Memorial Day - Letters from the Front - 1945

March 26, 1945, PFC Ivan "Brooke" Kerr wrote to his wife in Punxsutawney, PA, that he thought the war was going well:

"We sure have had some nice weather for our Air Force and they sure are going to town on the enemy the last while back.  I sure hope it stays that way for I am very anxious for this war over here to get over with and I am not the only one that feels that way.  They are giving furloughs to the states for thirty days and some of the fellows are going - and I am waiting on my chance to go. That sure will be a great day. When I get home I won't know what to do or how to act for it sure has been a long time since I have been there. "

Though he wrote from somewhere in Germany, he had no way of knowing that in just a month and a half, on May 7, 1945, Germany would unconditionally surrender to the Allies and the world would be celebrating V-E day on May 8th.  


Ivan Kerr, who went by the nickname "Brooke" back then, is Gary's grandfather.  He wrote to Gary's grandmother, whom he affectionately referred to as "My Darling Wife" or "Sis."  Her name was Trelba,  but she was called "Bea" by most who knew her:

His letters were simply addressed to Mrs. Ivan Kerr, 103 Cliff St. Punxsutawny, Penna and bore the stamp of the "Army Examiner"

In his letters, he alternated between talking about the weather, admonishing his young wife for not writing more, and dispensing financial advice:

"I am still wondering why you don't write to me more often, dear.  The way I feel sometimes I could give you a good bawling out but the thing is I don't know who or what to blame it on as to the reason I don't hear from you more often. ...If I don't hear from you I am afraid I will loose [sic] my patience and I will write the kind of letter you don't like to receive from me."

It must not have been easy for his wife, holding down the fort with three little children, including Carolyn, who was born after he left for the war.  There were war rations to deal with   as well as financial pressures:

"Say dear, do you get the twenty dollars over your regular allotment and if so, what are you doing with it? You get $120 a month don't you?  Say, just a good tip - you had better save as much as you can now for there may be days ahead that we will need it."

She had no idea at that time that his unit, the 110th Infantry Regiment, had marched on foot across most of Europe.  They had landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, had marched across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and finally, Germany:

"The 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, on 16 December 1944, held the center sector of the defensive zone of the division and VIII Corps in the Ardennes. Here it lay astride the main attack axis of the German LXVII Panzer Corps of the Fifth Panzer Army headed to Bastogne, Belgium, and points west. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned by the attacking German force, the 110th Infantry put up one of the classic defensive stands in American military history. By sacrificing themselves, the officers and men of the 110th Infantry bought the precious time needed for the 101st Airborne Division to be trucked into the vital crossroads town of Bastogne and consolidate its defenses with elements of the 9th and 10th Armored Divisions and miscellaneous remnants of the 28th Infantry Division and VIII Corps. The story of Bastogne is well-known, but it was only possible with the sacrifice of those American soldiers to the east."

Gary's grandfather's military discharge papers list the following battles and campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe, and Ardennes.  He was awarded five Bronze Service Stars before finally being discharged in August of 1945.  

He returned home, eventually moved to Akron, where he raised Dennis, Ivan, Carolyn, and his brother's daughter, Cora, while working for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.  After he retired, he and Bea moved to Harlingen, Texas and began the next chapter in their lives. 

Like many men of his era, he has always been reluctant to talk about his time in the war.  We've dragged bits and pieces out of him, but he's never shared many details and has never been proud of what he personally did - though he's always been a proud American and loves his country. 

Grandpa is now 93 years old and in failing health.  He lives in Dallas,  where he is cared for by the wonderful family of his second wife, Jeri, whom he married at age 80.  He's lived a good, long life and is looking forward to seeing Jesus, his Savior, and receiving his heavenly reward.  On this day I wanted to express our family's gratitude for his service to our country and for the many, many others throughout the years who have made the freedom we enjoy possible.  

Churches advertising segregation - update

A few weeks ago I wrote about Smithville, MS, which was devastated when a tornado roared through this tiny town.  The town's official website had this "helpful" directory :

Smithville Area Churches

White Churches African American Churches Smithville Baptist Church 60023 Monroe St. P. O. Box 52 Smithville, MS 38870 662-651-4542 Pastor - Bro. Wes White New Macedonia Baptist Ch.60017 Four Mile Road N. Smithville, MS 38870 662-256-4210 Pastor - TBA

An anonymous reader left the following comment after that blog post:

"My family is from Smithville and I lived there for a few years then happily left for good. When I called a family member to tell them about what I saw on the website they denied it because it had been changed by then. I'm glad to have your screen capture. This type of thing is so ingrained into the culture that they don't realise how offensive it is. Maybe it is a lesson learned for them. Sadly, I suspect it is not."

I'm very happy to note that the website has been changed and it no longer lists "White Churches" and "African American Churches."  It might have been a nice touch to randomly sort the churches instead of leaving them in what was formerly the "White" and the "African American" columns, but this is a start.  Let's pray that as the town recovers from the devastation the tornado caused, God will bring healing to the Body of Christ for those still wallowing in the sin of racism. 

Obama or Huntsman quote? Take the quiz.

Quiz time, kids.   Below is a series of quotes on various issues.  Each set has a quote from former Utah Governor/former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and one from President Obama.  See if you can figure out who the Progressive is.  Answers below. 


