Two kids on the school bus, today. I picked them up within walking distance of two elementary schools and drove them to their assigned elementary school on the other side of town. The total distance was approximately 16 miles. They will need another bus ride to get home so let's say 32 for the day.
The bus gets about 9 miles to the gallon and diesel is about $4 per gallon. So: Cost of driver, about $40, plus cost of fuel, about $15, adds up to about $55 which comes out to about $27.50 per student - each day. And that doesn't include anything for the bus, the company, the insurance, etc.
The reason for this insanity? I think it's the same reason that we have such insane health care costs, today - NOBODY CARES WHAT IT COSTS BECAUSE NOBODY KNOWS WHO'S PAYING THE BILL. If those who used the service had to pay the bill these bus rides would stop. IMMEDIATELY! And I read, the other day, that the top man at Omaha Public Schools, the man in charge of busing, was paid $425,000.00 for his services last year.
QUESTION: Do you think the good PhD would still have his job if OPS was a business? I think not!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Are You Running?
Would someone please run for public office on this platform?
"If elected, I promise to pass a law that requires two laws be stricken from the books for every new law enacted!"
You will be hailed as a statesman, loved by the masses and history will remember you, fondly.
"If elected, I promise to pass a law that requires two laws be stricken from the books for every new law enacted!"
You will be hailed as a statesman, loved by the masses and history will remember you, fondly.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Private, Public, Parochial
An Observation:
Driving a school bus and dealing with students every day, it's impossible not to notice the differences between public school students and those from private or parochial schools. Yes, that's a broad-brush statement and, sure, we could find many exceptions. However, if the goal of all schools is to educate children so that they will have the best possible chance of living full and productive lives, observing what schools are actually producing should be of interest.
Recently, I spent a day transporting about two hundred high school girls from an Omaha parochial school. They were polite and cheerful and seemed very focused. More impressive, still, was the camaraderie between them and the fact that they seemed to really enjoy going to school. It was encouraging to see, and I have felt the same way when driving other private or parochial school students.
Why do these kids seem so much happier, focused, and ready to deal with life than public school students? Is it because their parents are more involved in their education? I'd guess that's a big part of it. After all, they are paying for it and, when buying anything, nothing makes you more aware of getting your money's worth, or not, than paying for it yourself.
Or could it be that public schools are involved in too many things other than education? Is the potential of the early years never realized, for many kids, because public schools have to deal with too many kids who have little structure or discipline in their lives?
CONCLUSION
If I had a child in school, today, I'd want a voucher program through which all schools were paid for the education they dispensed. The state would figure out what a year of education costs and give that sum to all parents. The parents would then be in charge of, and financially responsible for, their own child's education, buying it from the school of their choice. Worth a try, don't you think?
Driving a school bus and dealing with students every day, it's impossible not to notice the differences between public school students and those from private or parochial schools. Yes, that's a broad-brush statement and, sure, we could find many exceptions. However, if the goal of all schools is to educate children so that they will have the best possible chance of living full and productive lives, observing what schools are actually producing should be of interest.
Recently, I spent a day transporting about two hundred high school girls from an Omaha parochial school. They were polite and cheerful and seemed very focused. More impressive, still, was the camaraderie between them and the fact that they seemed to really enjoy going to school. It was encouraging to see, and I have felt the same way when driving other private or parochial school students.
Why do these kids seem so much happier, focused, and ready to deal with life than public school students? Is it because their parents are more involved in their education? I'd guess that's a big part of it. After all, they are paying for it and, when buying anything, nothing makes you more aware of getting your money's worth, or not, than paying for it yourself.
Or could it be that public schools are involved in too many things other than education? Is the potential of the early years never realized, for many kids, because public schools have to deal with too many kids who have little structure or discipline in their lives?
CONCLUSION
If I had a child in school, today, I'd want a voucher program through which all schools were paid for the education they dispensed. The state would figure out what a year of education costs and give that sum to all parents. The parents would then be in charge of, and financially responsible for, their own child's education, buying it from the school of their choice. Worth a try, don't you think?
Saturday, January 29, 2011
"NEVER.....NEVER.....NEVER GIVE UP!"
The quote is from Winston Churchill and I can attest to the value of its wisdom. You see, it was in the mid 1960's when I first created my line of unique pet beds, which were then called Pup Tents. (photo at right)
Now, over fifty years later, I'm happy to say that this product is finally developed and that my patents for this new/old line of pet beds, now called Pet Tents, have been licensed to Mr. Bill Viscome. He and his American International Trading Co. are in the process of expanding the Pet Tent line, adding new models and a new, smaller tent as well. His new line of Pet Tents will be available this Spring, 2011.
