Education for a Complex World at Technology In Class#more-3885

Education for a Complex World at Technology In Class#more-3885
Two in one day? TIC always has some good thoughts and articles. Thought this one was worth sharing.

Nothing New Really

I really just got tired of looking at my summer theme and the last post from the summer. :-]

The more things change the more they stay the same. Same job (sort of), just a different location for me. Same job, same location (for now), just a different company name for Gary. Things are good, we are still here, still following kids sports, still teaching and still raising dustbunnies.

A Good Walk

You know the game "Seven Degrees of Seperation"? You sometimes find only one or two degrees of seperation in the most unexpected of places.

Sunday, we went out to hike a trail in Cade's Cove, while here in the Smokies. It was a beautiful (and challenging) hike. It was approximately 2.5 miles in to Abram's Falls and the swimming hole, and then 2.5 miles back out. Up and down a mountainside. As we hiked, many people just passed, without so much as a word. But Gary and I always greeted them with a smile and a "Howdy!" and often I asked where they were from as well. Lots of interesting short little conversations, meeting a couple from the Phillipines, a few from Louisiana and Texas, and other various locales.

On the way back, (I was behind the rest of the group) a family began walking by me, and I greeted them. They all answered back and when I asked where they were from, a woman about 40ish responded Cincinnati, and then the older woman (her mother I was guessing) responded "Fairfield".

me: "Ahh - Ohio?"
"No," the woman answered "Illinois"

And from there the conversation went like this:

me: "Illinois? Really? Fairfield,Illinois???"
woman: "Yes, why?"
me: "My husband's family is from southern Illinois, and his grandparents lived in Fairfield for a long time. Their last name was Osterman."
woman(now with a very funny look on her face): "Did he teach in Cisne?"
me(now with goosebumps on my arms): "Yes, I believe so"
woman: "Sixth grade?"
me: "Umm, yes, I think so."
woman (now with a big grin on her face): "He was my sixth grade teacher! I loved him!"

All I could do at this point was utter a loud shriek of "Are you kidding???"

We chatted for a few more minutes about family that we had in the small towns in the area and then parted ways. She and her husband were both from that area and still lived there, while the daughter moved to Cincinnati. Her last name (before marriage) was Townes and her husband's is Johnson. And those seven degrees were never shorter than at that moment!

Happy Fourth of July!

Remembering all who have worked (and lost lives) to protect or earn liberties for us worldwide.

What I Won't Miss

This article appeared in the Chronicle earlier in the week. I wanted to link it that day, but got sidetracked. Casey points to issues we teachers have long questioned. Did we really pass or not? How do you want to spin the results? The problem with spinning results is that you get dizzy and forget or get lost. No telling where the SBOE is on this one. I won't miss it!

Magic Statistics

A Little History lesson
TABS (Texas Assessment of Basic Skills), TEAMS (Texas Educational Assessment of Minimal Skills), TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills), TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) and now STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness)

A History of State Tests

Summertime!

A different feel this summer. Ending a chapter will do that.

Cleaning out my room at Watkins was strangely euphoric. I was anticipating sad. It was good to go through most everything and toss the totally useless, pass on the useless to me but useful to others, and keep everything else. I am really excited about the coming year now.

The summer schedule looks about the same - swim team, baseball, softball, and house stuff. Getting ready to gut the upstairs bathroom and do some other needed repairs and updates, as well as some major cleaning out of closets and kids' rooms. Fun fun fun!

We actually have a vacation planned to Tennessee that involves only a little sports this summer! It actually involved a fair amount of softball to start with, but Catherine got traded and then the Knoxville team moved to Nashville. So as it is we will see the Pride in Nashville for a couple days, then vacation in Knoxville. We will also make the yearly trek to OKC for World Cup. And possibly a trip to Sulphur, Louisana for NPF championships.

And before I know it, August will be here!

Really? Craigslist???

Well, retirement did not last long, but I knew it wouldn't. Well, I thought it might last a year maybe. I will have a new job beginning August next school year.

It all started about a month ago, just before spring break. My friend, Ellen, sent me a link from Craigslist with the note "You'll love this!" Now she sends me funny stuff, stuff to bring a smile to my day, so that is what I thought this might be. The link was a short posting for a biology teacher for a Catholic high school in the Katy area. Now there is only one Catholic high school in the Katy area, and I questioned if the post was legit or not. I mean Craigslist??? Really??? Ellen assured me that she thought it was legit, and her daughter had found a couple jobs through CL, so what did I have to lose?

The posting asked for no phone calls, so I put a resume together over spring break and sent it into cyberspance on the Monday we got back to school. Three weeks pass and I have heard nothing, so I figure it was bogus or they filled the position. then the last Thursday of TAKS (Apr 29) I get a phone call "We would like to schedule an interview." Wow! Interview scheduled for the following Monday (last week) and Thursday they call and tell me they would like me to join their staff.

So I did not start the year planning to retire, I am. I retire not really planning anything specific, I land a job! Lesson here - plan nothing! It all works out! It has been in my career plan all along to teach high school and to teach in a Catholic school, too. I get to do both.

Here is a link to my new school: Pope John XXIII