The View from Here

Spring ?????

Oklahoma has a crazy spring weather pattern: hot-cold-hot-cold…and windy. Don’t forget WINDY! On Thursday, when I not only had to work, but work until 9pm darkness, it was 80+ degrees and records were broken all over the area. It was calm and sunny and the children wore flip-flops.

On Friday, when I was off, and had already arranged a trip to Lowe’s with my Dad and his pickup, it was 40 degrees, windy (20mph), cloudy, and misting!!! Of course it was! I wore my sweater, sweatshirt, and gloves. We managed to get three trees, 10 bags of mulch, 10 bags of rock, and 5 bags of potting soil delivered to my patio, but it wasn’t the pleasant experience I had planned. And tonight we are supposed to have a hard freeze and two days of cold weather, followed by two days of 70+ degrees. I see some “after school” gardening in my future. I can just forget about planning pretty weekends.

My students all have spring fever! As I talked to their parents the other night, we all had the same stories. They are not paying attention in class. They are not doing their homework. They are not doing their chores. They’re bickering with siblings. They’re whining. Two more weeks until spring break- hang in there!!

I had a rude awakening after the conferences. My late night working and walking made my legs hurt so much that I was awake until 1:00am. Then I had to take a two-hour nap Friday afternoon. Not good. I need to get into gardening shape, and soon!

I had hoped to do some weeding at the park today. We will see. The wind is howling and it will be cool, but perhaps things will change by 3pm. I remember standing outside the college one spring waiting for a friend to pick me up. It started out mild and sunny, and within thirty minutes changed to cold, windy, and snowing! I didn’t even have a jacket! LOL

Spring…

Enjoy!

Square Pegs

This may be one of those blogs that I need to post both here, and on my kindergarten site.

Tonight I’m going to talk to my parents about their child’s progress in my class. Some are going to be very happy. Some are not.

I think much of the unhappiness is our own fault. I think the nature and structure of school is wrong and it’s time for some major changes.

It’s not the recalcitrant children who worry me. Sure, I’m going to talk to a few parents about how much better their child would perform in class if they just stopped talking and throwing crayons and breaking pencils and goofing off. But some of that is going to continue despite everything we adults do. It is the very nature of some children to rebel against sitting down and working.

 It’s the ones who are obedient and hard-working and eager to learn, but just aren’t “getting it” who have my heart. I’ve talked and demonstrated and explained and motivated until I’m just out of creative ideas. They still don’t understand that letters make sounds and sounds make words and words tell us a story. Some aren’t ready to learn. Some have cognitive or processing problems that will have to be addressed at some time. Some are just slow. They just have their own pace and it isn’t based on nine week increments.

Think about that for a moment.

Our education system is a series of grades and grading periods that is deemed to be the best for the average student. Many of our children simply don’t fit that criterion. Whether they are challenged or gifted, they need something different.

I’ve often wished that at this point in the school year we could divide our classes into three groups: slow, average, and advanced, and create new classes. And don’t read too much into that term “slow”. It’s just a pace. Some of my students don’t even test well because their slow, Southern drawl limits their performance on timed tests. I’m not kidding!! So some of my slow children are very smart, just slower to make connections and understand concepts. They just need to spend more time with the basics. By keeping them together in a group we could spend more time on the things they need to review. The average group could continue on the standard curriculum, and the advanced group could move on to some first grade skills.

Ideally we do that in the classroom every day. Ideally. But let’s be honest. If you have twenty children, you are going to spend the majority of your time teaching to the middle. I do some tutoring with my slower children and give my advanced children more reading time. That’s reality.

I think we need to reexamine the concept of grades. Perhaps we don’t have to strictly adhere to grades for a few years. Perhaps we could let children move in and out of groups at their own pace until third grade. Maybe a child needs to be in a kindergarten language group and a first grade math group and a second grade art group. Maybe we need to stop thinking about what is easiest for us as adults to teach and manage, and give more thought to what actually works for children.

I know some schools have tried in the past to have “non-graded” campuses. Some current schools have non-traditional, mixed grade levels (K-1, 1-2). Some have team teaching. I think more of us need to get together and take a long look at what actually works and start making more changes across the country. If we really want to make “no child left behind” a reality, then we have to make school more “user-friendly” for children. I don’t have all the answers, but I certainly have some questions…

Other People

I recently enjoyed reading the article, Seven Lies We Tell Ourselves About Facebook. It’s a witty commentary about all the reasons why we say we are on Facebook and concludes that it is actually “our own personal reality show and our friends are the stars”. What’s wrong with that? We’ve always had water cooler gossip, Sunday socials, and neighborhood coffees to give us the lowdown on friends and family. This just expands it a little. So we’ve s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d the “friends” concept to include someone in Tibet who is a friend of a friend of our third grade teacher. So what? As long as we are wary of liars and cheats and scam artists and perverts…it’s all good.

