Monthly Archives: March 2018

“Standing In the Rain”: The Walkout to Protest Gun Violence in Schools

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I walked into Mary’s Guild yesterday and was asked if I wanted to go “stand in the rain” with some of the women.

My answer: “OF COURSE!”

Walkout

We wanted to go stand in support at the high school, but the kids were going to be in the gym, so we’d have to be on campus… which would not be allowed. (As a parent, I’m OK with this — the school has to limit access to only those who have an educational purpose for being there.) The moms of various high schoolers in Mary’s Guild also wanted to step back and let their kids do this on their own, so we decided to go support the local middle school.

From the back... (I'm the green umbrella.)

There were easily 100+ kids standing around the flagpole that we could see from the sidewalk off-campus. They were completely silent for those 17 minutes and you could tell, even from a distance, that this was something they were taking very seriously.

I heard about other walkouts during the day including the scene at the high school.

The high school.

Kids in the Mount Vernon School District who participated were given unexcused absences if they walked out. Parents overwhelmingly said “we don’t care — do it”.

Kids at the other middle school stood along the street with signs. The picture of this particular one shredded my heart.

Am I next?

Of course, there were also the naysayers, because no positive activity is safe from criticism. (My comments are in italics.)

  1. “They’re just doing this to get out of class!” That would be a nope! It was cold and rainy and I can’t think of anyone who would be out there unless they had a good reason. Next!
  2. “It’s just political theater!” Nope! That would be Hamilton which the juniors were off seeing in Seattle at the time. There was nothing theatrical about this. Next!
  3. “The grown-ups are puppeting these kids! That would be wrong. The Women’s March might have given them the tools, but the kids were completely in charge. Next!
  4. “Let’s see how many participate if it’s held after school! That would be the March for Our Lives on March 24th. Daniel and I will be participating and I am SOOOOOOO excited! Oh, by the way, a group of high schoolers are putting that together. I offered to help in any way they needed and they told me to publicize it… which I am doing right now. 🙂 Next!
  5. “They don’t know anything about what they are protesting!” Apparently, you haven’t heard the conversations I’ve heard from the Running Start kids on the subject or the speakers I’ve heard. Next!
  6. “Why couldn’t they do something positive instead?!? So kids choosing to stand up for their safety at school and remember a tragedy that killed 17 students their age isn’t positive? Civics in action, much?

I’m reminded of these words from the Bob Dylan song, “The Times They Are A Changin'”:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly aging
Please get outta’ the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’

Our kids are speaking. We need to listen.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 11, 2018

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For Today… March 11, 2018

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… sunny. It’s 60F here and if I wasn’t in the middle of finals, I’d see about taking a walk.

I am thinking… about my final Payroll quiz.

I am thankful… to have finished the last section of my Access final. As much as I love Access, this last section was the tedious Design view stuff that I hate, and there was no way to do what was needed except in that way. I’m going to walk away for 24 hours and then check it against the rubric before uploading it to submit it.

One of my favorite things… being able to streamline Payroll homework using Excel formulas.

I am wearing… my Cougars shirt and black capris. Church clothes for today were a berry-colored long-sleeved shirt, my black cardigan, black slacks, and my black flats. I’d still be wearing the shirt if I hadn’t spilled my coffee on it before church.

I am creating… Access database objects and various forms/W2’s for my Payroll class. (For those familiar with Payroll things, it’s Forms 940 and 941, California DE 88, and then all the W2’s. Whee!)

I am listening to… a lot of Fernando Ortega these days.

I am hoping… Payroll forms go quickly.

I am learning… the idea of opportunity and sunken costs in my life.

In my kitchen… probably a frozen thing for dinner.

In the school room… Daniel’s IEP is this week.

Post Script… the story of “the Hello Girls”.

Shared Quote… “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” — Albert Einstein

A moment from my day… Our anthem this morning:

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: March 5, 2018

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For Today… March 5, 2018

Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window… dark. It was shirtsleeves weather today.

I am thinking… about group work in my Excel/Access class tomorrow and plotting how to deal with a difficult person in my group.

I am thankful… to have gotten tutor training done and to have gotten paid for it.

One of my favorite things… my morning lattĂ©.

I am wearing… jammies. Clothes today were black long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

I am creating… reports in Access databases.

I am reading… various things on Reddit.

I am hoping… we get a lot done tomorrow on our group project.

I am learning… how to edit reports in Design view on Access.

In my kitchen… Subway tonight. It was a busy day.

In the school room… still trying to get Daniel’s IEP together.

Post Script… this setting of a familiar hymn by Fernando Ortega. (I give his latest album 15/10. It’s meditations and music related to the crucifixion of Jesus and it is AMAZING.)

Shared Quote… “The mold in which a key is made would be a strange thing, if you had never seen a key: and the key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions.

Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it — made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.” – C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Hosted by The Simple Woman.

7 Quick Takes: Active Shooter Drill Edition

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7 Quick Takes

Yes, my Quick Takes are late. I had homework due tonight for Excel/Access.

— 1 —

Active shooter drill. We had an active shooter drill during my Excel/Access class today. It’s in a computer lab so we had to turn off all of the monitors in addition to flipping the lights, drawing the blinds, and locking the door. This made for a dark room (which was kind of the point) and I had to code something, so we were using my cell phone as a flashlight because an actual flashlight would have been too bright.

A message also flashes onto all of the screens in the event of an active shooter (in addition to sirens going off and an automated message playing over the loudspeakers) so it’s inconceivable that someone wouldn’t know unless they were both blind and deaf.

— 2 —

Shelter-in-place drill. My school does a shelter-in-place drill quarterly and today’s happened to be an active shooter drill specifically because of the school shooting in Florida on Valentine’s Day. They take these drills very seriously and it paid off during Fall Quarter when they had to lockdown campus for a manhunt.

I find them unnerving (and today was only the second time I’ve been on campus for one), but they’re necessary these days given the fact that our government is in the pocket of the NRA and will not pass commonsense gun control legislation. (Gun control does not equal taking all of people’s guns away, contrary to what some on the rightmost fringe of the political spectrum might think.) Each instructor also has a very clear plan for what needs to happen in each classroom where they teach, and my Practical Accounting instructor admitted to spending her commute coming up with plans for these situations.

— 3 —

Book recommendation. A seminary classmate of mine wrote a book. Go check it out because she is freaking awesome. Seriously. Do it now.

— 4 —

Speaking of books… Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J. has a new one out. It is now on my wish list.

— 5 —

Must print this out to hand to people. My instructor jokes about all of us standing in the back of the room shotgunning our coffee before class. I need to print this (and a few other coffee memes) out for her.

Personning is hard without caffeine.

— 6 —

Mea culpa. Why no! This one totally doesn’t describe my morning! Never!

Mea culpa.

— 7 —

I need to put this on my door. It really was THAT kind of morning here…

RUN!

For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.