Category Archives: distraction issues

The Road to 65, Mile 322: Course Corrections

6
Posted by on in collaborating, distraction issues, Education, impediments

October 15, 2015, Chino Valley-  We sat together, at the end of the day, and of the week.  The kids and I agreed that there was too much varied content thrown onto one page of the textbook publisher’s worksheet on perimeters.  We humans don’t, generally, speaking, absorb more than one mental skill at a time.  I will make the necessary adjustment in the lessons, next week.

I knew it would not be long, before I felt like taking the pre-fabricated material, and, like the late Richard Mulligan, in “Teachers”, open the classroom window and toss the useless book out.  I won’t go that far.  The taxpayers’ sensibilities matter greatly, after all.  One of the tenets of good teaching, however, is “monitor and adjust.” I am big on mastery, and will do whatever it takes to bring this about, for as many of the people with whom I work, as possible.

We, as a profession, are under a lot of pressure to provide ready answers to the question of “Why are our students falling behind, in the Great Global Rat Race?”  I have a few, tentative answers to that, which will not make the Testing Industry, or its political sponsors, very happy.  One, which I still remember, from having worked with Korean teachers of English, several years ago, is that many nations’ educational programs are focused on teaching one skill at a time.  That used to be the case here, when I was in school.

Now, however, I see a tendency to throw many concepts and skills together, so as to “hurry up and catch up”, with a perceived Global Mass of superlearners.  Grandma said “Haste makes waste”, and that is painfully obvious, looking in the faces of my still-trusting little ones.  We have to go back and look hard at the most basic level of the skill expected of them- and, yes, they will get it, and extrapolate the rest, one piece at a time- in time for the Great April Acid Test, which the state, in its wisdom, has cast upon us.

The journey of a thousand miles still needs that single step.

The Road to 65, Mile 315: Crowded Out, In An Empty Room

4
Posted by on in American Legion, collaborating, distraction issues, impediments, Personal Values

October 8, 2015, Prescott- I opted to attend a monthly meeting of the American Legion, this evening, rather than go to another gathering.  As it happened, that was not the best use of my time.  Although I will remain a member of the Legion, and the local post, so as to maintain ties with trusted friends, circumstances have changed.  I am not a member of the inner circle, and so when trying to humbly offer a correction at tonight’s meeting, I was upbraided.  Though my concern was addressed a short time later, it was made clear that “he”, meaning me, was regarded as a nuisance by the leadership.

Thus, tonight’s was my last meeting.  Disorganization is something through which any of us ought to be able to work, but when the disorganized are arrogant and full of themselves, to protest is folly. I find it is far more advantageous for me to use my time towards the building of a solid community foundation.  The alternatives on Thursday night are Baha’i activities and encouraging one or both of the secular friends to whom I alluded in the last post.

There were few people at tonight’s meeting.  From here on, there will be one less.

The Road to 65, Mile 312: Diligence

10
Posted by on in collaborating, distraction issues, Education

October 5, 2015, Prescott- Instead of going to a different part of the state for a few days, I am staying in our county and tending to matters both expected and unexpected.  One of the latter is a legal issue, not involving me too directly, at this point.  By doing some editing of this blog site and a few other adjustments, I will keep from being dragged too deeply into it.

I have also made flight arrangements for my visit back East, in December. This, I was able to do rather economically.  That was not always the case, but I have learned much, in the past six years.

Then, there are the preparations for my two-month- and- maybe- longer, stint at the small school where I worked several days, the past two weeks. I will need to spend Friday there, if I can get access, during this vacation week.  As it is, I have a plan for the first few days back, so that’s something.

Life requires diligence, whether at work or at leisure.  There is always some aspect that is beyond fun and games.  Having said this, tomorrow will be a day for hiking in Sedona.

The Road to 65, Mile 309: The Sardine Can

6
Posted by on in distraction issues, Education, impediments

October 2, 2015, Prescott-  It seems that some school administrators regard placing large numbers of unsettled people into a classroom, late in the day, as a necessary test of the mettle of classroom teachers.  I disagree.  The classroom is a place of learning, not an arena for adult machismo.

I have yet to meet any child, either adolescent or younger, who truly enjoys being stuffed into a sardine can of a room, regardless of how much he or she seems to get a bang out of causing a disturbance that throws the learning exercise off track. It’s human nature to strive for improvement, just as it’s human nature to strike out at being treated like an afterthought.

These thoughts come to mind, after a particularly difficult end to a generally good day. Dealing with people who were jabbing one another with sharp pens and pencils, and yelling over the soundtrack of a video on a totalitarian State is not my idea of paradise, and truth be known, it is not something I will have to do again, any time soon.  First, the Principal of the school has hired more teachers to reduce the class sizes, and after Fall Break, the school promises to be a more equitable place.  Secondly, I will have only Fridays to offer my services there, as a more permanent job will occupy me, the first four days of the workweek.

My point remains, however, that the only way people, of any age, are going to learn is if those devising the system of learning regard their charges as worthy of the same respect they demand for themselves.  By this, I mean deep learning- not just the cognitive command of facts and data.

