History of Washington

Whew! Blogger's been down for such a long time. It felt really strange not to blog for five days. Over the course of the last few months I have definitely gotten used to doing a little writing every few days.

Here at school we are all trying to wrap our minds around the new curriculum we are supposed to teach in 7th grade next year. The state has decreed that we must radically change our focus, so we are trying to become experts in our new areas of study. Instead of modern geography of Washington State and Asia (I know, odd pairing, go figure) with a little history, we are now supposed to teach the history of the world from 600-1600 plus Washington history to the present. Oh yes, and we are not supposed to include North American history EXCEPT for Washington. We have given up trying to understand their logic. We find it is easier just to nod and smile because complaints get you exactly no where.

As if all this were not enough, we recently discovered that the district miscalculated a little when it built the most recent school, and we are now in a major budget crunch. The end result is budget cuts across the board and that means most of our planning time has disappeared. We are now supposed to plan a year's worth of new curriculum in, get this, THREE HOURS! In reality it will take dozens upon dozens of hours to get the job done, so we will just have to do the work for free. Fortunately teachers are used to doing lots of unpaid overtime, so it won't be that much of a shock. We're not trying to play the martyrs here; that is simply the way things are.

But I digress. The point I was trying to reach before I got off on my little pity party was a really good book. I have this silly belief that teachers should be experts in the areas they are teaching, so I've been looking around for books to help us "bone up" (insert rude joke here if you like) on the subjects. In my searching I came across The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History by Carlos Arnoldo Schwantes. This is a book I read for a college class and it really is a great way to become familiar with local history. Suddenly all the street names have meaning, and you can understand why the I-90 is built that way. It also recounts the story of the native peoples, the history of nuclear energy in our area, and the forest policy that is still used in the state forests. In short, if you want to understand the region, this book is a very good choice. Of course it is over 400 pages long, but we're all grown ups who can handle that right? Well, maybe not R, who claims he can't read, but certainly everyone else ;)

X-Men

When I was about ten, my brothers and I were given a box of old comics. We spent many happy hours reading our way through Superman, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, MAD, and The X-men. I loved them all, but the X-men were definitely my favorite. They all had different powers, Professor X knew everything, and they were all just so incredibly COOL (especially if you were 10).

Now the movies have come along, and I find that I still have a very soft spot for Professor X, Wolverine, Storm, Jean, and the rest. The newest movie is just as a comic should be; exciting, action-packed, and generally bigger than life. Is it full of deep contemplation about racism, homophobia, or isolation? Not really (probably less than the other two movies) but that's okay because it's fun. I went into the movie feeling very tired and worn out from the day, and I came away feeling energized by the show. At one point the Golden Gate Bridge flies off it's moorings and sweeps over to land at Alcatraz. That was fun to watch no matter how unlikely, unreasonable, or impossible it might be. In short, if you are willing to check sizable chunks of your brain at the door then this is one highly entertaining movie.

More on Tea Shops

R and P very kindly commented on my last post to suggest other tea shops in the greater (very much greater in the case of Snohomish) Seattle area. Both of them are correct that there are options when it comes to buying tea at least. My current favorite is certainly a place in Seattle called Teacup. Located in Queen Anne, this shop seems to have a version of bankers hours, so it can be little tough for a working person to get there. However, if you can manage it, they have a fabulous selection of imported French-blended teas.

When I was in college I acquired an unnatural passion for tea and for two varieties of French-blended teas especially: Plein Lune and Marco Polo. Unable to find these anywhere else, I have been forced to import them from Oregon whenever possible (Oh please Auntie D would you bring me a little tea? Again?). For years I have looked all over the internet, tried teashops, and catalogs and no one has ever even heard of these teas. Then M took me to teacup. Have they heard of these teas? Oh yes of course, they've heard of it, they carry the competitor's teas. If I like Marco Polo I should try this one. Mmmmmm.

Thus far I have tried:

Crème Brule Gray (Sweet, rich, and GREAT with milk and honey)

Afternoon in the Park (Floral but not overly sweet also great with milk and honey)

Silk Road (Spicy with a fragrant, heady aroma and, you guessed it, great with milk and honey)


I am absolutely going to work my way through the Damman Freres line of teas a few at a time. Judging by the first three it should be a very pleasant experience. There may no longer be a Sassy teahouse to visit with groups of ladies, but at least I can now make a far better cup of tea at home.

No More Sassy

R is right, Sassy Teahouse in Redmond is no more. The message on their website simply says they've closed and thanks everyone who was a patron. It always makes me wonder what happened when a business that seems successful closes without explanation. Was this just a hobby business and the owner got bored? Was the business not successful enough to cover high rents or other high costs? Was there some personal problem? Did they lose their lease? Unique places like that one are few and far between in our world of Starbucks, Safeway, and The Gap. Luckily Redmond-area residents still have Victor's to fall back on when they want something a little less ordinary. Victor's is, by no means, the same kind of fancy little tea shop, but at least they do not have that same same cookie cutter feel of one of the chains. Why do so many people prefer the totally consistent and totally boring to the more unique and unusual? I guess it's all about pleasing the largest number of people which often means appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Materialist Bliss

Note: This is slightly old news, but the pictures are too cute to waste!

One of the things M and I noticed when we bought the house was what must have been an original microwave. After 25 years of use, the thing was not working so well anymore. Heating would still occur, but since there was no turn table all of the heat was concentrated into a single nickel-sized spot. This machine had the amazing ability to practically burn a whole in your pizza while leaving the rest completely frozen. Not very useful for much. Also, shortly after we moved in I attempted to make one of my favorite microwave treats: The Pappadam. However, not only did the pappadum remain flat and lifeless (not crispy and bubbly good) but the microwave actually managed to break the plate in two! It was sort of cool the way it split along a strange and wavy line, but at the same time it did not bode well for the health of our dishes. Thus we went microwave shopping. I could describe the shopping experience, but it is better just to hold an image of Home Depot in your mind (did you know that they don't work on commission like the people at Sears? We've only been told that about 700 times), and you pretty much have it. We came home with a Magic Chef (I've never heard of them either) over stove model. M, clever person that he is, decided to save the installation fee (more than the cost of the actual microwave) by installing it himself (see pics below of installation process). This is not what I would consider an easy job (I am not a very handy sort) but he managed to do it with a minimum of cursing, banging, trips back to the hardware store, or injuries. Low and behold, we have a working microwave! It heats evenly, it has a defrost setting, it doesn't make ominous clicking noises, and (drum roll please) it makes lovely crispy pappadums! Hooray for M and Magic Chef!

Oh Sure NOW the Sun Comes Out

Tut, tut it looked like rain (to quote Pooh Bear) ALL weekend. In fact, it didn't just rain on Saturday and Sunday, it poured buckets. I had big plans for my garden, for hiking, for just looking out the window and seeing pretty sunshine. Of course now that we are back at work the sun is out there shining away. There is barely a cloud in the sky, and I think it may even be warming up a bit. Sometimes life is just not fair.

To-Do List

M's mom, DW, is coming from South Africa to visit us this summer. She will be staying with us for most of the month of July, and we want to make sure that she gets to see some of the best bits of Seattle and Washington in general. Obviously one month is not enough time to see and do everything, but we want to do as much as possible without causing tourism burn-out. So far, we have created a working list of possibilities. Any comments/suggestions would be most welcome:

Things We Might Do With D (in no particular order)

1. SAAM
2. Salumi (but only if Grandma is making Gnocchi)
3. San Juan Islands
4. Pike Place Market
5. Mount Rainier
6. Mount St. Helens
7. Olympic Peninsula
8. Vashon Island
9. Lavender Festival
10. Bellevue Botanical Garden
11. Sassy Teahouse
12. Tiger Mountain Bus Trail (and/or Lake Tradition)
13. Kubota Garden
14. Canoeing in the Arboretum
15. Vivace
16. University District
17. MOHAI
18. Washington State Historical Museum
19. Discovery Park
20. A Good Sushi Place
21. Farmers' Market
22. Cafe Flora (M suggested this one, so I cannot be accused of choosing things for myself!)
23. Teatro Zinzanni
24. Oregon Coast
25. Portland
26. Mariners Game
27. La Connor
28. Leavenworth
29. Ikea
30. Green Lake
31. The Zoo
32. Trek Wildlife Park
33. The Aquarium

Hiroshima

As we come to the end of our Japan unit it is time to read about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since our textbook gives all of 3/4 of a page to WWII, I supplement with the novella Hiroshima by Lawrence Yep. The view of modern Japan given by our textbook is not exactly flattering (well, to be fair, they did some pretty awful things between 1900 and 1945) so I like to try to give a little balance about the actual bombing. This little book is told from a combination of perspectives including two fictional young women on the ground, the pilot of the Enola Gay, and various others. It tries explaining what happened on the airplane, inside the bomb, inside the blast area, and in the surrounding city. The books are written for a young audience, so the style is very simple, but the simplicity only makes it more effective. The kids really do sit and listen (more silently than any other time during the year) and then the discussions that follow are always interesting (nuclear winter, the SALT treaty, Mutually Assured Destruction, The Cold War). Once again, I am amazed by their ability to concentrate when they really try. I think everyone should read this book at some point. Every year I wait to see if I will get flack from parents because the book is told entirely from the "dovish" perspective, but so far it has never caused any trouble.

