In today’s podcast, I speak with Leslie O’Malley, the Waste Reduction Manager for Santa Cruz Public Works.  Figuring out what to do with all the plastic we generate is a big problem, and Leslie is an expert on types of plastics, where we can (and can’t) send it, and even simple things like when is plastic considered trash, and what can we do to make sure plastic is actually considered plastic for recycling instead of going into a landfill.  It was a fascinating discussion that everyone should hear!  

To listen to today’s podcast, find GakkoMom on iTunes and subscribe to it, or listen below:

Over the past 10 years, alternative education programs have been popping up for high school and even college students.  Students are seeking and demanding programs that teach them viable skills needed for their future careers.  Colleges are also making changes to recruit these students. Now innovative private programs are beginning to team up with colleges to offer the best of both worlds: skills-based education and a liberal arts bachelor’s degree.

Just across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Dominican University and Make School have partnered to create a computer science coding boot camp.  This gives students the opportunity to learn cutting-edge coding skills while completing general education courses to get the safety net of a college degree.  And we’re definitely going to see a lot of these partnerships popping up across the nation. It makes better financial sense for a college to partner with a tech-savvy training program than to spend millions of dollars to open or improve their existing departments.

Even though colleges try to offer most majors, they really can’t be the best in all academic areas.  Small liberal arts colleges and universities have difficulty recruiting students who have specific STEM or other interests. These new partnerships and joint programs may just change what colleges offer students in the future.

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My daughter calls me a “prepper,” and I used to be slightly embarrassed to let others know about the way I’ve changed the way I do day-to-day things. But in light of the impending plight of the planet and how we have become accustomed to utilizing plastics for convenience, I want to share with you, in this and future blogs, some easy things I have done to reduce my impact on ­­our civilization.

I wake up in the morning and shampoo my hair with homemade shampoo bars and conditioner bars. I made about 200 bars for the holidays to give to family and friends, and I have about a 5-year supply that I store in a large glass container. After trying my first shampoo bar from Lush, I loved the concept. I went online to get shampoo bar recipes, and rallied my family to do 15 experiments to find the best recipe. My goal: stop buying plastic bottles.

A lot has changed with written communication since I was in college. Well, I’m a little embarrassed to say that not only did we not have computers back then, I had an old electric typewriter – without the correction tape! All correspondence was handwritten because using the typewriter was saved for formal research papers. When we made a typo, we’d have to retype the entire paper or use a lot of Wite-Out. There was no “Hey Susan…” We addressed everyone formally using their titles (Dr, Mrs, Mr) and always used our best grammar.

Fast forward to today when emails are considered the formal protocol and texts are used for friendly communication. Not only are messages truncated with abbreviations (BRB=be right back; FOMO=fear of missing out) I don’t usually understand, but I often search for clues in the few words I receive to help me decipher whether the message is positive or negative. Without the use of emojis (faces with emotions), I’d be clueless in creating any kind of meaningful conversation.

As a college advisor, it shocks me to see how students communicate with their high school teachers and college professors. Most students don’t know how to write a business-style letter or even a professional letter. Their requests for more information or even letters of recommendation are written like demands from entitled children. Looking at the world from their self-centered universe, their letters lack pleasantries that might entice the receiver to respond, and most don’t offer any kind of thanks or appreciation. They lack important details like background information we need to answer their questions or format and deadlines for letters of recommendation. That’s why all students should observe “netiquette” when communicating with teachers and professors.

So what is netiquette? It’s etiquette on the internet. For instance, it would be nice to hear how they like our classes or style of teaching. Even a “How did you like that comment that Jason made in our last class?” to show their engagement or understanding of the world from our perspective. When the information they request is something they could have found on their own, these students don’t realize that they’re giving us a bad first impression. And ultimately, when we are asked to write letters of recommendation or need to determine final grades, we hold the cards and make decisions based on all of our interactions with them.

I’m not advocating students to brown nose their teachers or professors. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. When students reach out and make connections in person or through emails or texts, it behooves them to greet teachers with proper salutations (Dr, Mrs, Mr, Ms) and share their thoughts before requesting favors. They should make sure they’ve done all of the work on their end before asking them for assistance. They should always offer to meet or gather more information or documents to save our precious time.

When students are polite, respectful, and helpful, they’ll establish a positive relationship with their teachers and professors, which will ultimately put them in a good position to request those all-important letters of recommendation or grade bumps when they’re on the fence. So netiquette is real and should be implemented in correspondence with teachers and professors.

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For parents who think Measles Parties are a good thing because their mothers had them 50 years ago – new studies out of Harvard have scientific evidence stating that kids who actually contract measles, LOSE THEIR BODY’S OWN IMMUNITY OVER OTHER ILLNESSES. This means that after a child gets the measles, they lose between 11% to 73% of their protective antibodies, which makes them more vulnerable and apt to contract viral and bacteria strains that they were previously immune to.

So when your kid gets measles, they will be more susceptible to the flu and even tuberculosis. Kids who do get the measles, may want to get booster shots for all previous vaccines, like Hepatitis and polio, to mitigate the effects of immune amnesia. One vaccination dose is 93% effective against measles; 2 doses is 97% effective.

Here in the US, we’ve had the largest outbreak of measles since it was declared eliminated in 2000. Why? Misinformation about the virus and social media. Please do your research and get your shots!

