Is shame worse than death?

Common core is word that brings dread to schools, anxiety to teachers, and horror to parents and children alike. But what exactly is Common Core? The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA). These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade.

It is meant to, “represent a tighter set of smarter standards focused on developing critical learning skills instead of mastering fragmented bits of knowledge.” It is meant to, “require more progressive, student-centered teaching with strong elements of collaborative and reflective learning.” It is meant to,
“equalize the playing field by raising expectations for all children, especially those suffering the worst effects of the “drill and kill” test prep norms of the recent past.” But are the goals actually being met? “So far, there is no research or experience to justify the extravagant claims being made for the ability of these standards to ensure that every child will graduate from high school “college and career ready.” By all accounts, the new Common Core tests will be considerably harder than current state assessments, leading to sharp drops in scores and proficiency rates.”

Implementing something so new to teachers and students- only to expect extraordinary results is madness.

This is where Jeanene Worrell-Breeden comes in. Worrell-Breeden was the principal of a innovative West Harlem public school who tragically committed suicide by jumping onto the tracks of an oncoming subway train. She was pulled out from under the train only to pass away eight days later at Harlem Hospital.

Jeanene Worrell-Breeden SOURCE: NYPOST

“The leap came at 9:20 a.m., less than 24 hours after her 47 third-graders wrapped up three days sweating over the high-stakes English exam — the first ever given at the fledgling school.

It was also the same day a whistleblower reported the cheating to DOE officials.

Parents were shocked and saddened to learn Worrell-Breeden died but were given no details at the time. It was rumored she was killed in a car crash.”

Photo: Robert Miller

I understand the need for public discretion and family privacy but to tell parents, that all the third-grade English exams had been “red-flagged” and “invalidated”  without any particular reason just after this death had occurred will raise suspicion indefinitely. It made even less sense when Superintendent Reeves of West Harlem told parents, “The children didn’t do anything wrong, and the teachers didn’t do anything wrong,” Diane Tinsley, a mother of one of the third-graders, quoted Reeves saying.  But Reeves refused to explain.

Just another cover-up, another scandal to bury… it’s all over but no one refuses to address it.

After extreme probing and endless unanswered questions the DOE blamed the recalled tests on the dead principal. But that didn’t make sense to parents-

“A lot of people are getting sick and leaving the system because of the pressure the high-stakes tests are putting on them,” a veteran educator said.But Worrell-Breeden seemed “relaxed,” Tinsley said.“She was reassuring us parents,” Tinsley said. “Her whole attitude was that they’re going to breeze through this test, and that she had prepared them to ace any test.” Each morning of the three-part exam — given April 14 to 16 — Worrell-Breeden served the kids breakfast and held a pep rally. “She had them run around the gym cheering to get rid of their nervousness,” Tinsley said. How could such an engaging driven leader forge these standardized tests and why?

According to a family friend Worrell-Breeden was struggling with a lot of personal setbacks.This ranged from the passing of her grandmother and her husband moving out (he also managed to have another kid with a separate woman). Plus with the added pressure of being the first principal at this school most likely made her want to give a good impression (hence changing messing around with all those tests). Even though these are “decent” excuses, Worrell-Breeden has history within the district.

“In 2009, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools found she had clocked in for overtime pay while working out with a personal trainer three times a week in the school gym.Her time card “disappeared” after investigators visited the school. The probe found she altered her time card and coerced subordinates to say she had offered them hundreds of OT hours first — as required — before taking them herself.”

This public school seemed to be doomed from the start or maybe Common Core just sends people into a frenzy. Regardless the education system is trying its best revamp itself- though it might not be in the best interest of everyone else.

 

Look forward to next weeks post!

Hugs Xoxoxo

 

Yet Another Angel

Even though not all the details have been released it seems Heaven gained another angel. We don’t know why someone would take the life of a child especially one who had barely turned three. We don’t know what that child went through only to end up in a black plastic garbage bag. We don’t know when the downward spiral began. But we do know the Bella Bond will get justice.

“The tragedy of her death is compounded by the fact that her short life ended not by illness or accident, but we believe by an act of violence in the very place where she should have felt safest, in her home,” Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said.

According to a law enforcement source Bella was allegedly, “punched by her mother’s boyfriend because he thought she was possessed”. I’m sorry what? It just disgusts me that a grown man would have the gaul to hit a child- let alone a three year old. This statement was just recently released giving some insight on a murder mystery that has been plaguing the world for the last three months since Bella Bond was only known as “Bella Doe” due to lack of information and resources. This was because all physical remains were indistinguishable and the only materialistic objects were Bella’s blanket and her black polka-dot leggings.

SOURCE: CNN.COM

It took forensic artist Christi Andrews less than four hours to bring the face of “Baby Doe” to life in an image that has touched millions (the image located on the right is the final Adobe Photoshop piece). According to Andrews, “This was a rush request,” who works for the Virginia-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “I tried to get this out as soon as possible.” Even with limited resources Andrews compiled the photo after “studying autopsy information and morgue photos of the unidentified remains of the little girl, found in a trash bag along the rocky shoreline of Boston harbor.”

