Politics Schmolitics

My family prides itself on its political aloofness. Some would call it ignorance, but the truth is we just protect ourselves. We don’t subscribe to any newspapers, listen to much of any radio, and have never had a television (we’re movie people). The news we hear is usually second hand from someone else who takes it upon themselves to fill us in on all the details. The world could go to war and we would barely know about it. As long as we have food, water, guns, and ammo, we’re ok. We’re happy people.

College has changed me some. I see the need to know what’s going on in the world around me. I try to help my family see that too. When I do though, I usually get a speech on how “they” are trying to take away our rights and most importantly our guns or I am met with ambivalence. This explains my own ambivalence toward politics. I often see both sides of an issue and then exhaust myself by going in circles. The result is that I am not confident of any thoughts I may have politically and therefore try to stay away from discussing such things.

It is a wonder then how I came to work for one of the most politically active families in my city. They are active in campaigning and in the community, practice law, and now one presides as judge of the 60th district court! They have had a positive influence on my political weakness. I benefit from their political savvy by reading the paper (ok, mostly Dear Abby) and even Newsweek on occasion.

In fact, I read an article recently in Newsweek that talked about the Democratic Party’s 2008 Presidential candidate nominees: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, an Illinois Senator. The amazing thing being that one is a woman and the other is black. The question posed was; is America ready for such a president? Are we ready for a woman President? Are we ready for an African American President? It will certainly be a momentous election in 2008 no matter what the outcome of the Democrat’s nominations. I’m not sure what the Republican Party will do as I have heard nothing of their candidates for the upcoming election. I find it interesting in a sensational way. And now as my political insecurity begins creeping up on me, I end this post.

My Cup Runneth Over

You may remember that on my To Do list, Dec. 8th was when things wrapped up. I am so lucky and blessed that it is not the case for me. I get to spend one last day with my students on monday as my cooperating teacher was absent Dec 8th. I also have not even begun writing my research paper, so I can work on it throughout the next week. I will work madly today, which will hopefully result in a rough draft. I'm not an English major for nothing you know. Then I get to present my findings to an enraptured audience on thursday. I also get to meet once more with my reading assessment class to "go over anything we didn't have time to do over the last 14 weeks". I also get to take on the full responsibility of leading worship twice this sunday without my two main musicians! What a great opportunity to stretch my faith and trust in God. I have taken note that life stress has caused me to gain weight this semester also. Yes, I can say without a doubt, "My cup runneth over."

Snow Day!

Today is the first Snow Day of the year! We have officially left warm weather behind and are heading into the blinding white of an another endless winter. Our world is changing. Ahead there is snowboarding to be done, snowmen to build, and goodies to bake. There are holiday get-togethers, memories to make, and celebrations to participate in. We may witness the closing of chapters, let go of things we hold dear, and embrace change to our inner worlds.

For now, we seize the season. Let it Snow!

...and Inhale!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I spent most of The Day frantically preparing to meet the numerous deadlines of next week. We had good food though.

I finally got my hair cut!
You may notice it is slightly shorter. Most of you will notice no difference at all. I'm just glad for my own sake that it is done.

I got my winter placement! I will be teaching in a Kindergarten class. It will be a big jump from 5th, but I am looking forward to it.

That is all.

Exhalian Proverb

An ancient Exhalian Proverb says, “It is better to see a goose than a swan”. Spoken by a 21st century philosopher, it is a phrase of timeless wisdom, which should be heeded by all. As the story goes, the philosopher, observing nature from a quiet country road, spied a glassy calm pond surrounded by fowl. Among the fowl she noticed beautiful white birds of serenity. Thinking they were Swans to be admired and cherished she cried out in wonderment, “Swans!” Having a mind of keen scrutiny, however, a closer look revealed that the birds were not Swans, but rather Geese. The philosopher said to herself, “Ah! It would have been better to see the Goose as it was and accept it than to see a Swan only to realize the truth and be disappointed”. This brought about a profound revelation to the philosopher: In life it is better to see things for what they are than to see them for what one would wish them be.

The experience drove the philosopher into a period of seclusion from which she emerged and opened her own monastery. She called the monastery “The Way of Nature’s Realism”. On a plaque above the door was written: This world has no room for the idealist or the dreamer. Even nature has its way of kicking the idealist to the curb and delighting in it. Only the realists survive.

