Do the Clothes Make the Man?

Some days, I think that I would be better off avoiding the newspaper and, in fact, most days, I do avoid it. When I do read our local paper, I stick to the "Life" sections with Dear Abby, and the comics. However, there are some days that I get sucked in and read every section. This was the case on Saturday of last week, when I encountered the following article that our paper picked up from the AP: Rich toddlers draw fashion designers' eyes

 Typically, I avoid talking politics/class warfare when with friends.... and strangers (who needs the fight?) However, my very good friend, J and I were discussing the proposed tax on the wealthy.  Her family would fall into that higher tax bracket, even though they do not have an opulent lifestyle and, most likely, are just over the magic line that would be drawn. Frankly, I can't pretend to understand the whole thing, but the bottom line is, the most people would pay more in taxes, including the wealthy (which seems to be defined as $250,000+ for dual income households.)There is more information here: MoneyCrashers and here: focusfinancial.medmancreative.com The percentage increase would be smaller than for those of lower incomes, which is what the hubbub is all about. Those with higher incomes want to keep the Tax plan that GWB put into place while in office.

I went through a whole number-crunching thing and decided that it was all too much, so let’s suffice it to say that when you make 7 figures a year, your tax bracket would go from 13% to 36%. The difference between paying 13% and 36% in taxes is enough to feed all of the families in my school, for a year. That is a lot of money taken from that earner’s pocket… until you consider the 63%-87% of income that those people are able to keep and spend on things like their child’s wardrobe.

So, this brings me back to that original headline, above. The story made my blood boil. The first woman spent $10,000 on her 3 year old child's wardrobe because the child is “reflection” of her and, therefore, needs to be well-dressed.  Why does this make me so angry? Of course, it is her money, and she can do with it as she chooses. But, really, is that the best way she can spend $10,000? Actually, I have just had an epiphany…. That child’s wardrobe IS a reflection of her…. And if it were me, I would be avoiding the mirror from now on. 

I don't know... maybe it's because I don't have the money, so it's all ethereal and mysterious, but it seems to me that asking the wealthy to give up one vacation (or vacation home) isn't too much to ask, for the betterment of all!

Please share my blog with your friends/family/enemies and tell them about our fundraising efforts.  Maybe one of them knows a 1% who has some extra green to burn, and would love to help sponsor the education of our young Einstein (who, by the way, wears $4 jackets from Good Will Industries

http://www.indiegogo.com/ZackGow

Think Outside of the Box.... WAAAAY Outside!

A while ago, I wrote about labels and how easy it is to try to define people, make them fit into categories, helping us successfully interact with them. You can read that post here: Labels

As I have gone about trying to get donations from people- dyslexics and "normals"- I have discovered that dyslexic entrepreneurs are a very diverse group of accomplished citizens. Often, they are known for the entrepreneurial spirit, like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Richard Branson or their scientific contributions: Alexander Graham Bell, Pierre Curie, Thomas Edison. There is even a subset of hotties (as I see it, anyway) although that is not their "accomplishment": Orlando Bloom, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Keira Knightly, Vince Vaughn- the list goes on.

There have been numerous articles written about the correlation between entrepreneurship and dyslexia and often, the subjects credit the challenge of dyslexia as an asset. In fact, The Gow School treats it as such, and with good reason. Dyslexics are "think outside of the box" people. The unfortunate thing is that public schools are, largely, made of BOXES and thinking outside of the "norm" is discouraged. Such is the case with our public school. They want to encourage students to be creative thinkers and problem solvers. However, they don't want them to make waves, be "disruptive" and that thinking/problem solving, typically, needs to take place within the confines of their desk space. In the public school setting, dyslexia IS a disability.

Because Gow is a boarding school, we don't get to spend a lot of time with Zack. This summer has been such a gift, in that regard. We have been with him, daily, and watched how his brain works. He problem solves, he keeps trying and, eventually, he solves a problem. That tenacity is something that wasn't there a year ago. Prior to going to Gow, when he encountered difficulty, Zack would get frustrated, throw his hands up, claim stupidity and be done with it. Gow has given him the freedom and confidence to try things- even things WAY outside of the box.

People like Richard Branson (Richard, if you're reading this, we could REALLY use your help), Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Bill Gates- they became great because someone in their lives allowed them to think outside of the box. Or perhaps, whatever the reason, boxes were more flexible in their worlds.

