Month: December 2011

Inside Track to the great outdoors

/ Kelly Jo McDonnell / Leave a comment

Inside track to the great outdoors in Lino Lakes

  • Article by: KELLY JO McDONNELL , Special to the Star Tribune
  • Updated: December 6, 2011 – 2:29 PM

A prominent naturalist will speak to parents of home schoolers to help infuse kids with a love of the outdoors.

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Naturalist Maria Pierz guided a group of children as they explored the Wargo Nature Center together.

Sil Pembleton has a passion for the outdoors and works to share it with kids and parents, and that’s what she’ll be doing next week at Wargo Nature Center in Lino Lakes.

Pembleton, a naturalist who has written several wildlife books for children, among other endeavors, will be a guest speaker for the Home School Program presented by Anoka County’s Parks and Recreation Department. The program offers monthly environmental, recreational and natural history sessions for home school students and their families.

Pembleton “is a conservationist with a real connection,” said Jennifer Fink of the Parks and Rec Department. “She gets kids connected to the outdoors. … They are the people who are going to help us preserve and take care of the environment. We have to build it when they’re young.”

Pembleton’s Dec. 15 presentation will be aimed at parents. “The kids will be off doing some education classes at that time,” Fink said. “She’s working with the parents and offering them tips and ideas for how to get their kids engaged in the outdoors.”

Pembleton said that, while introducing kids to the outdoors is key, so is reaching their parents. “My program offers simple and fun things that parents can do who don’t feel extremely comfortable in the out of doors,” she said. “Parents and teachers are so influential in a child’s life, so if I can get them going … I’m happy.”

She said outdoor lessons build life experiences and can help children as students.

“They have a better understanding of science in school in the early years,” she said. “When you have the chance to play in the stream, or dig in the dirt, or watch the clouds, or build with blocks, it gives you this feeling of how things work.”

Pembleton and her husband, Ed, have always been passionate about nature, and they’ve pursued that passion for more than 30 years as educators, naturalists and conservationists.

During her career, Sil Pembleton worked at the Smithsonian Institution and was director of environmental studies at Hard Bargain Farm in Washington, D.C., an outdoor educational facility on the Potomac River. One of her favorite “disconnect” stories comes from her time there.

She was demonstrating how to milk a cow, and a young girl asked: “But where does the meat come out?”

“This was right in our nation’s capital,” Pembleton said with a laugh. “I had daily reminders of how disconnected the kids were. They had no idea that their food, their automobiles, their computers in the schools, come from the Earth. It’s all Earth material. We’ve just changed it so much it’s hard to recognize.”

Pembleton’s program includes giving parents a weather guide calendar that explains day-by-day what is going on in nature. She said it gives parents a “heads up” on what kinds of things they and their children can look for while outdoors.

“For example, in the calendar there’s a chart to help you figure out how fast the wind is blowing. You can start with bubbles! … It’s fun, but learning at the same time.”

Pembleton said she gets all sorts of parents at her programs. She notices that particularly young parents aren’t quite sure where to start.

“Every child needs to keep that sense of wonder,” she said, “and needs the companionship of one adult who can share it and rediscover the joy and the excitement of the world we live in. I want to help the parents feel adequate about sharing the simple, fun activities that they can do. … And the kids take it from there.”

Rehabbing Computers & Prisoners

/ Kelly Jo McDonnell / Leave a comment
  • Article by: KELLY JO McDONNELL , Special to the Star Tribune
  • Updated: December 3, 2011 – 9:32 PM

Minnesota Computers for Schools trains inmates to refurbish donated computers that are then sold to schools at a fraction of the cost of new equipment.

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Prison inmates Carlos Smith, right, and David Collins refurbished computers for the Minnesota Computers for Schools program at the state prison in Stillwater. Last year, more than 3,400 donated computers were refurbished instead of being destroyed.

Photo: Courtney Perry, Star Tribune

What do Stillwater prison and a K-12 Minnesota school have in common? One has inmates doing hard time, and the other is dealing with hard times from budget cuts.

But there is other common ground.

The Minnesota Computers for Schools (MCFS) program is a non-profit organization that trains Stillwater Correctional Facility inmates to refurbish computers donated by local businesses. The computers are then shipped to K-12 schools across the state for a nominal fee.

“I think a lot of these offenders want to work on computers because they know that’s what is happening in the world,” said Tamara Gillard, executive director of MCFS.

In 1997, Gov. Arne Carlson had heard about a computers-for-schools program at a governor’s conference in California. “The corrections there had been a wonderful partner, and it was a win-win,” Gillard said. “It kept the inmates busy, learning valuable skills, and it’s a good part of restorative justice.”

One of the 30 inmates working recently in the Minnesota program on the third floor of a prison industries building was Carlos Smith, who said he was unfamiliar with computers when he started.

“It’s kind of like living in the Stone Age,” he said of computer-free cellblocks. Smith, who has a daughter, said he takes pride in rebuilding computers to benefit schoolchildren.

“It gave me an opportunity to do something that’s giving back,” said Smith, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence. “To be in prison, it’s a chance to make something out of a negative situation.”

Another inmate, Alveto Rivera, has been in the program since April and said workers feel inspired. “All of us, we fix them to the best of our ability.”

Though the program has been around for years — and some marketing is sent to area superintendents — there is still a need to get the word out.

“MCFS can save schools a large amount of money in their technology purchases,” Gillard said. “Our equipment includes tech support and a three-year warranty on computers. Schools can take this savings and possibly put it into curriculum expenses.”

In some instances, schools can purchase two to three refurbished laptops for the price of one new one.

