Emily is turning 17 on September 3. I can't believe we have just two more years with her, and then she'll be going to college. Lately, I've been trying to be as involved in her interests as possible, to max the quality time, before she'll be gone. I miss the little girl I used to know, and I was reminded of that yesterday when she was feeling really sick with a bad cold. She actually needed me and wanted hugs. Just like when she was little. I can't believe the time has gone so fast.
Then there's Ricky. Just two years ago he was a good six inches shorter than me, and now he's at least a half foot taller, all arms and legs and no fat on his body. If he falls in a pool I'm afraid he'll sink. He eats like a walking garbage can and still is having growing pains now and then. He says he has eight hundred girl friends and they all seem to text message him constantly on his phone and facebook. He is now in high school. I guess I just never imagined my kids as older like this. It always seemed like they'd be little forever, and that I would always be with them. I better stop, I'm getting sad.
Please remember to help us out in the science department at OHS by using www.goodsearch.com and www.goodshop.com. Put "Oakville High School" in as the charity. It doesn't cost you anything. I'd really appreciate it.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Oakville High School Science Olympiad Team
Well, it's that time of year again when happy little teachers sign their extra duty contracts. Signed mine today, so I'm still the coach of our Science Olympiad team.
There are some pretty cool events this year, although Em is bummed that Sounds of Music is out of the rotation. This year, we're building bridges, launching eggs into space, and using our design and build talents in Junkyard Wars.
Problem is, we have no money. It took me awhile to find a way to make money without costing ANYBODY ANYTHING, but I found it. All we have to do is search the internet, and each search will net our group one cent. It doesn't sound like much, but we need about 400 dollars a year. If 100 people do 2 searches on average per day, we will make $730 dollars in one year. I'm thinking this is a great idea, so please try to help. Go to www.GoodSearch.com and enter "Oakville High School" into the box under "Who do you choose to search for?". Click verify, then you can search for your term.
The best thing to do is to download the searchbox on your browser toolbar. That way you will remember to use Good Search and help our Oakville S.O. Team.
Just use it to search as you normally would.
For everyone who is tapped out with fundraising, I hope this will be an easy and painless way to raise the money we need to fund our team.
Speaking of pain, my feet are killing me. I just have to learn to sit down when I teach, instead of pacing around. I guess it is the ADHD. I can't sit through meetings for more than 45 minutes either. In any meeting, just look around and there I am in the back standing since I just can't sit for very long. Monday was heck for me, we sat in meetings all day. I thought I'd lose my mind. Thank goodness classes started.
There are some pretty cool events this year, although Em is bummed that Sounds of Music is out of the rotation. This year, we're building bridges, launching eggs into space, and using our design and build talents in Junkyard Wars.
Problem is, we have no money. It took me awhile to find a way to make money without costing ANYBODY ANYTHING, but I found it. All we have to do is search the internet, and each search will net our group one cent. It doesn't sound like much, but we need about 400 dollars a year. If 100 people do 2 searches on average per day, we will make $730 dollars in one year. I'm thinking this is a great idea, so please try to help. Go to www.GoodSearch.com and enter "Oakville High School" into the box under "Who do you choose to search for?". Click verify, then you can search for your term.
The best thing to do is to download the searchbox on your browser toolbar. That way you will remember to use Good Search and help our Oakville S.O. Team.
Just use it to search as you normally would.
For everyone who is tapped out with fundraising, I hope this will be an easy and painless way to raise the money we need to fund our team.
Speaking of pain, my feet are killing me. I just have to learn to sit down when I teach, instead of pacing around. I guess it is the ADHD. I can't sit through meetings for more than 45 minutes either. In any meeting, just look around and there I am in the back standing since I just can't sit for very long. Monday was heck for me, we sat in meetings all day. I thought I'd lose my mind. Thank goodness classes started.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Watching the Olympics and Writing Grants
OK, so here I sit watching the Olympics and wondering what else I could be doing. Not that I don't enjoy the competitions, I do, but I tend to put off doing other things that need doing around the house.
So far, I really enjoyed the women's sabre competition. How cool, strong women going after each others with swords. They don't hold back, it's ok to yell, and their professionalism is awesome.
I'm trying to forget that I go back to work tomorrow. We've got a morning full of meetings, and I'm way too ADHD to sit still for too long. I'm looking forward to one meeting with our superintendent concerning money and funding issues. I know we all have lots of questions.
I've spent the last two weeks writing both science and music grants. Our department budgets have been cut way back, so I'm trying to get the money to keep going and do the labs I like to do to help the kids learn.
The music grant idea started when Ricky brought home this POS marching baritone. Here's two pictures if you want to see what I'm talking about.
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After he brought this thing home I was pretty shocked. I knew that some of our equipment in band was probably about as old as some of our science "equipment" (if you can still call it that) and all of this stuff needs to be replaced. I was also thinking about fundraising for my kids so they can attend the band trips, and fundraising for science olympiad so we can buy our supplies and register our team for this year. So I started hunting around on the internet for fundraising and grant opportunities for my science programs.
I found grants, so I've written two for science. Then I had the bright idea of trying to find grants to fund instrumental music programs. I found some, and so far have written three grants and two foundation funding requests. I'm not sure what chance they have, but I hope to get at least one funded.
The problem with both science and music is that the equipment and instruments required are really expensive. Our science budget was cut by half for this year, and we were already pretty lean from past cuts. Just getting microscopes cleaned is amazingly expensive, not to mention replacing them. And that is just one of many issues.
The music department budget is ridiculously low, approximately six thousand. Since it costs at least five thousand to replace the current marimba that is in pieces and being held together by wire, that budget is ridiculous. This instrument is an integral part of all of the bands, and so replacing it is incredibly important. A decent concert tuba is around eight thousand, and we have two that need to be replaced. Not to mention all of the other instruments that are probably older than me, like the POS baritone above. Hopefully, we can find the money soon. I've got more grants to write for both science and music, so I'm trying to make this work for all of our kids.
Ok, I'm watching, and I think the chinese gymnasts are like 10 years old. They're supposed to be 15 but I'm wondering.
I watched beach volleyball yesterday. What's with the stupid bikini bottoms? Don't those women worry about keeping them on? It seems pretty counterproductive to doing well at your sport.
Maybe I'm ignorant, but I've never heard of synchronized diving. It was pretty boring since the dives are so easy. I'd rather watch the regular stuff.
What's your favorite event?
So far, I really enjoyed the women's sabre competition. How cool, strong women going after each others with swords. They don't hold back, it's ok to yell, and their professionalism is awesome.
I'm trying to forget that I go back to work tomorrow. We've got a morning full of meetings, and I'm way too ADHD to sit still for too long. I'm looking forward to one meeting with our superintendent concerning money and funding issues. I know we all have lots of questions.
I've spent the last two weeks writing both science and music grants. Our department budgets have been cut way back, so I'm trying to get the money to keep going and do the labs I like to do to help the kids learn.
The music grant idea started when Ricky brought home this POS marching baritone. Here's two pictures if you want to see what I'm talking about.
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After he brought this thing home I was pretty shocked. I knew that some of our equipment in band was probably about as old as some of our science "equipment" (if you can still call it that) and all of this stuff needs to be replaced. I was also thinking about fundraising for my kids so they can attend the band trips, and fundraising for science olympiad so we can buy our supplies and register our team for this year. So I started hunting around on the internet for fundraising and grant opportunities for my science programs.
I found grants, so I've written two for science. Then I had the bright idea of trying to find grants to fund instrumental music programs. I found some, and so far have written three grants and two foundation funding requests. I'm not sure what chance they have, but I hope to get at least one funded.
The problem with both science and music is that the equipment and instruments required are really expensive. Our science budget was cut by half for this year, and we were already pretty lean from past cuts. Just getting microscopes cleaned is amazingly expensive, not to mention replacing them. And that is just one of many issues.
The music department budget is ridiculously low, approximately six thousand. Since it costs at least five thousand to replace the current marimba that is in pieces and being held together by wire, that budget is ridiculous. This instrument is an integral part of all of the bands, and so replacing it is incredibly important. A decent concert tuba is around eight thousand, and we have two that need to be replaced. Not to mention all of the other instruments that are probably older than me, like the POS baritone above. Hopefully, we can find the money soon. I've got more grants to write for both science and music, so I'm trying to make this work for all of our kids.
Ok, I'm watching, and I think the chinese gymnasts are like 10 years old. They're supposed to be 15 but I'm wondering.
I watched beach volleyball yesterday. What's with the stupid bikini bottoms? Don't those women worry about keeping them on? It seems pretty counterproductive to doing well at your sport.
Maybe I'm ignorant, but I've never heard of synchronized diving. It was pretty boring since the dives are so easy. I'd rather watch the regular stuff.
What's your favorite event?
