Uniforms for Public Schools

It is the back to school time again. In fact today happens to be the first day of school for my daughter. So the whole hustle and bustle in the morning trying to get to school on time started again. As it is, it's very hectic in the mornings doing even the simple things like brushing teeth, eating breakfast, combing hair and few other simple chores to get ready for school. Add to this chaos the dreaded "no uniform" anything goes dress picking in the morning. It throws the whole equilibrium out of whack. All the other chores take predictable time, but not the dress picking.

So it brings me to this question, as to why do public schools do not enforce uniforms for children? Why is that only private schools have that privilege? It beats me. There are so many advantages to having a school uniform.

These are 5 reasons why we should have school uniforms for public schools.

1. Focus will be on education and not clothes.
   
   
   Whenever I see those advertisements for "back to school" on television, newspapers or anywhere else for that matter, all they talk about is the clothes, the shoes, how cool they are supposed to look and all that non-sense. Never once is the focus on the real thing, "the education". So if we bring back uniforms for all schools, regardless if they are public or private, we will indirectly help children focus on education and not so much on looks.
   
   
   
2. Everybody will be "uniform".
   
   
   So there will be no distinction between the poor and the rich kids. Since everybody wears the same clothes, they all look the same. At least children won't be checking out each others clothes and shoes, which is a big positive.
   
   
   
3. It saves money.
   
   
   We don't have to buy so many clothes for school. We can buy a few pairs of uniform and we are good to go. That definitely saves a lot of money (who doesn't want to save money in this economy?!!!).
   
   
   
4. It saves time.
   
   
   You don't waste all that time in picking clothes to wear to school. If it is an uniform it becomes that much easier. It is a no brainer.
   
   
   
5. We can identify the child's school.
   
   
   So if somebody is either cutting classes or doing some unruly stuff (like graffiti which seems to be common problem here), the least we could do is complain to their school Principal, since we know which school they belong to.
   
   
   

These are just my reasons for having a school uniforms for public schools in America. I wish our current president, Mr. Obama does something about this.

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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

There is a lot of talk these days about Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, the 3 R's campaign. Finally I see the government got involved in the 3 R's campaign in a major way. These days we are quite frequently bombarded with the water bottle advertisements, where they talk about the bottles ending up in landfill. So true.

I'm all for using the tap water with some kind of filtration. In fact who isn't. I guess we all agree that we need to keep the planet in a better condition for our children, grandchildren and the generations there after and so on.

So to do our part, first we had a water filter installed in our kitchen a few years ago. Next I went and bought reusable water bottles. I got mine at container store. I liked that they came in a set of 5 and are perfect for my daughter's school, one for each school day. The designs are cool too. These days these water bottles are everywhere, which is nice to see.

While EPA is doing all it can to stop the water bottles from ending up in the landfill, there is a new problem cropping up. I think it is the same water bottles with some simple additives and new labeling.

For example Propel Fitness Water. This is what it is ... according to Wikipedia. So it is water with some added vitamins. I also noticed that they have "Propel Fitness Water mix powder packets" in different flavors. I think I like this instead. So you can use your reusable water bottle and your filtered tap water with their added mix. Another example of this is Glaceau Vitamin Water. As the name suggests, it is water with some vitamins and some flavor enhancers. I did not see any flavored mix with this brand. Too bad.

So what is the verdict? Don't you feel all the money the government is spending to educate people about the 3 R's is a utter waste if people are fooled into buying products like Propel and Glaceau water. Don't those bottles end up in a landfill as well? I think so!!!

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How to Water a Plant While on Vacation!

I don't know about you, but I always seem to forget to take care of the indoor plants when I go on vacations. When we go on short (less than a week) vacations all seems well. It is those long vacations which are the killer (I mean of plants ....).

When we visit India it is usually for a month or so. There are lots of other things to take care of before such trips. Such as mail, newspaper, making sure to empty the refrigerator and the list goes on. For some reason plants seem to be forgotten, until when you return to find it all wilted and dried and in some cases dead.

So the other day when I came across this video, I wanted to share it with others . I have not tried it yet, but it sure seems it should work. It is a clever idea and done with things that you already own at home. So take a look ....

If you feel that this solution is not for you, I recently saw an advertisement for some "Aqua Globes" watering system on television. I do not own these, but from the advertisement it seems like it should work.

Next time I go on a long vacation, I shall definitely try one of the above solutions.

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I Cannot Beleive I Met .....

This summer I visited my sister's family in PA. My sister had planned a visit to the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam ( also known locally as Saylorsburg temple ). She had donated $500 to the temple for the "Gift for the Day" program. That donation covers a day of meals, utilities and operations at the temple. She made a donation in memory of my dad.

We went the previous night and they provided us with accommodations at the temple. The next morning was the actual Abhishekam performed to Lord Dakshinamurthi. So my sister's family and my family along with our mom we all got ready and we went to the temple and who do we see there .....

It was Pandit Jasraj Ji performing on stage inside the temple. Apparently Pandit Jasraj Institute for music, artistry and appreciation has it's annual Shibir at the Arsha Vidya Gurkulam every summer. We could not believe our luck. We were so thrilled to see him perform so up close. It is not a publicized event. We felt very lucky to have seen him. My mom was very touched. We all remembered our dad fondly. My dad was a great lover of music. He enjoyed music immensely and we would always catch him singing. So we all felt the connection of the great musician being present for our important day.

After the performance we all headed to the dining hall for our dinner. Pandit Jasraj Ji was there too. So I asked my daughter to say namaste to panditji, which she did. He was very kind and made some conversation with her. He is such a humble man for somebody who is so accomplished. Later my mom, my sister and I went and spoke to him a bit too. We were all so elated to have such an opportunity.

So you never know who you might see, when you least expect it !!

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Formations on a Tea Cup!

Other day I just made some tea and set it aside. When I came back to get it I saw all these formations on the top in the tea cup. This is the first time I had time even to notice such a thing. Anyways I thought it was worth taking a picture and here they are ...

This first one looked like a heart.

This next one looked somewhat like a Whale.


This one looked like a face of the bird with a beak and an eye in the middle.



just another picture of the bird face ....



This one looked like a diwali diya.


Am I hallucinating or is it for real ?!!! You be the judge !!!

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