The monastery attracted many followers who, like the philosopher, had finally been crushed by life’s repeated mockery and disappointments. They devoted the rest of their days to living realistic lives free from the poisonous venom of idealism.

Hush

Our auditory health is extremely important given the fact that we only get one pair of ears during our lifetime. Like food dieting, we should regulate our intake of noise very carefully to assure optimal auditory health well into our old age. Unless you want to deal with hearing aids and constant repetition of statements by the steadily growing annoyed speakers surrounding you. Here is a healthy list of sound according to decibels to regulate your sound intake during each day (100 dbs or more can hurt your ears):

Barely Audible
Breathing…10
Rustling leaves…20
Whispering…20

Very quiet
Quiet conversation…30
Phone conversation…50

Quiet
Restaurant conversation…60

Loud
Noisy office…70
Vacuum cleaner…70

Possible Hearing Damage
Garbage disposal…80

Hearing Damage After Eight Hours
Busy urban street…90
Food blender…90

Extremely Loud
Jackhammer…100
Power lawn mower…100
Motorcycle…100
Car horn…110
Live rock music…120

Threshold of Pain
Jet takeoff (from 110 yards)…130
Aircraft carrier deck…140

Physical Pain
Jet takeoff (from 27.5 yards)…150
Rocket engine…180

(Information taken from the Scholastic Book of Lists by James Buckley, Jr. and Robert Stremme)

Exhale News Update

Retraction
The ground breaking case of Chris Knudson vs. The Exhale Blog resulted in a retraction of The Ice Cream Man post, which was first posted in July, earlier this week. The plaintiff, Knudson, complained that the material aforementioned was offensive and inaccurate. An ice cream man himself, Knudson pointed out that, “Not all ice cream men are bad people. Some are, but there are also some teachers who are not nice people either. Almost all of my customers trust me enough to send their kids out alone. I have a safe, fun, clean, reliable, and high-class business.” Mr. Knudson owns Shoreline Shivers, a company dedicated to restoring the nostalgic joy of ice cream to people everywhere. The author of Exhale extends her deepest apologies to Mr. Knudson and was in fact quoted to have said, “Point well taken.”

Countdown Begun
The countdown has officially begun toward the graduation of one of the most self-celebrated bloggers, and long-time college student, Stephenie Luce. With just under 200 days left, Stephenie seeks to enjoy what time she has left and retain what sanity remains. After making a career out of college she is finally ready to move on, although her future plans remain uncertain. Stephenie welcomes everyone and anyone to join in the countdown, which will run continuously at the bottom of the Exhale main page until April 28th: Graduation Day!!

Sigma Tau Delta
An initiation ceremony will take place on December 6, 2006 to welcome new members of the Iota Tau Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society at Grand Valley State University. We are proud to announce that our very own Steph will be amongst those initiated. As a lifetime member of this prestigious society, Steph hopes that she will finally be recognized as having achieved some academic success during the six years she has given to the pursuit of knowledge and career.

Self Smart: A New Approach to Education
Shocking interview with inmate reveals that reading books and college could, "...get you dead."
self smart

Nightmares

The past couple of nights I have woken up with nightmares about giving my Wednesday 40 minute lesson plan. In my dream Sparbeck is there observing me, all the 5th graders are sitting around me, and I don’t have all my materials! Things are going terribly!!

Yesterday, I thought I would write out all my project due dates because I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all that is due and didn’t want to forget anything. What I found was a possible source for my anxiety and stress. Here is what I saw when I looked at my paper:

Project Due Dates:

Nov. 1 – 40 min. ITIP format lesson plan and observation by Field Coordinator.
Nov. 2 - Observation notes and classroom map that I have been collecting and updating.
Nov. 5 – T/A Application
Nov. 6 – Magic Suitcase (theme that covers 3 subject areas w/ materials, and is portable.)
Nov 7 – Peer Reviewed journal #1 (for research project).
Nov. 8 – Student Assessment and Reflection (assess a student and reflect on findings).
Nov. 9 – Shadow Assignment (shadow a student for a day and write up findings) / Peer Reviewed journal #2.
Nov. 14 – Peer Reviewed journal #3.
Nov. 15 – Present results of Lesson Plan to colleagues (w/ demonstration & media).
Nov. 16 – Management Plan rough draft (includes my management style, brochure for interviews, rules and procedures, 1st day of school materials, 50 teaching tips, etc.).
Nov. 21 – Peer Reviewed journal #4
Dec. 1 – Teacher Certification Application.
Dec. 8 – Last day in Field (fifth grade placement).

