Paco's Final Perspective

Today I lost a good friend. Paco lost his long battle with respiratory disease. He was a great guy. I can’t imagine coming home every day without him twirling at the gate and barking, “Hello, glad to see you!” When Janet insisted I got a dog I was ill, depressed and on many medications. When Paco came into my life I became happier and got off all medications. Thank-you, dear friend and companion, I will miss you. Sometime, while at your Labor Day BBQ raise your glass to Poquito Paco Bell that toe-lickin’, panty-suckin, wine-drinkin’, obsessive-twirling dog.

Below is Paco’s Final Perspective:

I lived for thirteen dog years that is somewhere around ninety in people years, so I guess that would make me a wise, old sage. Let me give readers some sage advice: 

1.  Live like a dog!  
Every day is a new adventure for a dog. Dog’s take delight in the little things. Take my advice and do what dog’s do: chase lizards, sniff your companions, wag your tail when a loved one walks in the room, bark at the neighbors (Be careful! Sometimes they bark back!), give furry kisses, beg for treats and go for long walks. 

2.   Love like a dog!  
Love unconditionally: be happy EVERY TIME you see your person, wag your tail and make eye contact when your person walks in the room, give your person lots of slobbery kisses even when they say, “Stop!” 

3.  Listen like a dog!  

     Racing in the Rain , one of Cathy’s faves, is the story of a Dog, Enzo, whom belongs to a racecar driver and his family. Enzo believes that when he dies he will come back as a man. Enzo is a very wise dog and people could learn a lot from him. In one passage, Enzo explains how important it is to listen like a dog:

“Here is why I will be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot speak, so I listen very well. I never interrupt, I never change the course of the conversation with a comment of my own. People, if you pay attention to them, change the direction of one another’s conversations constantly. It’s like having a passenger in your car who suddenly grabs the wheel and turns you down a side street. Learn to listen, I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories.” 

4.   TWIRL!  
I twirled! I twirled when I went out the door. I twirled when I came in the door. I twirled when I went for walks with Darrell. I couldn’t stop myself. I was a happy guy, so I twirled. No one can be sad when twirling, so when you’re feeling blue or you’re angry JUST TWIRL! Trust this wise, old sage, you’re going to feel so much better!

Below are some of my favorite blogs about me, if one wishes to reminisce:

My Dog Doesn't Like Me

My Best Friend is Obsessive-Compulsive

Hide-and-Go-Seek Mishap

Paco's Perspective and the Flip Side

The Flip Side

Where's Paco? Did he get to go for a walk without me?

Osa's Opinion

Good-bye, my friend, I will miss you. Just think you don't have to wear those annoying costumes for the Christmas card!

Paco's Final and Last Perspective

Holy Guacamole, mi amigos, it's really cool where I am. Endless treats and soft, green grass as far as the eye can see!

My Summer Reads

As many already know, I spend my summers in Bigfork, Montana chasing the sun around the cabin reading books. I used to tote boxes of books from Phoenix to Montana and back again. Usually the books I brought up to read were kids’ novels because I don’t like putting books on my classroom bookshelves without having read them first. Now with the magic of Kindle I no longer have to tote boxes of books. I just read on my phone or kindle. I really miss the smell and feel of the real books.

This year I finally retired (no, really, I did, I’m not kidding) so I didn’t have to spend my summer reading kids’ novels. Although, I kind of prefer kids’ novel because they are so well-written, they never bore me, and usually make me cry. If a book makes one cry, it’s a darn good book.

Below is a list of the books I read this summer. Yep, I read all these books in June and July.  I can honestly say I didn’t love all of them. As a matter of fact, I already forgot what some of them were about and I had to read the blurbs on them to jog my memory. I have put them in the order that I liked them.

   Crime/Mystery

The Silent Girls, by Eric Rickstad  - Frank Rath is a private detective with a painful past. In his attempt to help the local police solve a crime he comes across the ruthless killer of his sister.

Of course, there is a cliff hanger at the end of this book that makes one want to read The Name of Dead Girls.

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn - Anna Fox is an agoraphobic. Unable to leave her home she spends her time day drinking, popping pills and spying on her neighbors. She sees a crime committed and is unable to convince the police of the crime. There are many twists and turns in the book. Of course, the “bad guy” is never who one thinks it is.

