Saturday, November 5, 2011

I know not everyone is a heavyweight boxing fan...

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Joe Frazier's legacy will include more than his battles with Muhammad Ali

Sunday, November 06, 2011, 12:08 AM
  By Jerry Izenberg edited by I, Praetorian

   Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, shown in 2009, has been diagnosed with liver cancer.
   Joe Frazier is dying inside a hospice in Philadelphia. He has liver cancer. Soon the Philadelphia left hook that seemed to have a life all its own will have lost every ounce of its thunder. Soon, Joe will be gone.
But Death, be not proud because you will not beat Joe. He will simply have run out of time before the final bell rings. In his last moments, his mind will still have him moving forward with that little bounce in his stride. And it will be as if he's saying:
   "Come on, Death. Show me what you got. You might win, but before you do I got something here for you."
So what follows here is the way I will always remember him. I covered his career. I was there on the night in the Philippines when he and Muhammad Ali left giant footprints as their legacy.
   Perhaps the best way to understand that is to begin in the wake of their first dramatic meeting in New York. This was one week after Joe Frazier had dumped the once and future heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali on his rear end on that long-gone night in Madison Square Garden.
Now we were standing outside a deli not far from the Joe Frazier Gym in North Philadelphia and these three kids, maybe 9 years old each, were running toward us shouting:
   "Joe Frazier ... Joe Frazier ... Joe Frazier."
   And the smile on Joe's face as they came nearer and nearer seemed to light up the tired, gray neighborhood. As they danced around him, Joe sent an aide back to his Rolls-Royce for autographed pictures. He gave one to each and Joe told them: "Now y'all stay in school. Don't make me have to find you."
Two of them laughed, but the third one said:
   
"My daddy says Muhammad Ali was drugged,"

   In that instant a cold, cold mask seemed to slide across the champion's face. "Yeah ... yeah," Joe said, "I drugged him with a left hook." And they saw the look in his eyes and all three of them ran away.
Frazier turned to me and said:
   "You heard that. What I got to do? What the hell I got to do?"
There was nothing he could do. Not then. Not ever. The sheer force of Ali's personality would doom him to a role as destiny's stepchild. The impossible riddle Joe posed that afternoon would follow him through his always courageous and often brilliant career. It was a question with no answer.
This is what Herman Melville meant when he wrote of Ahab's pursuit of the great white whale in Moby Dick. He and Ali would be linked forever inside a crucible of their own making. You could not mention one without the other.
Each time they would push each other to a place where neither had been before. Styles make fights and the very nature of their styles dictated that each time they met, they were not fighting for a belt or a crown. They did not fight for the championship of the world or Paraguay or Manila.
   No matter that Ali had the personality, the charm, the wit to dominate America's memory. Joe had the tools to force greatness upon Muhammad. That's why the thing they fought to claim was the heavyweight championship. The true fight was for claim over the other.
And they both knew it.
   It was never more obvious than on a sweltering day inside the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City just beyond the Manila skyline. It was at least 100 degrees inside that arena. At the start, Ali was, well, Ali — dancing, jabbing, taunting, winning. But something out of the ordinary happened in the fourth.
For virtually all of his career, Joe Frazier was a one-handed fighter (but what a hand!). His left hook was ferocious. His right hand? Well, you had to wonder whether he could even tie his shoes with it.
   But in the gym in Philly, Eddie Futch, the head trainer, and Georgie Benton, his assistant, worked for weeks on that right hand. "You are going to give him something to think about," Futch said over and over.
And in that fourth, Joe threw a right hand that landed on Ali's head.
   “You ain't got no right hand," Muhammad chanted shaking off the amazement. And then — POP. Another one.
"They told me you old," Ali said, breathing hard.
"They told you wrong," Joe shot back.
   And now suddenly it was a fight. A fight? Hell, it was the greatest heavyweight fight since Cain and Abel.
The ebb and flow was incredible. Guys get up off the mat in a fight and, once in a while, win. But you rarely see one guy losing and then winning and then losing and then ...
Well, you get the idea.
   In the end this fight was decided by anatomy. The shorter Frazier began to experience huge swelling around the eyes. In order to see, he had to straighten up — the exact opposite of his corner's game plan.
Ali now was winning. But in Round 13, he was so exhausted at a time when Frazier stood there with both arms down and legs exhibiting all the power of wet spaghetti. All Ali had to do was walk 5 feet or so and touch him and it would have been over. But Ali was too weak to do it.
   In the corner after 14, Futch told Benton to cut Joe's gloves off. Joe pushed and shoved and threatened, but they came off. Then Ali saw that it was over and collapsed.
   Nobody was tougher than Joe Frazier. Nobody had a bigger heart.
Death will probably win this last fight, but knowing Joe in that hazy limbo that spells the end, he'll probably tell old Death, "Don't gloat. Fifteen years ago, you wouldn't have laid a glove on me."
And forever after, I'll believe Joe was right.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

