Summer is my favorite season, if it wasn’t I would be in big trouble because I live in a state were it is summer from May to October. But June is a rough month for me and mixed in with all of the happiness there is just enough sadness that I end up feeling blue and I usually end up with a migraine at some point during the month. The migraine sends me to bed and I end up dealing with my blues in my dreams.
June to me is a month of endings and some years the endings seem more final than others. June is a month of school years ending with students moving on and some graduate. In 05 and this June I watched my own sons graduate from high school. I know this is how it is supposed to happen but as I Mom I watch them growing up and the end of high school means they are grown up.
June is also a month when I am reminded of my Grandmother’s death. She has been gone for more than 10 years now but I still ache for her at times and June seems to be when it is the worst. It’s funny I don’t believe in ghosts but there are times, especially when I need guidance, I hear my Grandmother’s voice. The first few times it happened it was startling but now it just is and there are times when I find myself listening and waiting for her voice.
I get restless in June; I want to do something but I can never quite put my finger on what it is that I want to do. This is when I start to think about moving even though I don’t really want to move. It is when I think about taking a long trip to nowhere in particular but I usually don’t go too far or anywhere, money and other commitments keep me where I am.
This June did have bright spots that accompanied my blues. My youngest son graduated from high school in the top 25% of his class. Had he taken all regular classes he may have finished higher but he would not be college ready. All of this from a child that did not speak before he was almost 4 and was in the special education program until he was in 6th grade. He plays 2 instruments and sings in a beautiful deep voice that is very soothing. He has decided that he wants to become a professor of music history. If you would like to see pictures of his graduation go to doohickie's blog.
My parents were able to make the trip to Texas to see their grandson graduate and they spent three weeks with us. We went antique hunting, ate at some great restaurants, Mom and I played scrabble and we went shopping. I cried when they left, I hate good-byes.
I was very nervous about my son’s choice of college. He was accepted to three schools and his 2nd choice was my first choice but I tried really hard not to heavily influence his decision. This past week he had freshman orientation and I went with him. After the orientation was over I felt much better about his choice, I can see how he will fit in and that they will be supportive of his educational and personal goals. So in August I will help my youngest child move into his dorm and he will start the next chapter of his life.
In a couple more days another June will be gone and when July starts my blues always seem to lift and fad.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Test Scores
The unofficial results are in.
I did not have a 100% passing rate this year on the state standardized test. One of my students failed so my passing rate was 98%. I was not thrilled with this but I can not take the test for them. None of the other teachers had a 100% pass rate. In fact I and one other history teacher have had the 100% pass rate. He now teaches government and economics which are not tested.
The good news the tutoring camps paid off for the 10Th graders we saw a 10 point jump over all with some of sub-categories going up more than 10 points.
The fair new our 11Th grade scores went up 5 points over all. I was hoping for a bigger increase for the 11Th graders because this is the class they must pass to graduate. The good new we have less than 30 students that will need to retake history portion of the test over the summer.
Our special education scores also went up so the modification guides that we put in place seemed to help. We will implement these guides earlier in the year so the students really learn how to use them.
On a different note son number two graduates from high school tomorrow night. I am really not ready for this his senior year has gone by quicker than I ever thought it would or wanted it to.
I did not have a 100% passing rate this year on the state standardized test. One of my students failed so my passing rate was 98%. I was not thrilled with this but I can not take the test for them. None of the other teachers had a 100% pass rate. In fact I and one other history teacher have had the 100% pass rate. He now teaches government and economics which are not tested.
The good news the tutoring camps paid off for the 10Th graders we saw a 10 point jump over all with some of sub-categories going up more than 10 points.
The fair new our 11Th grade scores went up 5 points over all. I was hoping for a bigger increase for the 11Th graders because this is the class they must pass to graduate. The good new we have less than 30 students that will need to retake history portion of the test over the summer.
Our special education scores also went up so the modification guides that we put in place seemed to help. We will implement these guides earlier in the year so the students really learn how to use them.
On a different note son number two graduates from high school tomorrow night. I am really not ready for this his senior year has gone by quicker than I ever thought it would or wanted it to.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Dad
Today my Dad turned 70. It does not seem possible.
I had orginally planned to do this really nice tribute to my Dad with pictures and lots of nice things to say and some funny things to say. Then my youngest got the lamest assignment I have ever seen in my life that he need help with so Dad's tribute got put on the back burner for a bit. The economics assignment actually had to be sewn on a shirt and I will not let the men in my house touch my good sewing machine. If my hands get better one day, I want to be able to use my machine. I have been able to add pictures since I posted this on May 11th.
