Does quality no longer matter?

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Oh, those television people. It was in the Info for an episode of The Revolutionary War on Military Channel.

The British military makes plans to keep New England for themselves in 1977 but fail, and France and Spain send troops to provide assistance to the colonies. No cast information available.

Did you find it? Good. Sometimes it’s harder to find a numerical error than a misspelling.

I still remember an elementary principal reading an inspirational short piece on Secretary of State Colin Powell. The only problem was this: Condeleezza Rice was Secretary of State at the time. Colin Powell had already retired from the post. You guessed it, people, I didn’t have a lot of respect for that administrator.

Accuracy. It’s missing so often. When I grade a student lower because of spelling mistakes and his mother says “But we spell checked it!” I wonder if they really know the difference between herd and heard, piece and peace. Peas, too, for that matter. You know, visualize whirled peas. If not peas-ful, it’s at least tasty.

Then there are the half-hearted guesses on tests. What was the impact of the battle of the Alamo? “A lot of people died.” Duh. Read the book.

Or this, on a high school level: the student was to compare the effects of the Western economy on China in the 19th century. The 1800s, folks. Bear witness to an actual studnet answer.

The effects of western and Chinese economy are quite apparent. The Chinese population is very large with millions of people. Where as the westernized economy is the same way, but with less people per acre. The western economy is going to overall cost more because of the fact that people are paid more to make less. Where as in china at the current time there are many more people who get paid next to nothing to make crap to be shipped to america and sold.

Maybe this student will grow up to work for the Military Channel writing Info pieces.

Ah, this post is getting more snarky than humerus – er, humorous. Armed with a graduate degree and a sense of sarcasm, I will shut down the computer and face the whirled – er, world.


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Flu Family History

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I was searching and sorting and purging a pile of papers and I found this, a predecessor to Monday’s post. It’s on a scrap of yellow legal pad, so it probably rose from the ashes of a school staff meeting or staff development. This piece wasn’t for the CDC. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wrote it pre-blog. To make it current, it would need almost no changes.

You know the flu has taken over when:

  • Chicken soup and cinnamon toast make a meal.
  • The phone rings and the teenager doesn’t move.
  • The blind family member identifies people by their coughs rather than their voices.
  • The dishwasher is full of glasses and bowls because no one is eating real meals.
  • Each sick person carries around his/her own box of tissue.
  • Suddenly the supply of Tylenol and ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet looks woefully under stocked.

The above list was written with a sense of – well, something close to gallows humor, if I remember correctly. Since that year, all of us have stayed up to date on flu shots. Get your own flu vaccine, people. It’s not too late.

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Flu, flu

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We lost track of a family with two children in our school. How does a school lose track of an entire family? You see, it’s like this. We get in touch with every student and learning coach at least twice a month. We communicate in between those calls by email. We hadn’t heard from this family in a week, the learning coach hadn’t logged in for two weeks, and the students hadn’t logged in for several days and were lagging about nine days behind in their work. We left voice mails when they didn’t answer the phone. We sent emails that got no reply. Then we started to worry. Were they okay?  They didn’t live in the safest of neighborhoods. Should we send the police out for a welfare check?

When we reached their emergency contact, we found out that the entire family was down and out, and I mean really, really down and out, with this year’s strain of influenza.

It’s not over, people. That flu bug that’s been making its way through the nation is still hitting, and it’s not holding back. The Center for Disease Control is asking bloggers to pass the word: flu season is not over. It’s not too late to prepare to prevent yourself from being a victim.

Step one: Get vaccinated. Call around; if you can’t go to a doctor’s office, check with nearby pharmacies. Call the local health department and ask their advice. The current vaccine is still available.

Step two: Take common sense precautions. Every day preventive acts can help keep those germs away. Avoid sick people. Stay home if you’re sick – the office can and will run without you. Cover your nose and mouth if you sneeze or cough.

Step three; If your doctor prescribes antiviral drugs, take them. It’s worth it. They will shorten the duration of your flu, and they can lessen the symptoms.

My story above? It’s not over, either. Flu season continues to affect people across my state and across the country. This family is struggling to get to a telephone, much less log on and actively continue schooling. If the students don’t recover soon…let’s just say I’m worried. Very worried.

I’ll do what I can to support my students and their families. Readers, pass the word. It’s your job to protect yourself with a flu shot. Take care. I mean it.

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Storing the canning supplies

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Oh, I was so proud last June. I organized the cupboards, cleared a space, and the storage for my home-canned goods looked great. Here’s an encore post showing the stock and the storage. 

There must be a better way.