Social networking is like therapy, only cheaper. Finding out that someone, anyone, out there is crazier, lazier, or more pathetic than we are moves us up the ladder of success without doing a darn thing! No matter what we were thinking before about our careers or family or relationships, one visit to Facebook and we are suddenly not so bad after all.

Oh, we’ve always known there were “lesser people”. After all, we see them on the news every night. My mom used to say “we’re not like those people.” But to move those people from the category of “strangers on the news” to “friends” somehow changes our perception of them, and of ourselves. Now they are strange people that we know! Now we can make some comparisons and dish out some marvelous opinions about where they went wrong. It feels like we are actually doing them a favor.

I suppose at this point I will sound like a complete hypocrite if I say that I’m one of the few people who has strictly sincere reasons for being on Facebook. LOL I do love keeping up with family and friends! I live far from most of them and our busy lives don’t allow for much “face time”. I’m eager to see their photos of children and grandchildren and vacations and gardens. But I also have to admit that reading those “25 things about me” or “don’t tell my mom” lists and confessions is entertaining and enlightening. I do love seeing inside the human psyche as much as the next voyeur! And sometimes it makes me seem so sane by my own comparison.

So be careful what you say on Facebook. We’re ALL listening…

I don't care.

I didn't go to an Oscar party last night. Didn't watch the show. Didn't even look at the winners list on MSN this morning. I realized during the nominations that I really don't care anymore.

There was a time when I was concerned about seeing all the popular, award-winning movies. I followed the careers of a few stars. I cared about whether or not they were recognized for their wonderful performances. I watched all the award shows. Now...

I watch what seems interesting, if I have the time. I still LOVE movies, but there are so many other things to do.

I don't really care about the careers of movie stars. Most talk too much, drink too much, take too many drugs, wear too little clothing, and make far too much money.

I'm tired of award shows. They are boring and too, too long. The host or hostess tells stupid jokes. The stars thank twenty people we don't know or care about. Everyone tries to seem humble when we know they aren't. The prizes don't mean the movie was really worth watching.

So, if you watched the show last night and you are a big fan of someone, I'm sorry. I don't care.

Strong Coffee...

that's what is needed at 4:15am! I've been up with the chickens this morning. My leg just wouldn't stop aching so I decided to get up and quit paying attention to it.

I have to say again that I had a great birthday! It was so nice to hear from so many friends and family members. In case you missed it, go to Katrina's blog and listen to my grandchildren singing "happy birthday". Sweet, but I told them not to give up their day jobs! LOL I also want you to see the two Nosey books Karen gave me. Remember, Nosey was "my" elephant- the one I loved as a child, the one whose photo is on my office wall. Now I have books about Nosey! Yeah!

I spent yesterday "home alone". I worked on my research and did lots of laundry and even cleaned my house, a little. I also tried out the new Family Tree Maker 2009  I bought last month. It is wonderful!!! It is easy to use and contains some great features and options that my old program didn't have. I made some mistakes yesterday, but they were easy to correct. I love being able to merge information from the Ancestry website. It is very simple to add photos and notes. I'm just very, very happy with my purchase.

I also watched Geoffrey Gallante on YouTube - AGAIN- because he is just so cute!! I can't believe he is only five and plays the trumpet AND reads music!! My students can barely read English!! LOL

Well, I'm off to see what I can find for breakfast. Go play on the internet and I'll talk to you later.

I have people...

I love the commercial that depicts happy, confident taxpayers who simply say “I have people”.

Well, I have people, but they don’t take care of my taxes…they take care of my life.

Today, my fifty-ninth birthday, (yep-COUNT those candles!) is the perfect time to say thanks to my people.

Thank you to all of the people who give me advice about my health. I have a group of friends who have “been there, done that” and are pretty sensible about diet, exercise, doctors, and medications. You’ve given me some great advice and encouragement, especially this past year.

Thank you to all of the people who give me spiritual advice and pray for me, even when I don’t make a formal request. I know some of the strongest, most faithful Christians on the planet and I’m blessed by their friendship and love. And, oh yes, I’ve gotten, and deserved, a few reprimands as well! Sometimes someone has to tell me what my mom would if she were here!

