EDUCATIONALLY SPEAKING

Gay Geiser-Sandoval

The reactions to the Daily Pilot article on local students with eating

disorders have been as varied as the reasons why kids suffer from the

problem.

I’m guessing the article was written and published to allow more

people to recognize the symptoms and causes of the problem and help those

in need.

The problem is not one that is localized to just one school in the

district, or just one school in the country. I have a friend whose

daughter almost died from the problem, and I know first hand the

powerlessness and frustration the family felt in dealing with it. She

went to a school that required uniforms, so that isn’t the easy answer.

After that family’s experience, I figured my own kids had a lot of the

profile characteristics, so I read up on it before they hit their teen

years.

As much as I like to take charge and fix medical problems by gaining

as much knowledge and expertise as I can, I quickly realized that it

isn’t that easy once a teenage girl has a full-blown eating disorder. By

then, it isn’t as simple as putting a pizza or ice cream sundae in front

her. That is why I applaud the article, which lets us all recognize

certain symptoms and tells us what to do when we suspect a problem.

For this reason, I was amazed when some people thought the article was

just a way to attack a particular high school. I was saddened to read

where the principal of the school didn’t want the issue discussed with

the media. It supports the perception that, at that school, image is the

most important thing. And, needing to have the “right image” to present

to others is the biggest reason teens have the disorder in the first

place.

The biggest shock to me was that at least one girl takes two hours to

get ready for school each morning. My own girls have it down to 30

minutes, and that includes eating breakfast and making lunch. As you

might imagine, blow-drying hair and applying makeup don’t enter into the

picture.

I can’t think of any time in my life when I took two hours to get

ready. For those of you who have seen me at school board meetings, you

are saying, “And it certainly looks like it, too!” You are absolutely

right. But, if my hair and makeup take on more importance than the points

that I am trying to present, our community really is superficial, and it

is obvious where the problem comes from.

* * *

One of our district’s parents used his radio skills to offer

specialized training to area students, then his persuasive skills to have

those students selected to talk to astronauts on the Columbia Space

Shuttle in July.

Parent K.D. “Doug” Borcoman met with Harbor View students on a weekly

basis to teach them about amateur radios and the Space Amateur Radio

Experiment Project, or SAREX. He also got the school’s name in the hat to

communicate with the astronauts.

Three years later, his efforts paid off. Although some of the students

he worked with now attend Corona Del Mar High School, they returned to

their alma mater this summer for the chance to be one of five schools

selected in the world for this opportunity. If you receive the district’s

TV broadcast, catch the video that was produced by our own district staff

to chronicle the event. The district’s new director of technology, Steve

Gyler, was at the last board meeting to introduce the participants and

the program. This project certainly expanded the role of technology in

the classroom.

* * *

California School will have a new principal when school starts. Jane

Holm worked as the assistant principal at Lincoln School last year. Her

three children attend high school and middle school in Capistrano Valley.

I got tired of just watching new Pomona School Principal Julie McCormick

with her four young bundles of energies. As she starts her new job, one

of her children will begin school at the newly reopened Eastbluff School.

McCormick’s mom will be in Sacramento, leading the education charge.

Also, about 62 teachers were hired to start off the year at schools

throughout the district.

Plans to allocate the $1 million in deferred maintenance were

outlined in the proposed budget. It will be used for roofing, air

conditioning, heating, asphalt paving, flooring, exterior painting, and

plumbing. If you are wondering what lucky schools made the list, e-mail

me at GGSesq@aol.com, or ask the district for a copy of page 16 of the

All Funds Budget.

* * *

The school board is holding a special session tomorrow night to go

over its budget, which is increasingly more complex given the strings

attached by state and federal legislation. I hope to see you there.

I hope you students are enjoying your last few days of summer. At

least one student reads the newspaper, which gets two Brownie points in

my book. He also understands the Constitution, so he gets two more

points. Rest assured, I would never pull a student out of an academic

class just to chat.

You’ll have to e-mail me to set up a time for that. I would love to hear

from students, teachers, and parents about their opinions and ideas. Let

me hear from you.