Reduced History

Years ago, when I was enjoying my annual participation in The Oregon Country Fair (No, I have never done any type of drugs there) I happened across a stage show that would later become quite famous. While standing in line for the bathroom (no kidding) I caught a portion of a show put on by The Reduced Shakespeare Company. I was completely hooked by the shorter and shorter (and sillier and sillier) versions of Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet being put on by the company. By the time they finished, they were doing each play in under a minute, and the results were hilarious. Imagine my surprise when I found an ad for this very same show being done in a major concert hall. It seems I wasn't the only one who liked thought Polonius' ultra-quick death scene was funny.

Once the Shakespeare show became a comedy staple, the company decided to try its hand at other types of shows. "Shakespeare" was followed by "Great Books," "the Bible," and even a Reduced Shakespeare Christmas. Of course, not all of these can be as good as the original, but many of them were still very funny indeed. Therefore, with some trepidation but also hope, M and I went to see The Complete History of America (Abridged). We found it to be an incredibly vaudevillian-style of show with lots of quick summarizing, stand-up jokes, water on the audience, and men in drag playing really ugly women. Some of it was pretty funny (anagrams of famous political names--- Spiro Agnew = Grow A Penis--- I guess you had to be there) and some of it was just sort of funny (a sketch about short men joining Washington's army because of a misunderstanding about "minute" men) but over all it was worth the trip. Next time, I want to see All the Great Books because I bet Jane Eyre done in one minute or less is a very strange thing.

Two Totally Unrelated Food Things

First things first. Last week M and I went to Andre's Eurasian Bistro for a quick bite before a show. We thought that a little over an hour should be plenty of time to get a nice dinner as long as we skipped the appetizers and desserts. We were especially confident since there were not very many people in the restaurant. The waiter cam e quickly to take our order (without writing it down), brought us our drinks (yummy ginger lemonade I must admit) and then, nothing. Thirty minutes later we still had only drinks. The waiter apologized, but the food still didn't come. Eventually we saw plates and! He served us two completely wrong dishes. Neither of us got anything close to what we ordered. We objected to the completely wrong food, the waiter said "oh, sorry about that. I'll check with the kitchen." At this point we were just about out of time, so we called the waiter back and asked him to just bring the bill. Just a few minutes went by and the bill actually came. However (there had to be a catch) while the drinks were comped, the food was still on the bill! M went over to talk to the waiter and pretty soon we just got to leave.

Andre's Eurasian Bistro = bad, bad, bad

The second food thing is not nearly so annoying. I often read the food blog Vegan Lunchbox. While I am not a vegan, I do respect the amount of effort and attention this woman gives to making lunch for her son. Some might say that she has a little too much time on her hands (and they might be right) but the other day she really got a little overboard. She used Seventh Day Adventist cooking techniques to create The Magical Loaf Studio. The purpose of the studio is a way to invent new (tasty?) varieties of vegetarian meatloaf. I cannot say that I have actually made any of the magical loaves, but I will get right on it just after I finish grinding my own flour and making my own fruit leather.

Giggling Your Way to Freedom

One of the most enjoyable things for many teenagers is the opportunity to be sneaky. In my experience, they love to feel that they are "getting away" with something regardless of what that something may be. Since pulling the wool over authoritative eyes is just plain fun for so many of them, it is not surprising that the Underground Railroad simulation was such a huge success.

In the 8th grade, the State of Washington has determined that kids should study American history. The rough estimate time period for this history is about 1796-1865. One major unit during this course is about slavery and the economy of the Deep South. Of course there are many possible ways to teach this material, but our 8th grade team has opted to do something a little different (and, in my opinion, much better) than the standard textbook, notes, test format. First the kids read non-fiction accounts of slave life, and also textbook chapters about the politics and economics of slavery. Next, they do a research project to get an in depth look at different figures of the anti-slavery movement, and they write an essay identifying the contributions of this figure. Last, but not least, they get to take part in a simulation.

The simulation is basically a game in which the kids play the role of slaves who are trying to escape from bondage in the south (their classrooms) and make their way to freedom in the north (the upper sports field). They must trust the good will of conductors (other students) and station masters (teachers) along the way, and they know that bounty hunters (the principals and councilors) will be actively searching for them at all times. They must follow a map, visit the safehouses (indicated by a secret sign), and collect tokens to prove that they've made the whole journey. Above all, they must not get caught or else they have to return to their plantations and do hard labor (real work such as scrubbing desks or weeding flower beds).

I am a huge fan of simulations, so when the 8th grade team asked for volunteers to play station masters, I jumped at the chance to help. My classroom door proudly displayed the secret sign (a quilt square with a red center) and I explained the whole thing to the students in my classes. On the day of the event, we did not see anyone for quite a while, but about half way through 1st period a group of slaves and their conductor burst in looking for a place to hide. We quickly hid them away in the closets and under tables, and just as we did, the bounty hunter arrived. The bounty hunters (working hard to be serious and mean-looking) searched the room and grilled the kids. We kept saying that we didn't know anything, but the bounty hunter was in no mood to believe us. He caught one of the kids hiding in the closet because they had the unfortunate need to giggle uncontrollably. Nevertheless, the others managed to keep silent, and they were not discovered. It was really quite a sight. Kids were darting silently through the halls, ducking into classrooms, and even climbing out of windows (in classrooms where the teachers were dumb, in mean kind, enough to allow it). This is an experience like nothing else and they love it. The most surprising part (to me anyway) was the fact that they really didn't abuse the privilege. Not one kid landed in the office for being out of bounds, harassing others, or any other crime that they might have been tempted to commit.

All throughout the day, groups of slaves and station masters came through our classroom. My students did not get overly much done since they were always on pins and needles about when they next group might come. However, we had some incredible discussions about racism, the practice of dehumanizing others, the power of cultural influences, and the effects of fear on the human mind. Teenagers are famous for being apathetic, lazy, and even stupid, and frequently they do display these unfortunate traits. However, when you really catch their interest in something real and serious, it is amazing just how sharp they can be.

Haiku Baby

Every year around this time my classes study Japan. We go all the way from pre-history to the modern era, but the bulk of our study is focused on the Heian period through the Tokugawa Shogunate (roughly 700s to 1800s). We study the maps, learn the history, debate the politics, and even play a Risk-like game about the warring states period. The kids LOVE the game, and we manage to tie all the other pieces of instruction to it through rewards and punishments of rice. The kids are broken into castle groups, and their goal is to take over the all other castles and become shogun of all Japan. We have a huge map of the provinces on the wall with color-coded pushpins to represent armies. Rice is the primary currency, and the kids are constantly looking for ways to get more so they can expand their armies. This week, one opportunity to earn extra rice came with our study of haiku poetry. We have a section in our textbook explaining the form and giving some famous examples by Basho. We went through this section carefully, and then they had the chance to earn extra rice by writing and performing their own Haiku. They should be 5 7 5 and they should be at least sort of about nature. Here are a few examples (some are better than others:

Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood
The leaves of autumn look red
men fall the same way

Blue skies are the best
We can see the sea from here
We love the sand dunes

Horses thunder down
soldiers fall like raindrops
Horses wander free

Butterflies flutter
I see the sun shine on me
Breezes flutter too

Talent Show

Last Friday was the annual school talent show. We had 23 acts all told, and it took more than two hours of sitting in the bleachers to get through them all. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun time for everyone, but the bleachers do get sort of hard after a while. Still, we had a good time, and the kids cheered and clapped for each other all the way through.

