Get Your Own Blog!

"Honey, blog this...Put that in your blog...Here's one for your blog," said repeatedly by my husband ever since I started this thing. Sometimes I actually do blog what he tells me about (i.e. the previous post) but most of the time I don't. I think he needs to get his own blog.

Mastery? I Think Not!

Yet another reason I choose to homeschool...

My husband is a high school math teacher. Every year he administers the NC End of Course exams to his students. The state requires the teachers to remove or cover all information that may be hanging on the walls of the classroom. They also require test instructions be read verbatim from a script. The teachers must walk around the classroom during the tests (which no longer has a time limit) throughout the entire time students are testing. Basically, they require the teachers to jump through hoops to ensure the tests are an accurate measure of how much the students learned in a given subject as well as to ensure uniformity in the testing environment. Sounds good, doesn't it? One might even think the state sets high standards for the tests.

In previous years the EOC exam simply counted for 25% of a student's final grade. This year, it still counts as 25% of the final grade with the added requirement that 9th graders attain level 3, equivalent to a score of 80% on a 100 point scale (according to the state of NC) on the test to receive credit for the class. A student who has passing grades in class but fails to achieve level 3 on the EOC is retested. If he fails the second test he attends two weeks of remediation and tests a third time. If the student fails the third test the teacher has the option of presenting a portfolio of the students work to a school committee which then determines whether or not to recommend the student receive credit for the class. Therefore, the kid who spent the whole semester not getting caught while cheating off his buddy gets 3 tries at the test and likely ends up getting credit for the course. One must wonder, "What did he learn?"

The scale runs from 118 to 181. A score of 118 would indicate the student got 1 question correct. A score of 181 means the student got all 64 questions correct. According to the test reports a scale score of 148 is equivalent to a score of 80% on a 100 pt. scale. That translates to the student having gotten 31 out of 64 questions correct. For a student to be considered on grade level (level 3 or higher) he must get less than half of the questions correct! The funny thing is if the scale was converted to a 100 pt. score one would expect the student who got 31 questions correct to receive a 48%. Of course, one could argue that the questions are weighted. But, that isn't the case. Here's the proof...if the questions were weighted the scale would indicate it. Look at the numbers and do the math. The questions aren't weighted. Furthermore, the state describes level 3 as follows: "Students performing at this level consistently demonstrate mastery of this subject matter and skills and are well prepared for the next grade level (EOG) or for a more advanced level in this subject area (EOC)."

Think about that for a moment. NC considers a student who gets less than half the questions correct on the Algebra I EOC test as demonstrating mastery. WTF? That's just plain unacceptable.

---

How long will it take us, if we continue diluting the quality of education in this country, before we truly become a nation of idiots?

Do You Remember?

The jar of M&M's that sat on my kitchen table & how you ate them all every time you came over. The trips to TCBY to get ice cream (the closest we ever came to having a date.) The long conversations at your kitchen table & the pots of coffee that we drank together. The argument over whether or not to take the man off the island. January 15, 1992 (need I say more.) The only time you ever admitted, after checking to make sure no one was listening, that you kissed me first. The time all those wolf spiders invaded your apartment & how you valiantly slew each one. The telephone conversations that lasted way into the morning. How we never tired of talking to each other. The day I got on the airplane for South Korea. The months spent apart with nothing but a phone line between us. The call you made to the other side of the world - the one when you asked me to marry you. The moment our eyes met when I got off the plane home. Do you remember standing in the rain with me, not because we had to, but just because it was raining? The day I woke up in the hospital with a fat, little bear staring back at me & the grin on your face. Do you remember all the secrets he told you? The time we packed up and moved to Montana & what we learned about ourselves. The day I told you I was pregnant. How you went to every single appointment with me. The morning K was born. How you threw your body across mine to keep me from punching that doctor, then you made her apologize. Do you remember laying our daughter in my arms? All the nights you got up with her and let me sleep. All the nights you got up with all of them just to let me sleep. It was you who laid each of our children in my arms. Do you remember cooking squash for me, even though the smell of them sickened you, because I was craving them & couldn't get out of the bed to fix them for myself? And, swearing that since I got fixed you would never do that again. Do you remember taking me to the beach, six months pregnant with R, even though the doctor didn't like the idea, just because we all needed the break. Do you remember sitting on the balcony of the hotel at Disneyworld talking while the kids slept. Do you remember laughing when I said I could stay there forever? Do you remember all the little things, the moments that have defined our lives? Do you remember the hard parts, the ones I haven't mentioned, the ones that still hurt? Do you remember how we pulled through each time? We never doubted we'd make it. But, this time is different. There is doubt. Yet, somehow, some part of me believes we will get through this. Because, that's what we do. I forgive you.

