ABCFT - Week in Review - April 27, 2018
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In case you’ve missed previous Weeks in Review, you can find all of them here: ABCTeachernews To find previous editions, just click on “Blog Archive” which is the menu on the right and click on the specific week.
(ABC Federation of Teachers)
In Unity
ABC Federation of Teachers
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YOUnion Social
Join us TODAY, Friday, April 27th
from 3:00-5:00pm for our monthly no-host YOUnion social at Frida Mexican Cuisine
11169 E. 183rd St in Cerritos.
ABCFT PROUD!
ABCFT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL
Here are last weeks ABCFT Site Representative Talking Points for April. There are many curricular updates in our talking points that impact teachers so take a look.
Union Stories from Strike States
Watch an interesting video of a panel of Virginia teachers and what sparked the strike. With already low wages the state wanted to reduce health benefits, raise premiums, force teachers to wear fitbits and to answer intrusive questions to keep their benefits. Right now we are seeing more teacher strikes in “red” right to work states due to low wages and diminishing benefits. In May/June the Supreme Court will make a decision on the Janus vs AFSCME court case that could gravely impact teachers and other public employees union rights. This is it Folks, we are one court decision from losing our labor voice. (Note - Check out the national news report below to hear about why the teachers of Arizona will be going on strike next week.)
Watch this video to hear how the Strike happened in Virginia and how it impacted teachers.
LABOR NOTES - WEST VIRGINIA:
KNOW YOUR CONTRACT - Temporary Teachers and
Involuntary Transfers (Ray Gaer)
Each year we get hundreds of questions about the language in the ABCFT/ABCUSD Master Contract. This Summer a team of Teacher Leaders and ABCFT leaders will work on creating an easy to access Frequently Asked Questions document to help answer many of common questions members may have about the contract or other district concerns. We would like to highlight a small section of the contract on a regular basis here in the Week in Review to help the process of informing members about the language and protections in the contract.
Temporary Teachers:
Last week, ABCFT received a few questions about the status of Temporary teachers and their contracts. This year we have a little over 60+ teachers on temporary teachers in ABC. During good economic times and steady/growing student enrollment ABC averages about 50 temporary contracts. With declining enrollment hitting ABC and the mediacore monies coming from the State there are more temporary teachers. During the recession we averaged about 75 temporary assignments so the the district had flexibility for positions which kept layoffs from hitting any permanent teachers.
Due to Education Code, on March 15th, the 60+ teachers that we have in ABC are annually given a notice that their temporary contract will end with ABC. This process is distressing for temporary teachers but it is part of the layoff protections put in the California Education Code. Typically in ABC, ninety percent of these temporary teachers will be asked to return the following year to either an additional year on a temporary contract or in many cases a permanent position that has been vacated by a retirement or change of placement.
The question asked was, “When will temporary teachers know if they will be asked to return?”
The District is in the middle of sorting out the school of choice and district of choice assignments to schools. This is typically done during the first two weeks of May. With those numbers the final staffing numbers are set for the following year (adjusted during the summer months). Many temporary teachers can find out if they will be asked back by the end of May after the schools of choice tallys are complete. There are of course exceptions to this timeline. Your principals/supervisors should be able to answer many of the questions about status for next year but if you have specific questions please contact ABCFT so we can assist you.
Involuntary Transfers:
This week, we would like to highlight the language on Involuntary Transfers which can be found in Article XIII Transfer on pages 35-40 of our current Master Contract. Involuntary transfers can be triggered when there is a reduction of staff due to the enrollment and the staff is overstaffed according to Article I: Class Size. The first and often overlook step in this process is that the administrator/supervisor is required to ask for volunteers who would transfer out of the school. If there are no volunteers than the administration/supervisor would work with Human Resources to figure out who would be involuntarily transferred using the following criteria:
- The certification qualifications of the unit member.
- The seniority status of the unit member with the District. The unit member with the least seniority will be transferred unless there is good reason for bypassing such unit member. Such reasons include the maintenance of a well‑balanced staff in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, subject qualifications, and in extraordinary circumstances, age.