Which is another thing I’d like to talk about. Bella’s body was dumped by the Boston Harbor?? I feel a bit bad about saying this but Bond and McCarthy couldn’t have picked another spot? Or rather maybe they shouldn’t have murdered the child in the first place; there’s a thought.

Which brings up another great point. It’s quite obvious that Bond was and still is an incapable mother. This is an excerpt from the CNN article explaining perfectly how incompetent she really is:

“The state Department of Children and Families said it provided services for Bella in 2012 and 2013 following neglect complaints. It did not provide specific details.

Between 2001 and 2006, child welfare authorities terminated Bond’s parental rights over two other children, an agency official said. One is in custody of the maternal grandmother; an unrelated family adopted the other, the official said.

Yessiomara Torres, Bond’s next-door neighbor, said the girl’s mother told her she had lost custody of two other children and worried about losing custody of Bella, CNN affiliate WHDH-TV reported.

“She said she didn’t want anybody taking her away from her, that she is trying her best to be the best parent that she can be,” Torres told the station.”

Torres has a lot more sympathy than the rest of the world it seems and I’m siding with the majority. What more after Bond and McCarthy’s arrest they put blame on each other for the death of Bella and who really caused her demise. If they’re seriously putting on that act- then I believe these people have some mental issues. As stated before McCarthy thought Bella was possessed…..this isn’t The Exorcist and if he truly believe that then a Priest should of been on speed dial.

 

Unfortunately Bella Bond is only one of thousands of young children who loose their lives prematurely because of unnecessary neglect. I hope this post brings a bit more awareness to what is going on in the world and that maybe we can somehow prevent these tragedies from happening ever again.

“We’re gonna have to mourn together as a family through this, and stick together, and get through this the best way that we possibly know how to,” Bella’s biological father, Joe Amoroso, told CNN affiliate WHDH.

“Somewhere in my heart I’m gonna have to find forgiveness and that time will come,” he said.

In the end the Justice System is the deciding factor on giving Bella the justice she deserves. Whether that’s life in jail or another consequence; at least we know that Bella Bond is no longer Bella Doe.

Look forward to next weeks post!

Hugs Xoxoxo

 

 

It looks like we’re not in Kansas anymore

I’m usually pretty light hearted with the start of my posts. But Syria is a topic that NEEDS to be discussed and distributed desperately. If you haven’t been keeping up with CNN news or any news in general then I suggest you keep reading.

Protests against the government in Syria began around 2011 which eventually evolved into a frantic and chaotic war. Then add with the growing and rise of ISIS more than 10.6 MILLION people were forced out of their homes. That is approximately half of Syria’s population before the war broke out. If you’re looking to get more of a visual of that then listen to this:

“Imagine every man, woman and child leaving home in 29 states, mostly in the U.S. West and Midwest. That’s everyone west of Ohio and Kentucky and north of Texas, all the way to California.

The 158 million people in those states make up the same share of the U.S. population — 49% — as the proportion of Syrians that have fled carnage there.

The war in Syria is so hellish and unrelenting that more people have left that country than any other in recent years. One of every five displaced persons in the world is Syrian.”

Tell me that doesn’t hit a nerve somewhere. Most Syrians registered as refugees within the UN; so three out of four did that in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Source: UNHCR

Many Syrians are now seeking asylum in Europe which is a status that allows someone to live and work legally in another country. But with the amount of refugees doubling over the past year, Europe just cannot handle the growing influx of people.

Though one of the biggest shockers out there isn’t necessarily just Syria itself but the amount of displaced people all around the world. Did you know “Worldwide, 59.5 million people are on the move as refugees or displaced people within their home countries. That population would be enough to make them citizens of the world’s 24th biggest country. Humanity has never seen such displacement. Ever.”

Three out of five Syrians seeking asylum in Europe are in Germany, Sweden or Serbia. Though large numbers of Syrians also have sought asylum in Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Denmark.Among the European countries receiving the fewest asylum requests are Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Iceland.

Even with all these countries opening up their homes and arms- a shocking number of other nations are refusing to take in refugees regardless of similarities of language, religion and culture. Such countries are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain to name a few. Though these Gulf states are pointing out that they have contributed tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian relief for displaced Syrians despite the criticism against them. “The United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, has been welcoming, receiving and extending residency permits to more than 100,000 Syrian nationals since 2011, a UAE government source told CNN.”

I’m not sure if it’s because the distance is so great or America is just not doing enough but the U.S has only taken in a staggering .03% of Syria’s 4.1 million refugees; which equals to only about 1,500 Syrian’s since the start of the conflict in 2011.  I’m slightly disheartened by that but according to Obama he ordered his administration to “scale up” the number of Syrian refugees to AT LEAST 10,000 in the next year.