1.    "I had many discussions...with many legal experts who informed me that individual rights, equal rights, could be taken up to the level of civil unions without compromising traditional marriage, which is something I believe in. I believe in the traditional definition of marriage, but I also believe that we can do a better job in enhancing equal rights for more of our citizens... It may need to be clarified, over time, by way of the courts, but I think there was a pretty broad level of interpretation from the beginning that certain areas equating in enhanced equal rights would be allowed under [the Marriage Amendment]..."  


2.    "I believe that American society can choose to carve out a special place for the union of a man and a woman as the unit of child rearing most common to every culture. I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights no such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simlpy because the people they love are of the same sex... "

3.    "But in order to get to the heart and soul of carbon emission, which is a problem, because it leads to polluted skies and air quality problems and climate change, we must put a value on carbon. Until we put a value on carbon, we've never going to be able to get serious with dealing with climate change longer term. Now, putting a value on carbon either suggests that you go to a carbon tax or you get a cap-and-trade system under way...[we will] develop a comprehensive energy program ... which will include issues of affordability, issues of energy independence, and issues of sustainability. And when I speak of sustainability, I talk about ultimately a cap-and-trade system."

4.   "The market will set the price, but unlike the other cap-and-trade proposals that have been offered in this race, no business will be allowed to emit any greenhouses gases for free. Businesses don't own the sky, the public does, and if we want them to stop polluting it, we have to put a price on all pollution."  


5.    "...I believe in parents being able to provide children with religious instruction without interference from the state. But I also believe our schools are there to teach worldly knowledge and science. I believe in evolution, and I believe there's a difference between science and faith. That doesn't make faith any less important than science. It just means they're two different things. And I think it's a mistake to try to cloud the teaching of science with theories that frankly don't hold up to scientific inquiry."  


6.    “Public schools are largely secular institutions. I would expect my kids in science class to be instructed in those things that are somewhat quantifiable and based on thorough and rigorous empirical research.” “If it comes up in sociology or philosophy as differing views on creation, I think that's appropriate, ... But that doesn't happen until college or maybe later in high school.”  

7.    “First and foremost I want to make sure people are taken care of. We'll find the money to cover them; I want to make sure they're taken care of.”  "I mentioned yesterday to somebody asking a question that I wouldn't shy away from mandates. I think if you're going to get it done and get it done right, mandate has to be part of it in some way, shape, or form whether it's the college age population or whether it's something beyond, it's got to be a serious attempt, and I'm not sure you get to the point of serious attempt without some sort of mandate associated with what you're trying to do.  Certainly a market-based approach is part of the solution as well. We forget that. If a tax credit is something that the federal government ultimately works out, then you've got some market solutions tossed in and nobody likes the word mandate, but without that kind of insistence--that directness, I don't know that you can achieve something this challenging in a short period of time, which is what I think we need to do as a nation." 

8.    “If we are going to make people responsible for owning health insurance, we must make health care affordable. If we do end up with a system where people are responsible for their own insurance, we need to provide a hardship waiver to exempt Americans who cannot afford it. While I believe that employers have a responsibility to support health insurance for their employees, small businesses face a number of special challenges in affording health benefits and should be exempted.  I strongly believe that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option operating alongside private plans. This will give them a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive and keep insurance companies honest.”

9.    “But the situation is such today that I don’t think we have a choice, and before we begin the conversation of processing 11 or 12 million undocumented workers, we’ve got to secure the border. I hate the thought of a fence on the border. I mean, for me, as an American, the thought of a fence to some extent repulses me, because it is not consistent with … the image that we projected from the very beginning to the rest of the world. There’s got to be an alternative rather than sending people back. That’s unrealistic."  "A lot of these kids were either born here or certainly were not in a position in their earlier lives to have any influence over the outcome of their journey. They were brought here. Does that mean we disregard them and we kind of cancel them out from achieving the American dream?" 

10.  "Now, if the majority of Americans are skeptical of a blanket amnesty, they are also skeptical that it is possible to round up and deport 11 million people. They know it’s not possible. Such an effort would be logistically impossible and wildly expensive. Moreover, it would tear at the very fabric of this nation -– because immigrants who are here illegally are now intricately woven into that fabric. Many have children who are American citizens. Some are children themselves, brought here by their parents at a very young age, growing up as American kids, only to discover their illegal status when they apply for college or a job. Migrant workers -– mostly here illegally -– have been the labor force of our farmers and agricultural producers for generations. So even if it was possible, a program of mass deportations would disrupt our economy and communities in ways that most Americans would find intolerable."  

Scroll down for answers.....

1.  Huntsman Daily Herald

2.  Obama   The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.222-3 

3.  Huntsman   YouTube

4.  Obama   MarketWatch 

5.  Obama  York Daily Record

6.  Huntsman  ThinkExist

7.  Huntsman    ThinkExist    KUED

8.  Obama  NY Times

9.  Huntsman  Salt Lake Tribune    Deseret News

10.  Obama  WSJ

Leave me a comment and let me know how you did.  

Now,  can we please vote this guy off the GOP island right now and send him back to Team Obama where he belongs?  We don't have time for these distractions and RINO's.  


And if you haven't seen it yet, take a look at the clever video, "Not endorsed by Jon Huntsman or anyone in his campaign. Or by Mitt Romney."  

Just for fun...

