Fire!

Vacation is over. Back to school, and am tired today. My voice box is in shock after the week off :-)

Interesting thing happened on Sunday. We smelled smoke in the front of the house. Assumed that a neighbor had a fire going. Thought nothing of it. Went out to O'Naturals for breakfast - awesome joint in Acton. Came home.

Still the smell of smoke. Very strong in the front of the house. Could not smell it inside or on the back porch. Very strange. Susan went outside again and noticed that there was smoke coming out of the chimney. Okay, we had a long, lovely fire the night before - but there was no fire in the fireplace now. Opened up the flue and noticed that there were red embers above and behind it. And smoke billowing!

Susan called 911 (her first time!) and soon there were engines and sirens roaring down the street. Men in full gear (not sure what they planned to do with the axes!) stormed in and took charge. Alls well that ends well - seems like for some strange reason there is a depression on the backside of the flue where leaves, etc had collected, and these had caught fire. The firemen got it all scooped out, and cleared the fireplace and removed the flue and grate. When they left, all there was for us to do was clean up the mess and recover from the adrenaline rush. Susan dealt with the firemen, while I captured the entire thing on film (one must have one's priorities right). Will post the pics when I get a chance.

Then a strange thing at school. One of my students, Sothanara, had his house burn down several days ago. Poor kid. He is handling it much better than I would be under the circumstances. Did give him a break on his homework though. That excuse is bullet proof!

Quote of the day

The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt.

- Leo Buscaglia

It's a Kenyan sweep in The Hub.

Boston Marathon 2006:
Well, the Kenyans won again. No surprise there. The big surprises; The Ethiopians didn't run well, and a relative newcomer, Rita Jeptoo, captured the women's race.

Robert Cheruiyot is the men's winner of the 2006 Boston Marathon. He covered the 26-mile, 385-yard distance in a course-record time of two hours, seven minutes and 14 seconds, shaving one second off the old mark set in 1994. Cheruiyot is the 14th Kenyan in 16 years to win the coveted title. Countryman Benjamin Maiyo was the runnerup, one minute and six seconds behind the winner.

It was a successful day for American men with Meb Keflezighi, Brian Sell and Alan Culpepper finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively. An American hasn't won the men's race in Boston since Greg Meyer in 1983.

Kenya's Rita Jeptoo was the first woman runner to cross the finish line in Beantown. She covered the distance in two hours, 23 minutes and 38 seconds to become the sixth woman from her country to take home a winner's wreath from Boston in the last seven years.

Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia was the women's runnerup, with Reiko Tosa of Japan finishing third.

** We had the Kenyan flag drapped over the front door in celebration :-)

Biology 101

Had a fantastic day at school today. We are learning about Forces - balanced, unbalanced and Newton's First Law of Motion. It was a fun class filled with light banter, humor and laughter. The kind of day I simply love.

My students are taking Family Consumer Science this term. What exactly is that you ask? Not sure myself.

Well, was asked several interesting questions today:

1. Jose was looking at a library book that showed the internal organs of animals - love that he was reading! When he got to a picture of a bee, Ronnie says that he did not know that bees had an anus. How did he think that bees got rid of their waste, I asked. Ummm, from their wings???!!!

2. Samantha asks Ronnie, "What is an anus?". She is a bright English Language Learner. "Kinda like a butt-hole", replies Ronnie. "No way!" she squeals as she turns to me and repeats the questions. My answer? In science we do in fact call the butt-hole an anus. That is the scientific term.

Did someone say testicles?

Our 7th grade classes went to see a play based on "The Diary of Anne Frank" at the theater in the UMASS Lowell south campus. The seats are not comfortable for anyone over 18. The play was good - tailored for a middle school audience, and it was great to see kids really get caught up in the spell that only a live perfomance can command.

After the play, we stopped by Burger King for lunch. While the 100+ kids were waiting to order, Samantha, a bright English Language Learner (ELL), asked me in her usual loud voice, "What is a testicle?". I expected chaos. But I do not think that most of the kids even know what that word means - except for 2 boys that I saw sniggering (one of whom is repeating the 7th grade). Language is an interesting thing. Asked Samantha why she wanted to know, and it turns out that she saw a movie were people ate them.

Well, needless to say, they were not on the menu at BK!

Sick Days

I am starting to believe there is a conspiracy. How come I only get sick on Fridays and have to spend my weekends curled up? Why is it that I do not get sick on say Tuesdays, so my days of curling up are actually workdays?

The problem with working with kids is that they are germy and are highly contagious. The only upside is that I might be better prepared for the bird flu than most.

I am tired of hearing myself moan about being sick. How do people who are chronically ill deal with things? I'm going nuts, and am prickly, and all I have is the flu.
Sigh.

Eureka!

Something has been bugging me for almost a year now. Why do my students not see the connection between Math and Science? A possible answer has occurred to me.

