Comments for jordan muck

Comment on Dear Public School System by kari brooks

kari brooks — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:09:49 +0000

It probably should not be titled “Dear Public School Systems” and maybe should instead be titled “Dear George W. Bush and other No Child Left Behind Administrators.”
I can not speak on behalf of all public educators, as I am only one, experiencing what I do every day, teaching in Des Moines, Iowa.
My assumption would be that coaches, band directors, choir directors, etc. feel the push to meet with kids before/after school, during summer, etc. because there is no time for those activities during the school day. Because of No Child Left Behind, our push has to be reading and math (occasionally a little science). Is that what public school teachers want? I would say no. I don’t. But, my school’s funding (which is already so low based on the urban, low-income setting) will be less and less if we don’t focus on those areas. At least that’s what good old George tells us.
Do I agree that music and arts stimulate the minds of students? Absolutely! But when the government tells you how much time has to be allocated for each subject, and there are only 405 minutes in the school day, we simply do not have time for those subjects in school anymore. Our school system is in a sad state right now, and the only optimistic thing that I see about it is the fact that the majority of teachers are outraged, and it has become a uniting force that we are fighting the government against.
As for summer vacations… again, I am only one teacher, and I happen to teach in a school that is considered year-round. We have 5 weeks of summer, and other breaks throughout the school year. There is an importance to summer, and sure kids should be kids, etc. I agree with all of that. But, research also shows that many students lose ground in the summer. Their retention rate after long breaks is low. So maybe this letter could also be addressed to parents as well. Again, speaking from my experience… the majority of my students do not have access to academic resources during those breaks (things such as books, magazines, newspapers, computers, etc.) Without those resources, or parents who understand the importance of those resources, or even have the knowledge of how to acquire those resources, kids lose academic ground.
The article you posted is right; it does take a village to raise a child. Absolutely! But, right now our society says that, but expects “someone else” to do the majority of the work.
As for having the church and the schools unite and work together… probably won’t happen anytime soon. Religion and public education have not found a common ground to stand on without feeling so righteous of their own beliefs, and ultimately overstepping the other’s boundaries.
There are a few things that get my riled up, and talking education is always one of them (obviously!). I am passionate about education and it’s relationship to our youth. To me, it’s not just one person’s job. Our society as a whole is failing our youth. Again, going back to the statement, “It takes a village to raise a child,” we all say it, agree with it, and hope for it. But, not enough people act on that thought. Think of the possibilities if that was the motto of everyone working with kids….

Comment on Youth Forum Recap by markartrip

markartrip — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:00:24 +0000

thanks for the update.

Comment on Coming Up at GeNESIS by Matt Embry

Matt Embry — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:25:32 +0000

eating lunch

Comment on Youth Forum by Youth Forum Recap « jordan muck

Youth Forum Recap « jordan muck — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:21:21 +0000

[...] Youth Forum Recap Published May 2, 2008 Uncategorized Tags: Andy Carmitchel, Chestnut Mental Health Center, DonnaMunie, Joe Michaelis, Jordan Muck, Malinda Bernal, Randy Riggs, Sarah Wright, Sherry Thomas, youth forum, youth ministry Last Monday night, I had the honor of sitting on the youth forum panel at the middle school. The panel included the following people; Andy Carmitchel - Former Highland CUSD superintendent, Sherry Thomas - Highland Middle School Counselor, Malinda Bernal - Science teacher at the Highland Middle School, Joe Michaelis - Mayor of Highland, Randy Riggs - Highland School Rescue Officer, Myself, Sarah Wright - Prevention Specialist at Chestnut Mental Health Center, and Donna Munie - Active Parent and Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent. The goal of the night was to discuss issues and give some solutions that are surrounding our youth at the middle school and high school. I wrote early about these events earlier here. [...]

Comment on Youth Forum by markartrip

markartrip — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:07:12 +0000

this sounds cool. I am jealous. update please.

Comment on Online Everything by what I think

what I think — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:06:13 +0000

“AIM, facebook, and e-mail have eliminated need for a phone. I can log online and chat with my buddies whenever I want to let them know something or just to send a message letting them know I’m here. It’s amazing how many meetings get set up now through e-mail and chatting services.”

Sad..

Comment on The “Who” by E.Scott

E.Scott — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:44:35 +0000

Jordan -
what a great idea…
i hope that you have told James about it… i was going to send him a link to your site, and then decided not to.
anyway - i hope you are doing well!
i miss you man.
going to catalyst next year?

Comment on The “Who” by joshatkins

joshatkins — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:05:15 +0000

What an encouraging post. I love reading and hearing about God’s faithfulness in other people’s lives. If you’re ever in Ohio, we definitely should connect. Keep serving!

Comment on Family Night by Rhett

Rhett — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:06:09 +0000

Dude, sounds like a sweet idea. I was catching the vision a bit as I read. Lots of smiles. Lots of warm fuzzies. Lots of laughter. If it’s tough for families to facilitate that stuff for themselves… shouldn’t the church be helping make that happen? Discipleship at it’s finest. Word.

Comment on Earthquake ‘08 by Kim Wright

Kim Wright — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:46:49 +0000

I was fast asleep with my granddaughter next to me, and I felt the floor shaking and heard the windows trimble, I was sure it was a tornado, so grabed my granddaughter to run down the stairs and as fast as I grabed her up the whole thing was over! WOW, what an alarm clock. It makes you appreciate things when you realize how God controls our life and in just a nano second he can take us home!