Pre-Monday Blues

from 2011...

Two different stacks of paperwork wait for me. I have a list of things to do for myself today that's typical for a Sunday. And yet here I sit, staring at the computer screen, listening to the clocks in the house ticking and the wind whistling through tree branches and around the corner of the house. I'm a lump of inactivity today because I have the pre-Monday blues. I'm not talking about music. I'm talking about being down in the dumps.

I've suffered from this affliction most of my adult life, but I didn't give it a name until about a dozen years ago when I finally realized what made me cranky 40 Sundays out of 52 in the year. (40 weeks = one school year) It's almost like my personality rather than my body feels sluggish, like being hung over, and I just do NOT want to do what I know needs to be done.

"Blah blah blah.... okay so get over yourself. Suck it up and get going, you silly goose."

Yeah....well, no. I'm going to wallow in it for a while before I grumpily do what needs to be done. Bah humbug!

Why reward mediocrity?

One reason I know it's time for a change is that my philosophy of acknowledgement and reward no longer fits the tone where I work. From the perspective of most adults, they realize that if you put in some effort to do a good job at whatever your task, you'll only have to do it once and then you can move on to the next challenge. Time and energy aren't wasted, and you can savor the accomplishment as you move forward. That's no longer the view at my workplace.

The current plan is to provide instruction, to present a means (or a variety of means) by which to discover whether each participant understands and can use the skills and content introduced and practiced, and if a participant isn't successful for any reason at all, that participant can request private tutoring and another, personally designed means of assessing his/her understanding and ability to use those skills and content. The participant who makes the request and completes the second assessment earns the higher of the two grades. If the participant simply does nothing, the participant is given a grade of 50%.

Given.

A participant can earn a grade of 0% if he or she does no work whatsoever during a quarter or fails to appear to take one of the two cumulative exams. Otherwise, if a participant puts forth minimal effort - like attempting an answer or two on an assessment, even if the responses are clearly wrong - the grade of 50% is required to be awarded.

What has this policy taught? That there is no need to pay attention the first time or to put in effort at the time requested because there will always be another chance with no penalty. That, as with sports teams for very young children, if there's even a hint of effort to show skill, everyone will be rewarded. That the burden is on the instructor to personalize the teaching rather than on the student to learn. Until very recently, a student was encouraged to develop the skills of advocating for him/herself by asking for extra help before an assessment, and of becoming aware of his/her own learning style and tailoring the effort toward learning to be done on his/her part. Do flashcards work? Does conversation with a peer or the instructor individually help? Will recopying notes or extra practice be beneficial? That policy has changed.

There are learners who do enjoy learning, who do strive, who recognize that their efforts toward achieving goals DO matter, and I've been fortunate to have many of them around me in these past few years. However, many more learners have developed what I would call a dangerous laziness from our current mandated practices. Mediocrity is good enough for them, in fact a low enough bar, an easy enough goal to be widely achieved and one that's not only truly possible in our current environment, but also the only one for a large portion of our populace.

Years ago we had a day-long training with a man named Todd Johnson who verified for us that in the balance of teaching and learning, the teachers shouldn't be working harder than the students. He offered a few very simple classroom guidelines, clear expectations, and firmness (and fairness) in adhering to them. Excuses were acknowledged but they didn't eliminate the responsibility of the students to do the work. We have finally moved 180 degrees away from that philosophy. Since this platform reflects my belief about training adolescents to become resourceful, intelligent, and reliable adults, I no longer fit in where I've spent my whole career.

I don't understand the rewarding of mediocrity. "Well, you tried...or you made it look like you tried. That's good enough," just doesn't fly with me, and I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of employers and heads of organizations feel the way I do. I will be watching - in fascination or in horror - from afar to see how this current school of thought plays out and for how long. My hope is that the pendulum swings far, and soon.

Freshmen?

A former colleague of mine and her husband will be blessed with twins, probably in late August, to join their three other children, making a large and happy family. She will be on child-bearing leave for all of the first term of the upcoming school year. This much is true. Unfortunately, the educator who was signed up to be her substitute for term 1 has backed out due to the success of a business that she and her mother started earlier in the year. I know you can see what's coming.

The phone rang while I was out on my back deck, and the answering machine picked up before I could get to it. Floating through the air came the voice of my esteemed department chair, explaining that he had some very sad news. Thinking that it might be about one of the others in the department or another former colleague, I picked up and listened to his news (above) and his plea for me to consider taking the position.

My heart didn't sink to my toes, but I didn't jump for joy either. It's been more than a decade - in fact it's been two decades - since I last taught freshmen, and then only one class of them. At the time, I told anyone who would listen, "Never again," and was promised that would be the case. And now I'm being asked to consider a full schedule of them? Hmm.

