Sunday Evening Chat - Memory

Memory is the product of all experiences in life. It grows with each passing moment; it is a collective and unabridged volume of every detail from recalling how to properly wipe your ass (and thus avoid skidmarks) to reminiscing over your first passionate kiss. It is the mysterious mechanism that is vital to every mental process that we undertake.

I say that memory is mysterious because each person's is as unique as their daily lives and thoughts. All of us have different thresholds for memory. Perhaps your first memory recall is from age 2, while I can only remember back to when I was 5. Maybe the scent of fresh-cut grass makes you think of the first time you went golfing with your Dad while it allows me to conjure the image of my neighbor's look of disgust after I got a little lazy with the lawnmower around the flower bed. Sorry bout that. But the point is, memories are as varied as the people of entrap them.

And THAT, I believe, is the reason shared memory is so important. When two people are able to recall the same circumstance based on the same stimulus, they forge a bond that they'll always share. And if they are able to communicate and realize they share this bond, that same stimulus will then serve as a reminder of not only the original memory, but the person that you share the memory with (if the two are indeed exclusive). I attribute much of the importance of family and old friends to the extent of shared memory between and amongst them.

And because I had so much fun reading my sister's early memories, I'm going to share just a few of mine:

I remember Merry-Go-Rounds! Particularly the one at the park near Aunt Jennifer's house. I remember feeling the exhilaration of knowing that if I let go I'd land in an injured heap in the dirt, but it was sometimes worth it just to experience temporary flight.

I remember getting a pea stuck in my nose at the dinner table. I don't remember why I was snorting peas, but wish I did. I do remember that after numerous failed attempts to snot-rocket it out, Mom had to bust out the tweezers and perform some in-the-home surgery.

I remember taking walks with Dad and Uncle Richard at Great Falls and how expansive and never-ending the trails seemed. I loved when we found newts and tried to catch them.

I remember when we took a trip to Wales and Grandpa Jonny was driving a rental. As the roads narrowed and the unforgiving stone walls got closer and closer he became more and more nervous. Inevitably Gramps scraped the rental along the wall setting in motion fiery debate between Gram and Gramps, and a giggle festival in the backseat. I think that rental was a black Mercedes...

I remember going sledding, even when we lived in the townhouse. I remember jumping on a humongous black inner tube with most of the kids in the neighborhood and sledding down the hill behind our house, and thinking to myself their would be no way to top this fun.

I remember the basket of decorative apples that Grandma Lauchman had in her foyer and taste-testing them to see if they were real. Though they weren't, I discovered that biting into them left teeth-marks, and I found that to be great! So I think I went ahead with my sister and tasted them all.

Like anyone, I could go on for days like this, but I think I ought to stop in fear that the next time someone thinks about the Lauchsmiths they'll remember it to be the blog campaigning against brevity. Goodnight.

Sunday Evening Chat - Teaching

Living and growing up in or around DC, the capital of what is still the most powerful and influential nation in the world, certainly has its perks. We're just a stone's throw away from some of the most beautiful monuments in the world, a series of museums hosting world class exhibits for the price of "free-99" (thank you Smithsonian), and the literal heart of our nation's government. But for all things ying, their must be yang. DC has exceptionally and consistently high crime and poverty rates. We've allowed a new brand of cynicism to creep into our politics. The juxtaposition between extreme affluence and bottom-of-the-barrel poverty is seen on display daily. And perhaps what's worst of all, the public school systems are failing.

Politicians in Washington have been doing plenty of talking in the last few years. When things are really tanking, everyone's got a solution. Amidst all of the bailout arguments, the health care reform debates, squabbling over our position in the Middle East, it seems that we may have lost focus on arguably our most valuable asset: the future leaders of this country.

Public school failure anywhere in this country is unacceptable; public schools failing in our nation's capitol, though, is abhorrent. How can we say that America has regained its position as a respected world leader when under the noses of the men and women who run our country our school system is crumbling? However, before continuing on the mindless rant it seems I'm headed toward, let me first pose a question: what does it mean for a public school to fail? How do we quantify failure in public schools? The most obvious answer, which is yet another talking point on the Hill, is standardized testing. If a predetermined percentage of students "fail" the standardized test, my understanding is that the "failing" school "fails" to receive the funding necessary for improving their deficiencies, and this begins a violent shit-storm of "failing" that eventually spirals out of control. This I don't blame on the students. I blame the state, and those incapable of realizing that this system can not and will not EVER work.