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Policing Internet Posts of High School Kids
After contacting school, I was informed that the admin was aware of the pictures and that our admin was checking on whether or not a policy had been developed. I was told that policing the internet was probably not something the district wanted to be involved with. I understand why since this seems like it would involve a huge expensive effort on the part of the district, and may have repercussion on privacy issues of the offending student. Although certainly since the girl who took the pictures posted them in a public forum for all to see, I'm uncertain that privacy is really an issue.
I'm interested in this situation too, since the pictures I saw showed some of our school athletes and leaders involved in this, and since I was made aware last year that a student who was verbally accused of same was removed from his position as drum major of our high school band. It seems to me that pictures are irrefutable proof of the accusations, but that verbal accusations come down to something more nebulous.
So why apply the standard to one student and not the others? I and other parents are watching closely to see whether all students will be treated the same way.
Three days ago I was made aware of some postings on facebook where a student said some horrible derogatory things about another student, and referenced a school activity that both are involved in. The "b" word was used and pretty awful things were said about making sure that no one invite this girl to any social events.
With the Megan Meier issue still fresh in the public's mind, I wonder again just how involved a school district should or can be in these situations. Certainly, I think at this point I wonder if it is possible to prosecute this boy for his continued harrassment of this girl (yes it has happened before) by the girl's parents. But what is the role of the school district, since both kids are actively involved in a school activity, and the posts are directly related to the activity?
I'd like the district to get involved, and treat all the students who were drinking the same way. I feel they should be removed from the National Honors Society, and their other leadership positions within the school. As a mom and a teacher, it bothers me that these kids are held up as role models for the rest of the school. It sends an awful message that this behavior is ok.
What do you think?
Friday, July 25, 2008
Failure in School leads to Depression in Girls
An interesting new study has shown that adolescent girls who have had one or more instances of serious school failure like being expelled, suspended or dropping out, are significantly more likely to suffer from depression by age 21.
The Journal of Adolescent Health just published this research, which includes data showing that girls in elementary school with severe conduct problems are also far more likely to suffer from depression by the same age. Carolyn McCarty, a University of Washington research associate professor of pediatrics and lead author of the study says that the same effects are not noticed in boys with similar school issues.
Specifics: The study showed that girls who were expelled from school were more than twice as likely to suffer depression -- 44 percent compared to 20 percent of girls who were not expelled. Thirty-three percent of the girls who dropped out of school later became depressed compared to 19 percent who were not dropouts. Twenty-eight percent of the girls who were suspended later suffered depression versus 19 percent of girls who weren't suspended.
"This gender paradox shows that while school failure is more atypical for girls it appears to have more severe consequences when it does occur," said McCarty. "One reason may be that school failure stigmatizes girls more strongly or is harder for them to overcome. We do know that girls with conduct problems, such as school failure, tend to have long-term problems with cascading effects."
Data for the study was drawn from the UW's ongoing Seattle Social Development Research Project that was launched in 1985 and has been tracking 808 people since they were in the fifth grade. Students were drawn from 18 Seattle schools in high-crime neighborhoods to study the development of positive and antisocial behaviors. Participants were almost equally divided by gender and identified themselves as white (46 percent), black (24 percent), Asian-American (21 percent), Native American (6 percent) and other groups (3 percent).
Ok, so this seems as if school failure causes depression...or does it? Not mentioned in the paper, and most significant to the problem at hand, was whether or not the kids HAD DEPRESSION IN THE FIRST PLACE. It is entirely possible that depression can cause the antisocial behaviors that cause the kid to get into trouble. Therefore, the issue isn't saving kids by aiding them in school, it is in TREATING THEIR DEPRESSION.
Sorry, don't mean to yell, but "science" like this just drives me up the wall. This type of study leads good people to think that saving the kids from failure in school has everything to do with their educational environment, rather than their underlying health issues which can only be dealt with in a good secure home environment.
God, I wish educators could actually do good research with proper scientific controls.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Lower Carb Diet Tips
In the first post ever made on this blog, I spoke about my weight loss (22 pounds and maintaining) using a lower-carb diet as put forth in Bernie Taub's book. To see the post click HERE. The scientific research showed overwhelmingly that people on lower carb diets lost more weight and were more likely to keep it off, with no detrimental side-effects.
I thought I'd give out a few tips for what I actually use on an everyday basis that works well. Remember, you have to eat 60 grams or less of USABLE carbs a day for this to work. Usable carbs are calculated by subtracting grams of fiber and grams of "other" carbs from the total carbs listed on the nutrition labels of foods. If you look at the nutrition label shown here, take the 31 grams total carbs and subtract the three grams fiber for a total of 28 carbs. Also make sure you pay attention to serving size or you may go way over what you think you are eating. Use measuring cups to make sure.
Two foods that are excellent are the Sara Lee 45 Calories and Delightful bread. Each slice is 9 grams of total carb - 2 grams dietary fiber = 7 grams of usable carbs. If you have a sandwich with two slices of this bread, you have eaten only 14 grams of carbs for that meal. Add in some chicken salad (1 carb per serving) and lettuce for crunchies ( 0 carbs and adds fiber which keeps you full longer) and you are at a total of 15.
Even better, a new low carb product from Mission are the Carb Balance Soft taco size low carb tortillas. They are flour totillas and taste better than the regular, in my opinion. They are 0 trans fat too. Wrap some lettuce around meats and cheese, or egg salad, or chicken salad and you have a great lunch. Each tortilla is 18 grams, but with 11 grams of dietary fiber. With one tortilla for your "sandwich" roll up, you eat only 7 grams of usable carbs. Again, they taste great so this is a win-win.
Don't forget that eggs are o.k. too, and they have the good kind of omega-3 fats. I'll post a few recipes next time.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
College Admissions Test Prep Help
Well, it is finally junior year for my daughter, typically the hardest year for kids seeking entrance to excellent colleges and universities.
I was talking to a friend of mine who is a college admissions counselor, and I asked about whether she had a preferred test prep book or class that she feels best prepares the students for the ACT/SAT. She recommended a company called college prep coach. They have a kit that you can order that comes with a DVD where the student learns how to effectively study and take the tests and can practice on actual SAT and ACT tests. Apparently the kids who are using it are doing quite well on their tests.
Here's a link: Practice On Real SAT Tests Only With The College Prep Coach Test Kit! Buy At CollegePrepCoach.Net Now!
I hope this is helpful.
Another day of band camp, both kids are still doing well, but the band kid tan is already obvious. I keep praying for cooler weather, but so far...
I was talking to a friend of mine who is a college admissions counselor, and I asked about whether she had a preferred test prep book or class that she feels best prepares the students for the ACT/SAT. She recommended a company called college prep coach. They have a kit that you can order that comes with a DVD where the student learns how to effectively study and take the tests and can practice on actual SAT and ACT tests. Apparently the kids who are using it are doing quite well on their tests.
Here's a link: Practice On Real SAT Tests Only With The College Prep Coach Test Kit! Buy At CollegePrepCoach.Net Now!
I hope this is helpful.
Another day of band camp, both kids are still doing well, but the band kid tan is already obvious. I keep praying for cooler weather, but so far...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Lessons from a Hysterectomy Survivor
I've learned quite a bit about myself these last four weeks. My BF Mary thought I should share some of them with you. She even told me about some of these ahead of time so I wouldn't have to find out for myself.
1. Always use a small pillow or folded towel on your tummy when using a seat belt, since the belt will go right over your incision and really hurts. Also, if you have a cat or dog, keep a pillow on your tummy at all times, especially when you're sleeping on your back. They don't realize that stepping on "mom" will send her into shock.
2. Never mix ex-lax with prune juice unless you have nowhere else to go for the rest of the day. It does work, however, if you get desperate. Make sure your doctor has given you a "cleansing" regimen and that you follow it before surgery.
3. Morphine and other narcotics may make you really sick. If this happens, make sure to ask for another pain killer. Narcotics are also constipating (see above) and will give you weird dreams.
4. Use your arms to get up from a lying down or reclining position. If you've had a baby, you know what I'm talking about.
5. Believe the doctor when they say do not pick things up. Don't pick up anything heavier than a toaster and don't pick that up for 6 weeks. Ignore this advice at your own risk!
6. The kids really do know how to do laundry, vacuum and cut the grass despite what they've told you in the past. Entertain yourself by counting the number of times the family can walk past dog puke and not pick it up.
7. Try to have someone with you at the hospital all the time until you can get out of bed yourself... the nurses are so busy you need the extra hand to help do simple things, go track nurses down and help be an advocate. Everyone I've talked to says this one is really important, it was for me. Rick was awesome.
8. It's a good 8 weeks for recovery. Don't allow yourself to believe that you can go shopping (pushing the cart hurts!)or clean anything in your house. Do Not Vacuum! Baby yourself as much as you can the first 2 months.
