Home on Squirrel Hill

6-17-12 0635 Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA. They say that before the arrival of Europeans, a squirrel might have traveled from tree to tree all the way from the Coast of Massachusetts to the Mississippi. And the presence of large deciduous trees is still really impressive. They spring up along freeways, they persist in parks. You can almost feel the oxygen flowing out of them. Or maybe it’s just the humidity. In any case, here we are in Squirrel Hill, after a walk in Frick Park, about 500 acres of open space and trees, holding the Mansion of the benefactor, now serving brunch if you want good eggs benedict. Pittsburgh was already a thriving city when the railway was arriving in Cheyenne Wyoming. This is where the stuff that made Cheyenne came from. It’s right in the crotch of the Monongahela and Allegany Rivers, which flow on together as the Ohio, heading SW towards Miss River herself. More the stuff these days is virtual; Google has a growing work group here (http://www.businessinsider.com/google-pittsburgh-office-2011-2), and Carnegie-Mellon celebrated its 115th comencement this spring. Squirrel Hill has over a dozen synagogues, and families walk to worship, and walk their kids to school at Colfax (http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/colfax/site/default.asp) This is where Bimla and Haral’s kids go. Here’s the Vision Statement: At Pittsburgh Colfax K-8, we focus on full implementation of the America’s Choice reform model to raise all students’ performance levels. This is achieved under the guidance of a high-performance leadership team in tangent with involved parent community members that embrace the professional learning community and is interdependent upon effective execution of classroom rituals and routines that are aligned with the standards-based and student-centered workshop model. Harrumph! I’m not sure about the use of ‘in tangent’..since the adjectival use of the word in the dictionary means 1. Making contact at a single point or along a line; touching but not intersecting. Or 2. Irrelevant. I looked up the Vision and Mission because we talked about the challenges in a school housing students of many cultures, and I wanted to know if items like cultural competence were explicitly mentioned at this level of education. Seems not. In planning medical education these days, such items are essential. The sun descended slowly, and the heat gave way to the cool of evening. We had barbecued chicken and tofu with neighbors; other neighbors arrived a bit later. The kids played, viewed the two hooded rats that are houseguests in a large terrarium, and sat on laps. The houses are brick with stained glass in tasteful places, and mostly the original dark wood paneling, but with new kitchens, LG refrigerators, and stoves named for animals. The streets are leafy and quiet. We talked about addressing substance abuse in pregnancy, and recipes for quinoa. Sala left to have dinner with a Buddhist friend. Fuji, socialized to Lucy the local small dog, was docile after a long walk. Finally, there were fireflies on the lawns along the darkling street. Goodbye West!! Hello East!! Best