think, think, think

4:54 for women 4:27 for men

2012-01-01T10:05:00.000-06:00

The average time for a woman to complete a marathon is 4 hours and 54 minutes. My goal is to finish in 4 hours 26 minutes or less. I am finding that more and more I am getting into the competitive spirit with myself. The goals that I set for myself are in a sense a competition. It is with a strange sense of irony that I have become competitive. If you would have known me just a short time ago, I would have been the person that wanted "everyone to win- no one to lose" .
This idea goes back a long time to my childhood. I wanted everyone to feel good about themselves and losing feels bad. As a mom and teacher it was important to me to nurture a child's sense of esteem. If you believe in yourself then your life won't be plagued with self doubt. I am the first to admit that this is naive and unrealistic thinking. My sons were the first lesson that taught me this. Twin sons came out of my womb already competing for life, health and attention. They competed with each other and much to my horror, I could not stop it. Their egos were not permanently destroyed when one lost and the other won. My daughter was next to teach me lessons about competing. She wanted to compete- both with her brothers and with perfect strangers. It felt so good to win at something. She was talented in so many ways. Losing was ok- another chance to get better or learn something. What I figured out was that there will always be people that are better at something than you are. That is ok. There will always be more that you can learn, more that you can do, and honestly, the competition is with yourself.

Who knew?

2011-10-26T13:50:00.001-05:00

Each of us has ups and downs in life. That is what makes life, life. You know that the time will come for your kids to grow up and leave you. It is what should be and something that in my heart I wanted for them. This does not mean that I was looking forward to the day that they would leave. I love being a mom. I like the caretaking role and sharing in what makes them who they are. Our sons left together for college more than 4 years ago and our daughter, only 4 months ago. It was a big adjustment for me personally. I had the gamut of emotions. I don't think that I really ever got depressed or sad but I did miss the every day contact that had been a part of our family life for so many years. The contact is still there, but it has changed.
I had other interests beyond my children of course. I did not have something though that I had put off doing or wanting to do until they moved out. An activity or hobby of sorts has changed my life in a good way. Who knew?? I did not expect this nor did anyone else that knows me think that I would become a runner. I am however, excited and passionate about running. If you don't run, you don't want to hear about it. I can understand that.
I have signed up for a Stevens Point Frostbite 10 mile race December 3rd and I am training, running and planning on finishing strong at the La Crosse Fitness Festival - Marathon on the Mississippi on May 6th, 2012. There is something about running that makes me feel strong and I also like the mental and physical challenge of it. If you knew me before this whole running thing took over my life, you never would have guessed that I would be the person who would go for a long(for me) 8 mile run on a cool Saturday morning and have the drive to be training for a marathon. Running was for other people- crazy people, people that looked great in shorts and leggings, people who ate healthy, people that wanted to punish themselves, people that were not me. Who knew??

Educational Race

2011-10-10T13:16:00.000-05:00

Each and every one of us has the chance to embrace new things or not. This past weekend I was in a 5k race. It was a fabulous experience. I don't know exactly what I had expected but as with anything new there is always some anxiety about what might happen.
I had done my first run on September 11th and had run at least 3 or 4 days a week for the past month. I was prepared and consequently hoped that I would run a time that would be respectable. I was not worried about finishing because I had been running this distance for 3 weeks.
This experience for me has a certain relevance to being an educator. Challenges that we bring upon ourselves are good for us. They may have the intended consequence and they may not. We need to prepare ourselves (or the students) for the challenge and then, let the chips fall where they may. We might get sick, have an injury, lack motivation due to a sleepless night or have something that is beyond our control that stops us from reaching the challenge. This is a part of life and not a reason to give up or think that our efforts were for naught. All of have days or moments that it is hard to focus and get it done. Why should we beat ourselves up about it?
How we face the challenge, rise to it and then learn from it are more important than whether the goal was achieved or not. In my particular case, I am raising the bar even higher for my next race :D (this from a woman who was not a runner just a month ago).
I had a good race time - 28:19, was in 23rd place out of 85 women and 82nd out of 160 total runners. I felt surrounded by encouragement from fellow runners as well as the volunteer cheerleaders on the side of the roads. I met the race coordinator and it was her that was my inspiration to run in the first place. She is the same age as me and had run the Leadville Colorodo 100 mile trail race this past summer. If she could run that, I could run a measly 5k!! As I sat listening to the race results I would humbled and inspired by the man who was in the over 70 age bracket. If he can run, I can run :) I had a 10 (almost 11) year old run ahead of me the entire race. I think I knew my limits and decided that however he did, that was his business and I needed to take care of me.
This is another relevant tie into education. We are all at different places in our lives. We can set realistic challenges and then go for it. What I did, worked for me but it will not work necessarily for you. Yes, I did well on this race, however, I know I can do better and with encouragement, further instruction and desire I will be a faster and longer distance runner. If we as educators and students get the same from the system in which we learn, we will be life long learners.