Often there is the misconception that seniority is the only qualification used when figuring out who is picked. In this age of program specialist and niche programs, seniority is sometimes overridden by the importance of a specific program or curricular speciality. For example, a person with a bilingual credential who is part of a dual immersion program with less seniority. Since the dual immersion/bilingual program is crucial for the schools programs the lower seniority person would be bypassed. What is critical and who is replaceable is closely monitored.
In the end, involuntary transfers are handled with Human Resources in a case by case basis and each choice is highly scrutinized by both ABCFT and ABCUSD. It should noted that the above language is different than the language used for RSP/SDC and itinerant teachers. Please contact is at ABCFT@abcusd.us if you have any contract questions or if you have any contract questions that you think we should highlight in these weekly articles.
4 Not-So-Obvious Reasons Why Grievances Are Valuable in the Union Workplace
Virtually every union contract contains a grievance/arbitration procedure, which is the way the union and the employer tackle disagreements about workplace rights covered by the contract. Filing a grievance is the equivalent of starting a lawsuit: you put in writing what you believe another party has done that is contrary to the law, and what action will be necessary to correct the situation. If after going through a series of procedural steps the dispute is not resolved, ten the last step of the grievance process – arbitration – is the equivalent of appearing before a judge to argue the case out and obtain a final resolution, one way or the other.
MEMBERS GET ACTIVE
ABCFT TEACHER LEADERS PROGRAM: Tanya Golden TL Facilitator Profile here
ABCFT is pleased to announce we are accepting applications for the 2018-19 Teacher Leaders Program. If you are an ABCFT member and you’re interested in learning, collaborating, and discussing topics such as education, unionism, and polish your leadership skills then we want you! See below for details on how to get involved. For questions about the ABCFT Teacher Leaders Program contact Tanya.Golden@abcusd.us.
Here are the details about the ABCFT Teacher Leaders Program:
To learn more about ABCFT’s Teacher Leaders Program see the Teacher Leaders Profiles here to hear about the TLP directly from our Teacher Leaders.
2018-19 Teacher Leaders Applications are due by Wednesday, June 13, 2018.
AFT interviews Teacher Leader, Rachel Jimenez - Special Education Teacher
As AFT is preparing for the outcome of the Janus case they are visiting classrooms across the nation to film the amazing work that happens in public schools and how unions benefit students, teachers, and communities. Due to this, I had the privilege of AFT sending out their videographer, Brett Sherman, to come visit my classroom at Carmenita Middle School. It was exciting to have him witness the outstanding work my students do. Brett stayed on campus with my class for the first half of the day. During this time, he was able to see the excitement my students had about our classroom garden in which the students are able to relate real life experiences with the science content they are learning. This demonstrates that a strong union who supports me allows me to be a better teacher to my students.
I was also interviewed regarding the Janus case. One of the questions Brett asked during this interview was what impact will the Janus case have on ABC’s union. I explained that I trust ABC’s union will continue to remain strong. ABC union members will not let the corporate billionaires, that are behind the Janus case, take away our right to come together to advocate for our students, working conditions, and livelihood.
Curriculum Link of the Week - (repeated message for April)
This week we thought we could show you a way to add some adventure and leveling up into your classroom with Classcraft. This website provides the tools to gamify your classroom. Students get individual avatars, go on quests, face challenges for points and levels. Classcraft transforms school by taking the video game mechanics that provide rich and interesting play experiences and applying them to the classroom setting.
Sharing resources and ideas are what keeps our classrooms innovative, interesting, and organized. Each week, ABCFT will highlight an education resource that we heard was great for teachers. If you have a website, book, or training that you found helpful in your classroom let us know at abcft@abcusd.us so we can share it with everyone.
If you send an idea or link and we use it in the Review, we will send you a Starbucks gift card for the helpful hint.
TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM MAY 2
(In hopes of providing an opportunity for teachers to gain ideas and inspiration ABCFT helps to sponsor this technology event each year. We hope that you take the opportunity to experience new ideas and free food.)
The 3rd Annual ABC Technology Symposium "Apportunity" is only a week away! This free professional development event is on Wednesday, May 2nd, at Whitney HS, from 3:30 PM to 5:50 PM. The event is sponsored by ABCFT, CSEA, and the IT Department! All teachers and classified staff interested in instructional technology and work productivity are welcome to attend!
