In a few minutes, game six of the 2009 world series will start in the Bronx, with the New York Yankees up three games to two. They have a chance of winning their 27th title tonight.
Before the series started last week, the New York Times, on their website, asked readers who were diehard Yankees or Phillies fans to relate the time they decided that this was their team. By the time I saw this, and thought about what I would say, there were hundreds of responses up.
I decided to put it here instead. Here goes.
I'll start with a secret: In my 1995 elementary school yearbook, I said my favorite sports team was the Mets.
Yes. The Mets.
I didn't care about sports at all then. But I had a blank to fill in, and the last sports event I'd been to was a Mets game during summer camp.
The next year I went to my first Yankee game with my dad. (Actually, my dad was there for my first Yankee game that I ever went to, but he wasn't there with me. Long story.) We left in the seventh inning or so, with the Yankees leading, and came home to find out they'd lost. Made me realize that baseball was a game with interesting outcomes.
Later that year I happened to walk into my parents' room while the 9th inning of game six of the world series was on tv. Even I, who knew almost nothing about baseball, had predicted the Braves to win the series, and there I was watching Charlie Hayes catch that final out for a Yankee victory. I started jumping up and down and cheering. I found that yearbook, crossed out Mets and wrote in Yankees.
But this did not make me a diehard fan. I became one of those people who only started really caring when the team made the playoffs. And for this stretch, for a Yankee fan, that was really easy to do. The Yankees won the world series on my 14th birthday, and my cake that year looked like a baseball.
Then 2004 happened.
I watched the ALCS, game four, then five, then six, then seven, still believing that the Yankees were that team that could always come back and win. And they didn't. The Red Sox won the pennant just after midnight on my 20th birthday.
Somehow, this felt different than the end of the 2003 world series or the 2001 world series. It didn't make me sad, like Josh Beckett did in 2003, or numb with shock, as Luis Gonzales did in 2001. (Although the latter had some part to do with 9/11 I suspect. New York was supposed to win, dammit!) No, this made me angry.
I was going to stick with this team. They needed to beat other teams. And I needed to stick with them, even if sometimes they didn't accomplish said beating.
Starting with opening night 2005 (a win against the Red Sox, more incentive to watch), I've tried to watch every game since. And go to at least one game in person every year.
I have now a mental checklist of Yankee game events I'd like to see in person. One I accomplished this year was attending a playoff game. And I know that sometime in the future, I will check off attending a world series game on that list.
Speaking of, it's game time. Let's go Yankees!!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
New Jersey Crazy Is a Special Kind of Crazy.
Tomorrow is Election Day, and
(Side note: My computer did not recognize the word “Obama” just now, and suggested that I replace it with “Osama.”)
Every candidate had to write a personal statement of 500 words that went out on the sample ballots we received last week. I read through them all, and let me say…there are some bat shit crazy people running for governor of
I’ll just give you the highlights, but I’d really like to see how many people actually cast their votes for these lunatics. You might not think people would support them, but as my stepdad said…”this is probably how Schwarzenegger ended up governor of
Gregory Pason, Socialist: Supports raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour. Rejects “No Child Left Behind” mandates, despite the fact that it’s federally mandated and has nothing to do with state law.
Kenneth Kaplan, Libertarian: Wants to legalize marijuana, but is in favor of school vouchers. Recommends a website for you to take a quiz on which political party you belong to…because “you may have been a Libertarian all along!”
Alvin Lindsay, Independent: Wants to freeze taxes for the next four years, and increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour.
Gary T. Steele, Independent: Counts his six years as an accountant and his time as head coach of an ice hockey team as valid experience.
Jason Cullen, “People not Politics:” Wants to eliminate sales tax.
Gary Stein, JUST IN TIME: Calls himself an “idiot,” says “up theirs” to the “elite media.” Wants to give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses, and boycott
Kostas Petris, Independent “For The People:” If you’re going to talk about not voting democrat or republican, don’t quote the part of the declaration of independence about abolishing government. Just saying.
David R. Meiswinkle, Middle Class Empowerment: Wants to conduct a “complete, thorough, and objective investigation of what happened” on 9/11.
Christopher J. Daggett, Independent: No wonder this guy came to the debates; he’s the only independent that doesn’t sound like he’ll put on a tinfoil hat any time soon.
Joshua Leinsdorf, Fair Election Party: Lieutenant Governor running mate owner of “Ultimate Car Care in
Happy voting, everybody!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Yankees/Twins. 10/9/09. ALDS Game 2. I was there.
Two StubHub tickets to the upper deck: $100 each, plus 10% commission and a $5 "delivery fee" for an email.
Bus and subway fares from North Jersey to the Bronx: $19.
Seeing A-Rod hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th to the the game, having no runs score in the top of the 11th with the bases loaded and no one out, Mark Teixiera hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th, and cheering with thousands of Yankees fans all the way down the ramp to the street? PRICELESS.
(Yes, I shot those videos.)
(Oh, and hearing a boy no older than seven pass me on my way out saying "Boston sucks ass"? AWESOME.)
Bus and subway fares from North Jersey to the Bronx: $19.
Seeing A-Rod hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th to the the game, having no runs score in the top of the 11th with the bases loaded and no one out, Mark Teixiera hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th, and cheering with thousands of Yankees fans all the way down the ramp to the street? PRICELESS.
(Yes, I shot those videos.)
(Oh, and hearing a boy no older than seven pass me on my way out saying "Boston sucks ass"? AWESOME.)
Saturday, October 3, 2009
School Days, School Daze
I've been pretty busy lately, mainly because it's the start of a new school year. Here's the best classroom story I have so far.
An early lesson I had planned was for groups of students to draw three cards out of a bag. Each card would have the name of a common household item written on it (rubber bands, plastic bottle, etc.). Their task was to see what kind of instrument one could create with said items.
One group of eighth graders ended up with a plastic soda bottle, a paper bag, and a pencil. Here's what they came up with:
"The musical sounds would be from stabbing the plastic bottle with the pencil. You wear the paper bag on your head to hide the shame."
Sigh.
And since I teach a class where kids are frequently pulled out for one reason or another, leaving the majority of students not feeling accountable for their actions, I wanted to stand up and applaud when I saw this YouTube video. Too bad it's not real (it was recorded for a different school than the one mentioned in the video, but never used in the official school system), but I'm sure many teachers relate to this one.
An early lesson I had planned was for groups of students to draw three cards out of a bag. Each card would have the name of a common household item written on it (rubber bands, plastic bottle, etc.). Their task was to see what kind of instrument one could create with said items.
One group of eighth graders ended up with a plastic soda bottle, a paper bag, and a pencil. Here's what they came up with:
"The musical sounds would be from stabbing the plastic bottle with the pencil. You wear the paper bag on your head to hide the shame."
Sigh.