Tools

2011-10-06T14:55:00.002-05:00

I read with much interest this week articles that ask about evaluating technology use in schools and whether the use of technology is valuable and worth the investment. I have a few things to speak to on this subject. I am of course biased and will be the first to admit this.
In the same way that you would evaluate anything that you would use in your daily life, education and the teaching environment must be scrutinized. I would hope that you would use the tools in your life to their utmost potential and for what they are intended for. I know that we don't always do this and there are lots of reasons why. I use tools as they benefit me, in my life, with the training and experiences that I have. You would not think it wise (energy or time) to scramble an egg with a KitchenAid Mixer when a fork would do just fine.
Power tools used to scare me. I was afraid that I would cut off my finger, hand or something worse. With someone showing me the safety rules and techniques, I am proud to say that power tools of many kinds are at my disposal. This does not mean that I will use them if they are not the right tool for the job. Technology in education works in a similar vein. A pencil and paper, ruler, calculator or physical book used by classes, can and will continue to have, profound learning that does not necessarily have to have more modern technological tools integrated into the lesson.
Some of the best software that I have ever come across is unable to be used because the operating systems of the computers do not support the programs. Perfectly usable digital cameras, scanners, computers, programs and other older equipment is not trash, nor should it be overlooked by educators for use in the school. This being said, of course, new servers, updated computers with matching software, high speed internet, cloud based sharing...are going to be the tools that schools do deem worth the investment for their students. If teachers are trained and then utilize the technology tools, then by all means, the investment is worth the costs.
The old is not necessarily outdated or bad and the new is not necessarily needed or great. It is my desire that each of us can decide what will be a good investment of our resources for the students that we teach. If we scrutinize and evaluate independently the technology resources, then our students will have learning potential that is boundless.

Rah Rah Rah!!!

2011-09-28T13:37:00.002-05:00

Tonight I attended a meeting of fellow educators in Wisconsin. This post is for the bus drivers, the janitors, the lunch staff. paraprofessional staff and teachers every where. We are in this together. We have within our power the chance to change lives. Our caring attitudes and love of kids and learning is a gift we give because we want to, not because we are paid so well.
You would not blame the firefighter for starting the fire. The doctor for you being sick, the dentist for your toothache, the farmer for your hunger, the police officer for crime, so then why do we want to blame the teachers for what is happening in the schools? It takes a committed community and accountability from our leaders to educate our children. You count on the firefighter, dentist, trash collector, engineer...to do the job that you pay them to do. Why is being in education any different? Why can teachers not be paid to do what they do best, which is to teach? Instead a myriad of other things complicates and get in the way of education. Teachers contend with children that come to school with issues that are beyond their responsibilities. It is a challenge to teach a child that has no respect for authority. We as parents, as citizens in our communities, political leaders...all of us must work together to help the schools to educate the students. Merit pay- an incredibly shallow and ridiculous idea needs to be taken out of the conversation. We need to stop pitting one group against another. If an individual is not doing their job, then by all means their principal and mentors need to help them out, follow through, and if the necessary progress is not made, fire them. Not one person that I know, wants an unprofessional, lazy, and poor teacher in their midst. It makes all teachers look bad. Why would I not try my hardest, use every trick I know to have my students succeed day in and day out?
So, to all of the hard working people who touch the lives of children everywhere, every day, you are the unsung heroes for the vulnerable youth and the future of our society. We work together and we expect our leaders to do the same.

