Happenings

The school year is starting to wind down (7 weeks and 4 days left!) and I’m glad. I love my class, I love what I do, but I’m tired! The testing has really taken a toll on me this year due to the fact that I changed grade levels and really felt like I needed to relearn everything. My brain is tired, my body is tired, and while I really don’t want to say goodbye to this group of students…I’m ready for a vacation!

Our summer trips are fairly routine, every year we head west to California to the tiny town of Mammoth Lakes.

My grandfather has a cabin up there and we go stay with him for a week or two under the premise of “helping out”. I LOVE Mammoth, ever since I was a small child…it’s so neat to be able to take my kids up there and see them exploring the same woods and lakes that I did.

This summer however, we are also going to spend a week in Yellowstone National Park

I’ve never been to Yellowstone and am not sure what to expect. It certainly looks beautiful and will be a new adventure for the entire family. New adventures, new experiences, and SUMMER VACATION…it sure is a lot to look forward too!

I just finished reading an responding to the first round of published writing pieces for my class that was prompt based. Wow, what a tough job. It’s amazing how I can sit and read each piece, knowing where the child has come from in terms of their writing ability and feel so proud of what they are doing with their words. Then, I look at the state rubric, or I ask a fellow colleague and it never fails that I find more weaknesses in their writing than strengths. I suppose it’s simply a product of our current culture of assessment that we can’t celebrate tiny steps forward, but instead we expect all of the children to write at the same level for the state test. So instead of praising the compositional risks taken in an attempt to be more creative, I am reminding my children to “stay focussed and address the prompt”. YUCK! I understand that we have to “prove” that the children are learning, I understand that we have to hold teachers accountable, I understand that we have to test every child in the state the exact same way in order to have valid results. What I don’t understand is how we can take something as subjective as writing, especially writing from 9 and 10 year olds and “grade” it as of all of the children come from a level playing field. Beauty (or in this case skill) is most certainly in the eye of the beholder. I don’t care to read, certain authors, and if I had to score them on the rubric I would certainly give them a low grade. Does that mean they are bad samples of writing? NO! It only means that in my eyes they aren’t high quality. But who is to say that my “eyes” are right or wrong? Other people may find the writing fascinating and inspiring.

I don’t mind the assessing of the skills so much, I just wish there was more objective way to go about doing it.

Last weekend, we took the kids on a day trip to Carlsbad Caverns. It wasn’t a first for either of them, but the last time we went they were both so young (5 & 2) that they really didn’t remember much of it. Now, at 11 and 7 they were much more engaged in the trip itself and surprised me by how interesting they found the entire experience.

We took the long route and walked down into the caverns as opposed to taking the elevator down and simply touring the Big Room. We also rented the audio wands…intending to share them but the kids monopolized them the entire time! They were both thoroughly enchanted on the way down. Christopher kept whispering “This place is amazing!” and Carrie used it as an opportunity to “teach” us. The little turkey would listen ahead on the audio wands and as soon as we approached the site she had just listened to she proceeded to explain it to us in GREAT detail (let’s just say that my dear daughter is NOT a woman of few words!).

All in all I was pleased at how they did…they were willing to walk AWAY from technology for a day (no ipods, no DS, no TV, no internet, no movies) for the day and walked the entire way with little to no complaining about being tired. They both walked away awestruck by the beauty of the caverns and having learned something about nature.

I suppose this simple family outing shows that you can find a balance between our technological and natural world…we may just have to work a little harder to do it!

After an extremely short Christmas vacation, I head back to work tomorrow for 2 days of teacher inservice and the kids come back on Monday. I must admit that I have enjoyed the week and a half off but do wish it were longer. The older I get, the faster time flies. That’s a good thing I suppose in certain situations, but in this case I wish it would have gone at a slower pace.

The second semester is always met with mixed emotions. The “testing pressure” is felt much more when we return from Christmas, as our first TAKS test will be March 4. It’s so hard to find a balance between adequately preparing the kids while avoiding “teaching to the test”. In reality, every thing they are tested on is important for real life, so consequently teaching to the test isn’t entirely a bad thing…but yet it’s such a horrible thought to teach to a test! I can only wonder how long this current evaluatory mindset will continue…at some point someone somewhere is going to say that what we are doing is hurting more than helping. The state has already decided that they will phase out the TAKS test at the high school level-yet at this point I’m not aware of any discussion of changes at the elementary level. It’s bound to happen though-all in good time I suppose.

