Newtown School Shooting

It's less than 12 hours after the horrific shooting, of 20 elementary school children and six staff, at the the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, and people across the state and nation are still trying to process the information - that the murderer was the son of an elementary school teacher there, he used a cache of assault weapons in his killing, he had a history of mental illness, he shot the kids at close range, and more is likely to come.

As a teacher, we prepare for shooters in buildings, an unfortunate reality. We have lockdowns. We practice what to do to keep children out of harm's way if there is an intruder in the building. But the problem was, the assailant in this case gained access to the school despite a locked front door. Perhaps he was known by the front desk person or office staff, and was trusted. He allegedly shot and killed the school principal in the office and then made his way to several kindergarten classrooms, where, apparently, he shot and killed every child in one. His mother, a kindergarten teacher there, was apparently not working and was shot at her home. Why the man would go to her workplace and carry out this violent act, killing young children, is unknown.

All across the country people are talking about the unspeakable crime, putting themselves in the place of grieving parents, praying for them. This afternoon, I was thinking of all those Christmas gifts beneath 20 Christmas trees which will remain unopened in Newtown. The unimaginable sorrow for these families. You think that a school is among the safest places you can send your child. And Newtown is among the safest communities in Connecticut.

The debate over guns is taking center stage, as it should. I, for one, believe that humans, as a collective species, have not demonstrated that we are responsible enough to own guns. I'm sorry. It is true that many legal gun owners have owned guns for many years, blah, blah, blah, but what is it going to take for gun laws to change - another elementary school schooling, maybe a shooting at a church, a library? Frankly, it doesn't get any worse or senseless than a shooting in an elementary school classroom.

What should happen as a result of this tragedy?

1. Metal detectors in all schools, coast to coast.

2. Immediate cease production of all automatic or semiautomatic weapons for civilian purposes in the United States.

3. Strict scrutiny of criminal records of gun owners. These people commit a misdemeanor, they lose their gun license.They drive with a suspended license, they lose their gun license. Gun owners have to realize that having firearms is a privilege.

4. Amend the second amendment. It was created during a far different time, when people owned rifles. not AK-47s.


Gun advocates are saying today that people calling for tighter gun laws are having a knee-jerk reaction to this event. Bullshit. How many more shootings of this magnitude will it take for a change to be made? It is true that there are massive numbers of guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them. The black market is also flooded with these weapons. If the best thing that our government is doing is holding gun buyback programs, we are in gerious trouble. And right now, that is the only thing that seems to be happening.

It is time to create laws that limit the types of weapons civilians can possess. And it is time to finance and prioritize a system that monitors those people who legally have guns. It is not too late to act. But if we don't, we are inviting another tragedy just like this one.





 

Not A Compliment And Not Healthy: Looking Old For Your Age

I was listening to NPR yesterday, and after spending most of the newscast on post-election deconstructing and analysis, out came this little story about a link between "looking old" and some specific physical characteristics, and an increased risk of having a heart attack.

Here are the main signs you want to avoid, according to this study.

1. A bald patch on the top of your head
2. A small vertical crease in your earlobe
3. Receding hairline
4. Fatty deposits on the eyelids


Um, this does not bode well for a majority of men over 40.

Here's the story:


Can looking old for your age increase your risk of getting heart disease?

Having baldness, receded hairline, crease in earlobes and fat deposits on eyelids increases your risk of developing heart disease.

By Joseph Brownstein, MyHealthNewsDaily

A bald patch on the top of your head or a small vertical crease in your earlobe may seem likerelatively harmless signs of aging, but a new study says signs like these may signal an increased risk of heart disease.

Danish researchers found that people were 39 percent more likely to have heart disease, and 57 percent more likely to have a heart attack, if they had at least three of these four signs: baldness on top of the head, receded hairline, a crease in the earlobe, and fatty deposits on the eyelids known as xanthelasmata.

The researchers accounted for people's ages in their results.

Therefore, the study shows "looking old for your age, by [having] these aging signs, marks poor cardiovascular health," said study researcher Dr. Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, a professor and chief physician in the department of clinical biochemistry at Copenhagen University Hospital.

While the exact reason for the links between these signs and heart disease risk remains unclear, the study "validates the common clinical practice that the clinician examines the patient, and often looks at whether a person looks older or younger for her age," Tybjaerg-Hansen said.

The researchers used data from the Copenhagen Heart Study, which included 10,885 people who were over the age of 40. Over the 35-year study, 3,401 participants developed heart disease, and 1,708 had a heart attack. Researchers examined six physical features associated with aging, but found that two — gray hair and wrinkles — did not appear to be linked with increased risk of heart problems.

The study included 5,828 men and 5,057 women. When the researchers considered the genders separately, they found that hair loss in women was not linked with an increased risk of heart disease. However, among the 737 men who had a receding hairline, 82 suffered a heart attack, meaning there a 40 percent higher risk in men with hair loss than those without.

