The Silent "I"

Palo Alto School Board Candidates Forum

I attended a "Meet the Candidates" forum for candidates for Palo Alto School Board on Friday, October 26 at the Palo Alto YMCA.  The event was co-sponsored by the Parents' Club of Palo Alto & Menlo Park, PACE, and The Silicon Valley Moms Blog. 

Board Candidates Melissa Baten Caswell, Wynn Hausser, Claude Ezran, Camille Townsend, Barbara Klausner and Ping Yu Liu were on hand to answer questions.  The moderator posed questions to two candidates at a time from a list submitted by community members prior to the event.  Individuals in attendance were given index cards to write new questions and submit them. 

Here are some of the questions and answers:

What is Board's job in setting Core Curriculum?

Wynn: I think the people best equipped to do that are teachers and educators, not the board.  Bd should not get down to the details, but set the goals, standards.  The board should decide the issues on a policy basis.  For example, what do we need for foreign language:  core curriculum or elective?  Whichever we choose will determine how we plan for that.  Implementation should be left to educators, but the policy is for the board to determine.

Ping Yu:  The board has a responsibility to monitor core curriculum, since it is required by law.  The Superintendent should report on how he implements the core curriculum to the board.  We have to ensure that we are meeting the minimum requirements.

Check Out KoreAm Journal this Month!

The October issue of KoreAm Journal features a piece that I originally wrote for Kimchi Mamas (and cross-posted here) called "As American as Mom and Kimchi". At their request, I reworked it a little, and it is published under the title "Becoming American" in this month's KoreAm Journal.  One of the Kimchi Mamas read the story and submitted it to the magazine with my permission.  I am really honored that they wanted to publish it.

If you're not familiar with this magazine, it's a popular culture magazine for Korean Americans.  It features stories of Korean Americans in business, entertainment, and community leadership roles.  One of the monthly features is "Exiles on Main Street" which highlights personal essays and experiences.  That's where my story fits into this month's issue.

This is the first time I've had anything published in a print magazine, and I'm just thrilled.  My mom is still waiting for me to send her a copy, and now she is convinced she's going to be famous.  I've told her she's already famous in the blogosphere.  Look out Hollywood!  The krajee lady is coming your way!

I'm having a hard time finding extra copies, so if anyone knows a newstand or Korean market that sells this magazine in the San Francisco Bay Area, let me know. 

Blog Day for The MOTHERS Act

Today, as part of the BlogHers Act movement, mothers and others across the country encouraged to call their U.S. Senators and urge their support of The MOTHERS Act, important, needed legislation to provide services to women suffering from postpartum depression (PPD).  The MOTHERS Act stands for "The Mom’s Opportunity To Access Help, Education, Research, and Support" for Postpartum Depression Act.

The MOTHERS Act (S. 3529) is a Senate Bill sponsored by U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) and will ensure that new moms and their families are educated about PPD, screened for symptoms, and provided with essential services.  It will also increase research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression by a program of grants.

Postpartum depression is a serious and disabling condition that affects approximately 800,000 American women each year.  However, only about 15 percent of these women receive any assessment or treatment for the condition.  Postpartum depression can occur anytime during pregnancy or within the first year after childbirth. A woman may have a number of symptoms such as sadness, lack of energy, trouble concentrating, anxiety, and feelings of guilt and worthlessness. The difference between postpartum depression and the "baby blues" is that postpartum depression often affects a woman’s well-being and prevents her from functioning well for a longer period of time.  Postpartum psychosis is a rare and more severe form of perinatal mood disorders, and is covered under The MOTHERS Act as well.

San Mateo County President Straw Poll

I liveblogged the San Mateo County Presidential Straw Poll on Sunday from the San Mateo Expo Center in San Mateo, California.  I posted my live reports on MOMocrats, the Moms for Edwards site that a few friends and I started last month.  The Straw Poll was a way for Californians to hear from each of the Democratic Presidential campaigns and cast a ballot in favor of their favorite candidate.

The event was exciting, and all of the speakers did a great job making the case for why their candidate was the best person for the job.  There were booths set up around the hall, and people lined across the floor of the Expo Center to get their paper ballots. 

The first speaker was Congressman Tom Lantos, who didn't endorse any particular candidate, but expressed his admiration for all of them, and noted that he considers all of them friends and and very capable individuals.  Each of the candidates then had an opportunity to send a representative to make their case. 

October 21: Democratic Straw Poll in San Mateo

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and would like an opportunity to show your support for a particular Democratic candidate, come to the San Mateo County Democratic Presidential Straw Poll on Sunday.

