Mrs. K's Blog

Wake up early on the morning of testing

Eat a good breakfast, don’t be late

Your mind is blank-you wish you were resting

Will  you do well?  It’s all up to fate

You are sitting in the classroom

Your  pencils  must be #2

Time is limited, and  you must zoom

The test begins-the minutes are few

Have no fear

How will you do?

No pressure here

It’s all up to you

Wednesday, April 28, was Kaleidoscope Day. Our school celebrated by going to the Cummer Museum of Art. The day was filled with fun activities like sketching, painting, and sculpting. The beautiful museum contains a hands-on gallery and a magnificent garden with blossoming flowers throughout. The museum also has  a painting room where we painted abstract drawings. In the clay room, we sculpted  birds of our choice. We also sat with a very interesting man who played exotic instruments such as the thumb piano, the bongos, and a Cora.  After we ate lunch, we left. Then back at school, the PTA arranged an assembly with a magician. This entertainment capped off a great Kaleidoscope Day. Thanks to the PTA and Ms. Susan Dubow for arranging this wonderful day that all students very much enjoyed!

The mitzvah program at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School (MJGDS) has been an important aspect of our Jewish education. For the past three years, the entire middle school has spent every Friday morning, participating in the school’s mitzvah program. A mitzvah is the performance of a good deed, for someone generally less fortunate than one’s self, for no reward. The recipients of our mitzvoth are not the only ones that have benefited from this program. In addition to helping the less fortunate, the mitzvah program has enhanced our understanding of the world and taught us the value of giving back to society. These lessons could not have been learned in the classroom, but only through real world experiences. I will never forget, for the rest of my life, the feelings of joy we have brought to others in the community.
To perform mitzvot, we carried out various acts of kindness such as delivering food to the hungry, volunteering at a local animal shelter, visiting and entertaining the sick and elderly, assisting children in low-income neighborhoods learn to read and write, and cleaning up the environment. Every Friday morning at approximately nine o’clock, the school had a community project planned for that morning. The middle school students would divide into groups to travel in separate cars to the location of the project for that morning. The cars were driven by various parents who would volunteer their time to enable us to carry out mitzvot. Once we arrived at our location, we assisted the students, elderly, those in need, or other less fortunate with whatever they needed help with that day. Afterwards, we returned to school and later on, would discuss what we had accomplished.
The mitzvah program will have a long lasting impact upon our lives for many years to come. It taught us that not everyone is as fortunate as ourselves. We have many positive elements to our lives, for which we should be thankful. These include good health, the basic necessities in life such as food, clothing, and shelter, plus many of life’s luxuries. Also, the program has taught us the joy that one can receive from giving to others. For example, whenever we went to Beauclerc Elementary School to help the students with their  reading and writing,  I felt terrific upon seeing the faces of the children smile from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. This project and the others we performed proved to us that we can have an impact on changing and improving the world around us. Hopefully, the mitzvah program will help us to avoid becoming self-absorbed with our own lives and keep us focused on the larger problems of the world.
In addition, the mitzvah program helped complete our Jewish education at MJGDS. Our Jewish education has taught us many things including aspects of our religion, how to follow our religion, and how to make the world a better place through Judaism. As stated in the Torah, “ the world stands on three things; the Torah, prayer, and good deeds.” While the first two of these principles could be learned in the classroom, the third could not and required real world experience. Our experiences gained in the mitzvah program showed us that one can continue to practice Judaism outside the synagogue. Without the mitzvah program, our Jewish education would not have been complete.
As we prepare to graduate and leave MJGDS, I have begun to reflect upon the nine years I spent at the school. When I do so, the mitzvah program is the first thing I think about. When I first began the mitzvah program in sixth grade, I did not see the significance of what we were doing. It was merely a field trip outside of school and a stop at the Gate Station for a snack on the way back to school. It is only now, that I recognize the lessons that I have learned from the mitzvah program. I believe these important lessons will enable me to make further contributions to the world throughout my lifetime.

Throughout world history, one factor has influenced, if not caused, many a country to fall. This factor is money. Wars have been fought over it and world superpowers have been crumbled by it. “Money is power” is truly one of the most true expressions of all known to man.

When our country was founded, our fledgling nation was at risk of falling apart. Debts from the American Revolution threatened to cripple us. Non-uniform paper money from the American Revolution had caused many problems with its rapid deflation. Two opinions emerged from within the Washington cabinet to solve these issues. In 1790, Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton submitted a proposal to Congress that would create a “Bank of the United States” that would pay off foreign and domestic debts. This bank would issue new federal loans to pay for these debts. The National Bank would be owned by private citizens, and had the ability to issue money, something that it should not be able to do under the Constitution. Additionally, the federal government had no Constitutional authority to create such a bank in the first place. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, among others, was fiercely opposed to this bill. President George Washington grudgingly signed the bill due to the desperate debt situation.

This whole bill really did not help us get rid of our debt. It only created a means to borrow money almost indefinitely. We still owed the same amount of money, if not more in interest. We just had a way to get a loan guaranteed from a central bank, it’s main purpose being to loan the federal government money and issue currency.

