Not having to drive? Not having to put on one's shoes and go to the library? What a wonderful idea!
Just grab a beverage, sit down, and enjoy the knowledge. My dad loved to learn. He passed that on to his kids and grandkids. Sometimes I wish I could just grab him and show him some of the awesome things now available for free. My parents guarded a penny like it was gold. My sister and I grew up to appreciate every little thing that money could buy. Our parents worked hard, and we knew it. We miss them.
Of course, we didn't always appreciate it at the time. For example, my parents bought my sister a pair of tennis shoes that were way too big for her. They felt that she could grow into them. The shoes had the big rubber toe, and yes, I do believe they were boy shoes. The value of the "almighty"dollar meant a lot back then. What about now?
This leads me back to my point. Just check out the National Geographic website. Educators, parents, children, and grandparents can just enjoy all there is to absorb. There is so much to do and learn that it's worthy of going back for more.
Let's not overlook the quality voice from the past, something that has always been rich with information and connections to other cultures and lives.
Vintage? You bet!
For some reason, the color that stands out from my childhood is yellow. My mother told me early on that I looked terrible in yellow and shouldn't wear it. To this day, I don't wear yellow clothes. Then, my parents used to take me to an elderly lady's home to purchase National Geographic Magazines. It was a really big deal because the magazines cost fifty cents each and seemed more valuable than gold. When I close my eyes, I can see the room where the lady who could hardly move kept her magazines. It was all yellow. The woman seemed reluctant to let go of her prizes, but she did. For fifty cents. Yellow is a happy, warm color that promises hope.
My parents bought the magazines so that I would succeed in school. I used them for projects, and yes, I cut out pictures. It seemed sacriligious to me at the time. National Geographic was like the gold standard. The pictures were awesome. Violating the magazines just seemed wrong. Yet, my parents worked hard for their money, and they bought the magazines so I would succeed in school.
Spending time and money on kids makes a big difference. Of course, sometimes the parents go overboard. Yet, I'd rather see that then the other way around. A few years ago, my kindergarten grandson had to make a stick horse. His horse was pretty authentic and had the eyes on one side of the head. It looked kid made. He did the work with assistance from his mom and dad. I still laugh when I think of some of the other horses. They ranged from looking like Barbie to one horse that had simply been purchased from the store. Some were so beautiful that I knew the parents had done all of the work. The dad who brought his son in with the store bought version looked so proud that I just knew he had not carefully read the details of the assignment.:) The point is that all of the kids had stick horses. Their parents cared enough to make sure they came to school prepared.
As a sixth grade teacher, I frequently had students who came to school without supplies and assignments. Some looked exhausted since they were the ones caring for younger siblings. Perhaps the little ones were going to school with stick horses, and my students were the ones who had made sure their brothers and sisters had their assignments completed.
Some kids aren't seeing yellow. For reasons sometimes unknown, they don't get the help they need to succeed in school.
The rubber bands in my pickle jar are not aging well. Yesterday, when my daughter called to see if I could loan her a few rubber bands for her kindergarten son's guitar project, I was dismayed when I checked my collection. Some were actually stuck to the bottom and sides of the jar. Others had become brittle with age.
In an effort to be Super Bee, I drove to the local Target to buy some new rubber bands. After checking every possible section, not being a man, I asked for help. "Sure, come this way," replied a helpful employee. She was stunned when she arrived at her destination. There were no rubber bands to be purchased. She checked a few other areas and apologized that they just didn't have them.
On my way out of Target, I saw a rubber band on the floor. I was tempted to pick it up but decided against it. I would just go to Walgreens. "Oh, yes, we have rubber bands. Just go to aisle nine," a Walgreen's clerk happily replied to my question. After searching aisle nine, and all of the other aisles, I gave up and asked her again. She couldn't believe that there were no rubber bands for sale. She opened a drawer behind the counter and gave me about seven.
After picking the boys up from school, I discovered painted plates and paper towel rolls on their kitchen table. Obviously, they were guitar parts just waiting for rubber bands. On the kitchen island, I saw part of a painted box, a rubber frog, and some sort of launcher. My third grade grandson told me about the project he was working on for school. Somehow, that frog was going to go places in the near future. Hopefully, it won't need rubber bands.:)
I am wondering if rubber bands are becoming extinct. Maybe they are right in there with ink wells and typewriters.
