Words & Banter

RED & BLACK ... Going Back To School

Design by Sawyer Pennington, Underlying photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash


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I can't believe it's already September. Labor Day's when I usually lament summer being over, yet rejoice that school has started!


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Labor Day is when I stop wearing white shoes. However, due to Texas heat, I will not give up my white jeans for at least another month or so. But, thanks to COVID-19, I barely go out.


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Oh yes, the coronavirus has definitely changed everything, whether going out or going back-to-school. I know the last few months of school were online but I'd hoped the new school year would be back to normal.


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That was wishful thinking. I know this is not how Sawyer planned to start her senior year. The good news is she already completed most of her critical classes, although the spring semester was a mad dash to convert to online learning, and may have been less rigorous than usual.


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At least, like many teenagers, she's comfortable being online. But I can't even begin to imagine how schools that have always centered on in-person learning can make the shift to online teaching. How do you spin on that dime? And what about elementary school, where so much of it isn't book learning, but actually doing things in the classroom?


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Educators – with students of all ages, including adult education – will have to be creative and innovative.


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Now there's an understatement! Especially as sitting in front of a computer all day can get tedious. Well, for anyone except you.


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Sawyer is very lucky. She has a laptop computer with all the software she needs and, minor interruptions aside, reliable Wi-Fi at home. What about all the students who are not as fortunate? What about the school districts without the manpower and expertise to develop and offer online teaching and online resources?


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Gee, I hate to admit it, but there are so many things we, no make that I, take for granted, until something happens. So, how are those students coping?! It seems so unfair.


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There definitely is an education inequality, and there is no quick fix. Meanwhile, schools are scrambling to get computers they can lend out, Wi-Fi is being made available by non-educational entities, and learning to teach using "less- than-smart" phones is being done by very creative and dedicated educators. They are our new front-line heroes.


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Absolutely! Can you imagine what going back to school would have been like if the coronavirus had struck decades ago when we were in K-12? Or, even 20 or 10 years ago?


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I hope that is a theoretical question, as you know that I prefer to look forward, not backward. Anyway, before the internet and social media, things would have been very different. On many fronts.


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All I know now is that the coronavirus is not only impacting learning, but also grades and testing, which is a HUGE part of what school's all about.


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Actually, in that regard, COVID-19 might be a good thing.


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Excuse me? I know you can spin anything, but really?! How can the coronavirus be good on any front?


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I will not get on my soapbox, but the focus on grades, standardized testing, and teaching to the test has not made education better. The lack of preparing students for life, but instead preparing them for grades and test scores, has led to a ripple effect that impacts not only students in terms of becoming productive individuals, but businesses seeking employees that possess more than just book knowledge.


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Yes, I know. Well, after years of listening to you talk about this, I know. I certainly didn't when I went off to college. You, of all people know my story – great grades, great college, but totally clueless about life. But whether you like it or not, students need grades and testing scores to move to the "next level".


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Really? Not this year. Standardizing testing, including the SAT and ACT tests, are not happening. Even class grades are being impacted. Since Sawyer is a senior, how she "presents" herself to colleges will have to be more than her GPA (Grade Point Average) and test scores.


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No kidding! The original plan was to take the SAT this past spring and again in the summer/fall. Now, I can't help but roll my eyes. For years, all we heard about is how critical the SAT (or ACT) is and now, in what seems like the blink of an eye, it's gone by the wayside.


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Which should help students who do not do well on standardized tests. Not to mention, the ones who are so much more than their grades and test scores.


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That's what we're hoping. Sawyer, although a very good student, knew some of her course selections might be considered "less-academic" than traditional college prep classes. So, last year she put together what I call a "marketing document" for college volleyball coaches to share with admission offices that explained how and why she selected her high school classes, as well as identified her skills and strengths. Things like leadership, communication, teamwork, etc.


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Guess she has been eavesdropping on much of what we have been saying for years.


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Technically, you started it. But once you explained it to me from a business perspective, it made perfect sense. Personally, I think that if students had the flexibility to focus on being well-rounded individuals with strong skills sets and not just grades and test scores, it would be a huge improvement,


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Which further supports my comment that COVID-19 could be a blessing in disguise. It is forcing the education world to come up with alternative ways of doing things. Some may be an improvement over how things had previously been done. While others will show how desperately things needed to be changed.


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I couldn't agree more. But do you think change in the education world is possible? After all, it's human nature to just revert back to the way things have always been done.