This entire system did not last forever; it has changed several times during our country’s history. You can see how we had problems with money even at the beginning of our history, and how conflicting opinions emerged that are still somewhat prevalent today. In following posts, I will describe the gold standard and our debt and its dangers today.

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. Speaks to MJGDS Middle School Students

On Thursday, April 22, 2010,  I had the honor of meeting and listening to one Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. – the author of the award winning book, It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke. A civil rights activist since joining the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP at age 11, Mr. Hurst participated in the 1960 sit-in demonstrations in Jacksonville, Florida. I was invited by Mrs. Judy Reppert (social studies teacher extraordinaire who, daily, makes history come alive in her classroom) to join the entire MJGDS Middle School student body to hear Mr. Hurst’s personal account of the times and events leading up to and including Ax Handle Saturday, a bloody August 27, 1960. What follows are my impressions of his visit.

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is a dynamic man. He exudes passion and conviction when he speaks. There is a kindness about him, a sensitivity to the needs of others, and a twinkle of humor; yet, one is aware of a layer of steely strength and courage that has allowed him to survive the senseless hatred of segregation and tell its story.

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is a ‘teacher’. He shares his knowledge and experience with others and we, in turn, learn lessons of humanity. Mr. Hurst, like many Holocaust survivors, also is compelled to correct the history books and teach the truth about the horrors, the indifference and, subsequently, the heroes spawned from bigotry and injustice. To quote his website, “Most Black and White citizens of Selma, Birmingham, Memphis, and Atlanta are acutely familiar with the violent civil rights struggles that occurred in their cities. Though the struggles in those cities may be more familiar, Jacksonville was not immune to the same type of cruelties. Ax Handle Saturday…a facet of Jacksonville’s history very few are willing to discuss, let alone embrace…the eye-opening details, when synthesized, provide a remarkable history worth telling. The peaceful protests of teenagers who dared to challenge segregated white lunch counters is not a myth or an urban legend. Nor is the attack by more than 200 whites with baseball bats and ax handles on 34 Black NAACP Youth Council members on August 27, 1960.”

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is a ‘preacher’. He has a message that the world needs to hear and he is prepared to shout it from the rooftops, the classrooms, the meeting rooms, the libraries, the book shelves. “The civil rights movement in the late fifties and early sixties is a history of brave and unselfish Black leaders fighting against racism and segregation, and for the equality of all people in the United States. Today’s generation must understand the circumstances and the times that led to this racially explosive and violent day in Jacksonville’s history. Regardless of what you have heard or seen about sit-in demonstrations, it was never about eating a hot dog and drinking a Coke! It was always about human dignity and respect.”

Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. is the personification of human dignity; he has gained both my respect and my admiration. Kol hakavod.

To learn more about the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the 1960 Sit-in Demonstrations and Ax Handle Saturday, in Jacksonville this August, see Mr. Hurst’s blogspot.

Special thanks to Ms. Kim Glasgal for arranging Mr. Hurst’s appearance.

Our Parents Always Told Us That Violence Leads to More Violence – Were They Correct?

In the United States every year, there seems to be some major event that leads to violence. The death toll rises each year, and some of these victims are innocent juveniles. Acts of violence include: violence in schools (such as fighting and bullying), violence on the street (robbing and murdering), and, lastly, threats (to people or even to schools). When these events occur in public, onlookers run away in fright, but the truth is they should tell someone. All of these acts can lead to serious injury and trauma or death. Violence is the expression of physical or verbal aggression; when something little can lead to something very big in a short time. Violence leads to more violence, and violence is NEVER good.
Ten years ago yesterday, two high school teens ran through their high school killing 34 students and themselves. This was an act of violence, but could there have been steps done to prevent it? First, a closer look on how things were done in the school. The question around schools all over, is whether cameras should be allowed in schools to keep violence from occurring. The truth is, at first glance this seems like a good idea, but it is a controversial idea. If anything was to happen, the cameras would catch who did it, and the problem is solved – but not so fast. Some students may argue that this is a privacy issue, while others may say that it does not matter, because their input will not even be taken into consideration. In some ways they may be correct, but the question is always going to be controversial.
Second, think about the possibility that the school could be threatened by students or people in the area. In the case of the 2 teens’ killing spree, on April 20, 1999, Columbine High School was in danger. Dylan Klebold, 17 and Eric Harris, 18 had been planning the massacre for over a year, including collecting semiautomatic guns and homemade bombs while drawing up plans and maps of the school. They planned to commit suicide. The students were known as the school bullies, wearing all black trench coats, and being feared by most all teens at Columbine High. They were soon named ” The Trench Coat Mafia “. Their plan was to kill every student, including themselves, and blow up the school. On the morning of the planned attack, at 11:30 A.M, they ran through the school hiding weapons in their coats. They succeeded in killing 34 people including themselves. This was a real act of violence, and more and more people started wondering how these kinds of weapons could get into a teenager’s hands, or for that fact, anybody who would want to do this type of thing. At Columbine the answer was simple; they got somebody to help them – Eric Harris’s girlfriend. When all was said and done, everybody was more cautious about who they hung out with, and people were being more observant of their surroundings.
Just a mere month ago, there was another incident a block from where Columbine High School stands. A man walked onto the property of Deer Creek Middle School and casually asked the children he saw if they went to school there. When the children responded yes, he proceeded to shoot at them, for no apparent reason. When he needed to reload his gun to shoot some more, the teacher of the students, a former college basketball player, jumped on top of the shooter, and was able to keep him from shooting until authorities arrived. This shows us that violent events do indeed exist in 2010, a decade after Columbine, and we should never let our guard down.