9. Don't rush into anything, but don't procrastinate either. If you have endometriosis, fibroids, or humongous cysts, indulging in doubts about surgery, and postponing, can turn a laparoscopic surgery into a full abdominal approach (see my previous post on the hysterectomy from hell), since they will use that time to grow and mess up your internal organs.
10. Understand for the first time why men fear women. You've got to be afraid of someone who can bleed like hell for a week and not die.
If you have any other tips, hit "# comments" below and share.
1. Always use a small pillow or folded towel on your tummy when using a seat belt, since the belt will go right over your incision and really hurts. Also, if you have a cat or dog, keep a pillow on your tummy at all times, especially when you're sleeping on your back. They don't realize that stepping on "mom" will send her into shock.
2. Never mix ex-lax with prune juice unless you have nowhere else to go for the rest of the day. It does work, however, if you get desperate. Make sure your doctor has given you a "cleansing" regimen and that you follow it before surgery.
3. Morphine and other narcotics may make you really sick. If this happens, make sure to ask for another pain killer. Narcotics are also constipating (see above) and will give you weird dreams.
4. Use your arms to get up from a lying down or reclining position. If you've had a baby, you know what I'm talking about.
5. Believe the doctor when they say do not pick things up. Don't pick up anything heavier than a toaster and don't pick that up for 6 weeks. Ignore this advice at your own risk!
6. The kids really do know how to do laundry, vacuum and cut the grass despite what they've told you in the past. Entertain yourself by counting the number of times the family can walk past dog puke and not pick it up.
7. Try to have someone with you at the hospital all the time until you can get out of bed yourself... the nurses are so busy you need the extra hand to help do simple things, go track nurses down and help be an advocate. Everyone I've talked to says this one is really important, it was for me. Rick was awesome.
8. It's a good 8 weeks for recovery. Don't allow yourself to believe that you can go shopping (pushing the cart hurts!)or clean anything in your house. Do Not Vacuum! Baby yourself as much as you can the first 2 months.
9. Don't rush into anything, but don't procrastinate either. If you have endometriosis, fibroids, or humongous cysts, indulging in doubts about surgery, and postponing, can turn a laparoscopic surgery into a full abdominal approach (see my previous post on the hysterectomy from hell), since they will use that time to grow and mess up your internal organs.
10. Understand for the first time why men fear women. You've got to be afraid of someone who can bleed like hell for a week and not die.
If you have any other tips, hit "# comments" below and share.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Monday Moanin'
Ok, I'm a band mom again. All alone, no kids in the house...YAY! Band camp started today, so the kids are gone every day from 6:30 am to around 3pm. This is Ricky's first year, so I'm looking forward to all the complaining about sore feet, back etc. But frankly, the lack of noise in the house is just awesome.
OK, some kvetching. Saturday morning at 5:45 a small group of boys came to our door and rang it and ran. Rick and the dogs heard them coming, and he almost caught them. Believe me, the last thing I need with getting over my surgery is to have some nut job kid wake me up like this, it is hard enough to get to sleep at night.
We went back to sleep, and yep, a half hour later this little #@$$^%$#%&% did the same thing. Now we're out of bed and pissed. This time, I heard one of the boy's voices and knew who it was.
This kid is constantly in trouble at school. He and his older brother are living with their grandparents down the street. We've had run-ins with this kid as he has attempted from the first day he moved in three years ago to physically attack Ricky, who is bigger than this kid. Ricky isn't one to hit or fight back, but has learned to verbally disarm just about anybody with his humor. Not this kid, he's unable to stop his violence once he starts in. Ricky actually feels bad about the day the kid tried to jump him as he was coming off the bus, and Ricky reared back and slammed the kid backward to get him off. The kid hit the dirt pretty hard, and Ricky just asked him what he thought was gonna happen?
The kid is known for hitting kids on the schoolbus, and talks about sexually explicit abuse on the school bus too, (Ricky says the kid seems to know what he is talking about) which is one of the ways we've been able to get some intervention for him as the grandparents are in some really amazing denial. Our district doesn't put up with much on the school buses. Anyway, since we didn't see him just heard him, I didn't feel we could go over and complain.
It's pretty sad that the only way a kid can get help is if you get it for him at school. We really have a need for full time psychiatrists and psychologists in every school. And we're the suburbs. Scary.
Does anybody else remember when we were kids, if we did something wrong, another parent would call ours and we'd actually get in trouble? What happened to that?
Well, I'm going back to enjoy my quiet day. Have a good one, and if you have any nasty kid in the neighborhood stories, I'd love to hear them. Go hit "comment" below and please share with everyone.
OK, some kvetching. Saturday morning at 5:45 a small group of boys came to our door and rang it and ran. Rick and the dogs heard them coming, and he almost caught them. Believe me, the last thing I need with getting over my surgery is to have some nut job kid wake me up like this, it is hard enough to get to sleep at night.
We went back to sleep, and yep, a half hour later this little #@$$^%$#%&% did the same thing. Now we're out of bed and pissed. This time, I heard one of the boy's voices and knew who it was.
This kid is constantly in trouble at school. He and his older brother are living with their grandparents down the street. We've had run-ins with this kid as he has attempted from the first day he moved in three years ago to physically attack Ricky, who is bigger than this kid. Ricky isn't one to hit or fight back, but has learned to verbally disarm just about anybody with his humor. Not this kid, he's unable to stop his violence once he starts in. Ricky actually feels bad about the day the kid tried to jump him as he was coming off the bus, and Ricky reared back and slammed the kid backward to get him off. The kid hit the dirt pretty hard, and Ricky just asked him what he thought was gonna happen?
The kid is known for hitting kids on the schoolbus, and talks about sexually explicit abuse on the school bus too, (Ricky says the kid seems to know what he is talking about) which is one of the ways we've been able to get some intervention for him as the grandparents are in some really amazing denial. Our district doesn't put up with much on the school buses. Anyway, since we didn't see him just heard him, I didn't feel we could go over and complain.
It's pretty sad that the only way a kid can get help is if you get it for him at school. We really have a need for full time psychiatrists and psychologists in every school. And we're the suburbs. Scary.
Does anybody else remember when we were kids, if we did something wrong, another parent would call ours and we'd actually get in trouble? What happened to that?
Well, I'm going back to enjoy my quiet day. Have a good one, and if you have any nasty kid in the neighborhood stories, I'd love to hear them. Go hit "comment" below and please share with everyone.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Ricky's Balloon
My son has wanted a hot air balloon ever since we took him out ballooning at 6 months old. Our kids have been part of the chase crew with us for the last 13 years that we've been involved in the sport with some friends of ours, balloon pilots Scott and Cynthia Wooge. Both kids have also flown a number of times in the balloons, and both would like us to have our own. Rick even went so far as to take a pilot's course this spring with the FAA, and he and Ricky took the Ground School for crew.
So everyone want's a balloon right? Nope. Not me. If we're going to lay out the money, give me a speedboat anytime. I love going out on the water, I find it peaceful, plus you get to swim and keep cool in the hot Missouri summers. Ballooning gets pretty hot in the sweltering heat when you are standing near or under a balloon burner.
But I'm clearly outvoted, so we're in the market for a good used balloon.
Here are some cute pictures from the flights the family (not me) worked on Saturday night. Four balloons went up and Emily took the pictures. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
St. Louis South County Favorites
Thanks to everyone who has called or written, my recovery is going pretty well now.
I've been thinking of some of the things I'd like to do or places I'd like to go when I'm a bit better, so I thought I'd share with everyone some of my favorite things about St. Louis South County.
* The best pasta in the entire universe: Bill Gianino's. Not only is the house salad to die for, but the pasta dishes are excellent, and you generally can share a main dish with another person and still have some to spare.
* Cliff Cave Park. The park has been updated with a new pavilion and restrooms. The bicycling path is beautiful with nice views of the cliffs and the wooded areas. The walking paths are interesting, and there are benches and picnic tables throughout. Our dogs love this park too.
* I'm partial, but I think our school district is awesome. Our kids are getting a great education and are well-prepared for college. The teachers care a great deal about their students, and there is much community input and parent volunteerism.
* Ronnie's Plaza. The new digital projectors are amazing. The food is great in the exterior area with the drive-in movie theme. A bit expensive though.
* Trade Secret at South County Mall. This is the only place that I've ever been where I can go in and say "just do something with my hair", and it always comes out great. I recommend Jennie Miller as a stylist, although Cory is great too. They carry most salon product lines, and there are always great sales going on. Look for the dots to see percent off, I often get 60% off of products.
* Cliff Cave Library. I read all the time, and I can generally get a requested book pretty quickly. The librarians are very helpful too, and the new teen area is really attractive.