So here is a short tribute to my Dad and maybe if time is on my side this week I can come back and add pictures to this.
This picture was taken about 10 years ago at my Aunt's home in the summer.
My Dad and Mom had me when they were young, barely 22 to be exact. My Mom tells the story that my Dad could not even say the word pregnant with regards to my Mom's condition. She was "in the family way" or "they had a loaf in the oven". My Dad was very protective of me from day one and still is or tries to be even though I am here and he is in Yankeeland.
My Dad did not graduate from high school but he made sure that we all knew how important an education was and he pushed us to do our best. Sometimes to the point that I wanted to scream because school was not easy for me and honestly there were times when I did scream "I am doing my best" and storm off down the hall. His favorite thing to do that I can laugh about now but oh I hated it at the time was to wait until I was almost to my room and he would call me back I was seething but I went. I would walk up to him and in my best scowl say "What?" He would wait and then with a totally serious face ask me "So how far would you have been if I hadn't called you back here?" I would try to stay mad it at him but in the end I laughed as I sputtered under my breath and went back down the hall.
Watching my Dad with his grandchildren is one of the biggest joys I have. He adores them even more than he adores my sister, brother and I. When he talks about his grandchildren you can hear his pride and his delight in all that they do. The pictures that would go here are many. The picture of my Dad and son number one swinging and laughing in our backyard. My Dad and son number two giving each other nuzzles. My Dad holding NP Diva as a baby with more than one party hat perched on his head.
My Dad is 70 and he is starting to show his age. I think this may be more shocking for me than for my brother and sister because I get to see him once a year. In my minds eye my Dad isn't a day over 50 yet I know that can not be right because I am closer to 50 than he is. So when I see him and he is not as young as I remember him it shocks me and unsettles me just a little.
I have wonderful pictures of my Dad most if not all of which were taken before I had or there even were digital camaras. So I will come back and add those.
I will close with this story of my Dad. My best friend and I wanted to go shopping and my Dad was heading to Wards to pick something up from the catalog department we wanted to go with him. He told us no because he did not want to wait for us he was only going to pick up one item. We insisted on going with him and he informed us that if we went and we made him wait he would put a banana peel on his head like a hat. Of course we did not believe he would do it so we got in the truck and went with him. Well you guessed it he ended up waiting for us and when we met him on the loading dock he was standing their grinning from ear to ear with the peel perched atop his head. We were young teens and we were mortified. Looking back I should have known he would do it. That is one thing about my Dad if he says he will do something he will do it.
I could not find all of the pictues I talked about because of course since I am looking for them I can not find them. I am adding some that I really do like. They are of my Dad and son number one, my Dad with my Mom, my Dad being funny in his hat before my wedding, he did not wear it to the church and my Mom and Dad with me when I graduated from college finally in 2005.
So to my Dad who will see this when my Aunt or my sister show it to him I say happy 70th Dad and we love you forever yes we do!
I had orginally planned to do this really nice tribute to my Dad with pictures and lots of nice things to say and some funny things to say. Then my youngest got the lamest assignment I have ever seen in my life that he need help with so Dad's tribute got put on the back burner for a bit. The economics assignment actually had to be sewn on a shirt and I will not let the men in my house touch my good sewing machine. If my hands get better one day, I want to be able to use my machine. I have been able to add pictures since I posted this on May 11th.
So here is a short tribute to my Dad and maybe if time is on my side this week I can come back and add pictures to this.
This picture was taken about 10 years ago at my Aunt's home in the summer.
My Dad and Mom had me when they were young, barely 22 to be exact. My Mom tells the story that my Dad could not even say the word pregnant with regards to my Mom's condition. She was "in the family way" or "they had a loaf in the oven". My Dad was very protective of me from day one and still is or tries to be even though I am here and he is in Yankeeland.
My Dad did not graduate from high school but he made sure that we all knew how important an education was and he pushed us to do our best. Sometimes to the point that I wanted to scream because school was not easy for me and honestly there were times when I did scream "I am doing my best" and storm off down the hall. His favorite thing to do that I can laugh about now but oh I hated it at the time was to wait until I was almost to my room and he would call me back I was seething but I went. I would walk up to him and in my best scowl say "What?" He would wait and then with a totally serious face ask me "So how far would you have been if I hadn't called you back here?" I would try to stay mad it at him but in the end I laughed as I sputtered under my breath and went back down the hall.