Between the era of Pup Tents and the era of Pet Tents, there were many other things that happened in my life but, the point is, I never forgot about, or gave up on, this delightful and whimsical pet product. So I say to you, as Sir. Winston once said to us all, "NEVER. NEVER. NEVER GIVE UP!"
Pictured below is the Camelot Pet Tent. The styles we are currently offering can be seen on our website: www.pettents.com.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Driver's Diary - THINGS HAPPEN FAST
Yesterday, it was a typical January morning in Omaha and the driving was anything but easy. A guy in a red pickup, far too eager to get there, wherever 'there' was, ended up off the road and in the ditch, his trusty stead's grill wrapped around a tree. In the process of getting to that tree, he came very close to using the school bus, instead, to inhibit his forward progress.
As with all accidents, it happened very fast. So fast, in fact, the kids on the bus didn't even have time to scream. And, believe me, with far less provocation than this, kids can scream very quickly.
School buses may not be pretty but they are safe. They're built like a tank and I'm sure we'd all have been fine, even if the truck had hit us. So, please, the next time there's an accident involving a school bus, don't jump to that knee-jerk reaction: "Why don't school buses have seat belts?" They are not needed, It would be impossible to enforce their use and they would be far too handy a weapon for settling disputes.
As with all accidents, it happened very fast. So fast, in fact, the kids on the bus didn't even have time to scream. And, believe me, with far less provocation than this, kids can scream very quickly.
School buses may not be pretty but they are safe. They're built like a tank and I'm sure we'd all have been fine, even if the truck had hit us. So, please, the next time there's an accident involving a school bus, don't jump to that knee-jerk reaction: "Why don't school buses have seat belts?" They are not needed, It would be impossible to enforce their use and they would be far too handy a weapon for settling disputes.
"WHY DID THE KIDS PUT BEANS IN THEIR EARS?"
According to the newspaper article, truancy is a problem in Nebraska and Gov. Heineman wants to "redirect state funds" to deal with it. This brings to mind the wisdom of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones and their musical, "The Fantasticks". One of the songs begins with this lyric:
WHY DID THE KIDS PUT BEANS IN THEIR EARS?
NO ONE CAN HEAR WITH BEANS IN THEIR EARS.
AFTER AWHILE THE REASON APPEARS,
THEY DID IT 'CAUSE WE SAID NO!
That lyric implies that kids tend to want to do the opposite of what they are told to do. If true, maybe we shouldn't be telling kids, YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL! It might also explain why it is so hard to find a kid who will admit that he likes school. For too many kids, it is just not cool to like school.
Instead of telling them they have to go to school, maybe we should look at the situation a different way, maybe even use some of that wisdom from "The Fantasticks". Before spending money for more truant officers, good money after bad, how about considering something like this, something that would cost nothing?
IT'S YOUR CHOICE PROGRAM
After their freshman year of high school, it would be up to the student whether or not they continue going to school. They would be free to drop out of school, at that point, by signing a contract with these provisos:
1. They would relinguish their right to any future financial support from government, city, county, state or Federal.
2. If their parents receive financial support from government, that support would be reduced by 25%.
3. They would agree to have a job within three months, and be self-supporting.
4. If they continue living with their parents, they would agree to pay them for room and board.
The contract would have a CHANGE OF MIND clause. This clause would allow the person to return to school, within one year, if they changed their mind. This clause could be used twice, allowing the person two opportunities to learn the consequences of the choices they make. After using the clause twice, they would be on their own should they drop out of school again.
This program would have two goals:
1. To change children's attitude about school. Changing it from something they feel they HAVE TO DO, are being FORCED TO DO, to something they will come to realize, on their own, that they NEED TO DO, MUST DO in order to survive and get ahead in the world.
2. To give parents a powerful reason, a financial reason, to be involved in their children's education, and the choices they make.
This sketch-of-an-idea is offered as a new way, a different way, to look at the situation.
PS, * I disagree with Governor Heineman, when he was quoted in the article as saying - "If you're not in school, you can't learn." I believe you can learn anywhere if you have curiosity, and if you can read.
WHY DID THE KIDS PUT BEANS IN THEIR EARS?
NO ONE CAN HEAR WITH BEANS IN THEIR EARS.
AFTER AWHILE THE REASON APPEARS,
THEY DID IT 'CAUSE WE SAID NO!
That lyric implies that kids tend to want to do the opposite of what they are told to do. If true, maybe we shouldn't be telling kids, YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL! It might also explain why it is so hard to find a kid who will admit that he likes school. For too many kids, it is just not cool to like school.
Instead of telling them they have to go to school, maybe we should look at the situation a different way, maybe even use some of that wisdom from "The Fantasticks". Before spending money for more truant officers, good money after bad, how about considering something like this, something that would cost nothing?