* My church, Concord Trinity United Methodist, is awesome. The pastors are intelligent, humerous and give an excellent, creative and thought provoking sermons. Super sports teams, mission trips, youth groups and the new 5:01 Sunday service with contemporary worship make our church great in meeting everyone's needs.
These are just some of the places I like to go, and I hope to be getting around to more of these as I heal up. We aren't going anywhere for the fourth, but will hang out here with neighbors and have fun. I hope everyone has a great fourth of July.
I've been thinking of some of the things I'd like to do or places I'd like to go when I'm a bit better, so I thought I'd share with everyone some of my favorite things about St. Louis South County.
* The best pasta in the entire universe: Bill Gianino's. Not only is the house salad to die for, but the pasta dishes are excellent, and you generally can share a main dish with another person and still have some to spare.
* Cliff Cave Park. The park has been updated with a new pavilion and restrooms. The bicycling path is beautiful with nice views of the cliffs and the wooded areas. The walking paths are interesting, and there are benches and picnic tables throughout. Our dogs love this park too.
* I'm partial, but I think our school district is awesome. Our kids are getting a great education and are well-prepared for college. The teachers care a great deal about their students, and there is much community input and parent volunteerism.
* Ronnie's Plaza. The new digital projectors are amazing. The food is great in the exterior area with the drive-in movie theme. A bit expensive though.
* Trade Secret at South County Mall. This is the only place that I've ever been where I can go in and say "just do something with my hair", and it always comes out great. I recommend Jennie Miller as a stylist, although Cory is great too. They carry most salon product lines, and there are always great sales going on. Look for the dots to see percent off, I often get 60% off of products.
* Cliff Cave Library. I read all the time, and I can generally get a requested book pretty quickly. The librarians are very helpful too, and the new teen area is really attractive.
* My church, Concord Trinity United Methodist, is awesome. The pastors are intelligent, humerous and give an excellent, creative and thought provoking sermons. Super sports teams, mission trips, youth groups and the new 5:01 Sunday service with contemporary worship make our church great in meeting everyone's needs.
These are just some of the places I like to go, and I hope to be getting around to more of these as I heal up. We aren't going anywhere for the fourth, but will hang out here with neighbors and have fun. I hope everyone has a great fourth of July.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Hysterectomy from Hell
Hi everyone! I haven't posted in awhile due to the hysterectomy from hell. Last week Monday I checked into St. John's for what was supposed to be a simple vaginal hysterectomy. This requires very little down time and heals quickly. I knew there was a problem as soon as I woke up after surgery.
When I woke up, I was hooked up to a number of machines that shouldn't have been there. Like the oxygen tube that was on my face. Why need oxygen for simple surgery? That was my first clue.
My husband was standing over me, looking worried like I've rarely seen him before in our 18 years of marriage. The nurse present placed a button like device in my hand and explained that any time I felt pain, I was to push the button and morphine would be added into my I.V., which was still attached and again, if the surgery had been the easier form, shouldn't have been there, and I certainly shouldn't have needed morphine. Hmmmm...
I turned my head and was in immediate pain. I pressed the button.
My legs felt like they were in an inflation device. The nurse explained that they were there to prevent blood clots. At this point I knew I was in trouble. I asked what happened. Rick stroked my hair and said, "honey, this really didn't go as planned. You were in surgery for 3 and a half hours instead of half and hour. Then you were in recovery for 3 more hours" (instead of the usual half to one hour). My doctor popped into the room and I found out that when they inserted the laparascope, they saw one of the worst cases of endometriosis they had ever seen. All of my organs in my abdomen were adhered together, and to the sides of my abdomen. It took a lot of time to surgically remove all the endometrial tissue, and they had to open up my abdomen to do this. Then they had to stitch everything into place where it was supposed to be. My doc said she couldn't believe the pain I must have been in and that I was still walking around like this. Anyway, she'd had to take the ovaries and tubes too, since they cause the inflammation of the endometrial tissue, and if any was left behind, it would cause severe problems down the road.
At this point I started to cry and knew I was in big trouble for my recovery. Being a wimp, this was not good.
The rest of the story is pretty awful too. I was in intensive care for three days, then moved to a step down ward in a semi-private room. My catheter had been giving my trouble as I had clearly been severly dehydrated and had lost a lot of blood, so they had been pumping me full of fluids for three days. When this was removed, I literally had to learn to walk again to high-tail it to the bathroom every fifteen minutes as they had found out upon removal that there had been a kink in the line, so the extra fluids were backing up in my tissues. Crap.
My friends Mary and Mary Kay called to see how I was, and it really made me feel better to know people were thinking of me. My mom's group sent beautiful flowers to brighten my room and Rick brought some too. Pastor Greg came and the next day Pastor Mark who again really helped me feel better.
I started to become sick every time I used the morphine. Rick realized it was the morphine, and requested alternate pain medication to see if the vomiting would stop. He was able to get them to change the medication to demerol, and the illness stopped. Great being married to a scientist. So I was finally able to eat solid foods again, which was a condition of going home.
I was dizzy walking again, and trying to do this was terribly painful. I got used to it, and the nurses were amazed at how fast I started to recover. My sister called on the phone everyday, and this day she called and asked it I had "hospital hair". I sure did, and she asked me if I'd taked a shower yet. Nope. She told me the story about her hysterectomy, also abdominal (seems to run in the family) where she was determined to take a shower the next day, and did so even though she had to sit on the floor of the shower (or something like this, I was pretty doped up still). I decided if she could do it, so could I because I felt like h__l. I was pretty proud when I was able to do this.
Discharge occured four days post surgery, and I've never been happier to see my home, and my son Ricky (Em was at church camp). Ricky was stellar on Friday, staying with me and doing everything I asked. This really helped me not have so much pain, and he even monitored my meds to make sure I was on the right stuff, and this was important since I was so dopey. He made and awsome peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch too. Hugging him was the best thing I'd experienced since surgery.
Neighbors came by with flowers, and my friend Mary made dinner for us on Friday, which also fed us on Saturday. Diane and Jo called to see how I was and I so appreciated this. I now know how blessed I am for all of the good people in my life.
Anyway, if anyone ever needs help with this, please feel free to ask. I don't want anyone going through this. Please make sure if you have any pain in your lower abdomen or lower back or both you see your ob-gyn right away. Don't wait like I did.
When I woke up, I was hooked up to a number of machines that shouldn't have been there. Like the oxygen tube that was on my face. Why need oxygen for simple surgery? That was my first clue.
My husband was standing over me, looking worried like I've rarely seen him before in our 18 years of marriage. The nurse present placed a button like device in my hand and explained that any time I felt pain, I was to push the button and morphine would be added into my I.V., which was still attached and again, if the surgery had been the easier form, shouldn't have been there, and I certainly shouldn't have needed morphine. Hmmmm...
I turned my head and was in immediate pain. I pressed the button.
My legs felt like they were in an inflation device. The nurse explained that they were there to prevent blood clots. At this point I knew I was in trouble. I asked what happened. Rick stroked my hair and said, "honey, this really didn't go as planned. You were in surgery for 3 and a half hours instead of half and hour. Then you were in recovery for 3 more hours" (instead of the usual half to one hour). My doctor popped into the room and I found out that when they inserted the laparascope, they saw one of the worst cases of endometriosis they had ever seen. All of my organs in my abdomen were adhered together, and to the sides of my abdomen. It took a lot of time to surgically remove all the endometrial tissue, and they had to open up my abdomen to do this. Then they had to stitch everything into place where it was supposed to be. My doc said she couldn't believe the pain I must have been in and that I was still walking around like this. Anyway, she'd had to take the ovaries and tubes too, since they cause the inflammation of the endometrial tissue, and if any was left behind, it would cause severe problems down the road.
At this point I started to cry and knew I was in big trouble for my recovery. Being a wimp, this was not good.
The rest of the story is pretty awful too. I was in intensive care for three days, then moved to a step down ward in a semi-private room. My catheter had been giving my trouble as I had clearly been severly dehydrated and had lost a lot of blood, so they had been pumping me full of fluids for three days. When this was removed, I literally had to learn to walk again to high-tail it to the bathroom every fifteen minutes as they had found out upon removal that there had been a kink in the line, so the extra fluids were backing up in my tissues. Crap.
My friends Mary and Mary Kay called to see how I was, and it really made me feel better to know people were thinking of me. My mom's group sent beautiful flowers to brighten my room and Rick brought some too. Pastor Greg came and the next day Pastor Mark who again really helped me feel better.
I started to become sick every time I used the morphine. Rick realized it was the morphine, and requested alternate pain medication to see if the vomiting would stop. He was able to get them to change the medication to demerol, and the illness stopped. Great being married to a scientist. So I was finally able to eat solid foods again, which was a condition of going home.
