When You Stop Writing Because You’re Reading

Not sure if other writers do this, but I know I do. I will start researching something for my writing … and before I know it I  get sucked into reading EVERYTHING I can get my hands on before I get back to writing.

So far I’ve read just about everything I could find online, bought two books and really want to buy a third except the $25 price tag is making me hesitate. Not the first time for something like this to happen. I do this ALL THE TIME. I let one of my drafts sit on my hard drive for far too long because of the sudden obsession to read whatever I could find before writing another word.

Is this a problem, or a part of the writing process?

Michigan Department of Educations Issues Guidelines For LGBTQ Student Safety and the Michigan GOP Reacts Predictably: Open Comment Period Extended To May 11, 2016

About a month ago Michigan public school teachers attended mandatory professional development sessions on providing safe learning environments for LGBTQ students. The program caused enough discussion that school districts reached out to the State Board of Education for help.

The State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education developed the guidance at the request of schools and educators asking for recommendations of best practices in creating more supportive learning environments for LGBTQ students, who are at greater risk of suicide, and are not succeeding academically absent a supportive school environment.

School districts across the state found their policies concerning bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students horribly inadequate. Most school staff and teachers are unaware of how out of touch they are with the reality of the problems LGBTQ students face every day in school. At the beginning of the workshop last month, every staff member had to introduce who they were and what pronouns they use. “Pronouns? Why would I need to tell people my pronouns,” was a question many of the attendees asked. They had never heard of such a thing. The levels of confusion from the staff indicate how unprepared our public schools are for making them safe for everyone.

At the request of the state’s school districts, the State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education partnered with members of the LGBTQ community to draw up a set of guidelines for assisting public school districts with developing more inclusive policies to ensure all students feel safe at school. With any policy like this, the State Boar of Education requested public input on the guidelines.

What’s happened since then could potentially make adopting a policy designed to keep our kids safe into a battleground over which bathroom or locker room a student uses based on gender identity, to parent concerns that publics schools are using the issue to undermine the authority of parents by ensuring safe space for children while they are at school. Right wing media such as Daily Caller launched articles using this horrible graphic to alarm parents what Michigan public schools are doing will make children less safe at school.

Counting on people to react with fear made what should be an exercise to modify policy and ensure the safety of all children at school into a political fight. Republicans so far have been swift in punishing the State Board of Education with retaliatory moves such as stripping members of travel reimbursement and per diem, and demanding that the State Board of Education should have given parents more time to comment on the guidelines. House Speaker Kevin Cotter demanded the extension and remarked, “My hope is at the end the board will change course and not issue that recommendation.” In other words, not allow school districts to adopt the guidelines that would ensure all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, to feel safe at school. Student drop-out rates and suicides are higher with LGBTQ school students because school is not always a safe place for them to be.

The Michigan State Board of Education did extend the deadline comment from the public. Anyone who wishes to leave a comment can do so here. You have until May 11, 2016 to be heard.

Hopefully, enough people who support providing guidelines for all of the children who attend Michigan public schools to learn in a safe environment will take the time to fill out the simple form. The State Board of Education needs positive support for the hard work they put into doing the right thing for our kids.

I Really Want To Work On My Novel

I wanted to work on one of my novels after coming home from work today.

That was before the principal announced since there is no bus service for our students this Friday, 99% of our students will have no ride to school. “Can you give the exams scheduled for Friday on Wednesday?”

Sure, can do. Won’t be writing my novel. Must write exams.

People like my writing. They like it so much I’m now the secretary for the county Democratic Party and the county planning commission. I get many compliments for how thorough the minutes are now. This also means I spend my weekends typing up those minutes and before you know it the day is gone and it’s time to go to bed.

I would much rather work on my novel. Spring break is coming soon. A whole week of doing nothing but writing if I want. I hope the weather’s bad so I can’t spend time out of the house.

Scenes from my novel keep dancing through my head. If only I could stay awake when I get home from work.

Some Thoughts About Exit ‘167’ On Northbound US 131

North of Tustin but just south of the rest stop near Cadillac on northbound US 131, a blue sign beckons to motorists that accommodations are available from three hotels if they exit the highway using the off ramp numbered 167. A curious anomaly, because the Tustin exit on US 131 is numbered 168 and miles south of this sign.

You can’t help but wonder, is this elusive exit 167 like platform 9 and 3/4, and one must ram the sign at full-speed to exit US 131 and get to these hotels?

Or perhaps this is the route to the anti Hotel California: You can check in any time you like, if you can find it.

Perhaps like Brigadoon exit 167 only appears once every hundred years, and if you don’t vacate your hotel room by the 11 am checkout, you’re stuck there forever. What about the people who managed to find exit 167? Did they find an elusive spring of immortality and now live like the Tuck family?

Maybe it’s somewhere over the rainbow. and you have to ride a tornado to get to the three hotels listed as being available at off ramp 167.

Or it could be none of these things but instead a clever nod to Eris, Goddess of Chaos, by the Michigan Department of Transportation. After all, the numerology for 167 is obvious: 1+6+7=14, and 1+4=5. Discordians occasionally look for signs from Eris when they randomly need a Discordian oracle.

Despite closely looking for it when passing by the sign, exit 167 has yet to reveal itself. Every morning it’s the the rest stop and then exit 176, one of four exits to the town of Cadillac.

But that elusive fifth exit 167, north of exit 168 … maybe today will be the day.