And since I teach a class where kids are frequently pulled out for one reason or another, leaving the majority of students not feeling accountable for their actions, I wanted to stand up and applaud when I saw this YouTube video. Too bad it's not real (it was recorded for a different school than the one mentioned in the video, but never used in the official school system), but I'm sure many teachers relate to this one.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
End of Summer Wrapup
Tomorrow morning I have to report to school. I actually don't have to be at school again until the kids arrive next Tuesday, but this is pretty much my last day of summer, even though I've been slowly lesson planning for the last month or so.
What did I do this summer? Mainly things baseball related or genealogy related. (Unless Jarret wants to point out something else.)
Baseball stuff:
I went to three Yankees games during the summer. Their record while I was there was 2-2, and unfortunately, the 22-4 pwning they got from the Indians in April is the most interesting Yankees game I've been to all year.
The last Yankees game was on my dad's birthday, and it my family was going to surprise him with the tickets and have his name put on the screen saying happy birthday. Unfortunately, he figured it all out beforehand. If he hadn't figured it out before then, three cameras suddenly focusing on the scoreboard in the middle of the sixth inning would have.
In July the AA All-Star game was being held in Trenton, so Jarret got us tickets. We were seven seats away from winning a pair of old Yankee Stadium seats. Nuts.
Took my first trip to Citi Field with my dad to see the Mets play the Dodgers, days after Manny's suspension was lifted. We waited an hour for Shake Shack, missing the entire first inning, and yes, it was worth it.
Jarret and I spent a weekend in Baltimore to finally have Jarret see his Orioles at Camden Yards. They were playing the Red Sox, so we could both root against the other team. And this was days after David Ortiz's name got dropped in with the steroid issue, so there was some interesting heckling. This also meant that downtown Baltimore was crawling with New Englanders carting cases of Yuengling into their cars and yelling to each other "Are you going to the innah hahbah?" Since John Smoltz started the game, Baltimore actually almost won the game...but didn't.
I saw a Sportscenter #1 top play in person twice this summer. Neither were at Yankee Stadium.
Genealogy stuff:
Last summer, I managed to track down living descendants of my paternal grandmother's maternal uncle in Ireland. Though I obviously didn't expect to hit that big of a jackpot this year, I hoped I could uncover some interesting things.
I obtained a copy of my grandmother's other maternal uncle's (Patrick's) death certificate. It contained the information that we were looking for: where he's buried. Still haven't made the trip yet, even though it's less than an hour from my house. Not much reason to go other than to take a photo of the gravestone and send it to the cousins in the old country.
I didn't have as much luck obtaining my grandmother's father's birth certificate. He's the only one of my great-grandparents born in the US, and the city of New York can't find it. It's likely it was never registered; according to their website, birth certificates weren't required until 1910, and about 25% of births before then weren't recorded.
We wanted the birth certificate to see if it had any information about his parents, and to pin a date down on his birth year; I'd seen everything from 1865 to 1872. More searching within the census tried to find out if his parents were married in this country or in Ireland. It's likely that they came over because of the potato famine and married here, but their names are too common to do an accurate search. This is the same reason I can't find any of my great-grandmother's family on an Ellis Island record; everyone has the same name and lied about their ages.
The only way that I could track my great-grandfather down now would be to look for a baptismal certificate. And you'd think the New York diocese would have some sort of central database, but no. I'd have to ask every catholic church in town. So that side of the family has been put on hold for a while, and we turned to my dad's father's side.
I tracked down my grandfather's family in the 1930 and 1920 census, but not 1910. I knew they were in the country by this point, due to an older brother being born in 1907, but I couldn't find them in ancestry.com's search.
Dad and I decided to travel to the town where my grandfather was born: Lansford, Pennsylvania, about a two hour drive. There was a large mine there, which is now a museum. We decided to go on the tour and see if they had any information about the people who worked in the mine. They didn't have any, and were rather surprised that we'd asked. An hour in a 50-degree mine for nothing.
Dad and I drove around the town. The mine had brought in a lot of immigrants, so there seemed to be a church for every ethnicity. We eventually discovered that yes, there was a Slovak church, and it was old enough to have been there when my family was.
When we got home, I found that the church had a record of names that had recorded a birth, marriage, or death there. And there were my great-grandparents, with "birth" listed next to their names - my grandfather's. Next to that were the towns in Slovakia they came from! Score!
Later that night, I found them in the 1910 census, with the last name horribly misspelled. The father was listed as a coal breaker - he didn't work inside the mine, he just waited outside for the miners to bring it out! We definitely had toured the inside for nothing!
Last week, I started to enter information into the family tree program at ancestry.com. With the information you put in, they run searches for you. While some of what they turn up isn't your relative, we believe they found a big one: the manifest of the ship my great-grandmother came on. It was listed as Hungarian instead of Slovakian (which happened a lot in that time), but the age is about right, and it said she was going to meet her sister in Hoboken, and we knew she had a sister in Hudson county...it's very likely her. So that's cool.
I also did some research for my stepmom, and was able to track members of her family quite a ways, but I've already typed enough. And if you're wondering why I'm not researching my mom's side of the family...I am. I just can't find anything.
Well, now I've typed way more than I thought I would, and I must go to sleep now. I've got school in the morning!
What did I do this summer? Mainly things baseball related or genealogy related. (Unless Jarret wants to point out something else.)
Baseball stuff:
I went to three Yankees games during the summer. Their record while I was there was 2-2, and unfortunately, the 22-4 pwning they got from the Indians in April is the most interesting Yankees game I've been to all year.
The last Yankees game was on my dad's birthday, and it my family was going to surprise him with the tickets and have his name put on the screen saying happy birthday. Unfortunately, he figured it all out beforehand. If he hadn't figured it out before then, three cameras suddenly focusing on the scoreboard in the middle of the sixth inning would have.
In July the AA All-Star game was being held in Trenton, so Jarret got us tickets. We were seven seats away from winning a pair of old Yankee Stadium seats. Nuts.
Took my first trip to Citi Field with my dad to see the Mets play the Dodgers, days after Manny's suspension was lifted. We waited an hour for Shake Shack, missing the entire first inning, and yes, it was worth it.
Jarret and I spent a weekend in Baltimore to finally have Jarret see his Orioles at Camden Yards. They were playing the Red Sox, so we could both root against the other team. And this was days after David Ortiz's name got dropped in with the steroid issue, so there was some interesting heckling. This also meant that downtown Baltimore was crawling with New Englanders carting cases of Yuengling into their cars and yelling to each other "Are you going to the innah hahbah?" Since John Smoltz started the game, Baltimore actually almost won the game...but didn't.
I saw a Sportscenter #1 top play in person twice this summer. Neither were at Yankee Stadium.
Genealogy stuff:
Last summer, I managed to track down living descendants of my paternal grandmother's maternal uncle in Ireland. Though I obviously didn't expect to hit that big of a jackpot this year, I hoped I could uncover some interesting things.