We started out with a tiny little sixth grade boy who did sound effects. We got the squeaky door, the jungle scene, the train engine, and a few others. He was pretty good for an amateur, and the audience was completely silent (a real mark of respect for a middle school crowd) for the performance.

Another great act was a group of three students who played a classical composition for three violins. Given that our school often ranks #1 in the state for middle school orchestra programs, it was surprising to no one that they were really good. It's really impressive the way they always look so serious and dedicated when they perform. I am reminded once again why music is good for the whole kid.

There were, of course, a few of the more "challenging" (to borrow the phrase from R) performances. There were several pairs of girls who chose to sing veeeeery high-pitched songs that were really not within a range they could comfortably manage. We did actually have to cover our ears on one song when the performer went for a high, high note. One girl did sing a show tune wearing a fabulous white wedding dress ('80s?) and you just had to give her credit for, I don't know, gumption? Then again, any kid who will get up in front of 1000 of their peers deserves some credit.

By far the crowd favorite was a boy who solved a rubik's cube. He first asked someone else to randomize it for him, and then he proceeded to solve it in 1 minute 12 seconds. The audience went absolutely bonkers. Rubik's cubes have fallen so far out of fashion that many kids aren't really familiar with them. This was a truly amazing feat as far as they were concerned. They cheered, they clapped, they yelled. I am fairly certain that the solver will not ever forget that experience.

It was definitely one of the better shows we've had here at school, but I think I may still have a flat place on my bottom.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Happy Mothers' Day to all the mothers out there. Someone once said that mothers are the people (or at least they should be the people) who cheer you on and tell you your wonderful even when the rest of the world is unimpressed.

Julia Sweeney

Note: I have tried for a week to write this post. I almost just gave up because the thing was just not coming together. However, I really, REALLY loved this show, and I really wanted mention it. Therefore, sorry for the quality (and the rambling) but at least it's here.


Have you ever had that experience where you have an idea in your head and it makes perfect sense, but when you try to explain it to another person it just comes out as nonsensical babble? Perhaps not (depending on your level of elocution) but it happens to me fairly often. Now, I know what you're thinking, a teacher should be clear at all times. In the classroom I do a pretty good job on that, but when it comes to more esoteric topics, I often have trouble laying things out clearly. That is why I was so excited by the things Julia Sweeney had to say in her show "Letting Go of God."

When we first saw the ad for a show by Julia Sweeney (of Saturday Night Live fame) and Ira Glass (of NPR fame) we thought it sounded like an interesting combination, so we bought tickets without really knowing what we might get. What we did get was a very intelligent and also hilarious look at Julia's struggle with religion and spirituality. I have seriously tried several times to write a summary of her show, but it just isn't happening. Her timing and delivery were such an integral part of things that it just doesn't seem to work in text form (or maybe I'm just a lame writer) Suffice it to say that she illustrated her true and honest attempt to have deep faith, but she could never quite get past her own doubt. Blind faith turned out to be really hard to maintain when she took a good, hard look at the things she was being asked to believe. When this show comes out on DVD (in June?) I would highly recommend it to anyone who has ever been troubled by these kinds of doubts.

In the end, this show took my opinions about religion, summed them up, cleanly refuted any opposition through careful research, and then added perfect comic timing, and bitingly funny commentary. It was a beautiful experience. Now if only she would do the same for my views on politics, relationships, the environment, food, child rearing, school funding, health and fitness, textbook selection, the economy...

The Promise

On Sunday a friend of ours organized a trip to see the new Chinese movie The Promise. Reviews for the movie were mixed, but since it looked so beautiful we were excited to see it for ourselves. I was definitely not disappointed. Costumes, sets, cinematography, actors- everything was lovely in the extreme. Add to that, it was a fairytale, and you have something I enjoyed very much. My particular favorites were the sea goddess (be sure to notice her floating crown) and the fighting scene around the bird screens (if you see the movie you'll know what I mean). Some people complained that the computer-generated graphics were not convincing, but I really was not bothered much about that. Some reviewers actually complained that the fighting and some other elements were not realistic enough which I thought was pretty laughable. You would think the frequent use of magic and the superhuman strength would tip people off to the fact that the story is supposed to be just a wee bit outside the normal boundaries of reality.

Book Committee Redux

Yesterday was a VERY good day. Be warned, I am about to shamelessly toot my own horn.

Some people may be familiar with my other book committee experience (Shot Down and Pissed Off) and may remember that it was not a happy one. To sum up, I was the lone hold-out against the favored social studies text book, and I lost out to the crowd. However, I was not about to let that scare me off of the rest of the committee work (that would be letting them win!). Therefore, I signed up for novel selection committee as well.

While the social studies textbook committee took almost an entire year and much piloting to make a choice, the novels were given barely two months of consideration. This turned out to be a very good thing for me because I came to the first meeting with a list of books I thought we could use. No one else was prepared for things to move so quickly, so my selections formed the core of our candidate list. We did all go away and read the books on the list, and then, yesterday, we got back together to come to a decision.

Now the only sticking points were a few people who wanted to include science fiction (Hello! We're supposed to connect to the history curriculum. You know, the stuff from 600 to 1600!) and the people who wanted to bring an existing book down from the gifted program. The first group were dealt with pretty easily since they wanted something that clearly didn't fit with our goals (that didn't stop them last time, but in this case things were more clear cut). The second group were a little tougher to quell. They wanted to take a book that we currently teach in the gifted program and assign it to all students. I said that we should not do this because the book was too hard for the average kid. However, I could not back up my claims based on reading level alone because this book scored a 7 on the standard level test (about 7th grade level) just like one of the books I suggested. Once again, I came prepared.

It turns out that the reading level given for most books assesses only the complexity of sentences and vocabulary. Thus, a book with a very complicated plot can get a low score just because it uses small words and simple sentences. Knowing this, and with the help of our librarian, a few of us from my school managed to find another scoring system (you can find it on Amazon.com under "concordance") that takes other factors into account. Using this scoring system we discovered that the book from the gifted class scored a 9.3 (about ninth grade level) while the book I suggested scored a (wait for it!) 6.8! What do you know! Objections cleared, we were ready to move on.

My main goal for this committee was to get at least three decent books on the required list. In the end, we managed to agree on FOUR. Remember, it is tough to find books that suit our particular corner of world history (the world from 600-1600 minus North America, but also Washington state history). While these are not the best books I've ever read, they are at least decent which is more than I can say for some books I've taught. I am quite pleased with the combination of literary quality, historical content, and readability. In the end we chose Ghost Canoe, Catherine, Called Birdy, Beduins' Gazelle (spelled that way for some reason), and The Kite Rider. Now all we have to do is figure out how we want to go about teaching them next year.

Tazo

Some web designer (or several) out there deserves an award. One of my favorite mainstream (as opposed to boutique or specialty) tea companies is Tazo of Portland. Imagine my pleasure when I happened across the official Tazo website. Imagine my even greater pleasure when I discover that this is one cute website. Take some time, learn about the teas (my favorites are Citron, Awake, and Passion) and be absolutely sure to have your leaves read by THE GREAT ORACLE. Just make sure you have the sound on so you can appreciate his own special language.

Formatting

Yes. I admit it. I fight with blogger over formatting all the time. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I don't. What can I say. I appologize for all the bumps in the road.

The Wonders of Pittsburgh

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we recently went to visit my younger brother at his university in Pittsburgh. We really enjoyed the trip, and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Pittsburgh is really a pretty interesting place. One of the best parts about it is that it used to be a hub for the steel industry. Now steel itself is not very interesting, but the huge amounts of money produced by the industry did lead to some very good things. In the past, when a town was filled to the gills with the super-rich, charity was a natural outcome. Pittsburgh is the lucky recipient of two universities, many parks and gardens, museums, music venues, libraries, and at least one fantastically detailed dinosaur statue.