If you're curious about other well-known/accomplished dyslexics, click through the links below for some interesting reads. AND, if you discover that you know anyone or know someone who knows someone (the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon principle) on that list, put in a good word for us, will ya? We are going to need help tearing apart those boxes so that Zack can be the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Henry Ford or Richard Branson. (Fortunately, he's already got the looks of those hotties above!)

Famous Dyslexics:

http://www.dyslexia.com/famous.htm

http://www.incomediary.com/top-30-dyslexic-entrepreneurs

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/business/worldbusiness/05iht-dyslexia.4.8602036.html

Please share our efforts with your friends. If we can make that six degree connection, it would help Zack build a bigger, better, more OPEN box!

http://www.indiegogo.com/ZackGow

https://www.facebook.com/GetZackToGow

Thank you to all who have read and shared and given. You are making a dream come true!! xoxoxo

The Boy (and his books) I Have Loved

As I sat, this morning, groggily trying to wake up, I started thinking back to Zack's early interactions with books. When he was a tiny little boy, each night, I would rock him in our rocking chair and read two stories: Pat The Bunny and Good Night Moon. I loved singing the words to him, guiding his hand to touch the pages of Pat The Bunny.

Good Night Moon was less tactile, but even more fun to sing-song to him.

That poor copy of Pat The Bunny practically disintegrated at the end. I think I still have the copy of Goodnight Moon for my classroom collection- those board books are pretty hearty!

We enjoyed many, many books together over the years but, really, he was never interested in sitting down and reading with me. Before he went to kindergarten, he learned his alphabet and we started working on that sound-letter correlation thing but he didn't seem to fully grasp it. Red flags should have been going up, but he was my first and I had no idea what he "should" be able to do, etc.

So, when we tried this fun series from the library..

I found myself confused about why he didn't seem to be catching on. The guilty Mom in me can still hear him repeating the words half a beat behind me because he knew he couldn't decipher it and I wanted him to SO badly. The sound of him saying "beeper" will stay with me forever. He was such a "people pleaser"- even at 4.

In his first few years of school, he really didn't care one way or the other about reading. He had an easygoing personality and made friends with all of the kids in his room. His teachers loved him- who wouldn't? He was always cooperative, although easily distracted and slow on writing assignments. But, he was not retained because he was "just immature" and would "grow out of it."

As he grew, we saw inconsistency in his abilities to read and write. Instead of asking what the problem was, we blamed him for not trying. Fortunately, there have been moments of comic relief here and there, like in Kindergarten when he made this book for me:

Cute, right? But, wait.... this is my favorite page....

Ahem. In case you can't decipher it: "My Mother looks prettiest when she plays spin the bottle." That's me on the left (you can tell because of my flippy hair do) and I have no idea who is on the right. In the middle there is, clearly, a bottle. It is inscribed with the word "ber." Yes, folks, I look prettiest when I'm using a beer bottle to play spin the bottle. <pause for laughter here>.....

........

Finished? Oh, not yet? One more minute then....

.....

How would you like to be making THAT phone call to the teacher??? "Hello, Mrs. X, this is Mrs. L... Zack's Mom. I was so happy to receive the book that Zack made in your class, for Mother's Day! Yes, he did do a lovely job.... However, I did want to reassure you that spin the bottle is not a game that I play..... What? Where did he get that idea? I'm sure I have no idea- maybe he heard it on the bus!" I. Wanted. To. Die. 

It did get better though.... or maybe the teachers got smarter. First, they decided that typing things up was a much better idea than having him hand write. A few years later, I got THIS poem:

Please note that I have graduated from playing spin the bottle and am now into Star Wars and making awesome cakes. Oddly enough, this note isn't dated, but I would guess 2nd or 3rd grade.

In school, he rarely read for pleasure and preferred nonfictional books (lots of pictures) to fiction (too much text.) In fact, the first series of books that caught his interest were in Scholastic's Dear America series

and then Gary Paulsen. Paulsen's books are written FOR the teenage boy, like Hatchet, Woodsrunner, etc. 

Last year was the first time he was sucked in by a series- he could not put it down. Enter, The Hunger Games. He devoured them like nothing I'd ever seen before. It brought tears to my eyes- literally- to see him so engrossed in a book.  

 

Last year, while at Gow, Zack made some major improvements in the reading/writing departments. After only one month at Gow, he sent me this card:

It isn't very legible. However, he thanks me for helping him go to Gow, for being his Mom, and being there when he needs help. I love the use of "Overall" in the last sentence. Such an academic child! The boy's handwriting is atrocious- so much so that his fundraising "thank yous" will be typed up on the computer. I wanted to save the recipients the pain of trying to decipher his work.

