Technology and High School

Technology: The scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective.

We use it everywhere. Gas stations, grocery stores, the local flea market, in the office. And yet, our school system doesn't really utilize it. Why is anyone surprised that our students aren't prepared to take the jobs that are available when they get out of school?

The high school I teach in got new mathematics textbooks. And not just the textbook. The system contains full powerpoint presentations for the text as well as CD and online access. The computer version of the text has very cool movies and interactivity sections that allow the student to explore the mathematical principle without having to write it all down on paper. When I saw all this stuff, I thought, finally I will be able to teach my classes, the way that I taught when I was in the corporate environment.

However, it's not as easy as that to use technology in our schools. I have a macintosh computer in my classroom. There is only one LCD projector that can be used with the mac at our school. I'm going to check it out and see if all I need is an adaptor so that I can use any LCD projector. I really do feel it's important to expose the students to technology as it's used in a business environment, not just as a computer game. I seriously want to make it part of my classroom.

You can also load your classes online and track them. Give them a name and a password, and they can access the text online and not only that, each student can take online interactive quizzes which are instantly scored, so you can see immediately how your class is doing without having to do all of that painful by hand grading.

I've tried communicating this to the other math teachers. You would have thought I was offering poison.

"The kids are having a hard enough time already, just finding the page number."

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of work! I don't think I'll do that."

Does anyone else find this very sad and frustrating? Shouldn't we (as teachers) be using all of the tools that we have in order to better prepare our students to be productive members of society, and not incidentally, to be able to make a decent living?

Practice

Failure: The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends.

I was reminded last night that just because I've done something perfectly in the past doesn't mean that I will be able to repeat that experience.

Specifically, I cooked dinner last night with some help from my kids. We were going to have chicken and dumplings. We also made banana bread. Now. Both of these items are things that I have made many, many times. However, I haven't really cooked or baked for some months. At least, not serious things like an actual dinner.

Both items needed to cook for a bit, so I left the kitchen.

Maybe you can guess what happened next. Yeah, that's right. They both got burnt to a crisp.

I'm redeeming myself this morning with coffee cake for breakfast. And, you're right. I wouldn't have been making it if I hadn't failed so spectacularly last night.

Rain Running

Visceral: Obtained through intuition rather than from reasoning or observation.

I went running in the rain yesterday. Nothing can beat the experience of being outside and experiencing the visceral feel of all your senses informing you of the world. Being outside, is a way for me to connect to myself, to meditate, to smooth out the rough edges. There's something about movement that allows this to happen. As I see the world this way, up close and personal, and with no barriers between me and the experience, I am always struck by moments of complete awe.

It makes me feel sad for all those people, working out in the gym, running endlessly to nowhere, eyes glued to a television screen. They're missing out on so much.

Rainfall

Thunderstorm: A transient, sometimes violent storm of thunder and lightning, often accompanied by rain and sometimes hail.

It started raining today for the first time in months. The first sign that summer is officially over and fall is now here. The smell of the rain hitting the hot, baked fields only comes once a year. We even had thunder and lightening which is so unusual for the Bay Area. It reminded me of where I grew up and the summer thunderstorms. Watching the lightening track across the sky and then counting the seconds afterwards to figure out how far away it was.

I remember once, when I was about 15, awakening in the middle of the night to the sound of continous rolling thunder. I could see the lightening flashes through my window. It was almost constant. A parade of lightening marching across the earth.

I got up and went downstairs so I could watch through the big picture window in the kitchen. As I entered the dark kitchen, I found most of my family already there. No one spoke. We just gathered in silence to view the storm. One by one the rest of the family members joined us.

I don't know how long it lasted. Forever and just a blink of the eye. The dark moonless night, constantly split in two by the bright blue-white zigzag of the lightening. Then, almost immediately, the crack of the thunder. So loud, that the windows on house rattled.

Finally, the storm moved off, walking across the sky on legs of thunder. The house returned to stillness. Without speaking, holding the experience within ourselves, we returned to our beds and to peaceful slumber.

Growing Up

Adult: One that has arrived at full development or maturity especially in size, strength, or intellectual capacity.

I only see my kids every other weekend (they chose to go live with the ex), and I didn't see them at all for the month of August, as that was the ex's summer month. This weekend was the first time I've seen them since July 31.

My son is taller than I am.

Now, my daughter has been taller than me for quite some time, but suddenly standing next to my son and realizing that I have to look up to meet his eyes was somewhat of a shock. I knew this moment was coming though, as we were exactly the same height in July, and he has been on a huge growth spurt ever since last September. This whole last year, every time I saw him, I could swear he'd grown an inch.

But.

This was the first time I've had to look UP at him.

It made me sad because I realized that they are both growing up and while I will always think of them as my little kids, that is not who they are anymore.

On the other hand, they have both turned into very cool people in their own right, and I am so proud that they are my kids.

Renaissance Faire

Fantasy: The creative imagination; unrestrained fancy.