Why not? Glad you asked. First of all, standardizing (for all I know) means that their is a city-wide pass/fail rate for public schools. If you fall below the bar, you don't receive full funding. Well we know that like most cities, different demographics tend to be concentrated in different areas. For those of us with intimate knowledge of DC, we could hardly expect public schools in Anacostia or the neighborhood of Trinidad in S.E. to stack up with public schools, say, in Georgetown. This creates a multitude of problems - the schools that most likely need the most funding to aid a demographic of students that are behind the curve from the outset of their student lives don't get their funding. The schools situated in more "well-off" areas continue to widen the gap because year after year they score higher and receive the publicly allotted funds. Furthermore, understanding the stakes of these tests, public school teachers are driven by administrators to do all that they can to prepare their students to do well. They realize that funding and perhaps their jobs depend on their student's outcome. This seems absolutely counterproductive to learning and traditional classroom education. Placing so much emphasis on one test is unfair to both teachers and students.

In fear that your vision is rapidly blurring, I will try to conclude with all the brevity I can muster.

1. If the students must take standardized tests, so must the teachers. On a yearly basis. If you fail, you face pay decrease, remedial subject teaching, or termination. I don't mean to sound cold-hearted, but clearly faulty teachers play a role in public school failure. If we are going to hold our students to a standard, we must hold those teaching our students to a standard. Aren't they supposed to be professionals?

2. Let's try to rethink budgeting. I can appreciate all of the arguments for standardized testing. But to place at risk the fiscal security of those schools who consistently underperform seems unfair, and backwards. If it is a teacher failure, number one should take care of it. If it is a demographic failure (and therefore a parent failure), well then the schools will probably need extra funding to get some brilliant staff to meet the challenge of bringing less-fortunate students up to speed with their peers.

3. I haven't done enough research to diagnose the problem completely, but the above is what I understand to be the case. Let's stop disgracing our nation and start taking our youth seriously. Solving the blunders of global warming and our troubled economy today won't mean anything tomorrow if we find our nation laden with a generation of ignorance. Stay in school. And don't do* drugs.

* (too many)

Time Flies...

...when you're having fun!! Sometimes I can't believe how fast we grow up. I think about my life and what I have accomplished, and I am amazed at the opportunities and successes that have come my way. I am also extremely proud of my younger brothers and sister for the accomplishments that they have excelled at. Being further away from home really allows you to 'watch' people grow. Seeing them everyday you don't notice the differences as much.

You ask what this has to do with anything? Well, family is a huge part of my life, and sometimes when I reminisce, I wonder what other people remember from the past. I like to think of some of my favorite pastimes, and it's crazy how often they come about in my life today:

-I remember tacos at Dad's on the weekends. They were / (are) always so good, and to this day every time I make homemade tacos I get a little taste of the weekend with Dad.

-I remember the endless games that could be played at Grandma's in North Carolina. Who cares how old we were hide and seek never got old!

-I remember rolling in puddles in the rain when we lived at the townhouse in Silver Spring. (Now that I'm a bit older, I wonder what the neighbors thought when they saw me playing outside in the rain! I didn't care, I enjoyed it! But I'm sure they must've thought I may have had a few screws loose, at least once or twice!) I still love the rain today, and when the temperature is just right, I do still 'play' (in the form of running) in the rain.

-I remember having friends of all different colors, and never thinking twice about it. I think that is one thing that I enjoy the most about my life today - it is very colorful.

-I remember going to Grandma Judy's and Grandpa Jon's and throwing things off their balcony. How is such a simple thing so much fun?! (And even today, everytime I see someone sitting on the couch as I look over an indoor balcony, I have quite an urge to throw a pillow over the edge. I literally have to hold myself back sometimes and think, yeah, Brian's grandma would probably not appreciate getting walloped by a pillow that I throw at her. I do have to admit, the last time I actually did this was at Dad's place in San Antonio. Remember that T? That was a good one. I really got you!!)

-I remember my brother how he used to be so silly and crazy! It made me laugh sometimes, and drove me up the wall other times. Now, I just can't wait to see him, always.

-Then I remember how silly and crazy I used to be. I'm sure I made my parents laugh sometimes, and drove them up the wall others.

-I remember when the neighborhood in the back of Grandma's house in NC was built, and I remember it was the first time that I really thought of the reason why they had to build on such pretty land. Today, I am a bit of a sucker for a nice piece of property.

-I remember the ice cream truck, and how you could literally buy things for .50 cents, sometimes even less. Twenty years later, .50 cents would probably get you the wrapper of the ice cream that the kid next to you just finished...

-Saturday morning cartoons were always a fav. I always think that when I have kids I want to show them the cartoons that I watched, but then I think that is nearly impossible so they'll have to grow up in their own day and age.

I know I'm really not that old, but I do think about the past and have plenty of other memories. I think being further away from everyone really makes me homesick sometimes, but when I think about how many wonderful people we have in our family, I think of how lucky we are. I suppose life's been quite a barrel of fun, because my has time flown by...

I miss you, T, and really can't wait to hang! (And would love to hear some things you remember!)