I obtained a copy of my grandmother's other maternal uncle's (Patrick's) death certificate. It contained the information that we were looking for: where he's buried. Still haven't made the trip yet, even though it's less than an hour from my house. Not much reason to go other than to take a photo of the gravestone and send it to the cousins in the old country.
I didn't have as much luck obtaining my grandmother's father's birth certificate. He's the only one of my great-grandparents born in the US, and the city of New York can't find it. It's likely it was never registered; according to their website, birth certificates weren't required until 1910, and about 25% of births before then weren't recorded.
We wanted the birth certificate to see if it had any information about his parents, and to pin a date down on his birth year; I'd seen everything from 1865 to 1872. More searching within the census tried to find out if his parents were married in this country or in Ireland. It's likely that they came over because of the potato famine and married here, but their names are too common to do an accurate search. This is the same reason I can't find any of my great-grandmother's family on an Ellis Island record; everyone has the same name and lied about their ages.
The only way that I could track my great-grandfather down now would be to look for a baptismal certificate. And you'd think the New York diocese would have some sort of central database, but no. I'd have to ask every catholic church in town. So that side of the family has been put on hold for a while, and we turned to my dad's father's side.
I tracked down my grandfather's family in the 1930 and 1920 census, but not 1910. I knew they were in the country by this point, due to an older brother being born in 1907, but I couldn't find them in ancestry.com's search.
Dad and I decided to travel to the town where my grandfather was born: Lansford, Pennsylvania, about a two hour drive. There was a large mine there, which is now a museum. We decided to go on the tour and see if they had any information about the people who worked in the mine. They didn't have any, and were rather surprised that we'd asked. An hour in a 50-degree mine for nothing.
Dad and I drove around the town. The mine had brought in a lot of immigrants, so there seemed to be a church for every ethnicity. We eventually discovered that yes, there was a Slovak church, and it was old enough to have been there when my family was.
When we got home, I found that the church had a record of names that had recorded a birth, marriage, or death there. And there were my great-grandparents, with "birth" listed next to their names - my grandfather's. Next to that were the towns in Slovakia they came from! Score!
Later that night, I found them in the 1910 census, with the last name horribly misspelled. The father was listed as a coal breaker - he didn't work inside the mine, he just waited outside for the miners to bring it out! We definitely had toured the inside for nothing!
Last week, I started to enter information into the family tree program at ancestry.com. With the information you put in, they run searches for you. While some of what they turn up isn't your relative, we believe they found a big one: the manifest of the ship my great-grandmother came on. It was listed as Hungarian instead of Slovakian (which happened a lot in that time), but the age is about right, and it said she was going to meet her sister in Hoboken, and we knew she had a sister in Hudson county...it's very likely her. So that's cool.
I also did some research for my stepmom, and was able to track members of her family quite a ways, but I've already typed enough. And if you're wondering why I'm not researching my mom's side of the family...I am. I just can't find anything.
Well, now I've typed way more than I thought I would, and I must go to sleep now. I've got school in the morning!
Monday, August 17, 2009
D'oh, a deer
While Jarret and I were driving to a movie on Saturday, I saw some deer grazing on the side of the road.
"Aw, look, baby deer! And they're with their mommy deer!" I gushed. Jarret nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.
A few seconds later I saw a large flock of birds congregated on the same side of the road. These were huge birds, birds-of prey size. As I wondered about why so many of these birds would be together on the ground, still babbling to Jarret how cute the doe and her fauns were, I realized what the birds were doing.
Eating a baby deer.
My subsequent freakout after that was considered hilarious by Jarret, since he didn't see anything.
"Aw, look, baby deer! And they're with their mommy deer!" I gushed. Jarret nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.
A few seconds later I saw a large flock of birds congregated on the same side of the road. These were huge birds, birds-of prey size. As I wondered about why so many of these birds would be together on the ground, still babbling to Jarret how cute the doe and her fauns were, I realized what the birds were doing.
Eating a baby deer.
My subsequent freakout after that was considered hilarious by Jarret, since he didn't see anything.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Beatles Rock Band set list? For real this time?
Lots of Beatles Rock Band news this week. First, a general description of the game here. It talks about how it doesn't do the parts of the regular Rock Band game that piss me off, which is good. It also talks about how you're going to hear studio chatter that's never been released, and you can unlock such rare things as the Beatles' 1963 Christmas record. (Which I found funny to read, as that's only rare to own, not to hear.)
Bu the big news was that Game Informer magazine supposedly has the game's final track listing. And yes, it's different than the one leaked two months ago. Mainly because they're still keeping one track a secret.
Once again, here's the list, and I'll compare it to the one I made. Even though I had the handicaps of not knowing about the three vocal lines (and that the Love album was fair game), I do realize that I made some mistakes in compiling my list. (How could I miss "While My Guitar Gently Weeps?" It's got the word guitar in the title!) But there are some things that are taken into consideration in this list, such as making sure tracks with George and Ringo on lead vocal are well represented. Little bit of revisionist history, there.
This is what Game Informer lists. Tracks that I predicted will be in bold. Tracks that made my short list but were cut at the last minute will be in italics.
26 out of 44, 31 if you count the italicized ones. Out of the ones I did not pick at all, four have Ringo on lead vocal, and three have George.
However, some of the ones I picked and are not on this list include "All My Loving," "Things We Said Today," "I'll Follow the Sun," "I've Just Seen A Face," "Michelle," "Girl," and "In My Life." Some big names there. I know we'll be able to download Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul right away, and probably the rest soon after, but come on, there's already much coin being dropped here.
Bu the big news was that Game Informer magazine supposedly has the game's final track listing. And yes, it's different than the one leaked two months ago. Mainly because they're still keeping one track a secret.
Once again, here's the list, and I'll compare it to the one I made. Even though I had the handicaps of not knowing about the three vocal lines (and that the Love album was fair game), I do realize that I made some mistakes in compiling my list. (How could I miss "While My Guitar Gently Weeps?" It's got the word guitar in the title!) But there are some things that are taken into consideration in this list, such as making sure tracks with George and Ringo on lead vocal are well represented. Little bit of revisionist history, there.
This is what Game Informer lists. Tracks that I predicted will be in bold. Tracks that made my short list but were cut at the last minute will be in italics.
