I am a substitute teacher - partly by choice, partly due to circumstances. I was talking to a regular teacher today and I mentioned how much perspective a substitute teacher gets through seeing lots of other classrooms and dealing with a wide range of kids. This led to the idea that, perhaps the best thing for new teachers to do would be to sub for a while, before taking or getting offered a full time position. What a good way to view many different ways of classroom management, to get familiar with the ages and stages of a wide range of students, and to see how different buildings and different staffs operate. Even with the best of student teaching programs, this is usually not possible.
Requiring new teachers to sub a year or two, in fact, might be a solution to another problem, too: as a sub, I do not make enough money to live on. Even though my school district pays more than any other school district I have subbed in previously, last year, I only made $11,000 gross. If I had subbed every single school day possible, I would have made less than $21,000. Considering that there are no benefits in connection with this job - no health insurance, no sick leave, etc., it is not enough money to live on. Thus subs are generally either retired teachers or people who depend on spouses or others for health insurance and other benefits. If new teachers were hired as full time teachers, although staffed to substitute positions, they could make enough money to live on and good teachers might not be marginalized out of the profession before they even get started.
I suppose there are logistical problems: what do you do with subs that aren't needed? what do you do when you need more subs than you have? how do you pay for full time teacher subs? would it work to pay new teachers at a teacher pay scale rate, but only for days that they work?
I will have to think about it more. But I do think requiring new teachers to sub for a year or two is a good idea. It gives them a much better perspective on the different variables involved.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
I Made a Mistake and Lost My Temper
And here is a rant I wrote the other day, after a bad day subbing. I have gone back and forth in my mind about actually publishing it, because it doesn't show me in a very good light. Face it, I lost my temper and I should have been in more control.
_________
I had a bad day subbing the other day. Well, it didn't actually start out that bad, but especially in the afternoon, it fell apart. Was it the two girls (approx. 9 years old) who refused to stop coloring when they were supposed to be doing something else? Was it being constantly interrupted before I could complete an entire sentence? (Yes, in spite of all of the teacher techniques of waiting for silence and reminders about classroom rules) Was it the little boy who decided to unfold paper clips and, with the addition of a rubber band, make a sling shot that could shoot the unfolded paper clips, sharp points out, at fellow students? Was it the boy who refused to listen to anything I said and hid under the table or walked around the room whenever he wanted? Was it the two boys who were laughing and teasing each other so loudly that they completely disrupted the lesson? Was it the fact that even separating them and telling them that they would have to sit out for part of recess made no difference it their behavior? Was it the dozens of other things that I won't even bother to detail?
No, the thing that really frustrated me was a parent. It was at the end of the day and I was exhausted from having to remind the kids about their classroom rules, which were clearly posted and signed by all. I was trying to get them to put away their things and clean up the room. Repeatedly, I would go around pointing out things that needed to be done and the kids would pretend to do what I asked, but would stop when I went further. Finally, I got angry and I was reprimanding the students for not helping to clean up the classroom at the end of the day. The parent, who was in the classroom picking up a child 3 minutes before the bell rang, said I was "out of line" to speak sharply to the students. (I told them that their behavior was unacceptable - that they needed to help clean up the classroom and listen to the teacher.) The parent's student was one of the children who, during math class, was putting pencils up his nose instead of doing his work. But I was the one who was "out of line". I was supposed to calmly outline the expected behavior and enforce the rules. I suppose, actually, he was right. I shouldn't have let my frustration get the better part of me. I think the frustration was justified, but I should have handled it better. Sigh.
Maybe I, too, should quit subbing. In general, I feel that I am actually a good sub. A teacher who was observing me last week (she is a long term sub who takes some of the students for part of the day, since the two 6th grades have 28 and 30 students respectively) said that she thought I did an excellent job. So it isn't just my own opinion. But it really does upset me that the students' behaviors are so difficult and that parents seem to think that it is out of line to tell them so.
I guess the saving grace was a little girl who asked the parent "who told him he could tell the teacher what to do". She, too, was probably "out of line", even in my opinion, but it helps put a bit more perspective into the situation for me.
_________
I had a bad day subbing the other day. Well, it didn't actually start out that bad, but especially in the afternoon, it fell apart. Was it the two girls (approx. 9 years old) who refused to stop coloring when they were supposed to be doing something else? Was it being constantly interrupted before I could complete an entire sentence? (Yes, in spite of all of the teacher techniques of waiting for silence and reminders about classroom rules) Was it the little boy who decided to unfold paper clips and, with the addition of a rubber band, make a sling shot that could shoot the unfolded paper clips, sharp points out, at fellow students? Was it the boy who refused to listen to anything I said and hid under the table or walked around the room whenever he wanted? Was it the two boys who were laughing and teasing each other so loudly that they completely disrupted the lesson? Was it the fact that even separating them and telling them that they would have to sit out for part of recess made no difference it their behavior? Was it the dozens of other things that I won't even bother to detail?
No, the thing that really frustrated me was a parent. It was at the end of the day and I was exhausted from having to remind the kids about their classroom rules, which were clearly posted and signed by all. I was trying to get them to put away their things and clean up the room. Repeatedly, I would go around pointing out things that needed to be done and the kids would pretend to do what I asked, but would stop when I went further. Finally, I got angry and I was reprimanding the students for not helping to clean up the classroom at the end of the day. The parent, who was in the classroom picking up a child 3 minutes before the bell rang, said I was "out of line" to speak sharply to the students. (I told them that their behavior was unacceptable - that they needed to help clean up the classroom and listen to the teacher.) The parent's student was one of the children who, during math class, was putting pencils up his nose instead of doing his work. But I was the one who was "out of line". I was supposed to calmly outline the expected behavior and enforce the rules. I suppose, actually, he was right. I shouldn't have let my frustration get the better part of me. I think the frustration was justified, but I should have handled it better. Sigh.
Maybe I, too, should quit subbing. In general, I feel that I am actually a good sub. A teacher who was observing me last week (she is a long term sub who takes some of the students for part of the day, since the two 6th grades have 28 and 30 students respectively) said that she thought I did an excellent job. So it isn't just my own opinion. But it really does upset me that the students' behaviors are so difficult and that parents seem to think that it is out of line to tell them so.
I guess the saving grace was a little girl who asked the parent "who told him he could tell the teacher what to do". She, too, was probably "out of line", even in my opinion, but it helps put a bit more perspective into the situation for me.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Truth: There're No Consequences
A friend of mine recently decided to quit subbing, because of the general lack of discipline and brattiness of the kids (she is in a different state from me, but I think the problem is more general than just our two states). She complained that the kids don't understand the meaning of "consequences" any more. As a sub, I often share her frustration. I have frequently come to the point where I seriously consider quitting subbing, too. Only my continuing fascination with observing children and their classroom environments keeps me going.
But here is my current diatribe about consequences:
Part of the problem is that there really ARE no consequences any more. Physical discipline is out. In our schools (the schools I sub in), you can't keep kids after school, because most of them get to and from school on buses, which run VERY tight schedules. You can keep them in from recess, but often the kids who need to be kept in are the kids who need the physical activity the most. And, for various reasons, many of the kids actually WANT to stay in for recess. You can't give them extra work, as they aren't able to finish the work that they have. You can't assign them classroom jobs, as they find the jobs more interesting than the work that they need to do. It doesn't matter if you change their seats, it just means they have to shout a bit louder to talk to their friends across the room. You can send them to the office, but there is an unwritten rule that you can only send one or at most two kids to the office - and if you do that, they think that it is your fault for not being able to handle the discipline problems. You can call their parents, but the parents often can't keep the kids under control either.
In my day, shaming kids into behaving worked for some, but nowadays, they just think it is funny to be ignorant - and, in terms of school work, being ignorant has its rewards. If they are ignorant enough, they get sent to a tutor, where they get one-on-one attention and if they play ignorant with the tutor, the tutor will usually give them the answers to all of the questions as they work through them.
I have noticed this with direction-giving, too. Kids will pretty much ignore directions given to the whole class. It is to their advantage to do so. After the directions have been given, all they have to do is get this puzzled look on their faces and say they don't understand, and the teacher will explain the whole thing again for them individually. If they still look confused, the teacher will usually give them an answer or two and will sometimes even restructure the assignment so it is a bit easier.
As far as discipline goes, there are a few things left that work: denying them a coveted privilege, such as inviting someone to eat lunch with them, may work. Putting them in an isolated spot to work can help, if there is such a place in the room or in the hall. But the arsenal for subs is pretty limited. Working for a class reward (such as an extra recess) sometimes works. But often, for me, it feels WRONG to reward them for behavior that should be the norm - just to keep them from behavior that is unacceptable.
I don't blame her for quitting.
But here is my current diatribe about consequences:
Part of the problem is that there really ARE no consequences any more. Physical discipline is out. In our schools (the schools I sub in), you can't keep kids after school, because most of them get to and from school on buses, which run VERY tight schedules. You can keep them in from recess, but often the kids who need to be kept in are the kids who need the physical activity the most. And, for various reasons, many of the kids actually WANT to stay in for recess. You can't give them extra work, as they aren't able to finish the work that they have. You can't assign them classroom jobs, as they find the jobs more interesting than the work that they need to do. It doesn't matter if you change their seats, it just means they have to shout a bit louder to talk to their friends across the room. You can send them to the office, but there is an unwritten rule that you can only send one or at most two kids to the office - and if you do that, they think that it is your fault for not being able to handle the discipline problems. You can call their parents, but the parents often can't keep the kids under control either.
In my day, shaming kids into behaving worked for some, but nowadays, they just think it is funny to be ignorant - and, in terms of school work, being ignorant has its rewards. If they are ignorant enough, they get sent to a tutor, where they get one-on-one attention and if they play ignorant with the tutor, the tutor will usually give them the answers to all of the questions as they work through them.
I have noticed this with direction-giving, too. Kids will pretty much ignore directions given to the whole class. It is to their advantage to do so. After the directions have been given, all they have to do is get this puzzled look on their faces and say they don't understand, and the teacher will explain the whole thing again for them individually. If they still look confused, the teacher will usually give them an answer or two and will sometimes even restructure the assignment so it is a bit easier.
As far as discipline goes, there are a few things left that work: denying them a coveted privilege, such as inviting someone to eat lunch with them, may work. Putting them in an isolated spot to work can help, if there is such a place in the room or in the hall. But the arsenal for subs is pretty limited. Working for a class reward (such as an extra recess) sometimes works. But often, for me, it feels WRONG to reward them for behavior that should be the norm - just to keep them from behavior that is unacceptable.
I don't blame her for quitting.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Quotes
I subscribe to A Word A Day by Anu Garg and I enjoy the words. But in all honesty, I enjoy the quotes even more. I like how they make me think about something. They are almost like poetry of ideas.
