Happy Sunday! Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz. Check out her post and the links to see what other bloggers have been up to in the last week.

How’s the weather?

Variable. We had a high around 70 one day and a low near 20 two days later. Sun, wind, and rain. The rain was part of the same system that dumped snow up north, so we can’t complain.

Here’s a photo from my hike at Shaw Nature Reserve on one of the nice days.

What are you reading?

I started, finished, and reviewed the short book Oscar Wilde in St. Louis. I enjoyed the experience of reading a history of just two days in the life of a man and a city — 141 years ago this weekend.

I started Lipstick Brigade: The Untold True Story of Washington’s World War II Government Girls by Cindy Gueli. I expect this book to help me understand my characters and their environment. The major characters in the novel I’m working on are codebreakers at Arlington Hall, just across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.

What are you watching?

We found TÁR and The Menu unwatchable. We finished Solace and White Noise but liked the beginnings more than the endings. White Noise, in particular, felt like two different movies. The first half was mesmerizing. Rick fell asleep during the second half.

We adored The Fabelmans Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film about growing up as the weird kid fascinated by filmmaking. The Fabelmans is a love letter to families and movies.

What are you writing?

I took a step back from writing scenes to make some plans about how to approach my novel.

For the next few weeks, I intend to play with villains. My drafts, so far, don’t have enough conflict to make the story work. Villains bring conflict. They’ll also challenge my main characters so that they can conquer their own flaws as well as the villains.

I’ve also started writing my A to Z Challenge posts. I enjoy that event, but only if I’m well ahead of the game before April starts.

What are you doing?

I had a terrific conversation this week about what rural school districts and majority-black districts have in common. I guessed that there were some things, especially money, but I was startled at how many struggles were the same — single-parent families, parents doing the best that they can while working night shifts and/or multiple jobs, parents who didn’t feel like they belonged in school so they can’t guide their children toward belonging, students without basic needs like nutritious food or clothing that fits and is appropriate for the weather, and teachers who weren’t taught how to manage classrooms when there are challenging behaviors.

Solving those problems might get easier if we recognize the similarities instead of focusing on the differences.

Solving those problems will require creativity.

Solving those problems will require money.

Here’s a story about two elementary schools in St. Louis County, one in a majority-white district and one in a majority-black school district.

This map shows a 5-mile walk between two elementary schools — Iveland and Meramec. You could greet the children arriving on their morning buses at Iveland and walk to Meramec in time to have lunch with the students there. More than half of the walk will be very pleasant, and you’ll have plenty of time to spare as you amble along the Centennial Greenway and through Shaw Park.

But you’ll notice a difference between these two schools. The difference that results between spending $9,745.03 per student per year at Iveland and spending $16,762.65 per student per year at Meramec.

This week, I added to my understanding by looking up how much the elementary school in my hometown of Louisiana, Missouri spends per student per year. The answer was almost the same as at Iveland Elementary School — $9,955.13.

What different outcomes will we expect to see with a $7,000 difference per student per year? Are six-year-olds who live in the Clayton School District more innately valuable than six-year-olds who live in the Ritenour School District or the Louisiana School District? How can we claim to be a country that offers equal opportunities when this disparity exists five miles apart or in the same state? Is the Clayton School District wasting $7000 per student per year? Or is that what it takes to make a high-quality school that gives students everything that they need to succeed in school and beyond?

Can you tell that I’m mad about this? Do you live in an area that does better with the children who live and learn there?

Here’s the source for the data: Per Pupil Expenditures: Missouri