IT'S YOUR CHOICE PROGRAM
After their freshman year of high school, it would be up to the student whether or not they continue going to school. They would be free to drop out of school, at that point, by signing a contract with these provisos:
1. They would relinguish their right to any future financial support from government, city, county, state or Federal.
2. If their parents receive financial support from government, that support would be reduced by 25%.
3. They would agree to have a job within three months, and be self-supporting.
4. If they continue living with their parents, they would agree to pay them for room and board.
The contract would have a CHANGE OF MIND clause. This clause would allow the person to return to school, within one year, if they changed their mind. This clause could be used twice, allowing the person two opportunities to learn the consequences of the choices they make. After using the clause twice, they would be on their own should they drop out of school again.
This program would have two goals:
1. To change children's attitude about school. Changing it from something they feel they HAVE TO DO, are being FORCED TO DO, to something they will come to realize, on their own, that they NEED TO DO, MUST DO in order to survive and get ahead in the world.
2. To give parents a powerful reason, a financial reason, to be involved in their children's education, and the choices they make.
This sketch-of-an-idea is offered as a new way, a different way, to look at the situation.
PS, * I disagree with Governor Heineman, when he was quoted in the article as saying - "If you're not in school, you can't learn." I believe you can learn anywhere if you have curiosity, and if you can read.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
"Alls I know....
"Alls I know is ain't spell check great?"
Heard that this morning. Think I'll steal it.
Heard that this morning. Think I'll steal it.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Your Tax Dollars at Work
Being a 'Spare' bus driver, I usually drive a different route every day. It keeps the job interesting. Since you, the tax payers, are paying my salary, you might be interested in knowing what you are paying for.
I'll call this - A Bus Driver's Diary. When something about the job feels interesting, funny or pithy I will jot it down, here, and you can judge for yourself. I promise to look for humor, too.
AM Route 1/19/11 *
Total time on the clock: 3 hours & 15 min.
The first 2 hours: Transporting kids to an alternative high school. This route has eight pick up locations. I picked up a total of one student. (Wouldn't it be great if that was because there are so few kids needing to go to an alternative school?)
The rest of my time was devoted to picking up elementary students.
This route has five pick up locations. I picked up a total of two students, one of whom was standing in front of an elementary school. (This is very common.)
I took the two kids approx. 6.5 miles accros town to their own elementary school.
FYI: Just to cover my wages you paid about $17 a student to get those kids to school. And they will need another bus ride to get home. And that doesn't take into consideration any cost for the bus, the fuel, overhead, profit, etc., etc. I have no idea what the actual total cost was but I think it's more than we can afford.
* This is not a typical bus route but it's not unique, either.
Thanks, I appreciate the job.
I'll call this - A Bus Driver's Diary. When something about the job feels interesting, funny or pithy I will jot it down, here, and you can judge for yourself. I promise to look for humor, too.
AM Route 1/19/11 *
Total time on the clock: 3 hours & 15 min.
The first 2 hours: Transporting kids to an alternative high school. This route has eight pick up locations. I picked up a total of one student. (Wouldn't it be great if that was because there are so few kids needing to go to an alternative school?)
The rest of my time was devoted to picking up elementary students.
This route has five pick up locations. I picked up a total of two students, one of whom was standing in front of an elementary school. (This is very common.)
I took the two kids approx. 6.5 miles accros town to their own elementary school.
FYI: Just to cover my wages you paid about $17 a student to get those kids to school. And they will need another bus ride to get home. And that doesn't take into consideration any cost for the bus, the fuel, overhead, profit, etc., etc. I have no idea what the actual total cost was but I think it's more than we can afford.
* This is not a typical bus route but it's not unique, either.
Thanks, I appreciate the job.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A TROJAN HORSE?
Merely asking the question will shock and offend many because the education of our children is right up there with Motherhood, Apple Pie and the American Flag. It is not something to be questioned. And, even if you are so inclined, where do you start? With public education who know's who is really in charge, where decisions are made or who makes them?
I drive a school bus in Omaha and, as is my nature, I engage students in conversation whenever possible. It makes the job interesting. As a citizen, a tax payer and an observer of things, I offer the following excerpts from recent conversations. It's a small sample and you'll have to accept my word that it's a typical sample. Hopefully this will provide food for thought and even inspire conversation on the subject.
When asked what they were learning in History, the four fifth graders seemed reluctant to answer. As most parents know, that's not unusual when you try to engage youngsters in conversation. I asked if they knew who the first president was? They didn't. Did they know what we celebrate on the Fourth of July, I asked? Again, not a clue. Does the name Abraham Lincoln mean anything, I asked? They stared, blankly, until one perked up and said, excitedly, "I think he made a speech." One of his friends then quickly put him down with "No, no, stupid, that was Martin Luther King!" They then went on to explain that they were learning how the Indians helped set up our government. These were not dumb kids. Ignorant, yes, but not dumb. Actually they were very bright. How do I know that? They told me so, for one thing they had no lack of was self esteem.
