Kindergartners.......

One of my friends found this on their  Facebook wall and shared it and now I want to share it with you.

The common core is really kind of Ugly for most of the disciplines.  I found the English in High School not too terrible, because they are supposed to have learned how to do most things before they get to me.  

But I have seen some of the math stuff and it is rediculus.  I can't even figure out what the kids are supposed to do.  And now this is what they are doing to kindergartners, come on people. I know most of them can work a TABLET better than I probably ever will, but this is a computer with no real touch ability, they don't know this.

Status Update

By Priscilla Sanstead

Please cut and paste this to share. A Kindergarten teachers just shared this on the BATs wall -

"I'm aiming for the short version here.

My kindergartners had their standardized computerized test today.

There were over 100 questions. Answers were selected by drop and drag with a trackpad, no mouse is available. One class took five hours to finish. Kids crying in 4 of 5 classes. Multiple computer crashes ("okay, you just sit right there while we fix it! Don't talk to anyone!"). Kids sitting for half hour with volume off on headsets but not saying anything. Kids accidentally swapping tangled headsets and not even noticing what they heard had nothing to do with what they saw on the screen. Kids having to solve 8+6 when the answer choices are 0-9 and having to DRAG AND DROP first a 1 then a 4 to form a 14. Some questions where it was only necessary to click an answer but the objects were movable (for no reason). No verbal explanation that you must click the little speaker square to hear the instructions. To go to the next question, one clicks "next" in lower right-hand corner.....which is also where the pop-up menu comes up to take you to other programs or shut down, so about many shut-downs or kids winding up in a completely different program.

If this is not what you want for your kids and grand-kids, you'd better start making some noise. Ten years ago we would've thought this would be literally impossible."

Skaggs Creek 3/8/2014

Thought you might like to see more pictures on the water.
After 5 days of ice, it was great to see the sun, find the roads and get on the water.

The road in was VERY tiny and very muddy.

Icicles on the rocks.

Salt peter mines go throughout these cliffs.

This is one of the main mine entrances.

It was just so weird to be 60 degrees and snow everywhere.

We are naming the boat - the La-Z-Boy...  well maybe not that exactly... 

I need a name for mine. She is an Ibis, Hubby says call it Loon something.  Hmmm- need something cooler.

New Boats!!!!!!!

 The weather was pretty fabulous on February 22, so we took the new boats out on a lake.
We were supposed to go on the Barren River, but it wound up being a bit too dangerous and we moved it to this lake.
Shanty Hollow Lake, which is a filled up hollow.  There is an old cabin on the hill across the way from the boat ramp - which probably was a real road at one time.
The lake has a BIG berm on one end and a spillway to the creek below.  I haven't been here before to say if the water level was really high or not.

 All I can say is that the spillway box had a good couple feet up to go from the lake level.   There was a big square in the top to help keep the lake from getting too high.

Tom and I wound up pretty far back from the pack. It was okay, we hadn't been here before, so we enjoyed wandering.  They hiked up to a waterfall, that we'll have to go back and investigate.  We didn't have proper shoes for that walk.
Anyway - here are our matching color kayaks.  An Ibis for me and a Coosa for Tom.

Health Care Headaches

This is not a rant about how good or bad the Affordable Care Act seems to be.
I love the idea, wish it went a little farther, but hey it's a first step.

No, what I have here is the new rules of time working for Adjunct teachers at Community Colleges and Universities.  The schools have been slashing the number of classes anyone Part Time can teach because they were all afraid that the government would say- "Hey, they are working full time, you have to give them benefits."
Well, as a teacher of course I want that to happen, BUT, I am realistic and understand that if you are not full time at a school - you are not likely to get Health Benefits.

Feel free to read the new rules......
New Rules for Adjunct Teachers.

What I like about the new rules is that I may just be able to teach another class each semester and not go over the 30 hours a week rule.
The Federal Government final came up with guidelines to figure out how many hours we really are teaching and spending on grading and lesson plans.  I get that- as a teacher you are working more than just the time you are in the classroom with the students.
If you look at most English Professors, they spend lots of time reading your papers.
(Currently, it's my job to make sure you don't make your professor cry when they read your first paper.)
(Although, if they read my blogs- they might cry anyway.)

The current rules in Kentucky at the system I work for is that you can only teach 3 classes a semester and only so many credits a year. With the new rules, I am only putting in about 18-20 hours a week on those 3 classes.  Which leaves 10 more hours to mess with.

Anyway, I don't know how long it will be before the new rules actually trickle down to the rest of us.
The big wigs need to make up their minds about if they are going to change their policies to give us some more classes.

Hope it's sooner rather than 2 years from now.