So tomorrow, it’s back to the daily grind…back to rising early…back to lesson plans…back to grading papers…back to the politics of teaching…and yes…back to the opening and growing of young minds! Maybe the daily grind isn’t so bad after all!

I read an article in the paper today titled A New Era of Play - all about the way kids learn and play in our digital world. I find the ideas interesting and fascinating. I remember as a child spending hours upon hours sitting outside reading a book, wandering through the neighborhood, and very little time spent engaged with any type of technology. There was maybe an hour of TV a day if I was lucky and while we got our first home computer when I was in 3rd grade there weren’t many programs available for kids to use, and there certainly weren’t any hand held gaming devices or Wiis (hey-we were impressed with Atari and the simple fact that we could go and RENT VHS videos to watch at home-that was of course if you were lucky enough to own a VCR). I can see so many benefits to the technology of today’s world, and kids are definitely learning differently because of it. Every thing is faster, and information is so easy to access…which is good…I think. I wonder though if “different”, while not bad, is necessarily good. Are we losing an important balance between being connected technologically with the world and being connected emotionally? Everything in technology is fast paced, kids don’t have to wait for anything…it’s all at their fingertips in an instant. Their minds process information quickly at a rapid fire pace…but is that truly thinking or is it just a reaction? Is that the direction our entire world is heading? Is that where we want to go? Or is there something to be said for the simplicity of a technology-free world if even for a fleeting moment? Can we find a balance between the two? The book, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv addresses this exact issue. The thought that I find myself wondering about is whether or not the increased technology and decreased “natural experiences” is hurting our kids in anyway. It’s not an easy question to answer, and while I’m not sure where exactly I stand on this, I can tell you as a parent that I try to find a balance for my own kids and it seems to be working. They have enough technology to quench their thirst and keep them “caught up” with their friends, but they also know the value of nature. They have sat and watch a caterpillar for 30 minutes to see him climb up a tree, they have quietly followed a deer through the woods, they have sat patiently for hours on the edge of a lake waiting for the fish to bite, they have sat beneath the trees doing nothing at all. Interestingly enough, they seem to enjoy these things as much as they do their video games.

My “To Do” list for the weekend is huge!  There is the usual-laundry, bills, checkbook, clean, lesson plans, homework for the kids, shopping, etc-and then there’s the kid’s picture appointment tomorrow.  I have so much to do that I really don’t have any business taking any down time-but I did just that today and I’m so glad I did.

This afternoon, my fellow Girl Scout Leaders and I “kidnapped” 9 of our 10 girls (and my son too!) and took them out for a surprise “night on the town”.  We started off by taking them to B.J.’s for dinner.  The girls really kept to themselves and enjoyed each other’s company, which was nice because it gave me the opportunity to dote on my son a bit (he doesn’t get that very often since he’s the youngest and always has to share me with his sister and my students).  After a leisurely dinner, we took the group to see “Enchanted” the latest Disney movie.  The movie itself was cute, with a happily ever after ending (what else would you expect?).  The evening was finished with a trip to Marble Slab for ice cream-YUM!

It was very relaxing, very simple, and very quiet (completely unexpected considering we had 9 girls with us!)  But I found that the entire time I was there with the kids and my friends, I didn’t once think about the long list of tasks awaiting me.  It was nice to just sit back and enjoy each other’s company and not stress over all the the little things that are looming over me.  I really need to find time to do this more often…it’s going to take some reprogramming of my thought processes though-I guess not everything on my list needs to be “crossed off”!

Seeking Peace and Tranquility

Deep within my heart, attached securely to my soul I harbor a dream.  A powerful dream of peace and tranquility that defines me and connects generations.  Often, the stresses, worries, and fears of everyday life overwhelm me and I forget that peace and tranquility do exist…somewhere. In my dream, those worries are blown away in the wind.  The beauty of this dream is that it has already been found, already been lived, yet has not been fully attained.  The beauty of this dream is that it always awaits me in a tiny cabin, nestled deep in the wilderness of Mammoth Lakes, California.

