Okay, so yesterday I made a bold statement by saying that only two things scare me. But it's okay because I was borrowing that quote from the first Austin Powers movie. I've thought on the subject some more and I've come to the realization that there are actually many things that scare me. Such as robots. Or men with long fingernails. Or thoughts of the deaf students' lives after high school. But, I thought some more and I came to the conclusion that there are different kinds of fear. For example, robots don't really scare me in the same way that men with long fingernails do, or even thinking about what kind of life a deaf student will have after high school.
Robots scare me because I've seen The Terminator (one and two) and I, Robot. But I still dig robots, like Rosie from The Jetsons. And ROBOT is still one of the greatest signs I've ever learned. It's only certain robots that worry me. I have mixed feelings on that little robot, Asimo, who recently conducted Yo-Yo Ma and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. I mean, Asimo's cute and all, but programming him to conduct an orchestra is scary. What's also strange is that Honda manufactured Asimo and Detroit welcomed him with open arms to conduct their symphony orchestra.
Men who have long fingernails are also scary. Just thinking about guys with long nails gives me the heebie-jeebies. They creep me out! I don't know what it is, but in going au natural, those men are unnatural.
Oh, and the deaf students. Mostly I worry about what they will be doing in their lives after high school. Out of all of the students with whom I've worked at the high school and middle school, there's only one who I can envision living a successful and productive life. The others have so much conflict in their home lives and they have so many issues communicating with the hearing world that I don't know how they'll end up.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
"Only two things scare me...
and one is nuclear war."
I'm not quite sure what's going on in the parking lot across the street from the middle school, but it looks as though the carnies have come to town and are starting to set up shop. What? Working with middle school students who have just three weeks of school left before summer vacation wasn't scary enough? Now we need to throw some carnies into the mix? Yikes!!
I'm not quite sure what's going on in the parking lot across the street from the middle school, but it looks as though the carnies have come to town and are starting to set up shop. What? Working with middle school students who have just three weeks of school left before summer vacation wasn't scary enough? Now we need to throw some carnies into the mix? Yikes!!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
While I'm taking the OAT, I'll be sure to get in some other whole grains, as well.
Speaking of the OAT, which I just briefly mentioned in my previous post, now that my entire school is focused on taking the test and is currently spending every class period reviewing for it, may I just say that I hate it when people call it the "OAT" instead of the "O-A-T?" No one says, "I have to take the SAT," or "I can't go to the party Friday night because I have to take my ACT on Saturday morning." No. People say "S-A-T" or "A-C-T." In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, most educational abbreviations are pronounced by the letter and not as an acronym. For example: I-E-P, M-F-E, I-D-E-A, B-L-T, L-P-D-C, O-D-E, S-L-T, O-T, P-T. Granted, one probably could not pronounce BLT or LPDC as a word, but the norm in the educational world is to just say the letters.
Saying we need to prepare for the "OAT" just has a folksy/hickish feel to it. Try it. Say "Class, in two weeks you will be taking the O-A-T, " and then say, "Class, in two weeks you will be taking the OAT." Pronouncing the word "oat" just makes the test sound completely dorky.
Although the test is now called the OAT, and has been, I believe, updated and retooled in other ways, I'm glad to say that if I were to take the test today, I would knock it out of the park. I know, I am a college graduate, and should, therefore, easily pass all five parts of the test, but reading through the test with the students has only reaffirmed my conviction that if one is unable to pass the OAT, and consequently, the OGT, one does not deserve to graduate from high school. It seems like every year (mainly because it IS every year) that people make a fuss about the seniors in high school who are unable to graduate with the rest of their senior class because of their inability to pass a simple test.
I'm also taken aback by the teachers I work with at the middle school who will read through the test and then make statements like, "I'm glad I don't have to take this test," or "I'm not sure if I could pass this test." Some of them are kidding, but some of them are not...and that's pretty terrifying. Smarten up! Go eat some Cheerios or something, I think they're made with OATs.
Saying we need to prepare for the "OAT" just has a folksy/hickish feel to it. Try it. Say "Class, in two weeks you will be taking the O-A-T, " and then say, "Class, in two weeks you will be taking the OAT." Pronouncing the word "oat" just makes the test sound completely dorky.
