Well, with 2 hours and 40 minutes remaining in the month, there is time yet for one more post in the month of September. I'd feel worse about the dearth of writing on my blog if I weren't actually doing things, but I really am busy. I feel like I should go back into coaching high school soccer so I might have more free time.
The class I'm taking this quarter is on classroom assessment. It is highly useful, and this time I can actually understand what the textbook is trying to tell me! Long story short, it is all about techniques teachers can use to actually affect student performance positively through formal and informal assessments. We're not talking big ol' Princeton-style standardized tests here, though. We're talking one-sentence summaries, Preconception/Misconception Checks, and something called "The Muddiest Point", where students submit the parts of their learning about which they are most confused. Much of the time these assessments are administered anonymously, so what the teacher REALLY gets is how well the class is understanding the main ideas they are supposed to be getting.
What I like most is the idea that students aren't being measured against each other in some sort of competition. They are being measured by their own capabilities and understanding, and against some standards that have been identified as vital to their mastery of the subject matter. Grades are compiled as a guide to the students' paths to their education, rather than as a social norm that tells very little about what they can do or how well they can apply what they know.
Besides the class, I've been helping to coach my kids' soccer teams, developing an after school program through the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, becoming more involved in the Dirigo Educators Association, setting up a family night to view the Draconid meteor showers at school, and being a team leader for the seventh grade team. It's been kind of a crazy month.
So while I am busy, it is a good kind of busy. I'm just looking forward to a time when I can be lazy. A good kind of lazy.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
It's Getting Ugly!
All right, so now the McCain/Palin crazies are trying to turn around the phrase "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig", which Obama used in a speech on Tuesday to characterize Republican policies. People, it's an old phrase. It's been used for many years to illustrate the foolishness of prettifying something ugly, but not changing it fundamentally (reminds me of a certain Republican ticket...but I digress...).
But then Good Ol' GSWLTF used this joke in her speech accepting the party's nomination for VP: "What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick." Even I almost cracked a smile when she delivered this line. She'd obviously practiced it for comedic effect. Her timing was impeccable, and her delivery deadpan. I was impressed. But now, it seems the Republican Party seems to think GSWLTF has a copyright on lipstick or something. This will come as a bit of a surprise to Revlon, I'm sure.
Anyway, my take is this: Palin opened the sty door when she used the joke, and whether it was intentional on Obama's part or not, it seems to be fair game. The gun totin', caribou-killin', oil-drinkin', bridge-to-nowhere-lovin' VP candidate should be able to handle herself in the heat of a campaign, yet the chivalrous door holding white males of the Republican Party are stumbling over themselves to defend her honor. Meanwhile they make up lies about Obama wanting to teach kindergartners about the ins and outs of sex, and of consorting with terrorists. So a little comment about lipstick on a pig? Well, if the mud fits...
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Palin in Comparison...
I'm feeling particularly masochistic tonight, watching Sarah Palin's address to the Republican National Convention. I must not have fulfilled my monthly quota of pablum, "aw, shucks-ism", late to the party Hillary worship, and empty jingoism. At any rate, I almost gagged when the GSWLF (I couldn't leave the "I'd" in the acronym, so I've substituted "some would" instead) introduced her family, and especially her hubby. "After twenty years, he's still my guy!" Bleah.
I guess the thing ringing emptiest to me is the screeching cries of the Republicans of sexism on the part of Democrats: that somehow we are implying she can't find time for her five children if she is Vice President. Frankly, if she were to treat the job of VP the way it's supposed to be treated--as opposed to Cheney's de facto shadow President--she is eminently qualified, as a former beauty pageant champion. Shouldn't the VP job really be window dressing? And if she were VP, maybe she'd have more time to spend with her kids than she has as governor, doing all sorts of important parental things, like, oh, I don't know...talking to them?
I love her snotty witticisms. I love how she toes the party line of perpetuating fear in order to garner votes.
I love how she refers to herself as a "gal". I love how the idiotic sheep in the audience keep chanting "Drill, baby, drill!" Mmmm. Let's drill our way out of this particular set of problems.
I love how this crowd is whipped into a frenzy by such an apparent lightweight. It gives me hope for the next eight years, because we simply can't be stupid enough to fall for this again...can we?
