A Heck of a Quote of the Day

Scott and Boylee have been reading Jack London's Call of the Wild. (It's a little difficult for Boylee, even to listen to, because the language is tough, but he's been enjoying it.)

Anyway, tonight they got to a part where some bad guys fell through the ice to their deaths, along with a bunch of sled dogs. They'd been told the ice was too thin, but they went along anyway.

So, Boylee to Daddy: If you don't listen to good advice, you go to your doom.

He Loved It!

And the teacher was sort of blown away by his renditions of Eleanor Rigby and some Supertramp song that Scott taught him. He does have to start at square one, though -- learning to read music and such -- but she was very impressed, and skipped way ahead in the starter book she'd got for him.

Now he's slowly learning proper fingering, and the difference between a quarter note and a half note, and which keys to play with his left hand and which for his right hand. I'll keep you updated on his progress!

Stay Tuned

Boylee has his first piano lesson this afternoon! He wasn't supposed to start until after the end of the school year, but he literally begged me to arrange a lesson sooner.

He Said He Hates Jazz

But today at school, he excitedly told me, they read this book:

And now he wants me to get the rest of the "Baby Loves Jazz" series from the library: Ella Elephant Scats Like That, Charlie Bird Counts to the Beat, Mingus Mouse -- and there are several others.

Believe It Or Not...

...I have actually noticed more people stopping at the stop sign in the last couple of days!

Jungle Explorer

In the wilds of Santa Monica with Papa.

Quote of the Day

(It's self-explanatory.)

Boylee: Hollywood smells like trash.

He Did It

Scott put the sign up.

Would You Be Offended?

One of the problems in our neighborhood is the way people drive, which can basically be defined as "maniacal." It's especially true right at our house, which is where four streets intersect. There are, accordingly, four stop signs, and the majority of drivers blow through them on their way in and out.

The most difficult aspect of this for us is backing out of our driveway. If people stopped, we'd be safe. Since people don't, we are constantly taking our lives into our hands getting out of the garage. At least once a week someone blows by just as I'm backing out, and you wouldn't believe the number of those drivers who honk, give me the finger, or actually yell out their car windows as if we're at fault.

A couple of days ago a particularly egregious driver literally almost took the back of my car off as I was backing out to take Boylee to school. I was almost shaking as I called Scott to tell him. He blew his top, and one thing led to another -- it turns out one of his colleagues is a talented graphic artist/painter, and the guy made a cool sign that looks almost exactly like a city sign. It says:

SLOW DOWN FUCKER

I think it's hilarious, but I told Scott he can't put it up. Someone will murder us, and our neighbors would be offended. I'd be offended -- especially because Boylee is in the early reading stages where reading almost any sign is exciting and thrilling to him. I don't want to have to explain to him what the sign says.

So Scott's friend made a little addition to the sign.



What do you think? Still too offensive?

Not the End Quite Yet

There are only four weeks of school left, but in those weeks here's what's going on: Kindergarten field trip to the local Audubon center; kinder field trip to the fire station, PTA's big fundraising gala and silent auction, the talent show, kinder graduation and party, and an event our school is famous for -- the ALL SCHOOL field trip, which means the entire school, all the classes, all the administrators, all the support staff. We go to a park and do fitness-related activities and school spirit stuff and have lunch.

Last year I happened to call the school on the day of the all school field trip, and I had to laugh when the person who answered the phone said, "I don't really work here, I'm just filling in because the entire school is away today."

For events like these, every penny counts, and with the cost of feeding everyone lunch that day, we can only afford three school buses. So all the kids and teachers get crammed into those, and everyone else has to drive themselves.

Great News!

We just got word from the superintendent himself that our principal's job will remain full-time! Thank goodness! It doesn't take away all the other heinous budget cuts, but that was the one that worried me the most. And it makes it more likely that our wonderful principal will stay in his job. He had already come out of retirement to work at our school, and the general thought was that if he had to work part-time at two schools he'd just re-retire. Yay, us!

Why I Love the Internet

Earthquake was four minutes ago and we already know this:

Only in L.A.

Fiesta Shalom!


That's the Breed Street Shul, built in the early 20s, mostly abandoned at one point, now being slowly converted into a community center. They've thoughtfully covered the barbed wire with blue and white bunting.


That's our mayor on the left. It took a lot of willpower for me not to run up to him, screaming about the school budget cuts.

Boylee had fun, though he cried when the food stand ran out of rice and beans when we were literally the next to be served. Instead he ate a hotdog made from grass-fed, nitrate-free beef, two pickles from Canters, and chicken taquitos with guacamole.

