Northwest Washington State and Vancouver

Whenever I travel, I am full of questions. What kind of moss is that hanging from the trees? Where do the people of the area come from? Where's the nearest collection of indigenous peoples' art?

The Northwest Coast of the United States and lower Canada are amazing! There are mountains, ocean, rivers, forests, and lakes. Friendly people are happy to recommend places to see if you will only be here a short time. Seafood is excellent, and I was happy to have some sockeye salmon yesterday in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The art of the native tribes is fascinating, and hiking is rigorous and beautiful.

This part of the country does not seem to be suffering much from the economy yet, and housing prices remain much higher than the Midwest. Vancouver was preparing for the 2010 Olympics and had a much lower homeless population in the downtown area than Chicago. As the taxes from incomes dwindle, more and more people are being affected. Will there be pockets of the country that are protected from the shock most of us have been through? I certainly hope so. Michigan is being forced to retool itself, which is a good thing. Much like the Quad-Cities (IL-IA) during the farm debt crisis, Michigan will have to diversify in order to survive. Yet the suffering of financial insecurity is so unpleasant I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Equal Pay Day 2009

About two decades ago, I was doing an independent study comparing the Women's Rights Movements in the 1870s in Scandinavia to the 1970s in the U.S. It was encouraging to see that women had gained the right to vote in that century, but I wonder how long it will take to earn the same salary for the same work. According to Encyclopeadia Britannica Online, women earned 45% less than men when the 1963 Equal Pay Act was passed(1). This year, women have reached 22% less(2). Will it take another sixty years to reach equality in pay?

I think the era of the invisible housewife is ending, although women still receive no wages for homemaking. When divorce or retirement occur, there are no provisions for their financial well-being. I finished reading a book called The Economics of Being a Woman this year. It was written in 1970 by Dee Dee Ahern with Betsy Bliss. Sadly, most of the problems they cited in the book have been exacerbated by the long slow inflation of the last few decades. My mom, who was a part-time nurse, received social security benefits on her underpaid, underemployed income until my dad died, when she was able to receive his instead of hers. She lived on a small investment that had grown over the years until last fall.

Divorce provides more support for the lower wage earner these days, but it is still dependent on the good will and honesty of the person court-ordered to pay maintenance and support, unless the custodial parent is on welfare or wealthy enough to go to court repeatedly (in which case, there would probably be no maintenance).

My grandmother lived on social security for twenty years, a figure that amounted to about $150 a month. She would serve us meat every day for a week when we went for a visit, but could not afford to eat it herself. My inheritance from her consisted of a couple of handmade quilts and wooden canisters (which I treasure).

When I think about retirement, I think about spending my time working for just causes, and this is certainly one I value. My mother's generation was able to devote time and attention to volunteer work all their lives, but my generation may just change the meaning of retirement for all women...if we have enough to live on.

(1)Equal Pay Act. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 28, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/190581/Equal-Pay-Act

(2)Falling Short in Every State:
The Wage Gap and Harsh Economic Realities for Women Persist(2009).
Retrieved April 28, 2009, from National Women's Law Center: http://www.nwlc.org/fairpay/statefacts.html

Learning All the Time

Once again I find myself in the position of learning a great deal in a short time. Please visit my Wiki for the ICE 2009 Conference and let me know what you think. My handouts and presentation will be available on the ICE Wiki and my web page. Hope you can make it to the ICE conference in St. Charles, IL.

Learning

For me, almost all of my learning occurs for two reasons: either I want to learn something or I have to learn something to make my life easier. My learning at work this year has been monumental, almost equal to the learning I undertook as a single parent, taking coursework in Learning Disabilities, Gifted Education, and Technology in Education. This year, I have learned how to use Guided Reading groups, Project Read phonics lessons, Balanced Math curriculum, behavior reinforcement systems for elementary-aged students, and social skill curricula. As a presenter at the ICE conference, I am already learning more about Assistive Technology. Although my experience with its use in Early Childhood qualifies me as more than just a beginner, I am exploring what is out there to make sure I am updated on the latest trends. I will just be presenting on some very simple things teachers can do to make their lives easier by meeting students' needs, but it gives me the opportunity to catch up on the latest information since I last took Donna Wakefield's great class at National-Louis University. I have created a Wiki for posting resources(see sidebar).