Around the block and back again...

2011-09-18T08:20:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I thought to myself that the more things change, the more things stay the same. This is true in every aspect of life both in big things and small mundane things. I mention this in writing this today because I think that we often swing the pendulum from one side to the other without realizing that the middle is a very reasonable place to be.
Using education as an example- why would we think that no accountability and/or testing would be a good idea? It is a terrible idea. Why on the other hand would we think that testing/teaching to the test/only concentrating on test results would be an effective way to measure students knowledge? We have to seek the middle ground. Immersion of all special education students when it is not in a child's best interest is also another failed swing of the pendulum. Students should not be isolated and kept within the confines of a place where only other special needs students are. This is again, a ridiculous idea. Students should learn with their peers if at all possible and when it is in to the child's best learning interest, mainstreamed with the support that they need.
In our own lives we seek balance- fun, work, play, work, rest, work, busy, relaxed, hungry, full, family, friends, time alone, fun, work, play, work...you get the idea. Why would we not seek the same for our students who spend 6, 7 or more hours at school? I grew up and went to school in the 70's and while everything in education was not perfect, I know for a fact that life was much more in balance for the kids. We had recess, physical education, music, art, while still learning how to think, read, write, do math, science, social studies...We fit it in because the administrators figured out that balance was the key.
I hope that for our kid's sake that we figure this whole "education" thing out soon. A generation of brain power is at stake.

Running!

2011-09-13T12:37:00.003-05:00

I am a goal setter and when I put my mind to doing something, even with setbacks, I try very hard to attain my goal. I am putting this out there for myself and anyone else that perchance might read this...I am setting a goal to be able to run and complete a half marathon race before I turn 50.
Now I have never been a runner before so this goal has some obstacles that I am going to need to work at. I started on Sunday with a 2 mile run. I am using an app from endomondo.com that allows for gps tracking of your distance and speed and then will save and post it where you want it to go. I can listen to music while I run and this app interrupts for a few seconds to give you the update. I know that this is going to be helpful to me.
When a person has a big goal like running a half marathon, it is best to break down your goal into smaller more manageable steps. I have a 5K race that is in my hometown on October 8th. This is a great way to begin. I have added onto the calendar what days are running days and how far I need to run to meet this challenge. It is reasonable to work towards a 10K by June or July depending on how the winter running in Wisconsin goes. I am not thinking at this time that a treadmill is in my future. We will see.
As a nonrunner, it was important to me to find out things about running that I did not know. I had no knowledge about running posture, cadence, breathing or any other running related information. There is great information and support out there if you go searching. I found out it is important to have a day of rest between your runs although doing other exercise is perfectly fine on the rest days. I also found out that it is very easy to overdo it and then to injure yourself. Who knew :D ?????
I bought myself a pair of designated running shoes and today I will be wearing them for the first time on another 2 mile run today. I have learned that you don't increase your distance too fast or again, you can set yourself back.
So, a step at a time (literally) plus patience and work will be needed to reach my goal. Here is to each and every one of us!!! May we work hard to reach the goals we set for ourselves.

First Week Musings

2011-09-06T15:00:00.002-05:00

The first week of school is in the books. I have attended many meetings, participated in scheduling my classes, got ready 3 labs that I will be teaching in and have taught all of the grade levels that I am working with this year. Things went very smoothly and I am ready for a good school year. There are 2 new iPad labs that I will be teaching with after MAP testing is done in October. I am scheduled to do two after school professional development classes for the staff on using iPads in the classroom. I have one combined kindergarten class of 28 students in a lab that I have just set up. It was suggested that we use my other lab at the school that has 20 computers for the students to use. I did not think that this the educational environment that best suited the students needs. We will see how this works. I felt it was very important that all students had the opportunity to use the mouse and actively participate in my class.
I have a schedule that I really like, staff that is excited to be working with a new principal and a great group of students that are ready to learn! I continue to work on some major changes that will affect my future. I have a very hopeful outlook and think that my prospects for new challenges are getting nearer to being a reality.