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There is no going back to the pre-pandemic world. COVID-19, and the associated economic upheaval and use of technology, has changed everything. Not just education.


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I guess, in one way or another, we're all going back to school in that we have to learn how to do things differently. Although I'm not sure I want to as I really don't like change.


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Well, like it or not, change happens.


Want to read other columns? Here's a list.

Photo by mevans on iStock
Since we first ran the conversation below, autism awareness has become more commonplace, but there’s a big difference between that and acceptance. (Which is why April is now Autism ACCEPTANCE Month.) Not to mention assumptions. Labels aside, don’t we all have something of value to contribute? Think about your different abilities (Black calls them “diff-abilities”), and you may find a new way to look at others, especially those with autism -- with respect, empathy, and a desire to better understand their situations, strengths, and challenges.


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Did you know that April's Autism Awareness Month? I wasn't aware (pun intended) of it until I read our local homeowner's monthly newsletter and it caught my eye.


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Actually, last month the founding organization, the Autism Society, changed "Awareness "to "Acceptance" to foster inclusivity, as knowing about something is very different from accepting it. But I am guessing that is not the point of this call.


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Although it isn't autism, it reminded me of years ago when we found out that Natasha has learning disabilities.


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I think you mean DIFF-abilities.


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Of course, that's another thing I remember. I was focused on the negative aspects of her diagnosis until you asked me, point-blank, "Why are they called disabilities?" And proceeded to explain that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses.


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Exactly! Imagine the world if everyone excelled at math, but flunked English. Or, a world of lawyers, but no musicians. Some people are better at social skills, while others excel at handling technical data. Why not just say that people who have different skillsets and abilities have DIFF-abilities versus making them feel like they have shortcomings?
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Design by Sawyer Pennington, Underlying photo by Ye Jinghan on Unsplash

We’ve all wanted a “second chance” at some point in our lives. A “do-over” for a mistake we made, a bad decision, or something that didn’t work out well. An opportunity to show (to ourselves and to others) that we learned our lesson.

Now imagine that second chance being life-changing. For many people who’ve found themselves on the wrong side of the law, a second chance might be all they need to turn their lives around. Which is why April was designated Second Chance Month and why we’re rerunning what changed Red’s perspective on second chances …



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I had no idea that April was “Second Chance Month” until you sent me the official proclamation. I find it interesting that in the midst of juggling our usual million and one Red & Black things, your interest in criminal justice, which I know you consider a “passion project”, is as strong as ever, maybe even stronger.


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It is not intentional, sometimes “ passion projects” find you. And, when you least expect it.


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Or where you least expect it! Only you would take a “field trip” to a men’s prison.


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I will not get on my soapbox about how our education system contributes to the criminal justice problem. I will never forget a friend of mine who was formerly incarcerated telling me, “Rehabilitating people makes the assumption they were habilitated in the first place.”


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When you stop and think about that statement, it’s pretty powerful! But I have to smile as once upon a time you, and I, used words like “offenders” and “prisoners” until we learned how our choice of words could be dehumanizing .


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Says the woman who once believed in the idea of “lock ’em up and throw away the key”.
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Image by filipefrazao on iStock

When you think of cancer, do you think that’s something only older people need to worry about?

Well, you’d be wrong because it’s alarming how many people under 50 are getting cancer. (Think Catherine, Princess of Wales.) And while the exact causes remain under investigation, what we do know is that early detection through cancer screenings is crucial.

It should be a priority for all of us (men and women) – and not only during Cancer Prevention Month but year-round.



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I know that cancer isn’t the “death sentence” it used to be when we were growing up, but it’s still a very scary word. Especially if it’s heard “close to home”.


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When we were young, the word was rarely said. And if it was, it was whispered or referred to as the “ c-word.”


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Kind of like when I had my two miscarriages. No one wanted even to acknowledge, let alone talk about, them. Which made it all the more difficult to get through it, although intellectually, I knew it was not uncommon.


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Unfortunately, neither is cancer. It is the second-leading cause of death in the world, surpassed only by heart disease. But, at least, it is no longer a taboo subject.


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Please don’t make this about numbers. It’s about people. Which you should know. I’m sure you remember when Daddy was diagnosed with parotid gland cancer , which luckily was treatable. And I’ve had skin cancer, although I was very fortunate, it was caught early and easily treated.
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