But I believe with recent onslaught of pictures and videos captured over the past couple of months a huge change in refugee aid will occur and hopefully soon.

 

DHA Photo

This photo really hit home with a lot of people spiking outrage and grief; even triggering a response from our own President, “Those of you that saw some of those heartbreaking images of that small boy drowned, I think anybody who’s a parent understands that that stirs all of our consciences,” Obama told military members during remarks at Ft. Meade, outside Washington.”

This picture was soon posted on twitter the picture then went viral and became the top-trending picture with the hashtag of “KıyıyaVuranInsanlık,” which means “humanity washed ashore”.

It goes to show how social media really can effect people what more this is how a lot of people are smuggled out of Syria. With the help of social media networks all a refugee has to do is contact a smuggler and go from there; “They bargain on the costs and negotiate possible routes for travel to Europe. Several social media accounts operated by smugglers inform migrants on where to stay temporarily while in Turkey, how boats operate and where to stay once they reach the Greek islands. Some smugglers also post messages promising to help forging fake passports for refugees.”

I hope I didn’t depress you guys too much but this is a topic that needs to be discussed.

Talk to you next week!

Hugs Xoxoxo

It seems Fairytales inspire more than just filmmakers

So since it is September 6^th (well at least for another hour) and that means we have five more days until M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller “The Visit” arrives in theaters. Shyamalan is known for his work on “The Sixth Sense”, “Stuart Little”, “The Village”, and “Lady in the Water”. You’re probably wondering why I’m mentioning all of this and here is why; Shyamalan’s upcoming film “The Visit” as I previously mentioned has some similar aspects to legendary Brother’s Grimm story Hansel and Gretel. 

I am really curious to see how this film will turn out mainly because I am a M. Night Shyamalan fan even with all his mixed reviews on his undertaking on screenwriting and directing. Maybe I just really enjoy B-rated movies.

I am not sure if any of you noticed the Hansel and Gretel references but the one that is blatantly obvious is when the grandmother asks her granddaughter to get in the oven to “clean it” then promptly closes it on said child while the brothers watches on in horror. In the summary of the film it actually states that it is a partial comedy movie along with being a horror film. With that being said it should be an interesting outcome and I look forward to watching it.

Now onto the real reason this blog came into fruition, fairy-tales influence a lot of things. Films, artwork, books, people, clothing, architecture, and now technology are just a small list of what these stories have inspired.

I stumbled across a very interesting article on how “gremlins” induced DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to start a drone design initiative. The program is named for the “imaginary, mischievous imps that became the good luck charms of many British pilots during World War II,” DARPA said. The aim of the program is to have small groups of these autonomous drones to spy on enemies while staying at exceedingly high altitudes.

When World War II broke out flight crews blamed “gremlins” for otherwise inexplicable accidents, which sometimes occurred during their flights. Which I find interesting since DARPA claimed they “were good luck charms”.  It seems gremlins were also thought at one point to have enemy sympathies, but numerous investigations revealed that enemy aircrafts had similar and equally inexplicable mechanical problems. I guess in that aspect they can be seen as “allies”; but as such, gremlins were portrayed  at least back then as being equal opportunity tricksters, taking no sides in the conflict, and acting out their mischief from their own self-interest. It seems they really enjoyed tormenting people.

Office for Emergency Management. War Production Board. (01/1942 – 11/03/1945)

This is just one of many propaganda posters distributed during World War II and I just find it so fascinating that theses were actually made.

As I did some more research gremlins like to reside inside the aircrafts (which explains all the mechanical failures). So going back to the technological aspect DARPA explains that “….like their make-believe counterparts, DARPA’s mechanical gremlins will reside inside of manned aircraft. Pilots will launch the drones as needed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance-type missions…” what more even though, “small drones that can be launched by soldiers on the ground already exist, …DARPA’s gremlins would be the first U.S. military drones to take off from and return to a piloted aircraft in flight. The agency announced last December that it is modifying planes typically used for other purposes, such as transporting troops, to serve as what DARPA Program Manager Dan Patt described as “aircraft carriers in the sky” for the swarming drones.”

DARPA hasn’t quite finished all the detail work on this project mainly due to budget setbacks. They would like to keep the cost as low as possible but at the same time they do not want the drones to “break” after one use because of material choice- it would just be completely counter-effective.  Therefore in addition, “to being low cost and small enough to fit inside another plane, the gremlins need to be smart enough to keep their wits about them in the air without help from a pilot. This means they need to have high-tech tools on board, such as advanced flight-control and navigation systems.” So that was the main issue- the technology needed to control these little buggers is a must but to protect said technology can’t be cheap enough to fall apart.

Anyway I hope you learned a little history today! I know I did after writing this; if you’d like to delve more into the science aspect click here! There are plenty of articles and videos to choose from!

I’ll talk to you all next week!

Hugs Xoxoxo