Here is today's quote:
............................................................................
We all have handicaps. The difference is that some of us must reveal ours,
while others must conceal theirs, to be treated with mercy. -Yahia
Lababidi, writer (b. 1973)
............................................................................
This is a quote that could easily appear on one the the GT groups that I belong to. Gifted people, and yes, I must use that "G" word, since it is the professionally accepted term for people who are fast and/or deep learners, are one of the groups that must often REVEAL their handicaps in order to be accepted. I have frequently taken part in conversations where, at some point, someone in the group will say, "You are so smart, I just can't keep up with you!" After such an outburst, the only way to get the conversation going again, or at least the easiest, is to admit that you might know a lot about X (whatever was being discussed), but you are terrible at Y (something equally valued - optimally something the blurter is good at).
People who are good at sports have to do this sometimes, too. "Yes, I am good at basketball, but I just don't get my math homework."
I guess it comforts us to think that, in the greater scheme of things, while some people might be good at X, Y, and Z, they aren't good at A, B, or C - to think that things might be marginally fair or equal, if we look at everything. The problem is, we really know that it isn't true. There are some people who are good at just about everything they try. And some people who truly aren't very good at anything.
But we can ignore reality, as long as people are willing to play the social game of pretend.
Here is today's quote:
............................................................................
We all have handicaps. The difference is that some of us must reveal ours,
while others must conceal theirs, to be treated with mercy. -Yahia
Lababidi, writer (b. 1973)
............................................................................
This is a quote that could easily appear on one the the GT groups that I belong to. Gifted people, and yes, I must use that "G" word, since it is the professionally accepted term for people who are fast and/or deep learners, are one of the groups that must often REVEAL their handicaps in order to be accepted. I have frequently taken part in conversations where, at some point, someone in the group will say, "You are so smart, I just can't keep up with you!" After such an outburst, the only way to get the conversation going again, or at least the easiest, is to admit that you might know a lot about X (whatever was being discussed), but you are terrible at Y (something equally valued - optimally something the blurter is good at).
People who are good at sports have to do this sometimes, too. "Yes, I am good at basketball, but I just don't get my math homework."
I guess it comforts us to think that, in the greater scheme of things, while some people might be good at X, Y, and Z, they aren't good at A, B, or C - to think that things might be marginally fair or equal, if we look at everything. The problem is, we really know that it isn't true. There are some people who are good at just about everything they try. And some people who truly aren't very good at anything.
But we can ignore reality, as long as people are willing to play the social game of pretend.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Does 90% Equal an A? Or 93%? Who Knows?
There has been a recent discussion on GT-Families about grading scales - in different parts of the country different percentages are used to determine what constitutes an A, a B, etc. But my feeling is that unless there is a standard reference of curriculum and test, percentage is a completely undetermined measure. It is like saying that I can eat half of a pizza. Unless you know how big the pizza is, that tells you very little.
(from post to GT-Families)
Why I Think the Actual Percentage Behind the Grades Means Nothing
by Laura Walsh
Test 1 on Cinderella
1. How many stepsisters did Cinderella have?
2. Was Cinderella's stepmother kind to her?
3. In the movie version, what animals helped Cinderella (name two)? (2 points)
4. Did Cinderella get to go to the ball?
5. Did Cinderella leave the ball on time?
6. What were Cinderella's shoes made out of?
7. Which girls were supposed to try on the glass slipper?
8. What happened when the glass slipper broke?
9. What happened at the end of the story?
Test 2 on Cinderella
1. What rank did Cinderella's father have in the realm?
2. Explain the derivation of Cinderella's nickname and the meaning of the original name.
3. What is the sociological significance of the stepmother in fairy tales?
4. How does the absence of the original mother effect the fairy tale?
5. Compare the stepmother and the stepsisters to people in other fairy tales?
6. What is the significance of the fairy godmother?
7. Why are Cinderella's slippers made of glass, when shoes are normally never made of this material?
8. Why is it psychologically important to the story that the prince be kind and handsome? How would the story change if the prince were fat or ugly? (two points)
9. Compare the Disney version of Cinderella to a Cinderella story from another country in the world.
(from post to GT-Families)
Why I Think the Actual Percentage Behind the Grades Means Nothing
by Laura Walsh
Test 1 on Cinderella
1. How many stepsisters did Cinderella have?
2. Was Cinderella's stepmother kind to her?
3. In the movie version, what animals helped Cinderella (name two)? (2 points)
4. Did Cinderella get to go to the ball?
5. Did Cinderella leave the ball on time?
6. What were Cinderella's shoes made out of?
7. Which girls were supposed to try on the glass slipper?
8. What happened when the glass slipper broke?
9. What happened at the end of the story?
Test 2 on Cinderella
1. What rank did Cinderella's father have in the realm?
2. Explain the derivation of Cinderella's nickname and the meaning of the original name.
3. What is the sociological significance of the stepmother in fairy tales?
4. How does the absence of the original mother effect the fairy tale?
5. Compare the stepmother and the stepsisters to people in other fairy tales?
6. What is the significance of the fairy godmother?
7. Why are Cinderella's slippers made of glass, when shoes are normally never made of this material?
8. Why is it psychologically important to the story that the prince be kind and handsome? How would the story change if the prince were fat or ugly? (two points)
9. Compare the Disney version of Cinderella to a Cinderella story from another country in the world.
Town Meeting on Education
(from post to GT-Talk):
There was a town meeting on education here yesterday, where around 150 people came together to discuss their concerns about education and to suggest action plans for progress. All in all, it was a very positive meeting, with a lot of people who are passionate about improving education for children and adults.
Even so, it was a bit discouraging to me. There was a lot of interest in helping kids who are struggling, early childhood education, vocational education, violence prevention, parent and community involvement, communication about resources, institutional racism. But there was little interest in teaching foreign languages in the elementary school (our group was only 5 people), gifted education (again only 5), and matching curriculum to students (only 2).
The one concern that is always of interest to me was one group that ended up discussing raising expectations. The thing that interests me is the apparent conflict between the discussions about all of the kids who are struggling and need extra support and the people who keep saying that our expectations are not high enough and we need higher standards. People never seem to make what is to me the obvious conclusion: the expectations need to be tailored to the abilities and current levels of the students. Some students need much higher expectations, some students need much more support to achieve the current level of expectations.
And, as an aside: I am a bit blind-sided by the fairly large group that was discussing institutional racism. My perception has been that this is one of the LEAST prejudiced of the communities and school districts I have lived or worked in. While I understand that Native Alaskan children aren't doing as well in the schools as they should be, I see significant efforts on the part of the school district to deal with that problem.
There was a town meeting on education here yesterday, where around 150 people came together to discuss their concerns about education and to suggest action plans for progress. All in all, it was a very positive meeting, with a lot of people who are passionate about improving education for children and adults.
Even so, it was a bit discouraging to me. There was a lot of interest in helping kids who are struggling, early childhood education, vocational education, violence prevention, parent and community involvement, communication about resources, institutional racism. But there was little interest in teaching foreign languages in the elementary school (our group was only 5 people), gifted education (again only 5), and matching curriculum to students (only 2).
The one concern that is always of interest to me was one group that ended up discussing raising expectations. The thing that interests me is the apparent conflict between the discussions about all of the kids who are struggling and need extra support and the people who keep saying that our expectations are not high enough and we need higher standards. People never seem to make what is to me the obvious conclusion: the expectations need to be tailored to the abilities and current levels of the students. Some students need much higher expectations, some students need much more support to achieve the current level of expectations.
And, as an aside: I am a bit blind-sided by the fairly large group that was discussing institutional racism. My perception has been that this is one of the LEAST prejudiced of the communities and school districts I have lived or worked in. While I understand that Native Alaskan children aren't doing as well in the schools as they should be, I see significant efforts on the part of the school district to deal with that problem.
Presidential Candidate Quiz
Here is how I rate on the quiz (only I have no idea who Chris Dodd is):
94% Chris Dodd
94% Barack Obama
92% John Edwards
92% Hillary Clinton
85% Joe Biden
84% Bill Richardson
81% Mike Gravel
81% Dennis Kucinich
42% Rudy Giuliani
30% John McCain
28% Tom Tancredo
24% Mitt Romney
23% Mike Huckabee
15% Ron Paul
12% Fred Thompson
2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz
94% Chris Dodd
94% Barack Obama
92% John Edwards
92% Hillary Clinton
85% Joe Biden
84% Bill Richardson
81% Mike Gravel
81% Dennis Kucinich
42% Rudy Giuliani
30% John McCain
28% Tom Tancredo
24% Mitt Romney
23% Mike Huckabee
15% Ron Paul
12% Fred Thompson
2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz
Sunday, January 06, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
In the past, I have made long lists of New Year's resolutions, with goals in many categories of life: job, money, exercise, reading, kids, marriage, etc., etc. They seemed to help me focus on things that I really wanted to accomplish and at the end of the year, while listing goals for the next year, I was often impressed that, to some extent, they had worked.
This year, with some physical problems really annoying me and a desire to focus on only a few things, I am cutting my list down to four resolutions.
1. Lose weight.
2. Read books I already have.
3. Throw out, sell, donate, or recycle stuff.
4. Better posture, especially at the computer.
I know, losing weight is a cliché resolution. But many of my physical problems are exacerbated by the extra weight and I need to get serious about losing weight again. I have been so discouraged about it. I swim 48 lengths of the pool (2/3 of a mile) 4 times a week, so I DO get exercise. And I eat good food, not junk. So the main methods of attack this year are portion size and making sure that I don't eat for emotional reasons. One thing my doctor (well, actually, a PA, a physician's assistant) said when I went in lately for a routine check up was helpful. I was lamenting that I had lost 60 pounds a year ago and had gained it all back. But he put a positive spin on it: at least you know you CAN do it. Maybe that will be my mantra.
I used to think that you could never have too many books, but lately I am feeling owned by the books, rather than owning them. Goals 2 and 3 go together. I want to read the books I already have and pass on to others the ones I am finished with. I haven't decided if I want to sell them, trade them, or donate as a group to some needy school - or just take them to the library and let them either use them or sell them. I guess I should focus on something I WILL actually be able to do. I have thought about donating them to a school for a long time, but it doesn't get done. Neither does selling them or trading them. Taking them to the library has worked for me.