After the dinosaur, one of the more striking examples of philanthropic fervor is on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The Cathedral of Learning was built in the early part of the 1900s to look like a cross between a medieval church and a castle. It features some very elaborate stone carving, beautiful stained glass windows, and many perfectly medieval details. One visitor summed it up by saying that Harry Potter could have been filmed inside. In keeping with the castle theme, the interior features two huge fireplaces, a massive common room with vaulted ceilings, and several giant wooden thrones. As far as we are concerned, my little brother is the king of Pitt (hey, we hardly know anyone else there) so we made him sit in the throne and look regal. I think it is especially funny that his shirt says "ego" (his shirt really says Oregon, but happenstance made it funnier) because he does get a little bit of a big head sometimes. Who would have thought that my round baby brother would turn out to be brilliant and handsome :) Anyway, if you ever get to Pittsburgh be sure to visit the Cathedral of Learning. It's both strange and cool enough to be well worth the trip.

Botanical Garden

Last Friday we went to the Botanical garden with some friends. Being a garden fanatic, I love to visit this place. One or two visits a year will not cut it either because the garden changes SO much over just a few weeks. During the spring and summer I try to fit in a visit at least once a month. On this trip we saw how the spring flowers are really starting to pass off and the summer buds are just beginning. In other words, goodbye tulips and daffodils, hello marigolds and roses. The pics below are just a very few of the lovely ones we got on this visit. We also have a great one of geeks beneath a tree. M is doing is best to look really regal and intelligent.

Locked Down

Friday was supposed to be the day when we got back to normal after the end of WOSL. We were going to take it easy, watch a movie, and have a cookie to celebrate. By 8:30 in the morning we were laying on the classroom floor in the dark. The doors were locked, the blinds pulled, and we were doing our best to keep silent. We'd been locked down by the principal and we had absolutely no idea why. The whole idea of locking down a school comes out of the very few and very famous incidents of school violence that have taken place in the last decade. Columbine, Springfield, and others have done much to change the view of school security. Now, whenever the smallest thing happens, schools get locked down "just to be on the safe side." Of course, laying there on the floor we had no clue as to what might be happening. Was there a danger IN the school, or just some concern in the community? The kids (and I) really wanted to know why, but it is hard to get news from that position. The hardest part was that the kids were not remotely afraid. If they had been afraid they might have huddled quietly, hoping to avoid detection, in the corner. As it was, they thought this was some sort of amusing game, and then as time went by, some sort of mean joke. They were NOT good at being quiet, and they did NOT want to stay on the floor. Then again, it was tough to blame them as the time dragged on.

For the first 45 minutes or so, we played telephone as quietly as possible, next we tried pass around conversations (on paper and pencil), then we played connect the dots in pairs, and finally we started "toss the question." In the middle of all this the kids would ask me repeatedly if I knew anything, how long I thought it might last, and what they could do to amuse themselves. In the beginning, one girl asked why we had to lay on the floor in the dark. This girl has participated in many drills over the course of the year, so she should know this already. However, I gathered together my patience and explained that this was the school's way of keeping us safe just in case something dangerous might be out there. They all seemed to accept this, and we went on trying to be quiet. A little while later, another kid crawled over to me to ask if we would still be going to lunch on time. Again, I gathered my patience and explained that unless the lock down were over, we wouldn't be going to lunch on time because standing up and walking down to the lunchroom would, you know, defeat the purpose of the lockdown. This news caused furious whispering and many complaints of imminent starvation. Eventually, however, I got them quieted down with promises of left-over cheezits at lunchtime. Some time during the third hour, another child raised his had and asked "Miss L when it gets to be 2:06 (the normal end of the day) they will let us go home won't they?" I counted to ten before answering.

Finally, almost three hours after we went into lockdown, we were allowed to sit up and watch a video instead of lying on the floor. Officially we hadn't been released, but the police were confident enough to allow some flexibility. I handed out cheezits and cookies when lunchtime rolled around. Then, almost four hours into the whole thing they finally declared the lockdown over, and we could return to what was left of our normal school day (including full lunch by the way). Why, might you ask, did we have to do all this? Because a man, a grown man, decided to wander up and down the road outside school waving what appeared to be a rifle. They never found the man, but his "rifle" was actually three soda bottles taped together and painted black. If they find him, I think his punishment should be to lie on the floor in the dark for four hours times 982 for all the people who were forced to be part of his "prank."

So Glad It's Over!

Hooray! WOSL is over for this year! I am SO glad to see it done, but not nearly as glad as the kids. They are exhausted (I am too) by six tests in eight days. After the last two tests they were woozy and starving (writing for two hours straight will do that to you I guess) and more than a little punchy. I've learned from long experience about this, so I bought a huge box of Cheezits from Costco (I know, I know, but they're not that bad for you, and the kids LOVE them) and handed them out after the test. I used to give them treats before the test to take some of the sting out of the whole experience, but that is now banned by the state because treats might give my kids an unfair advantage over other, treatless, kids. On the whole, I was very proud of them this year. We all did the test through our homerooms, and my homeroom is comprised of kids who often struggle with school. They took the tests very seriously and worked long and hard on each one. Tomorrow, cookies and The Princess Bride (the best movie ever by the way). They've certainly earned it, and anyone who disagrees can just kiss my certificated bottom (if you kow what I mean).

Deep Secret, Deep Nonesense

For several weeks now I've wanted to blog about the WOSL (which I'm misspelling on purpose to avoid word searches of blogs). It sort of permeates my world for the month of April, and besides it's pretty goofy stuff. This is a test so bound up in bureaucratic rules that you have to either laugh or cry. I prefer the former, so I laugh a lot when this season comes around. Every year seems to get funnier than the last, and this year I am positively rolling in the aisles. Of course these funny rules also state that I can't talk about most of what I see. The state likes to think that this test is so hugely important that it must be kept utterly secret. I have news for them: Any information that you choose to share with thousands upon thousands of teenagers IS NOT a secret anymore. Nevertheless, we are bound, by contract and threat of legal action, to keep our mouths shut on most of the process. For example, the directions for administration (DA) are available on the state website. However, if we do not return our copy of the DA to our test admin. we are in big trouble. Why? Who knows?
The first thing that strikes you about all this is the acronyms. Now I admit we are acronym-heavy in education, but this takes it to the extreme. Weeks before the first test, we have a training meeting where our admin is legally required to explain the process to all of us (because we can't remember from last year or the year before that or the year before that...). This is an actual sentence from the training (the acronyms have been changed to protect, well, me):

Okay, if everyone would get out their DA we can have a look at the WOSL versus the WOOS. Now in order to maintain OYM, we need to improve our RLS, MLS, and our WLS in 7th grade. Our CAP says that we will especially focus on WLS for all grades. For those who do not qualify for WOSL, we still need to prove OYM, so we will be turning to the WOOS system to measure WLS. Your DA should have instructions for calculating OYM.

I swear I am not making this up. I am told by a friend that we are not alone on this one. Most states have similar forms of testing, and if they do not now GWB will be speaking to them soon. NCLB, the most reviled acronym in education, is the bill that requires all sorts of "fun" changes in the nation's schools. One of these changes is to require testing in every grade from K-10. Thanks GW we really needed that.

Being Useful

When we contemplate a weekend, M and I always try to leave room to "do busy things" as he likes to put it. Busy things are all those sorts of chores that need doing on a regular basis such as vacuuming the carpets or buying groceries or weeding the garden. This is really the perfect term because these are things that aren't horrible or painful; they just require the spending of time and the will to actually get going. The will to get going is something we often lack on weekends because there are just so many nice ways to waste time. Sleeping until 10:00 is fun, drinking tea and reading the paper is very pleasant, and hanging out with friends in any number of places is always a good time. However, since we bought the house we are finding it more and more important to do the busy stuff.
This weekend, I am proud to say, we did many busy things. Yesterday we did all the grocery shopping at both TJ's and Costco. Today we finished painting the spare bedroom (okay, I still need to do the trim, but the WALLS are done at least) and now there is not a speck of that horrible neon yellow in sight. M broke out the lawn mower for the first time (our first ever lawn mower by the way) and mowed the front AND back lawns. I weeded, planted, laid plastic over weedy paths (Will this work? I want to avoid weed killers, and everyone who thinks I'm being silly can just kiss my slightly hippie behind!) and swept the sidewalk and the patio. I also planted my bleeding heart plant underneath the trees in the backyard. I hope, I hope, I hope it will survive and bloom beautifully.
The odd part about all of this? It's really kind of fun! When I was a kid doing these kinds of chores often seemed like a form of painful cruelty invented by my parents. Now that we have our own house, though, I actually like taking care of it. Perhaps the glow will wear off eventually and I will be grumbling by next spring, but for now it's a satisfying way to spend a weekend. This afternoon, M and I are off to pick molding and a new door for the spare bedroom. Maybe while we're there we'll pick up some soil amendment and a few annuals for the garden. Oohh the possibilities.

