Low-income students (families) are making fewer deposits for college this fall than in previous years, and those who are making deposits are NOT submitting the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Of course, this makes sense considering parents may be unemployed or under-employed as a result of the coronavirus and shelter-in-place (SIP) orders. Many parents are overwhelmed and probably don’t realize that they need to complete the FAFSA for scholarships and financial aid.
When parents and students don’t complete the FAFSA, their colleges don’t know how much their families can pay for college tuition, room and board. Colleges generally won’t give scholarships or financial aid offers without the FAFSA.
Black and Latinx families make up a huge percentage of students and families who haven’t filled out the FAFSA and who may not attend college this year. Parents can start filling out the FAFSA in October and the actual opening date is January 1st. The official deadline is in March, but parents can fill out the form as late as June 30th.
We need to tell low- and middle-income families to complete the FAFSA to learn about scholarships and financial aid their children may receive. It’s vital that we make a college education available to all students of any ethnicity and any socio-economic status.
Low-income students (families) are making fewer deposits for college this fall than in previous years, and those who are making deposits are NOT submitting the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Of course, this makes sense considering parents may be unemployed or under-employed as a result of the coronavirus and shelter-in-place (SIP) orders. Many parents are overwhelmed and probably don’t realize that they need to complete the FAFSA for scholarships and financial aid.
When parents and students don’t complete the FAFSA, their colleges don’t know how much their families can pay for college tuition, room and board. Colleges generally won’t give scholarships or financial aid offers without the FAFSA.
Black and Latinx families make up a huge percentage of students and families who haven’t filled out the FAFSA and who may not attend college this year. Parents can start filling out the FAFSA in October and the actual opening date is January 1st. The official deadline is in March, but parents can fill out the form as late as June 30th.
We need to tell low- and middle-income families to complete the FAFSA to learn about scholarships and financial aid their children may receive. It’s vital that we make a college education available to all students of any ethnicity and any socio-economic status.
Flustered that I couldn’t buy sanitizing wipes back in March because people were hoarding them, I cut the wipes in half to make them last longer. That’s when I decided to make REUSABLE wipes. Let’s keep them out of the landfills – and we won’t run out when the next wave hits!
Making my reusable sanitizing wipes was easy. I gathered glass jars and 3 simple ingredients:
1 cup Rubbing Alcohol
1 Tbsp Aloe Vera Gel
3 drops Essential Oil
Then I cut up some old pillowcases (8” x 8”). I filled the jar with about ½ cup of the sanitizing solution. For fun, I made labels, and then made 20 reusable sanitizing wipe containers. Now I have one in every room in my house, garage, and greenhouse – I even put one out on my new deck!
Oops! Just realized that I spelled “reusable” wrong!
I’ve been confused by the recent “spikes” in COVID-19 cases around the world — wondering if they were an early “wave” that we were expecting this fall. Check out this analogy that helps make sense of the spread:
Why did the second wave of COVID-19 start so soon? Everyone said it wouldn’t happen until the fall. Does that mean the fall one will be a third wave? How many waves will there be? Who can we trust now?
This whole “wave” thing is dreadfully misunderstood. For the moment, forget about “waves” and think, instead, in terms of swimming in shark-infested waters.
You are at the beach, with hundreds or thousands of others, enjoying the water, body-surfing, and having a good time.
All of a sudden, the lifeguards spot sharks, and several swimmers are killed. Body parts bob in the ocean and wash up on shore.
The coast guard observes entire schools of sharks, and swimmers are warned NOT to go into the ocean. But, a few people ignore the warning and take their chances by swimming in the ocean. Several more people are mutilated by these sharks, and then more sharks appear because the water is now rich with food (blood and body parts).
Finally, the beach is closed and nobody is allowed in the water. Then, shark attacks go down because nobody is swimming in the water. People are staying on home or staying far away from the shoreline.
But, the sharks are still there. Nobody did anything to eliminate or get rid of the sharks, right?
With no casualties for days, or even weeks, swimmers go to the beach to enjoy the water, bodysurf, and have a good time. Note: “Beach Closed” signs were still posted but the swimmers decided to go ahead and enter the water.
Guess what happens?
The sharks maime and kill them! Lots of them.
Why? Because people went back into the water before it was safe to do so.
Now think COVID-19. We haven’t found a way to stop the coronavirus. We have no vaccine. We have no cure. The virus is still out there and still killing people. If you go out and expose yourself to the coronavirus, you are increasing the chance of getting sick or dying.
The only “wave” is the wave of PEOPLE who disregard warnings to stay home, keep a safe distance from others, and wear a mask because they think the coronavirus is under control. And every time they go out, more people get sick, spread the virus to others, and die.
The virus doesn’t “do” waves; PEOPLE DO.
Think Florida, Texas, and California. These states are seeing surges in numbers of COVID-19 because PEOPLE are disregarding the warnings from scientists and doctors.