Thank you to all of the people who give me relationship advice. Being a teacher means working with a variety of people from all walks of life and being nice to them for at least a year, or more. Sometimes that can be difficult when personalities clash. I have lots of younger friends who are parents and who help me see things from a different perspective.

Thank you to all of the people who help me with my genealogy research. I have learned so, so much from the tireless volunteers at the genealogy library, the staff at our regular library, and from online genealogy researchers all over the country. These people are some of the most generous folks I have ever encountered. Family research means so much to them, personally, that they have no trouble at all understanding how much it means to me.

Thank you to all of the people who are in education and are sharing the journey with me. It is so encouraging to have dozens of people who understand my passion for teaching. I know you are there if I want to celebrate success, or wallow in self-doubt!

Thank you to all of the people who read my words- in my blogs, or my newspaper and magazine articles. It has been my privilege to write for publication since I was twelve years old. I’m still amazed that anyone cares about what I have to say, but I am so grateful, because I can’t seem to stop writing.

Thank you to all of the people who have joined with me to try to make our little corner of the world better. The people who volunteer to make a difference in Caddo are sometimes forgotten when praise is handed out, but quickly remembered when there is a problem. They keep working anyway, year after year.

Thank you to all of the people who dig in the dirt. I get advice and encouragement and seeds and plants and photos from gardeners all over the country. I read some great gardening blogs. I have wonderful gardening buddies who leave surprises by my gate. I have people who help me take care of the flowers downtown.

Thank you to the people who work with me each and every day and still seem to like me. Sometimes I don’t know how you put up with my craziness!

Thank you to the people who understand my strange obsession with elephants. Your gifts bring me joy!

Thank you to my family for loving and understanding me, even when we don’t get along, even when things aren’t going well, and even when we don’t see each other. We’re still family and those are the best people to have!!  

Working from the heart...

This is how you know you are doing the right thing: you love doing it even when it is difficult.

I’ve been teaching for many years and there are days when I am exhausted, physically and mentally, almost beyond tolerance. There are days when the kids drive me crazy. There are days when the parents drive me even crazier. There are days when I just want to stay home and read a good book. But I go to work, to school, because I can’t think of any other place that would be more enjoyable or fulfilling for me. I go with a smile on my face because the cares of yesterday are already forgotten and I’m looking forward to a new day.

I’ve also been doing genealogy research for years. It is often painfully tedious and frustrating. It requires attention to detail and progress is often akin to watching grass grow. My mind becomes overloaded with the facts and dates and relationships of a particular family. Most of the families I research are not my own, so it would be easy to give up and just tell people “I don’t know”, or “I can’t find that”. But I persist because of the joy it brings me when I find something of value for someone. I persist because of the knowledge that I’m helping revive and expound on the memory of ordinary people who were responsible for where we are today.

My other passion is gardening. Anyone who has ever picked up a trowel can tell you the difficulties of gardening. The weather changes when you least expect it. Nature sends locusts and plagues. Plants die. Arthritis makes digging and bending and weeding painful. And yet…I try again. I look forward to spring. I plan for more flowers. I hope for good weather. I go outside when my joints ache and my body whispers the “read a good book” plan again. I go because it brings me joy.

I was thinking about these three joys in my life because of my trip to the doctor yesterday, and my impending birthday. The more birthdays you accumulate, the greater the tendencies to keep the things in your life that bring you joy and eliminate the ones that don’t. I find myself thinking about the shortness of life and the foolishness of wasting too much of it doing things that annoy and frustrate me. I’m learning to delegate more. I used to think that I was “passing the buck”. Now I realize there are people around me who actually enjoy doing some of the things that I hate to do!

My trip to the doctor yesterday was interesting. There were three distinct conversations going on in the waiting room. Two younger (thirty something) women on my left were discussing sex, kids, and ballgames, in between texting and talking to someone on the phone.  I won’t tell you what I learned from that conversation, but I will remind you to remember when you are in public that there are some subjects to stay away from…please. Two older women to my right were talking in mind-numbing, endless detail about their dogs and puppies. It sounded like one of them was running a kennel. I learned more about dew claws than I ever wanted to know! LOL  Another group, three women and a man, got most of my attention. Each was at least seventy years old. They were talking about replacement parts. Each had had knees replaced. One had artificial shoulders, knees, and a hip. Another was facing hip surgery. One was going for a second knee surgery. I sat there thinking about my parts and feeling an urgency to get home and use them before they wear out! I also realized I need to take better care of them!