The Truth About Pittsburgh

As I mentioned in an earlier post, operation SNOW MY MOM was a huge success. My brother has been bugging me to come and visit him in Pittsburgh pretty much since he moved there two years ago. "We are just so busy" was starting to sound pretty lame, so we decided to go ahead and visit for a long weekend. However, my brother suggested an interesting wrinkle to the plan. What if we were to take our mom, and not tell her beforehand that she was going. We've never done anything like this to her before, but we couldn't imagine that she wouldn't be happy about the plan. Therefore, we set out to be sneaky. Many people helped us to get her the day off of work, make airline and car reservations, take care of her pets, and create diversions so she wouldn't know what was really going on. Several people told her lies, both small and large, but lying is actually pretty fun when it is for entirely good purposes.

On Thursday I asked her to go out to dinner with several of us to celebrate the end of my pro cert program (it's not really over, but close!). We went out to a nice restaurant, had pleasant conversation and a good dinner, and then we told her that we wanted to get dessert somewhere else. Everyone was being very vague and cagey by that point because we were all afraid of giving something away. We started driving down South, and I was wondering when she would say "what the heck is going on!". However, she was very trusting (it probably helped that we would never lie to her normally, so what reason would she have to be suspicious) and she didn't say anything until we were at the airport.

Once we all got out and the friend with the car drove off, she was pretty well aware that something was up. This was the moment of truth, would she be annoyed with us for springing this on her without any warning at all? No, of course not. She seemed very happy and very excited by the whole idea (although I could tell she did worry for just a moment about having someone else do her packing). We got tickets, passed through security, and boarded our plane without a single hitch. The actual time in Pittsburgh was great too, but that is another story (maybe one that M will put on his blog?). Over all, the surprise went beautifully, but I don't think we'll ever get away with another one quite as easily.

Extreme Silliness

You will not believe this one. For the final phase of the Professional Certification Program I am required to include student work as "evidence" that I have improved my teaching skills. This work must be "in student voice" meaning that it has to be an original copy (to prevent us from cheating I guess?). Therefore, we are required to photograph or scan the work and include it in a powerpoint presentation. This is the best I could do with our digital camera, and still have the whole page show at once. The amazing part is that I offered to translate the work into a readable copy, and was told that, no, it had to be original. I asked about the fact that you can't possibly read it, and they said, get this, they don't care as long as it is original student work. I am tempted to make up a work sheet that says PRO CERT IS STUPID! PRO CERT IS STUPID! over and over again. Of course that would mean, I would be lowering myself to their level of extreme silliness.

Fiendish Cleverness

Operation SNOW MY MOM went off without a hitch. It turns out the Pittburgh is actually a pretty interesting place, and not nearly the rusting hulk of a city that some people (not me of course!) might expect. More info and pictures to follow soon, but right now I'm bogged down in WASL Land.

Skagit Valley Tulips

The very first picture here shows the little patch of garden by our front door. If you look very carefully you can see our very first crop of tulips in the new house! It was very exciting (at least I thought so) when the little orange tips first showed color. However, as precious as they are to me, these are just a few little flowers. The Skagit Valley, on the other hand, has LOTS of flowers. My friend C and I decided that we have lived around Seattle for far too long without having seen the famous tulips, so we decided to make the trip. We left Seattle around 10am, drove the hour north, and made it up to flowers by about 11:15. Our first glimpse of the valley was not very promising because muddy fields (no flowers) were pretty much it. However, once we got a little closer to the farms, we could see whole fields of flowers. Since they grow each color seperetely, it was a sea of red, then a sea of yellow, and so on. At the farm we were treated to many different varieties of flowers, and these are just a very few of the pics. Perhaps I will include a few more in a future post.

Food for Thought

Many people are familiar with the book The Material World which is famous for going around the world and photographing people with all their possessions. Classrooms all over the country (world?) have used this book to get a visual portrait of comparative standards of living. Now, some of the authors have collaborated on a new book called Hungry Planet. Families are once again posed in front of their houses, but this time they have one week's food laid out in front of them. The difference between countries is staggering to say the least. Each country profile also includes a story about the family, and general food statistics for the nation over all. Looking at the rates of malnutrition versus obesity makes quite a powerful statement. Large portions of the population in Mali, Chad, Guatemala, and the Philippines struggle to get enough to eat. At the same time, millions of people in Australia, Germany, France, and especially the United States are slowly killing themselves withan excess of food.

Peace and Quiet

Hooray for spring break!

Moral Issue

I like to think that my views on moral issues are informed by an internally consistent set of rules. In this vein I've always argued that gay marriage is perfectly fine with me because, well, why shouldn't they? I’ve always argued that grown-ups who are not hurting anyone should be allowed to pretty much do as they please (yes, yes, there are exceptions, but I think you know what I'm getting at). After all, they are consenting adults, and their marriage really has nothing to do with me or Pat Robertson. What gives me the right or authority to tell a gay person they can't get married? More than that, why would I want to tell a gay person they can't get married?

However, I've recently found myself in a bit of a conundrum over this line of reasoning. The problem is the idea of multiple marriage. The new TV show Big Love has everyone talking about polygamy, and some people are starting to draw parallels between gay and polygamous marriages. After all, they argue, if adults should be allowed sole control of their marital choices then why shouldn't multiples be allowed? Well crap. According to my own logic I should agree with them, and yet I really emphatically don't. In fact, the idea of polygamy is completely unacceptable to me. But why? Why should I care about who other adults marry? Why should these two issues be so completely different for me?

All the people I've polled on this one happen to agree (at least in general terms) with me on these two issues (i.e. gay marriage perfectly fine, polygamy perfectly icky) but the reasoning varies greatly from person to person. Some people talk about feminism and the abusive caste of so many polygamous unions. Other people say it has to do with monogamy, and still more talk about jealousy leading to ruin. R even says that he can't stand the idea of how it would alter the tax code (knowing him, this is probably the truth). The only thing that everyone seems in a hurry to say is that the two issues are not the same. This article from Slate summed up many of the main points beautifully.

I wish I could say that I had some sort of good conclusion for this whole thing, but the truth is that I don't. I have not budged even slightly on views of each situation, but I am still not happy with how I arrived at them. Most all of the arguments people have proposed for the difference between the two make a lot of sense. However, accepting any of them means changing my basic belief that adults should make their own private choices. In my little world, most things of importance are pretty black and white, and this issue creates an uncomfortable shade of gray.

Noooooo!

The best boss ever (mine) is planning to retire in a mere fourteen months! I know this may seem like a long way off, but really it's just the end of next school year. The best supervisor ever got promoted out last year and now this. I don't know how we will all cope. Once you get spoiled by management that cares about workers and is responsible, responsive, and democratic it gets really hard to go back to the usual. I suppose there is a small chance we will get someone just as good, but, let's face it, the odds of that are not high. Having read my 90's management philosophy books I know that I am supposed to be flexible, role with the change, and go in search of new cheese. However, it feels as though our delicious aged French blue might be swapped for a limp piece of rubbery American.

Please Comment

Please contribute to a debate that is currently raging (okay maybe just simmering). The comment below was posted on Raymond's blog in March. The subject of Raymond's post was his annoyance at stores who do not post their legally required notices such as liquor licenses, freezer licenses, ect. When Raymond notices that someone is not following the rules he likes to make trouble for them. This is one of his hobbies. Many comments were posted in response, and this one stood out to me. Please comment on the comment and let me know what you think of the statement:

"# re: On the alert for expired food-handling licenses Tuesday, March 21, 2006 4:54 PM by Wang-Lo Many anthropoligists believe that the human male most naturally pays attention to larger aggregates and abstractions, while the female is most in touch with practical everyday details. Usually men undertake work such as associating families into tribes and tribes into nations. Organizing the big hunt is manly. Usually women perform the tasks of making and repairing shelter and clothing, gathering and preparing food, and tending the fire. Fixing lunch is womanly. This means that it is usually men who set up things like food handling regulations and a department of health to enforce them. Actually filling out the proper forms or properly posting the latest certificates would fall to some administrative assistant or secretary, usually a woman. So a man would be satisfied that proper health laws were on the books, but a woman would insist that the posted certificates be up to date. In other words, Raymond, you complain like a girl too."