Grandpa and the Rocket Boys

We're in the midst of formulating a plan. It all started when the World's Greatest Grandpa suggested a trip to West Virginia, to his hometown, with E and T. He got the idea from a conversation with E about the movie, October Skies. It turns out that the guys the movie is about grew up in the same area as WGGP. Since E is into model rocketry & currently fascinated with the history of it WGGP suggested they go and visit the sites where the story is set, as well as his old stomping grounds. They were leaning towards making the trip a sort of "guy thing."

Originally they planned to go this summer; but, E learned about some commemorative festival, or something, that's held there in October. So, they started talking about waiting until then so they could attend the festival. Then, I got wind of their plans & started thinking that K would like to go, because she is way more interested in rockets than T. Then I thought I would like to see where WGGP grew up 'cause I love him, too; and, I'd like to know more about my children's ancestors & stuff like that. But of course, if K and I were going R would have to come along. So, I sort of told WGGP that we were all coming with them. So much for "just us men."

E thinks it's a great idea. This weekend we picked up a copy of Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickman, Jr., the book that the movie was based on. On the drive home we started discussing how the trip to WV could be turned into a field trip for the kids. We got to talking and figured out how we could incorporate all their subjects into the theme of the trip. We both started getting really excited thinking about all the learning opportunities. However, the most important part is the special memories we all will have of going on a field trip with Grandpa.

What Was the Purpose?

You Really Know Your State Capitols

You Got 20 State Capitols Correct You're either a geography buff... or you have an excellent memory.

Do You Know Your State Capitols?

It's the memory; because, I'm not a geography buff. I remember the whole "memorize your state capitals" thing all too clearly. It was horrible. We were forced to recite them in front of the class. The teacher drilled us for days ( forever to a little kid) circulating the room calling on each of us in turn. My innocent, young brain couldn't fathom a purpose to memorizing the capitals of all 50 states. Couldn't I simply look a capital up on a list, perhaps the one my teacher had given me, if I needed to know it? Without a good reason to learn I struggled to memorize them in the allotted time; but, somehow, I managed to do it. Three decades later, my much older, more worldly brain still can't understand why it was so imperative that I clog my brain cells with that particular knowledge. I've never truly needed to know the capital of any state; yet, useless knowledge clutters my mind, deeply etched there to this day. My time was wasted memorizing facts that were easily retrievable even back in the days before home computers. What idiot decided it was necessary for school children to memorize the capitals of every state in the country?

I haven't required my kids to memorize the state capitals. Before today, I was thinking that maybe I should; because, that's what the public/private school kids are doing at their age. I remember some of my college classmates couldn't recall certain state capitals, and it didn't stop them from earning a college degree. I can think of no career field in which it would be absolutely necessary to have the state capitals memorized. The only instance in which it might pay to know them is, perhaps, if one were a contestant on the game show, Jeopardy. (E came up with that one.) Therefore, I have concluded that memorizing state capitals, much like memorizing state birds/flowers, is a waste of my children's time. I'd much rather teach them the meaning of the word "pedantry."

And, of course, I'll make sure they know the meanings of the homophones: capitol (see Blogthing above) and capital. This one drives me crazy. For the record: a capitol is a building in which a legislature meets, while a capital is a city that serves as the seat of government.

A Few Comments

I've made lots of observations lately. I think I'll write them down here in no particular order...

K's keeping her room clean. T's room is a wreck. I think he's doing it on purpose trying to differentiate himself from his sister. It's very annoying. How do I get him to stop trashing his room?

I am the antithesis of a "soccer mom." I'm glad. I think my kids are better off because of it.

T is probably going to attain his next karate belt rank before K does. I think it'll be an important lesson for her to learn - in the real world rewards must be earned. I'm also dreading the tears when it happens.

I need a summer vacation. I know we decided to do year round schooling, and I'm sticking with the decision; however, I'm going to need a break soon, for at least a few days anyway.

There are little tomatoes, zucchini, jalapenos, and cucumbers in our garden. The eggplant are blooming. The squash and okra are coming along nicely. We've already sampled the radishes and rosemary. Things always taste better when one grows them oneself.

Growing a garden is turning out to be the key to getting R to eat vegetables. He's discovered that he loves radishes, doused in French dressing, of course. I wonder what he'll think when he realizes that eggplants don't produce eggs. He's still expecting to, as he said when we planted them, "grow some eggs, Yum. Yum."

My husband avoids the garden as if it were a toxic waste site until it's time to harvest. Then he won't stay out of it.

My kids, all of them, are just as headstrong as their parents. It sometimes makes parenting them very...um...interesting.

Life around here often gets crazy and disorganized; never-the-less, I find that I'm still very happy despite the chaos.