Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Sand, Sun and More Sand

Here's a preview of my wekkend trip to Monahans.

Wipeout

Friday, May 16, 2008

On Wednesday, Joey and I decided to walk to the park. We went to the red park by the pool not the blue park with the hard brown mulch- there is a difference.

He felt the need to lead the way

Walk On


when we got to the park, he was ready to run

ready to run


As he was climbing into the play are he found a lady bug. He held the bug on his shirt for a minute and the watched it fly away. Ladybugs are a symbol of the Blessed Virgin. The lady bug is a friend of the rose – the Virgin’s flower. Also, the three dots on each side og the bug are said to be a symbol of the Trinity.

Ladybug Ladybug


Up in the tower


After digging in the mulch – he decided to show me how dirty his hands were Joey decided it was fun to make animals with his hands. Here are his Duck Hands – quack quack!

Duck Hands


Here is a flying bird – flying away

I'll Fly Away


What animal hunt would be complete without a snake – y’all know how much I LoVE snakes

Snake Hands


There was of course hissing because what is a snake without lots and lots of scarey hissing?

Of course there was hissing

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Public vs Private

We live in a crappy school district.

It's our fault. When we bought our house, we looked at the district's state rating and their test scores. We looked at drop out rates and college acceptions. We thought we knew what we were getting into.

Oh how wrong we were.

The issue however is not just a district one. The real issue is what our public education system has become.

The issue began way back in the 1980's when Mark White instituted "No Pass No Play" This was to make some necessary changes to our state education standards. Ideally, no student athlete would graduate from a Texas school unable to read.

I am a product of No Pass No Play. I took TABS and TEAMS but the bastard step sibling of today's TAKS. way back when - teachers did not just TEACH the TEAMS. for all intents and purposes - a monkey could pass the test. If you had a pulse and sat upright - the test was a cakewalk.

The along came No child LeftBehind Mandating that reading skills need to be learned earlier - like by the end of third grade. Really? you think so.

No Child Left Behind and it's culture of "teaching the test" has bastardized our education system. Only TAKS skills are taught - well killed and drilled.

The result kids can read and comprehend BUT they cannot think for themselves. There is no room for interpretation. No longer are Texas children learning to think critically.

Children with special needs are spoon fed JUST enough information to pass this test. Teachers and schools are awarded or penalized based on these test scores.

we have lost site of what is important. Learning for the sake of knowledge and the desire to expand your way of thinking. Instead of turning out young adults who can think on their feet and look at an issue and analyze. we are turning out kids who can regurgetate basic facts in bubble filled multiple choice form.

Is this what we want for our children - our future?

Friday, May 09, 2008

Poor Poor Pitiful Me

Today Joey came and crawled into my bed - after everyone had gone for the day and told me he had a 'stummy attic". He had a stummy attic because I made him eat fish and not cheeseburgers last night for dinner.

Turns out it, it was the half a bag of reese's mini cups he ate to go along with the fish.

He was feeling puny until I told him it was too bad he was sick and didn't want to bathe because I'd have to cancel our playdat with his friend down the street.

The cure was amazing - nothing shy of a miracle I am sure.

He bathed and got dressed and ate a huge bowl of cereal in nothing flat.

So just a warning - tilapia fish is sure to induce a stummy attic in five year olds but it's nothing a bowl of Lucky Charms and a playdate won't cure.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Should I be Flattered

Because right now, I am flumoxed.

The shoe chick at Stride rite thinks I'm hot.

She likes me.

No.

really, she likes me likes me.

She wants to have drinks AAAAAAAAND with me.

Maybe because I am blonde or maybe because I am so not attracted to women I was totally clueless to the signs and signals she was sendin me.

On Monday she came into my store and was flirting (I didn't recognize it as that - because y'all all know I'll talk to anyone)

Tuesday night - more flirting over the trash compactor. She told me I was the best smelling thing out there. Again I was clueless. I made a joke about Lord only knowing what I demoed that night. I didn't think to be flattered because the trash aroma is rather rank

Then last night she asked me out for drinks and some other types of demoing.

I dropped my teeth, quickly put my trash in the trash compactor and ran back inside.

So the Stride rite shoe chick thinks I'm hot.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Is Public anything ever good?

I have been wondering this for a while. Can making everything fair and accesible to everyone in the country - really just as bad as making things inaccesible to some people. Maybe privitazation is a good thing.

I am thinking in particular about our public education system and the push to publicize our health care system.

Fifty years ago - children went to school,they learned reading, math, science and history. There was art music and PE - there was also recess - twice a day. If you didn't learn what you were supposed to learn or failed the grade - you were held back - you dealt with it. There was no worry that being held back or being labeled slow was "detremental to your self esteem"

Today - thereis still reading and math but only as it relates to the TAKS or what ever test they kids are required to take - students are drilled on TAKS concepts until they can regurgetate them. In some schools there is no recess. In others there is silent lucnh - I mean really kids cannot play outside and must remain silent at lunch? This is good how.

In my middle son's schoolthe words "boys and girls" and "students" are not permited - they are all "friends" Boys and girls might be labeling to some one who is gender confused - I mean really how the hell can a fourth grader be gender "confused"? I mean what kind of crap is this? Mental differences aside children are boys or girls. and they are all students.

Local community colleges report that today's college student is ill prepared for college because they cannot think out side the box and lack the critical thinking skills required to get a college education. I am not surprised - The TAKS test is a multiple choice memorization feat. All you have to do is color in the bubble that relates to the correct fact. You don't have to be ableto relate theat fact to another fact.

Our education system has become a fill in the blank multiple choice world. Anything that doesn't relate is unimportant.