Singles
I Want To Hold Your Hand
I Feel Fine
Day Tripper
Paperback Writer
Revolution
Don't Let Me Down
Please Please Me (1963)
I Saw Her Standing There
Boys
Do You Want To Know A Secret
Twist and Shout
With the Beatles (1963)
I Wanna Be Your Man
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
A Hard Day's Night
Can't Buy Me Love
Beatles For Sale (1964)
Eight Days a Week
Help! (1965)
Ticket To Ride
Rubber Soul (1965)
Drive My Car
I'm Looking Through You
If I Needed Someone
Revolver (1966)
Taxman
Yellow Submarine
And Your Bird Can Sing
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Getting Better
Good Morning Good Morning
Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
I Am The Walrus
Hello Goodbye
The Beatles (White Album) (1968)
Back In the U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Birthday
Helter Skelter
Yellow Submarine (1969)
Hey Bulldog
Abbey Road (1969)
Come Together
Something
Octopus's Garden
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Here Comes the Sun
Let It Be (1970)
Dig a Pony
I Me Mine
I Got a Feeling
Get Back
Love (2006)
Within You Without You/ Tomorrow Never Knows
26 out of 44, 31 if you count the italicized ones. Out of the ones I did not pick at all, four have Ringo on lead vocal, and three have George.
However, some of the ones I picked and are not on this list include "All My Loving," "Things We Said Today," "I'll Follow the Sun," "I've Just Seen A Face," "Michelle," "Girl," and "In My Life." Some big names there. I know we'll be able to download Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper and Rubber Soul right away, and probably the rest soon after, but come on, there's already much coin being dropped here.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
This might be my new favorite PSA.
Check this out.
It starts off like a sterotypical breakfast commercial, and then BAM! Johannes Brahms and his piano burst through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man!
I'd seen some of the other PSAs like this on TV, but I hadn't seen this one before. So when it turned up in a Hulu video I was watching, I was quite amused.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Slightly weird, but mostly adorable.
Found via the mental_floss blog: A 5-year-old plays Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues."
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Maybe if I'd praticed more as a kid...
I'm a decent piano player, but more for function than actual performance. I blame it on my lack of drive to practice, especially when I was eight and supposed to be taking such things seriously. (Back then, I performed in a recital here, but other people in my studio were performing across the street.)
Anyway, here is a guy who arranged a bunch of 80s hits to be played in ragtime piano style. I can find no definitive evidence that the tape was sped up.
Maybe I could be like these two ladies instead and arrange the works of Bach for the giant piano at FAO Schwartz.
Nah...I'm way too much of a klutz to do that. Oh well.
Anyway, here is a guy who arranged a bunch of 80s hits to be played in ragtime piano style. I can find no definitive evidence that the tape was sped up.
 |  |  |
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Maybe I could be like these two ladies instead and arrange the works of Bach for the giant piano at FAO Schwartz.
Nah...I'm way too much of a klutz to do that. Oh well.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
FSA Fail
What's the FSA, you ask? Family and School Association. It's a fancy modern term for the PTA.
In April, my school's FSA decided to hire photographers and take pictures of the kids, a la class picture day. Why class picture day in September wasn't enough, I don't know.
Anyway, a couple of weeks later, the photos were delivered and I was instructed to give the photos out to my homeroom. I couldn't remember collecting payment for these photos, so I remarked to another teacher that it was nice of the FSA to provide free portrait photos.
"Oh, they have to pay for them," the other teacher replied, "If they want to keep them. If they don't want to pay for them, they have to give them back."
Let's figure out what's wrong with this scenario.
These kids are 10-14 years old. Some will be reliable. Others will not. Some will turn in money for the photos and return the ones they haven't paid for. Others will throw the packet of photos to the bottom of their locker and forget about them.
The principal has been announcing every day for the last week for a return of the unpaid photos. Because "if you don't return them, the FSA will have to pay for them."
Notice how the principal is not teaching any sense of responsibility to these kids. He's basically telling them, "It doesn't matter if you are unreliable, someone else is going to cover your ass." (By the way, about 20% of the school didn't return anything. That's hundreds of dollars the FSA has to pay. Not the kids.)
Sorry Mr. Principal. Sorry parents. Sometimes, the teachers know the kids a lot better than you do.
In April, my school's FSA decided to hire photographers and take pictures of the kids, a la class picture day. Why class picture day in September wasn't enough, I don't know.
Anyway, a couple of weeks later, the photos were delivered and I was instructed to give the photos out to my homeroom. I couldn't remember collecting payment for these photos, so I remarked to another teacher that it was nice of the FSA to provide free portrait photos.
"Oh, they have to pay for them," the other teacher replied, "If they want to keep them. If they don't want to pay for them, they have to give them back."
Let's figure out what's wrong with this scenario.
These kids are 10-14 years old. Some will be reliable. Others will not. Some will turn in money for the photos and return the ones they haven't paid for. Others will throw the packet of photos to the bottom of their locker and forget about them.
The principal has been announcing every day for the last week for a return of the unpaid photos. Because "if you don't return them, the FSA will have to pay for them."
Notice how the principal is not teaching any sense of responsibility to these kids. He's basically telling them, "It doesn't matter if you are unreliable, someone else is going to cover your ass." (By the way, about 20% of the school didn't return anything. That's hundreds of dollars the FSA has to pay. Not the kids.)
Sorry Mr. Principal. Sorry parents. Sometimes, the teachers know the kids a lot better than you do.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Beatles Rock band Setlist Leaked?
According to a website, this is the track list for Beatles Rock Band. (Love the cartoon at the top, by the way.)
Up against my list, I'm 32 for 45, not too bad considering I didn't know about the three microphone thing. There are some things that I'm glad the ones who chose the set list agree with me on ("Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and my Monkey!" That's going to be so much fun to play!) And then some where I'm looking at it and wondering how I could have thought they wouldn't be on there (I left off "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand?!")
But some neat points:
Of course, this might not be the correct list, as the game's rated T for tobacco references. Two Beatles songs refer to cigarettes or smoking, neither of which are on this list. So we'll see.
Up against my list, I'm 32 for 45, not too bad considering I didn't know about the three microphone thing. There are some things that I'm glad the ones who chose the set list agree with me on ("Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and my Monkey!" That's going to be so much fun to play!) And then some where I'm looking at it and wondering how I could have thought they wouldn't be on there (I left off "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand?!")
But some neat points:
- I was perfect on only one album; Revolver, three for three.
- I was right about there being a lot of songs from Let It Be due to the simple instrumentation of the songs; however, I picked six and they picked four (and matched three).
- I picked the same four songs from Abbey Road, but thought they would also include "The End" because of that bitchin' guitar solo. But I heard the whole album will be available for download.
- Only one song there that made my shortlist that got cut: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Of course, this might not be the correct list, as the game's rated T for tobacco references. Two Beatles songs refer to cigarettes or smoking, neither of which are on this list. So we'll see.
Monday, June 1, 2009
More Info about Beatles Rock Band
The world premiere of the Beatles Rock Band game is today, even though it's not being released for another three months. I am so excited over what I'm seeing here.
This website includes a partial track list: ten out of the forty-five songs they said there will be in the game, not counting the songs available for download. There might be some differences from the list I came up with, since I didn't know that there will be three microphones for singing harmony (eeee!), but so far, I'm eight for ten.