We listened to a little klezmer, and a little salsa, and saw some random strolling drummers. Boylee came home with an Israeli flag, a coloring book whose theme is "stay safe by staying away from the Metro tracks," and some random other hand-outs.

It was fun! It was crowded! It was technically in one of the "worst" areas of town, but it felt pleasantly communal and safe. There were also more police than I have ever seen in one place, but I think that's the deal when your event is sponsored by the Israeli consulate. There were also barricades, and signs everywhere - in Spanish and English - warning not to leave unattended packages.

BREAKING NEWS: EARTHQUAKE JUST THIS VERY SECOND WHILE I WAS WRITING THIS! : )

Quote of the Day

Boylee to Mama, while giving me a goodnight hug: You're so mature.

Today's Protest

Since the walkout was stopped by the courts, the teachers' union decided to stage protests at each school today for one hour before school started.

But that photo is from a different school.

At our tiny school, only 3 teachers were picketing. I'm not sure why...some of it no doubt has to do with the fact that as a small school we only have 11 teachers to begin with. And our school is in a very out-of-the-way location -- the old-style Hollywood Hills streets that border the two ends of the school are narrow. One is a dead end, the other is winding, so the only people to really see the protesters are the parents dropping off kids, and since there is literally nowhere to park or even stop your car, you have to drive past the protestors, onto the campus to let the kids out... I know that when the plan for today was a strike, the teachers were not planning on picketing at the school at all, having decided in previous years' labor unrest that it was worthless. They were only going to protest at the district offices downtown.

I had prepared Boylee to see people shouting and carrying on, but all in all it was totally undramatic.

In other news, our faithful councilman has sent a pleading letter to the schools superintendent and our Board of Education representative asking them to reconsider the most troublesome cut for our school -- the administrator cuts. The idea that for half of the week we'd have no administrator at all on campus is absurd and dangerous. We'd have a "senior administrative assistant" (read: office lady), a half-time junior administrative assistant, a janitor and a yard aide. I think we have a nurse one day a month but I'm not going to count her.

Think of the everyday issues that arise at school -- some kids need discipline, someone gets a little bit injured, some part of the school infrastructure stops working. Now think of the rare yet completely plausible issues that might arise -- a more serious injury, a fire in the neighborhood (totally likely given our location), an earthquake...the list could go on and on. Now think of who will be dealing with that: the 1.5 office ladies, the very nice janitor, and the yard aide, who barely speaks English. I WANT AN ADMINISTRATOR. I WANT SOMEONE WITH AN ADMINISTRATOR CREDENTIAL.

The Latest

Judge halts teachers' strike
12:47 PM | May 12, 2009
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has granted a restraining order prohibiting the city's teachers union from staging a one-day strike Friday.

L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said he was "elated" regarding the decision by Judge James C. Chalfant, which was issued moments ago.

"I’m hoping that this will provide the opportunity for the bargaining unit and the school district to sit down and try to work out some of the issues," said Cortines, "and to deal with the economic situation we find ourselves in, which is not going away this year, next year or the year beyond."

In its pleadings, the Los Angeles Unified School District cited student safety concerns as well as disruptions to state and advance placement testing.

United Teachers Los Angeles scheduled the strike to protest looming teacher layoffs that would disrupt faculties and lead to larger classes.

Two Things

Yet another reason not to send Boylee to school on Friday: it's going to be a "minimum day" which means the kids will get out at noon. That's the school's way of dealing with the fact that two administrators, two office ladies, a janitor, and a yard aide will be in charge of 210+ kids.

And everybody knows I'm so proud of Boylee's palate. Here's what he's eating for dinner tonight: yellow curry couscous with slivered almonds and green onions, and a side of shrimp. Tomorrow he's having his current favorite meal at the cafeteria: "Italian Sandwich," aka calzone.

Quote of the Day

Mama: We can't see Isa today because her mom has pink-eye.

Boylee: Well, at least it's not amnesia.

Because Uncle Kevin Asked

This is a fauxhawk.

Only in L.A.

This morning I volunteered in Boylee's classroom. I ended up wrapping the kids' mother's day gifts, and helping them write out cards that said, "I love you, Mom." (Except for one boy, who wrote, "I love you, Dads.")

The mood in the classroom was quite light, with a lot of chit chatting. One important topic: the difference between a mohawk and a fauxhauk. Because one kid in Boylee's class has a fauxhawk and a kid in the other kinder class has a mohawk!