I was dizzy walking again, and trying to do this was terribly painful. I got used to it, and the nurses were amazed at how fast I started to recover. My sister called on the phone everyday, and this day she called and asked it I had "hospital hair". I sure did, and she asked me if I'd taked a shower yet. Nope. She told me the story about her hysterectomy, also abdominal (seems to run in the family) where she was determined to take a shower the next day, and did so even though she had to sit on the floor of the shower (or something like this, I was pretty doped up still). I decided if she could do it, so could I because I felt like h__l. I was pretty proud when I was able to do this.
Discharge occured four days post surgery, and I've never been happier to see my home, and my son Ricky (Em was at church camp). Ricky was stellar on Friday, staying with me and doing everything I asked. This really helped me not have so much pain, and he even monitored my meds to make sure I was on the right stuff, and this was important since I was so dopey. He made and awsome peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch too. Hugging him was the best thing I'd experienced since surgery.
Neighbors came by with flowers, and my friend Mary made dinner for us on Friday, which also fed us on Saturday. Diane and Jo called to see how I was and I so appreciated this. I now know how blessed I am for all of the good people in my life.
Anyway, if anyone ever needs help with this, please feel free to ask. I don't want anyone going through this. Please make sure if you have any pain in your lower abdomen or lower back or both you see your ob-gyn right away. Don't wait like I did.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Panama City Beach Vacation
We are back from our vacation at Panama City Beach Sunspree resort. It was a wonderful vacation, we even saw another family we knew who have been coming to this resort for the last fourteen years as they like it so much.
Our deep sea fishing excursion was awesome. I actually caught some fish! Two big trigger fish (fudpuckers is Florida-speak)that I was barely able to reel in, and the first was so big Rick had to help me hold the pole or I would have lost the thing. Rick caught a big Red Snapper. The kids caught 5 red snapper between them, Ricky 3 and Emily 2, but had to throw them back since they weren't long enough.
I'll put more pictures on later this week.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Panama City Beach Vacation Update
It's Tuesday afternoon, our third day at the Holiday Inn Sunspree resort in Panama City Beach. We are having very good weather so far, and the resort is wonderful for families. The Beach has very white fine sand, and we've only seen one jellyfish in the three days we've been here. The waves are perfect for surfing on boogie boards, but snorkeling it's a bit rough although the water is perfectly clear. We've done a ton of swimming in both the ocean and the pool. Yesterday we all went parasailing, a first for the kids. The view was magnificent, we were up pretty high and it was also really nice to get out on a boat for awhile.
So far we've been to some interesting "restaurants". The first the boys insisted we go to due to the name itself "Dirty Dick's Crab Shack". It was actually great food, and the atmosphere was pretty much what you'd expect from the name.
Last night it was Pineapple Willy's where we ate out on a pier over the water and watched the sun go down. Really nice atmosphere, and the best Jack Daniel's ribs Rick and I think we've ever had.
Tomorrow is deep sea fishing. If you want a great family resort this is it. There is also a real time pool cam and resort cam if you'd like to see where we are. Just go to google and check for Sunpree resorts, then click on Panama City Beach.
So far we've been to some interesting "restaurants". The first the boys insisted we go to due to the name itself "Dirty Dick's Crab Shack". It was actually great food, and the atmosphere was pretty much what you'd expect from the name.
Last night it was Pineapple Willy's where we ate out on a pier over the water and watched the sun go down. Really nice atmosphere, and the best Jack Daniel's ribs Rick and I think we've ever had.
Tomorrow is deep sea fishing. If you want a great family resort this is it. There is also a real time pool cam and resort cam if you'd like to see where we are. Just go to google and check for Sunpree resorts, then click on Panama City Beach.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Outta my mind...
Hello all of my blogger friends! I'll be gone next week the 8th through the 15th, and will try to post how our trip is going to Panama City Beach. I'm outta my mind with packing and kids and dogs and things.
I've changed the domain name of my pro blog to http://biotechfiles.com
since the other name is trademarked by an NPR show. They called to see if we could change it, then interviewed me about my content. It was pretty cool.
Check out the blog, I plan on using it in my biology classes in the fall.
Have a lovely week!
I've changed the domain name of my pro blog to http://biotechfiles.com
since the other name is trademarked by an NPR show. They called to see if we could change it, then interviewed me about my content. It was pretty cool.
Check out the blog, I plan on using it in my biology classes in the fall.
Have a lovely week!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Can You Really "Walk Off" Depression?
My friend Mary and I were walking at the OHS track yesterday, and as usual, after I came home I felt much more content and less stressed than before I went. So I started wondering if there was a direct application to depression for talking a good long walk multiple times a week. We call these walks our "Mental Health" sessions, so it might be that the talking is more helpful than the walking. Since I didn't have a clue I did a little research.
- Recent research involving people aged 24 to 45 showed that a half-hour's exercise (including brisk walking) three to five times a week has the same (or better) effect on depression than prescription drugs by regularly reducing symptoms by 50%.
- Meditation also seems to work. Richard Davidson, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had Tibetan monks meditate on "unconditional-loving kindness and compassion". An unusual pattern of gamma brain waves resulted, suggesting the production of dopamine was occurring. This is the chemical that is typically lacking in depressive people.
So then, my right brain asked, is depression at such a high level these days due to couch potato inactivity and watching depressive or violent TV? And my left brain answered, perhaps in past generations more people worked longer and harder at home, on farms, and at other occupations. This would preclude a lot of TV watching, and exercise the body. There also didn't used to be much direct bloody violence on TV until the last 15 years or so.
That's my hypothesis anyway. If you want to join in our mental health walking sessions, we meet at OHS track at 8 a.m. Mon, Wed and Fri. I'll be out of it for a few weeks tho, we're on vacation next week and I'm having surgery (girl stuff) on the 16th of June. Happy walking and talking.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Emily's Fender Bender
There are some really nice people in this city. Yesterday, Emily had her first fender bender. She was turning off of the exit ramp from I-44 onto 141, and the person in front of her on the exit ramp stopped suddenly. She had been doing a quick head check to the left and hit him. The guy got out and so did I. He was so nice, he saw she was a young kid, and I told him she was learning. He told me he had a teenage girl too, and she had done the same thing last year. Anyway, luckily we hit his trailer hitch, and there was no damage to his truck. The guy was very nice about it, didn't get upset at all and was very understanding. Poor Emily was in tears and had to stop driving for awhile. My poor little van didn't fare as well as the truck, but fortunately it is just a little ding in the bumper. It's ok tho. I'm keeping that thing until it starts falling apart and I can go on "Pimp My Ride" (my ultimate dream is a teacher van with a xerox machine, computer, and lab all inside. Oh, and don't forget the plasma t.v.) I also need pimp lights on the wheels and the undercarriage. Talk about complete fulfillment in life. That would be it for me.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Best Father's Day Gift Ideas
Ok, it's time to give equal time to the dads out there. After polling a total of four dads, here are the most requested items I was able to pry out of them.
I also think most Dad's appreciate just a whole day to do whatever they want. At least, that's what I like about Mother's Day. My family takes me out to dinner, and generally I don't have much that I have to do that day. Nice homemade cards are wonderful too.
Next week we are not terribly busy, but the week after we'll be in Panama City. I can hardly wait to just hang out on the beach. I'm finally starting to relax after school being out. Have a good day, and keep living the dream!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Mehlville School District Budget Cuts
Last week, many of our high school teachers had a meeting with the superintendent of the Mehlville School District, Mr. Terry Noble, in an attempt to help our teachers understand why we once again had a frozen pay scale. I say "again" because in the last 10 years pay has been frozen multiple times, and teachers have lost their yearly step sometimes more than one in a given year. This "step" is a small pay increase intended to recognize years of service and help with cost of living. Interestingly, several of our teachers spoke out about how it could be possible to be a teacher in the district for 29 to 30 years and never reach the end of the step schedule (about 16 - 17 years depending upon how the board decides to mess with our salary schedule for that year). This should have put these teachers at what is called a longevity step L1 or L2 and would include a 500 dollar pay increase every year. Mr. Noble was surprised to find out that since these teachers had lost a total of 9 years in steps and pay, that they had yet to reach longevity. One of our teachers mentioned she's have to probably work until she died to reach longevity in this school district. We'll see what the fall-out is from this. I hope we can trust Mr. Noble to do something about this unfair practice of messing with our years of service on our pay scale.