Goal number 4 is related to back problems I have had. One of the outcomes of my recent visit to the PA was that, after he told me that my back problem was probably just a muscle pull or strain from bad posture at the computer, I finally decided that I needed to find out if it really was just that or if it was something more serious. After all, he had told me the same thing a year or more ago and a muscle pull should have gotten better in a year. So I went ahead and pretty much insisted that he order x-rays of the back. Diagnosis: degenerative disk disease with probably at least two fused vertebrae. In a way, I feel a bit vindicated. At least I haven't been complaining about nothing. But I am still thinking about the diagnosis. Does it just mean that I have arthritis in my spine? Should I see an orthopedic surgeon to see if I would benefit from surgery? Are orthopedic doctors objective enough to say no, or do they always say yes to maximize income?
Ironically, sitting up straighter at the computer does seem to help.
So there they are.
This year, with some physical problems really annoying me and a desire to focus on only a few things, I am cutting my list down to four resolutions.
1. Lose weight.
2. Read books I already have.
3. Throw out, sell, donate, or recycle stuff.
4. Better posture, especially at the computer.
I know, losing weight is a cliché resolution. But many of my physical problems are exacerbated by the extra weight and I need to get serious about losing weight again. I have been so discouraged about it. I swim 48 lengths of the pool (2/3 of a mile) 4 times a week, so I DO get exercise. And I eat good food, not junk. So the main methods of attack this year are portion size and making sure that I don't eat for emotional reasons. One thing my doctor (well, actually, a PA, a physician's assistant) said when I went in lately for a routine check up was helpful. I was lamenting that I had lost 60 pounds a year ago and had gained it all back. But he put a positive spin on it: at least you know you CAN do it. Maybe that will be my mantra.
I used to think that you could never have too many books, but lately I am feeling owned by the books, rather than owning them. Goals 2 and 3 go together. I want to read the books I already have and pass on to others the ones I am finished with. I haven't decided if I want to sell them, trade them, or donate as a group to some needy school - or just take them to the library and let them either use them or sell them. I guess I should focus on something I WILL actually be able to do. I have thought about donating them to a school for a long time, but it doesn't get done. Neither does selling them or trading them. Taking them to the library has worked for me.
Goal number 4 is related to back problems I have had. One of the outcomes of my recent visit to the PA was that, after he told me that my back problem was probably just a muscle pull or strain from bad posture at the computer, I finally decided that I needed to find out if it really was just that or if it was something more serious. After all, he had told me the same thing a year or more ago and a muscle pull should have gotten better in a year. So I went ahead and pretty much insisted that he order x-rays of the back. Diagnosis: degenerative disk disease with probably at least two fused vertebrae. In a way, I feel a bit vindicated. At least I haven't been complaining about nothing. But I am still thinking about the diagnosis. Does it just mean that I have arthritis in my spine? Should I see an orthopedic surgeon to see if I would benefit from surgery? Are orthopedic doctors objective enough to say no, or do they always say yes to maximize income?
Ironically, sitting up straighter at the computer does seem to help.
So there they are.
Snowbow and Visions of Alaskan Winter
At first glance, I thought it was a sun dog. But sun dogs have always appeared higher up in the clouds. This looked much lower, almost touching the ground - like a rainbow. Only it was certainly much too cold for a rainbow. So I call it a snowbow.
People ask me how hard it is to tolerate the darkness in Alaska in the winter, but with a view like this out of my window, it isn't a matter of toleration, it is a matter of exquisite beauty. How can I not tolerate Alaska in the winter?
And besides, what's not to love about a place where getting up at dawn to see the beautiful sunrise means that you can sleep until 10 a.m.?
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Winter 2007 Newsletter
Now that our family has been spread apart for more than a year, I am really feeling what the empty nest syndrome is all about.
John is again teaching his class on Severe and Unusual Weather in Illinois this fall, with the resultant, rather long commute to also work half time in Alaska. He is still working on global climate, with a specialization in the Arctic and has been involved in writing the IPCC report, which, along with Al Gore, won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. John says that his portion of the prize amounts to about 78 cents, given all of the thousands of scientists who worked on the report.
Rachel returned from Suriname at the beginning of August, after spending a bit more than 8 months in the jungle watching monkeys, although I think they had close encounters with other beasts, too (See the picture of the caiman at left.). They worked 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and she says, “It was awesome.”
While Rachel was cavorting with capuchins, her mother was busy monitoring grad school applications and making travel arrangements for visiting said schools. Rachel finally decided on Berkeley, where she is currently working on a Ph. D. in Integrative Biology. Not only did she receive a Berkeley fellowship, but she also received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, so she is off to a good start.
I visited Rachel at Berkeley briefly when we went to my sister, Wynell’s for Thanksgiving. Rachel’s apartment is fairly small, but isn’t terribly expensive for Berkeley and she has a nice room.
We had a good time at Wynell’s. It was great to see Lindsey and meet Bill. We drove up Highway one and had a gorgeous day. In Aptos, we stayed with Aunt Win and got to see Paula, Tom, and Nate (Gabe was off gallivanting with some girl ☺).
I also got to take the trip of a lifetime to visit Alyssa when she was in Egypt. We took an 8-day tour that included a 4-day cruise on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor and a flight to and from Abu Simbel on the southern Egyptian border. It was a fascinating trip, not just for a look at the antiquities, but also as a look into current Egyptian culture.
And Alyssa was quite a traveler while she was in Egypt, with trips to Switzerland, Scotland, France, England, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Jordan. I wish I could include all of her pictures from her travels, as they are fascinating, but here, at least is one.
This fall, Alyssa is back at the University of Illinois for her senior year. Her major is International Relations and she is anticipating graduation in May 2008. She also has a new baby. His name is Sark, he is an orange tabby and he is adorable.
I have continued subbing and am enjoying it most days. I especially enjoy 3rd through 6th grades.
Just before Rachel got back from Suriname, Kathryn (aka Kay) and I went down to visit our mother in Alabama. At 92 now, she is still doing pretty well and we had a nice visit.
I am still enjoying the cats – Hobbes (aka Piggy) is now two years old and is large, furry, and sweet. Cookie is not healthy, but she has been more affectionate, with age and illness now taking their toll.
Alaska is gorgeous at this time of year – with the low sun turning the sky to pastels and gold. I know a lot of people think only of how dark and cold it must be, but I marvel nearly every day at how beautiful it is. This is sunrise from our deck in Alaska.
I wish you all a happy holiday season.
Love, Laura
John is again teaching his class on Severe and Unusual Weather in Illinois this fall, with the resultant, rather long commute to also work half time in Alaska. He is still working on global climate, with a specialization in the Arctic and has been involved in writing the IPCC report, which, along with Al Gore, won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. John says that his portion of the prize amounts to about 78 cents, given all of the thousands of scientists who worked on the report.
Rachel returned from Suriname at the beginning of August, after spending a bit more than 8 months in the jungle watching monkeys, although I think they had close encounters with other beasts, too (See the picture of the caiman at left.). They worked 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and she says, “It was awesome.”
While Rachel was cavorting with capuchins, her mother was busy monitoring grad school applications and making travel arrangements for visiting said schools. Rachel finally decided on Berkeley, where she is currently working on a Ph. D. in Integrative Biology. Not only did she receive a Berkeley fellowship, but she also received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, so she is off to a good start.
I visited Rachel at Berkeley briefly when we went to my sister, Wynell’s for Thanksgiving. Rachel’s apartment is fairly small, but isn’t terribly expensive for Berkeley and she has a nice room.
We had a good time at Wynell’s. It was great to see Lindsey and meet Bill. We drove up Highway one and had a gorgeous day. In Aptos, we stayed with Aunt Win and got to see Paula, Tom, and Nate (Gabe was off gallivanting with some girl ☺).
I also got to take the trip of a lifetime to visit Alyssa when she was in Egypt. We took an 8-day tour that included a 4-day cruise on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor and a flight to and from Abu Simbel on the southern Egyptian border. It was a fascinating trip, not just for a look at the antiquities, but also as a look into current Egyptian culture.
And Alyssa was quite a traveler while she was in Egypt, with trips to Switzerland, Scotland, France, England, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Jordan. I wish I could include all of her pictures from her travels, as they are fascinating, but here, at least is one.
This fall, Alyssa is back at the University of Illinois for her senior year. Her major is International Relations and she is anticipating graduation in May 2008. She also has a new baby. His name is Sark, he is an orange tabby and he is adorable.
I have continued subbing and am enjoying it most days. I especially enjoy 3rd through 6th grades.
Just before Rachel got back from Suriname, Kathryn (aka Kay) and I went down to visit our mother in Alabama. At 92 now, she is still doing pretty well and we had a nice visit.
I am still enjoying the cats – Hobbes (aka Piggy) is now two years old and is large, furry, and sweet. Cookie is not healthy, but she has been more affectionate, with age and illness now taking their toll.
Alaska is gorgeous at this time of year – with the low sun turning the sky to pastels and gold. I know a lot of people think only of how dark and cold it must be, but I marvel nearly every day at how beautiful it is. This is sunrise from our deck in Alaska.
I wish you all a happy holiday season.
Love, Laura
Monday, July 23, 2007
Intelligent Life in the Classroom by Karen Isaacson and Tamara Fisher
Parts of this book are interesting and parts of it I found annoying. The part that I find most annoying is that I didn't see any acknowledgement that teachers often do not have much choice in the material they present or the manner in which it is presented. For instance, the district I sub in has adopted curricula in all of the subject areas in the elementary grades. For reading and math, the adopted curricula include textbooks that have mostly scripted lessons. This past year, since the math program was new, teachers were urged to follow the program explicitly. That meant that the lesson was pretty much pre-planned and there was very little chance to deviate from it. In fact, the textbooks and teachers' manuals are so overwhelming that very few teachers were able to include all of the material they were supposed to cover - there was simply too much.
Now, I know this book is supposed to be about taking GT kids into account and believe me, I think that is super important, but how does the regular classroom teacher have time to do that? When the teachers are struggling to just get through the regular material, how do they have time or energy to do the extension activities or even, for that matter, the activities for English language learners or those for kids who need more support? When the book fails to take any of this into account, it seems completely unrealistic to me. Sure, it would be lovely to be able to chuck your whole lesson because one of your students was super interested in mold. But teachers have this thing called accountability and they can't do that very often. Yes, that is a fault of the system, but to present it as though the teachers have a choice in the matter is a bit unfair.
The part of the book that I found interesting was the description of the pullout classes. I ran pullout classes for 5 years and remember them fondly. I never had any particular child as outstanding as the girls described in this book, but we did some very interesting and worthwhile stuff. One of my favorites was dissecting old computers and then dissecting fetal pigs and comparing them as systems. I would love to do that kind of thing again.
This isn't a bad book - a bit condescending in places and, as described above, a bit unrealistic. But it might make a reasonable introduction to giftedness for some teachers. There are better books in terms of practicality, but this one is OK for motivation.
