Not As Bad As Expected

I had five straight hours of meetings with my students today- each for twenty minutes. Their assignment had been to go over their midterm grades, reflection upon why they had received each grade and then come up with a plan to succeed with an acceptable grade for the end of the semester. I have been struggling with the laziness and lack of motivation for these students for the last few weeks, especially after reading their midterms, so I really didn't have any idea of what to expect. I was surprised to find out that the students had actually completed the assignment (for the most part). One student didn't complete it and came back that afternoon with the assignment complete and one of them did it totally wrong but also came back when I had a few minutes to go over it with me, so that was nice. And having twenty minutes to talk to each student was wonderful- I was really able to work with them one-on-one and give them advice and support for where they were struggling, and also to ask the hard questions. A common theme that I see amongst my students is that they talk the talk so well. They say all the right things and write the correct things down but they don't really walk the walk. They don't make the first, second, third, fourth, etc. stops that it takes to actually do that it is that they need to do. And that's really the crux of the matter with the majority of them. I really think they're starting to get it but we're not really going to know the answer until final grades come out. I did have a really good conversation with a student who I think should probably take some time off. She's dealing with medical issues and working more than 20 hours a week and we discussed the possibility of going to CWI for two years and then coming back to C of I, especially since it's a lot cheaper and she can devote more time to working. I also met with another student who is back from dismissal and had a good talk with her- and got a chance to talk to Sue about her as well since we both have her in class. She's one who really talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk so I'm going to keep an eye on her over the next few weeks. I like my job, I really do, but I have a frustrating job. It's hard to see the fruits of my labour until the following year/end of the semester/possibly never. But I guess if one or two students got off the probation list or raise their GPAs, then I've done my job....

Blast to the Past

I've recently been going through the seasons of Friends- my fav show- and it's got me thinking about TV shows of the real past. Of like my childhood. Youtube has proved to be a pit of endless wonder in order to rediscover the joys of my past.... Enjoy yourself.

I LOVED watching Bill Nye the Science Guy. He'd come on after Where in the World is Carmen San Diego (I've already posted this theme so you'll just have to go back to a previous blog post to enjoy that....), so I got my fill of geography and science in one hour of afternoon TV (usually the only hour of afternoon TV I was allowed). I later discovered that he wasn't really a scientist.... it doesn't matter, I still learned a TON. I love how they say Bill's name like a million times and I love the lady saying "Science rules".

There was something about the Puzzle Place that always captivated me. Maybe it was the puppets. Maybe it was the mini United Nations that they had. Maybe it was the fact that there were kids called Kiki and Skye on the show. Also that they always seemed to resolve every conflict that they ever had in a nice 22 minute episode. I also am now convinced that John Tartaglia did the voice for Ben (and possibly more characters...) But who were those weird colored people who moved away the puzzle pieces at the beginning? I do NOT remember them.... Peace Police?

Oh my gosh, I wanted to be the kids who shared books on this TV show. I thought Levar Burton was wonderful with his pushing kids to actually read books (which is so poignant these days when I'm teaching students who I don't think read a single day of their lives.... OK exaggeration but not by much). I loved it when kids were talking about their book and then said cheekily, "well..... I don't want to give anything away, so just read _______". Wow, way to hook me!

OK, if you don't like Lamb-Chop's Play-Along, then I don't think I can speak to you. Who doesn't love a lady doing ventriloquism with puppets. Hush Puppie was my FAVORITE. I loved the songs, I loved the rare times I noticed Shari's lips barely moving, I loved Shari period. I will never forget the trick where you put a piece of tape over a balloon and then you can stick a pin through it without it popping. Genuis!

What was it with me and puppets? What happy family Gloria, Iggy, Jacob and Holly were. And what was under the Umbrella Tree....?

I didn't watch a ton of cartoons but I certainly remember watching this one. Gummi Bears had one of the best theme songs and I remember being pretty impressed at how well they could bounce around. I later always felt guilty eating gummy bears.... oops... But how could you not love the Gummi Bears? They were dashing and daring, courageous and caring, faithful and friendly with stories to share. Share with me, Gummi Bears!

