HOA Letter

With permission of the author, here is the letter I sent to my Homeowner's Association board of directors. I'm not the greatest at standing up for myself so I have oodles of gratitude for Jared's help in crafting a missive with some backbone. He listened carefully to my retelling of the event and my feelings about the whole thing and then put together a marvelous couple of paragraphs that get my main points across very strongly. The sharpest jabs are somehow delivered in a very polite but straightforward way. I think Miss Manners would be proud. I feel well taken care of :-)

Greetings Board Members,

     I had the misfortune of meeting one of your representatives on Saturday, September 12th, and I would like to express my extreme displeasure with that encounter. While resting in my home that afternoon, I was treated to a barrage of door-pounding and bell-ringing that would make a SWAT team blush, although I was a bit dismayed to see that instead of uniformed officers serving me a search warrant, I was greeted by a member of your yard police. The gentleman’s name escapes me, although his unflattering demeanor and browbeating was quite memorable. I am new to this neighborhood, and while I had hoped that my first encounter with the HOA would have been a welcoming one, I was instead treated to threats of an official rebuke and made aware that my neighbors had been complaining about the overall appearance of my front yard. Board members, whose residency in this neighborhood precedes my own, know full well that the previous occupant had littered this yard with foliage, and as such, the cost of upgrading it is substantial.

     The shrubs, ivy and tree limbs have since been cut back to meet the standards set forth in the CC&R's, which should satisfy my disgruntled neighbors, as well as the man whose name is too inconsequential to remember. Given the tenor of my first encounter with your authority, I am requesting that ANY future contact with me be limited to mail correspondence, as I have no further desire to be disturbed in my home. That said, let me take this opportunity to introduce myself to those of you who thought it unnecessary to welcome me to the neighborhood: I’m Jennifer Howard, and thanks in advance for your adherence to my above request.

     Regards,

     Jennifer Howard

The Wisdom of Drew

I've loved Drew Barrymore since E.T. It kinda feels like she and I grew up together, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her new roller-derby movie, Whip It. The following quote is from Drew's interview, published in Parade magazine today. It resonated with me pretty deeply:

I’ve stopped believing in happy endings. I’ve started believing in good days. At the end of my movie, there’s honesty. There’s truth. There’s peace. What tomorrow will bring is still in question. There is a joy that’s earned by failure or triumph. All those things add up to teach us, if we are open to it.

A Tribute

I'm sure you've heard the stories in recent weeks about Annie Le, the Yale grad student who was murdered just a few days before her wedding. The following was written by a teacher friend of mine. Thank you so much Kim, for allowing me to share your beautiful words:

Annie was my student in Math Analysis in the Spring of 2001. Union Mine was a young school, starting with only freshmen and sophomores. Annie’s class was the first four year class to graduate at UMHS. As a group of students, they were a close bunch. I too, was a young teacher. When Union Mine opened in 1999, I was recruited by Carl Fickle our Principal to join the staff. I was honored and thrilled to be part of this new and innovative school and quickly joined the instructional team as co-math department chair. The teachers at Union Mine advanced with their students as we added new classes each year to accommodate the needs of eleventh and twelfth grade students. As a teacher, I also advanced teaching higher level classes each year.

We did not have books for Math Analysis when the year started and we decided not to purchase them because we were in an adoption year and the current book was already seven years old. Other teachers in the district did not particularly like the book and encouraged me to look for other options to “get by” for the year. Looking forward to the challenge, I created the entire curriculum for that course by researching interesting activities and creating project-based units. In my quest for finding really challenging and interesting material, I would at times, find myself struggling to solve complicated problems with my students. I recall getting stumped, staring at the board and working up a sweat. And this is where Annie comes into the story as she would inevitably come to my rescue, seeing my errors or having the ability to visualize the solution. With tremendous respect, Annie helped me and in turn, helped the class. And, then there was Mike Couper. With the two of them, we were all in good hands! It was a great semester, one that I will never forget especially since I learned as much, if not more than my students.

In 2002, Annie was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Math award at Union Mine. I had the honor of speaking about Annie’s exceptional performances in math and in handing her the award. I treasure the picture taken this night and keep it with my family photos. Union Mine was family – the students, the staff, and the administration.

It is hard for me to accept that such brilliance, compassion and empathy was taken from this world. I read people in media blogs ask, “Why has Annie Le had so much press? She never contributed anything.” And I want to scream at their ignorance because from my perspective, Annie contributed more than they could ever know – more than she even knew. Annie Le contributed to my growth as a teacher and she contributed to the success of not only that class in 2001, but to each and every student I have taught since then and who I will teach in the future. Annie taught me to appreciate having a student who was smarter than me. She taught me how to be humble when I did not know every answer. She taught me to be more resourceful so that I can push students at all levels to perform at their highest potential. She taught me how to say, “I don’t know, but I will find out,” without embarrassment. Students every year benefit from what I learned that year teaching Annie. I have never forgotten her. I have never stopped appreciating her. I will forever miss her. Annie, I thank you for your contribution to my growth in the teaching profession and for my continued love for the students who I teach.

Teacher Story

Today, my little fourth grade class made me so proud. They elected the "quirky" kid in my class as class representative based on the strength of his speech. I snagged the text and am sharing it with you. Just imagine this being recited with all the conviction and passion a nine year-old can muster:

I want to say that a good Class Representative should be someone with certain qualifications. What qualifications do you ask? This is where I fit in...

Some of you are great at soccer, some at baseball, gymnastics. I am great at planning school activities like the Haunted Hallway and Spirit Week. This sounds like my chance to finally do something I know I'm qualified for. My strengths aren't on the football field but I DO have strengths in the academic world.

Please allow me to explain...

If I'm given this opportunity, I know that I'm the right choice. I'm dependable, honest, smart, and let's face it, I have a great imagination! And a great Class Representative requires someone who can come up with creative ideas.

And by listening to your thoughts and ideas, I will be your voice at the meetings. Therefore, your ideas can be heard too.

I feel I am the right choice because I want to be able to give something back to my school...something I can look back one day and be proud of...

Yeah, I think this particular kiddo is really proud tonight. I'm sure proud of him :-)

I Would Have Shown These Speeches, Too

I have resisted jumping into the political fray, but I feel compelled to throw out my two cents today. I had to send home permission notes with my students this afternoon, informing parents that I will be broadcasting President Obama's education speech on Tuesday morning. It made me profoundly sad that I had to do this. And it makes me even sadder to think that some parents of my students may request that their children do not watch. The timing of this speech is unfortunate, as it comes in the middle of the polarizing debate on health care reform. I understand that many people disagree with they president's agenda, but I guess I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the absolute disdain that would prompt a parent to keep their child home from school rather than allow them to watch this speech.

To me, Tuesday's speech is not about liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. It's about respect for our Commander in Chief. When the president of the United States says "Study hard and do well in school," I think school children will sit up and listen. Too bad Presidents Clinton and Bush did not take an opportunity to speak directly to students. I can say without a shred of doubt that I would have shown my students both of them. I am glad that President Obama has decided to pick up the thread.

I especially enjoyed Reagan's speech, with the 1988 fashions and the "Just Say No" message from Nancy. And when he talks about his first ride in an "automobile" - priceless. But if you listen to the whole thing, it's, well, a wee bit political.

And one final thought: Sometimes the best way to stoke a child's curiousity is to deny them an experience. Controversy can be powerful advertising and I think the kids who aren't allowed to watch this speech are only going to wonder what all of the fuss is about.

President George H.W. Bush's speech

President Reagan's speech