My friend Glenna sent me this video about "homeschooled" vs. "homeschooler."  There is a difference!  Ryan and I spent the next hour watching YouTube videos on the OpheliaBH Channel.  Bethanie has a great mix of satire, sarcasm and silliness.  And, some of this hits a little too close to home:

Ever wonder why homeschoolers win all those spelling bees and manage to get into top colleges with perfect SAT scores?  It starts here:

Her insight into the political views of aliens is right on target. "If you claim not to have [a political view] I say to you, 'Lazy is a political view.'" 

Sooo.....which political figure best represents each of these aliens?:

• The Mean Alien - humans do not deserve to live and the planet should be destroyed for no good reason.

• The Happy Blue Co-existing Alien - Humans and aliens can co-exist. He believes humans are taking very good care of the planet so he wants to live here too. 

• The Environmentalist Alien - Believes humans are taking horrible care of their planet and he must warn us that our planet is going to be destroyed. They are the worry warts - the Al Gore-ish types in the alien world. 

• The Mean Green Alien - Earthlings are taking great care of the planet but he doesn't want humans to live there.  Believes humans should be killed so he can use our nice green grass and trees. 

We've already got Al Gore as the Environmental Alien.  Voting is now open for the other three. Post your nominees in the comment section below. 

Tea Party Targets Schools for 'Constitution Week'...Oooh...Scary!

Oh no!!  Is the Tea Party targeting schools with those guns they're so fond of clinging to?  Are they calling in bomb threats?  Sending anthrax laced sick notes to the principal?  Are they staging violent protests outside the school?  Surely it must be something seriously awful for this to be the TOP STORY on the Huffington Post site - and in 1749-point bold font, no less!

Never mind....it's just a bunch of moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas asking their local schools to follow the federal law requiring a day - one day out of the school year - to include instruction about the Constitution of the United States.  

Riot police shield Obama from Tea Party Grandmas

This terrifies the professional left:

"The Tea Party Patriots, Georgia-based but claiming 1,000 chapters nationally, are instructing members to remind teachers that a 2004 federal law requires public schools to teach Constitution lessons the week of Sept. 17, commemorating the day the document was signed. And they'd like the teachers to use material from the Malta, Idaho-based National Center for Constitutional Studies, which promotes the Constitution as a divinely-inspired document."

I know, right?  How dare they?  


Now, to be fair, the founder of the National Center for Constitutional Studies, Cleon Skouson, had some views that were out of the mainstream. He was a "John Bircher" and   even his Mormon church considered him to be too far out.  However, his most celebrated work, The 5000 Year Leap: Principles of Freedom 101,  doesn't venture into any of those areas.  It's an excellent book that uses mostly primary source quotes from the Founders and their contemporaries.  President Reagan said, "The National Center for Constitutional Studies...is doing a fine public service in educating Americans about the principles of the Constitution."   

"It's indoctrination, not education," said Doug Kendall, director of the Constitutional Accountability Center in Washington, D.C. "They're so far from the mainstream of constitutional thought that they are completely indefensible."

You can see a few of the lessons for yourself here and download the study guide here.  WARNING!!  If you're a person who doesn't believe in Natural Law (even though there is undeniable proof that our Constitution and Declaration of Independence were based upon it) and you don't like that DeTocqueville went on and on about how religions the fledgling United States was (because....well...it was), you'll probably hate it. 


Tea Party Patriots and their chapters across the country are encouraging members to contact schools in their area to remind them of the Federal law that requires teaching of the Constitution at all schools receiving Federal funds.  Public Law 108-447 Sec. 110(b), enacted in 2004 states:

"Each educational institution that receives Federal funds
for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United
States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students
served by the educational institution."

The plan for the Tea Party Patriots is to contact as many schools as possible to make sure they're abiding by this Federal law:

"Patriots across the country are justifiably concerned that students in the public schools are not being taught about the founding documents which created our nation. In 2004, Congress passed a law which requires an educational program on the Constitution be taught in all public schools during Constitution Week...Patriots should not have to remind schools to teach the history of the most important document in our country. That we have to do so is an indication of how awful the public school system has become with regard to teaching U.S. history...We have designed a simple plan to achieve this goal. It will be most effective if we can launch a national campaign in all 50 states."

The Medina Tea Party Patriots describes the plan:

This "Adopt-a-School” initiative is a simple three-step program that helps encourage schools to fulfill the federal mandate through our grassroots effort. We are encouraging parents to take part in this program by:

1) Adopting a school.

2) Sending three letters.

3) Helping the school implement the program.

Very subversive, isn't it?  A huge threat to our freedoms, according to the HuffPo.  One of the critics cited in their hit piece is The Center for Center for Civic Education which describes itself this way:

"The principal goals of the Center’s programs are to help students develop...an increased understanding of the institutions of constitutional democracy and the fundamental principals and values upon which they are founded..."

Oh, so they help students understand the constitutional democracies of Germany and the UK?  Because we have NO SUCH THING HERE!  Our Founders gave us a Constitutional republic, which provided for limited government, a balance of powers, and a system in which mere majority rule is tempered.  


Here we have Exhibit A for the need to teach each and every school child about the Constitution.  In a letter to George Wythe, August 13, 1786, commonly called "A Crusade Against Ignorance,"  Thomas Jefferson linked freedom to an educated citizenry:

"I think by far the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowlege among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised, for the preservation of freedom and happiness...Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish & improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils, and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests & nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance."

