Three Good Reasons

Reasons for participating in GoodReads:

1. Exposure to books you may not have known about.  Because of the suggestions of friends and colleagues who are my GR friends I have discovered books that have enriched me and widened my horizons--personally and professionally.
2. Knowing what colleagues (and friends) are reading has helped me to get to know them better and appreciate them more. 
3. It's a great way to keep track of books read, currently reading, and want to read. 

If you haven't joined our GR friends, yet, I invite you to do so.  Let me know if you want me to send you an invitation. 

Wisdom of Thomas Edison

A couple of days ago we watched the 1940 movie "Edison, the Man."  There were some quotes in the movie that I really liked as well as some other quotes by Edison that I feel have meaning for us as Esperanza. 

Thomas A. Edison: [after the latest attempt to find a filament that will work in the electric light] Well, we failed again. That's the net result of nine thousand experiments.
Michael Simon: Too bad, Tom. We know the work you have done. We are as sorry as you are that you didn't get results.
Thomas A. Edison: Results? Man, I got a lot of results. I know nine thousand things now that won't work.

Edison:  What man’s mind can conceive, man’s character can control. 

Thomas A. Edison: Uncle Ben, I've got to do something, and I'm open for suggestions.
Ben Els: You foolin', Tom?
Thomas A. Edison: I wish I was?
Ben Els: Nobody ever asked me for advice before.
Thomas A. Edison: Why, then, you ought to have a lot of it stored up.

Restlessness is discontent — and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man — and I will show you a failure.

• The Diary and Sundry Observations of Thomas Alva Edison (1948), p. 110

Recreation

I listened this morning to the BYU Forum speech given by Patti Freeman on July 17, 2012.  It was about the importance of recreation.  Freeman's insights may influence how we want to approach recess and outdoor education at Esperanza. 

Financial Literacy

20 things kids should learn about money

By Valerie Strauss

Here are the 20 basic things that young people should learn about financial literacy — as recommended by the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.
The council, named in January, recently released “Money as You Grow,” personal finance lessons for kids — and everyone else who doesn’t know how to live financially smart.
You can see the entire program here, complete with activities, but following are the 20 basic points that the council says everyone should know, along with the ages at which students should learn them.
3-5 Years Old
1. You need money to buy things.
2. You earn money by working.
3. You may have to wait before you can buy something you want.
4. There’s a difference between things you want and things you need.

6-10 Years Old
5. You need to make choices about how to spend your money.
6. It’s good to shop around and compare prices before you buy.
7. It can be costly and dangerous to share information online.
8. Putting your money in a savings account will protect it and
pay you interest.

11-13 Years Old
9. You should save at least a dime for every dollar you receive.
10. Entering personal information, like a bank or credit card
number, online is risky becausesomeone could steal it.
11. The sooner you save, the faster your money can grow from compound interest.
12. A credit card is like a loan; if you don’t pay your bill in full
every month, you’ll be charged interest and owe more than you originally spent.

14-18 Years 0ld
13. When comparing colleges, be sure to consider what each school
would cost you.
14. You should avoid using credit cards to buy things you can’t afford to pay for with cash.
15. Your first paycheck may seem smaller than expected since money is taken out for taxes.
16. A great place to save and invest money you earn is in a Roth IRA.

18+ Years
17. You should use a credit card only if you can pay off the money owed in full each month.
18. You need health insurance.
19. It’s important to save at least three months’ worth of living expenses in case of an emergency.
20. Always consider two factors before investing: the risks and the annual expenses.

Funding Sources

It would be wise for us to start a list of funding sources.  For instance, both Target and Kohl's give money to schools.  Also, I like the Barnes and Noble program to get books for our Esperanza Library. 

Margarita Calderon's friend offered these suggestions:

If she is already approved, she could apply for a Charter School Program (CSP) grant from either the state department of education or the US department of education. If the state has received a CSP grant, her application would go to the Utah DOE; if not, then she should go on line to USDOE's web site to get information about how to apply to the feds directly. The grant awards vary state-by-state but are generally between 250K to 500 K or more for start-up and early operations over a three-year span.

The Walton Family Foundation does not have a Utah grant program per se. She should take a look at their web site to see if she can submit directly to the Foundation. In most states where Walton is active, they have a local grant programs partner, but alas not in Utah.

One other possibility is the Daniels Fund, which is supporting charter schools in UT, CO, WY, NM, and AZ. She should go to their web site to get information about how to apply.

PD is generally an allowable (and desirable) activity for all of these grants."

Meraki

Remember to Be Silly

"If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done."
- Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein