/Users/katecampbell/Desktop/Avatar Kate and Lea.jpg

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Okay, the TWO most beautiful babies in the world!



We got to meet young Alexander Lewis Davilas Ferguson on Saturday (he is just two days older than Lea) and he is such a sweetie! We can't wait to see these two on the beach!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

I'm getting better at this!

I tapped into my techno side - so try this link!



Does this work?

Who needs a golf club this big?



We gave Eric a new driver for Christmas, and Holly remarked that it was "as big as Lea's head." So here's the proof. You be the judge!

Christmas - it was cool!

We had a nice Christmas, primarily because of Lea. At the tender age of not-quite-five-weeks she did incredibly well with all the stimulation from a passel of loud relatives, at least on her mother's side! She stole the show, and it was loads of fun to give her gifts, even if she doesn't really know what they're about. Soon she'll enjoy the toys, although probably she'll never appreciate THESE clothes (even if her parents and other extended family members enjoy the heck out of them).

We ate WAY too much, thanks to inveterate cookie bakers - Doug, Paige, Holly - and my compulsion to provide enormous meals of turkey, pork, ham, and accompaniments. We also experimented with some interesting drinks - a variety of egg nogs and other kind of bizarre cocktails. Fun!

It's nice to not get up before the crack of dawn, too. I actually went to the theatre on a weeknight and was able to sleep in the next day. Of course, I have the good old papers to grade - I'm procrastinating on that right now, as a matter of fact.

But, always, the best part of a holiday for me is having my kids around. I know they miss each other a lot, so it makes me happy to see them be able to spend a little bit of time together. When Paige and Brian move, they'll be farther from both sets of parents, but closer to Eric and Holly, which is some consolation. It will be nice for them to hang out together sometimes without the parents around, I know. But it also means that I can combine a couple of trips this summer.

Sigh. I honestly often wish I could rewind the clock about ten years and relive those high school times with my kids and appreciate them more. But I really like them as adults, too. I'm glad they are having adventures that are taking them to different parts of the country, but, selfishlessly, I preferred when I saw them every day and kind of miss packing lunches - PB and J sandwiches, juice boxes, goldfish crackers, granola bars, and, for Eric, Boost during his running seasons. Seems like yesterday sometimes that I was doing that - and going to concerts, meets, and games. I have regular pictures, but also some wonderful mental images of my kids in uniforms or costumes (remember that very classy Academic Team sweater, Eric? And the sparkly VE dress, Paige?) Maybe part of it is that I, too, was ten years younger!

Not to get all "Wonder Years" on you, but isn't it fun to remember past Christmases? We had a lot of fun watching videos from almost twenty years ago. I am so glad we have them - to see the loved ones we don't have with us anymore, but also to see how we were then - when our long-gone dog was a pup, and my hair was the color I've been pretending it still is.

Hope you all had a good end of the year holiday, whichever one you celebrate!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Reading material update

I got a couple of books for Christmas by two of my favorites - Nora Ephron and Anna Quindlen. These ladies who are, like me, "of a certain age" really nail life as I know it. I really enjoy non-fiction that reads like literature - in fact, that is something I challenged my creative writing club to do before our next meeting. They love to create characters and they picture them down to the most infinitessimal detail, but I think it's cooler to write about something or someone that already exists.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Postscript

Two updates to the last post:

1. Four of my juniors did not show up for school on the day the paper was due - not surprised, really. The best part is that one of them (whom I have second period) came in late. I saw him last period and held out my hands for the paper. He remarked with a weird combination of sheepishness and indignation, "I wasn't expecting to see you today." I have very little hope for this kid - absolutely no work ethic.

2. A colleague who is an excellent teacher - high standards and professionalism - had a conference with parents who take issue with her late paper policy. They called her a bitch to her face and asked her if she had heard about the kid who committed suicide when he had a bad report card. Right. Now teachers can't give the grade the child earns; WE are the ones responsible for the kids' mental health.

Please don't tell us we don't have "real" jobs. Don't tell us that standardized tests measure our competence - it isn't as though we have uniform raw materials to work with. I challenge every business person to trade jobs for a month.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

'Tis the season!

It's getting to be that time of year - yes, RESEARCH PAPER!

My juniors turn in their big papers tomorrow and I'm expecting about a third good ones, a third adequate ones, and a third "you have to be kidding me!" One girl told me that one of her classmates told her that he has ONE source - and that's a website!

I really, really dread this unit, even though I learn so much from the good papers. But it's the ones from the kids who don't really give a damn about learning the process and just throw something down on paper that proves NOTHING. What part of "come up with a thesis to support, find several sources that support it, choose information and either quote it, paraphrase it, or summarize it and CITE the information" do they not comprehend? I know I have said a couple of dozen times: "If I ask myself "How does he/she know this?" it needs to be cited."

It isn't stupidity. It isn't that I haven't tried to work with them. It isn't even mere laziness.

It's that they really don't know what it is to put maximum effort into something.

I know, I know, I'm sounding pretty grinchy. I have a lot of terrific students. But I would say that I have about ten that haven't a clue about what it means to truly be a student. All some of them care about is how many points something is worth and what they have to do to get the B or A (or sometimes a D!). I still have a couple of seniors who turn in ONE PARAGRAPH for a major theme that is supposed to be at least five and then are SO SURPRISED to get a 50 or 60 on it - a gift, if you ask me! And these are supposedly college-bound kids!

On the other end of the spectrum, we have kids (and parents) so focused on being the best that they give themselves ulcers. We had a student recently get a perfect score on one part of a standardized test (you know the one) and the parents berated that student for not doing so well on the other part. Another kid has been conditioned that only Ivy League acceptance will do for her. No wonder she has no fingernails!

So what are kids, parents, and teachers supposed to do about education? What is the correct approach? Whatever happened to LEARNING for its own sake, not for regurgitating on a statewide test with such high stakes that we have to bribe the kids with breakfast and other perks just to not blow it off?

We just had a tragic situation not far from here with a kid who brought home a bad report card and his parents (appropriately) told him he'd have to give up some of his extracurricular activities. The next day he brought a sawed-off shotgun to school and ended his own life. Of course, the media was all about the "pressures of achievement" and so forth. I repeat - his parents did not beat him or in any other way punish him - they just told him he needed to manage his time better and would have to curtail some out-of-school activities. Of course, there were undoubtedly other factors - some comments were made about being picked on - and, sadly, we will never know what was going on in his head. This terrible situation gives all of us pause - as teachers, we certainly don't want to give the grade that pushes a kid to such extremes.

I think I'll write an article "What high school teachers want to tell new parents" - and it would be to make their child find joy in learning. I want new parents, like my daughter and her husband, to know that they don't need flashcards and drills - they need to read to their children with joy on their faces and in their voices. They need to show their children new things and share the wonder of them. They need to challenge their children to THINK about things and discover what it feels like to be intellectually TIRED from thinking! They need to offer stimulation that isn't plugged into something!

I've taught the valedictorians - they are, of course, high achieving students. But some of them found little JOY in their learning - it was just a resume builder. On the other hand, I've had other students whose eyes just lit up upon discovering a little jewel in a story - even just the PERFECT word to put in their essay. What a wonderful experience it is to teach those kids!

Well, that's my rant for today. After tomorrow, I'm all Christmas, all the time!