Pros: As jobs go, I'm someone who wouldn't need training in classroom management, chain of command, daily routines, or anything that a newbie would need, so I wouldn't need to attend those pre-pre-student days in August being brought up to speed. Normal sub pay applies during the first week, but after that a larger stipend as long-term sub would add to my little stash of funds for travel and, I'm pretty sure, not exceed what I could earn as a retired educator drawing teacher retirement. It would probably remind me viscerally, on a daily basis, why I retired, so it would make me overjoyed at the start of November when the term ends and the liberation resumes. I'd get to schmooze with my former colleagues for a while longer. The freshmen would certainly begin their high school careers with a steady educator with some clear, strong, and fair expectations. I could participate in STAPLES' Teacher Appreciation Day in early August. Wooo hoo!

Cons: Freshmen? Really?? This is the group that was described to me two days ago as "half dream, half nightmare," in which there are several "high profile" students who will be part of the new discipline protocol from day 1. There are no honors students among the five classes to be taught, those students going to another more fortunate teacher. Classes will meet in the smallest of the English classrooms, right beside the noisy, dynamic science teacher. I haven't read any of the material in the freshman literature book. As much as I appreciate my former department chair's confidence in me, I'm not so happy about giving up September and October of my first year of retirement.

I'm going to have to ponder this and bounce it off my husband, even though he'll probably respond with, "You do what you think best."

Freshmen?

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Follow-up: Back in 1992, eight years after I'd quit coaching basketball cheerleading, the newly hired coach quit and I agreed to coach for one more year. A week into the season I knew I'd made a mistake. The next three months were long and unhappy for me. Today's proposal feels way too much like that, so in the name of learning from past experience, I've declined, and I feel fine about that. : )

Not a happy gal

Step 1: Purchase an iPad 2 with Wifi + 3G to be able to use it where no wifi is available.

Step 2: Add apps and download iBooks; learn to use and depend on the iPad 2.

Step 3: Use the iPad 2 at my second job, especially to be able to use Square, a credit card reader.

Step 4: Lose free access to wifi at second job; plan to start Verizon Wireless service for iPad 2.

Step 5: Hold online chat with someone (seemed like an ESL helpdesk) to determine how to make my iPhone a hotspot and/or start my 3G service on my iPad 2; after 48 minutes, there was no useful information and no answer to either question so I was advised to call Verizon Wireless.

Step 6: Call Verizon Wireless to start service only to find that the manufacturer of the iPad 2 assigned duplicate MEID numbers to my device and at least one other (someone who lives in NY and had already registered with VW to use the 3G) so they can't establish an account for me to use it, and I was advised to send my iPad 2 back and ask for a replacement with a new MEID number. I'm upset.

Step 7: Call Apple and talk with tech support who puts me on hold, with lame Muzak for company, for 15 minutes waiting for a senior account advisor; the senior account advisor makes no apology and phrases the explanation in such a way that it sounds like a) Apple isn't responsible, and b) this almost never happens, although he can see from their records that it has. (note: at least one of my students also had this identical thing happen with his iPhone) He says that Apple will replace my iPad 2 after I backup files and apps, wipe the device clean, and send it back via FedEx. He's told that I will not be driving 45 minutes to a FedEx store, so he agrees to send a prepaid box to my home address. I am not happy.

Step 8: I realize a dilemma - this error on Apple's quality control part not to check the MEID numbers to make sure each is unique (were they thinking that no one would notice? or that people wouldn't actually use the features they paid for?) is creating a major inconvenience for me, but I've been a very loyal Apple user since the late 1980's. If I threaten to publicize the error that's clearly theirs, I can't claim to be an Apple supporter, and the time and effort to press the issue in the legal system might prolong my inability to have and use my iPad 2. On the other hand, if I just let them walk all over me, that's certainly not right either.

Step 9: Write email to the senior account manager detailing the great inconvenience that Apple has caused me due to its negligence; receive pacifying email in return requesting phone conversation.

Step 10: After playing phone tag, the senior account manager calls and asks what kind of compensation I had in mind. I suggest upgrading the memory and he says no, he can't do that, but let's talk with a consumer support rep to see what might be available. I'm put on hold and 10 minutes later he offers me an accessory like a new smart cover or one of the cables that connect iPads to other devices. At first I'm somewhat satisfied, but then I realize how little that represents. The senior account manager says for me to think about it and we'll talk again when I've received my replacement iPad 2 (with duplicate engraving from the first one) to see if it's satisfactory to be used with Verizon Wireless.

Step 11: Two days later the shipping box arrives; I back up files and apps carefully, reset (wipe clean) the iPad, and pack it securely in its box, sending it back to California via a local store that's a FedEx pickup spot. The replacement will take 4 to 6 work days to reach me.

Step 12: Wait. Miss reading the iBook I was halfway through (yes, I can read it 10 lines at a time on my iPhone, but... no). Miss making a sale at my second job because I don't have access to my Square account. I am NOT a happy gal.

Step 13: Trying not to let this eat at me but refusing to let it drop until a satisfactory resolution is reached.