A Killer's Mind by Mike Omer - Forensic phychologist, Zoe Bentley, is sent to investigate the murder of three women stragled, embalmed and posed as if still alive. Of course there is a handsome, witty man detective and a creepy stalker from her past.

The King Tides by James Swain - Ex Navy SEAL and PI, Jon Lancaster searches for a missing girl.

  Love

Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson - Marnie McGraw meets matchmaker, Blix Holiday at Marinie’s  engagement party. Blix tells Marnie that her nephew is not the man for Marnie and she needs to RUN! This is a sweet romantic comedy. It’s a great weekend read.

The Strawberry Hearts Diner by Carol Brown - Jancy Wilson’s car catches on fire in the parking lot of the Strawberry Hearts diner in Picks, Texas. Stranded and with no cash, Jancy asks if the diner is hiring and of course they need a waitress.

Coal River by Ellen Marie Wiseman - Nineteen year old Emma Malloy has to return to Coal River, Pennsylvania to live with her aunt and uncle.  Emma sets out to right some wrongs going on in the local coal mine and falls in love with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks.

Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins -  Nora Stuart is a doctor in Boston and is hit by a truck. In the emergency room she hears her boyfriend hitting on someone while she is semi conscious.  She dumps the boyfriend and goes home to Scupper Island, Maine to recuperate.

  Kid’s Novels

3^rd grade and up

Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart -  Just want to start by saying I love this author. He write great children’s books.  In this book Joseph Johnson has lost his family to sickness and accidents. Then the old man he is living with sells his faithful horse so Joseph sets out on a journey to find Sarah. After finishing this book read one of by favorite tear-jerkers of Dan Gemeinhart, The Honest Truth.

Wild Wings by Gill Lewis - Callum and Fiona find an osprey nest on Callum’s family farm in Scotland. Together they protect the nest. I learned a lot about ospreys and the migration of ospreys.

The Dog Under the Bed by D. J. Cowdall - A stray dog sneaks into a home and hides under a bed. This story is a little far fetched but kids will like it. It is told from the dog’s point of view.

5^th grade and up

The Runaway Children by Sandy Taylor  - Historical fiction book about English children being sent to the countryside to live with “foster” families to save them from the bombing of England during WWII. Thirteen year old, Nell and five year old, Olive are two sisters sent from the devastation.  After a bad circumstance, Nell and Olive runaway.  Olive is a delightful character that unwittingly speaks the truth.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman - Seven year old, Elsa’s best friend is her seventy year old, crazy grandmother. When her grandmother dies Elsa has to deliver letters of apology to the people her grandmother has offended in the past.

Shadow by Aris  Austin - This author’s mission in life is to save all the shelter dogs of the world. He uses his creative ability to “speak” for the shelter dogs and tell their side of the story.  In this book, Shadow is returned to the shelter by the owner that has had him as a puppy because he is too old. Shadow describes his heartbreak and anticipation waiting for his owner to come back and get him.  Shadow has an adoption deadline, if he isn’t adopted by a certain time he will be put down. Needless to say this is a tear-jearker.

Finding Gobi: A Little Dog With a Very Big Heart by Dion Leonard -  Dion Leonard is a ultramarathon runner that travels all over the world to run races. While in the Gobi desert in China a little dog appears from nowhere and joins Dion on his race. Gobi’s undying affection changes Dion’s heart. This is a true story of Dion’s struggle to bring Gobi home with him.

There is a young reader’s edition and a picture book of this story.

Middle School and up

The Boy Under the Table Nicole Trope - Tina works the streets and makes a decision to go home with a customer.  At the home of the customer, she finds a young boy confined under the kitchen table. Tina makes it her mission to save the boy and help him get home.

Half a Heart by Karen McQuestion - Logan Weber is cruelly abused by his father. Logan realizes if he doesn’t leave, he’ll die. Nine year old, Logan runs and stows away in a moving truck. This is a story of survival.
Don't Forget Steven by P. D. Workman - Steven is abused daily by three men he lives with.  During a drunken ruckus, one of his abusers is killed and Steven is charged with a murder he didn’t commit.

Posted by David Anderson - Students are no longer allowed to bring their phones to school. They use post-it notes to “text” each other.

   Overcoming Obstacles

The 100% Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni – Sam Hill is born with red eyes. He spends his childhood being bullied for the color of his eyes. As an adult he encounters his worst childhood bully again and has to stand up to him.