My favorite blogger (and friend whom I've not actually met) and now author, Dan Phillips, likes to say that if the Founding Fathers were to come back here they would say, "When were you conquered and by whom?"  I think they'd also ask, "When did you get a new Constitution?"  We need to get busy!

Chinese vs. U.S. Education

Last week I posted my thoughts about Governor Kasich's screening of Waiting for Superman and the discussion that followed with Michelle Rhee. This garnered a couple of comments from people who think   that other countries are surpassing us in education and both cited the creativity of the students from those countries.  I wanted to flesh that out a bit, so I've posted the comments below, along with my thoughts about them:  

One reader commented...

How many countries see their best and brightest attending American colleges to be doctors, engineers, and researchers? More than most of us would expect.

Why is that? Obviously, they want creative thinkers and problem solvers. Not people who can fill in a bubble on a standardized test.

__________________________________________________________________

My response (expanded from my original blog comment):

I disagree with you that countries are sending their best STEM students here because they are the most creative and the best problem solvers. On the contrary, countries like China prepare their students to be champion bubble-fillers. Read  this article, for example, about the differences between the Chinese and the Western styles of education. For the Chinese, it's all about rote memorization and the result is 'teaching to the test' on steroids: 

"China has a long history of standardized tests, beginning with the ancient imperial exams initiated during the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Used for over 1,300 years as a method of selecting government officials, some suggest that official exams should be counted as one of China’s major ancient inventions alongside gunpowder, paper money, printing and the compass.

Today, national tests determine which elementary, high school and university a student will attend. They are still the single most important factor in deciding one’s general career path.

"The testing period — especially of the college entrance exams — is a major event throughout the Chinese mainland. In Shanghai, government regulation has established “green protection zones” around exam sites where construction projects are suspended and traffic is redirected.

Taxi companies offer thousands of cars to be reserved in advance. Oral test questions are played out over the radio — and there are even stories of late students receiving police escorts to get them to the exams on time.
However crucial in the cities, the nationalized tests are even more important in the countryside, where they are seen as the only way to escape an otherwise dismal social fate."

As a result of the pervasive, high-stakes testing, the entire system is built upon rote memorization:

"China’s emphasis on memorization and rote learning has significant consequences. Students are taught that all questions have but one right answer and there is little room for debate and original thought.

Subjects like history and politics are focused solely on dates and names. Even the Chinese language exam, which requires students to write essays, allocates grades according to how well one can quote classical texts and idioms...

...Yet, when they go abroad many of these students find they are ill-prepared for Western education. Chinese students with phenomenal TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores are often incapable of taking part in simple English conversation.

At least one graduate school in one of America’s most elite universities has now become wary of accepting students from China for this reason...Assumed skills such as in-class participation, seminar presentations and individual research projects, common practice in elementary schools in North America, are largely unheard of in the Chinese classroom — even in most universities."

The author of the article (who, incidentally is sending her child to a Chinese school) tells how this translates into real life:

 "Arriving late for the set breakfast at a five-star hotel in Chengdu, for example, I, along with a group of other foreigners, found that the coffee had run out. Our request for more threw the staff into crisis.

It was not until a series of meetings had been held and permission sought from senior management that a fresh pot could be brewed.

Passing even trivial problems up the management hierarchy in this way is simply impossible in a sophisticated post-industrial society."

___________________________________________________________

Another reader's comments with mine (expanded from the original blog comment) interspersed: 


Anon said, "In China, they have discovered the HARD way that their system is failing their national interests. Their students come out of school with NO critical thinking skills, no creativity to use when solving real world problems.

My response: On the contrary, their system is highly successful at promoting China's national interests! Children are trained from a young age that their purpose in life is to serve the state. Training children in critical thinking would be completely counterproductive to that Communist system. Because of their highly industrialized society, they need to train factory workers, not innovators.

Anon said, "Most all [Chinese students] entering the work place require years of remedial work to over come this"

My response: Putting aside for a moment that a third of U.S. college students need to take remedial classes to be able to handle college work and 4 out of 5 of those had at least a 3.0 GPA in high school....

Anon said, "China has turned it's back on what they used to be doing, what so many corporate powers who see our education system as a profit center are proposing. They made an easy decision, based on the evidence, to change direction. 

My response: I'm not sure what you mean by this. China is and has been, since 1949, a Communist country. It's only been recently that they've begun to reform their education system. They've only had compulsory attendance since 1989 and illiteracy rates approaching 20% in some areas.  The situation is grim in rural provinces:

"Educators were recently shocked by a scandal in Minqin County, Gansu Province, where authorities mobilized 40,000 secondary- and primary-schoolchildren to collect the season’s cotton crop. One student died when a tractor driven by his classmate accidentally rolled over him. Yet, despite the number of brutal accidents, it is not uncommon for administrators in poor, remote areas to ask students to “contribute to the common good” by spending several hours a week working in factories, including those that lack proper industrial-safety standards. Moreover, given the near-universal gender discrimination, it is routine for rural families to keep their girls at home, rather than send them to school. Minister Zhou admits that in particularly impoverished villages, the dropout rate in junior high schools can be as high as 10% (Lanzhou Morning Post, December 1; Xinhua, April 27)

Teachers in rural areas often have to farm on the side because the pay is so low. Check out the movie "Up the Yangtze" sometime to see the desperate circumstances in rural China. 