I didn't watch a lot of this at home because I think it was already over but we certainly watched a plethora of these in science class. I just liked the theme and the connecting lines that made up the triangle for 3-2-1.

This show (when it was on- I remember when it went off the air and I think was replaced by Bill Nye actually) gave me my math lesson for the afternoon. I loved the detective pair (who I seem to remember at one point measuring the angle at which the rain hit the window) and there was also a cartoon character whose mom was always calling him because one time he put his socks on after his shoes. Bizarre.

I'm not sure which I liked better- the TV show or the books. The books were certainly funny for the commentary that the kids would make but I also could not get enough of the TV shows. I loved the one where Ralphie became a bat and the one where they go into the human body. I feel like Ms. Frizzle was a lot crazier in the books and the kids certainly commented more on how crazy she was. And I loved how in the body one they commented on how creepy her tongue shoes were. Amen, kids, amen.

OK. The ONLY reason I am putting this one in is because I would watch it in Hebrew. So I know the theme song in Hebrew. But I cannot find the theme song in Hebrew on youtube so enjoy the English one. Why are bananas walking down the stairs in pajama? And why are they chasing teddy bears? Did the bananas have names? Questions, questions, questions!

Instead of showing you the theme song to Sesame Street, I am putting up the video of my favorite clip from Sesame Street. Yes, I owe my ability to count to twelve to the ladybugs and their picnic. Thanks guys! Can I come along next time?

OMG. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I FOUND THIS. THIS IS DEDICATED TO MY SISTER AND MY COUSIN.

AAAHHHHH, I cannot believe I found this one as well! I would always watch this right before I went either to school or to the dining hall on the kibbutz in first grade. If I wasn't ready, I didn't get to watch Booli the snowman. Notice the clock in the lower right hand corner? This was part of the morning show (I guess kinda like the Today Show) and it would come on for like four minutes at the same time each morning. I LOVED this show and was so sad when I wasn't ready for school in time to get to watch it.

Oh did I love Kidsongs. I love how they just took over this studio (the adults said yes pretty quickly....) and they were so creative! I wanted to be a part of the crew so badly (and it didn't hurt that some were super cute to little eight-year--old me). I loved everything about this show. I loved the behind the scenes drama about putting together and producing a TV show (btw were these kids smart for their age? They were pretty good at all the technical stuff). I loved the singing and the dancing. I wanted to be the person who wrote Kidsongs on the poster. Oh, good stuff, good stuff.



A leeeeetle bit passive aggressive

So, this may have been a little bit passive aggressive. Enjoy this email exchange between me and a (not so great) student.

Professor, i will not be able to make it to class tomorrow. i have to be in boise for a cort date to fight a ticket i got a while ago. would this count as an excused absense? i have papers that show that, thats where i have to be. also, sorry for it bing only the day before. i tried sending an email on sunday but apparently spelt your last name wrong. i just found my syllibus for the class. also, would i be able to make up the memory quiz thats tomorrow? thanks -**** (name protected)

My response:

****,

I will allow it as an excused absence this time- but do not make a habit out of it. You will need to find a time between now and Thursday before class to come and take the memory quiz. And just a reminder that your group outline for the presentation will be due on Thursday.

Also, when you are requesting permission to leave class, you may want to make sure that your email is written properly with correct spelling and punctuation. It gives your request a little more ground to stand on.

See you in class on Thursday.


And the sad thing is that I'm sure this went right over his head...


Update! It didn't go over his head! I just logged on to find an email from him.

Can I make up that quiz before class tomorrow? If so would you be in your office or at the library? Thanks. ****

Wow. That's a nice improvement. I wonder if he successfully beat the ticket? And what was it for? Now a whole new crop of questions has arisen :)

Dedicated to Amanda

Can you please find out if this is a real thing and join in. Take Katy with you.

Some thoughts about the first six weeks...

So the first six weeks of Spring semester have come and gone and I have some thoughts. And since sometimes I'm clearly incapable of writing posts in paragraph form, here they are in bullet points.

- Second semester is a lot more difficult than first. The bad habits learned are pretty deeply ingrained. They have lost a lot of their spark. They even seem a little bit lazier. On the plus side though, they are better writers.