This website includes a partial track list: ten out of the forty-five songs they said there will be in the game, not counting the songs available for download. There might be some differences from the list I came up with, since I didn't know that there will be three microphones for singing harmony (eeee!), but so far, I'm eight for ten.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
College baseball. Rain Delay. What do you do?
You have a dance off, of course. Until you decide to turn the tarp into a giant slip-n-slide. I don't know why I think this video is awesome. I just do.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Gah!
I recently came upon the last photo taken by nature photographer Michio Hoshino, who was mauled to death by a bear thirteen years ago. Now I've seen many photos on the internet in my time, but none made me jump up in fright before. Until now.
This guy must have had nerves of steel to be able to take that photo. I personally would have probably crapped myself. I might go to sleep tonight with a light on.
(Edit) Fortunately, the photo's a hoax. Unfortunately, that guy really did get mauled to death by a bear.
This guy must have had nerves of steel to be able to take that photo. I personally would have probably crapped myself. I might go to sleep tonight with a light on.
(Edit) Fortunately, the photo's a hoax. Unfortunately, that guy really did get mauled to death by a bear.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Meet the new accident, same as the old accident
Two weeks ago I zoned out for a second while driving to work.
I realized I was about to miss my turn and braked quickly. The person driving behind me also quickly braked, but it wasn't as effective for him on the wet pavement, and crashed into me.
I was sore for a day, but I was fine. My six month old car has a crack in the bumper and the trunk's popped up a tiny bit. Shows you how awesome my car is when I'm rear-ended by a giganimous old Bronco and that's all that happens.
The guy was cool about it, and his insurance is paying for my repairs. I didn't even have to call in late to work, because the police station was within eyesight of the accident and he was there and gone within minutes. It really sucks to get into an accident with a new car though, because when you tell people about it, they're more concerned with the damage to the car than to you.
Anyway, the only reason I'm mentioning that is because when I driving home from work today, and passing the same exact intersection, I saw a swarm of police vehicles and three cars pulled over on a side street, in what appeared to be almost the exact same situation I'd been in.
This post's title brought to you by a rephrasing of the song I heard on the radio while I drove by today's accident.
I realized I was about to miss my turn and braked quickly. The person driving behind me also quickly braked, but it wasn't as effective for him on the wet pavement, and crashed into me.
I was sore for a day, but I was fine. My six month old car has a crack in the bumper and the trunk's popped up a tiny bit. Shows you how awesome my car is when I'm rear-ended by a giganimous old Bronco and that's all that happens.
The guy was cool about it, and his insurance is paying for my repairs. I didn't even have to call in late to work, because the police station was within eyesight of the accident and he was there and gone within minutes. It really sucks to get into an accident with a new car though, because when you tell people about it, they're more concerned with the damage to the car than to you.
Anyway, the only reason I'm mentioning that is because when I driving home from work today, and passing the same exact intersection, I saw a swarm of police vehicles and three cars pulled over on a side street, in what appeared to be almost the exact same situation I'd been in.
This post's title brought to you by a rephrasing of the song I heard on the radio while I drove by today's accident.
Friday, May 15, 2009
More Beatles Stuff
A new photo has surfaced of the Quarrymen, the skiffle group John Lennon formed that eventually became the Beatles.
I took one look at the photo and got a little chuckle out of it. Can you tell which one of those guys is John Lennon? You might have trouble, since he's the one in the checked shirt. The only one whose face is completely turned away from the camera. Nice haircut, dude.
By the way, when Beatles Trivial Pursuit comes out, I challenge anyone to beat me. It will be on like Donkey Kong.
I took one look at the photo and got a little chuckle out of it. Can you tell which one of those guys is John Lennon? You might have trouble, since he's the one in the checked shirt. The only one whose face is completely turned away from the camera. Nice haircut, dude.
By the way, when Beatles Trivial Pursuit comes out, I challenge anyone to beat me. It will be on like Donkey Kong.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Just a post for funsies.
The nifty blog Eye On Springfield, whose only mission is to provide screencaps from the golden years of The Simpsons, has made a gif of one of my favorite moments on the series.
Here's the scene in full on YouTube to explain the situation.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Car Commercial Fail
I'm sure by now many of you have seen this commercial for the Honda Civic.
It took me at least two watchings of this commercial to realize that the musical road was supposed to be playing Rossini's William Tell overture. The pitches are very very wrong, and some of the rhythms are too.
Hilariously, many YouTube commenters have taken Honda to task over this one. Glad I don't have to.
It took me at least two watchings of this commercial to realize that the musical road was supposed to be playing Rossini's William Tell overture. The pitches are very very wrong, and some of the rhythms are too.
Hilariously, many YouTube commenters have taken Honda to task over this one. Glad I don't have to.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
I think I need something explained to me here.
Some cheerleaders at a high school in California get kicked off the team for skipping school.
Their parents find out that the cheerleading coach had posed for Playboy, make copies of the photos, and leave them on the principal's desk.
Cheerleading coach gets fired. (NSFW)
With parents like these, no wonder they raised such stupendous children who were dumb enough to get kicked off the team in the first place.
I realize that the coach probably would have been fired anyway, once the photos were found out. But as a teacher, I have too many times seen the awful actions done by parents in defense of their children's actions...when they kids usually deserved the punishment they received.
Their parents find out that the cheerleading coach had posed for Playboy, make copies of the photos, and leave them on the principal's desk.
Cheerleading coach gets fired. (NSFW)
With parents like these, no wonder they raised such stupendous children who were dumb enough to get kicked off the team in the first place.
I realize that the coach probably would have been fired anyway, once the photos were found out. But as a teacher, I have too many times seen the awful actions done by parents in defense of their children's actions...when they kids usually deserved the punishment they received.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Musical Wit
Go here.
The vertical boxes represent the pitches of an A pentatonic scale. The horizontal boxes represent beats.
By the time I figured this out and asked Jarret what we could do with it, he'd already had it set up to play the riff to "Under Pressure."
I heart him.
The vertical boxes represent the pitches of an A pentatonic scale. The horizontal boxes represent beats.
By the time I figured this out and asked Jarret what we could do with it, he'd already had it set up to play the riff to "Under Pressure."
I heart him.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Beatles-Related Squee
John Lennon considered the number 9 to be special, and The Beatles and the Apple Corps. have always tried to consider that. It just so happens that September 9th of this year (9/9/09) falls on a Tuesday - the weekday to release various forms of entertainment. A few months ago, The Beatles announced that on that day, they will release their version of Rock Band.
(And just to show you that the Tuesday thing is important in the business we call show...The Beatles didn't release anything on 9/9/99. They re-released Yellow Submarine into theatres the previous Friday (the 1st) and waited until the following Tuesday (the 14th) to release the Yellow Submarine songtrack and DVD.)