And what does any of that have to do with "corporate powers," other than the fact that this nameless entity is always to blame for everything?

Anon said: "China is going to leave us in the dust if we let the deformers who spokes model Rhee is fronting for have their way."

It's very frustrating to have discussions with people who insist on name calling.

China may very well leave us in the dust, but not because they have a superior education system - they don't. They are able to produce an impressive number of students who are able to ace our standardized tests and are super-students. But will they be the innovative thinkers, the creators, the people who invent things and the thinkers of great and lofty ideas? Their education system and their culture are not designed to produce such students.

If they do leave us behind, it will because we are in debt up to our eyeballs to China, not because their system built upon prolific testing, one-size-fits-all rote learning and student tracking is superior to what we have here in the United States, even in it's current state.  The truth is that we do know how to deliver a quality education in this country.  It happens in quality schools across the country.  There are public, private, charter, and homeschools that are successfully educating students and preparing them for post-secondary education and life beyond school.  We're just not doing it consistently for all students in every school, which is why we need to give parents more choices in education so they can evaluate the quality of a school and choose the best one for their children.  When we do education well, complete with critical thinking, the Chinese are not in our league.

Roger Sherman - A Life of Extraordinary Accomplishment

"I received an e-mail from a friend today letting me know that Roger Sherman had passed away.  He was 97. Most people won't recognize that name, but nearly every family in the Akron area has been touched by his extraordinary accomplishments and generosity.

I first met Mr. Sherman at the Akron Zoo in the early 90's when I began to volunteer there.   He was a member of the Board and at the time,  the zoo was in the process of building Tiger Valley, including the new animal hospital bearing Sherman's name.  Most zoo visitors knew him as the "penny man," handing out pennies to children at the front gate of the zoo.  At the time, there was a plastic vortex penny collection bin and Mr. Sherman would hand pennies to the children to make them smile and welcome them to the zoo. My children were the happy beneficiaries to this service many times as youngsters!  

He also insisted on wearing the wizard costume every year for Boo at the Zoo.   Everyone knew better than to ask to be the wizard - it was "Roger's costume."  But most people didn't realize that in addition to donating his time, he also donated his money and his extensive executive experience as a long-time zoo board member.  

Pat Simmons, President and CEO of the Akron Zoo was especially fond of him and said this about Sherman:

''Roger Sherman was an inspirational mentor and a dear, dear personal friend. He was like 'the little engine that could' to the Akron Zoo. He was always there for us, pushing us and making sure the Akron Zoo would achieve greatness, and he would settle for no less. Roger was truly a servant leader.''

Most people also don't know that he was instrumental in making Akron Children's Hospital  into the world class facility it is today.  The Akron Beacon Journal reports: 

"Roger J. Sherman moved from Minnesota to Akron in 1944 to take over the Mary Day Nursery and Children's Hospital. He was 29 years old.

 The hospital had 100 beds, 180 employees and a budget of $185,000.

During the 36 years he led the facility, now known as Akron Children's Hospital, he had grown it into a regional referral center with 1,200 employees, 253 beds and a $30 million budget.

Today it boasts 4,232 employees who treated 550,000 children from almost every county in Ohio, 37 states and 13 countries last year, providing care in 78 locations with a budget of $428 million."

His obituary notes the following additions to the hospital during his tenure:

"There were numerous changes at Children's under Roger's leadership. Just a few of those were the establishment of the Central Burn Center for Children, the Poison Control Center, the Margaret Stone Laboratories, construction of the Auditorium & Education Building (which bears his name), establishment of the Cardiac Catherization Unit, the Urology Laboratory and medical Photography Department, establishment of one of the very first computer systems for hospital use in the mid-1960's, the Electrodiagnostic Laboratory, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Mary A. Howser Health Sciences Library, a new Outpatient facility with a new Emergency Department (Ambulatory Care Unit), a new Regional Intensive Care Unit, the Regional Burn Center for Children and Adults, a new Adolescent Surgical & Orthopedic Unit, a new Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and Physical & Occupational Child Life Programs. " 

It's mind-boggling to think of the progress made in his 36 years at Children's Hospital!  This was truly a gifted and hard-working man.


According to his daughter,  Irene Hayden, her father was largely self-educated. He was born a poor farmer, but decided at age 6 that the farming life was not for him.  He desired to further his education, but did not have the means to do so.  His high school principal offered to help out, but young Roger had to leave school to return to the farm when his father fell ill.  He took a job as a hospital orderly and began his self-education , reading Fortune Magazine and anything else he could find.  "That is how he educated himself in business," said his daughter.   She also reports that he used to read two books a week and had kept a journal since 1940, writing in it every day. Extraordinary!


His obituary also noted this:

"He came into life without monetary assets and he went out the same way, having donated most of the assets he accumulated throughout his life to assist various causes he valued most."

I don't know what Mr. Sherman's spiritual condition was or whether he had a relationship with Christ, but he certainly demonstrated the truth of these verses from 1 Timothy 6:7-8:

"[W]e brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content."