Watching my Dad with his grandchildren is one of the biggest joys I have. He adores them even more than he adores my sister, brother and I. When he talks about his grandchildren you can hear his pride and his delight in all that they do. The pictures that would go here are many. The picture of my Dad and son number one swinging and laughing in our backyard. My Dad and son number two giving each other nuzzles. My Dad holding NP Diva as a baby with more than one party hat perched on his head.
My Dad is 70 and he is starting to show his age. I think this may be more shocking for me than for my brother and sister because I get to see him once a year. In my minds eye my Dad isn't a day over 50 yet I know that can not be right because I am closer to 50 than he is. So when I see him and he is not as young as I remember him it shocks me and unsettles me just a little.
I have wonderful pictures of my Dad most if not all of which were taken before I had or there even were digital camaras. So I will come back and add those.
I will close with this story of my Dad. My best friend and I wanted to go shopping and my Dad was heading to Wards to pick something up from the catalog department we wanted to go with him. He told us no because he did not want to wait for us he was only going to pick up one item. We insisted on going with him and he informed us that if we went and we made him wait he would put a banana peel on his head like a hat. Of course we did not believe he would do it so we got in the truck and went with him. Well you guessed it he ended up waiting for us and when we met him on the loading dock he was standing their grinning from ear to ear with the peel perched atop his head. We were young teens and we were mortified. Looking back I should have known he would do it. That is one thing about my Dad if he says he will do something he will do it.
I could not find all of the pictues I talked about because of course since I am looking for them I can not find them. I am adding some that I really do like. They are of my Dad and son number one, my Dad with my Mom, my Dad being funny in his hat before my wedding, he did not wear it to the church and my Mom and Dad with me when I graduated from college finally in 2005.
So to my Dad who will see this when my Aunt or my sister show it to him I say happy 70th Dad and we love you forever yes we do!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Hands
Have you ever really stopped and looked at your hands? I do not mean to see do I need a manicure or did I get a paper cut just now kind of look but to really look. Hands say a lot about a person.
You are probably wondering what in the heck is she talking about? The pain in my hands woke me up this morning at 5:30; no sleeping in for me I am up. I have not slept well for the last few nights. I kept waking up because my hair was not there it is was causing weird dreams. But that is a completely different story suffice it to say I had planned to sleep in the morning.
Before I developed the problems with my hands about 7 years ago I never thought about my hands. I washed them, put lotion on them and used them a lot and I did not really take care of them.
Now I pay the price. My fingers lock, my knuckles swell, I can not quilt or cross stitch without pain after 5 or 10 minutes so it really isn't worth it to get the project out. My hands shake when I write with a pen or pencil for to long. I have several uncompleted projects that I feel awful about not finishing becuase they were started as gifts for people.
So if you do not have problems with your hands take care of them. Yes wash them and put lotion on them but be kind to them as well. If you break them or sprain them follow the doctors orders completely. When we injure ourselves when we are young we do not realize it will come back to haunt us later. If they bother you do not ignore it go to the doctor and let her tell you it is nothing to be worried about. Massage them or better yet have a professional do it for you once in awhile; believe me it feels wonderful and you will wish you had done it earlier. Rest them; do not use your hands so hard everyday without a rest during the day. I do not mean rest them at the end of a long day or when you sleep but actually stop for a few minutes during the day and just rest your hands. Cover them when it is cold and use sunblock on them.
This is my public service announcement so that you will not wake up at 5:30 in the morning because your hands hurt so bad you can not sleep.
You are probably wondering what in the heck is she talking about? The pain in my hands woke me up this morning at 5:30; no sleeping in for me I am up. I have not slept well for the last few nights. I kept waking up because my hair was not there it is was causing weird dreams. But that is a completely different story suffice it to say I had planned to sleep in the morning.
Before I developed the problems with my hands about 7 years ago I never thought about my hands. I washed them, put lotion on them and used them a lot and I did not really take care of them.
Now I pay the price. My fingers lock, my knuckles swell, I can not quilt or cross stitch without pain after 5 or 10 minutes so it really isn't worth it to get the project out. My hands shake when I write with a pen or pencil for to long. I have several uncompleted projects that I feel awful about not finishing becuase they were started as gifts for people.
So if you do not have problems with your hands take care of them. Yes wash them and put lotion on them but be kind to them as well. If you break them or sprain them follow the doctors orders completely. When we injure ourselves when we are young we do not realize it will come back to haunt us later. If they bother you do not ignore it go to the doctor and let her tell you it is nothing to be worried about. Massage them or better yet have a professional do it for you once in awhile; believe me it feels wonderful and you will wish you had done it earlier. Rest them; do not use your hands so hard everyday without a rest during the day. I do not mean rest them at the end of a long day or when you sleep but actually stop for a few minutes during the day and just rest your hands. Cover them when it is cold and use sunblock on them.