We've gone to the Renaissance Faire for the last few years, every year. We go and watch the same shows and enjoy the conversations that different people at the Faire will strike up with you. What you get out of it, is definitely up to you. You can enjoy and participate, or think it's silly and look at it with a jaundiced eye.

As a side note, what always amazes me about the women at the Faire is the amount of cleavage on display. Frankly, if someone walked down the street like that, they'd be arrested for indecent exposure. And, What Is It with various and sundry objects stuck down the cleavage? A dagger, a softball?!?, a rose, a giant pickle?

The first year we went, we hardly noticed anything else as the vast amounts of bosom took up all our attention. As we've gone for other years though, we have started to notice the men. Have you ever heard of codpieces? If you haven't, shortly you will know. Basically, it's padding in a certain area of a man's anatomy to "enhance" his natural virtues. Of course, on the websites for the RenFaire, while they show women's cleavage in loving detail, they don't really focus on the codpiece. I don't know why. Of the two, while the cleavage is more flashy, the codpiece is definitely the more memorable.

The other thing that the men do, more so than the women, is to have weapons. Now, a sword and a dagger, ok, that seems to be reasonable. But when someone walks by who is quite literally staggering from the weight of steel and there is not one inch of costume that does not have a sharp object attached to it, you have to wonder.

I'm finally figuring out what it's really about though. It's about the fantasy of living a different life. Of choosing a type of character that you've always wanted to try and being able, if only for a day, to be that person.

A queen, a fairy, a sorceror, a warrior maid, a pirate, a gallant gentleman, a gypsy. You can be anything you want at the Faire.

Well, I guess I'm dead

Blood Pressure: The pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels, especially the arteries.

On my way to somewhere else I had some time to kill. This is not a hardship for me, as almost any store holds the lure of looking at "stuff." Stuff I probably won't buy, mind you, but stuff all the same.

So, I was wandering around in a Raley's Grocery store that happened to be on the way to where I was going. Raley's is great, cause besides the food, they sure do have a lot of stuff. Wine glasses, barbeque grills, a whole entire aisle of makeup, small statues of dragons and wizards, and not incidentally, one of those blood pressure machines.

Being a person who can't resist finding out dippy numbers like that, I sat down to give it a shot.

It squeezed my arm half off, took quite some time to think about things, and then informed me that the test had failed. Officially, Results Were Inconsistent, in a very cryptic manner.

Not daunted I tried it again, and then again, with the same result every time.

So, since I guess I don't have a blood pressure, that must mean that I'm dead. Right? Or, that I need to go to the doctor Right Away.

Bike Commuting - Part 4 of 4

Triumph: To be victorious or successful; win.

I have succeeded. After much frustration, the bike commuting plan finally came to fruition today. I got out of the house early enough, I was organized enough and, gosh darn it, I wanted it badly enough.

16 miles, one way. It felt great to be moving along under my own power this morning. It took me a little over an hour to get to work, from the Park and Ride Lot. I felt great getting there. However, being there, at school, at 7:40 am, with all the students and staff was not such a great feeling.

I just felt really weird about anybody I knew seeing me arrive at work on my bike. Along the lines of, "Oh no, if anyone sees me, they'll think I look stupid!" which IS stupid. I mean, who cares? I'm not doing this to impress anyone, but I snuck into my building like a sneak thief anyway. Of course, a whole lot of students saw me, but they don't count. Just people I know.

I guess I'll know I've arrived as a bike commuter when I don't care if people see me or not.

I've determined that the other main requirement is that I can bike home as fast as I bike to work, which I failed at miserably today. It was a LOT harder going home. Of course, having a headwind the Whole Entire Way did not help one little bit.

First Day of School

Organized: Efficient and methodical.

The first day of school is tomorrow. I had great plans this year that I would be very organized and have everything under control, but it is not working out that way.

All teachers have to follow a pre-determined set of lesson plans for the first three days of school. If you've ever been on a corporate "team-building" seminar, you have a pretty good idea of what we'll be doing. It's going to be interesting. First of all, to get the students to buy into the activities and second, for me to find the time to talk to them about how I want my classroom and how I want them to behave in my classroom.

The other thing is that my schedule of classes was up in the air for a few days. You'd think that it might be a really good thing for your schedule of classes to be finalized before the first day of school, but no, it's more fun to try and change things around at the last minute. After much discussion, my schedule is remaining exactly the same as it was before, which I am happy with. However, my preparation was thrown off just a wee tad.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. I might have a nervous breakdown, but then again...

Bike Commuting - Part 3 of ?

Conscientious: Guided by or in accordance with the dictates of conscience; principled.

One of these days it'll happen. Birds will sing, bees will hum, the planets will align and I WILL Bike Commute!

However, that day was NOT today.

Today, I checked my email before I left, and had an emergency message that I might have to attend a seminar at another site and to come to school to find out for sure. So, being the conscientious person that I am, I could not pretend like I had not read the message and bike commute anyway.

I will try again, and again, and again, until it happens.

There is probably some really great lesson to be learned here, about the power of perseverance or something. Or, on the other hand, it could just be an exercise in complete frustration.