Getting ready to grow a variety of mushrooms. First I harvested shiitake spores from mushrooms I grew from a kit. Then I built 4 redwood planters and put chicken wire at the bottom to keep out the critters. Next I got a truckload of wood chips from Lewis Tree and coffee grinds from San Lorenzo. I collected compost from our garden. All ready to get started. Just waiting for the spores to arrive.
Getting ready to grow a variety of mushrooms. First I harvested shiitake spores from mushrooms I grew from a kit. Then I built 4 redwood planters and put chicken wire at the bottom to keep out the critters. Next I got a truckload of wood chips from Lewis Tree and coffee grinds from San Lorenzo. I collected compost from our garden. All ready to get started. Just waiting for the spores to arrive.
In this ever-changing world of gender identities and appropriate or respectful pronouns, the University of California system has set a new policy for UC-issued documents and information systems. It’s comforting to know that California’s 3rd largest employer has recognized and supports transgender rights.
All students, employees, alumni, retirees, vendors, medical center patients and others will now have the option to choose man, woman, or nonbinary gender identification options on official documents. The really big change is that they can choose a “lived” name or a preferred name that might be different from the legal name on their birth certificate. The legal name will be required but it will be kept confidential and not published.
For those who think a college education is too expensive, here’s some good news. Some colleges like Grinnell College has just announced that they will eliminate college loans and replace them with grants – that’s free money that you don’t have to pay back!
Grinnell has an endowment of over $2 billion and they will make this offer to over 50% of their students who need financial aid. While it might appear that they’re doing that in response to COVID-19, they’re planning to keep this generous plan going forward.
There are about 45 colleges that are “need-blind” and offer enrollment to students who need financial support.
Remember back in March when we thought that the pandemic would be over in a few weeks? Navigating the speculation and forecasts were things we had not done in a 100 years. We heard about the upcoming “Second Wave” but probably didn’t believe it would really get worse – but it really did.
Most colleges continued online classes just like they did in the spring, and many of the few colleges that offered on-campus classes have rolled back to offer only online classes. Some of these colleges that had students on campus this fall are shuttering now or sending students home for Thanksgiving and continuing with online classes after the holiday until the end of the semester.
So how do parents deal with students returning home after being on campus or near campus? Here are some guidelines to protect family members at home as well as their students.
Pre-Trip Quarantine:
Students should quarantine immediately. That means that they should not hang out with any friends, go to classes, shop for food, eat out at restaurants, or socialize in bars. If it’s possible, they should get tested before they head home.
Transportation:
Driving is the safest form of transportation, especially if they fuel up and can make it home with one tank of gasoline or electric charge. Pack their food so they don’t need to stop to eat.
Those who are traveling long distances may need to take flights. While airlines claim they are providing social distancing, suggest that your student treat the planes like they’re COVID Central. They should use the restroom before getting on the plane, eat food they prepared themselves, purchase drinks at the airport (wipe down containers with sanitizers), wear a mask and shield for the entire flight, and wipe down all surfaces they touch with sanitizer.
Quarantine at Home:
Assume your child is infected and set up protocols BEFORE they arrive home. Save hugs and kisses for after the quarantine. Set your child up in a room where they can sleep and be separated from the rest of the family. That means eating meals in their room, wearing a mask in the house if they need to use other rooms, and carefully sterilizing all dishes, glasses, and utensils. Best to quarantine for at least 5 days. If possible, get tested before socializing with the immediate family members who live in the house.
While this may seem extreme, these measures are what’s needed to stop the spread of this deadly virus. This second wave is going to explode after Thanksgiving, and again after Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Protect yourself and your family by staying away from everyone who does not live in your house. The sooner we all do this, the sooner we can control the coronavirus and start living our lives in a more social way.
Colleges are getting the message that the skyrocketing cost of tuition hikes over the past 20-30 years are not sustainable. Students, and their families, are choosing colleges with lower tuition rates, and colleges are hearing this loud and clear. Several private colleges have cut their tuition up to 50% for 2021.
While it might seem that COVID-19 may be the cause for this sudden trend of reducing tuition, these talks were being discussed before the pandemic. When college tuition can cost upwards of $70,000 per year, many families are opting for more affordable options that allow them to plan for retirement, healthcare, and educating all of their children.
This is good news for students and families as they consider college options.
There is a lot of confusion about whether or not to get the coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available because it’s being rushed for political purposes. But I just read that whenever you do get a flu or COVID-19 shot, getting a good night’s sleep will increase its effectiveness. Good to know.
