My new camera!

This is my adorable nephew who is showing off his muscles!

I took this picture with my new camera! It's a Nikon D50 and I've enjoyed using it so far!

I took a long time to decide what camera I wanted to purchase, and I finally selected the D50. The price was right and its bells and whistles were just what an amateur hobby photographer like me needed.

So far I haven't taken as many pictures as I would have liked to, but I think the patience will pay off when I have some time to really get down and dirty with the camera!

The beauty of public schools...

A huge perk to working in a public school is vacation time! Not only do we get summers off, but we don't have school on a majority of the national holidays. Plus we have winter break and spring break.

We are fast approaching Veterans Day and I don't technically have to go to school! However, I will most likely be at school on my day off because there seems to be a never ending stream of work to do. Days off are more like days to catch up, but I am still excited!! (Sometimes I think I'm more excited than the students!) ;)

A Charitable Responsibility?

I recently got into a discussion about the charitable merits and responsibilities of corporations. When I quoted some statistics I had read about the issue, they were questioned, so I decided to do some research of my own. I chose three "corporations" to do some mathematical analysis on. I researched their charitable donations compared to their revenue. I used the charitable donation numbers from the websites of these corporations, and used independent sites en.wikipedia.org a free on-line encyclopedia, and Forbes magazine as resources for revenue and history.

First, we'll start with the big kid on the block, Wal-Mart. On its web-site, walmartfacts.com, Wal-Mart states that it contributes "more than $5 a second every day of the year" to charities. Wal-Mart was number one in cash contributions this last year contributing $170 million to local charities and education initiatives. This is a great number, and after doing the math I found that:

Wal-Mart gives 0.0607% of their revenue to charity.

This is six-one-hundredths of a percent. Considering the company's revenue is over $280 billion, think of how much more they could do if they only gave one-tenth of a percent of their revenue, a drop in their corporate bucket, to worthy causes they support, like education. That would amount to $280 million, over twice the amount they donated last year.

The next corporate giver I looked at was Target Corporation. Again, looking at its foundation's website, Target states that it is a founding member of the "5 Percent Club", which "encourages U.S. corporations to commit five percent of federally taxable income to support community nonprofits." Target also states that it "contributes more than $2 million a week to communities it serves." Giving $2 million a week puts Target giving more than $104 million a year to charity. This number is smaller than Wal-Mart's, but Target doesn't create as much revenue as the top dog so after calculating the percent given I found that:

Target gives 0.22% of its revenue to charity.

Comparing the two percentages, Target actually gives 3.5 times more than Wal-Mart. Still, it seems to me that number is too small, but then again, corporations are in the business of making money.

The next on my list was Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. I decided that he was so rich, that I could count him as his own corporation. In January 2000, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Through the foundation, Bill Gates has donated more than $6 billion. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week on November 6, 2005, Gates talks about the work of the foundation trying to help cure diseases, and spur action from the governments of these affected countries. Patty Stonesifer, the President and co-chair of the foundation, states that "at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we believe that philanthropy plays a relatively small role in making social change. Foundations can act as a catalyst, but it's the private sector and governments that drive the most lasting improvements in people's lives." The Gates Foundation supports four key causes: Global health, Education, Libraries in relation with technology, and the Pacific Northwest (the Gates' community.) Taking the $6 billion Bill Gates has donated and his net worth as stated in Forbes magazine I found that:

Bill Gates has given over 12% of his wealth to worthy causes.

Not only has he given so much money, his vision for the effects his charity would have are becoming reality. Governments are following his example of ridding the world of diseases that only plague underdeveloped nations. Recently, according to thegatesfoundation.com, "the governments of the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, and Sweden have pledged commitments to fund a $4 billion International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm), which will support childhood vaccine programs through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI)."

Hands down, Bill Gates gives a greater share of his wealth than either Target or Wal-Mart-or myself! After Bill, Target comes far behind in second, and Wal-Mart in dead last. Did I mention that the Walton family-who owns 39% of the stock in Wal-Mart, have more wealth than the two richest people in the world combined? Just thought I'd mention.

So, why did I go to all this trouble? I think we need to hold moral victories, like Bill Gates' work, in higher esteem and give it more value in our society. I hear the public at large talk about the "kids these days" and what a different world in which they are living. Why not make that "different world" one full of positive changes where schools aren't the only ones that value the traits that make a person of character: respect, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship. I'd like to believe that it is possible for our society to make this positive change, and influence America's population of tomorrow.

The look of education in South Dakota through the eyes of a 2nd year teacher...

This is something I wrote for the South Dakota Democratic party's blog.. I don't think it's been published yet, but I thought I'd put it up here for those who are interested..

For me, when I decided to go into the teaching profession it was a chance to impact lives and change the world at a grassroots level. Every kid counts, and if I can reach even one student, that’s all that matters.

One of the great parts about education is the continual search for renewal and learning. I am very motivated by the constant desire my colleagues display to be better teachers. I see teachers open up to new ideas and approaches in the classroom in order to help every student achieve to their greatest potential. Student learning is the motivating factor, and it is uplifting to be apart of such a noble campaign.

Unfortunately, student learning isn’t the only motivating factor-it’s also money. Yes, teachers in South Dakota rank the lowest for average teacher pay in the nation. In fact, our average teacher pay is almost half as much as the average teacher pay in the highest paying state, Connecticut. This is embarrassing because I know we as South Dakotans value education highly and our numbers don’t show that to the nation.

Education is changing, though, and teacher pay needs to reflect the added responsibility, work, and strain that legislation like No Child Left Behind puts on teachers. How are we as a state showing respect or gratitude for the skill and expertise of our teachers with a salary that doesn’t even match inflation?

Our low teacher salary is distressing to me, but even more troubling is the fact that only 54 percent of new teachers are still teaching by the end of their fifth year according to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. With baby boomers closing in on retirement at the tender age of 55, that number is pitiful. As a new teacher last year, everyone in my building did their best to make me feel appreciated, but the workload, financial strain, and school stress made it hard many days to remember why I wanted to do this in the first place.

One of my favorite teachers in middle school once told me, “never pick a profession because of the money. Do what you love and you will be happy. That is worth more than any salary can ever pay you.” I think this attitude is very telling of why South Dakota’s teachers teach. We do this because we believe in education, and we believe in the kids we get to work with everyday. So, I’d like to see our state invest more in the promise of an educational system that will start looking younger, and recognize the increased pressure and hard work students today are putting into their education.