Event postcards should have arrived to your school yesterday to be placed in staff mailboxes.
This year the Symposium has over 35 technology sessions about instructional strategies, processes, ideas, and application use. There are sessions ranging from Google Drive, Forms, Classroom, Virtual field trips, Aeries and Google Classroom Integration, PearDeck, Edpuzzle, YouTube, Kahoot, Google Hacks and much more!
We have created a new online presence for our ABC Technology Symposium.
Please visit the Symposium’s Event Center where you may review session offerings and register to attend.
For those who do not register in advance, an "Apportunity Booth" will be open at the event to help our guests quickly register and access resources online via a mobile device.
Teacher Appreciation Day is Fast Approaching - May 8th
On Tuesday May 8th MOD Pizza will be having a teachers appreciation day. Any teacher or school staff that shows a school ID or badge will receive a MOD pizza or salad for 50% off.
Stephanie Aguilar / General Manager – Cerritos Center
Over this past week I attended/worked with unit members in representations, contract resolutions, email/text/phone call questions, site concerns, and mediations. Here are a couple of highlights from my week:
This week ABCFT has been supporting teachers who have had concerns and questions about a range of issues. Across the district evaluations are being finalized as teachers and principals complete the STULL process for the year. I work closely with Human Resources to keep abreast of the progress of evaluations and I work closely with teachers and principals to make sure evaluations are fair, dignified and that all parties follow the process. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to write us at ABCFT@abcusd.us or to our confidential email at ABCFT2317@gmail.com
In other news, there is a lot of movement this time of the year in preparation for next year, but this year is exceptional. We will have a few new principals next year and there will be changes at the District Office. I’m sure many of you already know that Dr. Cheryl Bodger the Director of elementary schools is retiring at the conclusion of this year. If you see Dr. Bodger give her a good send off after devoting twenty-nine years to ABC. However, due to her retirement we could see additional movement of administrators throughout the District.
Why do I bring this up and why is it important to ABC Teachers and Nurses? With these changes we will see new personalities, new successes, and new challenges. ABCFT representatives will work with these administrators in their new positions as we always do, informing them of problems, offering solutions, guiding the rollout of projects/programs, mentoring, offering opportunities for teacher voice and always acting as guide for administrators to treat teachers with dignity. ABCFT is often the guardian of ABC culture of dignity, voice, and support. Each year we get new administrators from other districts that are unfamiliar with collaborating with a Union or their staff in their former districts. Both ABCFT and ABCUSD work together to guide new administrators and teachers in the art of collaborating with dignity and fidelity. It’s never perfect and for some of you out there you may not be experiencing things the way you wished, we hear you. Just as with students, skills are learned and personality assets are shaped over time, but learning is ongoing.
ABCFT would like to thank all those ABCFT site reps who volunteered over the past week to serve on interview panels for administrators and an a thanks also for those who will be sitting on interview panels in the near future. Who we choose to be our administrator leaders in ABC is critical to how well our schools operate and perform. ABCFT’s voice in these interviews is crucial.
Next month, each school will vote for ABCFT site representatives. If you would like to get involved, learn about leadership, or to pull back the curtain now is the time. Being a site rep is an opportunity to advance your skills and knowledge about the district you work in every day. I encourage any of you that are interested to become a ABCFT site rep or a part of our teacher leader program to step forward and let us help you grow in your leadership potential.
Thank you for taking the time to read what is going on in your YOUnion. We hope that you will continue to provide us with guiding feedback on the value of what we present and what topics you would like to see us tackle in the future.
We hope you have a good weekend. See you here next week!
In Unity!
Ray Gaer
ABCFT President
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Below are a few of the most recent press releases from AFT over the past couple of weeks.
AFT REPORT - GUN MANUFACTURING AND INVESTMENT RISKS:
Please find AFT’s latest report, a special edition of “Ranking Asset Managers” report, released today, which details the largest investors in assault weapons manufacturers, and highlights those investors that have committed to engaging them or have taken other actions to mitigate firearm-related risk. Since the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, 200 students have been killed in school and 187,000 students have been affected by school shootings. The report offers information for pension fund trustees, and it calls on asset managers to evaluate risks associated with investing in gun manufacturers and to engage in meaningful action, such as adopting policies that mitigate the safety risks assault weapons pose.