“Many schools are having to cut teachers, transportation, major class subjects. … Schools can’t afford to keep the attitude that new technology is the best and only solution,” Gillard said.

On average, 35 or 40 inmates work in the program.

“We work hard with mentoring the inmates,” she said. “They apply like a normal job. They will eventually test out and work side-by-side next to a senior technician [an inmate who has been refurbishing for a long time].

“We do quarterly reviews with them. They have job expectations, and if they reach their goals, they get a raise each quarter. The inmates are giving back to the community through their work.”

All the old data is wiped cleaned from hard drives outside the prison walls before the computers reach the workers. The inmates do not handle any sort of data, Gillard said, nor do they have access to the Internet.

Once refurbished, the computers are placed in public, private or charter schools in Minnesota, as well as in educationally based nonprofit organizations. MCFS has worked with 121 schools across the state.

Timothy Brockman, supervisor of information systems at Forest Lake Area Schools, is one such client. He learned about the MCFS program at a conference and was impressed. He said the Forest Lake schools have been purchasing almost all of their computers from MCFS for more than five years now.

“We are extremely happy with all aspects of what we get — the quality of the equipment, the cost savings, the fact that it is green,” he said. “Money was a huge factor. We needed newer equipment, and we could not afford to purchase brand new equipment.”

Gillard said MCFS makes sure it meets the specific needs of each school or nonprofit. “We’ll build to that order if they need additional memory or a larger hard drive,” she said.

Another inmate, Rhon Butler, has earned compliments from program managers for his dedication. Under Department of Corrections policy, each inmate can work a maximum of four years fixing the computers.

“Computers are the future now,” he said. “If I could finish the rest of my time [in prison] out, I’d do it right here.”

Kelly Jo McDonnell is a freelance writer from Lino Lakes.

Holiday Funk-

/ Kelly Jo McDonnell / Leave a comment
Putting the kibosh on the post-holiday funk

When the holiday season ends and January rolls around, this month in Minnesota can elicit disparate emotions like none other. Some of these feelings might be as warm and comforting as a cup of egg nog; and some may border on the … well, the funky. Parents perform like Olympic athletes during the holidays, yet once January hits and the “race” is over, some of us may sit on the couch and wonder—now what?

And it’s not just parents feeling the effects; kids do, too. For them, the anticipation is over and gifts have been opened; it’s cold outside; and worse yet, school is about to commence.

It’s time to be proactive in December. Consider some of these preemptive tips, with hopes that when January hits, the doldrums are just a bit less than usual.

Flex-vision

Mothers, especially, can be unnecessarily hard on themselves. Maybe it’s because many focus on what they should have done—or should have done better—rather than just enjoying the season of giving and receiving.

Relax! Cherish the holiday and let the ‘not-so-comforting’ visions melt away. For example, why did our family-decorated gingerbread house look like something out of a Tim Burton film? Not sure. Did the snowman, built during a snowstorm, look like the perfect rendition of Frosty? Not by a long shot—but my eight year-old son and his cousins were proud of that snowman, replete with antlers and a grimace, no less. The whole family was involved in the creation, which is a gift in itself.

The answer to re-training your holiday ideals is above. Do you see it? Our children answer it for us. My son wasn’t preoccupied with having the perfect snowman, or with having a cookie-cutter gingerbread house. Nor should we. Shift your mindset a bit … flex-vision if you will. The funk we sometimes feel in January can be partly due to those ideals we still hold about the having perfect holiday season. I say, plug in A Christmas Story and watch the Bumpus hounds annihilate the Christmas turkey. That will get your head in gear.

My son talks excitedly about his presents, time with his cousins, and of course, his horned snowman. Hold onto memories like these—they are warm and comforting if you just look closely enough.

Organized funk

The daunting task of putting away the holiday decorations is enough to make any parent and child feel the funk. This does not need to be a sad and painful task for all involved. How about throwing an “Un-Decorating” party? Try to make it fun for yourself and your kids. My son used to hide in his room when this task was set before us. He didn’t want to see his favorite ornament stashed away, or all of the Santa figurines boxed up for another year. Once we made a party out of it, however, it helped him understand that while the holiday season was over, he didn’t have to be sad about it.

Set a date to un-decorate, and get everyone involved. Make sure your plastic bins and containers are out and ready to be filled up. Extra bubble wrap and tissue paper should be laid out. My son enjoys wrapping up his ornaments and putting them in his “special” bin where they will await him next Christmas. After everything is secured, enjoy some food, music, and games.


Green funk?

No, not the Grinch: “green” living—an important lesson for our kids to practice. The holidays abound with learning opportunities related to recycling. Trying to keep a little “green” in mind will help you feel responsible and organized at the same time.

Stacking the holiday boxes carefully will help them retain their shape when they are in storage. My son and I like to keep using bows until they literally fall apart. Once they begin to lose their shape, combine them with new and smaller bows to make an arrangement for next year. Once they are too far-gone, recycle them—they are paper, after all.

Don’t forget all those holiday cards that have stacked up, either. Most can be used in scrapbooks or made into nametags for gifts or even a paper ornament come next December. Our favorite is laminating a captivating image. Then we punch a hole in the corner, and add a colorful ribbon to hang it on the tree.

While it can be hard to grasp in the midst of cold, short days and long, dark nights, January heralds a reason to celebrate. For parents, it can be looked upon as the beginning of a new year, full of possibilities. For children, it’s the anticipation of baseball, bike riding, and the wonderful gifts that the changing seasons offer them. So get into that mindset in December. Before you know it, the New Year will be here!