Beginnings

2011-08-31T18:43:00.000-05:00

One does not always think of the beginning of September as a month of beginning things. I start my 11th year of teaching for the Waupaca School District. I am ready for this year. I have a new schedule which includes teaching 27 classes each week for either 30 or 40 minutes. I have updated my website with new activities that I begin teaching tomorrow. I have a positive attitude and am hopeful that this will be a fabulous school year. The beginning of the school year is a whirlwind of new faces and new routines. It is a wondrous time for teachers and students alike.
I hope that other things will soon be forthcoming in my life. I am ready for a new challenge outside of the classroom. I am someone who rather than letting things happen, I try and look for new opportunities and work for what I desire. Time will tell whether my efforts pay off. Until then I will be working towards the goal of empowering those around me to become life long lovers of learning.

Kindness

2011-08-04T20:12:00.003-05:00

I have been feeling a gamut of emotions these past weeks. I like many teachers am thinking and planning for the beginning of the school year. In many ways it is a time of excitement, hope and a chance to begin anew. Each year I am asked to write out my goals and how I plan to achieve them. At the end of the school year I am asked to reflect on whether I reached my goal. I take seriously this task and revisit it throughout the year. Last year's goal was for me to assist my students to try their best at whatever their learning objectives were. It was something that was easy yet hard to attain. It was easy to encourage them and call them out when it was obvious that they could do better. It was hard to measure and also difficult to sustain. The thing is that only each person knows whether they have tried their hardest or not.

I have thought about what makes my day a good one or not. The interesting thing about this is that the answer is really pretty simple. A good day for me is one in which I show and am shown kindness. It sounds simple but it is not something that happens as often as it should. I live my life day to day like most people do. Waking up, going about my routine, doing a good job at what I do (teaching) and generally interacting with the world in a positive manner. I'm going to make a goal for myself this year (not necessarily related to the educational goals for my students) to show kindness to others every single day. It certainly cannot hurt and who knows? Maybe the kindness that is shown to others will come back to me.

An Amazing Trip

2011-08-01T09:51:00.003-05:00

Our trip to Costa Rica was truly a fabulous experience. It was both educational, active, fun, relaxing and filled my head and heart with joy. The group that we met meshed very well together. We were from all over the United States. We were families, couples, professionals, retirees, older and younger people. Truly there was nothing that I would have changed about the whole trip.

There is much to learn about when visiting any country and we were given a great education in 10 days. There was something for everyone on this vacation. We had chances to relax and sit by the ocean, listen to the sounds of the forest from a hammock, do hikes of all different levels through the forests, shop for souvenirs, dance, take pictures, learn many things about the culture and visit and soak in 23 hot springs. Something that I will never forget is my daughter and I ziplined on the 2nd to last day. There were 11 platforms of very long and very high lengths. I don't think that there will be many other ziplines in the world that can compare!!

We visited and learned so much about the many food exports including coffee, bananas, pineapples and beef. We hiked many places and were guided on boat tours and saw 2 active volcanoes, hot springs, rain forests, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, wild rivers, suspension bridges, a butterfly garden, sea turtles, monkeys, sloths, birds of so many kinds, red eyed tree frogs, poison dart frogs, caiman, crocodiles, rhinoceros beetles and too many other things to mention.

The weather was cloudy and in the 80's most days. It rained for less than an hour each day but we expected this as we went during the rainy season. The rain never spoiled any activity or day for us. The tour director Christopher, did a terrific job with our group. We learned so much from him and his sense of humor made the bus travel easy. The places we stayed were beautiful and treated us royally. I must admit that being pampered at a hotel is something I find very appealing. The food was delicious! We had such a variety every day that all of us felt that we ate like kings and queens.

