TV TuneOut: A Winnetka Tradition

The 15th annual TV Tune Out 2009 will be held from

Sunday, March 1 through Saturday, March 7

Participate in fun activities while supporting local shops and organizations. There are activities and volunteer projects for all ages. You can find an "activity at a glance" page at http://winnetkaalliance.org/pdf/AtaGlanceChart.pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat), an online booklet at http://winnetkaalliance.org/pdf/2009TVTuneOut.pdf, or you can go to http://winnetkaalliance.org for more information.

Extra printed copies of the 2009 TV Tune Out Guide and extra TV Tune Out buttons can be found at the following locations:

* The Book Stall at Chestnut Court, Winnetka

* District Offices of the Winnetka Public Schools at 1235 Oak St., Winnetka

* Glenview Park Center

* Kohl Children's Museum, Glenview

* Northfield Community Center

* Northfield Public Library

* Winnetka Community House

* Winnetka Park District

* Winnetka Public Library

* Your school's office may have extras, as well

Obama Inauguration: Oh Yes I Can

On Tuesday, January 20th, I joined many fellow Chicagoans who shivered in the falling snow while watching Obama's inaugural speech on the Jumbotron at the Daley Plaza in Chicago. While I could not hear the speech, I watched the closed-captioning (provided with Dragon voice recognition technology, I'm sure)and was struck with the hope that we can get our great country back on track.

Obama's speeches are full of rich vocabulary, full of vision, and full of the love of history. Without a good education, Obama would not be where he is now, guiding us back from the precipice of illiteracy, financial ruin, and overall despair.

So many times, individuals are discouraged from achieving their full potential in learning, whether due to the Pygmalion effect of low expectations for people of color or for people with disabilities. So today, I wrote a little piece to speak to the belief that any and all individuals CAN achieve their full potential.

Oh Yes I Can

Give me a lap to hear the books and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Give me the excitement of hearing about the world through books and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Walk me to the library and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Give me the books to learn and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Give me a dictionary to learn the words and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Give me the microscopes and test tubes and computers and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Give me the tools to learn and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Mentor me and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Share your excitement in learning and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Take down the barriers to learning and I will learn
Oh yes I can!
Try to discourage me from learning, and I will tell you
OH YES, I CAN!

©Jeanne D. Beckman

Parents everywhere, please join me in taking back control of the education of our children. Read to them, and if you struggle to read, seek out literacy classes and computer technology at your library to read to you and your family. There is no shame in difficulties in reading unless you refuse to ask for help in learning to read. Turn off your televisions and read, read, read.

Who was it who said, those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it? Obama's speeches certainly reflect that he knows history and is using his understanding of it to bring our country back to greatness. He would not have learned history if he had not read an abundance of books on every subject he could find.

Please join me in asking yourself, "What have I done today to encourage a child to reach for knowledge, understanding, and to walk the path toward community and country contributions?"

Kindness of strangers

In the New York times today, Ted Gup penned an article about the kindness of strangers during the Great Depression:

IN the weeks just before Christmas of 1933 — 75 years ago — a mysterious offer appeared in The Repository, the daily newspaper here. It was addressed to all who were suffering in that other winter of discontent known as the Great Depression. The bleakest of holiday seasons was upon them, and the offer promised modest relief to those willing to write in and speak of their struggles. In return, the donor, a “Mr. B. Virdot,” pledged to provide a check to the neediest to tide them over the holidays.

Not surprisingly, hundreds of letters for Mr. B. Virdot poured into general delivery in Canton — even though there was no person of that name in the city of 105,000. A week later, checks, most for as little as $5, started to arrive at homes around Canton. They were signed by “B. Virdot.”

continued "Hard Times, A Helping Hand": http://tinyurl.com/8aegxg

In the communities around the North Shore of Chicago, as well as around the country, there are many who have known difficult times as well as those who like to discretely help those who are less fortunate. Your gifts to others do not have to be financial. Perhaps you can read to a shut-in, tutor a student, drive someone to a doctor's appointment, invite someone to dinner, or make books accessible for those who have print disabilities. What can you do?

Welcome to Winnetka Commons

Winnetka Commons is a place (and possibly a movement) where community-minded people of all ages can share ideas, resources, and commitment to doing acts of kindness and sharing for the common good while finding ways to survive during times of personal, financial, and/or community downturns. Please share your links, projects, and resources as I grow this project.

There are many ways to share. Do you have an expertise? Do you have favorite books that have inspired you to to give back or that have comforted you as you struggled? Has someone mentored you along the way? Do you, or have you in the past, belonged to a civic organization such as Rotary? Do you know of a family member, a friend, or a stranger who needs assistance?

During the "Great Depression," families and entire communities rallied together and shared what they had. Are we headed into another Depression? Most of us are too young to remember living through the last Depression, and worry that we might not survive through the current economic downturn. Those who do remember the Great Depression have stories they should share to help the rest of us know that we, too, can survive.

It is my hope that Winnetka Commons will grow into a way to "pay forward" acts of kindness and community spirit. This blog can be a place where I hope to quickly share the thoughts, hopes, and acts of others who believe that sharing what you have is the best way to experience wealth (of spirit).