-Only one person failed the first half of the semester. They only turned in one midterm. And had missed a few classes. Everyone else had a D or higher. I consider that a slight success.

-As I said earlier, the papers are slightly better. Slightly, being the key turn of phrase, of course. Although one kid wrote a two page paper (biography) on Al Gore and mentioned nothing about his career in the Senate or his time as a Vice-President. I feel a little something was missing. Oh, and another kid (who I really really like and am rooting for) wrote his first paper on an article that I did not assign. I had passed this article out a few weeks before break and I have no idea what article he used for his paper. But it was not the right one.

-There is only so much I can do. I can want them to pass their classes and succeed with all my might but until they want to change, there is little I can do. Next week I'm going to meet with them individually again and have them come up with a detailed plan of how to go from where they are with their midterm grades to a hopefully improved final grade. I don't know if this will do anything but at least writing up a plan will hopefully inspire them to follow through with the plan.

-The range of intelligence/care/consideration/whatever you call it of my students in wide. I had one student totally on top of things, even though they were playing Nationals for Basketball and she was dealing with some medical issues. She got me her midterms a little late but had talked to me about it ahead of time and turned everything else in. Another student had to miss some classes but always let me know ahead of time, stayed up to date on everything and came to me today to work out a way to take notes in class with a broken dominant arm and to make up his quizzes. On the complete other end of the spectrum, a student emailed me today, having misspelled my last name on a previous email (out of all my names, my last name is by far the second easiest...) and was informing me of missing class tomorrow. Because he has a CORT date to fight a ticket he got awhile ago. Can I email him back and tell him he can't miss class until he learns to spell court? I'd really like to do that...

-I don't know if I've been writing it here on my blog but in my journal I certainly have been exclaiming over the haste in which this year has been passing by. Holy bananas, folks, it's already the 4th day of April. Where on earth did the first quarter of the year go? Because I certainly have no idea.

So I'm tired now, I want to make some homemade pizza dough but probably will hold off until Wednesday since I don't have anything thawed in the fridge right now (although I could still make mushroom and pineapple pizza....) and tomorrow I"m going out with Dori. I actually have pretty full week, now that I think about it. Tonight I have rehearsal, tomorrow dinner with the Dori-ster, Wednesday is Faculty Appreciate dinner, Thursday there is a poetry reading in Boise and Friday starts the birthday weekend extravaganza!

OK, off to enjoy my day- I've worked a lot today. Love!

Dedicated to Andrea

Andrea, we have GOT to find a way to get this movie made. Can we please star in it? And invite the Hardy Boys and the Sweet Valley Twins to star with us? OK thanks.

Last Day

The last day of the trip, we checked out of the guesthouse in the morning and headed over to Fort Langley area. Fort Langley was a fur trapping trade centre that worked with the Hudson Bay Company and also worked and were close to the Native Indian tribes that were in the area. The place looked a lot like our hostel....

There was the best super cheesy movie in the whole world. I want to buy it. And watch it all the time.
We spent more time amusing ourselves in the introduction room than we did paying attention to the Fort.
We hung out at the big house--- just like our hostel :)
We had lovely breakfast waiting for us at the table.
Also huge wall paitings.
This was Kirbi's room.
We played checkers- I won.
We had to bake bread in this big outdoor oven... made it hard to cook dinner quickly.
Kirbi had to clean up the whole place.
And I had to babysit this random baby.
So sometimes I'd escape to the top of the lumber storehouse.
And Kirbi would run away to the storehouse.
Sometimes I was forced to makeout with a bear.

And Kirbi had to wear a silly hat. Good thing it was our last day...

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Fort Langley antique shops. Some were so sweet with the most bizarre little antiques. I LOVE antique places.

The drive home wasn't terrible- we probably sat at the border crossing for about 30 minutes (in the SLOWEST lane) after picking up a few things at the Duty Free shop right on the border. We went to Panera for dinner because we were both craving it. It was delicious. Such an incredible trip- thanks for being my travel buddy, Kirbs!

By the way, before we left the city, we stopped at one more place....

Notice any similarities???? Other than the new paint job? Yes, we stopped at the Winchester's house in Lawrence Kansas. Money!