Heather or Erica?

Mark and I used to have this running debate. He called this plant an Erica because that is what they are called in South Africa. I call this plant a Heather because that is what they are called both here and in Scotland. We would go back and forth about this in a good-natured way until one day I made an important discovery. Erica is the latin name of some varieties while Heather is the common name for the whole group of shrubs. Some plant tags even list this one as Heather Erica, so I guess we can safely say that we are both right about this one. Now we have this beautiful Heather Erica growing very harmoniously in our front yard.

Two Cute

Last weekend Mark and I went to a lovely tea party given by a friend of ours. The tea table was a sight to behold, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves very much. Another party guest was the four month-old son of two other friends. He is getting very big and strong, and is quite willing to be passed around to all the big people. He and Mark spent some quality time together admiring socks. They seemed quite happy with one another until hunger got the better of them and the fussing began. Luckily the baby found his mommy and Mark found his tea cup and all was well once again.

Tiny Patches of Spring

These little beauties are just coming up outside our front door. I've never been a huge fan of grape hyacinths, but these are just so cute and springy by the door that I can't help liking them. Besides, the previous owners kept both the yards so devoid of flowers that I'm happy to see anything colorful peaking out from the nooks and crannies. The tulips are taking their sweet time, but I have faith that they will bloom some time before summer.

Lucky Me

Yesterday was another one of those endless ones. Get up early, rush to school, teach all day, go to a meeting at 3:00, go to a class at 5:00, home around 8:00. In short, a long, long day. Add to that the fact that the class is yet another one of those stupid, pointless exercises, and I was none to happy about things.

However, when I opened the door to the house, clouds of delicious scents assailed my nose. Not only did Mark cook, but he made my absolute favorite Indian dish, tomato paneer. Not only did he make tomato paneer, he made lentil dahl and spiced rice as sides. Not only did he make such a delectable dinner, but he made custard with fruit for dessert. All of a sudden I wasn't quite so grumpy anymore.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Why is it that nothing ever is quite as it appears? None of those bits and pieces you hear about history from popular culture ever seem to be even close to true. Why do we feel the need to lie to one another? Real history is usually quite interesting enough without all sorts of embellishments and outright falsehood.

-Most everyone has heard about St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, but it turns out they've never had any at all.

-The story about Patrick using a clover leaf to explain the trinity was made up in the 18th century and also never happened.

-There is no evidence that Patrick was ever a Bishop who met with the pope.

-Strangely enough, there is also no evidence for the claim that Patrick made a bargain with god to keep Ireland free and Catholic forever.

-Last but certainly not least, there is a great deal of evidence for the belief that Patrick was not even Irish! Most historians agree that Patrick was actually born in Wales, and that he was the son of a Roman official.

So raise a glass of green beer to a Welsh guy who was nothing more than a really good evangelist.

Cherry Blossom Festival

As promised, I went out this weekend and took a few pictures of the cherry blossoms in our neighborhood. We have one tree next to our driveway, and then they also grow up and down the street. They are beautiful, delicately sented, and full of pollen that makes me sneeze. They are so springy that I can't help being delighted by them. The Japanese were definitely on to something.

Faith?

Every once in a while I run accross this quote and I remember how much I like it. It sort of sums up everything I think about faith and belief:

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense."

The Buddha

Lightning and Snow

Yesterday was certainly about contrasts. Last afternoon I drove home from school admiring the cherry trees that are blossoming up and down our street (I know, I know, I need pictures!). At the same time, a few flurries of snow were falling. That evening I was watching the lightening and listening to the thunder, and there were still a few flakes falling. To me, snow is winter, cherry blossoms are spring, and thunder and lightening are summer (at least around here they usually are). I am confused but it makes for a pretty cool scene out the living room window.

The Longest Mile

The book drama continues, and I am trying to figure out what I have learned from this whole experience. The first thing that comes to mind is "don't volunteer to be on book committees" but that seems kind of harsh. The second thing I've been thinking about is how to deal with the other people who argued so strenuously against me. Am I supposed to move on and pretend that nothing happened? I think they did a pretty unfortunate thing, so I have trouble just putting on a happy face when I see them again. Then again, maybe I'm just being childish. Also, what can I do better next time? This is the one I will really have to think about. One requirement is to be better prepared. Since I didn't really know what I was in for this time around, I couldn't foresee many of the problems before they arose. Next time, however, I will be well prepared. My arguments will be honed, my facts will be straight, and I will make certain that I have every weapon at my disposal. All with a cheerful and friendly demeanor of course.

Shot Down and Pissed Off

Note: The following is true. I know it will seem like I am slanting things to make myself look good, but I swear I did not make any of this stuff up.

Six Months Ago

Admin (very cheerful and upbeat): Okay Gang (he actually uses that phrase all the time) we need to choose new books for the various grade levels, and it's your job to get us some good ones! I'm breaking you into grade level groups. Here are the goals we are trying to meet in each grade, and here are the options available. Evaluate each option and decide if it meets our goals.

My Grade Level Team: Okay, after looking at all the options we think these two books do the best job of meeting our goals. Book #1 does a great job on this, and book #2 does an okay job.

Admin: Great! Now I see that you think one book does a better job of meeting our goals, but you never can tell until you use it, so go out there and try it with kids! Remember, you and the kids are the ones to make the final decision! (he really does speak in exclamations most of the time)

Today

Admin: Okay Gang (I'm not making him up) now that you've field tested the books you can calculate the average student response.

Us (furrowing our brows and adding numbers furiously): Wow, it looks like both books scored almost exactly the same! Kids really liked both books. In fact, the difference is statistically insignificant. What should we do now?

Me: Maybe we should choose book #1 because it meets the goals we started out with.

Teammate #1: No, we should choose book #2 because it had fun games with it (I'm not making this up).

Me: That game was fun, but it seems like maybe the books is not as good at meeting our goals.

Teammate #2: My kids thought the game was fun AND they liked they video.

Me: That was a good video, but remember how we had the goal about making sure all of our kids would be able to read and understand the book we choose? Book #2 is very complicated in some spots.

Teammate #3: My kids didn't have any trouble understanding book #2. Also, they really liked the game (I swear I'm not making this up!).

Me: That may be true, but you teach a class of highly capable students. This book is supposed to be for everyone, and then we will choose extra stuff for the Plus kids.

Teammate #2: The special education teacher in our school said that her kids really like games.

Me: Did you show her the books?

Teammate #2: No.

Me: I showed the books to my special education team and they said book #2 would be very hard for their kids to read. Did you know that book #2 was written at the 10th grade level?

Teammates: No.

This sort of conversation circles around for a couple more hours as we finish writing up our results.

Admin: Okay Gang! It's time to vote!

Me: I vote for book #1

Them: We vote for book #2

Admin (after we explain our positions): She has some very good points Guys (we are all girls in this group, but who's really paying attention). Have you really discussed her points?

Them: Yes, we think book #2 is good.

Me: What about our goals? What about readability? Ignore the games! Compare the books! (I am getting more frantic and trying REALLY hard not to let it show, but I sort of end in a squeak)

Them: WE WANT BOOK #2!

Admin: Well Guys, it's not up to me. Make sure you put her objections into the report.

Me: Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Them: Great! Let's write the report!

Me: Squeak!

Them: We picked a fun book!