Check out one of my student’s projects: GET YOUR SHOTS

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This week’s news about a mass shooting in a high school in Southern California; fraternity-related deaths on 3 college campuses in WA, AZ, and CA; and drug overdoses and suicides at USC, shouldn’t be a surprise to me. I spend vast amounts of time with teens and 20/30-somethings – it’s part of life as a college/career advisor. I’ve noticed that a majority of them suffer from depression and feelings of being isolated or left out.

It’s sad when stories that should be headline news, don’t make it to the headlines because we’re mired in relentless stories of madness from impeachment hearings to escalated climate crisis to corruption at every level. Tension has become the new norm, and our children are feeling the brunt of it. While parents are treading water to stay afloat both financially and emotionally, our kids are figuratively screaming for help.

Sensory overload overwhelms our children. They are inundated with homework, studying for exams, and preparing for college admissions. Access to information at their fingertips, they are so overwhelmed with data that they don’t have the bandwidth to understand concepts beneath the superficial surface. Kids don’t read books for pleasure or to escape for a few hours. They actually don’t read emails or texts if they’re longer than a few words.

Like back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, students didn’t trust the elders (back then they were the “authority figures” or “the man”). This sense of betrayal by the boomers who’ve left them a lifestyle that is doomed leads them to numb the pain by participating in unhealthy activities like vaping or smoking, eating too much (or too little), or any of the other classic signs of depression. Parents, we need to watch their shows, listen to their music, and talk to them. That’s the only way we’re going to understand their fears, frustrations, and views. How many mass shootings, suicides, fraternity deaths, and drug overdoses will it take for us to put down our cell phones, make it home to have dinner with the family, and engage with our kids — while we still can?

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After getting hooked on shampoo and conditioner bars, I decided to stop using plastic containers for my laundry detergent, pet shampoo, and dish soap. I was throwing dozens plastic containers into my recycle bin each week, and it bothered me that I was contributing to the 515,000 tons of plastic waste that ends up on the curb each week. Newsflash: China is not buying our plastic waste anymore so our plastic waste goes to the landfill!

It’s really easy to make 5 gallons of laundry soap.  It only needs a few ingredients and you can make it in about 5 minutes.  I went to Home Depot and bought 5-gallon containers (OK, I bought 5-gallon plastic containers that I’ll reuse indefinitely!), ordered the ingredients online, and now I have a year’s supply.  I refill glass containers with a spigot so it’s easy to use.  I love the fresh smell from using wholesome ingredients. 

While I was on a roll, I also made 5 gallons of dish soap that I also use in my liquid soap containers in all of the bathrooms. Next I made a gallon of pet shampoo.  I wanted to make sure my giant dogs (black labs/German Shepherd) liked it before making 5 gallons. 

The best part, I don’t have to lug heavy gallon containers of laundry detergent, dish soap, and pet shampoo from the grocery store to my car, and then from my car to the house, anymore. I save lots of money, too.  And the most important part is that I am reducing the amount of plastic containers that end up in the landfills!

We’ve become reliant on using paper in our lives because we have a throw-away mentality.  By continuing to use virgin paper products, we’re directly harming the environment, and this needs to change!

Just about every paper item we regularly consume can be replaced with a better, more sustainable option, like using cloth napkins instead of paper towels, buying recycled toilet paper without cardboard tubes, and many more!  Check out the video below for tips:

Suicide attempts on college campuses just reached 13% in 2018. This is really alarming – and sad at the same time. College mental health programs are struggling with ways to address this rise. One college now requires students to take an online suicide-prevention training course to learn techniques to help peers who are suicidal. They also require professors to take a similar course so they can recognize at-risk students.

Most students experiencing stress don’t seek professional help but instead confide in friends or peers. College resident assistants (RAs) are often the most likely support person to hear from students who are suffering from depression or anxiety.

When I was an RA in college, one of my students left me a strange note that didn’t make sense to me (I was 19 years old at the time). I noticed that his car was in the student parking lot but he wasn’t in class and wasn’t in the dorm. Panicked, I organized a search team and we combed the redwood forest and entire campus to find him. This had a happy ending because he was a victim of poor communication skills – not depression. He had left me a note attempting to tell me that he was leaving campus to visit his family, but his writing style was difficult to decipher, hence, the search party.

Giving students and professors tools to recognize suicidal red flags can save lives. These at-risk students should definitely seek professional mental health therapists to help them navigate the transition from home to college and other life obstacles. I like the combination of friends/peers and professionals looking out for one another – it makes college a safer place for all.

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As California Mother of the Year, I am outraged about how cell phones failed during last month’s PG&E outages. Cell phone companies should have backup power and solutions for power outages. Earthquakes, fires, and other natural disasters are going to become regular occurrences – thanks to the climate crisis – and as an industry that services everyone from life-saving doctors to emergency dispatchers to people who rely on medical devices, CELL PHONE COMPANIES NEED TO SUPPLY SERVICE, ESPECIALLY DURING POWER OUTAGES.

I am organizing Micro Communities where neighbors work together to make sure everyone is okay and to get help for those who are not. Each Micro Community leader works with their local fire departments to keep them abreast of problems so fire chiefs can better assess disasters and get word out to residents about evacuation plans specific to their areas. Cell phone coverage is essential in our communication.

I certainly hope that cell phone companies are implementing solutions to power outages and maintaining their equipment, unlike PG&E. One benefit we have is the ability to change cell phone carriers – something we don’t have with PG&E.  Check with your cell phone provider to demand cell coverage during power outages, or tell them you’ll find a provider that will. Money talks.

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