AFT Severs Relationship with Wells Fargo over Guns
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WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten announced today that the union would cut ties with Wells Fargo, after CEO Tim Sloan failed to follow up on meeting with the union to discuss the bank’s relationship with the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers.
Earlier this month, the AFT released correspondence from Weingarten to Sloan outlining the union’s concerns about Wells Fargo’s connections with the NRA as well as its intention to stop offering Wells Fargo mortgages if Wells Fargo continues being the NRA banker.
The Wells Fargo mortgage program is part of the Union Privilege program, and approximately 1,600 AFT members have opted for these mortgages annually. More than 20,000 AFT members currently hold mortgages through the program. Today, the AFT will officially remove the bank from its list of approved lenders, sending a letter to each of its state federation leaders alerting them of the change. The AFT will urge other Union Privilege members to follow suit.
“Gun violence is an epidemic, but Tim Sloan won’t even engage in a conversation about mitigating it, much less take any real steps. We took him up on his offer to meet with us, then he went radio silent. So if Wells Fargo won’t value children and teachers above guns, we won’t do business with Wells Fargo,” Weingarten said. “It can be the bank for America’s teachers, or it can be the bank for the NRA and gun manufacturers. But, given the NRA’s refusal to even help mitigate gun violence, Wells Fargo can’t be both. Other companies, like Bank of America, BlackRock and Vanguard, have stepped up and engaged in meaningful conversations about what responsible relationships with gun companies look like, but Wells Fargo won’t. In fact, when we tried to schedule a meeting to discuss it, its friends at NRATV started launching vile attacks on teachers and personal attacks against me.
“We’re ending this relationship because we have a responsibility to our members and their students, who face potential gun violence every day. Gun violence is a public health epidemic, and in order to help stop it, we’ll stop the flow of resources to the companies that manufacture these weapons that have caused so much civilian carnage and death.”
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Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
On May 1, join the Los Angeles May Day Coalition for our annual May Day March. On that day, Los Angeles will honor the contributions of immigrants, workers, and those who fight to create a more just society for all. This year, thousands of Angelenos will march together in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Harvey Milk, Dolores Huerta, and Cesar.
On May 12, help the LA Fed, National Association of Letter Carriers, Labor Community Services, and United Way of Greater Los Angeles to stamp out hunger! This volunteer-led food drive is the nation's largest single-day event that spreads out across America to help provide assistance to Americans who are struggling with hunger.
On Saturday, May 12, Angelenos will place bags of non-perishable food on their porches. Those bags will go from porch to post offices to a massive warehouse in Bell, CA. Hundreds of volunteers are needed at local post offices to load the donations onto trucks.
Minors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
DETAILS:
What: Stamp out Hunger Food Drive
When: Saturday, May 12, from 3 - 7:30 p.m.
Where: Various locations in LA County
In 2017, volunteers collected 80 million pounds of food, which brought the grand total of donations to more than 1.5 billion pounds of food collected since the drive began in 1992.
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Arizona Teachers Authorize Strike
If the state doesn't meet their demands, teachers will walk on Thursday
On Thursday, teachers in yet another Right to Work Red state voted to conduct a strike if their increased salary and funding demands were not met. This time, it was teachers in Arizona. The vote, which was held Thursday by the Arizona Education Association (AEA) which represents teachers in the state, would be the first time that the 58,000 teachers in the Grand Canyon state will have gone on strike. CONTINUE
Arizona and Colorado teachers take industrial action
Following protests in West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma, educators in Arizona and Colorado this week held protests for more education funding at their state capitol’s. In Phoenix, police estimated about 30,000 people converged on the statehouse for a demonstration that shut down schools in 102 districts statewide, while in Denver, hundreds of teachers showed up to demand more education funding and to protest changes to the teacher retirement system. Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa, president of the National Education Association, said the walkouts are the culmination of years of frustration from educators who have seen class sizes rise as their salaries remained stagnant. “They have got so little to lose that this is the option they’re choosing rather than be silent,” she said.