Me: squeak

Them: The kids will really like the game

Me: ---

Grrrrage Door Openers

On one recent Saturday, Mark and I decided to head down to Nameless Mega-box Store to pick up garage door openers for our house. I assumed when we bought the house that the original openers had died from old age, and the previous owners just removed them. We thought (naive people that we are) we could just buy new openers and install them ourselves (meaning I would stand there and Mark would do the work). After searching through acres of home improvement goods, we finally found the right section, picked out belt-driven models, and took them home. Then we discovered the truth: our house has never had garage door openers because the brilliant, brilliant builder put a beam in the way. This beam precludes any standard variety opener, so our house has probably never had one. We then went back to Nameless Mega-box to return the old openers and ask about alternatives. The man there got quite gleeful telling us about the dangers of all non-traditional openers ("and then, if the spring doesn't catch you in the eye, the door will fall on your head!"), and said that we are basically screwed. Never daunted, Mark called in a garage door specialist who came out to the house. His opnion? We are screwed. The only solution is new tracks and new doors which is a five figure solution to what should be a simple problem. This is quite a bit more than our origianl budget of not much. For the moment we continue to jump out of the car, open the front door, run through the house, open the garage door, jump back in the car, pull into the garage, jump out of the car, close the garage door... Thinking about all this makes me realize that I am a spoiled, spoiled person.

Civil What?

The 7th graders were supposed to take an exam on Ancient China. One of the test questions reads:

Confucius wanted men to take the Civil ________________________ Exam to see who would make a good public official.

The answers from students include:

-Rights
-War
-Society
-ity
-ian
-man

I don't understand it. We studied the Civil Service Exam in some depth, and most of the kids did quite well on the rest of the test. I guess this is proof that some test-takers never look beyond the first few words of the question. This is right up there with the large group of kids who said that a group of monks will live together in a community called a Montessori.

Under Water

I've been a bad blogger lately. The problem is that all my classes have converged on me at once! I am still working full time, but I am also taking twelve college credits as well. This week I had two research papers to write, four plans to compile, one scaffold to hammer out, and four read-and-reflect pieces to work through. In short, life is veeery busy, but at least I'm down to the home stretch. By the end of April I will (hopefully) be done with the %*&#@* Pro. Cert. and life (and blogging) should return to normal. Wish me luck.

Tulips

Here is a series I took of tulips. I like these pictures because they show the flowers (which I like) and the sunshine (which I really like). These flowers were also quite satisfying because we bought them as tightly closed buds, and then watched them open in only about twelve hours. Steerpike decided to pose as well.

Aaaaaaaaaah

I don't want to make anyone jealous, but I am currently on vacation. It is Mid-Winter Break for most schools in Washington State. That massive "WEEEEEEEEE!" sound you heard last Friday was all the school children (and perhaps their teachers?) getting out of school for a week. I've spent my time off relaxing, doing all those little things I never quite get to, doing homework for my Pro. Cert. classes, and also relaxing. The best bit is, of course, the sleeping in and NOT getting up in the "wee sma's." The next best bit is all the quiet. It turns out that Mark and the kitties are not nearly as noisy as 900 teenagers.

Three Ways of Thought

Every year around this time we study ancient China in my social studies classes. We read about early emperors, see a video about the terra cotta soldiers, create a timeline of ancient dynasties and so on. I always try for a mix of different strategies to teach this stuff because no two kids learn in exactly the same way. However, most students agree that the best part of the unit is the simulations. Some of the early dynasties experimented with different forms of rule, so we take the kids through an activity designed to give them a feel for life under three of the systems.

The first system is the philosophy of Confucius. Because Confucius taught that younger people must respect and learn from their elders, we have the five eldest kids in class become the leaders. They get to sit ON TOP of the desks, and they get to tell all the students in their small group what to do. However, they are also responsible for the behavior and success of their "younger brothers and sisters." We talk about the power of honor and shame, and how a person's life could be ruined through loss of "face." They study the teachings of Confucius in their small groups, and then answer questions from me, the emperor. We leave out the part about men being thought superior to women until the end.

The second system is legalism. In this system I get to be the extreme heavy if you know what I mean. This is a system based on the idea that people are inherently bad, and the only way to have peace in society is through strict rules and serious consequences. All the students have to sit up in their desks, hands behind their backs, and pay strict attention to the lesson. They are not allowed to speak, look up, or move without permission. The smallest transgression leads to punishment. The best bit is wandering the rows and smacking a yardstick onto the desks of people who are "bad." Even though they know it is fake, some students still show signs of stress after a few minutes of my shouting and smacking desks. If a student is really bad I make them sit on the floor, or even kneel in front of the class. This year I added the punishment of standing in front of the room while holding a sign that says "I am a bad student." They must study the readings on legalism, and try to avoid getting punished. Each time a student is punished they get a check mark next to their name on the board. At the end I assign fake punishments to those with the most checks. Beheading is one of my favorites. The really odd part is that they absolutely love this lesson. They ask again and again if we can have another day like that one. I have no idea why they like it so much, but I'm just glad they don't complain to their mothers.

The third way of thought is Taoism. This lesson is such a great contrast to the previous day because it takes a totally different view of the world. Taoist philosophy says that people are naturally good, and the best way to govern them is to leave them alone as much as possible. Thus we clear the classroom and kids are allowed to choose their own seats on the floor as long as their seating choice "promotes harmony and not discord." We then talk about how the real struggle most people have is in their own mind, and how Taoists wanted to find inner peace more than anything. I place a potted plant in the middle the circle, and we all marvel at how it desires nothing and seeks only to be. Of course the kids are all snickering and trying to make fun of the whole thing, so I've developed a special strategy that avoids punishment, but still quiets them down. I talk about how some people are made uncomfortable by their own feelings, and these are the people who seek to act out as a way to cover up their won discomfort. They start to understand that if you are being a problem you are admitting that you can't cope. Finally, we do a little transcendental meditation where they all visualize a pond, imagine it experiencing a terrible storm, and then imagine calming the storm. This is a metaphor for all the problems that trouble our minds. Most kids think it is silly nonsense, but every single year there are a few who think it's a revelation.

In the end, we discuss how each of the three ways might have been used to rule a country. we also compare how these ideas might appear in the modern world, or how they might be applied to solve modern problems. More than one kid has come back to me years later and said that they remember these lessons better than any others. I love simulations!

Flower Geeks

Last weekend Mark and I went to the annual Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. We've never been to this event before, but since we got free tickets in the mail, we decided to give it a try. What we found was an entire world unto itself. It turns out that there are quite a number of hardcore flower geeks out there. Now many people might think this is obvious. There are millions of people out there who enjoy gardening, and who spend every weekend planting, mulching, weeding, or feeding. These people may have grubby pants and fingernails, but their yards are often spectacular. Some, or even many, of these people were at the garden show, but there was another kind there as well.

These are the people who don't just like flowers, they are obsessed with them. These are the people who say things like "I'm SO tired of zonal!” while looking at the geranium stand. These are the people who come, not just to get something unusual like a pitcher plant, but to get a certain variety of pitcher plant. These are the kind of people who actually get married in a garden display! I am not making this up. While we were there they were actually holding a real wedding in one of the big, room-sized displays. I cannot imagine what causes a person to choose a garden show for their wedding. Perhaps they met at the garden show? Perhaps they were paid to add authenticity? Perhaps they just love that convention center ambiance so much that it was the only choice? I really don't know.

Anyway, we had a pretty good time on the whole. Mark bought me a gold cast of a gingko leaf done as a coat pin. Of course, it was not actually alive, but at least it was still plant-related. I did not get to buy as many plants as I'd hoped because it turns out that what I wanted was way too mundane for this crowd. We did pick up a cute little sprout of dark red clematis and some very nice dahlia tubers, but I think I will have to just go to a regular nursery if I want lilacs, columbines, primroses, and other "boring" plants.

Happy Valentine's Day (schmaltz warning)

It know it's not very new or original, but E.B. Browning just said it so well:

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to useIn my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to loseWith my lost saints.
I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life;
and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

I hope Valentine's finds you happy--- whether you have romance or not. Remember that there are a million different kinds of love in the world, and it is okay not to have them all at once. All MY love to the family and friends who are scattered near and far.

P.S. February 14th was also my Grandpa John's birthday. All who knew him would have to agree that he was the best of men and the best of grandpas. Here's to him.

Fish Update

Well folks, I know you've been on the edge of your seat wanting to know how the goldfish is doing. I am proud, and more than a little surprised, to say that he continues to survive, and even seems to be mending nicely. We added some stress coat (Aloe Vera gel for fish) to the water, and it seems to be doing a good job of smoothing his raggedy edges. His poor tail is still in ribbons from the loss of blood, but I do believe he will eventually recover entirely.

I Think NOT!