This is my public service announcement so that you will not wake up at 5:30 in the morning because your hands hurt so bad you can not sleep.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Inspired by TC and Bone
Okay I've been thinking about cutting off my long hair but everytime I got ready to do it I chickened out.
Then I saw TC's cute cut and well Bone's is really short so when I was bored because I was still on my "flucation" I called my hairdresser and she cut it off. So I got a Liz Taylor retro cut. When Liz was in her 20s and 30s she had thick dense wavy hair which is what I have so I went with an updated version of her hair.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Teaching with the Swine Flu
Okay that is a little misleading. I wanted to catch your attention. I do not have the Swine Flu but my school is closed until May 11th because of the swine flu. If I taught a different grade level I would not be stressing this little “flucation” but I teach 10th grade AP World History. The AP test is May 14th and we have been out of school since April 30th so my kids are missing valuable instruction and after-school review time.
Then one of my overachievers emailed my work account and I had to most awesome idea. Well it took a few emails for the idea to really click. She emailed wanting to know if the shutdown was true. I told her that it was and because of that she needed to be studying on her own for the test. This young charge of mine emails back with the OMG I forgot about the test what do I need to do? I kept my fingers from typing YOU STUDY! (I have to remind myself on many occasions that my students are 15 and 16 year olds depending on when their birthday is. They must be 5 by September 1st to start kindergarten.) I told her that most of my material was at school but if she gave me a couple of hours I could start to put study guides together for her and email them to her.
This brought about another email: Ms. PC can you email these people as well and that is when it hit me like a ton of bricks. They all have Myspace pages so instead of trying to make sure I have accurate emails for everyone and sending tons of attachments I used my unused Myspace page and started to post study guides in the blog section. I make one post and check comments on the post and it is easy-peasy as my kids would say.
I have now posted 4 study guides for my little darlings. No comments from them so I do hope that they are using them to get ready for the test. This is not a test that you lightly study for. In fact I will be really nice and give you a question that they might see on the test.
Contacts between Hindus and Muslims led to
a. the seclusion of Hindu women
b. constant warfare between the two groups
c. the absorption by the Muslims of many Hindu social practices
d. mass conversion of Hindus to Islam
e. decreased trade opportunities
Take a stab at the answer, this is one of the easier questions because it is a fact question the concept questions are even harder than this.
Then one of my overachievers emailed my work account and I had to most awesome idea. Well it took a few emails for the idea to really click. She emailed wanting to know if the shutdown was true. I told her that it was and because of that she needed to be studying on her own for the test. This young charge of mine emails back with the OMG I forgot about the test what do I need to do? I kept my fingers from typing YOU STUDY! (I have to remind myself on many occasions that my students are 15 and 16 year olds depending on when their birthday is. They must be 5 by September 1st to start kindergarten.) I told her that most of my material was at school but if she gave me a couple of hours I could start to put study guides together for her and email them to her.
This brought about another email: Ms. PC can you email these people as well and that is when it hit me like a ton of bricks. They all have Myspace pages so instead of trying to make sure I have accurate emails for everyone and sending tons of attachments I used my unused Myspace page and started to post study guides in the blog section. I make one post and check comments on the post and it is easy-peasy as my kids would say.
I have now posted 4 study guides for my little darlings. No comments from them so I do hope that they are using them to get ready for the test. This is not a test that you lightly study for. In fact I will be really nice and give you a question that they might see on the test.
Contacts between Hindus and Muslims led to
a. the seclusion of Hindu women
b. constant warfare between the two groups
c. the absorption by the Muslims of many Hindu social practices
d. mass conversion of Hindus to Islam
e. decreased trade opportunities
Take a stab at the answer, this is one of the easier questions because it is a fact question the concept questions are even harder than this.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
I can not believe it
I do not have school until May 8th. Our district has closed due to the swine flu. I can not believe it.
I am such a teacher because my frist thought was dang what is going happen with the AP Test. It is May 14th how in the world are my kids going to get ready for this test without class time.
My next thought was okay I hope my students stay home while school is closed. I bet dollars to donuts that most of my kids go to the mall and the movies tomorrow.
I am such a teacher because my frist thought was dang what is going happen with the AP Test. It is May 14th how in the world are my kids going to get ready for this test without class time.
My next thought was okay I hope my students stay home while school is closed. I bet dollars to donuts that most of my kids go to the mall and the movies tomorrow.
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