My anger welled up inside of me as I read about a teacher's mistake and a parent's reaction in the Dallas News this morning. This is part of the article:
The Garland school district was flooded with phone calls and e-mails Wednesday after a parent called a talk radio show to complain that a teacher incorrectly paraphrased the Second Amendment.
The episode originated from a homework assignment a sixth-grade history teacher gave to a student who had missed a class, said Reavis Wortham, a district spokesman.
The teacher, whom the district would not identify, summarized the Second Amendment this way: "Amendment 2: We can get permission to own weapons to protect ourselves."
The student's father phoned a local talk show, upset that the teacher incorrectly characterized the amendment as a permission instead of a right. The parent did not contact the teacher or district to discuss the issue before calling the radio show, Wortham said.
The part that just bugged the heck out of me was the parent calling the radio talk show instead of talking to his child's teacher. OMG! How childish is that? Did the dad just feel the need for his fifteen minutes of fame? Did he have the radio show on his speed dial just waiting for an opportunity?
I somehow got the visual of this teacher facing mounds of paperwork. With so many kids out sick during this awful flu season, preparing makeup work for students is a time consuming job. You know, it might just be possible to make a mistake or two.
Instead of picking up the phone in outrage, why didn't the dad use the assignment as a learning experience for his child? He could have explained how a few words can make a big difference when paraphrasing material. He might have talked about how easy it is to misinterpret the printed word. The list goes on and on and could have ended with showing a little compassion for teachers who are humans just like everybody else.
The other night when I taught CPR to adults, I accidentally said "breasts" instead of "breaths". I saw the looks on my students' faces, caught my mistake, and started laughing. Teachers make mistakes just like everybody else. That's part of the learning process.
My husband loves to read the newspaper. When he reads something of interest, he shares little facts and tidbits along the way. I am more of a computer person and spend my time reading blogs and visiting sites I find useful. Sometimes I filter out his comments because I am deep in concentration.
Today's comments consisted of, "I didn't know that Lee Marvin's former wife lived with *** Van *** for thirty years." A few minutes later, "Do you know how they make the drug to treat diabetes? It comes from gila monster spit." My brain wrinkles again managed to keep up with the wrinkles on my face. What would I have done without knowing this information? Did he get his facts right?
The teacher in me came up with an idea. Why not have students write down something they learned each day on an index card and place it in a box? On Friday, the teacher could randomly choose a few cards and read them for a review. All sorts of learning could come out of this, and the kids could look forward to the activity. Sure, some kids would be silly, but that would increase the fun as the class discussed ways to connect the learning. Incorrect information could be clarified. Teachers are creative beings and could tweak the idea to work for their particular students.
I also discovered this week that I could eat my weight in pistachios. Of course, one of my students broke it to me that they are full of fat. No surprise.:)
"Why not an extra medium, B?" I could tell that my eight year old grandson was serious and had put a lot of thought into his question. He went on to explain, "They have small and extra small, large and extra large, so what about the extra mediums? Why don't they have them?"
My grandson's question made me laugh. The look on his face was so cute, and we discussed all of the possibilities of sizes in clothing. Natural, logical thinking just happens. Either one's mind is geared that way or it isn't. Yet, we try to make all kids think the same.
As adults, we recognize each other's differences. Some of us think factually. Computation comes easy, and organization can be automatic. Those type of people can drive us nuts, but deep down we know we have to have their skills. Those that think out of the box and come in with creative ideas are admired and respected. It really doesn't matter if they are disorganized or claim to be bad at math. Of course, there are those adults that seem to have it all. They can pretty much handle anything with little or no obvious effort. As kids, they were probably in the gifted/honors classes.
Why is it that we expect all students to be creative problem solvers? State tests and structured curriculum are designed for the one size fits all mentality. What about the kid who is really good at computation but has trouble reading? What about the kid who over analyzes the multiple choice answers and picks the wrong one even though he knows the material? If our society can design clothing for every possible body type, why are we so determined to make our students and teachers think alike?