Here's the scoop:

• What: San Mateo County Democratic Presidential Straw Poll
• When: Sunday, October 21st, from 2 - 4PM
• Where: San Mateo Event Center, 2495 S. Delaware Street, San   Mateo, CA 94403

Tickets are $25 and the proceeds go to the San Mateo Democratic Committee for the General Election.   You will have the opportunity to hear representatives of all the Democratic candidates speak, including Dennis Kucinich himself and Leland Yee for Edwards. 

I'll be there liveblogging the event for MOMocrats and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.  Hope to see you there!

Wordless Wednesday - Hawaii

Kauai, Hawaii February 2007

For more Wordless Wednesday participants, go here.

Blog News

Yesterday, I was quoted in the New York Times blog called "The Caucus."  I spoke to the reporter over the weekend about how a group of us founded MOMocrats (a momblogger site for John Edwards) and the piece came out pretty well.  We've only been up two weeks, but have garnered some attention on some pretty well-known sites.  Go take a look, if you haven't already.

I've decided to do NaBloPoMo again.  It's the National Blog Posting Month, started last year by Eden Kennedy of Fussy.  The idea is to post every day in the month of November.  Last year, I finished, and even won a prize, but about halfway through I thought I'd lost my mind.  Not sure how I'll keep up this year, with all my other activities, plus shuttling the kid around. I guess I'll bring the laptop to the soccer field.  Now, if I could just get them to install Wifi, I'd be all set.

This past week marked my two year "blogaversary," but I kind of forgot about it.  Two years ago,  I started this blog as a way to let people know about relief work our community was doing for Hurricane Katrina victims in Slidell, Louisiana.  It still amazes me that we were able to help in some small way, but what is even more amazing is that the work in New Orleans is nowhere near complete. 

I have a review up today over at my review blog, The Silent I Speaks, on the Sequoia Survival Kit for your car.  I keep wondering how I've managed to live in California for ten years and never felt an earthquake.  I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but it never hurts to be prepared.

Room to Read

I had the great pleasure of attending a Stanford Breakfast Briefing last week, to hear John Wood, Founder and CEO of Room to Read.  Room to Read is a non-profit based in San Francisco that is dedicated to building schools, providing books, and supporting girls' education in third world and developing nations.  John is the author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World and was a terrific, engaging speaker.

His story is a compelling one, as is the cause that he champions.  Only a few years ago, John Wood was a burned-out Microsoft marketing manager who went on a trekking vacation in the Himalayas.  While there, he met some local people who offered to show him their school.  It was basically a dirt hut with minimal furnishings and about 400 students.  They showed him the school library, which was an empty room with tables and no books.  When he asked about the books, they showed him a padlocked closet with 20 books left behind by backpackers, none of which were suitable for children (Hermann Hesse, Gunter Grass and Danielle Steele seemed to top the list).  He was rightfully appalled at this and offered to come back and help.

He went home and collected children's books from friends, and returned with a yak-load of books.  This was the beginning of a career change for him, and the birth of a new non-profit, and a new way of thinking about how non-profits operate.

Congratulations, Al Gore! I Have a Favor to Ask...

Dear Glennia, I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change--the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis--a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level. My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis. Thank you, Al Gore

Dear Al:

Thanks for your note.  Congratulations!  You and Tipper must be so proud of all that you have accomplished this year.   I'm proud of you for turning lemons into lemonade, and making this your life's work.  I'm proud of you for donating the money to a group that does such good work.  I was deeply disappointed that The Supreme Court didn't elect you President in 2000, since as you well know, they were the deciders back then and not the American people.

Al, there is one thing you can do for me.  You can endorse your friend John Edwards for President.  You and he have been talking regularly, and I know that you nearly selected him for your running mate in 2000.  The two of you see eye-to-eye on environmental policy, and I admire you both for it. 

You might be worried about what the Democratic machine might think if you don't endorse the wife of your former boss.  No worries.  Just tell them they can kiss your shiny Nobel prize (and Oscar and Emmy).  You're in a position to influence the election, even if you don't want to be in the race yourself.  There are a lot of people who would like to see you jump in, but I think you're better off where you are.  Right now, you're sitting pretty as a private citizen, making a real difference around the globe on one very critical issue for all.  I think you need to keep focused and "stay the course" on global warming.  Our children are depending on you to keep inspiring people, and keep doing the work you're doing.

So, Al, as a mom and citizen and someone who voted for you (not that it counted), I'm asking you to do the right thing and endorse John Edwards.  He needs a little help right now, and I think you're the man to give it.  An endorsement from you would go a long way toward getting people to take his environmental proposals seriously.

Best to you and the family,

Glennia

Cross-posted at MOMocrats.

Wordless Wednesday -- Utah

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, September 2007