This is the “before” picture. I’ve increased my repertoire of canned foods every year, and with that increase in recipes came an increased yield. Then comes the question: where do I keep all these provisions? And after we finish each jar of pickles or jam or applesauce, where will I keep the reusable jars? Above you see the dilemma in June: a partial shelf of pickles and jams and applesauce and rhubarb waiting for their day on the table, surrounded by empty canning jars and freezer containers.

Something here must go.

Step 1: I cleaned out half the books at the top.

Step 2: I gathered boxes for a thrift store donation (shelves out of sight on the left).

Step 3: I relocated the crockpot and reorganized the jars by size.

Step 4: Move in!!

Ah. That’s better.

Readers, this is the “after” shot – the “after” shot for June. After I’ve canned my way through June and July and even part of August, this cupboard will look very different. I’ll be sure to show you then. Remind me. Really.

Okay, readers. I now have at least double that amount of empty jars, and I never did show you August, did I? Expect a sequel as I work on decluttering – as much decluttering as my still-weak left side will allow. 

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When Gradebooks Attack

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I tried. I really, really tried. This was my gradebook Friday morning. Each and every little square A+ means there are tests or quizzes or portfolios to be graded. In this case, every single course except Reading for Success (which comes in on Mondays) had work waiting for me.

 

I accomplished a lot, but not nearly enough. I had to leave several of these lovely little A+ icons in their square, unfinished stage. Meanwhile, several students kept working through the weekend. Monday, any progress I’d made on Friday appeared to be erased.

And that’s not counting the assignments that came in the mail.

Friday afternoons and Monday mornings are my busiest schedules, too. Regardless of the challenges, I do my best to hit the ground running on Monday afternoons. When Monday came to a close and I emptied the dregs of my tea, the gradebook looked better. Not empty, but better.

The Language Arts assignment that awaits my rubric and my eagle eye is one from a student who is working ahead. Deep breath; this one can wait until morning.

Now if only I could talk the students into really, really reading directions. Take another deep breath: that solution is still in the invention stage.

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Frustration becomes Normal

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Oh, it’s time for another bout with the Clinic that Shall Not Be Named and the Pharmacy that Shall Not Be Named. This time, I’m too tired to be upset. I’m just resigned. It’s not worth it to expend any more energy on a system I can’t use effectively, one I certainly can’t change.

Day 1: Called clinic for Amigo’s New Doc regarding renewal of a prescription. We had been splitting the pills for him so he could take a lower dose, but the pill is so small the splitter doesn’t work well.

Potential solution: leave a message for doctor asking if he will renew this with a change to a lower dose.

Actual result: This type of call has to go through triage, and triage only takes phone calls between 8:30 and 4:00. I called at 4:05. No voice mail available, no human being in a position to take a message and pass it on to New Doc or his staff.

Next step: try pharmacy. Maybe they can contact New Doc through their system.

 

Day 2: Called Pharmacy that Shall Not be Named. Explained Amigo’s situation, asked about lower dose and whether they could communicate with New Doc. Yes, they could communicate with New Doc. No, a lower dose is not available. We’ll have to keep splitting pills.

Day 2, Part 2: Still talking with Pharmacy that Shall Not be Named, I asked about my medication for blood pressure. According to a note sent through the messaging system at the Clinic That Shall Not be Named, Family Doc sent a renewal to the Pharmacy That Shall Not be Named almost a month ago.

First step: Ask for a person, not a recorded phone call.

Second step: Wait on hold.

Next: Talk to pharmacy tech, who says there is no record whatsoever of a prescription coming in on that date.

Finally: Pharmacy will contact Family Doc’s office and ask questions.

Day 2, the Sequel: Brought up the My Messages account, found the message stating the prescription had been sent on the 13th. Sent another message stating that pharmacy has no record of said prescription, and asking what happened. 

Next Step: wait. Hope the new meds get settled before the current supply runs out.

Step that Cannot Be Taken: Inform Clinic That Shall Not be Named that their so-called communication system really, really stinks. Frankly, I can’t even be angry anymore. I’m just resigned to the fact that I’m stuck in the mud of a patient-unfriendly system.

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Mental illness in schools – what we need

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My email has been overloaded with courses lately. I’m not sure why. Are the trainers and higher-educators getting desperate for business? I know few of us are taking extra courses or earning higher degrees now because we can’t afford it and because additional training and education no longer pays.

But reduced pay scales aside, this offer came through recently. There’s a lot of public attention to mental illnesses these days, so I actually read it instead of hitting delete.

Dealing with Metal Illness in the Classroom

I could have used this a few years ago, or a few years before that, or – the list goes on. Or could I? Let’s look more closely.