As a child, I spent summers with my grandparents at their cabin in Mammoth Lakes.  Owning this cabin had been a dream of theirs, a little hideaway from the stresses of the world.  Though I didn’t appreciate it then, I realize now how lucky I was that they included me in their dream and ironically, their dream lead me to mine.  Each summer, I couldn’t wait for the long drive up the dusty, winding mountain roads to the cabin.  My days there were spent traipsing through the woods, splashing in nearby creeks, and lounging lazily on the front porch with my grandparents.  Those magical moments  are what I remember most.  There was just something special about the beauty and the sense of enchantment and belonging I felt while resting peacefully beneath the towering pine trees who whispered sweet songs and danced gracefully in the wind just for me.

A few years ago, shortly after my Grandmommy’s death, I returned to the cabin with my own children.  As we drove up the same dusty, winding mountain roads, I expected to feel sadness at the realization that without Grandmommy, the dream was not complete.  Instead, I found clarity deep inside me.  I spent the days there traipsing through the familiar woods and splashing in nearby creeks with my children.  At the end of each day we lounged lazily on the front porch, the three of us experiencing a feeling of enchantment and sense of belonging while resting peacefully beneath the towering pine trees who whispered sweet songs and danced gracefully in the wind just for us.  That was when I realized the dream was complete.  The sense of belonging, the enchantment, the magic were all created by the beauty of the wind blowing away our stresses, worries, and fears…leaving peace and tranquility behind.   I finally understood, this was the dream my grandparents had lovingly passed on to me.

Now, each summer, my children and I drive up the same dusty, winding mountain roads to escape a hectic, stressful world.  My children may not understand the dream yet, but they know there is something special about the cabin and the towering, whispering, dancing trees.  I am so thankful that I can pass this dream on to my children and that we can always return, for our dream is calling…the cabin is calling…peace and tranquility await us there.

I wrote in a post below that while we were on our Girl Scout camping trip this past weekend that we saw some tracks in the mud near our fire pit.  They looked just like this  and I thought at the time that they looked like Raccoon Tracks-but I didn’t think we had racoons in El Paso (we were after all only in the Upper Valley).  So this evening I started doing some reasearch on Wildlife in El Paso, and look what I found out…surprise!  Raccoons do indeed live in the desert!  And in El Paso at that!  I don’t know which species-but at least I know that I may have some skills in animal tracking!  Who knew?!

Lessons taught

Moments Shared

From one generation to the next

A simple hug

Safe and secure in your arms

Always know Grandpa,

You are my hero.

This past weekend I took 5 of my Girl Scouts on a camping trip of sorts. We didn’t travel far, only to the upper valley to Camp Pioneer (the local Girl Scout Camp) but it was still fun as it was the first time camping for some of the girls.  I really enjoyed watching my girls work together to set up the camp (they even set of the tent pretty much on their own-except for the height issue).  We spent Saturday working on badges-bead crafts, sewing sit-upons, learning to use a compass, etc-before dinner.  When supper time rolled around the girls helped build a camp fire, which I am proud to say lit very quickly and burned very well, so that we could roast hot dogs over the fire.  The height issue came into play again though as some of their arms weren’t quite long enough to reach their dogs into the fire!  After dinner we had to make ooey-gooey-sticky-smores-and we all ate more than our share.  YUMMMMMY!  We had noticed that clouds were beginning to roll in just before supper time, and right about the moments we were finishing our smores we began seeing lighting flashing off in the distance.  That made us decide to douse the fire and go on a quick nighttime “spider eye” hike to work on some more of our badges.  We grabbed the hose and started spraying out the fire just as the rain drops started to sprinkle down upon us, and then suddenly, as the last embers of the fire were laid to rest an enormous flash of lightening was followed by BOOM that traveled swiftly through the air.  We all immediately stared and each other and said “Never mind the nature walk!  We better get to the tent!”  We quickly turned off the hose and dashed across the campgrounds towards our tent.  No sooner had the last girl stepped in  than the downpour began!  I couldn’t believe how loud the rain sounded as it danced on the tent top.  The storm could have ruined our evening…but we didn’t let it.  Instead of going on a nighttime walk or singing songs around a campfire…we huddled up inside the tent and sang songs around the lantern in hopes that the rain would let up soon.  Sadly though, it didn’t.  It rained off and on all evening and into the wee morning hours.  Were we disappointed?  Nah, it only added to the adventure!