements are supported with adequate proof by being tested against the right amount and kind of evidence, the process by which knowledge is rendered reliable—in short the “Science of proof.”  Pure Logic is unbeatable. 

How can I recognize and avoid logical fallacies?

Daily Practices to improve logic:

1. Don’t accept anything as true, which you do not clearly know to be such; that is, avoid hasty judgments and prejudice will prevent jumping the gun.  It requires a disciplined mind.
2. Divide each difficulty under examination into as many parts as possible, or into as many as necessary for the solution of the problem.  Most problems are combinations of problems and this failure to understand such will lead to jumping to conclusion.
3. Begin with the things that are simplest and easiest to understand, and then ascend to knowledge of the more complex.
4. Make enumerations so complete, and reviews so comprehensive, that you may be assured that nothing is omitted.
5. Draw out in tables or lists of what you know, and that which is wrong.  If Boolean algebra is needed make, your truth tables of items.  Make flow charts of the problem(s).
6. The answer is in the details. Study each part as itself and then as a whole.
7. Ask yourself this: “Is it logical, illogical, or nonlogical?  Nonlogical does not mean illogical.  Nonlogical is a statement like “I like to travel,” or “I love you” (showing emotion or opinions) are ordinarily regarded as nonargumentative and do not require supporting evidence since it solely is in the head of the person making the statement.  Illogical is one, which violates the rules of sound reasoning (like added 2 plus 2 and getting 5).
8. Do not use All, Always, Never, Forever, Not ever, as they lead to false conclusions by over simplifying and generalizing.
9. The most simplest answer may or may not be the one.  If it truly is only one problem, then the simplest answer is most likely the correct one.  If it is a series of problems, or more than one interconnecting problem, then it is no longer just simple.

Here are the topics I will be posting on this subject.  I will post one or two of them together depending on size.

Hasty generalization

False analogy

Begging the question

Irrelevant argument

False cause

Self-contradiction

Red herring

Argument to the person

Guilt by association

Jumping on the bandwagon

False or irrelevant authority

Card-stacking

The either-or fallacy

Taking something out of context

Appeal to ignorance

Day 15 – Still No real response from the Mayor – The citizens have time, do you

Hawk Eyes Hollenbeck is watching...

I had a reader email me a question on School Boards that I, myself, didn’t really know the correct answers for, so I told them I don't know exactly but I would ask.

My first stop was the Cudahy School District website at www.cudahy.k12.wi.us.

There is some good things on it, but not the exact questions asked.

My second stop was to email Superintendent Jim Heiden at heidenj@cudahy.k12.wi.us

He did not respond to my first email so I looked around the web for answers.  I found some general info that I will weave into this post, but still no answers to the exact questions asked of me.

So emailed Superintendent Jim Heiden again and this time he was gracious enough to answer the question.  Thank you Superintendent Jim Heiden for answering.  I will place his answers in red following the questions.

First, I will dispense with the general information.

The school board sets the vision for the school district and the decisions they make at their monthly meetings make a difference for your school.  A school board’s major responsibility is setting district policy.

The most important thing a school board does is to establish a vision for the community's schools that reflects a consensus of the board, community and district staff.  The school board has a wide variety of additional responsibilities, such as adopting a balanced annual budget and issuing interim financial reports, adopting the school calendar, negotiating contracts with employee unions, approving curriculum materials and closing or constructing schools.

What philosophy of education do we want our local schools to have?  What should our students know and be able to do when they graduate?  How can schools best educate students who come from diverse backgrounds?  These are some of the types of questions that a school board must ponder when trying to establish a vision.

Whatever the vision may be, it's up to the school superintendent to implement it.  This is why one of the board's most crucial decisions is the hiring and firing of the superintendent.  The board also approves the superintendent's personnel recommendations.

The board hires a superintendent who in turn hires staff to put policies into practice.  The superintendent is accountable to the school board for managing the district according to board policies.

School board meetings must be open to the public with the agenda publicly posted in advance.  You can learn a lot about your district's policies and challenges by attending a meeting.  In most cases, board meetings are also structured to give you a chance to express your opinions to the board and the community.

Because they serve the community, board members must engage the public in establishing the mission and direction of education.  It’s up to the school board to lead the way in building community involvement and support for public education.  They are the district’s vital link to the public – as well as advocates for public education.

A board member must be a skilled decision-maker and team player.  Board decisions are made by majority at public meetings.  Each board member has one vote.