Another Twist

It turns out that if next Friday's walkout goes forward, the substitutes will not come to the campus, because they're in the union, too. So it'll be our principal, and a few other adults with 210-ish kids. The principal today said it wouldn't be a good education day, and the kids would most likely spend the majority of it watching a movie or TV in the auditorium.

So I guess that answers my question -- I'm not going to send Boylee to school. I don't like the idea of the kindergarteners mushed in with all the big kids for hours and hours.

What I'm thinking is that I should host a long playdate at my house, to try to help out some of the working moms in our class. For them this day is going to be quite difficult. I can't handle a bunch of kids for the whole day, but maybe a few kids for half the day might work.

So much for perfect attendance!

What Should I Do?

Allegedly, all LAUSD teachers are going to stage a walkout next Friday the 15th. So I'm not sure what to do about Boylee on that day. On the one hand, I would like him to see his teacher picketing, if they're going to do that at school. They may be doing a big rally downtown instead.

On the other hand, I just don't need him to get wrapped up in the chaos that is LAUSD at this moment. He's only 6, and my philosophy is that he's got plenty of time in the future to learn about the harsh realities of life, and budget cuts. Mostly he's been protected from hearing about what's going on, but lately he has been hearing bits and pieces. I am a member of the school's site council, and our monthly meetings are at 7:30am. Usually I have Boylee eat breakfast at the cafeteria that day, since that's a fabulous treat for him, then he meets me when the bell rings and I walk him to class. But last month he just couldn't bear to be separated from me, so we packed him a breakfast and he came to the meeting with me. I thought it would be so dull he wouldn't pay attention, but at the end he turned to me and asked, "What does that mean, when the principal says we're going to lose two teachers?"

And let me just add that Boylee has perfect attendance so far this year! I'd hate to blow that just by skipping a day of school.

But I wonder what they're going to do with all the kids? There's no way there are going to be enough subs to cover every class at every school. And as previously mentioned, we hardly have any non-teacher adults at school -- the principal, the librarian, a couple of office ladies, and the assistant principal who is already half-time so who knows if she'll even be there?

What should I do?

Proof

This is how much fun we had on Big Sunday!

The Flip Side

Yeah, everything sucks at our school. Except there are also moments of fabulousness, like today!



Today was a day of service at our school, and by teaming up with the Big Sunday non-profit organization, we lured in over 250 people of all ages to participate! Some were school families, of course, but we had a Korean church group from UC Irvine, members of the Junior League, and a gigantic group from a Catholic church in San Gabriel. And everyone came -- on a Sunday morning at 9am -- to help pretty-up our school.

We donned Big Sunday t-shrits and painted the main hallway, planted flowers all over, varnished some outdoor furniture, cleared brush from the property just outside the school gates -- and had a barbeque. It felt like the Best Day Ever in L.A. -- which is always the way I feel when a big group of multi-racial people get together just to do something good for the world.

And we had everyone sign petitions and letters related to the sucky budget cuts. But let's forget about that for today and just concentrate on how great it felt to volunteer and be of service.

Boylee had TONS of fun. His favorite part was raking up dead brush. Who would have guessed? Varnishing two outdoor benches was our first project, and we hooked up with a bunch of other kindergarten families to do it. The kids did it all -- which means the varnishing was quite enthusiastic and thus will be lumpy and uneven. Perfect!

The Axe Falls

Here's what the district budget cuts mean for our school next year:

-- principal goes half time, works half time at another school
-- assistant principal laid off
-- 2 (of 11) teachers laid off
-- librarian goes half time, thus library closed for half the week
-- math coach, literacy coach, special ed assistant laid off
-- some clerical/aides laid off

The problem with being at such a small school is that these cuts really, really hurt. There aren't enough personnel to fill in these gaps. Losing the principal for half the week seems completely idiotic, especially without an assistant principal at all. That means that one or two Office Ladies are going to be in charge when he's gone. And let me just say that we have a great principal, who is truly the leader of our school. He's a presence all day, every day, in and out of classrooms, starting the day off on the yard -- he's not just some guy sitting in an office who only sees kids when they're in trouble.

And there are major safety issues here as all. Our old campus -- first opened in 1917 -- doesn't conform to current standards. We are on a long and narrow lot, with gates at each end. The office is right in the middle -- which means there's no way to control who enters the campus. The gates can't be locked, or else the campus is entirely inaccessible. But if they're left open, there's no way to force visitors to come to the office first -- they pass several classrooms first no matter which gate they enter. Right now we have the janitor, and one other assistant who are generally walking around and trying to keep an eye on things. And of course the teachers are all in their classrooms. But with fewer staff members, there are fewer eyes open for what's going on.

I'm bummed.