Monday, September 1, 2008
Quite a Weekend
Well, the Labor Day Weekend has been quite something.
I awoke Saturday to the news that John McCain had named Sarah Palin as his running mate. A quick Google search, and I'd been introduced to the term "GILF" If you're not familiar, quickly click this link for "MILF" (language is rated R, for those with sensitive sensibilities), and then substitute "Governor" for the first word of the acronym. It wasn't long before all sorts of sordid rumors began to surface about her, which I won't dignify in this space. Y'all are capable of looking up dirt on your own. But what struck me is that here McCain's been spending all of this time impugning Obama's fitness for the presidency based on his inexperience, and then he grabs up the first Pro-Life hottie with five kids from an oil-rich state who pops up, regardless of the fact that she's been a governor for a shorter period of time than Obama's been a candidate for President. But have no fear, she does have more extensive executive experience: she was previously the mayor of a town of 9,000. And was on the PTA...which is probably the highest qualification on her resume. Don't get me wrong, Ms. Palin is probably a pretty competent person, and I don't question her intelligence. She does believe we should be teaching creationism in science classes, which makes me question her understanding of constitutional issues, but that's another point entirely. What was most interesting in THIS morning's news is that there is now going to be another "G" word that can be substituted for the "M" word in "MILF": grandmother. Again, that certainly doesn't disqualify her for the job, and her public statement about her daughter's pregnancy strikes the right tone, but I guess my main objection is this is just the type of thing that conservatives love to attack liberals for, and I have a feeling she's going to get a pass on this one from the conservative wing of the Republican party because it is politically expedient to excuse it.
One more thing about McCain, and then I promise to stop: do you think he asked Condoleezza Rice? Because if he didn't, that was the dumbest thing that ever happened. If he wanted to try to take over the Hillary wing of the Democratic party, she was his shining hope. Because do you really think the Pro-Life and evangelical wings were really going to jump ship and vote Democrat? Here is a person with very strong credentials, experience in the highest levels of foreign policy, by most accounts is a very intelligent person (service for the Bush II administration notwithstanding), she counteracts the minority factor enjoyed by Obama, and let's not forget, she carries two--count 'em!--two X chromosomes. Sarah who?
Anyway, Saturday was spent McCain's bombshell, coaching peewee soccer, and wrangling up some lobsters and salmon for a Labor Day Weekend feed. Life is good in late summer.
Then on Sunday we headed to Portland for the Sea Dogs. This was not just any Sea Dogs game, however, and it wasn't important for anything that happened on the field. As a matter of fact, the coolest thing happened on the top of the visitors' dugout in the middle of the first inning.
Back in the spring, Rach found an opportunity for our kids to do some writing and possibly earn a scholarship from NexGen and the Sea Dogs. They had to write a 250 word essay stating whether they would choose to take a scholarship to college to play a sport, or to represent their country in the Olympics. There were three divisions: elementary, middle and high school, and the winners would get a $1000 scholarship. With some heavy prodding, especially from their mom, both kids entered the contest.
The summer went by, and no word came about the contest. Weather Lad asked whether we knew anything, and Rach said since we hadn't heard, she was assuming they must not have chosen his. Then, a couple of weeks ago, we were told that WL was a finalist in his division, and that on August 30th there would be four tickets to the Sea Dogs waiting for him at Will Call. We were all so excited and proud that he'd been chosen as a finalist! We wondered how many other finalists there were, and with guarded optimism, kept thinking "how cool! Even if he doesn't win, we all get to spend a day at Hadlock, watching the Sea Dogs and having a great time!"
We picked up the tickets, with great seats in section 212, row E (right behind home plate and directly above the entrance, so no one would block our view). We were told that a representative of the Sea Dogs would come give us more information before the game. About five minutes prior to scheduled game time, true to their word, a Sea Dogs employee came and told WL that he would meet him on the concourse above the visitors' dugout in the middle of the first inning. The man contacted a few more people, and then was off. Sitting right next to us was a freshman at UMaine who had entered the contest last spring, when she was a senior at Rockland. A nice young lady, she held a bag for Camp Mechuwana, where I attended music camp three times back in the 80's. That was good for small talk.