If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss - Sadie Blue is an abused wife in remote Appalachia where there is nowhere to run. This story told from different character’s point of view. Stick with this book because it has a great ending.

Walk to Beautifu: The Power of Love and a Homeless kid Who Found the Wayl by Jimmy Wayne – This is a true story of country singer Jimmy Wayne who spent most of his life homeless and alone. This is the story of his struggle to survive and his campaign to build awareness for foster care. He walks from Nashville to Phoenix for his Meet Me halfway Campaign.

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter – This is another true story of  Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s life in and out of foster homes and her struggle to find a family.

Digging In by Loretta Nyhan - Paige can’t get over the death of her husband. She finds solace and answers to life’s questions in digging in a garden she decides to create in her backyard.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – Eleanor is an inappropriate loner that finds love and companionship in a strange way. Reese Wither spoon bought the rights to this book and it will be a motion picture soon.

A Marriage in Dog Years: A Memoir by Nancy Balbirer – Nancy’s eleven year old beagle becomes deathly ill. In this story Nancy tries to save her dog and her marriage.

  Catherine Ryan Hyde

Catherine Ryan Hyde is one of my favorite authors. My students love her books and so do I. I have read just about every book she has written.  The three books below that I read this summer could be read by middle school students.

Heaven Adjacent  - Roseanna is a high-powered lawyer in Manhattan. When her best friend and law partner unexpectedly dies, Rosanna leaves everything behind, drives to the Adirondacks and buys the farm near where she ran out of gas. She finds a squatter on the farm and allows she and her daughter to stay which leads to allow other lost ones to live on the property.

  
Ask Him Why – Ruth’s brother Joseph returns from Iraq three months after he leaves. Joseph’s decision to flee Iraq has huge implications on Joseph and his family. His decision also affects his siblings in ways one wouldn’t think possible.

The Wake Up – Suddenly cattle rancher, Aiden Delacorte, becomes attune to the animals around him. He can feel their fear and pain. Aiden’s “wake up” affects his relationships, livelihood, and position in the community.

Paco's Perspective

I spent my summer vacation trying to breathe. Dr. Clark helped me get my twirl back.

The Flip Side

I spent my summer chasing squirrels, deer and believe it or not I even chased a bear away. That's why they no longer call me Pot Roast, instead, they call me The Rock! Move over Dwayne!

Where Have All the Wranglers Gone?

In my younger days I have spent many hours in country western bars. My father taught my sister, Caren, to dance. Caren is very competitive, so she has to be the best at everything this includes dancing. Well, to become the best one must practice, therefore I have spent a tremendous amount of time in country bars watching Caren dance.

If one went to a country western bar, one needed to be mindful of the "uniform": Men-tight Wrangler jeans, roper boots, shirts tucked in, belt buckle the size of a dinner plate. (The size of the buckle, the size of one's hand and so forth), Women-tight Rockies, ropers, shirts tucked in, belt buckle much smaller than men's belt buckles. If one chose not to wear the uniform, one was open to ridicule, being ostracized, and  given a tacky nickname by me

Because I am in a wheelchair, I am at a certain eye level that emphasizes my ability to view the Wrangler Butt. I appreciate the Wrangler Butt. A pair of tight Wranglers can even make a buttless man have a butt. Over the years, I became quite an aficionado of the "Wrangler Butt".  Okay, I’ll say it I have a deep love for an arse in a pair of Wrangler Jeans and I don’t care what the face connected to that Wrangler Arse looks like.

Alas, it has been a long time since I have been to a country western bar. When I stopped driving I stopped going places. I stopped driving over twenty years ago which stopped my pleasurable journeys to The Land of the Wrangler Butts! I had to give up a lot of things when I stopped driving, but I think the loss of the observation cycle of the Wrangler Butt was one of the top ten losses.

Recently, I was watching T.V. which unfortunately is my new pastime and a “country western” singer  took the stage. I recognized the voice but, sadly, I saw no Wrangler Butt! The boy (I am unable to put the word cow in front of that word boy.) was NOT wearing Wranglers. He wasn’t even wearing jeans! He was wearing a pair of ripped sweatpants! Sweatpants? Really who wears sweatpants when one is trying to look good? And don’t get me started on the ripped t-shirt  and backwards baseball cap! Where have all the Wranglers Gone? (Heavy sigh!)