Anyway, those are my random thoughts for today. If you love doing something, you are probably in the right job, hobby, whatever. Take care of yourself so you can keep doing it. Try to delegate or eliminate some of the drudgery in your life. Do less out of guilt and more because of love. After all, it’s February.  

Twenty Gifts of Love

We had our Valentine’s party at school on Friday. One of my students very carefully, and in great detail, explained to his classmates why we had to have it Friday instead of Saturday. He was so proud of his knowledge, both of the dates, and the facts. One of his little peers just didn’t get the whole 13^th vs. 14^th thing. She didn’t care what the date was as long as we were having a party. Another asked if he could have a party on Saturday at home. My fountain of knowledge assured him that it was okay. There is a difference between a school party and a home party- he could even have it at Chuckee Cheese if he wanted to- he informed him.

My little ones cleaned the room and decorated their desks. They exchanged their valentines and read them to each other. It was not only wonderful to hear them read, but to hear them help each other read. Some even went around the room and said “thank you”. I was so proud. Of course there were some confused students. One came up to my desk and asked, “Can you read that L-word for me Mrs. Maurer?” “Sure, hon.” I looked at the word beneath her pointer finger. “That’s Constance.” Apparently we still have some alphabet recognition work to do!!

Several of my moms came to help with the party. They are so good. They bring treats and pour drinks and answer questions and pass out goodies and clean up spills. I don’t know what I would do without them on party days.

We had more cupcakes, cookies, chocolate, and hearts than any child could possibly eat, so we took home bags of extras. I was so pleased to hear my students say “I’m taking this home to my sister (mom, brother, etc.).” Not one of them said they would eat it later.

I got lots of little cards and goodies. I even got a pot of tulips. My children are always so delighted to give me a gift and some are very creative. One of my little girls made foam hearts for each student and one for me that said “#1 Teacher”. She told me that she and her grandmother made them together. Just that image was wonderful! I remember making things with my grandmother. And I always get gum and chocolate and hand lotion and little statues for holidays. My parents are quick to notice the things that decorate my room and to understand my appreciation of chocolate for any and all occasions!

My daughter commented about candy and jewelry and flowers in her blog. Appreciated when they are given in the right spirit- but so easy to buy- especially for husbands and boyfriends. WalMart and other stores had everything right by the check-out area yesterday. You’d have to be a moron to forget to buy something. But I don’t need those things to remind me that I am loved. A genuine “I love you” is sufficient. And twenty smiling faces? Pure joy!

Welcome to the World!!!!

Went by the hospital after work yesterday to see our newest friend, Miss Samantha Paige! She arrived yesterday morning, three weeks before expected and further surprised her parents by weighing in at a hefty NINE pounds and THIRTEEN ounces! Not quite anyone's expectation of "preemie". But she is having some typical preemie problems so please pray for her as she learns how to breathe properly.

It's always exciting to visit with new parents and I enjoyed seeing Samantha's mom and dad. I hadn't seen them in quite some time since I no longer teach in their area. Please pray for them, too, as they take this precious baby home and welcome her to their world.

Here by God's grace...

We sat in our living room and watched the weather last night for at least an hour. Oh, we were talking and reading at the same time, but essentially we just watched the storm on the radar screen get closer and closer to our area. Sat and listened as the reporter in Lone Grove described the tornado touching the ground. Sat and prayed that we weren’t next. Sat and thanked God when we weren’t.

We like to think we are in control of our lives. It’s a lie we tell ourselves so we can go about our days without going insane. But I know this morning that I am sitting here by the grace of God. Tornados and floods and fires and earthquakes are just reminders that nature rules the earth, not us. There is a plan and system in place that is much bigger and greater than our little plans. If you think seriously about how truly small and fragile our lives are it will either make you want to sit down and do nothing, or make each moment of your life count. I choose to do the latter. If I’m here for this day or just part of it, I want it to be a good one!

So here are my little plans for the day:

I’m going to try a new way to get my three lowest students to understand their alphabet sounds.

I’m going to contact three people and tell them I love them.

I’m going to do what I can to stay healthy.

I’m going to be thankful for whatever happens today, because I’m here to experience it.

I’m going to go see my friend’s new grandbaby, scheduled for arrival at 9:30 this morning!

Have a great day!!