The Road to 65, Mile 294: Battles

2
Posted by on in distraction issues, Inner Struggles

September 17, 2015,Prescott-

The wounded advance,

Towards the distracted,

equally bleeding foe.

The battle is chimeric,

Quixotic, of unknown origin.

These battles always are,

It seems.

How did we get here?,

Asks the target of his wrath.

What does that matter?,

Snarls the knight errant.

The battle is joined,

and I shall be the victor.

What are the spoils?,

Asks his erstwhile friend.

What does that matter?,

Fumes the attacker.

The battle is joined,

and I will be the victor.

Soon he stood,

Above the prone figure,

Savouring his pile of ashes.

The Road to 65, Mile 291: Pending

10
Posted by on in distraction issues, Personal goals, Service Activities

September 14, 2015, Prescott- First, my apologies to friendly readers- Heath Muchena, JoEllen Coney, Starman Jones, Richie Salgado and Michel Fauquet.  I found your lovely comments in my Pending file, which has been ignored even longer than my Flickr site.  I have cleaned it up and approved all of your comments.

I am sad to hear that another Xanga friend, Sister Mae, has died.  She was a rock-solid friend, when I was on the old network.  I hadn’t heard from her, on Xanga 2.0.  Now, I know why.

My new position is three weeks away.  I worked today on a one-day post and will do the same tomorrow. There ought to be several other posts, this week and next, in the run-up to Fall Break, which will see me enjoying a bit of the high country.  I haven’t decided exactly where,yet, but I know it’ll be in-state.

Choices, we make and choices we own.  In accepting the charter school position, I had to decline a Red Cross post.  I think that position will go to someone who has actually worked in Social Services.  Several other changes, vis-a-vis my weekday schedule, will come about, after October 12.  I own those, also.

My erstwhile tendency to walk off and leave things hanging came to me in a dream, last light, with Penny warning me that this is a feature of mine that I should relegate to the past.  Yes, I have made a world of progress, in that respect.  Focus is improving, day by day.

Someone commented this afternoon, that I have “bedroom eyes”.  Yikes!  I thought we had left that term in the scrapheap of shallowness.  Since this person is not within my age-range, I will take it as a misguided compliment, and leave it at that.

It is nice to be appreciated, and it is nice to have a few things- pending.

The Road to 65, Mile 280: Driving in Reverse

10
Posted by on in distraction issues, Matters of Faith, Social

September 3, 2015, Chino Valley- I have thought a fair amount about the whole Kim Davis episode.  For those who have been living their bliss to the full, lately, she is the County Clerk, in Morehead, KY, who refuses to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, citing her Christian Faith.  For this defiance of Federal law, she has been jailed.

Thinking people have responded dispassionately to the matter.  I have friends, both gay and straight, who have said that Ms. Davis is getting what she deserves, period, without pontificating on what has been leaked to the public about her private life. I have read other commentary that disparages Kim Davis as a person- going far beyond what seems necessary to support the rule of law.  A commentary I heard on the radio, this morning, goes so far as to raise the matter of the human environment of eastern Kentucky, being somehow a factor in her thought processes.

I have been to eastern Kentucky, to Morehead, Ashland and Maysville, specifically.  I am not especially fond of Hillbilly jokes, any more than I am of disparaging “humour” directed at any particular group.  A professor at Berea College, interviewed this morning, pointed out that people in the mountains and rolling plains of Appalachia are as complex and diverse as people are anywhere else.  I have found that to be so.  There are informed and ignorant folk in any given community, from Uptown Manhattan and Beverly Hills, to the most downtrodden communities in Appalachia or the Mississippi Delta.

Ms. Davis’ issues seem to spring more from stubbornness and fear that her world is being turned upside down (which it is, in many respects), than from a lack of intelligence, or cultural stuntedness.  In that sense, she has plenty of company, all along the political and social spectra.  Attacking members of a given group, for the behaviour of some in the group, is akin to driving in reverse.  Maybe your points will stick, but the likelihood of unforeseen problems is greater.

The Road to 65, Mile 272: Solitude

7
Posted by on in distraction issues, Personal goals, Social, Spiritual

August 27, 2015, Prescott- I am a work in progress.  A lot of baggage has been tossed aside, over the past three decades, and, more intensively, over the past six years.  Blaming others, capriciousness, confusing silence, and sloppiness in my affairs have largely gone away.  I find taking responsibility, being actively engaged with others and carefully planning things are far more satisfying.

 After finishing a four-day stint as a substitute teacher, in Chino Valley, this afternoon, came home and had a twenty-minute power nap.  Two things happened this evening:  I enjoyed a fairly good Beef Stroganoff dinner, at the Legion Post and I got an upgrade to Windows 10, on my PC.  The meal was a fund-raiser, to expand our deck, so as to make it more of a place to relax.  The upgrade was free, and I’m told that will be for a year, then the hand will be outstretched.  I will see how well Windows 10 performs.