Where have all the Wranglers gone,

Long time passing,

Where have all the Wranglers gone,

Long time ago,

Where have all the Wranglers gone,

Tucked back in closets every one,

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the Wranglers gone,

Long time passing,

Where have all the Wranglers gone,

Long time ago,

Where have all the Wranglers gone,

Gone to sweatpants every one,

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Friends, we must take a stand! There is nothing attractive about baggy, ripped sweatpants. The buttcrack and underwear view is very offensive. Friends, I implore you, stand up for your right to see a cute arse in a pair of tight jeans. Friends, at your next “country” concert  when the lead singer comes out in a ripped t-shirt and baggy sweatpants stand up and shout, "We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it! We're not gonna take it anymore!" Okay sing it, if you want.

Stand Up for Wrangler Butts!

I’ve been told that the cowboy “uniform” is a thing of the past. That one must change with the times. I want cowboys to stick around. I want to see Wrangler Butts! When I die and go to heaven,  I want to follow “the light” into a cowboy dive with a line of cowboys, real men, standing at the bar with their backs to me and all the bar lights angled just right so they shine on those Wrangler Butts. Slowly, those cowboys will  turn, in unison, look at me, tip their cowboy hats, shuffle their cowboy boots, give a little head nod and say, “Howdy, ma’am! Were glad you came! May we have this dance.”

Paco's Perspective

You have made me wear some really ridiculous stuff, but never a pair of tight Wrangler jeans. I could be jor leetle vaquero!

The Flip Side

The cowboy uniform? Do lizards wear uniforms? It might be easier for me to catch them. If I knew what they were wearing!

Osa’s Opinion

I can see next year’s Christmas card . . . . Paco and Flip in jeans and cowboy hats and me in a silly prairie dress.

Silent Friday Fight! Shhhhhhhhh!

For over ten years I have taught gender-split classes. It is an interesting task teaching a class full of boys. At one time in my career I had a class of forty-seven seventh grade boys. What I’ve learned over the years is that boys and girls are sooooo different. There are advantages and disadvantages to separating genders. Girls will get into fights and hold grudges for months, but boys just beat each other up and then they are over it. You can’t have a class of boys without experiencing a fight in the classroom at some time. It happens about once a year. When one has thirty-two to forty-seven boys crammed in one classroom a fight is inevitable. When things are done and conferencing with the two parties begins I am amazed at their reason for a fight. The main reason for the start of a fight is, “He keeps looking at me!” Really, gentlemen!

Just recently, I experienced another fight in my classroom but what made this fight  different was it was a Silent Friday Fight. Silent Friday is something I have been doing for years, also. A dear friend and I made it up a long time ago. The last Friday of every quarter is Silent Friday. We give each student a certain amount of tickets and each time he or she talks  we take a ticket away and at the end of the day the students put their tickets in a drawing for prizes. We tell the students that the only way they can talk is write everything down. (It does improve their writing skills.) The students love Silent Friday and so does the school staff. Administration loves to try to get the students to talk and the students love to refuse to speak. It’s everyone’s one day of fun for the quarter. On our most recent Silent Friday a fight broke out in the boys’ class. I was working with some boys in the front of the room. They were writing notes to me and I was answering their questions. (By the way, I don’t have to be silent on Silent Friday because I am the Queen, and I went to college so I get to make ALL the rules!) All of a sudden, I heard moving of desks, I look up and I see two boys fighting in the back of the room. But they are fighting SILENTLY! I am trying to get to the back of the room but I have boys sitting on the floor in front of me. Suddenly and SILENTLY, two of my biggest boys step between the two offenders, pull them apart, sit them in opposite corners of the room and sit down. ALL THIS WAS DONE WITHOUT A SINGLE WORD SAID.  The two fighters never said a word to each other before the fight. They were silently slugging each other during the fight. The other boys silently watched. The fight was broken up without a word said by ANYONE, except me, of course, because my house, my rules.

When I took the two offenders outside the room to talk to them. I asked, “So what’s going on?”

One of the boys wrote on a piece of paper he had with him: He keeps looking at me!!!

Paco's Perspective 

I get it! I hate when Flip looks at me, why I oughta . . . . . . . . 

The Flip Side

At least, I look at you and give you fair warning. Osa just puts my entire head in her mouth! 

Osa's Opinion

You two are such whiny-babies!

Why Are You Whining? You Only Work 180 Days!

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I am not a political person. As a matter of fact, I hate politics, but that doesn’t mean I won’t speak up when there is a need.  During this RED4ED movement I have kept quiet and, to be honest, I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing. But recently I have seen and read some misconceptions that people have about teachers and it’s time I spoke up for my colleagues.

The major misconception: Teachers only work 180 days and less than forty hours a week. Have you ever driven by a school parking lot? When I get to school at 6:30 a.m. the parking lot is already filling up and if you drive by a school parking lot at 6:00 p.m., it is probably still half full. Teachers’ work “days” go beyond a day because parents work, so teachers have to work nights also to have conferences, award ceremonies, after-school sporting activities, carnivals, book fairs, fall festivals, spring festivals, Read-to-Me nights, band concerts, choral festivals, school plays, dance recitals and the list goes on.

A teacher’s contract IS for 180 school days and they get paid for 180 days and that pay has to last for the entire year. Many teachers work two jobs. When I was young I worked summers. I have had many strange summer jobs I even sold vans one summer. I know many teachers, school secretaries, and aides that work a full day and then run to their night job at a local retail shop or movie theater and they work until closing, get home very late, grade papers, plan for the next day, fall in bed, get up early and start again. They do this because they don’t want to make the decision about what bill has to go unpaid so their family can eat.

I have taught for forty years and I have never worked less than fifty hours a week. I am at my desk at home first thing in the morning on Saturday and Sunday grading papers, writing lesson plans, searching for curriculum, creating curriculum, writing student objectives, writing success criteria, creating hyperdocs, texting parents, putting grades in the gradebook, etc., etc. and I am usually there until two or three in the afternoon. And I know this is what I signed up for forty years ago. And I know there are many professions that work extra hours, that go beyond the call of duty and that take work home.  But teachers don’t get paid overtime, they don’t get a tax deduction for a home office and  office supplies, and they don’t get bonuses. Do I think I work harder than a nurse, a police officer, a firefighter, or  a social worker? NO WAY! I want those that have been pooh-poohing the teaching profession lately to know that teachers work longer than just 8 to 3.

Another misconception: The teacher walk-out is about teachers’ salaries. Yes, Doug Ducey “promised” to raise teachers’ salaries 20 percent over time. That is like giving someone a promise ring. I think promise rings are given by men that don’t have the guts or kahonies to make a real commitment. This walk-out is about so much more than teachers’ salaries. It’s about 4.56 BILLION DOLLARS PILFERED from the education fund since 2009 and those cuts haven’t been restored. Arizona is frighteningly low in education funding. Arizona is one of the states that has the highest pupil-to-teacher ratio and the lowest per-pupil funding. This walk-out is about over 2,000 teaching positions that weren’t filled four months in to the school year, 3,400 teaching jobs filled by people who weren’t trained to teach and 866 teachers that quit before December of 2017 because the job was too hard. This walk-out is about the shortage of supplies for classroom, money for textbooks that are up-to-date, and healthy working and learning environments. Many may not understand this, but THIS WALK-OUT IS ABOUT CHILDREN.

I retired three years ago but I continued to teach because I LOVE MY JOB! The past three years I have had to work at grade levels that were short teachers. In 2015, I offered to teach 7th grade (Yea, I’m still asking myself, “What was I thinking?”) We were short a teacher and instead of subjecting the students to a steady stream of substitute teachers that never taught (at that time my district was working with a temp agency to fill in for the lack of substitute teachers), my teammates and I decided we would divide four classes of students into three classes. We had  an average of 45 seventh graders in a class. The logistics of square footage, desks, big bodies and room for my wheelchair was frightening. But we were dedicated, we wanted what was best for the students, we were gung-ho and we were sure we could do it. About two months into it, we were at my house on a Saturday lesson planning (which we did about every other Saturday) and we were exhausted, slap-happy and in tears. We were sure that eventually the district could find a qualified candidate that wanted to teach seventh grade. We were wrong. The district office did come through but two people from the district had to take the fourth class half-days. It was a good effort but it ended up difficult for all parties concerned. The next year I moved back to fifth grade with a full intact team. One of our teammates became very ill and was unable to teach and, as team leader, I spent the year writing lesson plans, grading papers, and keeping up on paperwork for a string of substitute teachers.

This past year I was positive it was going to be different. I had an intact team, no one was ill and all showed up on the first day of school and then our grade level became part of the “866 teachers leave the profession before December 2017” statistic. Our grade level had NOT ONE BUT TWO teachers resign before Labor Day.