As a public employer, the board establishes the policies that govern the recruitment, employment, supervision, evaluation and dismissal of employees, and sits as a hearings panel in questions of employee discipline, if so requested.

Board members also make decisions related to the following:

Protecting the morals and health of pupils

Establishing budgets

Asking voters to approve bond measures and local levies for facilities and operations

Guiding collective bargaining

Determining the school year calendar

Adopting curriculum and textbooks

Choosing transportation systems

Source http://www.greatschools.net

Questions asked to Superintendent Jim Heiden

For Cudahy, what does a School Board do?

School Boards are policy makers.  There main function is to oversee the budget and policies.  They hire a Superintendent to do implement the policies and oversee the entire operation of the District.  WASB has some great information on how and why School Boards exist.  www.wasb.org

How many School Board members does Cudahy have?

We have 7 board members.  Feel free to visit our website and go to the Board page.  There is a listing of the 7 members as well as contact information.

Whom do the Board Members report too?  If your voice as a parent was not being heard with the Board Members who do you contact next?"

Board members are elected and "report" to the citizenry of the community.  In the event that a citizen's complaint was not properly resolved and reached the level of the school board (something that has not happened in the last 12 years that I have been here) the board as a whole would hear it.  The board's decision is final.  The only recourse would be to file a civil suit in court and that can only happen in specific instances.  The major recourse is either a recall of specific members or during the normal election cycle.

Where are the School Board meetings located?

Meetings are held twice a month.  2nd and 4th Mondays at 7:00  Meeting locations vary for the first meeting as it is a working committee of the whole meeting.  The second is usually held at the District office on Ramsey Ave.  Again, I would refer your readers to our website www.cudahy.k12.wi.us.  We have an interactive calendar and a wealth of information on our schools there.

I would like to thank Superintendent Jim Heiden for taking time and answering questions regarding the School Board.  Get involved.  Go to the school board meetings.  Let them know who you are and that you are involved in your child's education.  I plan on attending.

Day 5 – Still No response from the Mayor

Amazing, the leader (in name only) votes something down, is silent, and will probably gets away with it.  Hey, only in Cudahy!

It was requested that I do a monthly review of the most looked at topics I wrote.  I will run down the top 10 and give a small overview of each. 

Some of these have an unfair advantage because they are older and have had the chance to be looked at longer.  By far, the shorter time Wal-Mart articles have more people view them quicker.  Many people still want to hear about Wal-Mart from both sides of the issue.

People keep emailing me offline in private and that is good.  I would like people to start making comments.  The South Shore viewers don’t seem to want to publicly comment, by how many private emails I get vs. the comments feature used.

1. Turf War – What to Build? –Yes it is a Wal-Mart post and I talked about TIFs and how the Mayor doesn’t want the Wal-Mart and how this chance may not come again. I also included a letter from a reader that they sent to the Mayor and my responses to what the Mayor replied.

2. Real Voter Intimidation – I talked about how during the 2006 election my neighbor was intimidated and took down his sign in fear of retribution from his union steward.

3. ** Adults Only **  – The title maybe misleading to a few, but the subject matter was how adult content is on the web and we must watch what our children do on the web.

4. One Must Look Back To See The Future  – Here I wrote about that sometimes one must look back to see the future and how Mayor McCue had some foreshadowing in his campaign pledge about Wal-Mart.  Cudahy, as is the nation, is in a recession and how in a downturn we should not pass up the opportunity of this Wal-Mart.

5. History Repeating Page Two  –I wrote about the info a reader emailed me about a Cudahy School closing and Wal-Mart spin.

6. Plan Commission   – I wrote about what happen at the last Plan Commission meeting about Cudahy Station.  How some members didn’t even understand what they were to be voting on that night.

7. Proposal On The Table  – I wrote about what is the Wal-Mart proposal, TIF, and the Plan Commission.

8. Teen’s Common Sense Sometimes Lacking  – I wrote about a report I came across on how Florida legislators are encouraging a review of their "abstinence only" sex education programs after a recent survey completed by Florida teens returned some curious results of not understanding things like drinking bleach prevents HIV.  By now way am I attacking "abstinence only", just bring to light what they found.

9. Flamethrower  –I wrote about what a person said to me about how I deal with the Mayor and if I hate him.  I may be ruffling feathers and again once you write it, and sign it, you can’t hide from it something I wish the city would do.

10. Keeping Us In The “Noir”  – Keeping Us In The "Noir" is about how we are in the dark (Noir) on may things in government and how with open records laws, the information should be public and easily obtainable.  I wrote about how many of these very things should be on the web at a mouse click away from you and I to read and know.