The pre-game festivities began ("Field of Dreams" day...Hadlock Field..."if you build it, they will come"...players in circa 1923 Portland Eskimos throwback uniforms...entering the field through cornstalks set up in center field, then coming into the stands to show their appreciation to the fans: it was hokey, but fun.)
Then the game began, the top of the first flew by, and Rach and WL made their way down to await word on his fate. As I looked down at the concourse, it seemed there were fewer kids there than I expected. Rach signaled up to me with three fingers, which I assumed to mean there were three finalists for each age group. The stadium announcer drew everyone's attention to the third base dugout, where a representative from NexGen said a few words, and then three kids, one of them WL, were escorted up to the top of the dugout. The high school girl who was seated next to us was presented her scholarship. The middle school age winner was announced. And then, WL, as shocked as he could be (really, why do you think only three kids were called up on the dugout? God bless his naivete...) was announced in front of 3,700 people as the grade k-5 winner of the NextGen/Sea Dogs Field of Dreams scholarship. He began crying in joy. It was quite a moment.
Honestly, if the circumstances had been different, I might have flipped out on the lady about five rows back who bellowed--absolutely BELLOWED--Seussian cheers for the Sea Dogs FOR THE ENTIRE GAME ("Through thick and thin, YOU'RE OUR KIN, and WE NEVER GIVE UP!", and "Come on HALL, hit it over the WALL!", and "Come on LARS, hit it to MARS!", "Come on ZACK, use your BACK!". "We're behind you ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!") My kids saw a different side of me, as I mumbled wise-guy responses: "It's kind of fun to be QUIET...You ought to TRY IT!", and the like. But given the beautiful day, the circumstances, and the fact that the hometown team clinched a playoff berth even as they lost 5-4, thanks to the ineptitude of the Binghamton Mets. Add to that a Clay Buchholz sighting in his street clothes, and a dinner at the Great Lost Bear, and you've got a pretty good day.
Later that night we watched Food Network where Bobby Flay took on an Asian dumpling throwdown. They looked so good that I dreamed about them on Sunday night, and Monday was largely devoted to drinking good coffee, kicking back, and making some pretty yummy Asian dumplings (recipe...with some substitutions).
Tomorrow it's back to school, and that is just fine. It was a great weekend.
I awoke Saturday to the news that John McCain had named Sarah Palin as his running mate. A quick Google search, and I'd been introduced to the term "GILF" If you're not familiar, quickly click this link for "MILF" (language is rated R, for those with sensitive sensibilities), and then substitute "Governor" for the first word of the acronym. It wasn't long before all sorts of sordid rumors began to surface about her, which I won't dignify in this space. Y'all are capable of looking up dirt on your own. But what struck me is that here McCain's been spending all of this time impugning Obama's fitness for the presidency based on his inexperience, and then he grabs up the first Pro-Life hottie with five kids from an oil-rich state who pops up, regardless of the fact that she's been a governor for a shorter period of time than Obama's been a candidate for President. But have no fear, she does have more extensive executive experience: she was previously the mayor of a town of 9,000. And was on the PTA...which is probably the highest qualification on her resume. Don't get me wrong, Ms. Palin is probably a pretty competent person, and I don't question her intelligence. She does believe we should be teaching creationism in science classes, which makes me question her understanding of constitutional issues, but that's another point entirely. What was most interesting in THIS morning's news is that there is now going to be another "G" word that can be substituted for the "M" word in "MILF": grandmother. Again, that certainly doesn't disqualify her for the job, and her public statement about her daughter's pregnancy strikes the right tone, but I guess my main objection is this is just the type of thing that conservatives love to attack liberals for, and I have a feeling she's going to get a pass on this one from the conservative wing of the Republican party because it is politically expedient to excuse it.
One more thing about McCain, and then I promise to stop: do you think he asked Condoleezza Rice? Because if he didn't, that was the dumbest thing that ever happened. If he wanted to try to take over the Hillary wing of the Democratic party, she was his shining hope. Because do you really think the Pro-Life and evangelical wings were really going to jump ship and vote Democrat? Here is a person with very strong credentials, experience in the highest levels of foreign policy, by most accounts is a very intelligent person (service for the Bush II administration notwithstanding), she counteracts the minority factor enjoyed by Obama, and let's not forget, she carries two--count 'em!--two X chromosomes. Sarah who?
