This Mysterious Life

2006-07-07T08:22:00.000-05:00

Accountability. . . America's New Religion.

Sociologists have claimed that America's religion is Capitalism, our church, the Mall, and our savior, Santa Claus. But I think we are witnessesing the evolution of a new faith in this country, that of Accountability. Accountability is a break-out religion, founded by a partnership of right-wing conservative politicians, a few well known publishers, and the the fast-growing testing industry.

Politicians, like George Bush, have adopted and imposed legislation that demands strict adherenece to this faith's tenets, in the form of achievement that can be measured on tests. The most recent and, perhaps most controversial law is the administration's No Child Left Behind policy, which imposes sanctions on students, teachers and schools who fail to generate high test scores. Rather like money collected during Sunday's church service, this faith builds its wealth on profits generated by the sale of standardized tests.

Failure to follow the new faith's dictum results in sanctions that inlcude public humiliation and loss of federal funding. But, at what cost comes redemption in this religion? In this one, our children are the ones who are paying by occupying classrooms which are becoming increasingly focused on learning how to succeed at taking tests. This not only undermines authentic learning, it commodifies their achievement. High test scores amount to more money, while not-so-high scores become a fingerprint that reflects their potential for academic success. Yes, that's right; test scores, not unlike astrological chart readings, have become the system for determining whether children will be allowed to continue to participate in education. High scores may mean acceptance into top-ranked colleges, while low scores may mean a life of time-card punching and factory work.

As teachers, we need to protect our classrooms from being turned into Churches for Accountability, and stop the spread of legislation to use our children as capital to support the savior of this faith, the Testing Industry. Parents need to take notice of how their children are being commodified and brokered to corporate America in the name of Accountability. This is too great a sacrifice for any god.

2006-06-29T18:19:00.000-05:00

Some days are too sad....

Several of my friends are enduring painful and difficult life events and it breaks my heart to know they are suffering. If I could, I'd invite each one to take a walk with me along the beach. There is something majestic about the ocean and an awesome sky that forces us to reconsider boundaries and other ideas we think of as intractable.

2006-06-28T18:44:00.000-05:00

Flooding.... All around us, even in the sunroom. Ach! This bad rain!

I have another photograph of this bridge on my blogsite that was taken before the "rains." In that picture, the stream is but a trickle. Last night, water began to dampen the carpet in the sunroom and creep into the basement. A quick check revealed that the rain gutters were clogged with leaves. And, today, I spent a very hot afternoon, using a wet-dry vac to get water out of the sunroom. More rain is forecast tonight.

2006-06-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

The Sun's Out. . .

I just had to get outside before the sky clouded up again to snap some photos of these lovely day-lillies that seem to spread everywhere along rural roads. We've had so much rain that a little sun is cause for celebration.

2006-06-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

It's Raining, again....

In south central Pennsylvania. The forecast calls for a week of steady rain, so out come the photographs. This is another of the cloud-series photos I took at the lake a few summers ago. The little white dots in the background are sails--this lake is very popular for sailboaters. About three dozen were on the lake the afternoon I took this picture. Along with the clouds came a nice wind for sailing.

2006-06-24T17:41:00.000-05:00

Looming on the Horizon.. .

Just a couple of summers ago, my husband and I took a boat ride at a nearby lake and, as soon as we left the dock the sky filled with these ominous clouds. We were able to stay on the lake for about two hours before the rain started, but the clouds remained in our lives for over a year. Now, when I watch weather conditions, I pay closer attention to the sky.

2006-06-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

2006-06-21T08:12:00.000-05:00

Rescuing Dill . . . .

The ongoing battle for ground in my garden has escalated to a higher level, with more poppies opening their buds. So, I rescued this bit of dill and brought it indoors. For now, it waits safely in this glass; but soon, the dill will be diced and added to a creamy butter sauce for salmon, or used as a flavor-enhancer for a salad.

2006-06-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

We are all one people . . . . .

I am dismayed the American media has not covered the teachers' strike in Oxaca, Mexico, where police have resorted to guerilla tactics to
break up the encampment of teachers. These teachers educate the children and they have been camped out in the center of the city for a month.

Perro Amarillo posted this photograph on the DailyKos site, where you can read about the situation.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/6/15/172234/505 We should be putting pressure on the media to get their asses to Mexico, (and skip the insignificant stories about Britney Spears), to bring pressure to the government to let these folks demonstrate without fear for their safety. Please contact your state and federal officials and request that something be done to stop the police before someone is harmed. You can also read about the strike in English or Spanish, at this site for NarcoNews http://www.narconews.com/Issue41/article1874.html

Another colleague began a diary entry for an American university professor who is in Oxaca,
supporting the teachers. You can read and comment here.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/16/1317/14748

2006-06-11T16:43:00.000-05:00

One journey's end....

I just finished reading The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion's compelling account of the year following her husband's sudden death. When I began the book, I was so captivated, I couldn't put it down. Then, as I got to the half-way point, I started to get anxious about finishing it. So, I only allowed myself to read ten pages at a time. Didion is so brutal with her demand for honesty, so willing to explore frightening places in the psyche. Reading it was something like watching one perform surgery on the soul. Last night, as I read the final few pages, the part where the author confesses she doesn't want to stop writing, I realized how impossible it is to contain loss. Reading aout her loss offered some comfort. Did I think that by reading about her grief, I'd be preparing for the inevitable losses in my life? It is a mystery.