If you are sleep deprived during the week before you get a flu shot, you might get less than 50% of the normal antibody response than if you were well rested. That means that the flu shot might be ineffective.
We all know that sleep strengthens our immune systems. When we’re tired and run down, our bodies work overtime to repair and restore themselves on a cellular level while we sleep. People who sleep less than 7 hours per night are 3 times more likely to get sick with the common cold. Those who sleep less than 5 hours per night are 70% more likely to get pneumonia.
We should be sleeping between 7-10 hours per night. This can ward off depression and high blood pressure, and it’s linked to higher risk of dementia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
So rest up before you get your flu shot this season!
As a college advisor, I help students find their future niches. I love this part of my job – brainstorming and discussing career options to help them make good choices that will be satisfying and lucrative. But, over the past decade I’ve been hearing from students who would love to become teachers that they won’t go into teaching because they worry that they won’t be able to make enough money to support themselves. GASP!
What does this say about our society that one of the most important positions – TEACHING OUR CHILDREN – pays so little that our best candidates pursue careers in other fields? This means that the best candidates don’t end up teaching in classrooms across America. Why is this a tragedy? We need our teachers to inspire our children to learn. When teachers are paid so little that they often need second jobs to pay their bills, they’re going to leave the profession or they won’t enter it at all.
Schools are scrambling to find math and science teachers because they’re going into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers. I see teachers in classrooms attempting to teach classes without the necessary degrees or credentials to do a good job. Many PE teachers end up teaching math classes because anyone who can teach math can get better paying jobs in just about any other career.
Low-income (high poverty) schools are hit the hardest with teacher shortages. The best teachers are recruited by higher-income schools because they can offer more support, safer working conditions, and better selection of the courses they will teach.
We need to support our schools, pay our teachers a livable wage, and give them the benefits they so deserve. And while this pandemic is temporary, it just adds another layer of reasons why many potential teachers choose different paths. How can we expect our children to be prepared to function in society and to go on to higher education if they don’t receive the solid foundation they need in K-12 classrooms. Take flowers, give treats, and help support your children’s teachers.
Our president just signed an Executive Order (EO) that claims that ANTI-RACISM is the real racism. Huh? Knowing that we’re all distracted and overwhelmed by the onslaught of headline news, Trump just signed an order that has stopped ethnic and diversity training in government agencies, and diversity and ethnic studies programs in colleges that rely on federal funding.
I read the entire Executive Order 13950 because everyone seems confused by what at first blush seemed like a positive plan to stop offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating. I had to reread it because he often contradicted his statements in the same sentences!
Many colleges have suspended classes and programs that teach diversity to embrace our differences. Local, state and federal agencies have stopped requiring anti-racism trainings. Military and federal contractors have been banned from conducting diversity training. Why? They all need federal funds and can’t afford to lose them by violating this EO.
This EO is filled with double talk. It claims that anti-racism and anti-sexism efforts are the real examples of racism and sexism. Trump admitted that the goal of the EO is to prevent WHITE MEN from getting hurt by these diversity training sessions that cause them to feel discomfort, guilt, and anguish because of their race or sex. Seriously? He recently tweeted, “Sorry liberals! How to be Anti-White 101 is permanently cancelled!”
Concepts such as “critical race theory” and “white privilege” are now prohibited from being discussed in federal instruction programs. The order prohibits unconscious or implicit bias training, and is “prohibited to the extent it teaches or implies that an individual, by virtue of his or her race, sex and/or national origin, is racist, sexist, oppressive or biased, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
With a simple signature, our president just suspended training programs and ethnic awareness courses that we have spent decades establishing to stop discrimination in schools, workplaces, and government agencies. What’s most appalling about this is that he framed this EO to make it appear to prevent racism. Read between the lines and vote so your voice is heard.
Finding food to eat when I’m a pescatarian who doesn’t eat dairy or sugar/honey is challenging. Health food stores have plenty of dairy free items but they’re loaded with sugar or honey. When I do find sugar-free food, they have dairy or they’re too heavy on carbs. Oy vey!
So I just made my first dairy-free yogurt with zero sugar. It’s made with organic soy milk. I use my raspberries to flavor it and sweeten the batch with erythritol (zero calories and great for oral health and blood sugar). I’ve also made fresh peach sauce and dark chocolate to have a range of flavors.
Finally, I have delicious yogurt that is dairy free and sugar free. It takes just 5 minutes to prepare and 15 hours in a slow cooker. Best part: it costs about 50 cents per serving!