I will always remember Mr. Sherman as  a man who was kind and generous with his time.  He always took the time to ask me about my children and spoke kindly to them whenever they were around the zoo.  When he found out I was homeschooling them, he was curious and encouraging.  Even in his 80's he wanted to learn - he asked about the homeschooling regulations and how I planned to accomplish the task. If you knew Roger, you know he was always direct and didn't pull any punches!  Once he was satisfied that I had all my bases covered, he was enthusiastic and encouraging.  I will always be grateful for that bit of encouragement from such an accomplished man.   

Waiting for Superman...in the meantime, there's Kasich.

Last night I attended a screening of the documentary, "Waiting for Superman," hosted by Governor John Kasich and former D.C. Schools Chancellor, Michelle Rhee.  As we pulled up to the Cleveland State University Student Center we saw about a dozen protesters in front of the building.  I caught a glimpse of an anti-SB5 sign as we drove by.  SB5 is Gov. Kasich's public union reform bill and there is no small amount of opposition to it.  


There was a palpable tension in the room.  It was clear that this was not a crowd packed with only partisan Kasich supporters.  Ohio Democratic Party leader Chris Redfern, always ready with a lengthy, rhetoric-laden critique said this:

“Taxpayer dollars should not be used to promote the agenda of charter school fat cats at an invitation-only event sponsored by the corporate backers of John Kasich’s anti-middle class policies. To say the least."

"Invitation-only event" might be stretching the truth a bit.  I received an e-mail about the event from Americans for Prosperity Ohio.  It said the event was free, but an RSVP was required.  I responded to let someone at Gov. Kasich's office know that I would be attending and added my son's name as well, though he hadn't technically been invited.  Not a problem.  Then, at 4:45, right before the event, I sent another e-mail adding my son's girlfriend.  Again, not a problem. They even managed to have a name tag ready for her when we arrived at 5:45!  So it was clearly not a closed event, though the invitations may have initially been sent to those supportive of school choice. 


The movie "Waiting for Superman" follows the saga of several children trapped in failing public schools in some of the poorest, most crime-ridden cities in the U.S. These children are in desperate circumstances: Daisy, Emily, Francisco, Bianco, Anthony.  Unlike my children, who have had every advantage in life, these children have futures that are bleak, hopeless.  

As we were being introduced to these children and getting a glimpse of the warehouses that pass for schools in their inner-city neighborhoods, the narrative was suddenly interrupted.


The union protesters thought this would be a good time to march through the halls shouting their anti-reform slogans.   It was very disturbing that while people inside the auditorium were in tears over the plight of the children pictured above, union activists were demanding that we maintain the system that is failing these precious children. 


Just as a side note, I have been very frustrated by the misinformation being spread about SB5.  It's not extreme.  It's not "busting the unions," it's not eliminating pensions for government employees, it's not eliminating "tenure" (continuing contracts) for teachers who currently have that status. If you haven't already done so, I would encourage you to read the American Policy Roundtable's Frequently Asked Questions about SB5.  This non-partisan guide answers many of the questions that people on both sides of the issue have been discussing in a fair and non-emotional format.  Please share it with others.  


The movie was disturbing on so many levels.  It's heartbreaking that in the year 2011 we are still sentencing millions of children to spend their formative years in schools from which they will not graduate.   In one school, in the past 40 years, 60,000 students have passed through and only 40,000 have graduated.  What happened to the other 20,000?  


I was surprised to learn that the problems are not just in lower income,  inner-city schools.  Many affluent schools "track" students, meaning someone decides at a young age,  which children are college material and which are better suited for vocational school.  Those who are not deemed college material are put on a track that makes it almost impossible to later change tracks, sealing their fate at a young age.  They receive a far different education than their more academically gifted peers.  


The movie highlighted charter schools  and teachers with innovative solutions that were succeeding in the worst, most poverty-stricken areas of the country. But they've met with resistance from teachers unions and those who consider school reform - school choice - to be a turf war.  And the children pay the price.  It's disgusting and cruel to make these children enter a "lottery" for a 1/732 chance to attend a decent school.  No 2nd grader should have to suffer the fate of being labeled "not accepted" and forced to return to the dropout factory.  I'm in tears again just thinking about the sad faces of the children and the helplessness of their parents. 


Watch the trailer for the movie here:






After the movie, Gov. Kasich and Michelle Rhee answered questions from the audience.  The session was broadcast to screenings of the movie across the state.  


Michelle Rhee is a rock star.  Rhee, who is hated by the Left,  looked chic and beautiful in a tangerine dress.  She was featured in the movie as a tough innovator of the D.C. schools who was blocked at every turn by the powerful teachers unions.   Last night she proclaimed proudly that she was a life-long Democrat but insists that school reform and school choice is a bipartisan issue, saying, "I'm agnostic as to the delivery method."  In other words, she doesn't care how or where a child receives an education, as long as it's a good one.    If ever there was a bipartisan issue, this should be it.  


This was the first time I have heard Gov. Kasich speak in person.  He was very likable and passionate about this issue.  I mentioned that there was tension in the room.  When Kasich gave his opening remarks, it was obvious that some lines were designed to elicit applause from the audience.  Nothing.  Dead silence.  I was all ready to clap but got the same feeling I get in our Baptist church when I get the urge.....clap cramp.  It was an interesting group dynamic.  It was as if we sensed the tension, understood the powerful feelings of disagreement bubbling just below the surface, but somehow came to a tacit agreement that we would remain civil and polite. Somehow, "spiking the ball" at a Kasich applause line didn't seem appropriate.  Nor did booing.   While the rabble was roused outside, inside the auditorium it was a good moment for Ohio.  We were all there because we cared about children.


