Just the Facts

From my Principal:

Effective immediately, spending is frozen. We will have to function for the rest of the year with what we have on site today. We will not be able to purchase things like printer cartridges and overhead transparencies for the rest of the year. This unprecedented crisis will call for unprecedented cooperation among ALL staff.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines of Clovis (Fresno County) disagreed that the budget impasse has been driven by ideology.

"We, as a policy matter, believe this state overspends money, that taxpayers are overtaxed, and we don't do a particularly good job of auditing and managing the darn money once it goes out," he said.

Inauguration with Class

The Inauguration was during first and second period today, so I watched along with eighth graders. Well, I watched and some of them did, too, but there's those short attention spans. I made inauguration cupcakes for all of them, which made them happy. The funny thing about middle school students is they are so very young (they were in first grade on 9/11). Their last Presidential election was when they were in fourth grade, so they think that elections are always this exciting and interesting. They do realize the historic significance of today, but I don't think one of them ever thought that they'd never see the day. That thinking belongs to my generation. Good for them.

They probably think these things, though:
-that they will own a wardrobe of t-shirts with the face of the next Presidential candidate they support,
-that the next President will have an easily recognizable logo like Obama's circle with the wavy stripes and the blue and white sunrise,
-that they will one day, again, spontaneously break into chants of their favorite candidate's name.

The relief at the departure of the Bushes was palpable, with the sixth graders downstairs cheering when the helicopter lifted the ex-President away.

So, to my children, both working out of the country right now: yes, people really are feeling as good as they seem to on television. The end of our reign of terror combined with this historic election have caused a rash of kindness and happiness to break out. Yes We Can and Hope and Change are not just campaign slogans. People seem willing to live these ideas. And, though I know that one man can't possibly live up to these hopes, I'm willing to play along for a while, too. I was impressed with Obama's first act as President: a sobering rather than feel-good address to the country. I wish you had been here to share the day with me.

Flies instead of Chocolate Chips

About a decade ago, I would occasionally go to an estate sale. Since I'm not much of a collector, I don't really know why I would go. I think I was hoping for some Arts and Crafts era treasure because, surely no other shopper had the same idea in mind. My estate sale days ended abruptly one day when I went to one that left me feeling depressed. I was unable to make any sense of this until I told PJ about it, in the following conversation:
Me: I feel really down after an estate sale I went to today. I actually saw some things I would have liked to buy, but I didn't really want to.
PJ: What was it like?
Me: The person who died was an old woman. Her grown children were selling all her things. She had been a schoolteacher and she must have liked the outdoors because there was some camping equipment and she liked to sew, too.
PJ: I know why you're feeling that way.
Me: Why?
PJ: She was you.

Typing this out, I realize how obvious this was, but I couldn't see it until it was pointed out to me. I've done this a few times (at least, I hope only a few times), and sometimes the correlation with my life is so clear, it's embarrassing.

On Tuesdays, I start my classes with Tuesday Twenty Questions, where I have my classes try and figure out something that I'm thinking of, often a scientist or an invention. I wrote Henry Mill, 1714, on the board and asked my students to figure out Mr. Mill's invention. After asking if the invention was a rocket or a computer or a mill, they finally narrowed it down to a typewriter. I explained how Mr. Mill was awarded the first typewriter patent. Then all the questions came.

"Is it true that they had no delete key?"
"How did they work?"
"Why don't people use them anymore?"

This last question was easy to answer. They don't use them anymore because they were replaced with something much better. I explained how one little mistake meant starting all over again. The last time I used one was about five years ago, when you occasionally would have to print out applications and type to fill in the blanks. Now, pretty much every form can be filled out on the computer and sent to where it needs to go.

As I was telling my kids about typewriters, I realized how long it had been since I had seen one. About twenty years ago, most homes had one and every office had several. But now, they're gone, almost completely. And even though they've been replaced by something better, I found myself feeling sorry for the typewriter.

At least this time, I understand why.

But I Do Know...

You know how Maya Lin probably figured out how many 2x4's she needed for the artwork I talked about in the last entry? Math.
Recently, in San Francisco, I saw a woman sporting a t-shirt that said, "Too Pretty for Math." If there was such a thing as being too pretty for math, let me assure you that this woman was not it. To paraphrase PJ, the only people who should be wearing that t-shirt are men who would wear it ironically. This woman was not wearing it ironically. She looked like a grumpy middle aged mom. Hoping against all hope that this t-shirt was unique in the world, I went home and did an internet search. That worked out really well. Not only did I find the t-shirt for sale, I also found a purse (ironically, it was 80% off, but that would take math to figure out). I also found a blog with that title ( not ironic).