Students are not taught to connect the content of one class with another. Starting with elementary school, they are taught to compartmentalize - it's now time for math, OR science, OR social studies. There is little overlapping of concepts from one area to another.

I also discovered that my 7th grade students have not seen math in science until now. Never! We have started Physics, (and this is the first time they have encountered Physics), so now they see math taught in what should be a science class. How is it that kids do not get exposed to physics at an earlier age? They are taught all the "fuzzy" stuff - animals, volcanoes, etc. Nothing that requires math. At the last science staff meeting, I heard that many elementary teachers (who teach all subjects) are not comfortable with the science topics, so do not focus as much time for science as for, say, reading. Hmm.

I have already started to notice that many of my "good" students, especially girls are starting to loose interest in science - there is just too much math. And that brings back old demons.

I was under the impression that we loose students, especially girls, in middle school, and I've found that to be only partially correct. We really start to loose them in the elementary grades by not exposing them to the interconnectedness of their classes, and then springing physics on them at an age when most students are undergoing physical changes and struggling with how they look, etc.

Since so much teaching is geared to testing, there would need to be a revamp of the system to make any real and lasting change.

To Do List

** Lifted from http://www.creativityworkshop.com

St. Patricks Day

Met up with some friends at Doyle's in JP for drinks and dinner on Thursday night. It was a fun evening, filled with good conversation and laughter. What more could one hope for? Well how about Absolut and Cranberry with lime for $4.25? And their fries rock.

My little buggy is in the shop. On the round-about route I took to get to JP on Thursday evening, my little car started overheating. Why is it never easy to get in and out off JP? On my ride home, the buggy acted like something out of a Stephen King novel - Christine? She was revving her engines at stop signs and lights. And still over heating. Called Susan to let her know that I might need a bailout. But my little buggy that could, got me home in one piece - though there was smoke coming out of the hood when I pulled into the driveway! She's now in the shop, where she'll have to get a new radiator, hoses and thermostat. Ouch!

On to more delicious things. Decided to take a mental health day yesterday. Even though I had everything setup for the sub, I still felt guilty. The ol' Catholic Guilt kind. Well, decided to spend the day in bed - napping, reading, snacking. Rafiki joined me for portions of the afternoon - not so much for my company as the fact that the electric blanket was on. There is something sublime about being warm in bed with a purring cat and hearing your partner in the kitchen making what you know will be a delicious dinner. And so it was. Traditional boiled dinner with spices. Yummy in my tummy. :-)

Quote of the day

Nothing worth doing is completed
In one lifetime,
Therefore we must be saved by hope.

Nothing true or beautiful makes
Complete sense
In any context of history,
Therefore we must be saved by faith.

Nothing we do, no matter how virtuous,
Can be accomplished alone.
Therefore we must be saved by love.

-- Reinhold Niebuhr
(from my friend Maria)

"But I thought this was a science class!"

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I could buy some cool toys.

It's hard for me to understand how kids get to 7th grade without knowing how to multiple or divide decimals. Or how to calculate averages. Or how to multiply or divide by multiples of 10, without doing it longhand (what ever happened to simply moving the decimal?!!) I spend more time teaching math this week and I did science.

We are learning physics - the first time they have ever seen it!! How it THAT possible? Right now it's all about motion, distance, speed. Well hit a road block at distance, since most of my kids are not sure how to convert mm to km, etc. So, out with the lesson plan for today and the rest of this week - they need to get that down before we talk about speed! Yikes.

In response to the question my kids always ask, I simply say that math is one of the tools that we use to describe science, and if they knew their math, I could get on with teaching them science :-)
The state of public education today is scary.

Yipee Kay Yeah!

The science test is behind me and I can now play again. The test covers biology, physics, chemistry, earth sciences, weather, astronomy, etc. It has 2 essay questions and 100 multiple choice questions and lasts 4 hours.

Too bad that unlike "who wants to be a millionaire" there are no options for 50/50 or dial a friend. Could have called Susan to ask why it is that Mercury is only visible just after sunset and just before sunrise and not in the middle of the night. Hmmm.

The amazing thing about this test is that there are almost no direct questions - it's all applied knowledge. It was actually enjoyable taking it - makes the brain tingle. It's a test designed to clearly see what you know and what you don't. So I know that I need to spend more time looking up - weather and astronomy are not my strong points - though I do have seasons down :-)

I think that every parent should review their middle school science books. It's what their kids are going to ask about. The best part about studying for this test is that it reminded me of all the things about science that I love (and the things I did not care about - and still don't - it's hard to get excited about weather at the equator!).

I think I did ok. Will know in a month or so.
Science is cool!

Back to School

and back in the groove of getting up before the animals. As my friend Beau says, 'it's bloody uncivilized". Couldn't agree more.