Whether or not you're a fan of Gov. Kasich, you have to give him credit for sticking his neck out and nearly exhausting the audiences' supply of questions.   It was about a 50/50 mix of questions from supporters of school choice and his reforms and from those opposed.  All were civil and polite.  He threw a good number of the questions to Michelle Rhee, who is clearly the expert on the topic.  Kasich stuck to the questions related to Ohio's specific reforms and those related to the union reforms and budget cuts.  He didn't flinch or back down, but stressed that he wanted to hear from teachers and work with them to create a fair way of evaluating them. 


An interesting tidbit that came out of the session was that Rhee convinced Kasich to include the performance pay for teachers in SB5.  He was going to scrap it, but after some heated debates with Rhee, realized it was necessary for true reform.  


At the end, everyone stood and gave Gov. Kasich and Michelle Rhee a round of applause.  I heard people around me, who didn't seem inclined to agree with Kasich on much, expressing their approval for the event and Kasich's demeanor.  I don't think he made any (new) enemies and probably gained a few (perhaps reluctant) supporters.  And if anyone came away from that movie not wanting to fight for school choice,  they are completely heartless.  

Feeling poorer? No wonder! The numbers don't lie.

This collection of charts and graphs will explain why you may be feeling poorer lately.  The price of nearly everything has gone up over the past few years.  For example, meat and fresh vegetables have gone up 10% in the last year alone.  These price increases are sometimes so gradual that we don't notice them immediately. But the inflating prices are beginning to drag down the budgets of many families - ours included.  Last week I was in Canton and dropped by a Marc's store.  I was SO excited to see cereal for under $3 a box that I stocked up and loaded my cart with it (much to the chagrin of the poor girl stocking the shelves).   I felt like I had won the grocery lottery!  I'm not the only one who's noticed. The Plain Dealer reports:

Tom Heinen, co-president of Heinen's Fine Foods, said that without a doubt, "these are the most significant across-the-board increases I've seen in my life." Corn is selling at $8 a bushel, more than double the $3 or $4 it was selling at last year, which drives up costs for everything from cattle to cereal, he said. "There's nothing out there that's telling us that commodity and energy prices are coming down," he said. "We're probably going to see the highest food prices we've seen in a long time."

I'm having flashbacks to the 70's and the Carter years.  I have a  vivid memory of my mother coming home with our family's first can of SPAM - the first of many - an unfortunate result of the high cost of meat and everything else during Carter's rampant inflationary years.  We had SPAM sandwiches, fried SPAM, and SLT's - SPAM, lettuce, tomato sandwiches.

Note that this 1970's SPAM ad is advertising "A lot of meat. But not a lot of money."  Ah, the good old days of Jimmy Carter!  Ryan, my computer geek Hillsdale College student tells me I should find some comfort in knowing that the percentage of the world population that consumes SPAM each day is 0.0000049%, which means it's highly unlikely that I will ever have to eat it again. (That private college tuition is really paying off!) Nevertheless, I do worry that we are heading back to the SPAM-Seventies:

Current Gas Prices and Price History

The graph reflects DOE's weekly survey (Sources). Current Annual Inflation Rate InflationData.com Current Annual Inflation Rate Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ave 2011 1.63% 2.11% 2.68% 3.16% NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 2010 2.63% 2.14% 2.31% 2.24% 2.02% 1.05% 1.24% 1.15% 1.14% 1.17% 1.14% 1.50% 1.64% 2009 0.03% 0.24% -0.38% -0.74% -1.28% -1.43% -2.10% -1.48% -1.29% -0.18% 1.84% 2.72% -0.34% 2008 4.28% 4.03% 3.98% 3.94% 4.18% 5.02% 5.60% 5.37% 4.94% 3.66% 1.07% 0.09% 3.85% 2007 2.08% 2.42% 2.78% 2.57% 2.69% 2.69% 2.36% 1.97% 2.76% 3.54% 4.31% 4.08% 2.85% 2006 3.99% 3.60% 3.36% 3.55% 4.17% 4.32% 4.15% 3.82% 2.06% 1.31% 1.97% 2.54% 3.24% 2005 2.97% 3.01% 3.15% 3.51% 2.80% 2.53% 3.17% 3.64% 4.69% 4.35% 3.46% 3.42% 3.39% 2004 1.93% 1.69% 1.74% 2.29% 3.05% 3.27% 2.99% 2.65% 2.54% 3.19% 3.52% 3.26% 2.68% 2003 2.60% 2.98% 3.02% 2.22% 2.06% 2.11% 2.11% 2.16% 2.32% 2.04% 1.77% 1.88% 2.27% 2002 1.14% 1.14% 1.48% 1.64% 1.18% 1.07% 1.46% 1.80% 1.51% 2.03% 2.20% 2.38% 1.59% 2001 3.73% 3.53% 2.92% 3.27% 3.62% 3.25% 2.72% 2.72% 2.65% 2.13% 1.90% 1.55% 2.83% 2000 2.74% 3.22% 3.76% 3.07% 3.19% 3.73% 3.66% 3.41% 3.45% 3.45% 3.45% 3.39% 3.38% <500div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> Note: Red indicates Deflation, NA indicates data not yet released. Get more Historical Data from InflationData.com Consumer Price Index YEAR JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC ANN 2011   220.223   221.309   223.467 224.906 2010   216.687   216.741   217.631 218.009   218.178   217.965   218.011   218.312   218.439   218.711   218.803   219.179   218.056 2009   211.143   212.193   212.709 213.24   213.856   215.693   215.351   215.834   215.969   216.177   216.33   215.949   214.537 2008   211.08   211.693   213.528 214.823   216.632   218.815   219.964   219.086   218.783   216.573   212.425   210.228   215.303 2007   202.416   203.499   205.352 206.686   207.949   208.352   208.299   207.917   208.49   208.936   210.177   210.036   207.342 2006   198.3   198.7   199.8 201.5   202.5   202.9   203.5   203.9   202.9   201.8   201.5   201.8   201.6 2005   190.7   191.8   193.3 194.6   194.4   194.5   195.4   196.4   198.8   199.2   197.6   196.8   195.3 2004   185.2   186.2   187.4 188   189.1   189.7   189.4   189.5   189.9   190.9   191   190.3   188.9 2003   181.7   183.1   184.2 183.8   183.5   183.7   183.9   184.6   185.2   185   184.5   184.3   183.96 2002   177.1   177.8   178.8 179.8   179.8   179.9   180.1   180.7   181   181.3   181.3   180.9   179.88 2001   175.1   175.8   176.2 176.9   177.7   178   177.5   177.5   178.3   177.7   177.4   176.7   177.1 2000   168.8   169.8   171.2 171.3   171.5   172.4   172.8   172.8   173.7   174   174.1   174   172.2

