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Editor’s Note
We asked an Artificial Intelligence program to write a poem about being a teen whohas grown up in Santa Cruz and this is what we got in 20 seconds: In Santa Cruz by the sea, Where the waves crash wild and free.I spent my teenage years, With laughter, love, and tears.The sun-kissed sand, the salty breeze, The boardwalk bustling with glee.The pier where we’d fish and dream, Our youth so full of promise and esteem.The town was quirky, artsy, and kind, With open minds and hearts refined.Where we could be ourselves, express, And never feel the need to impress.We’d hang out at cafes, skate parks, and beaches, Taking risks, pushing…
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ChatGPT – How Will This Change Education?
When spell check and grammar check features became available in the late 1970s, critics feared that we would rely on technology to edit our work and that the quality of our writing would diminish. Then when the internet first appeared in 1983, critics worried that people would lose the ability to think critically. Both the internet and spell/grammar check features have become a mainstay in writing and we rely on them for research and editing our work. Today ChatGPT – an artificial intelligence software program that provides instant research results and can write an original essay in a matter of seconds – is the new obsession. Teachers and administrators are…
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Tips for Music Teachers
My greatest satisfaction, after 70 years of musical experience, has been teaching piano to people of all ages. I’ve found it to be an art of empathy, perception, intuition and constant appraisal. Teaching is about preparing and encouraging a student to continue conscious and creative learning as a life long practice. Here are some tips that may be useful.
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Athlete of the Month
Local swimmer Oliver Santana of Soquel High School is only a sophomore, but has already proved himself to be one of Santa Cruz county’s most promising young athletes at age 16. Oliver’s parents encouraged him to take swimming lessons as a child to grow familiar with the nearby ocean. This is where his love for swimming collided with an innate desire to compete and improve. “I always just loved the water,” said Santana. “I like doing a little more every time.” And improve he has; as Santana has improved his times nearly every time he competes. Not only is he racing against other swimmers from the area, but additionally against…
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Community College is Best Path to University of California
Each year more than two million people enroll in a California Community College. While each student has their own personal goals during their time at community college, many have aspirations to transfer into a four-year university — the most popular of these universities being University of California. In April of 2018, the UC president and California Community Colleges issued a memorandum of understanding (an “agreement”) that guarantees admission for all CCC students who complete one of the UC pathways and has qualifying GPA. The GPA standard is set at 2.4 or 2.8 for non-residents. While this base GPA varies between majors, it offers a reasonable expectation for students who want…
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A Plea for Your Help
Kevin, a 16-year-old teen, was sitting in my dental chair in terrible pain. He had a deep cavity that was hitting his nerve and needed treatment right away. As a dentist and a mom, I really felt for Kevin. Fortunately, I was able to get him the care he needed to get him out of pain and save his tooth – a risk he didn’t know he had when he arrived. I knew that the cavity had taken years to get to this point. If he had been seen by a dentist at an earlier stage, it could have been easily treated with a filling before it caused Kevin any…
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Harraher is the Chief of Neurosurgery at Dominican Hospital
Dr. Ciara Harraher is running around her front yard on a cool Saturday afternoon in January with 20 nine-year-old boys at her son, Finn’s, birthday party. Directing a nerf war is no easy task. “Wrangling the boys was like getting an operating room in check! That was so much fun. Finn envisioned doing his nerf war, so I had to come through with it,” said Harraher. Dr. Harraher’s professional resume is remarkable. She is the Chief of Neurosurgery at Dominican Hospital and heads the Stanford Neurosurgery Outreach Clinic. She also teaches Principles of Medicine to Stanford MD students. She received her medical degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, a…
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A Grandmother’s Love
My granddaughter is adorable and everything she does is adorable. I’m not just saying that because I’m her grandmother. Everyone thinks so. She is objectively adorable. Why do I feel the need to say that? Probably because I am not only an adoring grandmother, I am also an obnoxious grandmother. And I’m not just saying that. I am objectively an obnoxious grandmother. Everyone says so. I can’t get enough of that little pumpkin. I make excuses to stop by just so I can smell the top or her head (which is very big because of all the brains). I knew that I would love my grandchild even if she wasn’t…
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Managing Screen Time