2006-06-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

The Wind Chime Tree. . . .

This large old sweetgum tree in our backyard provides a canopy of shade, where we like to sit, out of the searing summer sun. Two summers ago, my neighbor put two large birdfeeders in her garden, which borders my yard. Birds who came to eat in her yard followed a flight path over my picnic table, christening it with the contents of their gullets. Not wanting a confrontation, we began to hang wind chimes on the branches, hoping the sound would encourage the birds to alter their path of departure. And it worked. Now, we have the bonus of the lovely music created when a breeze rustles through the branches, moving the chimes.

This picture shows two of the chimes hanging near the picnic table.

2006-06-08T14:41:00.000-05:00

There is a standoff in my garden......

between the California poppies and the dill. Both plants re -seeded themselves this summer and have grown ferociously, claiming almost all available space and leaving little room for weeds. For years I have spent hours pulling weeds, but the on-going competition between the poppies and dill has made it difficult for the weeds to grow. Ah, the wisdom of plants untended.

Close-up of my Oriental Poppy. They are brilliant, but short on bloom time.

These poppies re-seed themselves everywhere. I never know where they will pop-up.

2006-06-07T07:07:00.000-05:00

Speaking of sunflowers.....

Nothing is more uplifting than a field of sunflowers. Unfortunately, I seem to be able to grow only one each year, no matter how many seeds I plant. Think some of my backyard tenents have been able to find the seeds before they germinate. This beauty grew in the garden last year and it was nearly eight feet tall. When it died off in the fall, I left the stalk where it stood, as a monument to sunflowers.

2006-06-06T17:28:00.000-05:00

My backyard.....

Is not mine at all. In fact, I share it with all sorts of creatures. For instance, this rabbit, who moved in this spring and built a nest. So far, there's no sign of baby rabbits, although we did find lots of rabbit fur in the yard.

In the past, I've been upset at the rabbits for eating my flowers, but I had a change of heart this year when it became clear that this rabbit needed to eat for herself and her babies.

2006-06-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

Horizons...

When I travel, I'm drawn to horizons. They fascinate me as thresholds that mark the passage across time and space.

This picture of the horizon in Cancuun was taken on our most recent trip to Mexico. I sat for hours on the hotel balcony, eight floors up, watching the sun rise and set, fascinated by nature's insistence on moving at its own pace.

2006-06-04T14:36:00.000-05:00

The Nature of Parks...

Most travellers come to this area to visit Hershey Park, but Levitz Park has its own magic to offer. This destination is out of the way for tourists, which makes it popular for wildlife.

This is a bird sanctuary and the bird feeders, placed in strategic spots in the park draw in all kinds of birds, from hawks and owls to robins and blue-jays.

2006-06-04T14:15:00.000-05:00

The irony of place....

This is nature's back yard, a small bird sanctuary about seven miles away from my back yard. The H.M. Levitz Memorial Park is a secluded area that borders a military base. My husband and I discovered this hidden gem while exploring an adjacent park with a man-made lake. It's an odd setting. On one side of the road is the park and sanctuary. On the other side is a training ground for soldiers, where "undetonated explosive devices" hide in tall grasses. We stay close to the park side, but I notice birds, chipmunks and little mice scurrying across the road to the war side, unaware of danger. Here's some of what we saw this morning, as we strolled through the bird sanctuary.

2006-06-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

What I'm learning about roses....

They need sunshine, air and plenty of water. They also need me to set them free so they can continue to sprout vines that travel up the trellis toward the sky. This took me many years to discover. I've had four climbing roses for three years, but they have only begun to climb more than four feet this year and I think that's because I have been sidelined with an injury. Off my feet for over a month, the roses were able to grow without my assistance, and this year, they look better than in previous summers. Hmmm...maybe roses, not ulike many life experiences, need time to unfold, grow according to an inner plan, to honor the mystery of life understood at the cell level. The delicate, pale-pink roses on my wooden trellis, as seen here, seem to know how they wish to grow.

2006-06-04T11:53:00.000-05:00

Travel ... is an experience...

This is the summer I'll spend at home, rather than traveling to new places. In fact, I'll travel no further than my own backard, as I'm teaching classes through August. The past four or five summers, I've travelled to Cancuun and outlying islands (with my husband), North Carolina (with my son, daughter-in-law and grandsons) and Texas to see my parents and family. Previous years, my job has taken me to San Francisco, Berkeley, Estes Park, Colorado, Nashville, Tennessee, and Milwaukee. But, this summer, I'll have to be content with traveling vicariously through the photos and words of family, friends, students, and colleagues. And my explorations of the exotic will be limited to my garden.

That I love to travel comes as a surprise to me, because I grew up in a family that travelled the world, never spending more than two years in any one spot. As a child I longed to live in a quiet, picket-fenced neighborhood long enough to see roses climb a trellis. Now I have a home of my own with four climbing rose bushes. Now, I long to travel, to continue my journey through this mysterious life.

Come with me as I explore the mystery of life through a garden.