I have a desire to do more travelling and hope to begin planning a trip for our 25th wedding anniversary. We were married February 14th, 1987! The time has flown by :D

Adventure

2011-06-30T11:46:00.003-05:00

I have been doing a bit of pondering these last few weeks. I am enjoying summer. I have been going on lots of walks and bike rides. I am balancing the active body with the active mind. I am online quite a bit mostly just with social networking, email correspondence, bill paying and occasionally for fun. I have been reading books for pleasure as well as to learn about things that are new to me. In a month, I have a class on iPad's and using them in the classroom. The stores will be full of back to school supplies and my mind will once again be planning computer activities that are integrating the curriculum into my students learning.

In just over a week I will be visiting Costa Rica. I have preconceived ideas about the trip and the country, as many of us would. I am very much looking forward to the food (tropical fruits) and the rainforest plants and animals that we will be seeing. I am normally not a thrill seeker and I am unnerved by heights. This is a little out of my comfort zone but I am going to zip line across the forest canopy! It will probably be the best part of the trip :D The actual travel and being together with my daughter and mom is something else that I am honored to share.

I realize that one does not need to leave your home, state or country in order to have this excitement. An excellent book often will leave me with the feeling that I have traveled somewhere outside of my every day existence. I still get very giddy though with the idea of a "real trip". It is similar to going on a field trip with our students. There is something extraordinary about leaving home on an adventure. I will hope that you too have the opportunity this summer for a "real trip".

Coming and Going

2011-06-21T12:00:00.002-05:00

Another school year has come and gone. Summer is a time of reflection, learning and renewal. It was a year of teaching that had challenges that were beyond my control and which I think surprisingly I dealt with pretty well. For the first time in my adult life, my job, my livelihood was in jeopardy. Although there are many people that are around giving support, showing concern, offering advice and boosting your confidence- they do not walk in your shoes. I think that the waiting to find out the status of your position, is the hardest part. We had 26 retirements in our school district, which ended up saving my position and those of my fellow teachers given layoff notices. Some of these teachers were not ready to retire yet but due to the political upheaval they thought it best for their financial future to retire now. I am most grateful to them. This next year our school district and others all across the United States will be faced with slashing teacher positions again. I don't kid myself in thinking that my position is safe. It is not, and until the economic downturn and the tide of funding education changes, teaching as a profession is a risky profession to be in.

We became "empty nesters" June 1st. The boys graduated from UW La Crosse with degrees in Computer Science. One son has another year left of graduate school for Software Engineering. The other son, we look forward to visiting in Minneapolis. He started his first post college job at a company called ImageTrend in Lakeville, MN. He is a web application designer/developer. It is quite exciting to think that he has grown into a man, works professionally doing something that he loves with a company that recognizes his talent. Our daughter has moved to La Crosse taking her brother's room and is working at Culver's. She starts as a freshman at UW La Crosse this fall. It is quite quiet in our house. Life does not revolve around our kids and their activities anymore. I am letting go and doing pretty well with it all I would say.

Some other news that I will pass on, I have an incredible trip that I am looking forward to taking with my mom and daughter. My mom's generosity has given us the chance to be adventure travelling in Costa Rica for 10 days in July. I have not been out of the States since 1985 and this is the first time for our daughter. It will be 3 generations together. We will have this trip to always remember with each other.

Upon my return I have a two day iPad class that I am signed up for. I will be teaching with iPads this upcoming school year. I would love more resources for kindergarten-2nd grade students that will integrate with our curriculum. Please post a comment/resource if you would be so kind.

We go on...

2011-03-14T14:32:00.003-05:00

I did not write a blog post last week as I was not feeling particularly interested in sharing. I was given a preliminary layoff notice. Time will tell what happens next.

So I am not going to recap last week but suffice to say that the three grade levels that I teach did a continuation of integrated lessons involving their grade level curriculum.
This week we have a variety of language arts and math websites assisting the students with the concepts of measurement, counting patterns, sentence structure and grammar, telling time and short vowel words. If interested, visit my website to take a peak at the websites for the week.