"The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)  is compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is based upon a 1982 Base of 100. A Consumer Price Index of 158 indicates 58% inflation since 1982. The commonly quoted inflation rate of say 3% is actually the change in the Consumer Price Index from a year earlier. By looking at the change in the Consumer Price Index we can see that what cost an average of 9.9 cents in 1913 would cost us about $1.82 in 2003 and $2.02 in 2007.

To find Prior Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on this table (back through 1913) click on the date range links below the table."

Food CPI and Expenditures: CPI for Food Forecasts

For more information, see Analysis and Forecasts of the CPI for Food and What's Behind the Forecasts?  Download this table in Excel format. Changes in Food Price Indexes, 2008 through 2011 April 25, 2011 Item Relative importance1 Month- to- Month Year- over- Year Annual Annual Annual Forecast Feb2011 to Mar2011 Mar2010 to Mar2011 2008 2009 2010 20112 Consumer Price Indexes  Percent Percent change All food 100.0 0.7 2.9 5.5 1.8 0.8 3.0 to 4.0 Food away from home 43.1 0.3 1.9 4.4 3.5 1.3 3.0 to 4.0 Food at home 56.9 1.0 3.6 6.4 0.5 0.3 3.5 to 4.5 Meats, poultry, and fish 12.5 1.3 8.3 4.2 0.5 1.9 5.0 to 6.0 Meats 7.9 1.9 10.4 3.5 -0.6 2.8 6.0 to 7.0 Beef and veal 3.7 2.3 12.2 4.5 -1.0 2.9 7.0 to 8.0 Pork 2.5 2.3 11.2 2.3 -2.0 4.7 6.5 to 7.5 Other meats 1.7 0.3 5.5 3.1 2.3 -0.1 3.0 to 4.0 Poultry 2.4 0.0 2.2 5.0 1.7 -0.1 2.5 to 3.5 Fish and seafood 2.2 0.6 7.7 6.0 3.6 1.1 4.5 to 5.5 Eggs 0.7 -0.2 1.0 14.0 -14.7 1.5 4.5 to 5.5 Dairy products 6.1 1.3 3.7 8.0 -6.4 1.1 4.5 to 5.5 Fats and oils 1.7 1.8 7.9 13.8 2.3 -0.3 6.0 to 7.0 Fruits and vegetables 8.4 1.2 3.5 6.2 -2.1 0.2 3.5 to 4.5 Fresh fruits and   vegetables 6.4 1.5 4.2 5.2 -4.6 0.6 3.5 to 4.5 Fresh fruits 3.3 -1.3 -1.5 4.8 -6.1 -0.6 3.0 to 4.0 Fresh vegetables 3.2 4.2 9.8 5.6 -3.4 2.0 4.5 to 5.5 Processed fruits and   vegetables 1.9 0.3 1.2 9.5 6.6 -1.3 3.0 to 4.0 Sugar and sweets 2.2 0.7 2.8 5.5 5.6 2.2 2.5 to 3.5 Cereals and bakery   products 7.9 0.5 1.8 10.2 3.2 -0.8 3.5 to 4.5 Nonalcoholic beverages 6.7 0.8 1.5 4.3 1.9 -0.9 2.0 to 3.0 Other foods 10.7 0.8 0.9 5.2 3.7 -0.5 2.5 to 3.5 Note: Bolded entries reflect changes from the previous month's forecast. Green arrows indicate an increase and red arrows indicate a decrease in the forecast from the previous month's forecast. 1BLS-estimated expenditure shares, December 2010. Food prices represent approximately 14 percent of the total CPI. 2Forecasts updated by the 25th of each month. Sources: Historical data from Bureau of Labor Statistics; forecasts by Economic Research Service.