It is time that I confessed the embarrassing truth: I am passionately fond of the band Queen. Well, to tell the truth, I was passionately fond of the music as a teenager, so much so, that I sort of exhausted it before I graduated from college. I listened to the band while doing my homework, driving in the car (I learned to drive to "I'm Going Slightly Mad") and just about everywhere else. I even read the official band biography, and learned the truth about Brian May's Red Special guitar (he and his dad made it out of an old mahogany mantle piece). Even now I still pop in the greatest hits CD sometimes when I need a pick-me-up. Therefore you might think that I would be all excited about the news that the band will be touring the United States in 2006, and they plan a show at our own Key Arena! The only small problem here, the only fly in the ointment if you will, is that FREDDY IS STILL DEAD! The remaining members of the band actually believe that they can simply swap in just any old singer and themselves Queen. As if ANYONE could replace the great toothy one. I have absolutely no problem with three former members of queen meeting up with a new guy and touring together, but they should not take the name of the original band in vain. The really sad part is that they will do it, and they will sell tickets too. People will actually go "oh well, I guess it'll be pretty much the same thing" or worse yet, THEY WON'T EVEN REALIZE THAT THEY'VE BEEN DUPED! To borrow from George Harrison--- There can be no Queen reunion as long as Freddy remains dead.

Flying Fish

Yesterday I got up at my usual ungodly time. As always I dragged myself out of bed in the dark, hobbled over to the bathroom, dressed, washed, combed etc. By the time I finish with all this I am beginning to wake up, but I'm still pretty bleary-eyed. Imagine my surprise then, at coming down into the kitchen and finding a fish on the floor. My poor, sleepy brain actually had trouble registering the fact that it was a fish because fish really are not part of the usual landscape for our kitchen floor. Once I registered the fact of the fish I noticed that this was actually a fish I knew, and that it belonged across the room in the fish tank. At first I thought the poor thing was dead because it was clearly dried out, it did not move at all, and it was covered in dust bunnies (okay, yes, we have one or two small dust bunnies in our house). I was just think "oh no! Poor Fishy! We hardly knew ye!" When the fish went !GULP! in a big way. I ran around frantically finding a bowl, scooping water from the fish tank, and trying desperately not to squash the poor little guy while putting him in the bowl. He didn't move at all. In fact, he sank to the bottom of the bowl and sat there without moving a muscle. I started to think I had imagined the gulp, and that I'd just plunked a leathery, dead fish into a bowl of water. By the time I had to go, he was still not looking good, and I really thought there wasn't much hope.

However, by the time Mark got up, the fish was swimming slowly around the bowl. Mark returned the fish to the tank and poured out the bowl of dust bunnies and slime (when fish get dried out they lose their protective gel coat). Long story short (too late for that you're probably thinking!) the fish survived his near air-drowning. He is a little the worse for wear from his experience. Without much gel coat, he looks very rough and it is hard for him to glide through the water as he should. His tail and one fin are ragged and shredded because they were deprived of blood for too long. Over all, though, he is alive and he will eventually recover. This weekend we will definitely have to go to the pet store and buy a cover for our fish tank. I just don't think I can take any piscine rescue missions so early in the morning.

But I'm Not Bitter or Anything

Teaching is one of the few professions where you are guilty until proven innocent again and again and again. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot simply jump through the hoops of getting certified and then be done. No, in fact, the job of certification is never truly over for those of us under the age of about forty. For those of us who became teachers in the last seven years, the job is especially arduous. Even though we have passed all the criminal checks, psychological profiles, course work, internships, student teaching, and provisional teaching, we are still considered "suspect" by the state. Thus, we must participate in Professional Certification courses or lose our right to teach. The courses are a series of classes that are supposed to help make us better teachers by identifying our "deficiencies" and assigning courses to "correct" them. I know, this sounds like a probation plan for people who can't cut the mustard, but no, they require it for everybody. I am nearing the end of this insulting, expensive charade and I cannot wait for it to be over. Last night was the first class of my final course. For three hours (after a full workday by the way) we sit and listen to the lady read our handouts out loud to us. We then go away and collect some important "evidence" about our school (such as the number of kids we have) and present that to our peers in the class. Perhaps this is meant to improve our patience with trivial things, but otherwise I can't see any real benefit to our skills as a teacher.

Hooray for Losers

For the sake of the kids and other fans I know I should be sad that the Seahawks lost. They certainly do care a great deal about their team. Yesterday, during the game, we stood outside our house and listened to the houses around us. Normally, our neighborhood is a very quiet place, but yesterday there were perfectly choreographed bouts of screaming. It would so quiet you could hear the breeze blow, and suddenly, bloody murder on all sides. Then, like a window closing, the sound would stop. A few minutes later there would be yelling again. We could not tell a significant difference between joyous and despairing, but they were definitely loud.

Nevertheless, I'm still happy they lost. I can't help being more than a little disgusted at the emphasis placed on sports, and professional sports doubly so. I know people need entertainment, and I can understand the joy of being a part of a movement, but I think it just goes too far. Leaving the huge amounts of wasted money out of it (that's a whole other post) I think football is dangerous on an emotional level as well. The fact that domestic violence spikes on game days says something about the intensity of feeling involved. Does watching violence cause violence? Who knows. However, a culture that encourages rabid behavior (the Pittsburgh police were moving through the city in riot formation) over such a meaningless subject certainly has problems with priorities.

Hooray, then, for the losers! May they lose again and again. May football culture wither and die here, and may we be spared the expense, on all levels, of football fanaticism. A girl can dream can’t she?

Wind Storm

It was definitely "a blustery day Pooh" as Christopher Robin would say. We actually had a high wind warning from the National Weather Service for all of Saturday, and I think it was richly deserved. We could hear the wind blowing throughout the night, and then when we got up this morning we noticed that the power had been out for a few hours. All morning the trees were whipping back and forth, and the road was littered with downed branches. Luckily, our house seems to be safe and snug. Finally, around noon, the power went out again. When you lose power in our area, the stoplights simply stop working. No flashing red, and no warning that something is wrong. As a result people don't quite seem to know how to behave. We saw more than one person just blow through a light without even seeming to notice.

When I lived in the countryside the power would go out all the time, and sometimes it would stay off for a day, or two days, or even more. However, it was kind of a different story because we were not so helpless as we are here. Our house had a woodstove for cooking and heating, and we always had big supplies of firewood, food, and water. More than anything, losing power just didn't seem to bother people the way it does here. Still, nothing can ever make cold, dark showers anything other than awful. Luckily, the whole thing only lasted about five hours, and we are able to warm and digital once again.

Lip Sync Your Way to Happiness

I've been working like a demon all week trying to keep my ducks in a row. However, they just keep flapping around and quacking, and more seem to show up all the time. Sometimes I feel tired, nibbled, and covered in feathers! Perhaps that is why the mood at school today is so welcome.

First of all, most of the kids are in ecstasy over football. The Super bowl is not remotely special or important to me, but I love it that they love it. The student activities advisor ran a contest this morning for the class with the most "spirit" (he went around counting the number of kids in blue and green) and the outfits were very impressive. One kid sprayed his hair green and blue, wore a jersey, and wore a cape made from a Seahawk blanket. He was beaming ALL day.

Second, we had the lip sync assembly today. Now I know this is not the most common type of assembly for a middle school to have, but it has certainly become tradition around here. I believe the whole thing started years ago (I can still say that without involving myself!) when they had try-outs for the talent show. It seems that they had so many lip sync acts that they decided to ban them from the talent show, and have a separate assembly for them instead. Now our talent shows mostly consist of dance and classical music, and we have the lip synch assembly too. This year we had some hilarious performances of both modern music and a few "golden oldies."

To begin, we had a group of girls doing their best impression of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." They danced around in artfully torn white shirts and totally failed to look ghoulish. One of my boys honestly wanted to know if that was a song they played when I was in high school (No! I was only about seven when it came out!). We all laughed at the boys who did an enthusiastic performance of "Yellow Submarine" and we cheered when two girls did a wonderful version of "supercallafragelistic." In short, it was great fun, and not so long that your bottom fell asleep on the bleachers. The kids are so buoyant; you can't help but feel good along with them. Days like these remind me why I love being a teacher. Now, if you happen to see any of my ducks, please let me know...