Thankful to Be Done with Public Education

 Yesterday in the local paper there was an article about a meeting with the community of Milford and the new Superintendent of the Wawasee School Corporation.  His goal was to heal the wound that the tax referendum had uncovered in the fall.  That sounded like a nice idea.  Although I didn't agree with his statement that Wawasee would become one of the premier school systems in Northern Indiana, I applauded his effort.  That was until I read that the teacher pictured sitting beside him at the meeting was hired as the interim public relations liaison to the superintendent.  

After that statement I was so mad that I could barely finish the article.  When I worked in the Wawasee school system, lack of money was the reason for every teacher request denial.  During my last year of teaching, I had thirty-two students in one of my math classes.  I didn't have enough seats for all of them and was given makes shift tables and chairs in an effort for each child to have a work space.  The behavior issues in that class were well documented by myself and other educators.  When I realized that we were failing this group immensely with overcrowding, short supplies and lack of discipline protocols outside of my classroom, I asked for help.  I was told that there was no funds available for better suited seating or for an additional adult in my classroom.  Basically, I had to come up with my own plan.  As a veteran teacher, I was able to do that so that we could make some academic progress that school year, but it wasn't what was best for the students.

That wasn't my first experience with lack of funding.  When I taught FACS I was given outdated equipment and a minuscule budget.  I spent a lot of my own time and money to make it a fun yet educational environment for students.  As frustrating as my math and FACS experience was, I believe that the hardest "lack of funds" excuse to accept was when a group of middle school teachers asked to have an individual hired to monitor a classroom that would support students with behavioral issues.  It would give these students a space to catch their breath, work on homework and get additional support for their individual needs.  It would also allow for the regular classroom teacher to get back to the rest of their students, giving them the attention they needed to learn without having to deal with a constant behavioral  disruption.  It was a win/win situation for students and teachers, but one that administration never even seriously considered.  Thus, when I thought about the funds used to pay for a public relations liaison when there were so many other avenues to spend money to improve education, I became nauseated.   Thankfully, I didn't let it ruin my evening.  Instead I felt even more grateful that our family had chosen to move away from public education as students, educators and coaches.  It was the best decision that we had ever made as a family.  

Absolutely Appalling

Everyone's hope for a better 2021 was already shattered today at least in the political world.  Since the November election, Trump had publicly accused the Democrats of cheating to win the presidency.  Although there had been no proof of this legally and the Supreme Court had ruled that the states' certified election results were valid, he and his base chose to dominate social media with erroneous conspiracy theories to the contrary.  In the Heinisch home we had chosen to ignore the arguments and accept that Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the United States.  We had hoped that the run off elections in Georgia yesterday would produce a Republican controlled Senate, so that there would be a party balance in Congress between the two houses.  When this did not happen we understood and accepted that the next two years would be dominated by the Democrat party.  Trump did not agree with these results, however, and organized a "Save America" rally in Washington D.C. today as Congress was set to certify Biden's win.

None of us were surprised by this, but the aftermath that followed the rally was absolutely appalling.  At the end of the speech to his zealot followers, Trump encouraged those in attendance to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue and "let their voices be heard to the weak Republicans that would not contest the election results."  The crowd took this as a free pass to storm the Capitol Building and soon were entering its hallowed halls with the intent on destruction and mayhem.  The entire area was put on lockdown as the Senators were safely ushered to the walkways in the basement where they would remain for the next four hours.   Upstairs, priceless historical artifacts were destroyed and the floors were littered with debris.  The National Guard was deployed and in the end four protestors and one police officer died in the fiasco. 

There had been multiple riots this year, but this one seemed more personal. Our family had visited the Capitol multiple times over the years and Brett had worked in it for a summer.  We loved the rotunda and were disgusted by the lack of respect for our nation's history that was shown there today.  We shouldn't have been surprised by this behavior as we had spent this past year listening to the ignorance spouted by our President and watched those in our area repeat his every word.  The selfishness of those involved mirrored the rhetoric of President Trump and his worshiping group of MAGAs.  Although many Republicans spoke out this afternoon condemning the riot, I still worried that this behavior would continue well past inauguration day.  On January 1st, 2021 I knew that a new year would not stop the pandemic or the political unrest, but never thought that it would escalate to the ignorance that we saw today.  What a sad day in American history.

Last Day of Christmas Break

 Since today was Cameron's last day of Christmas break, we asked him to chose our activities for the evening.  We first played Mario Kart with him winning as usual.  He chose Knives Out for all of us to watch.  He had never seen it and the rest of really liked it, so it was an easy choice.  The movie was a lot like the Clue movie of the 1980s with several twists and turns.  Cam wasn't able to figure out who the murderer was any better than we were when we originally saw it.  That didn't matter as the movie was enjoyable either way especially the performance of Daniel Craig, aka James Bond.

As in years past I was sad to see an end to Christmas break.  I have always enjoyed having the Heinisch children at home.  This year, however, I was also glad for Cameron to be back to a routine.  He had gotten bored and I know that he was tired of being at home.  Since we couldn't really go anywhere this year due to the pandemic, it was a lot of down time for him.  It was nice that everyone was home for part of the time to play games, watch television and just hang out.  Bethany sent out an email letting us know that after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day they will go back to in person learning four days a week instead of two.  Cameron would prefer that as he has never enjoyed virtual learning.  I keep telling him that it will soon be March and with that golf season.  That will be the best solution to the stuck at home blues.  