I hope everyone enjoys reading my posts.  You may not agree with me, but maybe what I have to say will shed some new light on matters and make you pause.  I am not a reporter, but a commentator.  I do not get paid, work for the city, or have a secret agenda.  I gain nothing personally from doing this blog other than the satisfaction of being able to put “The Way I See It” out for others to read.  I do it because I think it needs to be said.  I try to be fair and when I see something I don’t agree with, I let it be known.

Many people have said I am hard on the Mayor in his first year and I write blogs that don’t show his job performance in a good light.  When I see something that he does great, I will blog on it.

Hey, I am not the only one blogging on the Cudahy Now website, Greg Janisch was McCue’s campaign Treasurer and he can blog.  Just because I am critical of the Mayor’s job performance, does not make me a person who is attacking Ryan McCue personally nor am I character assassinating him!  This is about his job performance period!  We all have freedom of speech and a voice; I just choose to use mine.

Here is what a reader, Dave Taylor, said in a comment:

“Randy, there's a lot of people in Cudahy who back you up, even if they are too scared to admit it.  We should all be thankful that someone is willing to take a stand for what is right for our city; like you said, "...just want Cudahy to be better", too bad there are egos that get in the way of the good the city could do.  There isn't any reason to be shameful of an opinion, that's what makes us human (not robots) and why our country is a great one!

Sometimes you may feel your comments fall of deaf ears, but the truth is that people ARE reading and they ARE listening.  We rally behind you and hopefully, you are stronger in your plight for a better Cudahy because of it.  You are a voice that matters!  You are looking out for the betterment of Cudahy!  You are taking a stand, unafraid of whose feathers you ruffle!  Those of us who stand behind will continue to support you, even if the “powers that be” wish we weren’t listening!

Keep up the good work…your supporters need your voice!”

Someone has talked to my superiors at mycommunitynow.com to have my work censored or shutdown.  The claim was I lie, spread rumors, and have false and inaccurate information.  I try to source my work and some comes from people in government that do not like the direction we are headed or people close to a situation that feel some injudicious is being done.  I have always believed in correct information and not disinformation.  If something is truly wrong let me know and I will correct it, but don’t be all that upset and try and shut me down because you don’t LIKE what I am saying!  People if what I am hearing from those inside is true, some scary things are coming or happening.  Hypothetically, it might even be something like a change of salary ordinances for health insurances that is not fair and done evenly.  Should it not be changed for all and not leave out anyone?  Fair is fair.  That is a hypothetical, but watch it might just come true.

I will not stop until the misinformation, disinformation and no information are brought to light.  More and more people are emailing me with things.  These are very reliable people and trustworthy people.  Together we can all make a difference.  I will NEVER sell you out and I have been asked who is telling me things.  The wheel of information doesn’t need to stop spinning just because it might ruffle some feathers.

Plagiarism – Most people do it every day without even knowing about it.  You hear something on the news or in talking and now you accept it and state it.

One of my writing instructors told me that all words and thoughts get plagiarized.  While having a discussion with one of my friends we talked about Copernicus and his “The Revolutions” on how he was not the one who discovered it first.  Yet he gets the credit. 

Oh, here is the rub…

Do we as people go around saying the Earth revolves around the sun and still give Copernicus the credit?  Have you done that when explaining it to children?  How about educators?  Many of them are the first to cry “Plagiarism,” yet they do it.  Just think about if you give the proper credit to those who create or discover something in your worksheets, lessons or handouts.  How about in your verbal communications?

So where is this going?

Warner Bros & J K Rowling has a legal battle over who first thought of Harry Potter.

John Buechler was behind a little known film called Troll, released in 1986, which featured a young boy called Harry Potter Jr.

J K Rowling says the idea just came to her.  John doesn't think so.  There are a lot of similarities between the theme of her books and the original Troll.  John was shocked when she came out with Harry Potter.

Is it possible J K Rowling saw or heard about the idea from the movie or book?  Maybe she did and truly doesn’t know she did.  Maybe she did know?  Honest mistake or not?

Another article on this subject stated the John Buechler waited until there was the most amount of money and impact before bring his lawsuit.

Source Here:

Source Here:

Here's an unknown to consumers and not talked about fact about cigarettes from the manufacturers.  The reason why tobacco plants produce nicotine is because nicotine is an insecticide.  And it is a potent one -- 50 milligrams of nicotine is enough to kill an adult human being.