Now, I know this book is supposed to be about taking GT kids into account and believe me, I think that is super important, but how does the regular classroom teacher have time to do that? When the teachers are struggling to just get through the regular material, how do they have time or energy to do the extension activities or even, for that matter, the activities for English language learners or those for kids who need more support? When the book fails to take any of this into account, it seems completely unrealistic to me. Sure, it would be lovely to be able to chuck your whole lesson because one of your students was super interested in mold. But teachers have this thing called accountability and they can't do that very often. Yes, that is a fault of the system, but to present it as though the teachers have a choice in the matter is a bit unfair.
The part of the book that I found interesting was the description of the pullout classes. I ran pullout classes for 5 years and remember them fondly. I never had any particular child as outstanding as the girls described in this book, but we did some very interesting and worthwhile stuff. One of my favorites was dissecting old computers and then dissecting fetal pigs and comparing them as systems. I would love to do that kind of thing again.
This isn't a bad book - a bit condescending in places and, as described above, a bit unrealistic. But it might make a reasonable introduction to giftedness for some teachers. There are better books in terms of practicality, but this one is OK for motivation.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Driving the Dalton Highway
We had house guests this past week. They were husband/wife scientists studying the effects of ground cover on climate and weather. While they were here, they wanted to drive up to the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay, looking at and photographing vegetation and land forms on the trip. 
So, last weekend we drove the Dalton Highway with them. It is a 13 hour drive up and also back (i.e., each way) and was a real experience. It is a good thing we did it in a rental car or our car would have taken a real beating. We were bombarded with rocks on long stretches of bumpy "road" and by the time we got back, the car was covered in mud, from where they spray the road with a solution of calcium chloride and water to try to keep the dust down. Of course, it was even worse on the motorcyclists, of which there were, surprisingly, quite a few.
On the plus side, we saw lots of caribou, quite a few sik-sik (aka arctic ground squirrels), swans, geese, and 4 moose. We also saw lots of gorgeous scenery - mountains, hills, wild flowers, etc. And I learned about pingos, tundra polygons, and solifluction lobes. 
On the negative side: Deadhorse is a dump. It is purely functional, with virtually nothing aesthetic around. It is a good thing the trip up and back provided for a lot of that. We took a tour of Prudhoe Bay. The tour guide was very interested in giving us good oil company PR. I would have welcomed more candor. There wasn't one word about the fact that they had to shut down a huge portion of the oil fields in the past year, due to massive leaks in the pipes and in the pipeline itself. We did, however, also get a chance to go into the Arctic Ocean on the tour. It is - surprise - VERY COLD. I went in - just wading and got a certificate and our guests did, too. My husband didn't - he said he had gone in when he was in Barrow and that was enough.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Alaskana
Rainbows after midnight.
Fourth of July fireworks in the middle of the winter, when it is dark enough.
Foxes tackling each other in the back yard.
A moose lying down chewing her cud - do moose do that?
A porcupine digging in the grass.
All this less than 5 miles from the center of town.
Lilacs blooming in the middle of June.
Sunset and sunrise in the north, one rapidly following the other.
Waking up in the middle of the "night" and being confused about whether it is 3:00 am or 3:00 pm on the clock.
Fourth of July fireworks in the middle of the winter, when it is dark enough.
Foxes tackling each other in the back yard.
A moose lying down chewing her cud - do moose do that?
A porcupine digging in the grass.
All this less than 5 miles from the center of town.
Lilacs blooming in the middle of June.
Sunset and sunrise in the north, one rapidly following the other.
Waking up in the middle of the "night" and being confused about whether it is 3:00 am or 3:00 pm on the clock.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Watching Foxes
The foxes have been in the back yard off and on now for two weeks. There is a rather mangy looking mother. She seems to have lost a lot of fur around her neck and off of her back. For all that, she seems healthy, but worse for wear. At various times, I see her with one, two, or three kits. The kits started out about as big as my cat, but they seem to be growing pretty fast.
In addition to the regular mother fox, I have also seen what I think might be another mother, but she only seemed to have one kit. She also seemed quite a bit younger than the mom. I was wondering if maybe this was a previous year's daughter.
Then, one day I looked out and there was the regular mom with six kits - and the other mom was nowhere in sight. I think maybe regular mom was doing day care for busy fox mothers. She has her work cut out for her. The kits are pretty active - running, pouncing, attacking each other, exploring. They don't stay still for very long.
I tried to get their pictures once, but the regular mom was startled when I opened the door to the deck and she gave this barking call - and the kits ran for cover immediately. I was afraid then that they wouldn't be back, now that I had violated their feelings of safety. But they have been back several times since then. Sometimes they look at the windows and I can tell they can see me, but as long as I am inside, they don't run away.
In addition to the regular mother fox, I have also seen what I think might be another mother, but she only seemed to have one kit. She also seemed quite a bit younger than the mom. I was wondering if maybe this was a previous year's daughter.
Then, one day I looked out and there was the regular mom with six kits - and the other mom was nowhere in sight. I think maybe regular mom was doing day care for busy fox mothers. She has her work cut out for her. The kits are pretty active - running, pouncing, attacking each other, exploring. They don't stay still for very long.
I tried to get their pictures once, but the regular mom was startled when I opened the door to the deck and she gave this barking call - and the kits ran for cover immediately. I was afraid then that they wouldn't be back, now that I had violated their feelings of safety. But they have been back several times since then. Sometimes they look at the windows and I can tell they can see me, but as long as I am inside, they don't run away.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Foxes in the Back Yard
A few days ago, there were, at different times, a porcupine and a moose. Today, a family of foxes is playing back there. Mom sits patiently in the sun, while the kits, four of them, frolic at the edge of the trees and the yard, in the bushes and tree litter. I wouldn't have thought that, this close to town, I would get so much wildlife, but I am glad for it. I would love to take pictures of them, but I am afraid that opening the door to the deck would scare them away and taking pictures through the window doesn't seem to work well.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Morphing Brown Thing
I often sit at my computer and look out the window. I have a fantastic view of the Alaska Range and I never seem to grow tired of looking at it.
The other morning, I was looking out the window and noticed a brown lumpy thing at the edge of our lawn - and it was moving. After much searching of the Internet, I decided that, although I couldn't really see quills, it must be a porcupine, since all of the other choices were obviously wrong - it wasn't a badger, no stripes - it was too big for a marmot, etc. I watched it for a long time and then it just seemed to go to sleep and I gradually forgot about it and went off to work.
The next morning, I looked to see if it was back and saw a much larger brown thing exactly where the smaller brown thing had been the previous day. It had morphed. [There was a moose picture here, but the link to it has been broken.]
I haven't seen one of these for months - and now, here it is in the back yard, serenely munching away.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Egypt - A Sweet Memory
We went to visit the Citadel and the mosque of Mohammed Ali. It was a holiday of sorts and there were a lot of school groups around. I mentioned in an earlier message that they had found that over 80% of Egyptian children had never seen important parts of Egypt's cultural heritage. Since then, there has been a great effort expended in taking kids to visit these monuments and see the artifacts.
Our guide explained that many of the school groups there came from the countryside and that they would be curious about us, because many had never seen tourists before.
So, we walked from the bus stop up to the entrance of the citadel, encompassed by a crowd of both tourists and school children. At the entrance, we took off our shoes and carried them with us. If the people at the door thought anyone wasn't sufficiently covered up, they were given a grass green cape with ties to put on. Two members of our group of 16 were given a cape to wear.
The first place we saw was a courtyard with a large fountain in the middle. This is the place where you are supposed to cleanse yourself. The fountain wasn't actually in operation, as far as I could tell, but was being used for pictures and shade.
Off to the side of the courtyard was the entrance to the mosque. As is befitting a Muslim mosque, it was elegantly symmetrical and elaborately decorated throughout. The carpet, though worn, is the original carpeting.
We sat in a circle around our guide, while he explained the history, the layout, and the activities going on in the mosque. Many people stood around our circle and listened to the guide, as he delivered his explanations.
Contact
I was sitting a little outside the circle and pretty soon a group of school girls came up behind us. They were intrigued by the guide speaking English and by us, the foreigners. One young lady, probably about 12 or 13 years old, sat down next to me and tried to practice her English. She asked me my name - and I told her. Then she related what I said to all of her friends who furiously whispered the news around them. They then suggested the next question she should ask, "Where are you from?" My response again was greeted with furious whispering, as the news was spread throughout her small group. This continued for several rounds. They were so eager to find out more about us - and I must admit, as a teacher, I was eager to interact more with them. The enthusiasm and simple pleasure of the whispered conversation was joyous. But before I could get my chance to reciprocate their questions, their leader gathered them and took them away. Still, it was a precious moment for me.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Egypt - Style of Dress
One of the things that was interesting to me was the customary dress of the local people. Men seem to wear a wide variety of clothes, from shorts and short sleeved tops to long galabiyas, which are long sleeved, full-length dress-like garments, which are worn on top of t-shirts and often ankle length pants - linen or denim or plain cotton. It was amazing to me that, in the, to me, oppressive heat, there were lots of people wearing sweaters, jackets, and even parkas. I guess it is a matter of getting used to it, but it is still amazing to see.
The guide said that the only edicts from Islam about dress specify only that people must dress modestly. There is nothing any more specific than that, according to him.
The dress of the women is also interesting. Although it is acceptable for women not to wear a hijab (a head scarf, worn to cover most of the hair) in Egypt, probably a slight majority of women do wear one. One of the reasons seems to be that women wearing a hijab are less frequently the target of unwanted male attention. Many young women wear conservative clothing to protect their reputations and the reputations of their families. It is almost a way of saying, "Leave me alone; I am not interested." The most severe form of dress for women is the complete covering. Burqas are not seen in Egypt, but there are women who cover up everything except their eyes, even wearing gloves and socks to cover hands and feet. On the other hand, at the mall, we saw quite a few young women wearing hijabs, flamboyant face makeup, tight-fitting tops, and skin-tight jeans.
As tourists, we were very frequently the target of repeated, and annoying economic harassment. My daughter, who is living in Egypt this year while attending the American University in Cairo, said that verbal harassment is quite common, and it sometimes gets a bit more physical than that. We never felt endangered, but it is irritating. But, apparently, there is no real defense against it. Egyptians do not like to see foreigners imitating their customs either, i.e., it doesn't help for the American tourist to wear a scarf.
I don't really blame them. Much of the verbal harassment is designed to get the foreign tourist to look at the wares they are selling. The cost of the items is frequently fairly small for tourists, but that is their income and it is vital. Still, it does get tiring to have to be constantly on the alert against unwanted attention. If you look their way when you are passing their shops, you are accosted, "Take a look - no hassle!" If you reply and say, "No, thank you," that is the prompt for them to escalate their verbal assault. There is constant pressure to look at their wares, to stay there even when it is apparent that they do not have what you want, to buy even after you have decided not to, and then to suffer their scorn when you walk away ("Oh my GOD!" is the frequent parting remark.). It was uncomfortable for me. If you try to be polite, it is considered a sign of weakness. There were even many occasions on which I would probably have purchased more from the vendors if they had simply left me alone to look.