Although the test is now called the OAT, and has been, I believe, updated and retooled in other ways, I'm glad to say that if I were to take the test today, I would knock it out of the park. I know, I am a college graduate, and should, therefore, easily pass all five parts of the test, but reading through the test with the students has only reaffirmed my conviction that if one is unable to pass the OAT, and consequently, the OGT, one does not deserve to graduate from high school. It seems like every year (mainly because it IS every year) that people make a fuss about the seniors in high school who are unable to graduate with the rest of their senior class because of their inability to pass a simple test.
I'm also taken aback by the teachers I work with at the middle school who will read through the test and then make statements like, "I'm glad I don't have to take this test," or "I'm not sure if I could pass this test." Some of them are kidding, but some of them are not...and that's pretty terrifying. Smarten up! Go eat some Cheerios or something, I think they're made with OATs.
No wonder America is peopled with idiots...
there are teachers out there who pass along incorrect information. Yet again my favorite teacher (seriously, the LORD is testing me and I'm really trying not to fail) shared some of her wisdom with the class and I was again stuck interpreting it.
True Story: The school where I work is in the midst of reviewing for our standardized state testing, which means that EVERY class has abandoned all lessons in favor of taking practice tests and using review workbooks geared specifically for the state test (formerly the OPT, now the OAT). As some of you may recall, I interpret in an eighth grade social studies class. Currently this class has four adults in it, which is a rarity: the general education social studies teacher, the intervention specialist (who also happens to be the HI teacher who I have made mention of before), a student teacher from the local university, and myself. On Monday, I was interpreting a lecture the student teacher was giving, reviewing the ancient civilizations, i.e. Sumeria, Babylonia, Egypt. The student teacher was in the middle of making the point that all of these ancient civilizations developed near rivers, when the HI teacher piped up and asked the class why these civilizations developed near rivers. Well, the class agreed that it was because people needed fresh water for their crops, drinking, etc., and rivers also provided a means of transportation and sustenance. So, one student raised his hand and asked the HI teacher why, if rivers are fresh water and the oceans salt water, the oceans' water didn't infiltrate river water, thus making all water a brackish mixture. ("Brackish," that's a word that I was familiar with, but didn't quite know the definition of before I went on my educational spring break and visited the Naples Zoo, where I learned that "brackish" means a mixture of salt and fresh water, such as is found at the mouth of rivers that empty into the ocean. Hmph. Who knew that one could learn something while on vacation? My time in Florida was not a total waste).
*Prepare yourself now for the answer.*
*Are you ready? Because I certainly was not.*
The HI teacher's answer? "Rocks. There are rocks at the mouths of the rivers that prevent the ocean water from contaminating the fresh water. The rocks form a barrier, like a wall, that keeps the salty water separate from the river's water."
True Story: The school where I work is in the midst of reviewing for our standardized state testing, which means that EVERY class has abandoned all lessons in favor of taking practice tests and using review workbooks geared specifically for the state test (formerly the OPT, now the OAT). As some of you may recall, I interpret in an eighth grade social studies class. Currently this class has four adults in it, which is a rarity: the general education social studies teacher, the intervention specialist (who also happens to be the HI teacher who I have made mention of before), a student teacher from the local university, and myself. On Monday, I was interpreting a lecture the student teacher was giving, reviewing the ancient civilizations, i.e. Sumeria, Babylonia, Egypt. The student teacher was in the middle of making the point that all of these ancient civilizations developed near rivers, when the HI teacher piped up and asked the class why these civilizations developed near rivers. Well, the class agreed that it was because people needed fresh water for their crops, drinking, etc., and rivers also provided a means of transportation and sustenance. So, one student raised his hand and asked the HI teacher why, if rivers are fresh water and the oceans salt water, the oceans' water didn't infiltrate river water, thus making all water a brackish mixture. ("Brackish," that's a word that I was familiar with, but didn't quite know the definition of before I went on my educational spring break and visited the Naples Zoo, where I learned that "brackish" means a mixture of salt and fresh water, such as is found at the mouth of rivers that empty into the ocean. Hmph. Who knew that one could learn something while on vacation? My time in Florida was not a total waste).
*Prepare yourself now for the answer.*
*Are you ready? Because I certainly was not.*
The HI teacher's answer? "Rocks. There are rocks at the mouths of the rivers that prevent the ocean water from contaminating the fresh water. The rocks form a barrier, like a wall, that keeps the salty water separate from the river's water."