Until we know how to kill the coronavirus or have an effective vaccine, our only defense is to stay home, keep a safe distance, and wear a mask — until the virus has no more human food.
I paraphrased John Geare’s brilliant analogy.
Amidst the escalation of the Black Lives Matter BLM movement, resurgence of humanitarian refugee and immigration decisions, and the rise in white supremacy groups, the California State University system (23 colleges) just approved an ethnic studies and social justice course to be included in their general education requirement for a bachelor’s degree. It’s about time schools include discussions about race, discrimination, and equity.
I believe that these discussions should start in kindergarten and continue as part of the curriculum framework through 12th grade. Children are not born with hatred about people who are different from themselves; they are taught these awful biases from family, friends, neighbors and community. By learning about various ethnicities and religions at an early age, I hope children will grow up appreciating cultural differences. In middle and high school, students should learn about the history of discrimination in the US and the world. They can be encouraged to support people who are shunned, and they can start projects to stop injustices from happening.
I applaud the CSU system for recognizing the need to educate students about social justice issues that have spiked and run amuck. I do hope that these courses will be incorporated in the K-12 curriculum to start these important discussions while children are formulating their life-long opinions.
If you’re going to wear a cloth mask, Australian researchers say that masks with two or three layers better protect against the spread of the coronavirus than single-layered masks. Phew! Michele Roush and I sewed hundreds of masks for ER healthcare workers and firefighters. Our three-layered masks have a pocket for a filter to add even more protection.
Here is the pattern we used.
Here is a video I made to show you how to sew them.
I posted this blog: Make masks for healthcare workers back on April 3, 2020. They actually need N95 masks while working with COVID-19 patients; these three-layered cloth masks are for the public. Mask up to stop the spread of the coronavirus!
As COVID-19 ramps up this summer, colleges are struggling to justify opening up their campuses to students this fall. They need to offer on-campus courses and bring students back to the dorms in order to justify charging full tuition, room and board, yet they don’t want faculty and students to succumb to the coronavirus on their watch. This indecision about opening up campuses and the unknown about the second wave of the coronavirus this fall is now causing a new trend of students taking a gap year.
Normally, just a few students take a gap year between high school and college. These students either aren’t quite ready to make the big jump into a 4-year program or they have sports or projects that need to be completed before transitioning to college. Others take this opportunity to travel abroad or immerse themselves in research or work. They know college will be there for them when they’re ready.
But this year, students are choosing to take a gap year because they don’t want to miss their “college experience.” Living at home in their old bedrooms under family rules – and now “shelter-in-place” rules – stuck behind their laptops is not quite how they want to spend the next school year. They only get 4 years of living the college dream and they don’t want to waste one (or more) of those years living and studying from home. Parents are also on board for gap years because forking out $30,000 to $70,000 just doesn’t make sense when their kids are living and eating at home and taking classes online.
Taking a gap year while sheltering in place will be a completely different experience for these students. Most will not be able to travel abroad, do internships, or get jobs. The big difference this year is that many students are opting to take gap years because they want to live on campus, whereas previously, students took gap years to do something special.
Not all colleges allow gap years so check with your college to lay out a plan. Some colleges require that you reapply the following year. Others don’t allow students to take classes at other institutions during the gap year.
If taking a gap year makes financial sense, make good use of this year. Volunteer and support programs that help people struggling while sheltering in place. Work with your political party to get out the vote. Learn a foreign language. Build technical computer skills. Read, read, read! Consider your options and lay out a plan to ensure that you’ll be happy and satisfied with your decision to take a gap year.
As we approach the start of the 2020-2021 school year, parents and students are worried and frustrated by the decisions their schools are making due to the coronavirus pandemic. Teachers and administrators are concerned about spreading the virus and how they can conduct classes keeping students 6 feet apart. Parents and students realize that their spring 2020 online classes did not offer the quality instruction and overall learning that they had hoped for. Another year of distance learning or hybrid programs will undeniably disrupt both the quality and depth of instruction and learning. So what are your alternative choices?
1. Individual Tutoring (Virtual)
While online or hybrid instruction offers safe learning environments, actual instruction time with real teachers and the depth of material covered during the semester is often truncated. Teachers may not cover all chapters in their textbooks and may require less assignments and exams. While this may seem trivial, students need to receive instruction for all concepts listed in the class curriculum in order for them to be successful in the following year’s courses. So even if the student gets an “A” in the class, they may not be prepared for the next class in the sequence.
Many students are working with tutors to take instruction to a deeper level. By having a tutor review and discuss concepts in depth, students can complete the course being better prepared and more confident. Tutors can fill the gaps when teachers simply don’t have the time or resources to support individual students online.