Egypt Trip - Early Observations
On the grounds of the very upscale Mena House Garden Hotel, a woman cooks bread for dinner. Interesting contrast - fancy hotel and more traditional cooking method. I even got a free sample. Yum!
Yes, here I am, in front of the pyramids. I really was there. Amazing.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Back from Egypt - Taxis and Taxing
This was also posted on GT-Talk.
The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel where the tour began
was interesting in several respects. The first one was the taxi
itself. Since I was staying in a relatively expensive hotel, the
taxi contracted to take me to the hotel was upscale from the
average taxi. Nevertheless, it was a wild ride. Egyptian drivers
seem to think that lane line markers are for wimps - they are totally
irrelevant for the normal flow of traffic and are obeyed basically
by busses only. The cars weave in and out of lanes as if they
weren't marked at all. A street that is supposed to be 2 lanes
can have as many as 4 cars driving in parallel along it. Stop
lights are virtually non-existent in most of the city and where they
do appear, they are frequently not working. Red lights, in my
experience meant, though, that the taxi driver DID at least slow
down. And the drivers do usually obey the policemen who
preside over some of the busier intersections.
Surprisingly, though, there aren't that many accidents - at least
in the city. The frequent use of the horn meant that drivers
usually weren't blind-sided. At night, the cars often do not turn
on their headlights, but they do flash their lights in place of the
honking that they do during the day. But outside of Cairo is
evidently much different. The accident rate in Egypt is one of
the highest in the world. And few vehicles are insured, since
the cost of insurance is too high for most vehicle owners to be
able to afford.
Pedestrians, though, have it even more difficult. Trying to cross
a busy street is not a task to be undertaken lightly by either the
inexperienced or the infirm. I think the drivers enjoy using the
pedestrians for target practice. We missed hitting many pedestrians
and many other taxis by mere inches (or centimeters).
Taxis are not expensive, though. A ride across Cairo, from the
Nile to the airport generally costs around $10 (American dollars).
Another interesting thing about that first taxi ride was the first
impression I got of the city: it is very brown and looks like it has
been bombed out. The brownness might be expected - after all
the raw materials for building - rock, dirt, and sand - are all various
shades of brown. But the bombed out look is due to an interesting
feature of their tax law.
When Cairo began to grow rapidly many years ago now, there
was a severe lack of housing. To encourage people to build
new apartment buildings, the government decided not to tax
buildings while they were under construction. Well, it worked.
Most of the buildings, probably 90% of them, are still under
construction. Even though the lower floors of a building are
inhabited, the roof is virtually never finished. There are usually
partially finished floors at the top of every building. It gives the
city an impoverished look that isn't entirely deserved.
I discussed this tax law with our guide who seemed to feel that
there should be a time cap on building - after 5 years a building
should be taxed no matter what. I told him that the way it worked
on our property in Alaska was that assessors checked on the
value of the land and any buildings on it by comparing them to
other land and buildings in the neighborhood. Then, finished or
not, they were assessed according to their current value. He
seemed to think that was a good idea, but that it had little chance
of being implemented, as the people like not being taxed for their
"unfinished" apartments.
The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel where the tour began
was interesting in several respects. The first one was the taxi
itself. Since I was staying in a relatively expensive hotel, the
taxi contracted to take me to the hotel was upscale from the
average taxi. Nevertheless, it was a wild ride. Egyptian drivers
seem to think that lane line markers are for wimps - they are totally
irrelevant for the normal flow of traffic and are obeyed basically
by busses only. The cars weave in and out of lanes as if they
weren't marked at all. A street that is supposed to be 2 lanes
can have as many as 4 cars driving in parallel along it. Stop
lights are virtually non-existent in most of the city and where they
do appear, they are frequently not working. Red lights, in my
experience meant, though, that the taxi driver DID at least slow
down. And the drivers do usually obey the policemen who
preside over some of the busier intersections.
Surprisingly, though, there aren't that many accidents - at least
in the city. The frequent use of the horn meant that drivers
usually weren't blind-sided. At night, the cars often do not turn
on their headlights, but they do flash their lights in place of the
honking that they do during the day. But outside of Cairo is
evidently much different. The accident rate in Egypt is one of
the highest in the world. And few vehicles are insured, since
the cost of insurance is too high for most vehicle owners to be
able to afford.
Pedestrians, though, have it even more difficult. Trying to cross
a busy street is not a task to be undertaken lightly by either the
inexperienced or the infirm. I think the drivers enjoy using the
pedestrians for target practice. We missed hitting many pedestrians
and many other taxis by mere inches (or centimeters).
Taxis are not expensive, though. A ride across Cairo, from the
Nile to the airport generally costs around $10 (American dollars).
Another interesting thing about that first taxi ride was the first
impression I got of the city: it is very brown and looks like it has
been bombed out. The brownness might be expected - after all
the raw materials for building - rock, dirt, and sand - are all various
shades of brown. But the bombed out look is due to an interesting
feature of their tax law.
When Cairo began to grow rapidly many years ago now, there
was a severe lack of housing. To encourage people to build
new apartment buildings, the government decided not to tax
buildings while they were under construction. Well, it worked.
Most of the buildings, probably 90% of them, are still under
construction. Even though the lower floors of a building are
inhabited, the roof is virtually never finished. There are usually
partially finished floors at the top of every building. It gives the
city an impoverished look that isn't entirely deserved.
I discussed this tax law with our guide who seemed to feel that
there should be a time cap on building - after 5 years a building
should be taxed no matter what. I told him that the way it worked
on our property in Alaska was that assessors checked on the
value of the land and any buildings on it by comparing them to
other land and buildings in the neighborhood. Then, finished or
not, they were assessed according to their current value. He
seemed to think that was a good idea, but that it had little chance
of being implemented, as the people like not being taxed for their
"unfinished" apartments.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Egypt Trip - Preparation
I have been buying travel size things to pack - shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, etc. It is interesting to me that in the US, we don't have the same sizes of shampoo bottles that they do in Europe. When I went to Germany and my luggage was delayed, I had to buy shampoo and the regular size was about half the size of the smaller bottle that you get in the US. And the least expensive bottle in the US is gigantic - about 4 times as big, as the regular sized container in the US. I wonder what the difference in the psychology of marketing is. Do Americans shop to get a bargain and think that a giant sized container must be a bargain? Do Europeans think that they waste less when they ration out the contents of a small bottle?
I am so worried that I will forget to do something that MUST be done before I leave, or that I will forget to pack something vital. I hope that I calm down somewhat after I am underway.
I still have to pack. I went over what clothes I planned to take today and changed my mind almost completely about what I am taking. What a disaster!
I wish I had felt like doing more preparation for the trip. I bought a travel guide, but I didn't look at it very much.
I think my cats are going to miss me. John doesn't play with them - he will feed them and keep their stuff clean, but they need attention, too, and he probably won't give them that. I hope they don't get too bored. And I hope the older one doesn't die while I am gone. She has hyperthyroidism, which we have elected not to treat. We are letting her live out her natural life, as it were. She doesn't actually seem very sick. She still runs around and plays and has a good appetite.
I am so worried that I will forget to do something that MUST be done before I leave, or that I will forget to pack something vital. I hope that I calm down somewhat after I am underway.
I still have to pack. I went over what clothes I planned to take today and changed my mind almost completely about what I am taking. What a disaster!
I wish I had felt like doing more preparation for the trip. I bought a travel guide, but I didn't look at it very much.
I think my cats are going to miss me. John doesn't play with them - he will feed them and keep their stuff clean, but they need attention, too, and he probably won't give them that. I hope they don't get too bored. And I hope the older one doesn't die while I am gone. She has hyperthyroidism, which we have elected not to treat. We are letting her live out her natural life, as it were. She doesn't actually seem very sick. She still runs around and plays and has a good appetite.
Friday, March 16, 2007
World Ice Art Championships
Chambered Nautilus
Rain over Denali
A New Song
I'm not sure what the title of this one was, but it is one big insect!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Personality Test
I think this is moderately accurate, except that I am a bit more physically active than this test would tell. They asked about running for an hour. Well, I don't run, but I do swim 2/3 of a mile every other day. I am not fast, but I have good endurance. Oh, well, it was fun. At least on most of the questions for this test, I wasn't constantly trying to choose both sides of the question. I always have that problem with MBTI tests.
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Monday, March 12, 2007
Alyssa's White Desert Pictures
Alyssa took some pictures of the White Desert in Egypt that I love, for their shadows, forms, and colors. I am going to post some of them here (with her permission) so that I can tell people how to see them.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Another Subbing Complaint
I subbed for a third grade teacher who was out with a sick child. In the middle of the day, she called to find out how things were going. At the time, I had told all of the kids to put their heads down, because they were talking when I was trying to tell the whole class something. While I was on the phone with the regular teacher, she asked if I would return the next day for a partial day. I agreed, because I generally think it is better for the kids to have fewer, rather than more subs; and the class, while a bit too talkative, was basically a nice class.
The next day, I arrived at 11:00 and the teacher proceeded to talk to the kids about their bad behavior the previous day. She said that the kids had reported that I was nice and to her that meant that they took advantage of me by abusing my niceness. She was probably right, but it made me very uncomfortable - to be sitting there while she lectured the kids about me being too nice to them. It felt like she was really upbraiding me for not being meaner.
And, again, she was probably right. I really am not mean enough to be a good sub. I am smart, knowledgeable, resourceful, kind, interesting, interested, etc., etc., but I am not mean. I suppose that is my downfall. Maybe I should find a job where you can be nice to people and not get yelled at for being like that. I wonder if there is a job like that.
The next day, I arrived at 11:00 and the teacher proceeded to talk to the kids about their bad behavior the previous day. She said that the kids had reported that I was nice and to her that meant that they took advantage of me by abusing my niceness. She was probably right, but it made me very uncomfortable - to be sitting there while she lectured the kids about me being too nice to them. It felt like she was really upbraiding me for not being meaner.