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
It's an Idiot Thing; I'm Quite Certain You'd Understand
True Story: I was working at Hallmark on Sunday when a customer came in wearing a tee shirt that read, "It's a Southern thing...you wouldn't understand," the words framing a Confederate flag. This was on top of the obnoxiously huge Confederate flag belt buckle the man was also sporting. The combination of the tee shirt and the belt buckle irked me to the point that I wasn't sure if I could wait on this man had he approached the register. I was a little taken aback by my level of vexation until I realized a few things:
1. I live in Ohio. Ohio is not and never has been a part of the South.
2. The Confederacy was crushed by Union troops close to 143 years ago.
3. Anyone who wears a Confederate flag in the year 2008 is either ignorant, delusional, or racist. I'm inclined to believe that someone who wears a Confederate flag in the year 2008 is all three of those.
1. I live in Ohio. Ohio is not and never has been a part of the South.
2. The Confederacy was crushed by Union troops close to 143 years ago.
3. Anyone who wears a Confederate flag in the year 2008 is either ignorant, delusional, or racist. I'm inclined to believe that someone who wears a Confederate flag in the year 2008 is all three of those.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Kent State Rocks My Socks
Or, I should say, Kent State men's basketball rocks my socks. Let's hope they tear it up like the team did back in '02 when they reached the Elite Eight. Although, I must say that even though the students on campus were excited about that, it was actually more exciting the year before when the Golden Flashes upset Indiana in the first round. I recall that our normally lackadaisical campus was a little bit more, shall we say, spirited that night. (Just out of curiosity, why isn't the opposite of lackadaisical, "daisical?" Wouldn't that make sense?)
Anyhow, I went up to the game Saturday night and witnessed KSU beat Akron for the third time this year. I didn't make it to their first meeting, a home game for Kent, but I went to their game at Akron's J.A.R. arena. That was a good game. Kent was winning by a good margin for most of the game, and then Akron came back to tie it up in the last two minutes...only to be crushed by Al Fisher's three-pointer with two seconds left. It was awesome. Those stupid little Zips fans were stunned. It was great.
By the way, I don't recommend attending a Zips home game any time soon. I, admittedly, am biased, but I don't like their arena. I especially don't like it when their hype man comes out onto the floor, trying to pump up the crowd. There shouldn't have to be a guy out on the middle of the court, screaming into a microphone, cajoling the crowd into supporting their team. That's why there's a student section and, to some extent, cheerleaders. The J.A.R. has a huge sound system, fully capable of blasting one's eardrums out, and when the hype man would yell at the crowd to make some noise, instead of the fans screaming until their vocal cords bled, Akron would just turn the volume on their sound system up, completely drowning out the cheers of the crowd. How lame.
Anyhow, I went up to the game Saturday night and witnessed KSU beat Akron for the third time this year. I didn't make it to their first meeting, a home game for Kent, but I went to their game at Akron's J.A.R. arena. That was a good game. Kent was winning by a good margin for most of the game, and then Akron came back to tie it up in the last two minutes...only to be crushed by Al Fisher's three-pointer with two seconds left. It was awesome. Those stupid little Zips fans were stunned. It was great.
By the way, I don't recommend attending a Zips home game any time soon. I, admittedly, am biased, but I don't like their arena. I especially don't like it when their hype man comes out onto the floor, trying to pump up the crowd. There shouldn't have to be a guy out on the middle of the court, screaming into a microphone, cajoling the crowd into supporting their team. That's why there's a student section and, to some extent, cheerleaders. The J.A.R. has a huge sound system, fully capable of blasting one's eardrums out, and when the hype man would yell at the crowd to make some noise, instead of the fans screaming until their vocal cords bled, Akron would just turn the volume on their sound system up, completely drowning out the cheers of the crowd. How lame.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
I voted today!
I voted today and I have the sticker to prove it! Yes, yes, I did my civic duty and voted against every tax levy on the ballot. Actually, I only had to vote down two tax levies, one of them a levy for the local school district. And actually, the tax levies were the only things I voted on, because I am a registered "non-partisan" voter. I like it that way.
I'm tired of school levies. Our state has an unconstitutional public school funding system and I'm saying no to unconstitutionalism. When people decided to elect our current governor, one of his campaign promises was to fix our state school funding, and that hasn't happened. Fix the funding issue already and stop trying to raise property taxes. And allowing people to play stupid keno games in bars isn't the answer, either.
I'm tired of school levies. Our state has an unconstitutional public school funding system and I'm saying no to unconstitutionalism. When people decided to elect our current governor, one of his campaign promises was to fix our state school funding, and that hasn't happened. Fix the funding issue already and stop trying to raise property taxes. And allowing people to play stupid keno games in bars isn't the answer, either.
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