I wonder how many Apple product users have been affected by this shortcoming on the part of Apple, and if a class action suit has been or might be made. I suspect that Apple's attempt to minimalize the problem and to assuage the discontent of their customers with replacement (which is part of their warrantee anyway) or fairly insignificant trinkets is keeping quiet the extent to which this problem has occurred.

Look forward to Step 14....

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Step 14: The new iPad came, the trinket arrived, and all is well. In fact, I've purchased a bluetooth keyboard/hard case for it, used its 3G capabilities to sell items at craft fairs, using Square to allow customers to charge items, and I've finished reading the iBook. In fact, I've downloaded a few more, too, and I've enjoyed helping others who have bought or who might buy iPads to see the sense in doing it and using it. The annoyance dissipated not long after the new iPad arrived and did exactly what it was supposed to do with minimal fuss. So much for my hissy fit!

Snow at last

Here it is, March 1, and our first real winter snow finally arrived. It's hard to tell how much fell here, but at least 8" sits on our picnic table, a depth typical of a January snowstorm. This white stuff would have been welcome six weeks ago for the snowmobilers or even two weeks ago for Winter Carnival events. As it is, the snow is unlikely to stick around when temps of 40+ degrees arrive over the weekend, and all the silly hubbub will seem pointless. The good thing is that there must not be bigger, badder regional events so that almost all of the news coverage today has focused on an event usually much more common than it's been this year.

Unfortunately the midwest truly is suffering from highly unusual winter tornadoes that brought terrible destruction of property and the loss of six lives, and forecasts indicate that more unsettled weather is on its way. I'm not thinking "global warming" at all, but I will be glad when such violent weather events can be manipulated and minimalized to save lives. On the other hand, I don't like the idea of snowfall being artificially manipulated simply for the benefit of winter sports enthusiasts, even though I live in a state where the majority of income is the result of tourism and outdoor sports.

At least the snow sports folks and the plow guys will be happy for a few days before all of this turns to mush!

No applause from me

I just viewed a video of a young man skateboarding in a variety of places, at least one of which he was asked to leave because skateboarding was banned there. He didn't leave at that point, choosing to continue his antics while making a vocal response equivalent to flipping off the woman who'd told him he shouldn't be skating there and that she was going to call the police if he didn't stop. After a little while the view switched to him skateboarding in locations in a city that included staircases, and at least one other illegal location back in the same town as the first incident.

I'm not clear which aspect of this video I'm supposed to be applauding.

If I'm supposed to praise highly the skateboarding expertise of this person, I have to admit that I've seen much better even among young locals. They make their boards spiral with them as they sail through the air, they sail over areas filled with earth and various plantings, they soar from top step over a short flight to solid landing, too, and they do other gravity-defying tricks on curved and flat structures designed for them to show off their mad skills. Sometimes it makes my stomach knot to see how fearlessly they attack the challenging surfaces in front of them as I imagine them landing and skidding in a bloody, broken-boned heap, but I have to admit that I admire their physical daring. That kind of skill deserves acknowledgement. Yet that's not, I think, the point of the video I viewed.

Instead, I think the point of the video, what the performer was seeking, was to demonstrate his defiance and lack of respect for the places he chose as his stage. One is a business with sidewalks for the safety of its customers and plantings to make the parking lot attractive. One is a public school building. In each case a clearly posted sign indicates that skateboarding is banned, and in one case, a legally designated area sits on the opposite side of the driveway.

The video began with the young man skating down the lengthy sidewalk of the open business and a pony-tailed woman scolding the skater for doing so. His vocal response was also audible as he continued to skate on the business's property. This set the tone for the film, and it was difficult for me to set that aside as I watched the rest, trying to identify the different locations and looking for postings prohibiting skating. In the city scenes, they weren't visible, but the antics took place on staircases of buildings which typically are off limits to skaters. (Whose insurance covers people injured on that property? Who is responsible when damage to property occurs?) Defense attorneys may call them "attractive nuisances," but that's hogwash. How else are walking people supposed to enter buildings? At least the skater in this video has the decency to wait until evening when the stairs aren't actively in use. The video ends with the scenes at the public school, one that he and his family members attended years ago, his antics taking place just below the posted sign banning skateboarding, so this piece begins and ends with the same message: it's not the skills that are noteworthy but the rebellion and defiance of displaying them where they're illegal.

That's what I cannot applaud.

Something is missing but until I know what it is, I can't search for it.

Waiting for inspiration...

...and the word of the day is "hypocrite."

I chuckle and shake my head each time someone posts some philosophy of life which clearly does not match the actual lifestyle of that person. I suspect that I'm guilty of hypocrisy now and then, as most of us are, but I must say that I try to avoid publishing quite publicly the positions to which I myself clearly do not adhere.

Ah well, amusing stuff.

Didn't Robbie Burns, in his poem "To a Louse," say, "O would some Power the giftie give us / To see ourselves as others see us!" Smart man. ;-)