Thursday, July 30, 2009
A Rare Treat, or so I'm Told
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/
Monday, July 13, 2009
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.
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.”
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.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A Pretty Full Weekend
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.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Walk, Mow and Sweat
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Run, Jump, and Throw
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.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
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.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Right on Track (and Field)
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.