Anti-gun activists hope to keep momentum alive over summer break
Friday’s national anti-gun protests marked the second mass student walkout since a man opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, killing 17 people, but the movement faces a challenge as the traditional three-month summer break approaches for most U.S. public schools. “Of course you fear losing the momentum,” said Vivian Reynoso, a high school student from Arizona. “I’m pretty sure even the Parkland victims are afraid of that. That’s why we need to be pushing, even if it’s summer, to keep telling people to keep talking about the issue and not to forget to about it.” Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law at UCLA, said: “Who knows whether they maintain the energy or not but there are historic examples of student-led movements that have played an important role in moving things forward, for example the Civil rights movements.”
Reuters
Black students are disproportionately suspended or arrested
According to new statistics released from the Department of Education, black students faced greater rates of suspension, expulsion and arrest than their white classmates. The data shows that while black students made up 15% of the total student population across U.S. public schools and districts, 31% were arrested or referred to law enforcement, but out of 49% of white students, 36% were arrested or referred to police. “Racism is alive and well in our American school system,” said Judith Browne Dianis, from the Advancement Project. “This data clearly shows that black students are less safe, more restrained and pushed out of school more than other students - we need to see the Department of Education commit to the vigorous defense of students’ right to be free from discriminatory school discipline.”
Education Department to push for school vouchers for military families
The Education Department is to look into a new benefit that would give military families additional resources for their children's schooling despite opposition from within the military community itself. The plan to create education savings accounts for military families would be funded by taking money from the $1.3bn Impact Aid program. The Military Coalition, a consortium of uniformed services and veterans associations representing over 5.5m current and former service members and their families and survivors, said: "Using Impact Aid dollars to fund Education Savings Accounts for military-connected students would be financially devastating for many school districts, critically compromising the quality of the education they could provide to military children and their civilian classmates."
----- STATE NEWS -----
Since 2007-08, Spending Per State Prisoner Has Increased More Than Twice as Fast as Spending Per K-12 Student
Continuation schools suffer from chronic absenteeism
An analysis of state data reveals that California’s continuation schools have significantly higher rates of absenteeism than at high schools as a whole. At 59.6%, the average chronic absence rate at continuation schools is four times higher than the average among all California high schools, and 5.5 times greater than the state average for all schools. A student is defined as chronically absent if he or she misses 10% or more of school days for any reason, including excused absences such as those for illness. Russell Rumberger, an emeritus professor at UC Santa Barbara and director of the California Dropout Research Project, said the absenteeism rates indicate that large numbers of continuation schools are failing to change the poor attendance habits many students developed at their previous schools, making it impossible to reverse their academic trajectory.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Azusa teachers chant “no confidence” at board meeting
Over 100 Azusa USD teachers presented a vote of “no confidence” in three top district officials, including Superintendent Linda Kaminski, at a district board meeting this Tuesday. Wearing Azusa Educators Association union t-shirts, the teachers staged a protest before the meeting, rallying against layoffs, as well as the district officials’ mismanagement of facilities, administration and funds. School Board President Helen Jaramillo however remains supportive of Kaminski, who has pledged to make time to meet with concerned teachers.
San Carlos criticizes former super for “unprecedented” poaching of staff
San Carlos ESD parents and officials complain that former superintendent Craig Baker has hired four principals out of the district to join him at his new role in Cupertino USD. One San Carlos parent said: “When you are talking about the material destruction of the leadership team, it seems like there are some lines being crossed.” Board trustee Carol Elliot said Baker’s actions were “deeply disappointing,” adding: “This level of poaching is unprecedented in our district and I don’t think we have ever had the need to call this out in superintendent contracts because it is something that professionals in education just do not do.”
----- LEGAL -----
Former Poway superintendent settles school funds case
John Collins, the former superintendent of Poway USD, pleaded guilty yesterday to a misdemeanour financial disclosure charge, and also reached a settlement with the district in a civil lawsuit related to the case. Mr Collins, fired in July 2016, was accused of misappropriating over $345,000 in public funds; an audit concluded that he had misused school funds by taking improper vacation payouts, inflating his salary and vacation balance, and using a district purchasing card for personal expenses. He was sentenced to five years’ probation. The civil settlement will see Mr Collins pay the district $185,000 over a period of time.