And, again, she was probably right. I really am not mean enough to be a good sub. I am smart, knowledgeable, resourceful, kind, interesting, interested, etc., etc., but I am not mean. I suppose that is my downfall. Maybe I should find a job where you can be nice to people and not get yelled at for being like that. I wonder if there is a job like that.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Subbing - Bad Days
I have just come off of a couple of not so good days subbing and I am questioning whether I should continue doing it. It isn't that it was horrid, it wasn't, but I feel like it was a lot of hard work for not enough compensation. Kids aren't very respectful of subs. They weren't when I was a kid either. I remember stealing the shoe of one sub (who took them off when he sat at the teacher's desk) and passing it around the class until one kid finally put it outside the window on the roof next to the classroom. And that was more than 40 years ago. But the question is whether _I_ want to put up with it. Maybe, as my brother keeps insisting, I should get a "real" job. Too bad there aren't more half time jobs. I like working, but I also like to have time to myself.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Another Credit Card Story
I suppose, in fairness, I should tell another credit card story. A few days ago, my husband got a phone call from the credit card company that has our VISA credit cards (different from the one I complained about on Sunday, May 28, 2006 in another post). It seems that there were some strange charges on my account, which has a different number from his, and they wanted to check if they were really mine. I am not sure what made them think the charges were strange. I don't shop at Walmart, but I do buy things online from various stores - what flagged the Walmart charge as suspicious? There were 3 other charges also flagged as suspicious and I still don't know what triggered the suspicious flag. I guess I am grateful, though. I will be even more grateful if I don't have to pay for the suspicious charges.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Subbing - Financial Aspects
Substitute teaching is what I do to contribute a little bit to the family income. It doesn't contribute much. As a certified teacher, I earn $125 per day - 7 hours of work and 30 minutes for lunch. That is much better than the pay rate in Illinois (where we lived prior to moving to Alaska), but it is still not enough to live on. Even if a sub worked every day for the entire year (highly unlikely), that is still only $22,500 before taxes. This includes no benefits - no health insurance, no retirement, nothing. If I got a summer job, similar to the one my daughter had, I could earn another $3000 for a whopping $25,500. Still without health insurance, without retirement, without any extras.
I enjoy subbing, usually, but I must admit that the financial aspect makes me feel worthless. Considering that I have to buy clothes for work, gas to get there, and coursework to keep up my certification, I sometimes wonder if it is worth it at all financially. It probably ratchets up our income to a higher tax bracket, too. I am not surprised that the school district has difficulty getting subs. I feel like I am working hard, doing a substantially similar job to what the regular teachers do, but for just not enough financially. I guess I should listen to my relatives and "get a real job".
I enjoy subbing, usually, but I must admit that the financial aspect makes me feel worthless. Considering that I have to buy clothes for work, gas to get there, and coursework to keep up my certification, I sometimes wonder if it is worth it at all financially. It probably ratchets up our income to a higher tax bracket, too. I am not surprised that the school district has difficulty getting subs. I feel like I am working hard, doing a substantially similar job to what the regular teachers do, but for just not enough financially. I guess I should listen to my relatives and "get a real job".
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Annoyed at Credit Card Company
I was buying groceries today and my credit card was refused. Luckily, I usually carry two credit cards, so I could still pay for the groceries, but when I got home, I called the credit card company and asked them why it was refused. It turns out that the reason it was refused was that there were two charges made at approximately the same time on the card, from vastly different parts of the world. They refused the card in both locations because of this. The problem is, this was an extremely inopportune time for them to do this for the first time.
Background: My younger daughter has had a second card on this account for over a year. She is normally in Illinois; I am in Alaska. We have, in the past repeatedly charged things at similar times - and there was never a peep from the bank.
Problem: A couple of days ago, she had her purse stolen - and she is now in Uganda working on a summer internship. Fortunately, her passport, her ATM card, and her credit card were not in the purse that was stolen. But she wanted to get some more cash, since she is traveling away from the capital, Kampala, soon. I found Ugandan banks that would supposedly give her a cash advance on the credit card. And she wanted to buy a new camera, since the one she had was stolen with the purse. But, evidently the credit card bank has refused these purchases. And I am really annoyed. Why hasn't this problem ever come up before? Why wasn't I aware that the credit card bank might refuse a card for this reason? Am I clueless or is it the bank's fault? I feel so bad for my daughter. She is trying to recover her equilibrium after an upsetting event and the credit card company adds further upset to her circumstances. And it makes things very hard for her. She simply doesn't have time to go back to all of the merchants and buy the things she needs now that the credit card is working again. And, since email and phone calls have been very erratic and cut off unexpectedly, it is hard to even let her know that the credit card is working again.
And I am trying to figure out if it is the bank's fault or my own ignorance.
Background: My younger daughter has had a second card on this account for over a year. She is normally in Illinois; I am in Alaska. We have, in the past repeatedly charged things at similar times - and there was never a peep from the bank.
Problem: A couple of days ago, she had her purse stolen - and she is now in Uganda working on a summer internship. Fortunately, her passport, her ATM card, and her credit card were not in the purse that was stolen. But she wanted to get some more cash, since she is traveling away from the capital, Kampala, soon. I found Ugandan banks that would supposedly give her a cash advance on the credit card. And she wanted to buy a new camera, since the one she had was stolen with the purse. But, evidently the credit card bank has refused these purchases. And I am really annoyed. Why hasn't this problem ever come up before? Why wasn't I aware that the credit card bank might refuse a card for this reason? Am I clueless or is it the bank's fault? I feel so bad for my daughter. She is trying to recover her equilibrium after an upsetting event and the credit card company adds further upset to her circumstances. And it makes things very hard for her. She simply doesn't have time to go back to all of the merchants and buy the things she needs now that the credit card is working again. And, since email and phone calls have been very erratic and cut off unexpectedly, it is hard to even let her know that the credit card is working again.
And I am trying to figure out if it is the bank's fault or my own ignorance.
Friday, May 26, 2006
School Rant
From a news report: 'Neil Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, stated that he endured pressure from a private school in Houston to medicate his son Pierce with Ritalin for ADHD incorrectly diagnosed by the school. "There is a systemic problem in this country, where schools are often forcing parents to turn to Ritalin," said Bush, 47, who spent years researching the issue. "It's obvious to me that we have a crisis in this country." Neil Bush also said, "The problem is, it isn't the kids that are broken. It's the system that is failing to engage children in the classroom," and "My heart goes out to any parents who are being led to believe their kids have a disorder or are disabled."'
And I get tired of people blaming the whole problem on the teachers failing to "engage" children in the classroom. There are many kids who spend more hours outside of school watching TV and playing video and computer games than they spend sitting in the classrooms. And then they come to school and expect to be entertained and "engaged" there. Kids who used to run around and play physically when they weren't in school don't nowadays. No wonder they have too much energy. And they watch so much TV/video/computer games that they have attention spans of gnats.
When I went to elementary, junior high, and high school, I never expected it to be a 7 hour game every day. Yes, school needs to be interesting, but I am getting tired of people expecting it to be entertaining. Perhaps it is the passivity of this viewpoint that irritates me. Children and their parents expect them to be engaged BY TEACHERS in their school work; they don't expect to engage THEMSELVES in the pursuit of learning.
And while I am complaining, I would like to ask why it is that kids nowadays think that they have to talk all of the time? Whenever I lament as a sub that I have had difficulty with a class that talked a bit too much, teacher after teacher will complain that the kids are talking all of the time in their regular classes, too. You get the kids quiet, so they can listen to instruction or directions on how to do something and the second you open your mouth to speak, they start talking again. This can and does go on for 20 minutes or more and the only thing that stops it is sending one or more kids to the school disciplinarian. That works for about 5 minutes and then you have to threaten them again. Or teachers will put names on the board and take time off of recess for excessive talking. The only two other things that stop the chatter are movies or TV and tests. Even tests work for only the part of the test where everyone is working. As soon as one kid finishes, the talking starts again.
I have tried thinking about causes for this behavior and the major ones I can think of are:
1) When kids watch TV or movies or actively play computer or video games, they are not talking. In fact, they seem to be passively receptive, even when they are actively pushing buttons for a video game. So when they finish this type of activity, they have a greater than normal need to connect with other people and they talk, talk, talk.
2) Kids are not taught to listen to instructions or conversation. They are so visually oriented (TV, video, and computers again) that their auditory processing is less capable. And they have learned very well in school that, if they do not pay attention to verbal instruction given to the whole class, once they are given the assignment, all they have to do is complain that they don't understand, and the teacher will give them individual help, often complete with several answers for which they have to do little or no work.
I guess I am feeling cantankerous today. Sorry.
And I get tired of people blaming the whole problem on the teachers failing to "engage" children in the classroom. There are many kids who spend more hours outside of school watching TV and playing video and computer games than they spend sitting in the classrooms. And then they come to school and expect to be entertained and "engaged" there. Kids who used to run around and play physically when they weren't in school don't nowadays. No wonder they have too much energy. And they watch so much TV/video/computer games that they have attention spans of gnats.
When I went to elementary, junior high, and high school, I never expected it to be a 7 hour game every day. Yes, school needs to be interesting, but I am getting tired of people expecting it to be entertaining. Perhaps it is the passivity of this viewpoint that irritates me. Children and their parents expect them to be engaged BY TEACHERS in their school work; they don't expect to engage THEMSELVES in the pursuit of learning.
And while I am complaining, I would like to ask why it is that kids nowadays think that they have to talk all of the time? Whenever I lament as a sub that I have had difficulty with a class that talked a bit too much, teacher after teacher will complain that the kids are talking all of the time in their regular classes, too. You get the kids quiet, so they can listen to instruction or directions on how to do something and the second you open your mouth to speak, they start talking again. This can and does go on for 20 minutes or more and the only thing that stops it is sending one or more kids to the school disciplinarian. That works for about 5 minutes and then you have to threaten them again. Or teachers will put names on the board and take time off of recess for excessive talking. The only two other things that stop the chatter are movies or TV and tests. Even tests work for only the part of the test where everyone is working. As soon as one kid finishes, the talking starts again.
I have tried thinking about causes for this behavior and the major ones I can think of are:
1) When kids watch TV or movies or actively play computer or video games, they are not talking. In fact, they seem to be passively receptive, even when they are actively pushing buttons for a video game. So when they finish this type of activity, they have a greater than normal need to connect with other people and they talk, talk, talk.
2) Kids are not taught to listen to instructions or conversation. They are so visually oriented (TV, video, and computers again) that their auditory processing is less capable. And they have learned very well in school that, if they do not pay attention to verbal instruction given to the whole class, once they are given the assignment, all they have to do is complain that they don't understand, and the teacher will give them individual help, often complete with several answers for which they have to do little or no work.
I guess I am feeling cantankerous today. Sorry.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Myers-Briggs Type
I just took an on-line test for my MBTI type a www.humanmetrics.com and this is the result:
Your Type is:
INFJ Strength of the preferences %
Introverted 44
Intuitive 62
Feeling 38
Judging 33
I always have trouble with these kinds of tests, though. I fit either both sides of most questions, or neither. There are only a very few questions that I can truthfully answer completely comfortably one way or the other. One is usually something like "You analyze everything." To that one, I always give a resounding "YES!" (and that characteristic annoys my daughters endlessly). But given my discomfort with many of my other answers, I tend to feel that the result is more dependent on my current mood than it is dependent on my personality.