This list does not include the dates for:
Interactive Bulletin Board (I create a bulletin board in my 5th grade class).
Folio B (a collection of materials and write up)
Folio C (a collection of materials and write up)
Second 40 min. ITIP Format lesson plan and observation.
Final Research Paper.

These either do not have dates attached yet, they’re just coming up soon, or the dates have been changed and a new one hasn’t been given. This list also does not include my regular homework such as reading chapters, answering questions, and weekly journaling (which I just realized I forgot to do again).

The thought that keeps running through my head is: I won't be able to get my hair done this weekend, or next weekend, or next...

MEAPing

We are about to embark upon the 3rd week of MEAP testing. I was DONE MEAPing with my 5th graders on the 3rd day! Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings are taken up by The Test. I put two crackers, a cup of juice, and a mint (which is supposed to be a calming influence) on each desk the morning of The Test. No child shall begin The Test hungry. We want them to perform well. After all, school funding is tied to this test.

The children arrive and we begin with gentle pressure, “Hurry up and finish your snack children!” From there we set the clamp, “Turn of all cell phones and digital devices! Make sure your name is on your test! No talking! I cannot read any part of the test to you, or help you on the test! Begin!” Then the children huddle over The Test in agonizing silence. Every once in awhile some poor suffering urchin will look up at me with pleading eyes, and I will smile a compassionate and encouraging smile, “Just do your best!”

Most unsettling are the children who miss school on Test day, or don’t fill in the bubbles correctly. They must then be taken out of regular classroom time on our off days, Monday and Friday.

There is much hype about The Test. Its core purpose is noble. The children are tested over what they learned the year before so teachers can know what needs to be taught to the students in their class in the current year. Unfortunately, they take so long correcting The Test that by the time the results get back to the teachers the school year is over!

There is also a lot of hype about the scores of The Test. We get nervous about how well students in other counties are doing in comparison with ours. Foreign students seem to be testing better than ours. What we aren’t told is that students in other countries are tracked. This means that at an early age the teachers decide if the students are smart enough to go on to college. If they aren’t, they are put on a vocational track and are never tested. The brilliant students go on to advanced courses and college preparation. They are tested, and these are the scores we are comparing ALL of out children to. We test everyone. We test the emotionally and cognitively impaired for goodness sake! That affects our scores.

Look at the numbers, but be aware of how those numbers are decided upon.

Now as a reward for reading all of that, here are some pictures of my 5th grade classroom:

I sit in the chair next to the overhead to do brain boosters with the kids each morning. Except when we MEAP of course. I write the answers on the overhead as we go over them, and of course a screen is pulled down at that time.




This is the Library corner. As you can see the kids have lots of comfortable seats to choose from.


We started the year with desks in groups. For the MEAP we split them up into rows. We may keep them in rows for the rest of the marking period. Some kids can concentrate better if they're not in groups all the time.



This is the other side of the room, closest to the door.

Dear Friends, Faithful Readers, Family, Passers-by,

I meant to post for you on Monday, or Tuesday. Alas, my good intentions failed me. This has been (and still is as Thursdays are my busiest days) a busy and difficult week. As it is, my weekly online journaling for one of my classes completely slipped my mind for the past two weeks. I even get motivational points toward my grade for that one! I didn't sleep in my own home a couple nights this week, the children were terrors in my class one of those days, yesterday I was sick, and today is Thursday (my longest, hardest day). Usually by Thursday I am done living. Fridays are better. My students do centers, which are mostly fun, I see my girls I nanny, and the week leaves me in one long Exhale.

I'm supposed to be at the school in 10 minutes or so. I still need to dry my hair, brush my teeth, put on make-up, find my shoes...