----- EARLY EDUCATION ----
The state of pre-K in the USA
According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, more students are enrolling in state Pre-K programs than ever before as states continue to invest in them, but those increases are eclipsed by a slump in the rate of growth and in per-student spending. "Most developed nations now offer universal preschool – even China has committed to pre-K for every 4-year-old by 2020," Steven Barnett, the institute's senior co-director, said. "Meanwhile, the U.S. has made little progress. This is no way to compete globally now or in the future." California is doing better than most states in getting 3-year-olds into pre-K programs, coming in at 8th nationally, according to the report, and is also strong in programs for dual language learners.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Teacher protests on the rise
According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, due to statewide actions across the U.S. more teachers have participated in work stoppages so far in 2018 than in any full year since 1993, with the latest walkout happening last Thursday when Arizona teachers voted to walk out of their classrooms following protests in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky. Some local districts are so squeezed for state funding that school superintendents have lent their support to many of the protests, and in both West Virginia and Oklahoma, district administrators agreed to shut down schools so that teachers wouldn’t need to take time off. “I have never seen that in my 40-some years in the business,” said Dan Domenech, executive director for the American Association of School Administrators.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Suicide danger of cyberbullying
A worldwide study of more than 150,000 under-25s found victims of cyberbullying are twice as likely to attempt suicide and are also twice as likely to self-harm. Professor Ann John, of the University of Swansea, said: "Suicide prevention and intervention is essential within any comprehensive anti-bullying programme and should incorporate a whole-school approach to include awareness raising and training for staff and pupils". The researchers say that young people who are involved in cyberbullying should be screened for common mental disorders and self-harm. The study also found a strong link between being a cyber-victim and being a perpetrator. This duality was found to particularly put males at higher risk of depression and suicidal behaviours. Perpetrators were also around 20% more liked to have self-harmed or attempted suicide than non-bullies. The research also found that students who were cyber-victimised were less likely to report and seek help than those vi ctimised by more traditional means.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Chinese online education companies competing to hire U.S. teachers
China-based online education companies are in a race to hire U.S. teachers who’d like to work from home over the summer and use their webcams to teach kids the English language. According to one job listing, teachers are paid on average between $14 and $18 an hour and the openings are available to candidates who are eligible to work in the U.S. or Canada, have a bachelor’s degree in any field, and have at least one school year of traditional teaching, mentoring, or tutoring experience.
----- HIGHER EDUCATION -----
Controversial Fresno professor to keep job
Fresno State English Department Professor Randa Jarrar, who described the late Barbara Bush as “an amazing racist” who brought up a “war criminal” is to keep her job, despite calls for her removal. Fresno State President Joseph Castro said that Prof. Jarrar did not violate CSU or university policies with her comments, which were made on her personal Twitter account, although he described them as “insensitive, inappropriate and an embarrassment to the university.”
----- CHARTERS -----
Charter school enrollment continues to boom in California
Charter school enrollment continues to grow in California, adding more than 25,000 students during each of the past 10 years. According to data from the California Department of Education, almost 630,000 students, or 10% of the total student population attended a public charter school at the beginning of the current school year. During the past five years, charter school enrollment grew by at least 30 percent in 26 California counties. Among urban counties, growth was fastest in Contra Costa, San Francisco and Los Angeles counties. Although the schools are ethnically diverse, whites and blacks are overrepresented in charters, while Hispanic and Asian students are underrepresented.
.----- OTHER -----
Bob Dorough creator of ‘Schoolhouse Rock!’ Songs passed away this week For the generation who learned more about math, grammar, history and civics from the interstitial cartoons on the ABC Saturday morning program “Schoolhouse Rock!” than they would care to admit, Bob Dorough was one of the most integral influences of their formative years — even if they didn’t know his name. Mr. Dorough, who died this week at 94, was a jazz musician, composer and singer, and the mastermind behind dozens of educational earwigs primarily in the ’70s and ’80s — a man who understood that the best way to trick children into learning was to wrap lessons inside irresistible, frequently funky ditties.