On the other hand, the Keirsey explanation of my type in this particular test, the Counselor type, certainly does seem to fit. I AM extraordinarily able to tell what people are thinking and feeling when I am with them. It is one of my greatest assets as a teacher. But it also makes teaching large groups of children difficult, because it is so frustrating to not be able to act on all of the input I am getting.
And now I just finished reading the Butt and Heiss explanation of my results and I am thinking that maybe there is more to the MBTI types than I have previously given credance.
Characteristics that seem particularly relevant/apropos:
1) Abstract in thought and speech -- I seem always to be trying to derive a general principle from what I am observing/experiencing.
2) Focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values
3) Not generally visibly a leader
4) This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.
5) self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper
Things that seem NOT to match:
1) Make decisions easily -- I can agonize over purchases for weeks.
2) ... but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. -- I seem to be more open than this.
A Mixed Bag:
1) ...because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them -- I do have this ability, but I don't seem to be hurt easily. It is more like I have the ability to understand the feelings, but the detachment to recognize that it isn't MY feelings. (Which seems to be more what Heiss and Butt say.)
This has been more interesting than I expected, mainly because, as I stated above, I typically have a lot of trouble with these types of "tests". I have always wondered how a valid result could be generated when the preferences
for many of the particular answers were so slight. But it does seem to have done a decent job overall. Intriguing.
Your Type is:
INFJ Strength of the preferences %
Introverted 44
Intuitive 62
Feeling 38
Judging 33
I always have trouble with these kinds of tests, though. I fit either both sides of most questions, or neither. There are only a very few questions that I can truthfully answer completely comfortably one way or the other. One is usually something like "You analyze everything." To that one, I always give a resounding "YES!" (and that characteristic annoys my daughters endlessly). But given my discomfort with many of my other answers, I tend to feel that the result is more dependent on my current mood than it is dependent on my personality.
On the other hand, the Keirsey explanation of my type in this particular test, the Counselor type, certainly does seem to fit. I AM extraordinarily able to tell what people are thinking and feeling when I am with them. It is one of my greatest assets as a teacher. But it also makes teaching large groups of children difficult, because it is so frustrating to not be able to act on all of the input I am getting.
And now I just finished reading the Butt and Heiss explanation of my results and I am thinking that maybe there is more to the MBTI types than I have previously given credance.
Characteristics that seem particularly relevant/apropos:
1) Abstract in thought and speech -- I seem always to be trying to derive a general principle from what I am observing/experiencing.
2) Focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values
3) Not generally visibly a leader
4) This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.
5) self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper
Things that seem NOT to match:
1) Make decisions easily -- I can agonize over purchases for weeks.
2) ... but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. -- I seem to be more open than this.
A Mixed Bag:
1) ...because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them -- I do have this ability, but I don't seem to be hurt easily. It is more like I have the ability to understand the feelings, but the detachment to recognize that it isn't MY feelings. (Which seems to be more what Heiss and Butt say.)
This has been more interesting than I expected, mainly because, as I stated above, I typically have a lot of trouble with these types of "tests". I have always wondered how a valid result could be generated when the preferences
for many of the particular answers were so slight. But it does seem to have done a decent job overall. Intriguing.
Harry Potter's Evil Cat Counterpart
This cat's name is Cookie, but that innocent name belies a truly evil connection. Note the lightning shaped scar on her forehead and the black heart. She strikes fear into the hearts of cats twice as big as she is. Lady Voldemort?
Friday, May 05, 2006
The Failure of Parenting
[rewritten from a post on GT-Talk]
Regarding the discussion about why children eat unhealthy foods, don't get enough exercise, don't know some of the basic academics that were commonplace a few years ago, etc.
I am part of the Boomer/Hippie generation and what I see happening is that my generation rebelled against rules of all sorts. In college, we protested the Vietnam War, in loco parentis became weaker and weaker from freshman year to senior year. Freshman year, we weren't allowed to have men in our rooms, except from 2:00 - 4:00 pm on Sunday and the door had to be open with all four feet on the floor. By senior year, nearly all of those regulations were completely gone. Men stayed in the dorm any time - even over night, with the doors closed.
What I see is that my generation wanted to give their children more freedom from rules, so the next generation grew up with far fewer restrictions. But now, years later, those children are the parents. Not having grown up honoring rules and regulations, they don't even know HOW to impose the rules. They don't have any intuitive feel for when rules need to be respected and when they need to be broken. My generation knew - we had grown up with (too many?) rules and restrictions. Our lives were all about breaking through society's restrictions: sexism, racism, economic disparity. So we had the perspective to know what the rules were, how to break them, and why.
But our children grew up without many of the rules and restrictions, so now they have no idea how to impose them on their children. They make some feeble attempts and think that is all that is required. You see them in the grocery store all the time:
Kid: I want [X];
Mom/Dad: No, you don't need [X];
... repeat N times ...
Kid: Cries loudly;
Mom/Dad: Gives in somehow - by buying the item or a substitute, by promising reward if kid stops crying, etc.
My mother who is 91 was recently watching some old old family videos of me with my older daughter when she was a baby. At one point, she asked me how I knew how to parent my daughter so well. I answered that, as with many things, the key is having a good role model. My mother was a good parent. I followed her example almost unconsciously. But, as my kids got older and got to the ages where breaking restrictions due to sexism, racism, etc., became important to me, I was on less sure footing. I think, to some extent, I didn't impose restrictions I should have - especially in the area of making my children assume responsibility for themselves (except academically - they are both pretty good about that).
I had my children when I was pretty old, so they are not yet parents, and I don't know how they will do at parenting, but many of my compatriots are grandparents and I teach these grandchildren. I see kids who have a lot of trouble with rules and restrictions - even those that are deemed very important by most of society.
If this analysis is anywhere near correct, it will be very difficult to get back to a better position. Some of the parenting techniques have been lost and will be difficult to recover. New parents will have to use reason and outside advice to gain expertise that my generation had intuitively, even if we chose to circumvent it in some cases. And, in our increasingly diverse society, even finding solid advice becomes problematic - one expert says one thing; another says the opposite. New parents feel powerless and confused.
Regarding the discussion about why children eat unhealthy foods, don't get enough exercise, don't know some of the basic academics that were commonplace a few years ago, etc.
I am part of the Boomer/Hippie generation and what I see happening is that my generation rebelled against rules of all sorts. In college, we protested the Vietnam War, in loco parentis became weaker and weaker from freshman year to senior year. Freshman year, we weren't allowed to have men in our rooms, except from 2:00 - 4:00 pm on Sunday and the door had to be open with all four feet on the floor. By senior year, nearly all of those regulations were completely gone. Men stayed in the dorm any time - even over night, with the doors closed.
What I see is that my generation wanted to give their children more freedom from rules, so the next generation grew up with far fewer restrictions. But now, years later, those children are the parents. Not having grown up honoring rules and regulations, they don't even know HOW to impose the rules. They don't have any intuitive feel for when rules need to be respected and when they need to be broken. My generation knew - we had grown up with (too many?) rules and restrictions. Our lives were all about breaking through society's restrictions: sexism, racism, economic disparity. So we had the perspective to know what the rules were, how to break them, and why.
But our children grew up without many of the rules and restrictions, so now they have no idea how to impose them on their children. They make some feeble attempts and think that is all that is required. You see them in the grocery store all the time:
Kid: I want [X];
Mom/Dad: No, you don't need [X];
... repeat N times ...
Kid: Cries loudly;
Mom/Dad: Gives in somehow - by buying the item or a substitute, by promising reward if kid stops crying, etc.
My mother who is 91 was recently watching some old old family videos of me with my older daughter when she was a baby. At one point, she asked me how I knew how to parent my daughter so well. I answered that, as with many things, the key is having a good role model. My mother was a good parent. I followed her example almost unconsciously. But, as my kids got older and got to the ages where breaking restrictions due to sexism, racism, etc., became important to me, I was on less sure footing. I think, to some extent, I didn't impose restrictions I should have - especially in the area of making my children assume responsibility for themselves (except academically - they are both pretty good about that).
I had my children when I was pretty old, so they are not yet parents, and I don't know how they will do at parenting, but many of my compatriots are grandparents and I teach these grandchildren. I see kids who have a lot of trouble with rules and restrictions - even those that are deemed very important by most of society.
If this analysis is anywhere near correct, it will be very difficult to get back to a better position. Some of the parenting techniques have been lost and will be difficult to recover. New parents will have to use reason and outside advice to gain expertise that my generation had intuitively, even if we chose to circumvent it in some cases. And, in our increasingly diverse society, even finding solid advice becomes problematic - one expert says one thing; another says the opposite. New parents feel powerless and confused.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Clear View
The mountains are clear right now. It occurred to me yesterday that, in some ways they resemble crinkled aluminum foil, painted over with Wite-Out. This is not a very poetical image, even though the mountains are beautiful.
When I first moved here, I was struck by how the whole vista to the south looked like an elaborately photographed Hollywood backdrop, with only the nearby trees in front of the backdrop actually seeming to be real. As I have come to know the place better, this image has faded slightly, but is still striking. The view out the window has two distinct distances - the close up and the very far away. The middle distance is shielded from view by the close.
Is there a metaphor for life here? The things in the distance are the past - mostly static and a bit unreal. What we see most closely is the present, which obscures the middle distance.
Best not take that too far.
When I first moved here, I was struck by how the whole vista to the south looked like an elaborately photographed Hollywood backdrop, with only the nearby trees in front of the backdrop actually seeming to be real. As I have come to know the place better, this image has faded slightly, but is still striking. The view out the window has two distinct distances - the close up and the very far away. The middle distance is shielded from view by the close.
Is there a metaphor for life here? The things in the distance are the past - mostly static and a bit unreal. What we see most closely is the present, which obscures the middle distance.
Best not take that too far.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Hobbes
This is Hobbes when I first got him - in the hotel in Toronto. He was about 3 months old. He is a Maine Coon and he is a very sweet, playful, affectionate kitten/cat.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Pullout Special Education
I have been observing since January the effect of special education pullout classes on the students who attend them. It is interesting to me how this effects the rest of their time in the classroom, as I am a sub and get them when they are not in their special classes. I do NOT dispute that the classes are important and they ARE effective, in that the statistics about skill achievements seem to be improving.