When a person smokes a filtered cigarette, all of the smoke passes through the cigarette's filter and the smoker receives two or three milligrams of nicotine from the smoke that he or she inhales.  This small dose is not toxic enough and has several effects on the smoker -- it increases the smoker's heart rate for example, and causes blood vessels to constrict.

When the smoker finishes the cigarette and flicks the butt away, the butt actually contains a significant amount of nicotine trapped in the fibers of the filter -- perhaps 20 milligrams.  That is enough, it turns out, to kill your child.  If 20 milligrams of nicotine is ingested by a small child, the nicotine will cause respiratory failure and paralysis.

We all know how excited infants and toddlers are about putting everything they find in their mouths.  If you put your infant or toddler on the sidewalk, and if the child happens upon a fresh cigarette butt, and if the child does the completely normal thing of putting the butt in his or her mouth and swallowing it, then you have an emergency.  It is definitely time to call the poison control center and/or head for the emergency room, because that cigarette butt may very well be lethal.

Even if you do not smoke, someone else around does.  Most smokers are careless with the cigarette butts.  They flick them out of their cars; drop them while they walk on to the sidewalk.  That is littering.  Dangerous littering!

Your neighbor either next door or a few houses away could be a smoker. They may have a can that they use for their cigarette butts and just dump the butts in the garbage can afterwards.  You should ask them to please put them in a bag first so when the garbage trucks pickup the trash and dump it they don’t have a chance to fall out.   

Did you ever wonder sometimes how a cigarette butt makes it way in your backyard?  Many birds try to eat them thinking they are worms and just drop them.  Now your child could unknowingly and unfortunately pick it up and eat it.

I am going to ask the Mayor if they can maybe post something in one of the newsletters we get about proper disposal of them and the dangers that lurk with them.

Randy was gracious enough to allow me to write a guest blog on his page

Ben Stein - Expelled (No Intelligence Allowed)

http://www.expelledthemovie.com/video.php

Watch the Super Trailer

I may go see this tomorrow. 

To me evolution isn't the issue, as God can use any means he sees fit (including evolution).  To refuse to allow others to express their opinion, to see God and his glory in all things, to attack, discredit and destroy people for stating their opinion and not allowing debate or discussion (exactly the same tactic used on the growing number of scientists when they state their analysis and doubt on global warming), that is the problem.

Where is free speech and open discussion, including when we disagree?  Is education dead?  There was more debate at medieval universities than there is at universities today.  What an unfortunate culture we've created, where surveys of children show the most important thing to them (other than their parents) is to be famous or popular.

In the last three hundred years we have come so far in the sciences and technology, and fallen the same distance backwards in the higher studies of philosophy and theology.  There is, of course, hope.

A very informed reader emailed me this info about Cudahy School closing and Wal-Mart spin.

Wal-Mart has helped the schools in the South Milwaukee and Cudahy area, in 1992 Kosciuszko Elementary School was closed due to declining enrollment, it reopened in 1997 after a surge in the population and was reopened, it didn't have enough money for playground equipment.  The Wal-Mart on 27th and college (near the Menards) that stored donated two tetherball poles to helped them out.

In 2004, Wal-Mart named Rene Winter who is a Special education teacher at Kosciuszko School a Teacher of the Year Nominee and received $1,000 for the school.

In the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club store on 27th Street.  There are framed letters from businesses and schools thanking them for their donations and volunteer time for helping them.  A few of the letters I saw were from K-Ranch I believe, one was from the South Milwaukee booster club plus the Athletics department for donating towards there football program I believe.

This is what the public doesn’t know and should know, plus, Rene Winter, the Teacher from Kosciuszko, she is a staunch supporter of Wal-Mart and many of the teachers want this Wal-Mart.

If you ask around the school system, I don't if you have any kids in the public schools but many of the teachers want this.  Teachers want a Wal-Mart because of the prices and would have more options to choose from.  Pick 'N Save has very little to choose in school supplies plus the stuff is to expensive.

Drinking Bleach Prevents HIV, Mountain Dew Prevents Pregnancy

Florida legislators are encouraging a review of their "abstinence only" sex education programs after a recent survey completed by Florida teens returned some curious results.

According to some of the teens, drinking a cap of bleach will prevent an HIV infection, a dose of Mountain Dew soda will stop pregnancy and smoking marijuana will prevent pregnancy.

Knowledge of condoms and other forms of sexual health appeared to be comparatively lacking.