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 — Montgomery High School Principal Lee Romero sees the $24 million deficit the Sweetwater Union High School District is trying to close in its $320 million budget through layoffs and wonders if there isn’t a better solution.
Such as salary cuts.
Romero said he and his wife, who is a teacher, along with others would be willing to take a pay cut if it meant saving the four instructors slated to be laid off at his school if class sizes grow from 31 to 34 students, as proposed by the district.
“At what point do we do the right thing and take the cuts away from the classroom, because it is going to hurt our kids? Nobody including the district, including the unions, are talking about taking a pay cut,” Romero said. “If we go this route (by increasing class sizes), it is going to be bad for everybody.”
Alex Anguiano, president of the teachers union, said it was premature to discuss the possibility of salary cuts because negotiations on a new contract have not formally begun. But did express dissatisfaction with other areas of the district’s budget.
“Our district is spending money like there is not an economic crisis at all, so if we evaluate economy based on what school board has been approving, then there is not an economic crisis,” he said. “There are already less teachers. Classrooms are pretty overcrowded. That was our contribution to this fiscal crisis. We have already paid significantly.”
Among the teachers Romero expects to lose under seniority rules that come into effect during layoffs is special education teacher Juan Carrillo and county Teacher of the Year nominee Rhea Walker. They have been teaching for four years and 11 years, respectively.
According to Romero, those who could lose their jobs have contributed to his campus seeing an 85-point increase on the state’s performance index.
“To have more students in a classroom means more special ed students in a classroom, and it almost seems impossible,” Carrillo said.
Romero said no one should be laid off.
“In my 24 years of education, I have never seen a teacher released due to their ineffectiveness,” Romero said. “To lose some of the people who work the most or are effective, that’s just not right.”  (True for my 15 years, nor any rotten DO level administrators)
Walker can see both sides of the tenure system. (I can see both sides of a traffic wreck doesn't mean I advocate for causing one)
“Time and again you have proven your worth, but the bottom line is still the dollars,” Walker said. “You are thankful and grateful to have something there to guarantee you have a job, but at the same time it’s a double-edged sword.”
Romero said pay cuts need to be addressed.
“There’s 10 percent unemployment in California and people are taking cuts, but we have not,” he said. (much higher for Socal in general)
About 110 pink slips were issued last year; all but six Spanish teachers were called back to work. Administrators are taking four furloughs this year.
Anguiano said the union will defer to the will of its members in matters such as class size and salary reductions. The bargaining team for the union will be seeking member input through a series of open hearings and a survey, he said.
The district cut $11 million from this year’s budget to help close a more than $23 million deficit. The shortfall was covered with stimulus funds and previously restricted money that the state freed up for use in other areas.

For more than 40 years educators have stated the obvious: for students to be successful in school...



BY P.E. STAFF WRITER   DAYNA STRAEHLEY dstraehley@pe.com
Published: 28 October 2011 10:24 PM


EDITED for this site October,30 2011 by I, Praetorian


For more than 40 years educators have stated what in the classroom is obvious; for students to be successful in school, they need their parents to be involved. Towards that end, the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools said Friday it is opening the second annual Parent and Family Engagement Summit.


The event, which attracted hundreds of parent volunteers to Palm Springs, is part of an effort to raise awareness of and support for parents to be involved in their children’s education, he said.


“There’s only so much the school can do without the parents,” Superintendent Kenneth Young said, adding he includes other caregivers in the word “parents.” “There’s not much a school can do without the parents.”


He cited a University of Arizona study of high school dropouts, who had missed an average of 124 days of school, about three weeks per year, by the time they got to eighth grade.


“They essentially dropped out before they ever got to high school,” Young said. Teachers could see the pattern starting in kindergarten.


“If parents knew what life was going to be like for a high school dropout, they would have made a greater effort to get that child to school and improve attendance,” he said.


More education is the only way to improve the area’s economy, said Angel Meraz, a leader of Pathways to Success as part of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership.


Those who go to college in Inland Southern California lags the state average and the problem is even more acute in the Coachella Valley, which has one of the nation’s lowest college-going rates, he said. Some 75 to 80 percent of public school students live in poverty, so college seems financially inaccessible, Young said.


Pathways to Success had a contest last year to see which high schools could get the most students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which also determines eligibility for state grants and low-interest college loans. Indio High won, with 65 percent of seniors filling out the FAFSA, based on parents’ income tax returns, in early spring. Meraz said she hopes to increase the application rate 10 percent this year. Young said he wants to spread the competition countywide.


Parent involvement in education has to start well before it’s time to figure out how to pay for college. It starts when babies are learning to tell which person is mommy and which one is daddy, said keynote speaker and educational consultant John Antonetti.