Moooo

2011-02-24T20:48:00.002-06:00

Students came to my computer one at a time in first and second grade during their class period. They dictated to me what they would do if they were president in honor of President's Day on February 21st. This was typed out by me and then printed out as a class page.

Grouping and Grazing is the website that kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students are using this week and next. This is an active learning website which requires concentration and active participation in order to complete the learning objectives. Kindergarteners this week had to complete five problems (earn 5 barns) on the count by 5's and count by 10's activities. The first and second grade students did those plus the Add activity.

Lessons the week of February 14th - 18th

2011-02-15T11:51:00.004-06:00

This week the kindergarten students are using Pixie 2. They will be typing in a speech bubble, "There is only one of me and I love you!" Next they will take a webcam picture of themselves so it looks like they are saying these words. Finally they will use the shape tool to make a border of hearts within the frame.

The first and second grade students are going to be using http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=26 to be balancing equations. They are working with a partner and each making an equation to equal 10. Once they have balanced the scale ten times the second graders are moving up to the number 25, then 50 and finally 75. The first grade students are starting with the number 5, then moving to 10 then to 15 and finally 20.

February 7-11th lessons

2011-02-15T11:31:00.008-06:00

Kindergarten:
The 100th day of school was this past Friday and the students had activities relating to this very important number. We stamped 100 stamps in Pixie 2 and then after counting by 10's and saying the pattern to the teacher we visited 2 websites.

http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Dogbone/gamebone.html
Students had to find the numbers that are on the white rectangle in the hundreds chart. We did not worry about the timer.

http://harcourtschool.com/activity/count/
Students type in the missing numbers to 100.

First and second grade were introduced to the different parts of a friendly letter and then typed a one to their homeroom teacher.

Behind 2 weeks :D

2011-02-15T10:48:00.004-06:00

Though I had good intentions to blog each week on the lessons that my students are doing, I am behind 2 weeks. So goes my busy life I guess. The cold, (bitter cold -20's overnight and highs during the day reaching 0) was making it hard for me to function in a productive and positive way. I have a 2 credit class that I am taking online that is also time consuming and other competing interests in my life. So it goes... Onto the lessons :D

The week of January 31st:
Kindergarten students used 3 different websites. We used Literactive.com in the Road to Reading to get more phonics practice with letters V, W, Z, and J. We did the ABCYa.com lesson with counting fish. Students had 3 levels to make their way through. Finally we did the Place Value lesson again with the marshmallows and the bear from the week before.

First and second grade this week did a lesson in Pixie 2 in which they typed in clues to reveal to their classmates to guess who they were. On a second page the students took a webcam picture of themselves and stapled it behind the clues.

New week, new lessons

2011-01-23T18:21:00.002-06:00

I have been too long in between posts on this blog. I am going to try something a bit different. I am going to post what is happening in my classes for the week. I think it is important to know what is going on in schools. Elementary computer integration with curriculum that is adopted by your district is a necessity in my opinion.

Last week my classes did the following:

Kindergarten- We had 4 websites that the students demonstrated their skills beginning with 1. smarttutor.com that involved numbers - addition and subtraction. 2. literactive.com a lesson that we did involving rhyming words - looking for the matching words. 3. smarttutor.com a lesson that taught us about how to sequence a story. and finally 4. smarttutor.com a lesson on geometry and finding the shapes based on clues

First grade- We had 5 websites to visit. 1.smarttutor.com sequencing a story 2. smarttutor.com a lesson on symmetry 3. smarttutor.com a lesson on ways to make the sum of ten 4. smarttutor.com a lesson on money using pennies-quarters 5. oswego.org a lesson from math magician using subtraction to answer 20 questions.