You know, the teens may be on to something here, drinking bleach may very well prevent an HIV infection…because you’ll be DEAD!!!!!!

State officials believe that the myths are spreading due to the lone focus on abstinence, rather than other proven methods which encourage sexual health.  A new, more comprehensive Bill has been drawn, and has passed its first committee vote.

http://www.local6.com/news/15773787/detail.html

I know teens are not ready for the real world, but come on!  What about some common sense here!  This is not like not knowing grapefruit or grapefruit juice makes the pill less or even non-effective.

Now the teens could have banded together to say these things, but for what reason?  And we talk about the lack of third world education!  We need to take care of things at home in the U.S. before worrying about other countries!!!!

Malls, retailers hunker down

Store vacancies grow with consumer angst; still, the strong thrive

April 6, 2008

Schools in risky business?

5 districts may need taxpayers' help to avoid default if investment schemes sour

April 6, 2008

Just look at the Milwaukee Journal Business Section headlines for Sunday’s paper.

Okay let us start with the first one in how it relates to Cudahy.

We are in a recession whether the government wants to admit it or not.

In Cudahy, we have a Mayor who doesn’t support Wal-Mart for coming into Cudahy.  Don’t let his talk of “Just not at the Iceport” fool you.  Look back at the public statements he has said.

Now he tells a reader on the PHONE he was misquoted by the paper and Chantel Balzell of the CNI of his famous quote “I am not a fan of Wal-Mart!”

“We” the nation, “We” the people, “We” the parents, “We” the teachers, need to radically change how we are educating our children, because the status quo is not working; the national graduation rate for the class of 1998 was 71%, for white students the rate was 78%, while it was 56% for African-American students and 54% for Latino students (Greene). 

We need to formulate, articulate, advocate and fund the next vision of national educational curriculum and standards.  We seem to be opinion endless, option rich, direction poor, and action absent.  I believe our current education system needs a total over haul or just scrapping it and starting over may be easier to do.  The new system needs to include tax breaks to businesses that allow mentoring, expanded grade levels, and breaking down the classes into sections of skill levels for each subject per student.

The outcry Mr. Secretary of Education, is always “Parents need to be more involved in schools” and if there is a provision in place to allow parents or any willing individual days off from work to mentor at school in exchange for tax credits to the business providing the days off there would be more parental involvement.  Businesses that support and participate in this program would have more parents taking advantage of the provision, not just for their children but also to mentor others.  This provision would increase parent’s involvement and the enrichment of all students’ lives would be seen. 

The National Education Association in “Getting involved in your Child's Education” mentions that positive results of parental involvement in their children's schooling include improved achievement, reduced absenteeism, improved behavior, and restored confidence among parents in their children's schooling (Boston).

The current grade levels of K-12 need to be expanded to PreK-13; this would present the best opportunities for children to learn the skill sets needed to be productive in today’s society.  PreK would be half day and Kindergarten would be all day.  The most radical part of this would be in grade 13, which would be setup in the 12th grade as 4 tracks to prepare children for the next level.  One track would be for trade or technical training, one track for college preparation, one track for possible entry into the military, and the last one for real world preparations.  The benefit of PreK starting at age three is the majority of students would still be 17 or 18 years old in grade 13.

The most controversial topic would be in the beginning of each year starting in the 1st grade; children would be tested in each subject and placed in 4 categories:  special needs, low, average and advanced.  Currently our system penalizes the best, and we have a tendency to dumb down the classes to make it appear as if things are better than they actually are.  Having children segmented by skill levels is the best for all students by providing the proper speed of learning.  There would be less labeling, since a student could be weak in English, but advanced in math.

Project “CASTLE” (Challenge All Students To Learn and Excel); would be an excellent name and it includes challenging our brightest and offering assistance to those who need more help.  “No student left behind,” exposes the whole story of how we forget about the rest of students; it should say, “No student left behind, No student held down.”  If we teach for the “No student left behind,” we start to teach for the test instead of teaching for the students.

I enthusiastically write to you today to clearly and unambiguously express the importance in reinvigorating the public school system.  We can no longer sit back and have a conspiracy of silence to do nothing or the emptiness to say “children first” and not mean it.  We must create a new system that includes tax breaks to businesses that allow mentoring, expanded grade levels, and breaking down the classes into sections of skill levels for each subject per student.  Virtually all of these challenges will require new attitudes, commitments, and guts to try and reengage the public by revitalizing a lackluster education system that currently cares more about numbers than the children. 