2. Small Homeschool with Real Teacher (Face-to-face)
Young students and students with learning differences can benefit from having classes at home with just a few students (2 or 3). Parents can select a teacher to teach these classes using curriculum and materials. All parties would be tested for the coronavirus and they would wear masks and maintain 6 feet distance. These classes offer more individualized instruction than online classes. Classes can take place in the home or outdoors. The hosting family can charge tuition for the classes to cover the cost of the teacher wages. I wrote this book to help set up these small homeschools.
3. One-on-One Classes with a Real Teacher (Virtual)
For high school students who want high-caliber individual instruction and grades to separate themselves from their peers (and competition for selective colleges), they can take accredited classes taught one-on-one with a real teacher. This ensures that the student develops skills and learns concepts at a deeper level. Classes are taught using Google Meet in a virtual setting. The teacher individualizes the instruction to best fit the student’s learning modes. Colleges accept these courses and appreciate that the student has taken extra measures to build their academic foundation so they can be successful when attending college. Check out Merit Academy’s one-on-one classes.
4. Do a project (Virtual)
While students are not taking classes on campus and participating in afterschool activities or extracurriculars, they may have more free time. Rather than playing videogames or binge-watching TV shows, students can do a project. Projects can range from writing a book, to developing an app, to creating a non-profit organization, to engineering a device. Some of my students are creating solutions to supply chain problems, while others are engineering fire prevention devices. One student is writing a book on teen angst with tips on how to avoid problems. These projects give students the opportunity to explore possible careers, and they all become more confident and interesting people when they complete these projects. Check out Beat the College Admissions Game with ProjectMerit.
If you don’t like your school options for 2020-2021, consider alternatives. You can make this unprecedented school dilemma a positive opportunity for your child to develop academic and professional skills so they can be more prepared to return to the classroom and position themselves to get into top colleges.
My handwriting is so illegible that I often need my staff to help me read it (ugg); and my signature is just a scribble! I attribute it to my hyphenated last name “Tatsui-D’Arcy” that also has a pesky apostrophe. But now I’m worried that my vote may NOT count in the upcoming election. Apparently, sloppy handwriting can get my mail ballot tossed.
In March 2020, 14,000 mail ballots were rejected in California because the signature on the vote-by-mail envelope didn’t match the one on the registration card. Yes, this is real. My voter registration card is over 40 years old and my handwriting and signature have changed over the years. I used to have neat handwriting and you used to actually be able to read my signature. But after signing thousands of payroll checks, my signature has morphed into a series of squiggles.
According the Secretary of State Alex Padilla, over 100,000 mail ballots weren’t counted in the March election. 70% were bounced because they arrived late (postmarked after the election day), but the 2nd-highest reason was mismatched signatures.
Every county has different ways of verifying signature for mail-in ballots. Some counties will contact voters to give them the opportunity to verify their signatures, while others just reject the ballot. The easiest way to check your signature is to call the Registrar of Voters or the local Elections Dept. They will check your file and tell you if your latest signature matches their current registration card on file or the latest DMV signature on file.
Do this now, and tell your family and friends to do the same. Since you are going to vote, let’s make sure your county will accept your signature on your mail-in ballot!
I was so excited to deliver an Indian dinner to the ER staff working the night shift at Valley Medical Center. I picked all of my favorites: Prawn korma, tandori chicken, fish tikka masala, lamb biriyani, saag paneer, samosas, and garlic naan! Royal Taj of Santa Cruz packaged everything so each frontline worker received piping hot entrees. Big thanks to my Uncle Frank and Aunty Sachi for providing the funds for all of these special treats! Nicole says the night staff is still talking about it! Mission accomplished: the ER staff feels appreciated and loved! We can do this!
Feeling like you don’t have control over your lives because of the coronavirus and fear of getting COVID? Well here’s something you can control and it will support companies that have donated money and/or supplies to help our frontline workers and people who need help. Keep this list and when possible, buy from these companies to support them.
First Responder Support:
Airbnb (San Francisco)
Hilton
American Express
Moscot
Serta Simmons Bedding
Specialized Bicycle Components
Tory Burch
Uber (San Francisco)
Discounter
Allstate
Shoes:
Allbirds
Crocs
Ugg
Small Business Helpers:
Pyer Moss
Netflix
Tapestry
Verizon
Food Rescue:
MGM Resorts
Southeastern Grocers
Subaru of America
Vita Coco
Entrepreneurs:
Aflac (Dan and Kathleen Amos)
Spanx
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Kraft Group
Starbucks
Pets:
Chewy
PPE Providers:
Apple
Burton
Harbor Freight Tools
Nike
Sanitizer Nation:
Coty
Koval Distillery
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
International Givers:
Coca Cola
Dell Technologies
Estee Lauder Companies
Intel
Pfizer
Restaurant Aid:
Bacardi
Samuel Adams
Health and Beauty:
Avon
DevaCurl
It’s a 10
The Honest Company
Education:
AT&T
Audible
Hobsons
Labster
Loom
Language Translators:
Pockettalk
Voyce