Previous research has looked at whether hair loss may be a warning sign of heart disease, but results have been conflicting. Some studies have linked the severity and type of baldness with the risks of heart disease or heart attacks to varying degrees, but others have found no connection. Because the risk of both heart disease and baldness rise with age, it can be difficult for researchers to separate the two in studies.

Tybjaerg-Hansen said the four signs identified in the new study should give clinicians greater incentive to treat patients who have them. "The suggestion is that lifestyle changes and lipid-lowering therapies should be intensified, because their risk is higher," she said.

However, the area needs more research, because "it would be nice to know why these [varying factors] would be associated with increased risk," she said.

Tybjaerg-Hansen said, for example, that hair loss is linked with levels of testosterone in the blood, so the new study suggests the hormone also plays a role in heart disease, but there's "no hard data there at all, [it's] only speculative."

She said the group for whom the new results would raise the greatest concern is men between ages 70 and 79. In this group, 45 percent of those with all four aging signs developed heart disease, versus 31 percent of those with none of the four.

"This study underscores the importance of doing a good physical exam, in addition to any testing we're going to do for risk for heart disease," said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, director of the NYU Center for Women's Health and American Heart Association spokesperson, in a statement in response to the study.

While the researchers adjusted their results to account for other risk factors for heart disease, Goldberg noted that, for example, xanthelasmata is a sign of high cholesterol levels, a traditional risk factor for heart disease.

Goldberg concluded that while the length of the study made the results compelling, doctors "need to continue to monitor our standard testing for heart disease risk, such as measuring cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose for diabetes."

The researchers are presenting their findings today (Nov. 6) at an American Heart Association research conference. The findings have not been published in a scientific journal.

Pass it on: Four signs of aging may be linked with heart disease risk.

Election Withdrawal

Most people today are thrilled that the election is over. No more attack ads, debates, polls, phone calls, or, in the case of Linda McMahon, burying the general public in your obscene propaganda, but that's just one guy's opinion.

Not me. It's only one day later, and I already miss it. I feel an acute sense of emptiness. Today, I'm going through Election Withdrawal.

Don't get me wrong, there are some things about an election cycle that get annoying, such as the proliferance of obnoxious political yard signs, peoples' continous posts on facebook. Apparently, some people think that an excessive number of posts for one side or the other is going to result in changing the minds of their friends.

One or two posts is enough.

But I will miss the - even I can't believe I'm saying this - media coverage of the presidential campaigns. While the best candidates often do not reach the general election ( the richest usually do), how people do not get excited about the process of electing a president and Election Night itself is beyond me. We do live in a democracy, despite the fact at the Electoral College is out of date, and it's simply inspiring that we live in a free society in which we elect our president and other public officials.

Watching presidential debates, for me, is like watching the World Series - this year even more so, given the teams playing in the World Series. I could have easily watched two or three more debates. In what other scenario do the final two candidates for the nation's highest office grapple over our
most important issues? Even if they stand on the stage and don't answer questions, that tells you a lot about these guys. On its lowest level, it's pretty entertaining.

This campaign was unexpectedly compelling. Who would have thought Romney would put the late charge that he did? Who foresaw Obama's terrible first debate?

Four more years for the president, and hopefully they will be prosperous ones for America. Until then, we will all wait to see who will emerge as the nominees in 2016. And while I will miss this year's campaign coverage, I'll welcome the break, at least for tonight, and go to bed early.

On the overwhelming need for a child to be first

I have a seven year old son, which means that for the last year, besides LEGOs and baseball cards, something that matters a whole lot in his world is being first. The other day, he announced that he was the first kid IN HIS SCHOOL in the morning. He supposedly beat everyone.

I guess that, developmentally, a child in first or second grade really values this premise. Winning, too, is incredibly important at this age. So is racing to places. During a basketball practice a few weeks ago, when the coach said not to run while dribbling, of course half of the kids sprinted. And my son was right in front, trying to be first, cutting the corners, even cheating a little.

And even though there is NO GOALIE and no one keeps score while playing Grade 1/2 soccer, a few of the kids privately keep track and tell their parents what the score really was on the ride home.

I remember some of this from my childhood - racing my friend to the car when my mother picked us up from school and bragging about who won. Counting the number of home runs we hit when playing baseball in the neighborhood. When I was in elementary school, the bus stop was right in front of my house, and a bunch of us used to try being the first one on the bus every day. It got so bad that my mother had to create a rotating order so that each of us had a chance to be first.  I recall seeing the list on the refrigerator door.

Is this need to be first and constantly have to win due to an evolutionary survival skill? Our way of adapting to our society's culture of competitiveness? Or is racing/ winning/ being first while doing things that are not innately competitive a child's way of bragging, feeling good about themselves, a raising of the ego, because they know that no one likes a loser?

I'll have to ask my son about this the next time he tells me he comes in first - or how he feels if he comes in second.