However, this week The Beatles announced something for release that day that's much better, and Beatles fans have been waiting for it a very long time.
The digital remastering of the entire original Beatles catalogue.
Complete with lots of little extra goodies that make me literally go "eeeeeee!" The official Beatles website has a nice little thing about it on the home page.
May I take the time to point out that 9/9/09 is only 42 days before my 25th birthday?
(And just to show you that the Tuesday thing is important in the business we call show...The Beatles didn't release anything on 9/9/99. They re-released Yellow Submarine into theatres the previous Friday (the 1st) and waited until the following Tuesday (the 14th) to release the Yellow Submarine songtrack and DVD.)
However, this week The Beatles announced something for release that day that's much better, and Beatles fans have been waiting for it a very long time.
The digital remastering of the entire original Beatles catalogue.
Complete with lots of little extra goodies that make me literally go "eeeeeee!" The official Beatles website has a nice little thing about it on the home page.
May I take the time to point out that 9/9/09 is only 42 days before my 25th birthday?
Monday, April 6, 2009
Random Stuff
This website, Wanna Feel Old?, is not making me feel too good about myself today. Especially since I seem to be the same age as the site's creator.
However, this pic (originally taking during protests from last year's olympic torch relay, I think), never fails to make me smirk.
Opening Day is today! I got Yankees tickets for the 18th. I'm very excited.
I tried to get tickets to a concert at Radio City Music Hall last Saturday. It was a benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to teach Transcendental Meditation to a million students worldwide. I'm not much for the meditation stuff, but Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were set to perform. I couldn't get tickets in my price range, not for lack of trying. And I missed this. The Beatles fanatic in me is sad.
However, this pic (originally taking during protests from last year's olympic torch relay, I think), never fails to make me smirk.
Opening Day is today! I got Yankees tickets for the 18th. I'm very excited.
I tried to get tickets to a concert at Radio City Music Hall last Saturday. It was a benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to teach Transcendental Meditation to a million students worldwide. I'm not much for the meditation stuff, but Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were set to perform. I couldn't get tickets in my price range, not for lack of trying. And I missed this. The Beatles fanatic in me is sad.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Must post link while anger still fresh.
NJ girl, 14, arrested after posting nude pics
...of herself.
Granted, posting nude photos of yourself on your MySpace page is pretty retarded. Even more so when you're fourteen.
However, the getting arrested part is the worst part. This girl might have to register as a sex offender if she's convicted. Doesn't that mean that this fourteen year old girl's photo, name, and address will be placed online for anyone to look up? Where real sex offenders can find her?
(This girl lives in the same county I do. Sigh.)
...of herself.
Granted, posting nude photos of yourself on your MySpace page is pretty retarded. Even more so when you're fourteen.
However, the getting arrested part is the worst part. This girl might have to register as a sex offender if she's convicted. Doesn't that mean that this fourteen year old girl's photo, name, and address will be placed online for anyone to look up? Where real sex offenders can find her?
(This girl lives in the same county I do. Sigh.)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Teaching highs and lows (with stolen pizazz)
There are days I love helping students learn, and other days where I wonder what the point is.
There are projects from Spanish classes plastered all over my school right now. it's basic vocab stuff, "Me gusta" fill in the blank here and then draw a picture.
This was actually put up on a school building wall.
Not only does the poster say "I don't like school," but the kid misspelled "escuela."
However, the other day I was working with my fifth grade general music class. I'd given them a worksheet about Mozart's early life. The point of the worksheet was that some words in the story were written in musical notation, so they had to read the pitches to identify the missing words. Unfortunately, since there are only seven musical letters, there are limited choices for your word selection. We had been laughing over the sentence "No doubt, Wolfgang loved beef burgers for his feed" when one kid did the math and realized Mozart died at age 35.
Kid #1: What did he die of?
Me: We can't know for sure. It doesn't help that we don't know where he was buried, so they can't dig him up to do tests and find out.
All kids: Ew! Can they do that?
Me: Well, this is a bit off topic, but it was rumored that our 12th president, Zachary Taylor, was poisoned and murdered, but scientists dug him up about 20 years ago and proved he wasn't.
Kid #2: So what did he die of?
Me: Really, really bad food poisoning.
Kid #3: Aha! So he was poisoned!
Kid #4: Don't you mean feed poisoning?
Pretty sharp for fifth graders, I think. And just for fun, another fifth grader the next day:
Kid (whining to me about another kid): She stole my pizazz! (Upon noticing my puzzled look) I just wanted to say that.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Two Unrelated Links
From the New York Daily News, we have custom made babies.
Gat-ta-ca! Gat-ta-ca! Gat-ta-ca!
And from the New York Times, the man who went about town in a Snuggie.
"She handed me a flier for the show, which I was able to take easily because Snuggie has sleeves. I did not have anywhere to put it, however, because Snuggie does not have pockets."
Gat-ta-ca! Gat-ta-ca! Gat-ta-ca!
And from the New York Times, the man who went about town in a Snuggie.
"She handed me a flier for the show, which I was able to take easily because Snuggie has sleeves. I did not have anywhere to put it, however, because Snuggie does not have pockets."
Saturday, February 28, 2009
A neat commercial, but as a musician, I must rant.
Watch this commercial for Loewe sound.
2) Upping the volume on your tv will not make the tenors sing an octave highter.
3) Upping the treble on your tv will not make the sopranos sing a new harmony. (Although they'll probably sing that dotted rhythm too early anyway, just like in the video. Heh)
That is all.
The piece they're performing is "Va pensiero" from Verdi's Nabucco. It's a choral work I've not only performed, but taught, so I know it fairly well. Well enough to say this, anyway.
2) Upping the volume on your tv will not make the tenors sing an octave highter.
3) Upping the treble on your tv will not make the sopranos sing a new harmony. (Although they'll probably sing that dotted rhythm too early anyway, just like in the video. Heh)
That is all.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The New Hailing of the Chiefs
C-SPAN recently came out with a ranking of all the US presidents, which is an updated version of the one the Wall Street Journal did in 2000. Presidential history is one of my minor hobbies, so I was very interested in the results. There are also separate rankings on various qualities.
Here is a link to the lists.
Voici...my commentary. Remember, there are only 42 men ranked as Grover Cleveland is counted twice in presidential order and Barack Obama's only been president a month.
The overall list: Not surprisingly, it's changed very little. Most of the presidents barely moved on the list. Only a few moved more than two spots, and only two would I consider big leaps. Those are:
Bill Clinton - Up six spots to #15. That makes sense I guess, since he's the most recent president to appear on the list twice.
Ulysses S. Grant - Up ten spots to #23. Can't really explain this, but he's still in the bottom half of the list, so it's still okay.