This course is designed for teachers, support staff and school counselors.

Okay, the focus is good. School counselors have been cut way back, though, due to the usual and customary budget constraints. When a student needs counseling, the teacher is the first and sometimes the last to handle it. If the student is lucky, his/her teacher will have had at least some counseling training. Next, please.

Participants will learn about the diagnostic characteristics of the various types of mood disorders and the other types of mental health disorders that mimic the symptoms of each.

Now they’ve lost me. Teachers can’t and don’t diagnose illness, whether physical or mental. We may recognize head lice and flu, and we might be the ones monitoring behavior that suggests attention deficit disorder, but we do not diagnose. Training us in “diagnostic characteristics” isn’t the right direction at all.

If we teachers are to help students with possible mental illnesses, we need to have opportunities to refer these students for real diagnosis and treatment. We need to have the connections with medical professionals, and we need permission to contact them. We need administrators who take our concerns seriously, and we need time – yes, time – to meet with and call parents so we can work as a team. We need school psychologists who take our concerns seriously, school social workers who do more than push papers, and most of all, administrators who care about our safety and well-being.

We need coworkers and support staff that will work with us. We need the public to respect our knowledge, our experience, and our observations.

Most of all, we need this because the students, the ones who need help, need us.

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Notes to Teacher Self

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Note to reading teacher self: When a student doesn’t have her book, always ask why. Why? One of my middle school struggling readers didn’t have her copy of The Cricket in Times Square because (drum roll) her older brother had picked it up and was reading it. Age 16, he is. Ah, I love this job.

Note to PR-loving self: It’s okay to say no. When approached about an interview with a local rag that has been notoriously anti-teacher, No is a valid response. Feel no guilt.

Note to role model self: Smile, don’t laugh, when a student struggles in writing to a prompt because “he doesn’t know anyone with a disability.” If they don’t remember I’m hearing impaired and it’s a disability, I’ll take that as a compliment. It means my disability doesn’t interfere with the way I do my job.

And that, teacher self, is a high note.

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Communication

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Amigo uses an iPhone and Siri. Siri lets him text and all kinds of other tasks even though he can’t see the phone. If I need to reach him by day while I’m at work, I send him a text. He usually answers immediately. A few days ago, he sent me this memo.

“We’re under a three snore emergency.” It’s okay, he wasn’t falling asleep, he was just telling me that the city had declared a snow emergency and with it, no on-street parking.

He sent Chuck the information about the last of the Andrews Sisters passing on, but somehow mixed it up so it sounded like Chuck himself was headed toward that great harmonizing trio in the sky.

My favorite, however, came the day he sent me big news he’d heard on Facebook.

“Your cousins had a baby girl named Napoleon.”

Really?

 

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Minimalizing – me?

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Groundhog’s Day? No one in Wisconsin believes this garbage. If the rodent sees its shadow today, it just means that the clear skies and bitter cold temperatures scared the critter more than its shadow did. Six more weeks of winter are a minimum around here. Meanwhile, I’ll hang out indoors and plant tomato seeds in pots and hope the power stays on in the house so they won’t die. It’s all part of channeling my inner Earth Mother.

My inner Earth Mother enjoys reading Mother Nature Network. I subscribe to their news updates and more. This caught my eye, of course. “Join us for a year-long celebration of The Joy of Less!” It’s a month by month guide to making lifestyle changes with the goal of living more simply. I looked it over and thought, “Oh, my. I don’t know if I can handle this.”

What? Daisy, the composter mom, one of the greenest in the neighborhood, saying no to a minimalist theory? Folks, I’m not sure I can live up to the tenth month in the program: Technology Free month. And what about Month Nine – the future of work? The illustration is a computer keyboard.

But then there are the months that tempt me, those ideas with which I’m already on track like Growing Groceries (Month Four) and Cooking: The Basics (Month Two ). The whole year starts with a month devoted to de-cluttering, and my home could use a month (and more) of that.

The last time I signed up for a green living program, it was sponsored by our district’s wellness coordinator. The whole thing was a great disappointment. It was designed for beginners, those who don’t even use both sides of the paper or bring their own shopping bags.  I found keeping the records tedious and I made no changes in habits at all. If anything, I was way ahead of the program.

But Mother Nature Network offers a challenge. I might not be able to handle Tech Free Month, but I can make other positive changes. I’ll share those changes with all of you, readers. I know you’ll keep me honest.

This is not, repeat NOT, a sponsored post. I do enjoy MNN, and this link was not solicited in any way. I don’t see it as a contest with winners and losers, either. Living more simply can only be positive.

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