Finally, here is a piece that he wrote for "The Youngovian" which is published by one of the English teachers at Gow.

It might not seem like a big deal to you, the reader, but the work reflects his confidence- something that was never there before. He writes with voice (even if it is teenage boy voice) and confidence.

I look forward to watching his continued evolution. With a little more help from our friends, he will be back at Gow next year, improving by leaps and bounds once again! (Although, I suspect that the handwriting thing is a lost cause.)

As of today, our indiegogo account is up to $1210. Our goal is $5,000 and we have 60-some days to get there. We CAN do it with your help. If you aren't able to donate money, please just help spread the word- share our links with your friends!

Indiegogo:  http://www.indiegogo.com/ZackGow?a=740312
Twitter: RebeccaLaczkows
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetZackToGow

With your continued help, spreading the word, we can do it!!

The Starfish... and a Bat Mitzvah

This weekend, we were fortunate enough to witness our niece make her Bat Mitzvah. Being of a Christian background, it was a very enlightening experience for us. The Rabbi was very good about explaining the service, and what to expect, as we went along. However, what impressed us the most was our niece. She is an extraordinary young woman, and she and Zack have been best buddies since.... well... forever! Their similarities and differences just work well together, I guess.

Prior to the ceremony, my niece shared part of her speech with me, leaving me in AWE of her spirit, once again. As I learned, Bar or Bat Mitzvah'd youth are expected to make a Tzedakah, which is best transliterated as sacred giving, and comes from the Hebrew root for "Justice."  Our niece related Zack's educational experience with Tzedakah, and the fact that justice would be for him to have the education that he needs, as opposed to what the public schools are willing to give him.

She also talked about the tradition in Judiasm that (and I'm shaky on this, as I wasn't able to find a good online resource) wealth is meant to be shared and after 50 years, wealth should be re-distributed to avoid perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Furthermore, those who have much are expected to help those less fortunate. Rabbi Tannenbaum did expand on this, but it was a LOT to take in. He did look out into the audience and admonish (jokingly) the congregation that they are expected to give to those less fortunate.

As I sat, listening to the Rabbi and our beautiful niece who is SO wise, I was reminded of the story of the Starfish. As a teacher, I have heard this story about, oh, a million times. However, the version I have linked to, here, is one that I found version online and thought was particularly applicable to our situation.

There are days that I wonder if our fundraising objective is too small for people to believe in. This is especially true when I read stories on indiegogo and see the projects that are, globally speaking, so much bigger than ours. Yet, at the same time, I really believe that if he gets a Gow education, he will become so much MORE and be able to DO so much more, making a change in the world. Without it, he will survive and, for me, that just isn't enough. I want him to get what he needs so that he can realize his full potential and make a difference in the world

Below is the text from that Starfish link from www.ordinarypeoplechangetgeworld.com

The Starfish Story

By City Year

A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

 

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

 

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,

 

“Well, I made a difference to that one!”

 

The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved. - adapted from the Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley

 

Perseverance against great odds and against the criticism of others is the very hallmark of value-based idealism, as is refusing to accept failure. The understanding that we hold in our hands the power to change a life, a mind, or a circumstance today – right now – is a powerful insight and motivator. At the same time, idealistic acts, even highly symbolic ones, have the power to inspire others to act, and sometimes in numbers significant enough to make a major or even complete impact on the problem at hand. Perhaps most inspiring of all is to witness the idealistic power of children and young people in action. The idealism of youth is a powerful force for leading change in the world. Often it is our youth who put into action values that we have instilled in them – but have failed to act on ourselves. The world, therefore, depends on the idealism of youth to lead the way.

It is Better to Give Than to Receive (most of the time, anyway)

Lest you think that I spend my entire life whining and begging...

My writing has been so focused on needs, of late, so I want to let you know that I *do* give in my daily life and I LOVE it! As I have mentioned, I am a teacher with Buffalo Schools. My school has a 94% poverty rate, and the students' needs are tremendous. Like so many, their families are short on time and money. Our school system works hard to limit the financial burdens that they put on families. My school has a uniform policy- students must wear a school shirt (navy polo) and uniform pants (navy.) This might not sound like it eases financial burdens, but the cost of two shirts is about $15 and two pair of pants from Target, about $40. Most families can get away with purchasing those 4 items, saving them money, in the long run.