And where's George W. Bush? Coming in at #36. Beating out Fillmore, Harding, W.H.Harrison, Pierce, A. Johnson, and Buchanan. We're talking a low position here. Will he rank higher over time? I doubt it, based on his ranks on the other specific qualities.
There you go. Some of these still need more time to fully settle in history, but I don't think there's any way that the recently departed for Dallas can bubble up into the top half of anything.
Here is a link to the lists.
Voici...my commentary. Remember, there are only 42 men ranked as Grover Cleveland is counted twice in presidential order and Barack Obama's only been president a month.
The overall list: Not surprisingly, it's changed very little. Most of the presidents barely moved on the list. Only a few moved more than two spots, and only two would I consider big leaps. Those are:
Bill Clinton - Up six spots to #15. That makes sense I guess, since he's the most recent president to appear on the list twice.
Ulysses S. Grant - Up ten spots to #23. Can't really explain this, but he's still in the bottom half of the list, so it's still okay.
And where's George W. Bush? Coming in at #36. Beating out Fillmore, Harding, W.H.Harrison, Pierce, A. Johnson, and Buchanan. We're talking a low position here. Will he rank higher over time? I doubt it, based on his ranks on the other specific qualities.
- Public persuasion - 36
- Crisis leadership - 25 (A 9/11 bump, but it couldn't stand up to Katrina and a tanking economy)
- Economic management - 40 (Just over Hoover and Buchanan. Clinton is #3 on this one.)
- Moral authority - 35 (Clinton's 37. Heh.)
- International relations - 41 (Only beating out William Henry Harrison, who spent the entirety of his month-long administration in bed dying of pneumonia)
- Administrative skills - 37
- Relations with congress - 36 (Dead last here is Andrew Johnson, who took his vice presidential oath drunk and basically told off all of congress afterward.)
- Vision/Setting an agenda - 25 (It's one thing to have a vision and agenda, another to accomplish it. Remember a year ago when W pledged to have peace in the middle east by the time he left office?)
- Pursuing justice for all - 24 (Why is Clinton, Mr. Don't Ask Don't Tell, at #4?)
- Performance within context of the time - 36
There you go. Some of these still need more time to fully settle in history, but I don't think there's any way that the recently departed for Dallas can bubble up into the top half of anything.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
You were young and stupid, A-Rod? Well, I can believe the stupid part.
I have the day off from school today, which means I can watch the A-Rod press conference live. it hasn't even ended yet, actually.
The main excuse for his actions seem to be that he was young and under pressure to perform, and therefore didn't know any better. He keeps saying that he was around 24, 25 years old. Apparently A-Rod can't do math: He admitted that he took steroids from 2001-2003, meaning he was 26 to 28 years old. Also, 2001 was his sixth full season in the majors. He just suddenly decided to start steroids after six years? Of course, during the press conference he also admitted to using stuff in Seattle that's currently a banned substance and taken off the shelves at GNC. Who knows what else he'll "remember" after the press conference is over?
All I can say for now is that he has no positive tests after 2003. The year that the MLB started punishing for positive tests was 2004. The US prohibits ex post facto laws, so until a positive test from 2004 on shows up, I don't think they can do anything. However, A-Rod is the only name that has popped up on something like 103 or 104 tests from 2003. Tests that were supposed to be anonymous. Release the other names, don't let A-Rod take all the blame for this.
I haven't really formed my own opinion on the whole legacy thing, the asterisks and whatnot on his career. But I think that having several of his teammates present at the press conference to support him means something.
The main excuse for his actions seem to be that he was young and under pressure to perform, and therefore didn't know any better. He keeps saying that he was around 24, 25 years old. Apparently A-Rod can't do math: He admitted that he took steroids from 2001-2003, meaning he was 26 to 28 years old. Also, 2001 was his sixth full season in the majors. He just suddenly decided to start steroids after six years? Of course, during the press conference he also admitted to using stuff in Seattle that's currently a banned substance and taken off the shelves at GNC. Who knows what else he'll "remember" after the press conference is over?
All I can say for now is that he has no positive tests after 2003. The year that the MLB started punishing for positive tests was 2004. The US prohibits ex post facto laws, so until a positive test from 2004 on shows up, I don't think they can do anything. However, A-Rod is the only name that has popped up on something like 103 or 104 tests from 2003. Tests that were supposed to be anonymous. Release the other names, don't let A-Rod take all the blame for this.
I haven't really formed my own opinion on the whole legacy thing, the asterisks and whatnot on his career. But I think that having several of his teammates present at the press conference to support him means something.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
My students do not belong to NARAS.
Last Friday, I had my students, grades 5-8, vote for the big four awards in this year's Grammy awards: Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year. Most of what they picked didn't win, mainly because they hadn't heard the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss album. Also, middle school kids have different tastes than the majority of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Here were those nominees, along with who the students voted for, and the real winners.
Best New Artist
Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan
5th Grade: The Jonas Brothers
6th, 7th, and 8th Grade: Duffy
Real Winner: Adele
Song of the Year
American Boy (Estelle featuring Kanye West)
Chasing Pavements (Adele)
I'm Yours (Jason Mraz)
Love Song (Sara Bareilles)
Viva La Vida (Coldplay)
5th Grade: Tie, American Boy and I'm Yours
6th and 7th Grade: American Boy
8th Grade: Viva La Vida
Real Winner: Viva La Vida
Record of the Year
Chasing Pavements (Adele)
Viva La Vida (Coldplay)
Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis)
Paper Planes (M.I.A)
Please Read the Letter (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss)
5th Grade: Tie, Viva La Lida and Paper Planes
6th: Viva La Vida
7th, and 8th Grade: Paper Planes
Real Winner: Please Read the Letter
Album of the Year
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (Coldplay)
Tha Carter III (Lil Wayne)
Year of the Gentleman (Ne-Yo)
Raising Sand (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss)
In Rainbows (Radiohead)
5th and 8th Grade: Tha Carter III
6th and 7th Grade: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Real Winner: Raising Sand
Here were those nominees, along with who the students voted for, and the real winners.
Best New Artist
Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan
5th Grade: The Jonas Brothers
6th, 7th, and 8th Grade: Duffy
Real Winner: Adele
Song of the Year
American Boy (Estelle featuring Kanye West)
Chasing Pavements (Adele)
I'm Yours (Jason Mraz)
Love Song (Sara Bareilles)
Viva La Vida (Coldplay)
5th Grade: Tie, American Boy and I'm Yours
6th and 7th Grade: American Boy
8th Grade: Viva La Vida
Real Winner: Viva La Vida
Record of the Year
Chasing Pavements (Adele)
Viva La Vida (Coldplay)
Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis)
Paper Planes (M.I.A)
Please Read the Letter (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss)
5th Grade: Tie, Viva La Lida and Paper Planes
6th: Viva La Vida
7th, and 8th Grade: Paper Planes
Real Winner: Please Read the Letter
Album of the Year
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (Coldplay)
Tha Carter III (Lil Wayne)
Year of the Gentleman (Ne-Yo)
Raising Sand (Robert Plant and Alison Krauss)
In Rainbows (Radiohead)
5th and 8th Grade: Tha Carter III
6th and 7th Grade: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Real Winner: Raising Sand
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
More Reasons Why No Child Left Behind Needs an Overhaul
My school failed to make it's AYP, or Adequate Yearly Progress, last year. It was the first time it did so, and was the only school in the district to do so. Needless to say, the administration is freaking out. The previous school I taught in has failed the last six years in a row, and they didn't freak out as much as my current school is.