College football should abolish the flawed Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and replace it with a eight team playoff system to determine the National Champion of Division I College Football. Of all the major college sports, college football is the only one without a playoff system to establish the National Champion. There are many problems with the BCS system, most importantly it is not always accurate in selecting the National Champion. The majority of the rankings that make up the BCS are voted on by individuals who may be prejudiced in favor of, or against, a certain school. Another drawback of the BCS, is that it is a very complicated system and very few people understand how it works. It is so complex, that a computer is required to tabulate the various factors. Some of these factors are each team’s win-loss record, strength of schedule, point total, conference record, and the Associated Press and Coaches Polls.

In addition, the BCS is a biased system in that it favors major conferences over the smaller, mid-major schools. Those schools have little or no chance of winning the National Championship, no matter how good they are. For example, in 2007, Boise State University was a major power in college football. They beat the University of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, but were denied opportunity to win the National Championship, because they are a mid-major school. If college football had a playoff system instead of the BCS, all the debate and controversy over who deserves the National Championship would come to an end.

The BCS is a selection system designed in 1998, to crown a National Champion in college football. Under the current system, the top two teams compete for the National Championship, while 8 other top teams are chosen to play in four other bowl games. The BCS uses a combination of computer programs and votes of various sports writers and coaches to determine its rankings. The top teams from each of the major conferences including Big Ten, Big Twelve, Big East, Pac 10, Southeastern Conference, and Atlantic Coast Conference are guaranteed a spot in one of the five BCS Bowl Games. Also, the BCS is required to select at least one team from a non-major conference, as long as it meets certain criteria. Independent universities, such as Notre Dame, receive an automatic bid if they finish with a ranking amongst the top eight teams. Only two teams from each conference can be included in a BCS bowl game in any year.
The solution to the problems caused by the BCS, is to establish a playoff system that would include the top eight to twelve teams. The participating teams would be chosen by a panel of independent voters associated with the NCAA. This ensures that all Division I college football teams have an equal and fair opportunity to win the National Championship. None of the major conferences would be granted automatic bids to play in the tournament. As a result, the mid-major and small colleges are not discriminated against. Even President Obama has weighed in on the BCS. According to the President, “I have long been a supporter of a playoff system because I feel that in order for college football to end their season with a true sense of a legitimate champion, a playoff structure is the best way to go instead of going by ranking systems based on polls and computers. I want to see champions crowned based on their performance on the field, not by numbers off of it.” I agree. Hopefully, the days of the BCS are numbered.

On Wednesday, a Sea World trainer in Orlando, FL, was killed by a 12,300 lb. Orca whale. It has yet to be determined whether Dawn Brancheau drowned or died from traumatic injuries. The incident triggered world-wide response. I have not witnessed this much attention to marine animal rights since the release of the killer whale Keiko, made famous in the movie “Free Willy.”

While the Humane Society and animal rights groups have long campaigned for marine mammals to be removed from theme parks, I cite an older source for the humane treatment of animals:
The righteous are concerned for the life of their beasts. -Proverbs 12:10
Judaism affirms our obligation to treat animals with compassion. Tza’ar ba’alei chayyim, literally “the pain of living creatures”, is a moral charge to treat the living things around us responsibly. The Talmud reminds us that “the sign of a tzaddik is concern for the welfare of animals.”

Joyce Tischler, founder of and general counsel for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, says of orca whales:
“These behemoths are denied all of their natural, instinctual inclinations, and we humans tend to think, ‘Well, this is just a bad animal.’ But it is a wild animal, used to running free in an entire ocean, but now confined to a very small space.” She compares an orca’s life in captivity in a tank to keeping a human being in a bathtub for his entire life.

“…the vast majority of the orca whales in captivity would be far better off to be returned to the wild. Orcas are unbelievably ill-suited to life in theme parks and can be successfully returned to the wild. We know, because we have done it,” says David Phillips, director of the International Marine Mammal Project for the Earth Island Institute. “This isn’t the first time that stressed-out orca whales have injured or killed people, and unfortunately, it is not likely to be the last,” says Phillips.

There are those who argue that keeping animals in captivity is educational, spotlighting the need for conservation and protection of such creatures.

“This [a trainer's death] is a giant warning sign that society needs to rethink this question of holding large predators in captivity,” says Chris Palmer, author of Shooting in the Wild (a book about wild animals in captivity), who also teaches at American University. “Having a trainer killed this way can’t justify whatever benefits we get from conservation or protection.”

According to Sifrei Devarim 96, G-d has compassion on all who have compassion on their fellow creatures.

Do killer whales belong in captivity? What do you think? Please leave a comment.