So, what is going on here? Have we come so far that we can now make jokes like this? In High School, my counselor, despite my straight A's in trig and calculus, had me sign up for typing because "Chevron and other companies are looking for people with good clerical skills." (By the way, I've never regretted taking typing, since it has been a very important lifelong skill. I can just remember wondering why my mad skills in math and science didn't make him think I could do other things as well.) I also can remember my calculus teacher giving us a speech about how we were all lower middle class and most of the boys were probably going to be engineers and the girls would become nurses. That was a strange speech and to this day, I don't exactly know what he was driving at. These experiences probably didn't keep me or anyone else from their dreams, but they have left me sensitive to attitudes about girls and math that are still around.

Time heals all. I almost had put the yucky t-shirt out of my head when I received the Signals catalog that sells Public Television and radio related things. Teachers who buy things from this catalog--you know who you are--please think before you buy something to wear across your chest. For example, the "Those Who Can, Do; Those Who Can Do More, Teach" t-shirt is a fashion no-no. I'm pretty sure that a person who really believed this would not feel the need to wear the shirt. So, looking through the catalog, I came across a t-shirt that said, "I was promised there would be no math involved." Seriously.

Why is it okay to not be able to do math? Every time I hear a teacher charmingly say, "I'm no good at math," I wonder what they would think if I said, "I'm no good at reading."

By the way, a lot of math teachers seem to have this math phobia thing, too. Here's what's bugging me lately: I have almost 200 kids who won't use calculators, even when I insist that they do, because "using calculators is cheating."* Thanks, teachers (and No Child Left Behind). NASA, Macy's, H&R Block, plumbers and carpenters and mechanics looking for employees will really appreciate what we're doing to their future job force. Way to get them ready for the future.

I'm not asking everyone to suddenly be able to figure out tips (move the decimal once to the left and double the number you get) or determine how much carpet they need in a room, but we haven't progressed far enough with women in math to go all post-modern, so don't wear the stupid t-shirts and stop bragging about not being able to do math.

*I discovered a work-around on the not using calculators problem. What do middle school kids want to do more than anything else? Break rules! I let them use the calculators on their phones and the thrill of breaking a school rule overcomes all.

Into the Woods

Happy New Year! I've never sensed so much hope for a New Year as I do for 2009. Sadly, that is probably because 2008 has been so awful. I do not envy our new President. He can't possibly live up to our hopes. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure he can't make things worse.

So, how did my 2008 come to an end? Honestly, there was frustration and disappointment, but with hope for a better 2009. I have been on my much anticipated two week vacation. The first Monday, I made a doctor's appointment because I wasn't feeling good and it turned out I was so anemic that I was very close to needing a transfusion. I am currently taking 1,183% of the recommended daily requirement of iron. I think I need to stay away from magnets. Surprisingly, after only 10 days of taking the iron, I am feeling way, way better. I can walk upstairs without getting out of breath.

I wanted to have a memory of doing something outside of household chores, so I decided I would go to the new California Academy of Sciences, which was completely rebuilt and opened to the public in September. I had been looking forward to this trip because I love our Academy of Sciences, and a lot of expense was put into this revised museum. I chose a Tuesday and I went early, thinking that even though kids were out on vacation, it wouldn't be as crowded as a weekend. When I arrived, I saw two of the longest lines I'd ever seen. I've been to some of the world's great museums and to Disneyland, but I've still never seen lines like this. I stood in a long line of thousands of people, assuming that it was a ticket line. After about 10 minutes in line, I was told by a helpful woman that I was in the members' line. I couldn't believe that the members couldn't just walk right in. So I moved closer to the museum to find the ticket buying line. I saw another line of thousands of people, but that was the ticket holders' line. Then I heard an announcement that there were no other tickets available for the entire day. Those poor people in those lines had to wait for people to exit the museum so that they could have their turn. The lines were not moving at all. I was very disappointed, but also glad I hadn't purchased a ticket on the internet because I would have been stuck in the ticket holders' line.

I walked across the street to the De Young Museum. I went in, and for some reason, did not want to spend much time there. I had one destination in mind and nothing else seemed good enough. I did walk around a bit, though. It turns out that a lot of the museum can be seen for free. So, I was able to see the wonderful piece above by Maya Lin. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it is totally made of 2x4's. The landscape is determined by the length of each 2x4. I took a closeup photo of some of them:

This is a great model of calculus. I doubt if that is what Ms. Lin had in mind, but it was what excited me most about it. The volume of the sculpture can be determined by adding together the volume of every 2x4, which is simply length x width x height. Calculus was invented with the idea that you can determine the volume of something that seems impossible to measure by assuming that it is made up of an infinite amount of measurable shapes. Beautiful.

I am no Maya Lin, as you can see from my end of the year project. I built a small fence. The old one had rotted and had fallen down, so something had to be done. Cameron, my advisor, was available by phone to answer my questions, but I actually did build it myself. I can't understand why I'm not better at building things. I'm logical and mathematical. Carpentry is kind of like sewing with wood, and I can sew. But, alas, I am no carpenter. However, the fence is strong enough and there's beauty in that.