However, for some families, that is even too much. My students are, almost, all refugees. They come with a couple of trash bags full of "stuff" (clothing, housewares, etc.) from their native countries. Catholic Charities and other refugee services do provide them with some basics, but they rely heavily on the kindness of others.

So, when I started at the school, last Fall,  I had a brainstorm. A co-worker mentioned to me that she tries to make sure that all of the students have winter coats, hats, gloves and boots. This led me to ask my friends and family if they might be willing to donate their "charity-bound" items to my students. Most were happy to do it... and our clothing bank was born. We made sure that every student that needed clothing items got them. At any time, students were able to come to my storage room and find items that they needed. If we didn't have it, we would ask for help from WearNShare, and they always delivered.

When I realized that students did not have toiletry items at home, I started using "super couponing" to get the items that they needed. No, I'm not one of those women you see who get 4,000 TV dinners for $0.12, but I can usually score shampoo, soap, etc for $0.25 and that little bit goes a long way.

The thing about all of this is that I LOVE giving. It probably gives me the same rush that shopping does for others. My dear husband often has to temper my enthusiasm, reminding me that we have serious financial needs of our own. His words don't keep me from giving- they just encourage me to shop even more frugally!

All of this is my way of saying that, yes, I do ask for a lot of the five readers that I have.  However, I am asking only that you share our story with YOUR five readers, and then they share, etc. until our plight gets to the right person. We are eternally grateful to all of those who have helped spread the word thus far. Every hit that we get at indiegogo (not donation, just clicking the link) moves us up the ladder for them to advertise us more frequently. So, Thank you all!

Hitting the Wall.... And Then Climbing Over It!

We have 77 days left in our campaign on indiegogo-  http://www.indiegogo.com/ZackGow?a=740312 Donations, through the site, have started to dwindle, so I continue to look for new and exciting ways to advertise.

In visiting the website for Yale's Center for Dyslexia & Creativity , I came upon a list of successful people who have dyslexia. Many of them didn't have their dyslexia diagnosed, until late in life. Largely, they seem to see this as a good thing- their perseverance, creative thinking, etc. helped make them the people that they are today. I think that it is wonderful that they were able to overcome the difficulties that their dyslexia presented!

On the other hand, I don't want Zack to be defeated by a system that, currently, does not provide appropriate accommodations for students with dyslexia. If he becomes so disheartened that he gives up altogether, I will be heartbroken. SO, I am going on another letter writing campaign. I will be sending personalized letters to each of the individuals on that list, provided I can find their contact information, and asking them to spread the word about Zack's situation and need.

My decision to do this was reaffirmed when I saw the following piece on NBC's today show...

Couple Building American Palace

If you don't have time to watch the video, here's the blurb:

New documentary “The Queen of Versailles” follows a Florida couple, David and Jackie Siegel, who set out to build the biggest house in America when the recession caused their opulent lifestyle to crumble. Jackie and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield talk about the surprising turn of events neither of them expected.

This feeds right into my "life isn't fair" issue and the fact that there are some in this country that have more money than good sense. I know that the wealthy have no obligation to do charitable works and there are, certainly, charitable organizations that would benefit more than "just" Zack from funding. However, I am disheartened by the fact that Today believed that this story was newsworthy. And, if you didn't watch the video, you will be relieved to know that the couple has recovered and are hoping to sell the home, upon completion. If they are unable to sell it, then they will just have to suffer through and live in it. The house with the bowling alley. Sad.

Really, I hope that their take away from this is that "things" will not bring them happiness, especially when times are tough! And, to that end, I am off to write some letters!

Defualt.... Default.... which one looks right?

Over this weekend, we have had the pleasure of hosting extended family for the wedding of my brother in law, Jay and his lovely bride, Claire. It has been an uplifting celebration and we are thrilled to have been a part of it. Even more thrilling, however, is the opportunity to watch Z interact and  his cognizance of spelling. "Spelling" you say? Yes, spelling. I don't recall how it came up, but over the weekend, Z tried to spell "default." His father stopped him, mid-spell, when he made an error, and corrected him. Z, looking dubious, walked over to a piece of paper and wrote the word, as his father had spelled it, and then substituted in his original spelling. Once he had done that, he was immediately able to apply the skills he's gained from RL at Gow and recognized that his father was, indeed, correct.

This might sound inconsequential to you, but, for him, it is a huge milestone. He may not be able to hear the sounds, but he can look at the word and, using the "rules" from RL, he can figure out where it's wrong and how to correct it!

And, THAT is what a GOW education will get you!