You see, there's a certain way you have to qualify to be a "passing" school. Not only do a certain percentage of students have to pass the test, the same percentage of every subgroup has to pass the test. (This is to make sure that it's not just the privileged white kids passing.) Subgroups are determined by things like race, economic status, and if you're proficient in English. You have to have at least 30 kids categorized in one subgroup to have it count towards making your AYP.
My school only qualifies for these subgroups: White, female, male, non-economically disadvantaged, and special education. Guess which subgroup didn't pass. Guess which was the only reason the school failed.
A couple of months ago we had a faculty meeting with the assistant superintendent to try to figure out ways to get the special ed students to pass the test this year. Yes, the same percentage of them have to pass, but just like giving a English-as-a-second-language kid a dictionary, special ed kids will have modifiers, such as extra time or calculators. I can't even remember what really went on in the meeting, as I don't teach a subject that is directly related to the tests. (Earlier that very day I'd tried to used math to explain dotted quarter notes and the 8th grade students in the room collectively had a heart attack.)
Here's what's been happening lately.
All 7th grade students who failed the test last year are now getting pulled out of my class (or whichever cycle they're in) for test prep. If they failed one subject (language arts or math), it's one day a week. If they failed both, it's twice a week. This is only being done to 7th grade special ed students who failed. No 5th, 6th or 8th graders. No regular ed 7th graders who failed. This started at the beginning of January and will continue until test day, at the end of April. Two entire cycles will have passed by then. Out of five. Needless to say, many parents are furious that their child is being forced out of classes like music or art for this, and are pulling their kids out of the program.
Today, I found out that some eighth graders are getting pulled out of their core classes for testing. The testing is to evaluate if they should still be classified as special ed students or not. Believe me, these kids should stay classified, but I think they're trying to get the numbers down to below 30, so the subgroup won't count. This is an odd idea, as we have at least twice that many special ed kids in the school.
The worst part is, I still don't think a high enough percentage of special ed kids will pass the test this year.
No Child Left Behind right now only cares about the results. It just doesn't put any accountability on how to get them.
You see, there's a certain way you have to qualify to be a "passing" school. Not only do a certain percentage of students have to pass the test, the same percentage of every subgroup has to pass the test. (This is to make sure that it's not just the privileged white kids passing.) Subgroups are determined by things like race, economic status, and if you're proficient in English. You have to have at least 30 kids categorized in one subgroup to have it count towards making your AYP.
My school only qualifies for these subgroups: White, female, male, non-economically disadvantaged, and special education. Guess which subgroup didn't pass. Guess which was the only reason the school failed.
A couple of months ago we had a faculty meeting with the assistant superintendent to try to figure out ways to get the special ed students to pass the test this year. Yes, the same percentage of them have to pass, but just like giving a English-as-a-second-language kid a dictionary, special ed kids will have modifiers, such as extra time or calculators. I can't even remember what really went on in the meeting, as I don't teach a subject that is directly related to the tests. (Earlier that very day I'd tried to used math to explain dotted quarter notes and the 8th grade students in the room collectively had a heart attack.)
Here's what's been happening lately.
All 7th grade students who failed the test last year are now getting pulled out of my class (or whichever cycle they're in) for test prep. If they failed one subject (language arts or math), it's one day a week. If they failed both, it's twice a week. This is only being done to 7th grade special ed students who failed. No 5th, 6th or 8th graders. No regular ed 7th graders who failed. This started at the beginning of January and will continue until test day, at the end of April. Two entire cycles will have passed by then. Out of five. Needless to say, many parents are furious that their child is being forced out of classes like music or art for this, and are pulling their kids out of the program.
Today, I found out that some eighth graders are getting pulled out of their core classes for testing. The testing is to evaluate if they should still be classified as special ed students or not. Believe me, these kids should stay classified, but I think they're trying to get the numbers down to below 30, so the subgroup won't count. This is an odd idea, as we have at least twice that many special ed kids in the school.
The worst part is, I still don't think a high enough percentage of special ed kids will pass the test this year.
No Child Left Behind right now only cares about the results. It just doesn't put any accountability on how to get them.
Just so you know...babies are like sandwiches.
My brother, a nursing student, has started to do clinical work this year. Last semester, he did mainly general health courses (learning how to give a physical and whatnot), and this semester deals with more specifics, such as mental health, pediatrics, and pregnancy/childbirth. In the latter class, they recently learned how to bathe and swaddle a newborn.
Keep in mind, before entering the medical field, my brother's only work experience had been working the counter at Dunkin' Donuts. So upon observing how to fold a blanket around a baby, and hearing the professor comment that "it's almost like wrapping a sandwich," he was able to reply, "it's exactly like wrapping a sandwich."
Upon recounting this story to me (and after I stopped laughing), he sighed, hung his head, and remarked, "I'm going to break a baby, I just know it."
Keep in mind, before entering the medical field, my brother's only work experience had been working the counter at Dunkin' Donuts. So upon observing how to fold a blanket around a baby, and hearing the professor comment that "it's almost like wrapping a sandwich," he was able to reply, "it's exactly like wrapping a sandwich."
Upon recounting this story to me (and after I stopped laughing), he sighed, hung his head, and remarked, "I'm going to break a baby, I just know it."
Monday, January 12, 2009
I need to stop listening to the Broadway channel on my satellite radio.
Just when it finally leaves my head, they'll play "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" again and the evil cycle will begin anew.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
More student quotables
A new cycle of general music classes started this week. To have the kids (and me) find out about their musical opinions and tastes, I have them do "musical conversations." I give them each a card with a question on it and they have to find the answer to it from several other people in class. These questions range from "What's your favorite radio station?" to "What kind of technology do you think will replace the iPod?"
One of the questions was "Do you play an instrument? If you don't, what would you like to learn to play?" One of the students' responses came from a classmate whom I knew had band lessons on Wednesdays, saxophone day. So what was written on the paper?
"He plays the tender sexaphone."
tee hee.
One of the questions was "Do you play an instrument? If you don't, what would you like to learn to play?" One of the students' responses came from a classmate whom I knew had band lessons on Wednesdays, saxophone day. So what was written on the paper?
"He plays the tender sexaphone."
tee hee.
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