We are all bothered that when the time came to cut budgets, cuts were first made to academic programs like tutoring and textbooks, as well as freezing teacher salaries. I asked why we don't cut freshman sports and other non-academic programs, as well as transportation since we clearly cannot afford to transport kids, especially since the price of gas has gone through the roof. In my opinion, cutting academics first is a terrible policy, and I'm still trying to understand why it is better to have little Johnny have his freshman football paid for instead of a great teacher and a new textbook, along with the tutoring he'll need to be successful in school. The response is somewhat understandable, given the history (or histrionics) of the past actions of our school district. The idea is that the district threatened to remove busing and multiple programs several years ago, and then stupidly reinstated them. Now the community doesn't trust us when we say we are out of money, and this time we are truly in a budget crisis. This threat and don't deliver angered the community, and so the idea now is to not do anything to anger the community, like taking away things to balance the budget. So instead, the district has decided to anger the teachers and lower moral by freezing salaries. I guess we are viewing this as the lesser of two evils? The cuts are actually things that the public really doesn't see. They don't see that I'm teaching with a book that is so old, that I have to write extra material to have my students be able to learn how to understand and work in the field of biotechnology (pretty common now, not 15 years ago). They don't see my cabinets falling apart, and the student desk tops cracking and not being replaced year after year. They don't see my room so full at the start of the year that I literally have no place to sit students. According to the state, my room size is inadequate for doing labs, and this applies to most of our science rooms. They don't see our teachers struggling to make bills and having to take second jobs to do so. They don't see the mass exodus of teachers who are just tired of waiting for a decent raise. But they do come for football games, and they do rely on busses to get their kids to school. Still, it's hard to continue to see the district balancing the budget on the backs of its teachers once again.
This is the only district I've known that bases it's future teacher pay on how many teachers are retiring. It is an ignorant practice, since you cannot predict how many teachers in any given year will retire, and therefore have no idea how you are going to continue to give your professional staff even small cost of living increases to keep them happy and on the job. Hopefully Mr. Noble will work with Mr. Bell to find a more acceptable method of funding our salaries. He seemed very concerned about this and I hope this also changes soon.
I'd love to hear from you as to what you think of this and in particular, what you think the district should cut back on to balance it's budget at this time. It's really important for our community to decide where these cuts will come from in the future, as we will be going for a ballot initiative in November to extend the debt on our district bonds, and free up money for salaries, textbook and tutoring for the next year. If this doesn't happen, and other ballot initiatives don't pass, then get ready for huge cuts. Please leave a comment with your ideas. This helps me when I meet with people in the NEA and CO. Thanks!
We are all bothered that when the time came to cut budgets, cuts were first made to academic programs like tutoring and textbooks, as well as freezing teacher salaries. I asked why we don't cut freshman sports and other non-academic programs, as well as transportation since we clearly cannot afford to transport kids, especially since the price of gas has gone through the roof. In my opinion, cutting academics first is a terrible policy, and I'm still trying to understand why it is better to have little Johnny have his freshman football paid for instead of a great teacher and a new textbook, along with the tutoring he'll need to be successful in school. The response is somewhat understandable, given the history (or histrionics) of the past actions of our school district. The idea is that the district threatened to remove busing and multiple programs several years ago, and then stupidly reinstated them. Now the community doesn't trust us when we say we are out of money, and this time we are truly in a budget crisis. This threat and don't deliver angered the community, and so the idea now is to not do anything to anger the community, like taking away things to balance the budget. So instead, the district has decided to anger the teachers and lower moral by freezing salaries. I guess we are viewing this as the lesser of two evils? The cuts are actually things that the public really doesn't see. They don't see that I'm teaching with a book that is so old, that I have to write extra material to have my students be able to learn how to understand and work in the field of biotechnology (pretty common now, not 15 years ago). They don't see my cabinets falling apart, and the student desk tops cracking and not being replaced year after year. They don't see my room so full at the start of the year that I literally have no place to sit students. According to the state, my room size is inadequate for doing labs, and this applies to most of our science rooms. They don't see our teachers struggling to make bills and having to take second jobs to do so. They don't see the mass exodus of teachers who are just tired of waiting for a decent raise. But they do come for football games, and they do rely on busses to get their kids to school. Still, it's hard to continue to see the district balancing the budget on the backs of its teachers once again.
This is the only district I've known that bases it's future teacher pay on how many teachers are retiring. It is an ignorant practice, since you cannot predict how many teachers in any given year will retire, and therefore have no idea how you are going to continue to give your professional staff even small cost of living increases to keep them happy and on the job. Hopefully Mr. Noble will work with Mr. Bell to find a more acceptable method of funding our salaries. He seemed very concerned about this and I hope this also changes soon.
I'd love to hear from you as to what you think of this and in particular, what you think the district should cut back on to balance it's budget at this time. It's really important for our community to decide where these cuts will come from in the future, as we will be going for a ballot initiative in November to extend the debt on our district bonds, and free up money for salaries, textbook and tutoring for the next year. If this doesn't happen, and other ballot initiatives don't pass, then get ready for huge cuts. Please leave a comment with your ideas. This helps me when I meet with people in the NEA and CO. Thanks!
Friday, May 23, 2008
My Favorite Books
My friend Mary Kay emails me now and then about books she's read that she thinks are great. I was thinking that since I read constantly that it might be fun to make a short list of my favorite books and why I like them. I've just started by including three favorites here, along with the author's names so you can also look at other books by these authors.
- My favorite author over the past few years is Dean Koontz
and the whole Odd Thomas series of books. Odd Thomas is the name of the first book, and is actually the name of the main character. Odd has some psychic abilities that lead him on some awesome adventures and murder mysteries. He is a short order cook because he needed to have a job that would give him a simple life as his internal life is anything but. The characters are real and engaging, and the suspense makes it hard to put any of these down. The four books are Odd Thomas
- Reading any book by Stephen King has to be a fun time, especially for summer reading. Dave Meador, a colleague at OHS told me about an older book called BLAZE
- My favorite book that I read this school year I have shared with multiple people, like Kathy Hayes our librarian at OHS. We all loved this book, The Spellman Files
I hope you all try these and enjoy your summer reading. School's out, and this is all I want to do now.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Ricky's Book of Poetry
In Ricky's language class, the kids each had to write their own book of poetry as a project. They were to write using different styles of poetry. I just had to share some of his poems.
Tacos
Tacos, they taste so good
Some taste like wood
But really, I don't care
I'm glad they're not underwear.
Oil
I hate oil so much
It gets us in such a fuss
We'll get out of this scare
If our cars ran on air.
My dog
My dog is way too fat
He can actually wear a hat.
It makes me really sad to say,
I think he gains ten pounds a day.
Danny DiVito does his dirty laundry during doomsday.
During doomsday Danny drove Danielle to Don's.
Don asked Danielle "did Dave die of diarrhea?"
Danielle described Dave a just disoriented.
There are more, but you get the idea. I wonder what his teacher thought while grading these?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Motivation for Teachers: Part 2 of a Series
What motivates teachers? Teachers in general tend to be individuals who care deeply about kids. For a good working environment, teachers need a community that supports them in the hard work that goes into producing educated students ready for success in the real world. Teachers also need supportive administration willing to help them work through any difficult issues that arise. Our salaries are a motivating factor also, and in the real world a very important one. Teachers are professionals who deserve to be treated as such, and that includes pay.
This is a second email I received at work from another teacher concerning the financial state of the Mehlville School District. For those of you who are unaware, our district is facing a serious financial crisis. The district has chosen to make cuts and balance the budget by freezing teacher salaries. Obviously, moral is now low, and teachers are questioning whether or not the community supports us at all. Here is an email response of one OHS teacher to his union president who urged us to vote for having our salaries frozen.
"Thank you Christine for keeping us informed.
This is a second email I received at work from another teacher concerning the financial state of the Mehlville School District. For those of you who are unaware, our district is facing a serious financial crisis. The district has chosen to make cuts and balance the budget by freezing teacher salaries. Obviously, moral is now low, and teachers are questioning whether or not the community supports us at all. Here is an email response of one OHS teacher to his union president who urged us to vote for having our salaries frozen.
"Thank you Christine for keeping us informed.
Of the many things in the email that struck me, I only wanted to comment on one. XXX(union president) stated, " The majority has learned something from the threats Dr. Ricker made which got us nowhere except farther behind. " As a teacher and a parent, I have learned that threats are a useless tool if they are not followed with action. If I tell my child that if he jumps on the bed one more time, he will have to sit in the corner, and then if he jumps, and I do not make him sit, he will lose respect for me, and more importantly, he will learn that he can get away with anything. As a parent in this district, I have learned not to believe what the district states it will cut because of its idle threats made in the past. As a teacher in the district, I have learned not to believe the promise that better packages may come along in the future because after over seven years teaching in the district, my salary is still one of the lowest in the county. The 6 percent raise I received last year did not make up the dropped step a few years ago. If this package is accepted, is the district going to make sure that I will get my lost step in the future?
My children go to school in the district, and I want the best for them, and I am tired of great staff leaving because of better pay and benefits in another district. We have a great staff, and I want them to stay here and not have the exodus like we had when I first arrived where we lost seven English teachers to different districts in three years.