I strongly urge you, Congress, and the President to listen and make the corrections needed to help every child achieve the most they can.  Our children deserve no less than the best we can give, and right now, we are not giving them the best. 

We are failing them; Georgia has the lowest overall graduation rate in the nation with 54% of students graduating, followed by Nevada, Florida, and Washington, D.C. with Wisconsin having the lowest graduation rate among African-American students with 40%, followed by Minnesota, Georgia, and Tennessee.  Georgia has the lowest graduation rate among Latino students with 32%, followed by Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina.  Less than 50% of African-American students graduated in seven states and less than 50% of Latino students graduated in eight states for which data were available (Greene).  For more information on just how much “We” are failing them, read the report at http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo.htm remember it is, of the children, for the children, by the adults.

School district may study potential school closing

“...Student enrollment continues to decline...

Because of its low student population, Gen. Mitchell Elementary School because the building has high facility and maintenance needs or Park View Elementary School because it offers the best possible opportunity for the district to sell the property due to its location in a commercial neighborhood.  Park View is about the same size as Gen. Mitchell, Heiden said.”

What a minute, I have seen this same thing happen before.  Brookfield and Hartland have done this same thing.  Here is how it goes – A study is done conveying enrollment will continue to decline (Remember the Mayor and our officials are working on turning Cudahy around) and a school needs to close and be consolidated to save money.

The plan will be to close Park View to sell the land for commercial use.

Then when enrollment increases, they will clamor, “We need to build a new school.  This will be a state of the art school.  Our class sizes are too large to have effective teaching.  We need to do it for the students.”

How about we keep the class sizes down, wait out the dip in enrollment and save ourselves MILIONS.  Don’t fall for the cost saving we will have by closing the school, because we will have to reinvent the wheel a few years later costing us more.

I am not against updating schools!  We need to give our students the best we can within reason.  Closing a school to build a new one down the road is not the way to handle this.

This is not to mention the safety zone a school provides for the sex offender ordinance that will be lost.  Okay I guess I mentioned it!

Just say “NO” to closing the schools.

Cudahy enrollment dropped nearly 4% between 2005-'06 and the subsequent school year, more than a percentage point over the decline Milwaukee Public Schools had in the same period.

Source:

Cudahy’s city Population (year 2000): 18,429.  Estimated population in July 2006: 18,051 (-2.1% change)

Source:

One would think that on Cudahy’s School District web site http://www.cudahy.k12.wi.us/

You would have a section with stats.  Again another City website with no stats.  Am I the only one interested in numbers?  And the city officials cannot understand why people are not interested or engaged.  They truly don’t want us to be.  They like us in the dark!

Where are the test score information or the money spent section?  Maybe it is there buried.

WHY DO THEY MAKE IT SO HARD TO FIND INFORMATION ON WEBSITES?

Attention – All city websites should have a section called Key stats and figures!

Cudahy School District ranking 5 out of 10

At this web site you can see how Cudahy ranked in Math and Reading

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/wi/district_profile/102

Again items that should be on the website.

Here is the open letter from Superintendent James P. Heiden incase you missed it.

http://www.cudahynow.com/story/index.aspx?id=732793

Impact of Declining Enrollment

By James P. Heiden

School District of Cudahy

Posted: March 27, 2008

March 27, 2008

An Open Letter to the Citizens, Families and Employees of the School District of Cudahy;

Recently the Administration received a request from a School Board Director to research the financial, educational and political impact of closing an elementary school.  The request came as a result of a report that was presented to the school board on our declining enrollment.

This past year the District lost over 100 students.  The decline is considered significant and plans need to be made if the enrollment would continue to decline at that rate.

The Board of Education and Administration believe that it would be in our best interest to develop an ad hoc committee to study the financial, political and educational impact of declining enrollment.  The committee would report back to the Board of Education with specific recommendations for them to consider.

I cannot stress enough that we are not closing a school in 2008-2009 school year.  We need to study the trends, explore the options, create potential timelines and then make specific recommendations to the Board of Education that may or may not include closing a school for the 2009-2010 or 2010-2011 school years.

The Board will discuss this issue further on Monday, April 14th and again on Monday April 28th.

If you are interested in serving on the ad hoc committee, please contact me at my office at 294-7403 or by email at heidenj@cudahy.k12.wi.us.

Thank you for your continued support of our schools!

Sincerely,

James P. Heiden

Superintendent

In a separate but related note – I do support Bob Grams for School Board.  I have not always seen eye to eye with him, but he would do a great job on the School Board.