My Commentary in Education Week

What will happen to cursive penmanship in an age of "21st Century Learning," with kids learning via iPad and having to integrate multimedia through the new Common Core Standards?

It will probably get lost in the tableau of most teacher's days. At one time, I thought that attention on cursive penmanship mattered, but as I watch my own kids using technology with great ease and knowing how critical it will be for them to use computers effectively in school and beyond, cursive writing instruction, I fear, is indeed not a priority.

I explored the idea, along with the fact that my own students for some years now have not been able to read my half-cursive, half-printed script when I hand back assignments.

Here's a link to the piece, one of the currrent commentaries for the paper:


http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/10/17/08polochanin.h32.html?tkn=LQUFaQG4LlsPKfffj2aHrQiaH3tBws1VYzfb

M*A*S*H Theme Title: Who Knew?

Why I found myself humming the theme to M*A*S*H the other day, I'm not sure. But when I learned that the title of the song is "Suicide Is Painless", I was a little disturbed. Evidently, the song was written by 14 year old son of one of the producers, which maybe is even more scary.

My Hartford Marathon Mix

I will labor incredibly over the right mix of music for certain situations. Like I used to do in high school, I enjoy making music mixes – using my iTunes library, though, not cassette tapes - for birthday parties, casual friends-over hangouts, family dinners, and, what I plan to do tomorrow, the Hartford Marathon.

I am running only the 5k, though to test myself more strenuously, I’m planning to run it twice. (Shhhhh. Don’t tell anyone.) But, as many runners will tell you, at least those listening to music – the Hartford Marathon people discourages, but doesn’t ban, the use of headphones – the right mix is important, critically important. The right mix, having songs with fast beats, uplifting, motivating lyrics, and positive associations, can put you in a “zone”, and is one of the tricks of the trade for runners. Well, that, and good sneakers, the right breakfast, and, of course, some training (or a fearless attitude) helps.

But the music is what echoes in your head while struggling to get up hills; music is what encourages you to push yourself during a race when you are running out of steam. When there isn’t an encouraging person – sometimes a police officer – standing on the sidewalk, a runner’s choice of music can give them a little edge.

Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on my mix – different from mixes of other races I’ve done, complete with a few new songs. I told myself: No slow songs this year. No thoughtful ballads that might seem inspirational, but are too slow on the course. There’s nothing worse than that, or a goof-up, like an inadvertent shuffle to the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.”

So, I will lay bare, my top 10 picks from my iTunes 2013 Hartford Marathon mix, for all to see and scrutinize.

1. “Some Nights” by Fun.. This year’s number one song. The drums and the choral chanting in the background bring the energy to this song. Memorable line: “This is it, boys, This is war. What are we waiting for? Why don’t we break the rules already?”
2. “Hearts on Fire” by John Cafferty. Who could forget this one from Rocky IV? USA vs. Soviet Union. Rocky doing situps hanging upside down in a barn. Memorable line: “Hearts on fire. Strong desire… rages deep within.”
3. “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO. Cool synthesizer music and drum machine gets the adrenaline flowing. Memorable line: “Party rock is in the house tonight. Everybody just have a good time. And we gonna make you lose your mind.”
4. “Crazytrain” by Ozzy Osborne. Just a psycho song, from beginning to end. Makes you mad, gets you hyped. Memorable line: “I’m going off the rails on a Crazy train.”
5. “Centerfold” by J. Geils Band. Going old-school again, I know, but this one is upbeat and fun. Memorable line: “My blood runs cold. My memory has just been sold. My Angel is the centerfold.”
6. “Home” by Philip Phillips. This one got me this past summer as I watched the Olympics when they showed the athletes’ highlights after winning medals. Memorable line “Don’t pay not mind to the demons. They fill you with fear.”
7. “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z. You just feel tough listening to this song, almost as tough as Rocky. “New York. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There’s nothing you can’t do. These streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you.”
8. “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry. The only female featured on my mix. Memorable line: None appropriate for a family newspaper. But the “TGIF” “TGIF” chant toward the end is pretty cool.
9. “Panama” by Van Halen. When David Lee Roth was the band’s lead singer, the first time, this band rocked. Eddie Van Halen’s guitar pulses. Memorable word: “Pa-na-ma! Pa-na-ma-uh-ah-uh-ah-uh!”
10. “No Easy Way Out” by Robert Tepper. Another Rocky IV song. When Rocky takes a drive in his Lamborghini, reflecting on the purpose for his next fight, who cannot get inspired? Memorable line: “There’s no easy way out. There’s no shortcut home.”

It may sound strange to say, but I am psyched to come into Hartford early on a Saturday morning, as I know thousands of others are. Like them, I will have the right shirt, pair of shorts (even though they’re calling for an overnight frost!), and, of course, a fully charged iPod with my carefully selected mix of songs.

Will my music make me run faster? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But as long as I think it does, that’s all that matters.