Oak Knoll Kinderhaus

You'd think, as many times as I've driven, walked, floated and flown past this imaginatively-painted building I'd have taken note of what goes on there.

Some things you don't get to right away. You get to them eventually. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

I have finally taken a picture of the Oak Knoll Kinderhaus, and looked it up online. It's a Montessori school on Lake Avenue in Pasadena.

That doesn't mean I know anything. I didn't go to a Montessori school and don't know much about it. Wikipedia has a description.

Do you have experience with Montessori?

I'm going to put up the holiday lights. I'm not saying when, but I'll get to it.

April 23rd

It's Shakespeare's birthday. I thought I should say "Happy Birthday, Will!" seeing as we--okay, I--so ill-used him on the blog merely a week ago.

It's also St. George's Day in the United Kingdom. From what I understand it's not exactly a big deal on that precious stone set in the silver sea, but it makes a good excuse to go to the pub. Luckily, this year the day of St. George (who wasn't British and never set foot on the sceptred isle) falls on a Saturday, because the day of Britain's patron saint is not a holiday. But Happy St. George's Day to our British friends nonetheless.

I didn't have any pictures of dragons, or knights, or even pubs for that matter. But I'm a sucker for an archway.

Eliot School

I think everyone who drives up Lake Avenue to Altadena wants to take a picture of Eliot School. Founded in 1931 and named for Charles W. Eliot (who was a president of Harvard University and responsible for introducing the elective course system), Eliot is a middle school, part of the Pasadena Unified School District and current home to about 700 sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

I toured the school the other day along with a small group of parents and Susan Savitt Schwartz, Director of Operations for Pasadena Education Network. PEN helps parents learn what Pasadena's public schools are really like by connecting them to the facts, to other parents and to the educators themselves.

Our tour was led by the (relatively) new principal of Eliot School, Peter Pannell, himself an Eliot alum. Mr. Pannell (he's the principal--I can't call him Peter) patiently answered questions and gave me the feeling he's an educator who cares. He hasn't forgotten what it's like to be one small kid in a big school.

You know me, I'm interested in the visuals, the architecture. But I found Pannell's earnest talk compelling. Over the coming days, with his help, I'll show you around inside Eliot School and tell you a little more about the fantastic things going on there--like the biggest API score gain of all the PUSD schools in the past year--and that's saying something.

Parent Tours at Eliot School are given the first Tuesday of every month, first thing in the morning. Contact the school at (626-396-5680).

Jacaranda Maxima

Ben and I have been photographing jacarandas. We can't help it.

I found this tree at 300 W. Green Street, just south of the Ralph's parking lot. Well, I didn't find the tree. If you're anywhere in the vicinity of this block of Green you can't miss it. The building behind it is marked "Hall of Administration." It could either be administration for the Ambassador Auditorium or for Marantha High School, both of which are south of (behind) this structure. Ambassador kind of matches it, though.

But back to the tree. Have you downloaded Google Earth? Oh, you should. It's a fun program anyway. I learned my way around Paris with it before I even went there. You can explore the world, or just Pasadena. Check out your house, the mountain trails, or the great aerial view of City Hall. And if you type in the address above (300 W. Green St. Pasadena, CA), you'll see the most prominent feature at that address: the huge, purple jacaranda tree, photographed by satellite.

I'm Not a Budget Cut

Friday I arrived at Longfellow School too late to see the full demonstration against Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed school budget cuts. Citizens, parents, teachers and children had been outside all day in the hot sun, waving signs and chanting. I'm told the protesters filled the lawn from one end to the other, while motorists passing on Washington Blvd. honked their agreement: "Don't Cut Our Kids Short."

Already, the kids in my neighborhood sell candy and magazines door-to-door just to go on a field trip. When I was a kid I was a student, not a salesman. How can we give them so much less than what we had?

The smiling man in the middle of the photo is our new Pasadena School Board President, Tom Selinske. He's only just been elected, and he's jumping in feet first. Which is good, because his hands are going to be full. The Governator's got his hands full, too. A budget's a complicated thing and California's in deep financial trouble.

Some might say what happens in Pasadena's schools doesn't affect me because I don't have kids. But good schools in my town raise my property value, and in the bigger picture they enhance my quality of life. When I become a demanding and feisty old lady, I don't want a bunch of drop-outs hanging around, looking for feisty old ladies to pester. I want educated people policing my streets, governing my city and especially managing my health care.

I sound selfish, don't I?

I can help by voting to allocate money to schools, when given the opportunity on a ballot. What else can one person do? Your thoughts?