Whenever I am in a group of unfamiliar people and someone asks, “What do you do?” I hate answering "that question". It is not because I am ashamed of what I do. I am very proud of what I do. Many times too proud. But, whenever I answer, "I am a teacher," I have to listen to every bad teacher story there is in the room. Whenever someone tells me, "I am a banker, CEO, or legislators," I don't tell them about the bad bankers, CEOs, or legislators I have come across, and I have come across many.

I know there are bad teachers, really I do know, but there are many more good teachers than there are bad teachers. I truly don't believe that any teacher goes into teaching thinking, "I am just going to do what I need to do to get by because I don't care about children. I am only here for the short hours and I get summers off"

In conclusion, teachers:

• many times leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark
• work at home grading, planning, etc. (this does not include their mom or dad duties)
• work for free doing parent-teacher conferences, meet the teacher nights, math nights, literacy nights, read-to-me nights, school carnivals, community clean-ups, science fairs, curriculum nights, book parades, and pep rallies just to name a few
• can collect field trip money, t-shirt money, homework, make-up work, notes from home, and have it counted, checked off, organized and put away in the first five minutes of the day
• can eat a seven course meal in seven minutes
• take a thirty minute lunch everyday (if that much)
• never get to go to lunch
• eat their lunch with children
• eat their breakfast with children
• spend thousands of dollars every year for their class and can only deduct $250 a year
• deserve Oscars for keeping the attention of children 7 hours a day
• never sit down
• are always exposed to germs
• are substitute mothers
• know more about some students than they want
• wish they could take many of their students home
• have to prove that they are highly qualified every year
• know their jobs are the first to be cut in a budget crisis
• are expected to have ALL students at grade level
• teach before school, during school, and after school
• are accountants
• are janitors
• are counselors
• are plumbers
• are organizers
• are behavior management specialists
• are mechanics
• have to wait forever to go to the bathroom

I have this quote on the bottom of my email that I would like Doug Ducey and the legislature to see:

"Every city should make the common school so rich, so large, so ample, so beautiful in its endowments, and so fruitful in its results, that a private school will not be able to live under the drip of it." Henry Ward Beecher

It’s time for the great state of Arizona to restore the cuts made from the education fund. It’s time to lower the pupil-to-teacher and counselor ratio and raise the per-pupil funding. It's time to stop overlooking support staff. Our children should be the only thing on our minds. It’s time!

Paco’s Perspective

Doug Ducey is a person? When I make doo-doo in the yard and you pick it up you always say, “Wow! That’s a big Doug Ducey!” I am one confused chihuahua.

The Flip Side

Are you sure you’re NOT political?

Inclusion

I have been disabled all my life. Fortunately for me I had the opportunity to attend public school and be included in mainstream classes. This is no small fete considering that I am a child of the sixties when handicapped students were not allowed to attend public school. How could this happen?

I was born in Iowa. I have an older sister, a younger sister and a younger brother, Brad” that was also disabled. It was difficult for my brother and me to maneuver in the snow and the cold weather wasn’t great for anyone with Muscular Dystrophy. My parents took a big risk leaving family, friends and work behind to move to Arizona for my brother and I.

In the summer of 1962, my parents bought a John F. Long home on the Westside of Phoenix, Arizona a half of a block away from Holiday Park Elementary School in the Cartwright District. I was six years old and my mom decided to sign me up to attend school. In the sixties disabled children did NOT attend public school. My disability wasn’t obvious at such a young age. I could walk at the time but if I fell, one could easily see that I was disabled by the way I got up and the time it took me to get up. On the first day of school my mom looked me in the eye and said, “Watch your step! Don’t fall! And, Cathy, keep your mouth shut and don’t make waves!” (Even at the age of six, I was being warned to be quiet and don’t make waves. Those that know me will laugh at this and wonder why I didn’t follow that mantra all my life.) I happily attended Holiday Park Elementary School. My parents were part of the local Muscular Dystrophy Association and Brad and I were cute kids at that young age and were the “Arizona State Poster Children” for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. At many of the Muscular Dystrophy functions other parents were surprised that I attended public school and when my mother was asked how she got me in public school her answer was simple, “I went and registered her.”