What is of concern to me, is how much of their time those students waste in the regular classroom. Yesterday, I heard from two of those students, "I don't do your social studies" and, at the same time, "I don't have anything to do". This is not the first time I have heard similar comments. This is evidently a chronic occurrence, since, even though one of those students wanted to participate, he didn't know what the assignment was, so he couldn't - even in a adapted manner. And, the suggestion to "read a book" has no appeal to a student who has difficulty reading in the first place.
So, in some ways similarly to gifted kids, the kids who need extra services are spinning their wheels much of the time. I know it is logistically nearly impossible to arrange it so that, in a classroom of 27 students, each child is at his/her correct challenge level all of the time, but, again, it seems like there should be some better arrangement of children, teachers, and time.
Laura
What is of concern to me, is how much of their time those students waste in the regular classroom. Yesterday, I heard from two of those students, "I don't do your social studies" and, at the same time, "I don't have anything to do". This is not the first time I have heard similar comments. This is evidently a chronic occurrence, since, even though one of those students wanted to participate, he didn't know what the assignment was, so he couldn't - even in a adapted manner. And, the suggestion to "read a book" has no appeal to a student who has difficulty reading in the first place.
So, in some ways similarly to gifted kids, the kids who need extra services are spinning their wheels much of the time. I know it is logistically nearly impossible to arrange it so that, in a classroom of 27 students, each child is at his/her correct challenge level all of the time, but, again, it seems like there should be some better arrangement of children, teachers, and time.
Laura
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Perfection
Periodically in the past I have contemplated why it is that people cannot be perfect. Why CAN'T we do everything correctly? So I have begun drafting a list of reasons why. Here is my admittedly incomplete list so far.
People Can't Be Perfect Because ...
1) Lack of Time
There are many demands on people's time and the time required to do a task perfectly means inevitably that another task cannot be done perfectly.
2) Lack of Knowledge
Some tasks require more knowledge than is readily available. Sometimes this lack of knowledge relates to time, i.e., if I had more time, I could get the knowledge required to do the task perfectly; sometimes it doesn't, e.g., I can't talk to a student's dead grandparent about their relationship - that information is simply unavailable. Sometimes the information doesn't even exist, e.g., research hasn't yet shown us the best way to remedy certain problems.
3) Lack of Will
Sometimes there is no desire for perfection. I could make my bed perfectly every day. It doesn't take long; I know how; I even know it looks better; but it just isn't that important to me.
4) Competing Desires
I would love to lose weight - a lot of weight. But I also love good food and I hate being hungry. But, even though I eat nutritious food and I exercise regularly, I must eat too much, because I still weigh too much.
5) Lack of Ability to Empathize
This relates to Lack of Knowledge, but is slightly different. I may know about a student's problems at home, but I may never have experienced anything closely related, so while I could potentially recite all of the facts of the case, I have never, for example, lived in a foster home, so I don't really know how it FEELS.
6) Lack of Understanding
This relates to Lack of Knowledge, too, but is again slightly different. I may know about a student's problems at home, and I may have experienced something very close to that type of problem. So, while I have the knowledge needed and I can approximate the feelings, I may not have the understanding I need of how the various factors differ or interact. This may also happen in the purely scientific arena: I may have the facts about a scientific problem, but I may not yet understand their individual, relative, and cumulative importance.
7) Chance
I am not sure yet if this should be included. It seems to me that it should be, but I can't think right now of a situation in which I have done everything else perfectly, but the result was less than perfection, due to chance. Maybe this: I left in plenty of time to get to a job on time, I drove fine, but there was an accident blocking my normal driving route, so I ended up late. I am not convinced that I shouldn't blame that on something else, though, e.g., if I had more time, I could leave early enough so that traffic accidents wouldn't be a problem.
8) Conflicting Definitions of Perfection
I may cook what I consider a delicious dinner - hot and spicy squid with vegetables, but my husband hates hot things, all spices, and squid, so perfection is unattainable. If I want a perfect dinner for me, I have been perfect; but if I want to cook "the" perfect dinner, there is no such thing, since my husband and I don't agree on the definition of perfection in this case.
I suppose there are other reasons, but this is a start.
Laura
People Can't Be Perfect Because ...
1) Lack of Time
There are many demands on people's time and the time required to do a task perfectly means inevitably that another task cannot be done perfectly.
2) Lack of Knowledge
Some tasks require more knowledge than is readily available. Sometimes this lack of knowledge relates to time, i.e., if I had more time, I could get the knowledge required to do the task perfectly; sometimes it doesn't, e.g., I can't talk to a student's dead grandparent about their relationship - that information is simply unavailable. Sometimes the information doesn't even exist, e.g., research hasn't yet shown us the best way to remedy certain problems.
3) Lack of Will
Sometimes there is no desire for perfection. I could make my bed perfectly every day. It doesn't take long; I know how; I even know it looks better; but it just isn't that important to me.
4) Competing Desires
I would love to lose weight - a lot of weight. But I also love good food and I hate being hungry. But, even though I eat nutritious food and I exercise regularly, I must eat too much, because I still weigh too much.
5) Lack of Ability to Empathize
This relates to Lack of Knowledge, but is slightly different. I may know about a student's problems at home, but I may never have experienced anything closely related, so while I could potentially recite all of the facts of the case, I have never, for example, lived in a foster home, so I don't really know how it FEELS.
6) Lack of Understanding
This relates to Lack of Knowledge, too, but is again slightly different. I may know about a student's problems at home, and I may have experienced something very close to that type of problem. So, while I have the knowledge needed and I can approximate the feelings, I may not have the understanding I need of how the various factors differ or interact. This may also happen in the purely scientific arena: I may have the facts about a scientific problem, but I may not yet understand their individual, relative, and cumulative importance.
7) Chance
I am not sure yet if this should be included. It seems to me that it should be, but I can't think right now of a situation in which I have done everything else perfectly, but the result was less than perfection, due to chance. Maybe this: I left in plenty of time to get to a job on time, I drove fine, but there was an accident blocking my normal driving route, so I ended up late. I am not convinced that I shouldn't blame that on something else, though, e.g., if I had more time, I could leave early enough so that traffic accidents wouldn't be a problem.
8) Conflicting Definitions of Perfection
I may cook what I consider a delicious dinner - hot and spicy squid with vegetables, but my husband hates hot things, all spices, and squid, so perfection is unattainable. If I want a perfect dinner for me, I have been perfect; but if I want to cook "the" perfect dinner, there is no such thing, since my husband and I don't agree on the definition of perfection in this case.
I suppose there are other reasons, but this is a start.
Laura
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Dropouts
There was a recent posting on another list I belong to regarding the number of dropouts in the United States and the reasons for doing so.
http://fdncenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=133800007
After scanning the article, I am pondering two things:
1) Many of the dropouts complain that classes are "boring"and not relevant to their lives. "Boring", as the report does discuss a bit, can mean too easy or too hard or simply not entertaining. One of the recommendations of the report was that teachers try to make their classes more relevant and more interesting. But, in many respects, I think teachers are doing a reasonable job in this regard. The problem is that this generation of kids is used to not only TV, but also the Internet, Instant Messaging, hand-held games, etc., etc. How can teachers even hope to compete with all of the other distractions available to kids these days?
As many of you know, I have been a substitute teacher off and on for the past few years and have therefore seen a wide variety of American classrooms. It is true that a few of them are routine and uninteresting, but, in my experience, most of the teachers are really trying to make their classes interesting. But kids are quite jaded these days. It is as though they need ever higher doses of "fun" just to keep them motivated to do anything at all. And if it isn't fun, the only thing that seems to work is threat - bad grades or talking to a parent. I see very few kids who are really excited about the subject matter. I was in a 3rd grade class this week that was really excited about writing, but that is such an anomaly that it really stood out in my mind.
2) Is it possible that the dropout problem would be better viewed as a lack of alternative pathways? When I was a foreign student in Germany 40 years ago, they had what they called the "zweite Bildungsweg", which was a second pathway to the type of education that the student wanted. There seemed to be a conscious effort to accommodate
students who wanted to change their education course. Maybe if we made a concerted effort to establish more
apprenticeships, or similar entry level jobs, and meld them to part-time education, we could change "dropping out" to beginning a work progression. Maybe "lack of relevance" to their lives could be changed into specific coursework needed for their chosen job path.
I have long been interested in different structural ways of reforming American education. By structural, I mean the organization of bringing teachers and students together, not by changing the curriculum directly or by improving teacher education (both of which are worthwhile, just not what I consider structural changes), but rather by altering who is put in contact with whom and when. E.g., putting a cluster of gifted kids in one classroom, rather than spreading them out among many teachers is a structural change; having each teacher differentiate the curriculum for each of the gifted students is not what I would consider to be a structural change.
http://fdncenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=133800007
After scanning the article, I am pondering two things:
1) Many of the dropouts complain that classes are "boring"and not relevant to their lives. "Boring", as the report does discuss a bit, can mean too easy or too hard or simply not entertaining. One of the recommendations of the report was that teachers try to make their classes more relevant and more interesting. But, in many respects, I think teachers are doing a reasonable job in this regard. The problem is that this generation of kids is used to not only TV, but also the Internet, Instant Messaging, hand-held games, etc., etc. How can teachers even hope to compete with all of the other distractions available to kids these days?
As many of you know, I have been a substitute teacher off and on for the past few years and have therefore seen a wide variety of American classrooms. It is true that a few of them are routine and uninteresting, but, in my experience, most of the teachers are really trying to make their classes interesting. But kids are quite jaded these days. It is as though they need ever higher doses of "fun" just to keep them motivated to do anything at all. And if it isn't fun, the only thing that seems to work is threat - bad grades or talking to a parent. I see very few kids who are really excited about the subject matter. I was in a 3rd grade class this week that was really excited about writing, but that is such an anomaly that it really stood out in my mind.
2) Is it possible that the dropout problem would be better viewed as a lack of alternative pathways? When I was a foreign student in Germany 40 years ago, they had what they called the "zweite Bildungsweg", which was a second pathway to the type of education that the student wanted. There seemed to be a conscious effort to accommodate
students who wanted to change their education course. Maybe if we made a concerted effort to establish more
apprenticeships, or similar entry level jobs, and meld them to part-time education, we could change "dropping out" to beginning a work progression. Maybe "lack of relevance" to their lives could be changed into specific coursework needed for their chosen job path.
I have long been interested in different structural ways of reforming American education. By structural, I mean the organization of bringing teachers and students together, not by changing the curriculum directly or by improving teacher education (both of which are worthwhile, just not what I consider structural changes), but rather by altering who is put in contact with whom and when. E.g., putting a cluster of gifted kids in one classroom, rather than spreading them out among many teachers is a structural change; having each teacher differentiate the curriculum for each of the gifted students is not what I would consider to be a structural change.
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