I voted no because I don't feel that teachers salaries should be the first thing cut in a financial crisis. Not only does that hurt in the short term with staff moral, but also in the long term as staff leave, and as a single parent and a teacher, I want the best for my kids and the best for my students. I was told that we have the board and the administration on our side. Is my union? "
As you can see, there is much frustration in our teaching staff. We love working here, but the pay is so horrible, people leave after they learn the ropes, and so our investment into young teachers is lost as they move to other districts with higher pay (9 -10,000 dollars more on average). I'll post another issue tomorrow.
Fortunately, summer is almost here. I've started listening to audiobooks when working. If you have an ipod, check out the audiobooks site:
Summer Listening. Audiobooks for your iPod. Download now on iTunes.As you can see, there is much frustration in our teaching staff. We love working here, but the pay is so horrible, people leave after they learn the ropes, and so our investment into young teachers is lost as they move to other districts with higher pay (9 -10,000 dollars more on average). I'll post another issue tomorrow.
Fortunately, summer is almost here. I've started listening to audiobooks when working. If you have an ipod, check out the audiobooks site:
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Mehlville Teacher Stories Part 1
Readers,
Teachers at my school have had a long email thread going this week communicating with each other concerning our dismal state of financial affairs. I think it is important that that the community be made aware of some of these stories to be able to understand our situation with the most information and data possible. The post below is from a teacher who has been at Oakville High School for many years. I have removed names from these emails to make sure that our colleagues privacy is protected. Please read and pass on.
You are probably surprised to hear from me since I rarely join in the brouhaha through email, but I have to agree with xxxxx and the others when it comes to the issue of the lack of follow-through in our district. How many times can you cry wolf? Threats are not effective unless they are carried out. And are they really threats? Aren't they simply statements of fact? We do not have the money to transport every child in the district. We cannot fund all sports. We cannot fund EDEP contracts for clubs and organizations. If that is true, then follow through and show the community that we will make the cuts necessary to make ends meet.
There is a reason that I live in the Lindbergh district. As a community, we support our schools and teachers. When my two sons were in middle school and high school, a tax levy was presented with the warning that specific cuts would be made if the levy did not pass. Sure enough, the levy failed. As a result, there was no bus transportation for students living within a two mile radius of school. All sports teams for freshmen were cut. Teachers did not stay after school to help students, working to contract only. (Some of us remember when we worked to contract here. I almost died having to wait til 7:00 to walk in the front door! Yes, I'm here at 6:00!) When the tax levy reappeared on the ballot in the spring.....GOLLY GEE! It passed with flying colors!!! All services were reinstated, and Lindbergh continued on its merry way.
I have been in this district a looooong time, and nothing ever changes. We present a happy face to the community, and the community says, "See? They don't need any money. They make do with what they have. Teachers got 6% last year. Why do they deserve more?" Have they seen how many years my salary has been frozen? Have they paid attention when steps have been added, making me work longer to reach the top? Do they know we have no cost-of-living increase? What about the year I got a raise of a whole $100 for the year and administrators got 3-6%? I don't want to mention how many years my take-home pay has been less than the year before. There are those of you in the building (and district) who have experienced the same thing.
Those of us who voted "no" Monday afternoon are aware that our vote doesn't matter in the long run. However, we needed to have a voice. The offer is not acceptable. We are tired of taking the brunt of every cut. Start making the other cuts we have threatened repeatedly, and maybe the community will notice. Putting on a happy face and carrying the load on our shoulders every year certainly hasn't worked.
Oakville Senior High School
I'll be posting more of these day by day...Keep reading and pass on the link to the blog to your friends.
Teachers at my school have had a long email thread going this week communicating with each other concerning our dismal state of financial affairs. I think it is important that that the community be made aware of some of these stories to be able to understand our situation with the most information and data possible. The post below is from a teacher who has been at Oakville High School for many years. I have removed names from these emails to make sure that our colleagues privacy is protected. Please read and pass on.
You are probably surprised to hear from me since I rarely join in the brouhaha through email, but I have to agree with xxxxx and the others when it comes to the issue of the lack of follow-through in our district. How many times can you cry wolf? Threats are not effective unless they are carried out. And are they really threats? Aren't they simply statements of fact? We do not have the money to transport every child in the district. We cannot fund all sports. We cannot fund EDEP contracts for clubs and organizations. If that is true, then follow through and show the community that we will make the cuts necessary to make ends meet.
There is a reason that I live in the Lindbergh district. As a community, we support our schools and teachers. When my two sons were in middle school and high school, a tax levy was presented with the warning that specific cuts would be made if the levy did not pass. Sure enough, the levy failed. As a result, there was no bus transportation for students living within a two mile radius of school. All sports teams for freshmen were cut. Teachers did not stay after school to help students, working to contract only. (Some of us remember when we worked to contract here. I almost died having to wait til 7:00 to walk in the front door! Yes, I'm here at 6:00!) When the tax levy reappeared on the ballot in the spring.....GOLLY GEE! It passed with flying colors!!! All services were reinstated, and Lindbergh continued on its merry way.
I have been in this district a looooong time, and nothing ever changes. We present a happy face to the community, and the community says, "See? They don't need any money. They make do with what they have. Teachers got 6% last year. Why do they deserve more?" Have they seen how many years my salary has been frozen? Have they paid attention when steps have been added, making me work longer to reach the top? Do they know we have no cost-of-living increase? What about the year I got a raise of a whole $100 for the year and administrators got 3-6%? I don't want to mention how many years my take-home pay has been less than the year before. There are those of you in the building (and district) who have experienced the same thing.
Those of us who voted "no" Monday afternoon are aware that our vote doesn't matter in the long run. However, we needed to have a voice. The offer is not acceptable. We are tired of taking the brunt of every cut. Start making the other cuts we have threatened repeatedly, and maybe the community will notice. Putting on a happy face and carrying the load on our shoulders every year certainly hasn't worked.
Oakville Senior High School
I'll be posting more of these day by day...Keep reading and pass on the link to the blog to your friends.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
My Favorite Music
I've put together a widget below from Amazon that contains my favorite music. Some of it will date me, but I don't care, I love this stuff and I've downloaded them onto my MP3 player. Amazon let me pick each one and you can click through and listen. You can also download any you like for 93 cents each (or something like that). Let me know if these are favorites too, or if you'd like me to add a song you like. :-)
Student Use of the English Language
It is the end of the school year again, and as usual, I've about had it with the horrendous spelling and inability to properly use the English language. There are days when I am grading papers where I cannot read most of what has been written because penmanship is so terrible. There are some particular pet peeves of mine that I see every year with student use of the English language. Here is a list:
1. Sixty percent of my students misspell the word "separate" as "seperate". I correct this on their lab reports, homework and tests multiple times in the year, and a few learn, but most simply ignore it.
2. The phrase "could have" or "should have" or "might have" are written as "could of", "should of" and "might of". This makes no sense, but totally escapes the notice of my students, no matter how many times I correct this.
3. Can you tell why this one is irritating? "Dr. Mehigh, can I axe you somethin?"
4. Student writing: "There was alot of liquid in the beaker." "A lot" is two words.
5. Student lab report: "There weren't no equiptment in my drawer so I slept." (God help us all.)
6. Interchange one of these for any other no matter what is being written and you will understand why I have a headache after school. "Their, There, They're". The most frequent problem is to write "there" for "they're".
7. Mixing singulars and plurals. "The largest problems, which we all had, was that...".
8. The use of a general pronoun to describe a specific item. "It was hot, but they were not properly stored." What is "it"? What is "they"? I mark more answers wrong for this than any other reason.
9. "The cell swole up and became heightened". Cells do swell up, but they don't grow taller, they grow larger.
10. Interchange one of these for any other: "Two, to, too". "My lab partner got the same result to." To where? To what? Huh?
Some days I sit and dream about throwing all of the student papers I am grading into the trash, and picking up a nice novel. I wonder, do the students who routinely write and speak this way have parents guilty of the same? What have you noticed?
Prayers for Maria Garcia, senior OHS, who was in a bad car accident going home from the Monday night band concert. She was hit by a truck and broke her hip. She's pretty banged up and needed surgery today. I heard she is at St. John's but I am not certain. Poor kid won't even get to go to her own graduation.
1. Sixty percent of my students misspell the word "separate" as "seperate". I correct this on their lab reports, homework and tests multiple times in the year, and a few learn, but most simply ignore it.
2. The phrase "could have" or "should have" or "might have" are written as "could of", "should of" and "might of". This makes no sense, but totally escapes the notice of my students, no matter how many times I correct this.
3. Can you tell why this one is irritating? "Dr. Mehigh, can I axe you somethin?"
4. Student writing: "There was alot of liquid in the beaker." "A lot" is two words.
5. Student lab report: "There weren't no equiptment in my drawer so I slept." (God help us all.)
6. Interchange one of these for any other no matter what is being written and you will understand why I have a headache after school. "Their, There, They're". The most frequent problem is to write "there" for "they're".
