The National Debt for 6th Graders

If we are to be competitive with emerging economies of the world (see China and India), our schools must speak to what has come to be known as "21st century skills."  These are skills that are absolutely critical for a student to be successful in postsecondary education and more importantly, the workforce.  Some of these skills are absolutely not new:  effective communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical thought are key ones.  However, according to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national non-profit that advocates for a new direction of school reform, equally critical are 21st century interdisciplinary themes such as global awareness, environmental literacy, civic literacy... and get this- financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy.  This clearly has a lot of implications for how and what we teach kids, particularly around the standards of "understanding how to make appropriate personal economic choices" and "understanding the larger role of the economy on society."

These thoughts ruminated in my head as I read a piece in a recent morning faculty bulletin from Miscoe Hill Principal Ann Meyer.  It was a simple exercise for kids and adults alike to put the national debt in perspective.  It read like this:

Below is a nice simple view of the financial problem in the U.S.  It is also the reason why Standard & Poor downgraded the U.S. credit rating:

• U.S. Tax Revenue:  $2,170,000,000,000
• Federal Budget:  $3,820,000,000,000
• New Debt:  $1,650,000,000,000
• National Debt:  $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent Budget Cut:  $38,500,000,000

Okay, so all of those zeroes make us glaze over!  So let's make this problem a little simpler... and pretend that the federal government is a family of four and they have a household budget and expenses.  With that said, let's remove eight zeroes from the figures!

• Annual family income:  $21,700
• Money the family spend:  $38,200
• New Debt on the Credit Card:  $16,500
• Outstanding Balance on All Credit Cards:  $142,710
• Recent Budget Cut:  $385

Interesting perspective, no?  I was curious if a child... say a middle school student... could understand this analogy. Thus, I put my own middle schooler, my 11-year old daughter Molly, to the the test.  Here she is pondering the facts of this financial dilemma:

9/11... Ten Years After

Today was a solemn day that was filled with many emotions:  sadness, heartache, anger, fear, resignation, and hope to name but a few.  For most, the ten year anniversary of September 11, 2001 is a moment in time to pause and reflect on the tremendous loss of life not only on that tragic day, but also on the sacrifice of so many servicemen and women in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past decade.  Today also marked the official unveiling of a local memorial that is stirring.

Fire Lt. Michael Zarella of the Mendon Fire Department has made it a life passion over the past five years to plan and construct a formal memorial to his 348 colleagues on the FDNY that perished on 9/11.  The fruit of his labors was seen today, as this moving memorial was dedicated in the front lobby of the Mendon Fire Station.  The hallmark of the exhibit is a 10 foot steel beam that was once part of the World Trade Center.  The beam is twisted and ripped, complete with shredded bolts and attached concrete, all reminders of the towers' stunning collapses.  On the wall behind the beam are the names of all of the fallen FDNY first responders.  Also on the wall is a flat screen television that displays over 1600 images from that fateful day and the immediate aftermath.


During today's dedication, I was very impressed with Michael Zarella.  He is bright and articulate, and his passion for this important project clearly shines through.  He spoke with authority in describing his journey over the past five years in successfully obtaining the 1500 lb beam for this memorial.  He retold the story of his two emotional visits to Hangar 17 of JFK International Airport, the official repository for all of the World Trade Center remains.  Because of the thousands of hours he has put into research and fact-finding, his knowledge of the events of 9/11, the recovery of the WTC artifacts, and the many anecdotes of the first responders is impressive.

We are blessed to have this new memorial and Lt. Zarella as resources in our community.  As this memorial is a permanent fixture, it should be viewed by all... particularly our young people.  It is a fact that nearly half of our students in our schools were not even alive when 9/11 occurred.  Our students at Nipmuc were very young- anywhere between Pre-K to grade 2.  Their memories may be hazy at best.  I will be recommending to our principals and teachers that they bring our students to this fine memorial where appropriate.  It will reinforce and teach to our students this recent defining moment in our nations' history.

May we all never forget.

Come on, Irene!!

New Clough Principal changes the sign signaling the start of school once again...

Okay, this is not how I imagined the first three days of the 2011-12 school year would go!  To say the least, it was maddening to cancel school due to the damage and loss of power because of Tropical Storm Irene (yes, it lost its Category I hurricane status by time it hit Mendon-Upton).  Never in my life have I logged as many hours speaking to local officials- police, fire, DPW, and our friends at National Grid- to get a handle on the safety conditions in both towns as well as a sense of when power would be restored to Miscoe Hill Middle School.  The more people I spoke to, the stronger sense of the severe damage- particularly in Mendon- I got.

The power loss wore on our nerves.  Living over the border in Rhode Island, I got my power back Tuesday morning at 2 am... and I know I was one of the lucky ones.  Each day when I went to my office (which is attached to Miscoe Hill) I felt frustrated without electricity, Internet, phones, or running water.  Last week was one of those rare, sustained reminders of how we take so many of life's conveniences for granted.  Perhaps adding to the surreal feeling was the fact that every day post-Irene was a gorgeous, sunny day in the 80's.  How could we be having these cancelled days??!!

I know many of our parents felt the stress of the situation as well.  I may be a new superintendent, but I don't think that I will ever receive as many requests from parents asking me to cancel school as I did last week.  They told stories of lack of running water (and hence, no showers, etc.) and just the general stress from the lack of amenities.  For some, it was real tough going...

But as it often is in life, much good can come from bad.  I've heard many stories of families coming together during all of the unexpected "down time," bonding while doing fun and silly things.  I know that I had the opportunity to play Scrabble and Monopoly with both of my daughters for two consecutive nights... that's probably the first time that's happened in years!  I also went to sleep on Sunday and Monday nights after reading in bed by candlelight... the dreamer in me ignored my eyestrain and postulated that this must have how it was in the 1800's and earlier.  I kind of liked that feeling!

However, what makes me feel the best is the way that people come together during a crisis.  A casual glance at one's Facebook feed told the story of families reaching out to others with offers of shelter, food, and showers.  One of our moms in the district wrote me an e-mail describing the challenges of the days after the storm, but then she closed the correspondence with this insight:  "...community members are reaching out to each other.  Those with power are welcoming those without into their homes for showers, charging phones and such, getting water (many are on wells without power), and just some conversation.  We have a friend's medication in our fridge for her and send them home with ice for their cooler and refreshed after long awaited showers....It may not be the start of the year that people are accustomed to, but I think it just may be the start of the year that we needed.  Something that brings us all together, realizing the important things about community... I hope this stays with us... as we go forward."


I hope the same too!  Here's to September 6 and beyond!