The next year it was time for Brad to go to school. Brad was already in a wheelchair so there was no hiding the fact that he was disabled. My mom took my brother with her when she went to register him for school and this time she got a different reaction. She was directed to speak with the principal and he said he was sorry but Brad wouldn’t be able to attend school but he could give her a list of place where he could attend school. My mom said to the principal, “Why can’t he attend this school? His sister goes to this school and she has the same disability as Brad! Their problem is they can’t walk NOT that they can’t think!” The principal was dumbfounded and Brad attended Holiday Elementary School. At that moment in time, The principal, Robert Smith, my mom, Brad and I had set a precedent for the Cartwright School District – Disabled children were allowed to attend public school. Throughout my public school career I saw many disabled children attending school.

Why was this amazing? Public Law 94-142 was not passed until 1974, which was the year I graduated from high school. Public Law 94-142 gave ALL children the access to a public education. This was twelve years after I started attending public school.

I truly believe that if I hadn’t received a public education I would have never been able to attend or graduate from college. In the sixties, “education” for the disabled consisted of teaching life skills. Even in 1974 I had to fight to be allowed to become a teacher. The Arizona State University College of Education didn’t want me to waste my time and resources on a teaching degree that “the powers that be” felt would never be used because no one would hire disabled teachers. But I had spent years in the Cartwright District public school system influenced by so many amazing teachers and also by this time I had dropped the part of my mother’s daily mantra, “Cathy, keep your mouth shut and don’t make waves.” I was a tsunami and I fought to attend the College of Education, and besides The Arizona State University College of Education didn’t know I had an ace in the hole – the Cartwright School District.

Public Law 94-142 also stated that public buildings had to be handicapped accessible but there was a five-year time period that owners could take to make their buildings accessible. Many places started slow by painting a wheelchair on a parking space or taking the door off of a toilet stall to make it “accessible”. I spent most of my college years and part of my teaching career not drinking any liquids during the day and rushing home, at the end of the day, to go to the bathroom. In 1978, I graduated from Arizona State University with a teaching degree that many thought was useless.

In 1978 there was a push to “hire the handicapped” but at that time disabled teachers were not part of the “push”.  I went to the only place I knew that would accept me for who I was, the Cartwright School District. I figured if the Cartwright School District didn’t need a law to do what was right for children, then the district probably didn’t need a law to hire a disabled teacher.

In August of 1978 I started my forty-year teaching career. In the early 80s I was one of three teachers that implemented an inclusion plan where all special education students stayed in the mainstream class for the entire day. The Cartwright School District was doing inclusion long before the word was invented. The Cartwright District has always been open to research-based ideas that improve student achievement and has been the forerunner of doing what is the best for students without expecting any acknowledgement.

I am always amazed at the cycles in the education system. The Arizona State Department is cycling back to FULL INCLUSION. There are grants that teach and support schools on full inclusion. The school that I am teaching at now, Borman, is in the second year of the grant. I have always pushed to have my students with special needs stay in my class as much as possible. I believe they have a right to be exposed to the grade level curriculum. Many ask, “But what about the students that can’t handle the regular classroom?” The other day as I was walking across campus I ran into a student from another school I had taught in the past. When I first met him the word “autistic” was NOT part of our daily educational vocabulary as it is today.  I know this young man will never understand the middle school curriculum nor will he pass the state required tests. But being a part of the mainstream class is teaching him and his classmates life lessons. He is learning how to function in crowds. He is also learning how to avoid unkind individuals, unfortunately. I hope his classmates are learning to be more accepting of others. My head is not completely in the clouds. I know that there are students with special needs that will need a self-contained classroom and even one-on-one aids. But I also know that if one doesn’t set one’s goals beyond their reach then one will never reach the stars.

I am one of the lucky ones. If not for my full-inclusive public education, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I thank God for leading my parents to the right place, with the right open-minded leader at the wrong time in educational history. I guess I am again a “poster child” but this time for full inclusion. As I get ready to retire, no really I am, I’m not kidding this time, I realize how lucky I was to have a mother that wouldn’t take no for an answer and to have been a product of the Cartwright School District. 

Paco's Perspective

I like school. When will there be full-inclusion for dogs? I know there are a lot of faces to lick and hearts to melt.

The Flip Side

Do they have lizards at school? You know how much I love chasing lizards, oh, and bunnies and gophers and squirrels? Did some say squirrel? Is there a class in chasing animals?

Osa's Opinion

I'm thinking school is not the place for us! What is school?