Next Step

 After a long wait Cal finally started his job with Plante Moran today.  We were excited for him and he was more than ready to begin.  They had sent his computer, monitors and laptop via Fed Ex last week but asked him not to set them up until yesterday.  He rearranged his room/office in the basement and had a nice area to work.  Doug checked in on him before he left, but Cal was already up and ready to go.  Meg, Cam and I stayed out of his way and made sure that he had lunch before we left for tennis.

Cal reported at the end of the day that all went well.  They had a lot of on boarding activities for him to do and several video conference meetings to attend.  He said that this week would be pretty easy, but starting next Monday he will be working sixty hours a week through March.  We know that busy season will be challenging, but not having to commute should make it a little easier.  Doug can't wait to compare notes on his first few months as an auditor.  

A Quiet End to the Weekend

 Meg arrived home this afternoon.  She had been in West Lafayette since Wednesday.  She almost left early as Nick's apartment complex was without power on New Year's Day.  Thankfully, it came back on within four hours.  That wasn't the case around here as there were still residents without power today and several school systems had to close for tomorrow due to the outages.  Fortunately, all went well with Meg and Nick's trip and we were all glad to see them.  

Cal spent most of his day with Hannah-Marie.  They watched movies and had dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  He was too nervous to watch the Bears game and needed to get out of the house.  Cam and Doug watched for him.  The Bears played well in their loss to the Pacers, but were secured a playoff spot when the Rams beat the Cardinals tonight.

After the games we watched more Disney + while finishing the Walt Disney World puzzle that Meg gave me for Christmas.  It was challenging especially since all of the edge pieces were blue.  Once we figured out to start in the middle, it did get a little easier.  Either way it looked great and we enjoyed working on it together.  It was a nice way to end our three day weekend at home.

  

Not What We Expected

 A year ago today IU football played in the Gator Bowl.  We were all excited as their season had been one of their best in years.  We had hoped to go Florida to watch them then, but our trip to Disney World had already been planned and the timing with Doug's inventory made it almost impossible for him to get away.  We didn't mind watching it at home, however, and had our own IU bowl party.  The Hoosiers played well last year, but let the Gator Bowl championship slip away in the end. 

Fast forward to today and we had pretty much the same set up.   IU had enjoyed an even better season than last year.  We were excited for their prospects at the Outback Bowl, and although we weren't able to attend in person due to the pandemic, we made the best of it at home.  The house was decorated, the crockpot was full of buffalo chicken dip and the television was warmed up with pregame shows.   The hype behind the game was large.  Hoosier fans felt slighted that IU missed out on being chosen for a New Year's Eve bowl.  The argument became even stronger as Ohio State blew out Clemson last night, thus making IU's eight point loss to them during the regular season look even more impressive.  

The excitement of the game quickly turned as IU struggled in the first half.  Ole Miss' offense was different than any IU had played this season and the defense struggled to adjust to it.  Even more challenging for the Hoosiers to overcome was replacing their injured star quarterback.  No matter how well Jack Tuttle played, he wasn't going to be able to match the arm or athleticism of Michael Penix, Jr. As Cam stated at the half, "IU was lucky just to be down 13-3."  They did rebound in the second half and I was sure that they would take advantage of Ole Miss' errant extra point.  Unfortunately, they just couldn't erase the deficit and lost 26-20 continuing their losing streak in bowl games to 30 years.  There were some bright spots today, mainly revolving around senior Whop Philyor setting an IU record with eighteen receptions.  It was a nice sendoff for him, but the loss was a bitter pill for everyone to swallow.  The rest of the night was a quiet one in the Heinisch home.  We weren't ready for anymore football, so we watched the movie Soul and then Ratatouille on Disney+.  There was one bright spot during the evening - Cal and Winston stopped by to say hello.  It was nice to see them both of their smiling faces.

Happy 2021

 With so many posts on social media blasting 2020 as the worst year in history, Doug and I had decided to count out blessings instead.  Yes, 2020 had been tough on the Heinisch family.  Brett had lost a job.  Meg had her freshmen year at IU cut short.  Cameron had spent more time at home than he would have preferred and Cal missed out on his graduation from IU as well as all of the senior fun.  Doug's reduction in salary due to the pandemic was a blow to our budget as well and made for a few challenging months.  

Even with all of these inconveniences and difficulties that our family faced, Doug and I both realized that 2020 could have been so much worse.  Watching the death counts rise, the unemployment numbers increase and the closing of multiple businesses made us even more thankful for our family.  This year we had spent more time together either in person, on the phone or via text messages than any other since Brett started high school.   We had added a fire pit and projector to our home and enjoyed countless bonfires and movie nights over the past year.  Crafting had become a hobby for Meg and I and Cal and Cam played more golf this summer than they had in any previous ones.  Meg did finally get to return to IU and Cal was able to study for and pass two of his CPA tests with his extra time.  Cam had a fantastic fall tennis season.  Brett replaced his lost job with a new career at a company that he thoroughly loved and found new ways to hang out with his friends while still social distancing.  Doug's workload increased keeping him busy through the end of the year and in his downtime he worked on increasing his cooking knowledge.  I learned to play the piano with both hands and appreciated every moment that I stayed healthy in 2020.  We do not know what 2021 will bring.  We pray for good health as the year starts and a hope that the positives that we found in a challenging year will only continue into the next.