Showed my students a Bill Nye (the science guy) video on momentum today, and our discussions were quite fun. Plenty of death and dismemberment for everyone to stay engaged. My evenings this week are mostly slated for studying so off I go.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Model of King Tut

How awesome is this?

This photo released by the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the National Geographic Society on Tuesday May 10, 2005 shows a model of King Tutankhamun made by a French team based on facial reconstructions from CT scans of King Tutankhamun's mummy. Three teams of forensic artists and scientists, from France, the United States and Egypt, built models of the boy pharaoh's face based on some 1,700 high-resolution photos from CT scans of his mummy to reveal what he looked like the day he died nearly 3,300 years ago. The three teams worked separately in creating their reconstructions, the Americans and French working from a plastic skull, the Egyptians working directly from the CT scans.

Self Portrait Sunday (SPS)

SPS is part of a new project I am working on.
If you are interested in participating, let me know!

(PS: For those of you who are wondering, that is the shower curtain in the background :-))

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meaness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of it's furniture, still,
treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
becuase each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

**From "Rumi - the Book of Love" (translation by Coleman Barks)

The Debt Diet

I was watching the Oprah show yesterday - my favorite activity while cleaning the kitchen - and caught part 2 of a series called The Debt Diet. Ok, I know that our culture is diet crazy, what with Atkins, low carb, no fat, etc, but what is the Debt Diet? It's a diet to help people reduce not fat, but debt.

I was stunned to hear that 70% of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. That staggering number must account for a lot of the working poor in our country I think - which in itself is disturbing. But wait! The 3 families on the show would certainly not be considered poor (unless you happen to be Oprah), and would in fact be considered rich by many of the working poor. So what is the problem?

It seems to be spending more (way more) than you earn. It's the belief that stuff will make you happy, fill your hole, make you whole. Now, I certainly understand the restorative power of a good shopping trip. The high alone is worth the price tag. But spending what I don't have? That is a little beyond me, since the high fades rather quickly, while the debt stays and grows. And remember that we are not talking about spending on necessities like food, shelter, warmth, etc. One family owed $2,300 on a humongous tv. If that's what they owed, what did it cost?!!

Corporations spend billions of $$ to make us feel inadequate, less than, not sexy enough. In the end it is up to us to take personal responsibility for our choices. Turn that TV off! I am so glad that Susan and I look at this issue in a similiar way - stuff is only stuff. Creating memories is always a better bet.

While I found the show fascinating - if only to see the choices some families make, I would have found it more interesting to hear the stories of the working poor, whose debt problems are not as easily fixed with a debt diet.

"Productive" is my middle name

Well, it can also be "procrastinate" - as in not studying for my teacher certification science test, or not keeping up with my mail or cleaning up my study. Well, my friends have I have done all the above this morning, and it's just 11am!

I decided to start by tackling my study - which had gotten rather cluttered and untenable. What do you expect from one with so many hobbies? After I rousted Rafiki from his "sandy beach" (aka thick towel on my desk by the window), I started dusting, vacuuming and purging - amazing how much junk accumulates in one small room. I started this yesterday actually - but am still on that high, so it counts!

The next Everest in front of me was the several feet high stack of mail awaiting my attention. Does anyone really stay on top of all those credit card offers, etc? Decided to be merciless and purged and purged and purged. Good thing tomorrow is recycling day - got bags and bags of paper headed out the door. And my space (aka studio) feels wonderful this morning, as do I. Rafiki had to explore and make sure that I had not altered any of the things that contribute to his wa. When he was satisfied, he was back on the "beach" - patiently waiting for spring.

What about the science test you ask? Well anyone recall what a Cephalopod is?

They are mollusks with tentacles - your average octopuses, cuttlefish, squids, etc. My cranium sure is tingly!

Must be time for lunch.

Art Journal

I went in search of several art journals, and did not find any that I liked enough to buy. Decided to create my own.

I decided to make the journal 8.5"x5.5". Opted to use colored pages (cardstock), as opposed to plain white, which can sometimes be daunting to look at. Where does one begin? The journal covers are made of cardboard covered with wallpaper samples. Blue ribbon threaded through the back cover create the closure. I might decorate the cover further, but like it as it is at the moment. I love how it turned out and cannot wait to start playing with it.








Front cover









Star brad detail











Back cover
















Inside pages

Praying to Candy Gods

My nieces by the candy machine.

A mall we had stopped at had one these candy stations placed every several feet. Brilliant marketing that generated blinding parental headaches.

As a aunt, I found it all hysterically funny. Every child in the place, all speaking different languages (we are in Vegas after all), bowed and paid homage to the candy gods. They climbed, touched, banged, turned the switches - never know what might fall out - begged, pleaded, whined, and had to be dragged away. Success! Until they spotted the next station barely 10 feet away :-)