I am in more of a solitary mood right now, finding my own space to be a source of solace.  There have been a few buzzsaws of hostility, all over social media sites, though not directed at me, per se, but towards my Faith, and towards other entities and people towards whom I feel close.  Such is life, and those whose hearts are dark will always try to squash the truth, obfuscate and confuse.  I need a break, of sorts, so as to figure out how to rationally and effectively stand up to such as those.

It will be a quiet weekend, with a fair degree of solitude.  Then, I need to get back to work, at whatever place to which I’m called, and the cycle will continue.  I feel more at peace, having stated my concerns.

The Road to 65, Mile 265: Pesky Testing

8
Posted by on in distraction issues, Education, Social

August 20, 2015, Chino Valley- I stood outside Mingus Springs Charter School, this morning, and again at lunch recess, and marveled at how sweeping a view there is, in three directions.  Bill Williams Mountain is visible to the north, and Granite Mountain, to the south.  Eastward, the brown hills of the St. Matthews Range are interspersed with the greenery spreading out from the Verde River watershed.   The kids get to see this, four days a week, and, like a child who experienced the green hills and riverbanks of Saugus, MA, some fifty-five to sixty years ago, they probably feel comforted with the scenes, while taking them pretty much for granted.mandatory

My primary task, today, was to oversee another thing that people have come to take for granted, in today’s schools:  Mandatory testing.  This round of tests, for the latest educational fad:  Common Core, is to determine students’ present level of competence, relative to The New Standards.  It’s a pre-test, in other words, and has two parts, reading and math.  There will be a post-test, in April and May, and the two will, of course, be used to determine a student’s progress, and the school’s efficacy.

I’ve seen a lot of arcane material, and circumlocution, in the presentations of some Common Core advocates.  Like any educational flavour-of-the-year, or decade, it has its good points and its drawbacks.  Some claim it is pushing a socialist agenda.  Others see it more as fascism, a brazen move by the Feds to implement mind control.  I wouldn’t go anywhere near that far:  It’s a fad, much like No Child Left Behind, and before that, The First Days of School, and before that, A Nation at Risk.  Core Learning, Discovery Learning, New Math, Character Counts, Responsible Thinking, Immersion Learning- all have had their time in the sun, and some have managed to stick around, here and there, and do a measure of good.

When I first started working as a school counselor, in the 1980’s, my job partly entailed supporting the Principal’s pet project:  Score High on CAT (California Achievement Tests).  In the early 2000’s, the heyday of Harry Wong’s “The First Days of School”, there were no fewer than FOUR standardized tests being thrown at the students, in April alone, as part of the build-up to No Child Left Behind.

I was left behind, after that, and fortuitously, as I would spend 2005-11 as Penny’s primary caretaker.  More insidiously, though, I feel the children were, and are, being left behind, as their natural curiosity and sense of self- worth are getting squished by the pell-mell Race to The Top (Oops, that is so 2010!)  Try as the Big Boys and Girls might, they don’t get it.  I had to come down hard on the normally co-operative students, just to get this Assigned Task accomplished.  It’s a money game, and we all know it.  Without the testing, Federal dollars are withheld.  Without the testing, the students would focus on more intensive study of things that actually interest them, and which could be more practical in their lives.

So, how will the trade-off settle? It’ll be another fascinating year, no matter which school(s) in which I find myself.

The Road to 65, Mile 242: Friends Are Us

2
Posted by on in "sibling-ish", collaborating, distraction issues, impediments, Personal goals, Social

July 28, 2015, Prescott- Get used to this byline; most of my posts, especially during the week, will be “Prescott”.  I tend to get more free-wheeling with these, as my travel blog readers disappear.

More about the topic of friendships:  A friend in another state recently said same-gender friendships are very important (partly in response to my comment about having a large number of women friends).  The choice is not apples or oranges.  It’s a healthy mix of the two.  When I socialize with groups of people, there are men, with whom I discuss some aspects of life; women with whom I discuss other aspects of life; and “mixed” groups, where the conversation is general. None of these are confined to “safe” topics.

My best friend, for thirty years, was my late wife.  We had no secrets, kept no grudges and worked together on just about everything.  My next-best friend was a man, with whom I could also discuss just about anything, over the 31 years we knew one another.  He was also very honest, in a loving way and guided me through some very rough patches after Penny’s passing.  Mike could say “No, you don’t!”, when acquiescence would have easier, but less authentic.

I have many friends, around the continent, and a few in Europe, Australasia and southeast Asia, with whom I can discuss a variety of topics, get honest feedback and correct things as I need to.  I am also here for them, in that way.  This list is not a gender-heavy or age-heavy roster.

There is one woman friend, here, with whom I am collaborating on a venture.  Our friendship is more “sibling-ish” than anything else, with plenty of free-wheeling discussion and any illusions either of us had of romance were dispelled early-on.  Were she to meet a good man, tomorrow, and at long last have a life relationship, I’d be the first to congratulate.  There was a time in my life when I had to deal with distraction issues.  Over the past year or so, especially since having visited Europe, I see these issues for what they are:  Impediments to real friendship.

I guess it’s largely a matter of maturing, and clearing one’s inner eye.