Let’s face it. It’s hard to unplug from our screens. Our devices connect us to other people, as well as to fun and useful information, but they can also have a downside. In this month’s column, I’ll share some reminders for managing screen time as a family. This monthly column provides tips for anyone who is helping raise children, based on the world-renowned Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, available to families in Santa Cruz County. If you have a question or idea for a future column, email me at [email protected] Dear Nicole,We have a toddler, a third grader, and a tween who is growing up fast. If we let…
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Caramel, Beige and Pink
Race is a mirage but one that humanity has organized itself around in very real ways. – Ibram X. Kendi My son asked me the other day about our different skin colors. He’s six, and something that might have been affecting him for several years is suddenly something he can put into words: “What color am I Mama?” “You have absolutely beautiful, caramel-colored skin,” I said. “What color are you?” he asked. I thought for a moment. “Pink and spotty,” I said. I’m an aging surfer, and this was the most accurate description I could come up with. I wondered if I had been correct in how this conversation went.…
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School Should Start Later to Give Teens More Sleep
As her teenage son groggily dragged himself out of the house and into the car at 7:10 am to make it to school on time, Lisa Lynn Lewis wondered if he was even capable of absorbing information in those first few hours of the day. “He was hardly alert, and definitely not in an optimal state to be showing up to school ready to learn. It was his first year of high school, and classes started at 7:30 am. “That was the earliest he’d ever had to go to school, and it really felt too early for all of us,” she said. She was right. Last July, state Senate Bill…
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What Is Your Favorite Thing To Do In The Summer?
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Addressing Period Poverty and Menstruation Stigma
Period poverty is defined as the struggle those who have a menstrual cycle face while trying to afford menstrual products. Despite not being able to control a menstrual cycle, those who have one are still left to purchase products that some cannot afford. I believe that menstrual products should be an approved item to purchase using government subsidies or covered through medical insurance. To help alleviate this problem for our local community, I have started a school club called “That’s on Period Project.” That’s on Period Project’s goals are to raise awareness about the stigmas surrounding menstruation, to raise money to purchase period products and to organize period product drives.…
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Nurture Your Parenting Skills
Most parents are laser focused on birth, and the first few months postpartum, then they hit the ground running and things rarely slow down. The needs of a new baby are clear and insistent, but fast forward to toddler time. Suddenly the newborn is crawling about, dumping over the cat’s food, and chewing on the tv remote. This behavior might be seen as normal inquisitiveness by one parent, and defiance by another. Each parent brings their own history and family upbringing into a parenting partnership. Their own life experience can feel like the norm, especially if they have never really explored parenting issues. Two different parenting perspectives coming together with…
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Coloring Contest
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Coloring Contest Winners
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Heroes of the Storm
While you and your family were sheltering from torrential rains, Manuel Rodriguez, 50, and his brother Joel, 58, were digging underground conduits to help restore power to Aptos. Not only was the work torturous in horrid conditions, but the two were far from their homes in San Luis Obispo County working six days a week, staying in a mobile home in Watsonville and driving back south for one day to see their wives and children. And, to make matters worse, the retaining wall around Joel’s house in Atascadero had collapsed and friends there were helping him out with sand bags. He figures there was at least $15,000 to $20,000 of…
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Community Comes Together
If there’s a silver lining to all the storms we’ve faced—besides fighting back on the long drought—it’s the way our community has come together. People have taken both big and small steps to help each other. Big corporations, once considered the Evil Empire around Santa Cruz, have rushed forward to help bring service to so many people stricken by the floods, often not seeking publicity for their efforts, but thanked by residents nonetheless. While everyone praises first responders from police and fire departments, we rarely see enough credit given to workers who climb poles in torrential rains to bring back electricity, cable and phone service. We’ve tried to call out…
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How You Can Help the Storm Cleanup
The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz is organizing storm cleanup efforts in Felton Grove for the next several weeks. To sign up to be an emergency response volunteer, request flood clean-up assistance, or donate to the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County and support its efforts, visit scvolunteercenter.org. For more information call 831.427.5070. This Google Map set up by Coastal Watershed Council leader Laurie Egan has a number of contacts for area cleanup supervisors: bit.ly/3j37NjfThe Community Foundation Santa Cruz County has launched a disaster fund to help residents and small business owners. The money will go to nonprofits serving vulnerable populations. Donations will also go to small businesses in coordination…
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Out & About
