The Kohlmans

Here is my current reading list: Four from my birthday Three for work (one is a re-read) One for school Two still from Christmas Three to read before putting on the shelves in my classroom Some day.

I've been working on the living room just a little bit. This is what the room looked like when we first moved in: This is what it looked like before we got the piano... And this is what it looks like now... I'm loving our little "collage" above the piano. It will grow as we take more pictures we love.

...I turned 25. I wish I could explain how much I love my birthday. But I can't. I just do. (Ask Brad. He knows.) I'm kind of like a five-year-old. I'm not sure why I love it so much. I just do. Maybe someday I'll be able to explain. (No, I didn't quite finish "the list." And I didn't make another one, really. I do have a new "to-do" list posted on one of my pages (see the top of my blog), but there's no deadline or anything.) (I'm not sure why I look like I have a tumor in my cheek in the first picture, but I promise I don't.)

Today, Kansas turns 150. And while I sometimes have a love-hate relationship with the place, I am proud to be a Kansan. Maybe this is idealistic and naive, but my hope for the next 150 years is that we can strive to become a place... "...where seldom is heard / a discouraging word..." (we already know the skies are almost never cloudy for a whole day)

I love watching these girls (and their coach)!  

We read about a hog slaughter today... "Oh my gosh! They even used the hide!" "Probably for bacon." Um, yeah. Probably. Yes, I teach in the suburbs. 

I always cringe when I see people do research about school funding in Kansas and take the total amount spent on schools and divide it by the number of students. The number seems great, anywhere from $11,000-$15,000 a kid. That would be fantastic. But it's a deceiving number. Disclaimer: I am no expert in school funding. It is incredibly complicated. This is just what I have pieced together. For a more complete picture, contact your local superintendent (right, Darrel?!).  The average Kansas general education student is "funded" with $4,012. (In Governor Brownback's budget proposal, that number dips down to $3,780 for next year.) Then, there a lots and lots of weightings for things like at-risk students, special education, free and reduced lunch students, etc... Money that goes into specific funds (capital outlay, technology, etc...) usually has to be spent for that specific purpose. Some of the money included in the total spent on education in Kansas goes to ...