What about the extra mediums?
I feel like I am free falling. While checking out some new internet sites, I found myself on Bingle. It is a combination of (you know this) Bing and Google. Come on, why not Goobing? Wasn't Google here first? Goobing kind of sounds like a sport. "Come on guys, let's get in a little goobing before school."
All of you are probably thinking, "Is she just now discovering this?" Seriously, it just freaked me out to see two websites side by side with so much information just waiting to be swallowed. "Just gulp it in, Betty. No, click it off, you're getting sick." I heard my brain and stomach arguing with each other. The stomach won.
Technology is awesome, but I have to take it bit by bit. I prefer the full screen. On the other hand, if I hear (eavesdrop) on two conversations at once, I can pretty much follow both.
For some reason, all of this reminds me of my dad's mother. She used to love it when her phone rang. She was on a party line. That meant that two to three people had the same phone number, so they each had a different ring pattern. Every time the phone rang for someone else, she gave the person a few minutes to answer, and then she quietly picked up the phone to listen to the juicy (she hoped) conversation. It was hysterical. We were not allowed to talk or make any noise. My grandfather would act all irritated, but I could tell that he loved the gossip she passed along.
Technology is coming at us so fast. It's kind of sad for today's students that they don't have time to savor something before it's outdated. Blink, and it's old.
Students in our area are missing whole weeks of school. Some are out sick for a week, return for a few days, and then get hit with another illness. The amount of work being missed is overwhelming. Yet, students are expected to complete make up assignments along with their regular work.
These are not normal times, but the pressure of testing remains intact.
How accurate could any state test possibly be this year?
From the perspectives of the students, I see children who feel just awful and return to class with very little stamina. Some of these kids go home to parents who have the flu and can barely function themselves. Families are struggling just to get by day by day.
As a retired, rather disorganized teacher, I can't even imagine how teachers (some sick themselves) are coping. Keeping up with and grading missed assignments must require unbelievable time, organization, and patience.
My suggestion for this year is to give shorted versions of make up work. Don't make students study for every missed test. Cut the kids and yourselves some slack. If I could, I'd make all of those state tests go away this year!
My sister sent me this cartoon in an email today. It pretty much sums up how I feel about myself. I don't care how hard I try, I can't seem to be one of those "stay on top of it" people.
As I sipped my first cup of coffee this morning, the newscaster had us all guessing about the word that bugs adults the most. It seems that someone conducted a survey on this very thing. Whatever! Oh, wait, that's the word.
This survey goes along with the expression "too much time on your hands". It's not like a lot of other things are going on in the world. Let's do research on annoying words.
So, as you go through your day, remember, if you just want to irritate someone, shrug your shoulders, say "Whatever", and watch them bristle. Hair should stand on end. If that doesn't work, say "It is what it is." According to the same survey, that's the most annoying expression.
I think I need another cup of coffee.:)
I was at a seminar recently, and we were all asked to stand and face each other. "Oh, no!" I thought. " What are they going to make us do?"
The instructor handed one lady a ball and told her to throw it to anyone in the circle and call her name. I was relieved because we were all wearing name tags.:) After we passed the ball off a few times, the instructor introduced another ball. Things became a little more complicated. "Think fast," I coached myself. Before I knew it, another ball had joined the party. Before it was all said and done, we had five balls in play. We were all laughing and having a great time. Sometimes three balls came at one person at the same time.
Being who I am, I thought about how cool this activity would be to wake kids up and get the old brain juices flowing. You know, they are all sitting there looking like they are about to fall asleep. Did I really just say that? In my class? The very idea!
Try it out, and let me know how it works.
Yesterday was a B day. That means that I (B) watch my grandsons while my daughter is at work.
After school, we played outside for about an hour. Then, of course it's pulling teeth (homework) time. Nightly, parents struggle with the art of getting kids to do homework. Some kids are quick to sit down and get it over with. Others will do just about anything to put it off until the last minute.
I have listened attentively to some of my teaching peers explain to parents how to organize their kids to do their homework.
"Have a nice study area."
"Do homework as soon as your child gets home."
