A Rare Treat, or so I'm Told

During the week of July 19, my bride and I spent time at Isle of Palms, SC. A pretty good thunderstorm occurred during the early morning of Wednesday the 21st. In fact one thunderclap was so loud that I thought someone had dropped a house just outside our unit.

So I got up and started my morning coffee-drinking ritual. I decided to go outside on the deck and check out the ocean -- while I drank coffee. I happened to look to the southwest and waddaya know -- a perfectly formed water spout.

It looked like the storm was about a quarter mile away (could have been further -- hard to judge the distance), but I though it was right next door. This certainly got my attention. My bride took this picture.

Apparently, these events don't happen that often in that area, but it was spectacular. Looks like there were two in the area that morning.

Read more here. http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/jul/21/waterspoutweb89896/

School Rankings and Fishing Lures

Ranking schools is somewhat like ranking fishing lures. There are many ways to rank schools and there are many types of fishing lures. All work to a degree. None is perfect.

I begin to quake with fear when someone mentions something about "raising educational standards' or "educational reform." My experience with these is that most people simply mean that we need to add more stuff and to make it harder for students. I often wonder if the 15 year-old brain is more highly evolved now than, say, fifty years ago. I doubt it.

I’m not even sure if any educational debaters even think that the 2009 meaning of the word, “educated,” may be somewhat different from what it was in 1950 and even different from what it was in 1900, etc. Things do change – really. To think that we can continue to teach and evaluate today’s students in the same way that students were taught and evaluated in 1950 or whenever may be unrealistic.

There seems to be special concern over whether or not students have “gained” from one year to the next. How this can be accomplished with a paper/pencil multiple-guess-type test has never been clear to me. Whether or not students have learned anything may not be apparent for a while. Students do not really learn according to someone’s time-table as might be inferred in the very familiar saying. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” Or, as my daddy used to tell me, “Boy, one day you will understand.”

Kinda makes you wonder why sometimes students who struggled through and hated high school wind up doing very well in college.

And speaking of testing, the other nugget comes to mind. “You can’t fatten a pig by weighing it over and over.”

Most recently, there has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth because our high school was not included on the list of the top 1500 high schools -- according to one ranking measure. Apparently, for some reason or other (certainly not purposefully), data were not submitted in time. This ranking/rating of high schools is calculated by taking all advanced placement (AP) tests taken (not necessarily "passed") and dividing by the number of graduating seniors. Our data have now been submitted and the ratio has been calculated -- 1.665, a ratio higher than last year's 1.465.

That our data were not submitted does not change the facts that 541 AP tests were taken and 325 seniors graduated. The AP teachers are doing their job. The AP students are doing their job. Nothing changes that. The mere act of submitting data, however, propels our high school from nothing to one of the 1500 top high schools in the nation -- according to this particular ranking system.

In “The Wizard of Oz,” why is Scarecrow smarter just because the wizard gives him a diploma?

It is a sad state of affairs when we get caught up in jumping through these kinds of hoops.

I have issues with ranking systems of any stripe.

A Pretty Full Weekend

Friday night my bride and I saw "The Full Monty" at the local playhouse. What a hoot! I had tears coming down my cheeks. Between this play and "The Producers" a few weeks back, there have been some side-splitting moments.

Saturday evening, we attended a "class reunion" kind of thing at one of the local places in town. It was a reunion of teachers and staff that taught and worked at Jefferson Junior High School (now known as Jefferson Middle School). The good news is that many attended. The bad news is that many could not attend. We saw folks that we had not seen in years. We had lots of fun and not many "war stories" were told. Just some good visitin". I know that I am biased, but I think we had a very good, hard-working and caring staff.

Walk, Mow and Sweat

I felt like mowing my lawn today. I have no idea what got into me, but I had been putting it off because my riding mower may be terminal and I really didn't feel like walking all over my yard -- behind a push mower. I've fixed my rider three times, and it's starting to get a bit more expensive that I want to deal with. So, I fired up my pusher and went to work. About four hours later (about an acre of mowing) and lots of sweat, I finished. This included trimming. I was focused.