Anyway, Saturday was spent McCain's bombshell, coaching peewee soccer, and wrangling up some lobsters and salmon for a Labor Day Weekend feed. Life is good in late summer.
Then on Sunday we headed to Portland for the Sea Dogs. This was not just any Sea Dogs game, however, and it wasn't important for anything that happened on the field. As a matter of fact, the coolest thing happened on the top of the visitors' dugout in the middle of the first inning.
Back in the spring, Rach found an opportunity for our kids to do some writing and possibly earn a scholarship from NexGen and the Sea Dogs. They had to write a 250 word essay stating whether they would choose to take a scholarship to college to play a sport, or to represent their country in the Olympics. There were three divisions: elementary, middle and high school, and the winners would get a $1000 scholarship. With some heavy prodding, especially from their mom, both kids entered the contest.
The summer went by, and no word came about the contest. Weather Lad asked whether we knew anything, and Rach said since we hadn't heard, she was assuming they must not have chosen his. Then, a couple of weeks ago, we were told that WL was a finalist in his division, and that on August 30th there would be four tickets to the Sea Dogs waiting for him at Will Call. We were all so excited and proud that he'd been chosen as a finalist! We wondered how many other finalists there were, and with guarded optimism, kept thinking "how cool! Even if he doesn't win, we all get to spend a day at Hadlock, watching the Sea Dogs and having a great time!"
We picked up the tickets, with great seats in section 212, row E (right behind home plate and directly above the entrance, so no one would block our view). We were told that a representative of the Sea Dogs would come give us more information before the game. About five minutes prior to scheduled game time, true to their word, a Sea Dogs employee came and told WL that he would meet him on the concourse above the visitors' dugout in the middle of the first inning. The man contacted a few more people, and then was off. Sitting right next to us was a freshman at UMaine who had entered the contest last spring, when she was a senior at Rockland. A nice young lady, she held a bag for Camp Mechuwana, where I attended music camp three times back in the 80's. That was good for small talk.
The pre-game festivities began ("Field of Dreams" day...Hadlock Field..."if you build it, they will come"...players in circa 1923 Portland Eskimos throwback uniforms...entering the field through cornstalks set up in center field, then coming into the stands to show their appreciation to the fans: it was hokey, but fun.)
Then the game began, the top of the first flew by, and Rach and WL made their way down to await word on his fate. As I looked down at the concourse, it seemed there were fewer kids there than I expected. Rach signaled up to me with three fingers, which I assumed to mean there were three finalists for each age group. The stadium announcer drew everyone's attention to the third base dugout, where a representative from NexGen said a few words, and then three kids, one of them WL, were escorted up to the top of the dugout. The high school girl who was seated next to us was presented her scholarship. The middle school age winner was announced. And then, WL, as shocked as he could be (really, why do you think only three kids were called up on the dugout? God bless his naivete...) was announced in front of 3,700 people as the grade k-5 winner of the NextGen/Sea Dogs Field of Dreams scholarship. He began crying in joy. It was quite a moment.
Honestly, if the circumstances had been different, I might have flipped out on the lady about five rows back who bellowed--absolutely BELLOWED--Seussian cheers for the Sea Dogs FOR THE ENTIRE GAME ("Through thick and thin, YOU'RE OUR KIN, and WE NEVER GIVE UP!", and "Come on HALL, hit it over the WALL!", and "Come on LARS, hit it to MARS!", "Come on ZACK, use your BACK!". "We're behind you ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!") My kids saw a different side of me, as I mumbled wise-guy responses: "It's kind of fun to be QUIET...You ought to TRY IT!", and the like. But given the beautiful day, the circumstances, and the fact that the hometown team clinched a playoff berth even as they lost 5-4, thanks to the ineptitude of the Binghamton Mets. Add to that a Clay Buchholz sighting in his street clothes, and a dinner at the Great Lost Bear, and you've got a pretty good day.
Later that night we watched Food Network where Bobby Flay took on an Asian dumpling throwdown. They looked so good that I dreamed about them on Sunday night, and Monday was largely devoted to drinking good coffee, kicking back, and making some pretty yummy Asian dumplings (recipe...with some substitutions).
Tomorrow it's back to school, and that is just fine. It was a great weekend.
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