"Homework is just a review. Your child should know how to do it."
Then there are kids who never do their homework. However, for a lot of those kids who come to school prepared, there is a stressed out parent.
I guess I am on my soapbox because I am really not a believer in homework. I feel that kids are at school for most of the day, and that should be enough. How many of us want to work after we come home from work? Sure, I know that teachers do spend time working at home, but a lot of the working force do not. It's so much better to come home and relax. As a teacher, my school bag occasionally stayed on the floor by my chair unopened. I was just too tired to grade papers and needed a break. Students don't get that option.:(
For some reason, we all want to be perfect. Personally, on evaluations, I am always sad and a little defensive if all of my scores aren't at the highest level. Yet, I know I make mistakes and appreciate learning new techniques to improve my teaching. I actually realize that I don't know everything.
We have all watched married couples snip at each other and jump in to contradict each other's statements. "It wasn't five dollars, Henry, it was a dollar fifty and you know it." An argument ensues about a meaningless detail. People roll their eyes and wish they were anywhere but where they are.
I was teaching one of my adult classes last week, and a man was responding to one of my questions. His wife leaned over and nicely let him know that he was a bit off track with his answer. With a smile on his face and sincerity in his voice, he simply said, "Corrected" and rephrased his answer. It was one of the sweetest moments I have seen while teaching. This student seemed to appreciate the help he was receiving from his wife. They responded to each other with respect and kindness.
Here's my point! Come on evaluators. Your goal should always be to warmly help teachers be all that they can be. Sitting in a classroom writing on a yellow pad with a non smiling face is just wrong! Everyone responds well to encouragement and positive feedback. If you are non-threatening, most teachers will want to follow your suggestions and will actually go out of their way to meet your expectations. There is a true art to being a successful leader. Treating others with respect and kindness goes a long way.
Today was Grandparents' Day in my grandsons' district. When we went to pick them up for school, the rain was busy washing cars and people alike.
My umbrella failed to open, and many grandparents, like my husband, had to park way far away, so we all looked a little bit like drowned, older rats.
In spite of me wanting to think that I have a youthful appearance, it's not difficult to recognize the grandparents. We are the ones smiling and looking proud. Okay, we also show the signs of wisdom. A little gray hair, wrinkles, matching capri sets, high waisted pants, etc. I must say that the capri sets did look a little strange on the men.:)
This year my husband and I had the honor of visiting kindergarten and third grade. We timed it so that we could be a part of both of their classes. Both boys did us proud and stood up and recognized us as being the cool people that we are. It was awesome to see all of the other grandparents beam with delight as their grandchildren took the spotlight. We had some great discussions as we talked to the students about how school has changed over the years.
The rain couldn't stop us. We might have looked a little like wet rodents, but none of us cared. We were exactly where we wanted to be.
Last week I had lunch with my kindergarten grandson. What a cute age! All of the students were trying so hard to fit in and do the right thing. (Enjoy this as it doesn't last forever.)
They raised their little hands if they needed help opening a pudding cup or inserting a straw into a drink box. A few were engaged in conversations, but most of them just ate their lunches and looked around. I was admonished by my grandson for throwing my trash away at an inappropriate time. "We haven't been told to do that yet, B!" When the lights were dimmed signaling it was time to clean up and go, they were instantly quiet as a group and put their hands in the air with two fingers to let the teachers know they were ready. (This is not the response I see in middle school:):):)!)
I brought Macdonald's for lunch, and one little girl from across the room came and stood by me. When I looked at her, she told me that her mother had forgotten the toy the last time she bought her food from MacDonald's. I really didn't know what to say, so I told her that maybe her mother could ask for the toy the next time. That seemed to make her happy, and she returned to her seat.
The patience of the kindergarten teachers was impressive as they managed to get the students in lines to leave the cafeteria. This age requires so much love and understanding.
One of the funniest things that happened was when my third grade grandson passed me in the hall. He was walking in a line with his class, and he did the "eyes on you" gesture to me. That's all I got, but I loved it.
This morning as I read a post by NYC Educator, I laughed out loud. Kids do live in their own little worlds, and it's just so much fun to be included, even it if's just a little bit and from a distance.