Second grade- We had 3 websites to visit. 1 smarttutor.com a lesson on homophones 2. mathplayground.com a lesson on making change using the least amount of dollars and coins 3. oswego.org math magician subtraction mixed level 2

Thanks- it is such a small word

2010-12-14T08:10:00.002-06:00

I was inspired to write this blog post from someone else who posted about a month ago about the things that they were thankful for.
I think all of us muddle along through life. We have hard times and good times and great times. We have times of contentment, resentment, fun, drudgery, working hard and playing. Sometimes we jump through hoops doing what we need to do. We have rules to follow, laws to obey, others to consider in our actions and decisions. We are complicated and can move from many emotions and activities in a short span of time. Some people have personalities that are brighter, some are darker. Some of us see life as what others are doing to them while still others see life as what they are going to do.
I could list off all the the quote unquote normal things to be thankful for- great family, friends, my job, education, living in the 21st century in the most technological time ever...and truly I am thankful for all of this but there is more.
I am a person that has the ability to learn and I truly love learning. I love to read and discovered libraries and sharing books very young. I have an appreciation for nature as well as other cultures. I am willing to try new things. I am creative in lots of different areas and that creativity comes fairly easily to me. I am mostly nonjudgmental, letting others live their lives so long as they let me live mine. I am a middle ground kind of gal- a peacemaker of sorts and that suits me very well. I have mellowed about lots of things through the years, knowing that I can never walk in someone else's shoes. Yes there is poverty, abuse, war, natural disaster, sickness, and many other ills that are an every day part of the human experience. I am not blind nor do I want to make light of the suffering of others. I am one of the lucky people on the planet that has life pretty good. For that, I am thankful.

Wondrous Moments

2010-10-28T14:25:00.005-05:00

Teaching imho is much like parenting and life itself. There are ups and there are downs. There are times of brilliance, stupidity, love, hate, and every emotion and reaction in between. The things that make each of us go on living are the wondrous moments. I watched on comedy central on October 30th the Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear. The entire thing was organized, uplifting, fun, and left me with an incredible sense of hope.
This whole sanity thing is what we need to embrace. Tolerance and working with each other is not anything new but the media especially, has forgotten how important it is to our greatness as a nation. We can do this and in fact every single day we have these opportunities and rise to the occasion. We have more in common with each other than we know. We can agree to disagree and still come to a compromise to solve the problems that need to be solved. It is time that the media focuses on the solutions and stop making every single issue a crisis that polarizes us.
So I raise a glass to working with all of you. To wondrous moments- may each of us have many more of them!!!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2010-09-30T16:42:00.003-05:00

Listening to the debate, the discussion, the struggles and the solutions to our education dilemma in this country I think it boils down to one thing. It has taken me a long time to really articulate this and I hope that you do not think that my solution is simple or too obvious.
I think that improving education is all about respect. This word is fraught with much emotion. If a community respects and reveres education, if a parent and student respect and value education and our government and legislators regard education with the respect that it should be given than most every problem in education would and could be solved. It is of course not that simple or easy but it is what is at the root of an education system that is fundamentally struggling.
If one thinks about what has happened in the recent past it is a fairly clear pattern of disregard for the education of our youth that has broken down. Yes the family unit has changed, our country has more impoverished, disenfranchised and downtrodden, and our leaders have failed us in important ways. Fundamentally though it comes down to whether we regard teachers, schools, children and the educational process. It seems clearer all the time to me that we are trying to fix a broken system without digging deeper into the issue. It would be much smarter to begin to think of ways in which we can start to change our society and put action into having respect and regard for others.
A classroom of students that are ready to learn, have parents and society that values learning and expects this from the school and the student is what is sorely lacking. Give a teacher a class of students of any background, any economic status, any level of ability and he/she do what she/he has been trained to do. We are asking our teachers to go at it alone- we have to be a social worker, disciplinarian, police officer, truant officer, cheerleader, parent...all in the hopes of trying to get our students to WANT TO LEARN. This is crazy. If all one had to do is teach, and teach well, then our jobs would be simple. You cannot expect that a teacher is going to be able to swim upstream with the behavior problems, disrespect and all of the other challenges and actually teach each and every student to their utmost potential. Respect is what is missing. In countries that are successfully educating their students the most common denominator is respect in the country for education.

I won't run a marathon or be in a beauty contest...