Empathy at home is the No. 1 predictor of whether fourth-graders will be mathematical problem solvers, or “how often do they before age 6 explain what they are doing and thinking.”


People learn best when they think for themselves. He reminded educators and PTA leaders to give children time to figure out answers themselves. Telling them the answer too soon steals the opportunity for learning, Antonetti said.
Friday’s summit in Palm Springs, attended mostly by parents, followed a county summit Thursday attended mostly by educators.

This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out?

What's taking so long? This is the fight of our professional careers. Are You In or Out? "Hell has a special level for those who sit by idly during times of great crisis."
Robert Kennedy

The Art of SETTING LIMITS, Its not as easy as it looks.

Art of Setting Limits Setting limits is one of the most powerful tools that professionals have to promote positive behavior change for their clients, students, residents, patients, etc. Knowing there are limits on their behavior helps the individuals in your charge to feel safe. It also helps them learn to make appropriate choices.


There are many ways to go about setting limits, but staff members who use these techniques must keep three things in mind:
Setting a limit is not the same as issuing an ultimatum.
Limits aren’t threats—If you don’t attend group, your weekend privileges will be suspended.

Limits offer choices with consequences—If you attend group and follow the other steps in your plan, you’ll be able to attend all of the special activities this weekend. If you don’t attend group, then you’ll have to stay behind. It’s your decision.
The purpose of limits is to teach, not to punish.
Through limits, people begin to understand that their actions, positive or negative, result in predictable consequences. By giving such choices and consequences, staff members provide a structure for good decision making.
Setting limits is more about listening than talking.
Taking the time to really listen to those in your charge will help you better understand their thoughts and feelings. By listening, you will learn more about what’s important to them, and that will help you set more meaningful limits.
Download The Art of Setting Limits

SYSTEMATIC USE OF CHILD LABOR


CHILD DOMESTIC HELP
by Amanda Kloer

Published February 21, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT
category: Child Labor
Wanted: Domestic worker. Must be willing to cook, clean, work with garbage, and do all other chores as assigned. No contract available, payment based on employer's mood or current financial situation. No days off. Violence, rape, and sexual harassment may be part of the job.

Would you take that job? No way. But for thousands of child domestic workers in Indonesia, this ad doesn't just describe their job, it describes their life.

A recent CARE International survey of over 200 child domestic workers in Indonesia found that 90% of them didn't have a contract with their employer, and thus no way to legally guarantee them a fair wage (or any wage at all) for their work. 65% of them had never had a day off in their whole employment, and 12% had experienced violence. Child domestic workers remain one of the most vulnerable populations to human trafficking and exploitation. And while work and life may look a little grim for the kids who answered CARE's survey, it's likely that the most abused and exploited domestic workers didn't even have the opportunity to take the survey.

In part, child domestic workers have it so much harder than adults because the people who hire children are more likely looking for someone easy to exploit. Think about it -- if you wanted to hire a domestic worker, wouldn't you choose an adult with a stronger body and more life experience to lift and haul and cook than a kid? If you could get them both for the same price, of course you would. But what if the kid was cheaper, free even, because you knew she wouldn't try and leave if you stopped paying her. Or even if you threatened her with death.



Congress Aims to Improve Laws for Runaway, Prostituted Kids

by Amanda Kloer

categories: Child Prostitution, Pimping

Published February 20, 2010 @ 09:00AM PT

The prospects for healthcare reform may be chillier than DC weather, but Democrats in the House and Senate are turning their attention to another warmer but still significant national issue: the increasing number of runaway and throwaway youth who are being forced into prostitution. In response to the growing concerns that desperate, runaway teens will be forced into prostitution in a sluggish economy, Congress is pushing several bills to improve how runaway kids are tracked by the police, fund crucial social services, and prevent teens from being caught in sex trafficking. Here's the gist of what the new legislation is trying to accomplish:

Shelter: Lack of shelter is one of the biggest vulnerabilities of runaway and homeless youth. Pimps will often use an offer of shelter as an entree to a relationship with a child or a straight up trade for sex. In the past couple years, at least 10 states have made legislative efforts to increase the number of shelters, extend shelter options, and change state reporting requirements so that youth shelters have enough time to win trust and provide services before they need to report the runaways to the police. Much of the new federal legislation would make similar increases in the availability and flexibility of shelter options.

Police Reporting: Right now, police are supposed to enter all missing persons into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database within two hours of receiving the case. In reality, that reporting doesn't always get done, making it almost impossible for law enforcement to search for missing kids across districts. This hole is a big problem in finding child prostitution victims and their pimps, since pimps will often transport girls from state to state. The new bill would strengthen reporting requirements, as well as facilitate communication between the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Runaway Switchboard

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women

We Must Never Forget These Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen and Women
Nor the Fool Politicians that used so many American GIs' lives as fodder for the fight over an english noun - "Communism"