I still have my rider. That piece of machinery is 16 years old. Now I have to decide what to do with it. But, walking in what seemed to be like a steam bath this morning and afternoon is helping me to decide.

I sweat so much that I am sure it was very cleansing. But, as I walked and sweat, I kept thinking of the words my dad would say and would probably still be saying. He would have looked at me and seen me drenched in sweat and said something like this. "Take-a lottsa water out."

Run, Jump, and Throw

Thursday, May 7, was the TSSAA Section 1-AAA Track and Field Championships. What a day -- all day. I got to the track at 8 am and returned home at 7:15 pm -- worn out. But, someone did the same thing for me when I was in high school.

It was worth it. Our high school will have 15 different athletes in 12 events at the state track meet. I am especially pleased that my grandson has qualified to go as part of the two sprint relays (4x100 and 4x200). He's a freshman -- I think the only freshman of the 15.

I guess I am not really surprised because he used to sprint wildly down the aisle of the church (and everywhere else) when he was two years old. In fact, the boy has always had two speeds --sprint and sleep. Now, he has a bigger play area.

Our high school is well-represented by some very fine athletes -- boys and girls. Go to my website to see more.

http://www.oakridgetrack.org

We were at the discus area practicing one day, and one of my boys was celebrating his 17th birthday. I chuckled to myself. I'm a half-century older than he is. What fun it is to see these young folks do their work.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Tomorrow, April 26, marks three years with my new hip. Seems to be working just fine. It's not perfect, of course, but it's much better than what the original had become. It was nothing but two bones rubbing together. I was afraid I was going to set myself on fire. Hurt like the dickens, too. There was absolutely no way to get comfortable. Replacing that one part solved a lot of problems.

Now, it's hard to compare my new fake hip with the original model. The Original Manufacturer made a pretty good product. But these parts do wear out.

So, I'm going through the life stages: build up, maintain, repair, and spare parts. I may be at the spare parts stage, and I am glad that medical science keeps improving these parts. Besides, my new part reduced my overall average age. However, I am not ready to repeat the experience any time soon.

Right on Track (and Field)

Pre-season conditioning for track and field is underway at the high school, and, right on cue, here comes the cold, wet weather. It seems to be a rule.

I'm a volunteer coach for the throws (discus and shot put). This means that I'm at practice daily -- like a good-boy volunteer. Some will ask why a coach is needed for throwing things. Those two events (discus throw and shot put) only look simple. There is nothing simple about it. And, we will never get the techniques right. That's why we practice under a structured program.

Since we are not yet allowed to actually go outside and throw, we are hoisting weights. The boys are mostly football players, so they're involved with the football weight workouts, but the girls are under my care. And they do work. Neither the core groups of boys nor girls whine about their work. They just do it, and they will stay right with you. Good kids and fun to work with.

Hopefully, when we can actually go outside and begin throwing, the implements won't seem so heavy.

Inauguration Day!

I don't think that I have ever watched as much television in one day as I did yesterday, January 20, 2009. In fact, I may have watched more on that day than I usually do in a week.

Inauguration Day! Fascinating--and mesmerizing. The whole thing. Even the flubbed oath which underwent a do-over today.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics-whitehouse/20090122/Obama.Oath.Do.Over/

Now, to work -- and much work there is to do. Even I know that.

Congratulations and best wishes, Mr. President -- to you and to all your team -- which includes all of us.

I Still Like Toys.

So, the holidays are over, and all the purtys have been put away. Friends and family have been visited. Parties have been attended. Folks have been entertained. Money has been spent. And, a good time was had by all -- I think. Of course, my bride does most of the work. I certainly do my part -- by keeping out of the way.

I did treat myself to a new little toy, however. No, not a new flat screen TV, since my old big-box TV is still good. Besides, I can fall asleep in front of my old one just like I could in front of a new one.

I bought a new electric pizzelle baker. My old electric one had seen better days, and I was not going to use the old stove-top baker that I have. My mother and dad used it, but it is labour-intensive, and I am not in to that. For those of you who do not know what a pizzelle is, you should look it up. Basically, it's a thin, crispy Italian cookie -- somewhat like a waffle. They taste good.

I have made one batch already, and another one is due to be made soon.

Happy New Year to all.