My Little Songbird

April 21, 2012

Tonight was Catherine's Senior Voice Recital for her degree in Music.  It.  Was.  Amazing.  I've been listening to Catherine sing since before she had words, as she made singing sounds as a baby.  She made up songs as she played and made up words to tunes she had only heard once.  As we drove down the road running errands or taking trips, Catherine would sing about the things she saw along the way.  In Elementary school she wrote an abundance of songs and performed them for me.  In Middle School she continued writing songs and performing them.  Two of those performances were particularly memorable.  The first was when she and a friend performed one of her songs at the school talent show.  The second was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.  Catherine wrote a song after September 11.  On the year anniversary of 9/11, Catherine and her friend sang this song A Cappella in the gym in front of the entire student body, faculty, staff, and guests.  The poise she displayed humbled me.  There were numerous performances throughout high school and college, all of which I sat through with a goofy grin on my face.
I was so proud of Catherine tonight.  I laughed.  I cried.  I did the goofy Mom grin.  And she sang.  And sang.  And sang some more.  My hope for her is that she'll always have a song in her heart and on her lips.

Rest Stop

April 20, 2012

Over the past four years we have made many trips from Bradenton  to Sewanee.  We've learned that if we leave right after work, we can usually get about halfway before we have to stop for the night (if we leave early in the morning we can go the whole way).  Halfway is Tifton, GA and we have often stopped at the Hampton Inn there.  However, that one very popular so we've also become frequent flyers at the Hampton in Adel and, occasionally, have gone as far as Cordele.  Always the Hampton Inn, though.  They're friendly, the rooms are always big, they have the most comfortable beds, and the free breakfast is great!  Yeah, I sound like a commercial, but personal recommendation is the best!

Growing up Fast

April 19, 2012

In just a few short weeks, the tiny little fuzzy chicks have become children well on their way to teenagers and then adults.  As I was watching them this morning, I wondered if the parents have the same feelings human parents do (in a much shorter time span).  Feelings of love, fear of bad things happening to our "chicks", indulgence as they do the crazy things they have to do in order to learn what is and isn't acceptable, pride in their accomplishments, joy in their cuddles, a mixture of gladness and sadness as they leave the nest, and all the other feelings we know so well.

Are We Done Yet?

April 18, 2012

When you get to the STOP sign, you have come to end of this session.  Finally, we got to the last STOP sign this afternoon and we are done with FCAT.  Well, 7th grade is done - 6th and 8th have a little more to complete.  So, tomorrow we'll take a little break and do something that is educational but not strenuous.  Then, we'll get back to the business of learning Math.  Sadly, at least five of my students will say to me, "Why do we have to do this?  FCAT is over!".  We seem to be to the point in school where students think that the only reason they learn things is for FCAT and not because the LEARNING is actually important.  But, I will keep on teaching and pulling them along in the hopes that someday at least a few of them will look back and realize that they learned math that they are using in their adult lives.

I Wonder

April  17, 2012

When I was in 5th grade I decided that I wanted to become a teacher.  From then on, that was my goal, and only one person that I can recall tried to talk me out of it.  Mr. Pete Smith, my high school Biology teacher did his best to convince me that I didn't really want to be a teacher and that there was something else out there I could do instead.  He gave me many compelling reasons, but when I finally asked him in exasperation, "If you're so against anyone becoming a teacher, why are YOU one?".  His reply was, "Because I love it."  His advice to me went unheeded and I continued my quest to become a teacher, never considering that there might be something else I would enjoy doing for a living.
Don't get me wrong - I love teaching.  There's just something amazing about watching a a child/young teenager learn something new, especially when s/he struggles and struggles and then, suddenly, that lightbulb of awareness comes on and his/her face lights up and there is that declaration of "OH, I GET IT!", accompanied by a huge smile.  But, still, I wonder what I would have done if I had not chosen to become a teacher.
I truly don't know what other field I might have pursued.  At the time I was in high school and college, I didn't think I had any other marketable skills.  But, I knew I could help people by being a teacher.  I have a lot of interests - scrapbooking (a business, yes, but not one I've been able to turn into a career), photography, writing, baking, traveling, and others - but none of them are things I feel I could do full time.
And, so, I continue to teach and to try to make a difference in my little corner of the education world.

FCAT

April 16, 2012

Today was the first day of the 2012 FCAT.  I have a variety of feelings about it.  I am not against standardized testing.  In fact, overall, I think it's a good idea to test students on a yearly basis to see how they are doing academically.  The first year I taught in Florida was the year of the pilot test for the FCAT. The idea of the math portion of this test was, in my opinion, a good one.  It consisted of three types of questions:  multiple choice, gridded response, and extended response.  I was particularly pleased to see the extended response questions as these questions required students to show work and explain how they arrived at their answers - a practice I was already using with my students.  The test was rough around the edges and needed quite a bit of improvement, but it was a great concept.
Over the past 15 years, the test has morphed into the monster it is now.  The extended response questions have been eliminated due to the time and cost of grading them.  The other questions are now so involved and convoluted that it has become more of a reading test than a math test.  The security surrounding the giving of the test now makes me feel anxious and as if I'm doing something wrong when I know I am not.  Students who have been in this country for less than a year and speak very little English are required to take the test IN ENGLISH.  How, exactly, does this show their math skills when they can't read the questions?
I can remember taking Standardized tests as far back as Elementary School, but I don't remember it being such a huge deal or such a media circus.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it was never reported on the local news that the schools were giving tests during a particular week.  We were lined up and taken to the cafeteria where we sat in every other chair at the long cafeteria tables.   Someone stood up in the front with a microphone reading the directions and we then proceeded to take the test.   Then it was over.  And, it was ONE way of evaluating us rather than the ONLY way of evaluating us.
Standardized testing (now called High Stakes Testing) has become big business for test makers and scorers.  It has also become a way for the media, parents, administrators, all levels of government (local, state, and federal), and anyone who has ever set foot inside a school (which, as we all know, makes one an expert on education) to beat up on teachers and students.
Standardized testing is a good tool, but it is only a tool.  When a student doesn't perform well on a test, it is as a result of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, their emotional state on that day, the number of days they've been absent from school (20+ days of absence in a semester probably makes a difference in what you know), their attitude each day in class, their effort each day in class, their behavior each day in class, how many schools they've attended in the current school year, parental support (of the child, of education in general, of teachers), and much, much more.

How Can I Keep From Singing?

April 15, 2012

This morning I had the privilege of singing an offertory solo in church - "How Can I Keep From Singing", which includes the chorus, "No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I'm clinging.  It sounds an echo in my soul.  How can I keep from singing?".  As I was reading over the words, it occurred to me that my soul has every reason in this world to sing all the time.  I live in an amazingly beautiful place in an even more beautiful country.  I am surrounded by flowers and beaches and year-round sunshine, and have easy access to other types of scenery, land forms, and weather.  Also surrounding me are loving, caring people - my family, friends, church family, co-workers, people I've known my whole life and those I've known for only a short time.  But, more than any of that, I have a God who loves me and Lord and Savior who said, "I am with you ALWAYS" and died for me.  God, the Rock to whom I cling, is the one who makes is impossible for me to keep from singing.