7. Mixing singulars and plurals. "The largest problems, which we all had, was that...".
8. The use of a general pronoun to describe a specific item. "It was hot, but they were not properly stored." What is "it"? What is "they"? I mark more answers wrong for this than any other reason.
9. "The cell swole up and became heightened". Cells do swell up, but they don't grow taller, they grow larger.
10. Interchange one of these for any other: "Two, to, too". "My lab partner got the same result to." To where? To what? Huh?
Some days I sit and dream about throwing all of the student papers I am grading into the trash, and picking up a nice novel. I wonder, do the students who routinely write and speak this way have parents guilty of the same? What have you noticed?
Prayers for Maria Garcia, senior OHS, who was in a bad car accident going home from the Monday night band concert. She was hit by a truck and broke her hip. She's pretty banged up and needed surgery today. I heard she is at St. John's but I am not certain. Poor kid won't even get to go to her own graduation.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Great Mother's Day Gift and More!
Friday, I had to go to the school nurse, Pam Frederich, who is awesome by the way so I could get some throat lozenges. She told me that many people were feeling the way I was starting to feel. Tired, sore throat, headache. During 7th block, I actually started to fall, caught myself on the desk and sat down. Like an idiot, I kept teaching. I think now I already had a fever, but was not realizing it. I couldn't figure out I needed to go home. Yesterday, I went to the Walgreen's clinic, found out I had a fever and a sinus infection. I pretty much slept the rest of the day. I'm feeling a bit better today, so I think we can go out for mother's day.
Rick was very thoughtful and bought me a gift certificate for a 90 minute Swedish massage package at Scandals. I know I was keeping him around for something. Ha.
I hope everyone read the St. Louis Post Dispatch article on the Mehlville School District finances. It is on the front page of the Metro section today. They got everything right except for two things. One, Brent Bell was not the only official who messed up on our finances. Another individual who is a superintendent seems to also have been responsible. It is unclear how involved he was in the financial decisions, but somehow since Chambers was only half time, it seems like he may have had a hand in this. Also, our teachers have not had the raises stated in the paper the last few years. Check out the department of elementary and secondary education website for the State of Missouri for the real stats.
Visit my website http://thednafiles.org. I've been asked to be a guest science writer for the Dog DNA company website. I'm so excited. I sure need a second job. I'll be making a post sometime in the next few days on Doggie DNA testing, so keep a lookout. Everyone who knows us knows how fond we are of doggies. :-)
Rick was very thoughtful and bought me a gift certificate for a 90 minute Swedish massage package at Scandals. I know I was keeping him around for something. Ha.
I hope everyone read the St. Louis Post Dispatch article on the Mehlville School District finances. It is on the front page of the Metro section today. They got everything right except for two things. One, Brent Bell was not the only official who messed up on our finances. Another individual who is a superintendent seems to also have been responsible. It is unclear how involved he was in the financial decisions, but somehow since Chambers was only half time, it seems like he may have had a hand in this. Also, our teachers have not had the raises stated in the paper the last few years. Check out the department of elementary and secondary education website for the State of Missouri for the real stats.
Visit my website http://thednafiles.org. I've been asked to be a guest science writer for the Dog DNA company website. I'm so excited. I sure need a second job. I'll be making a post sometime in the next few days on Doggie DNA testing, so keep a lookout. Everyone who knows us knows how fond we are of doggies. :-)
Thursday, May 8, 2008
High School Teachers
Our high school teachers are some of the best people I know, who as a group work very hard to teach our kids so they will gain the knowledge and strategies to be successful in their lives.
That said, there are some things that are producing some low moral for our high school teachers at this time. Obviously, we are being asked to again take no raise, and in fact, we will have less take-home pay since our retirement system is taking another half percent out of our paychecks (not that we have a choice). Factoring in the cost of living, some of our business teachers have discovered that our Oakville high school teachers are actually making $3000 dollars less now than we were in 1976. Yesterday, we received an email from our superintendent about how this is teacher appreciation week and how much he appreciates us. Then we go and hear at our NEA negotiations package presentation meeting that we are not getting anything for next year. What a disconnect. Of course, this doesn't mean our administrators are not getting a raise. Our NEA president at yesterday's meeting made it clear that our super will be getting a nice raise for each of the next two years, since it is in his contract. It might be a show of good faith for him not to take the raise, but he hasn't said anything.
People keep writing into the Call about how overpaid we are, and how we got this huge six percent raise last year. There is no understanding that last year's raise doesn't even begin to make up for having little to no raises for the five years prior. With this year added in, it's around one percent a year, but since we didn't get the money till last year, it is actually less since we were not able to save or invest. We are all sick of this. It is hard to keep dealing in a fair way with kids who refuse to behave, call you names, throw things at you, threaten you, and then to realize that your community doesn't care about how hard you are trying to help these kids. High School Teachers are professionals, and deserve to be treated this way. I hope it happens in this district soon.
That said, there are some things that are producing some low moral for our high school teachers at this time. Obviously, we are being asked to again take no raise, and in fact, we will have less take-home pay since our retirement system is taking another half percent out of our paychecks (not that we have a choice). Factoring in the cost of living, some of our business teachers have discovered that our Oakville high school teachers are actually making $3000 dollars less now than we were in 1976. Yesterday, we received an email from our superintendent about how this is teacher appreciation week and how much he appreciates us. Then we go and hear at our NEA negotiations package presentation meeting that we are not getting anything for next year. What a disconnect. Of course, this doesn't mean our administrators are not getting a raise. Our NEA president at yesterday's meeting made it clear that our super will be getting a nice raise for each of the next two years, since it is in his contract. It might be a show of good faith for him not to take the raise, but he hasn't said anything.
People keep writing into the Call about how overpaid we are, and how we got this huge six percent raise last year. There is no understanding that last year's raise doesn't even begin to make up for having little to no raises for the five years prior. With this year added in, it's around one percent a year, but since we didn't get the money till last year, it is actually less since we were not able to save or invest. We are all sick of this. It is hard to keep dealing in a fair way with kids who refuse to behave, call you names, throw things at you, threaten you, and then to realize that your community doesn't care about how hard you are trying to help these kids. High School Teachers are professionals, and deserve to be treated this way. I hope it happens in this district soon.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mother's Day Gift Ideas
Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 11, and if you are like most people, you have a hard time thinking of the perfect gift for your mom.
Here's a list mother's day gift ideas of what I want.
1. A clean house
2. A toilet that flushes without help
3. A dog who doesn't scratch himself constantly
4. A hot air balloon so my son will stop bugging me about it
5. A visit from my family but not for too long, and I don't wanna hafta clean beforehand
6. A hug and a kiss from each kid
7. Dinner without having to cook, preferably go out
8. A nice day that my family can spend together outside having fun
9. Laundry that magically does itself
10. My dogs to eat all the homework I'm supposed to grade.
Not your idea of mother's day gift ideas? Here are some others that I and my friends would like. Click on the pics for more info.
1. Comfy stuff, this is my favorite idea.
2. A Unique Bouquet is always welcome.
3. ANY and I mean ANY Jewelry is always a hit with me.
4. This one is a sure winner for me or anyone. When in doubt, go for comfort!
5. For a Mother's Day Gift Idea for a Sister, Mom or Friend, you can get these personalized with your names.
6. The best mother's day gift idea of all. Peace and quiet.
I hope your mother's day is wonderful and PEACEFUL. Rick actually thought ahead and made a reservation for us to go to the Lemp mansion for dinner (my favorite place).
Here's a list mother's day gift ideas of what I want.
1. A clean house
2. A toilet that flushes without help
3. A dog who doesn't scratch himself constantly
4. A hot air balloon so my son will stop bugging me about it
5. A visit from my family but not for too long, and I don't wanna hafta clean beforehand
6. A hug and a kiss from each kid
7. Dinner without having to cook, preferably go out
8. A nice day that my family can spend together outside having fun
9. Laundry that magically does itself
10. My dogs to eat all the homework I'm supposed to grade.
Not your idea of mother's day gift ideas? Here are some others that I and my friends would like. Click on the pics for more info.
1. Comfy stuff, this is my favorite idea.
2. A Unique Bouquet is always welcome.
3. ANY and I mean ANY Jewelry is always a hit with me.
4. This one is a sure winner for me or anyone. When in doubt, go for comfort!
5. For a Mother's Day Gift Idea for a Sister, Mom or Friend, you can get these personalized with your names.
6. The best mother's day gift idea of all. Peace and quiet.
I hope your mother's day is wonderful and PEACEFUL. Rick actually thought ahead and made a reservation for us to go to the Lemp mansion for dinner (my favorite place).
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