2010-08-03T08:40:00.002-05:00

Four months ago I started down the road to better physical health. You might be asking what does this post have to do with technology in education. I will get to that in a moment. I am like most teachers dedicated to helping others succeed and learn in life. Often times this means neglecting or not paying attention as closely as one should to our own health. This can become something that is a minor or major problem down the road. If I look around in the school environment, staff and students are more overweight and sicker than ever before. This is costing us lots of money as a society and we need to get proactive in changing it.

Like many people, I have lots of excuses for not doing what I should for better health. I have lots of reasons to do things to be healthier too. I made a commitment and I decided to lose weight, eat healthier and exercise. This is much easier said than done. I am good for a month or two but then generally lose my drive. I found a website Sparkpeople, that appealed to my need for accountability. This website is a dream for those of us that like technology. The philosophy is being healthy and it is customized by you, for you. It is easy, similar to weight watchers and is free. It automatically looks up calories for food, lets you know how many calories you burn exercising, gives you nutrition information...all with a click or two of the mouse. I have been exercising on my stationary bike and walking. I eat better and feel good. If I am honest about it, I am looking better (vain, I know) too.

My family is along for the ride too. We have for the first time diet food in the house. I look at labels and buy low fat, low sugar foods. I am cooking differently as well. These are good changes and I look forward to continuing the journey to wellness.

The Sparkpeople website made it easier for me to stick with something that is a challenge. I am not a nutritionist or a physical trainer. I am just me- a wife, mother, teacher, friend, concerned person on this planet who is trying to lead a healthier life. I won't be running in a marathon or winning a beauty pageant but I can be prioritizing me in regard to health and wellness.

Ups and Downs

2010-06-25T06:53:00.002-05:00

It has been weeks since my last blog post. Let's be real, it has been months since the last post :P We are now at the end of June and I want to reflect on this spring.
For a time I was in the midst of proctoring MAP tests and was caught up in the assessment wheel of education. This would have been a mixed topic to blog about. On the one hand the students did well so this is good news, on the other hand, the testing is stressful. So much rides on the scores and the assessment is really not matched yet to our curriculum. Hence valuable instruction time is spent on getting students ready for the skills tested.
On a professional note, I volunteered and then was voted into a 2 year executive board member position of the Uniserve Council that my school district is served by. I had been serving as the representative from the district and now I have increased accountability. I have an interest in serving on the political action committee so we will see how things progress.
This spring I decided to get into better physical health with changing my eating and exercise habits. It has been a really good journey thus far. I went online and found a community of like minded people to inspire and share with. If you have any interest at all in doing this I would recommend Sparkpeople It is similar to Weight Watchers but free and has so much information and cool things to help you keep track of your health. I have learned a lot and have stayed motivated and lost 18 pounds so far. I eat better and exercise daily. I feel good!
I hope that your summer is off to a good start and I promise to post again much sooner.

Judging others- Who me?

2010-04-02T14:58:00.003-05:00

I was skyping with my son about what I think are important topics. Marriage, divorce, relationships, work, job satisfaction, money, belief systems, education, good choices...In the conversation I had a small aha moment- a little revelation about myself that I will share. I feel a bit embarrassed about this because prejudice and judgments have a negative connotation to them.
I judge people based on how they treat others. I am not proud or feeling good or bad about this - it is what it is. I think that there are things about how we treat others that say something about the person on the inside that we would never know about them in a casual sort of way.

If you are a true friend- you are honest and have regard for that person. You can agree to disagree with someone and still have respect for them as a human being. Because this individual has integrity and speaks with their deeds in a way that is supportive and not out of spite, it is easier to listen to the truth. We are lucky indeed if we have found a mate that is our true friend. This does not mean that we will always get along or have peace and harmony. Not sweating the small stuff that really does not matter in the big scheme of things is a good relationship lesson :)

When I see patience, understanding, kindness, and a general regard and respect for others I think very highly of that individual even though we might not agree on very many other things that are integral in life.
The opposite is also true for me. I am annoyed, put off and at times downright angry when people are disrespectful, impatient with others, mean or self important- even if we might agree on some very important aspects of life.

So yes, I do judge others- as prejudice as that might sound :P