Working on a project with a sixteen year old girl from Lincoln, I asked, "What are you studying in History?" She said she was "learning how the Indians helped create our government." I must have looked askance for she and her mother quickly admitted that they had doubts and questions about what the girl was being taught. These were good, intelligent people who have accepted the notion that, when it comes to education, their 'place' was to not question what is being taught.
When an Omaha high school girl got on the bus carrying a text book titled LITERATURE, I asked if she wanted to be a writer? She said " She said, yes, she did. The she went on to explain that, in school, she was learning how the Indians were responsible for creating literature.
Now, it is not my purpose to focus negatively on the American Indians, or to question their contributions to our culture. Nor is it my purpose to cast doubt on teachers. They have too much on their plate already and it is not my intention to add more. And, if the girl and her mother in Lincoln accept the notion that they should keep doubt and questions to themselves, how can you expect a teacher, her job on the line, to speak out?
THE QUESTION IS: What is the education bureacracy's agenda, here, and why are they pushing it? It must be an agenda that is coming from 'on-high' for how else can you explain such similar information/propaganda being dispensed at different schools, in different grade levels and in different cities, at the same time? Is it an agenda designed to glorify and lift-up the American Indians? Or might its purpose be to tear down, demean and make irrelevant the Founding Fathers and what they created - The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?
According to Webster's Dictionary, "A Trojan Horse is a person or thing intended to undermine or destroy from within." This begs the question, have we created our own Trojan Horse in The Department of Education? If so, it would mean that the occupants of that 'Horse' have been infiltrating our schools and culture for decades, dumbing-down each new generation and stealing their knowledge of and reverence for the Founders and the miracle they brought forth.
Who wants to believe, or even think, thoughts like these? Nobody! Certainly not I. On the other hand, if there be any truth here it means that we are funding the tool for our own demise - our own Trojan Horse.
I drive a school bus in Omaha and, as is my nature, I engage students in conversation whenever possible. It makes the job interesting. As a citizen, a tax payer and an observer of things, I offer the following excerpts from recent conversations. It's a small sample and you'll have to accept my word that it's a typical sample. Hopefully this will provide food for thought and even inspire conversation on the subject.
When asked what they were learning in History, the four fifth graders seemed reluctant to answer. As most parents know, that's not unusual when you try to engage youngsters in conversation. I asked if they knew who the first president was? They didn't. Did they know what we celebrate on the Fourth of July, I asked? Again, not a clue. Does the name Abraham Lincoln mean anything, I asked? They stared, blankly, until one perked up and said, excitedly, "I think he made a speech." One of his friends then quickly put him down with "No, no, stupid, that was Martin Luther King!" They then went on to explain that they were learning how the Indians helped set up our government. These were not dumb kids. Ignorant, yes, but not dumb. Actually they were very bright. How do I know that? They told me so, for one thing they had no lack of was self esteem.
Working on a project with a sixteen year old girl from Lincoln, I asked, "What are you studying in History?" She said she was "learning how the Indians helped create our government." I must have looked askance for she and her mother quickly admitted that they had doubts and questions about what the girl was being taught. These were good, intelligent people who have accepted the notion that, when it comes to education, their 'place' was to not question what is being taught.
When an Omaha high school girl got on the bus carrying a text book titled LITERATURE, I asked if she wanted to be a writer? She said " She said, yes, she did. The she went on to explain that, in school, she was learning how the Indians were responsible for creating literature.
Now, it is not my purpose to focus negatively on the American Indians, or to question their contributions to our culture. Nor is it my purpose to cast doubt on teachers. They have too much on their plate already and it is not my intention to add more. And, if the girl and her mother in Lincoln accept the notion that they should keep doubt and questions to themselves, how can you expect a teacher, her job on the line, to speak out?
THE QUESTION IS: What is the education bureacracy's agenda, here, and why are they pushing it? It must be an agenda that is coming from 'on-high' for how else can you explain such similar information/propaganda being dispensed at different schools, in different grade levels and in different cities, at the same time? Is it an agenda designed to glorify and lift-up the American Indians? Or might its purpose be to tear down, demean and make irrelevant the Founding Fathers and what they created - The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?
According to Webster's Dictionary, "A Trojan Horse is a person or thing intended to undermine or destroy from within." This begs the question, have we created our own Trojan Horse in The Department of Education? If so, it would mean that the occupants of that 'Horse' have been infiltrating our schools and culture for decades, dumbing-down each new generation and stealing their knowledge of and reverence for the Founders and the miracle they brought forth.
Who wants to believe, or even think, thoughts like these? Nobody! Certainly not I. On the other hand, if there be any truth here it means that we are funding the tool for our own demise - our own Trojan Horse.
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