Scenes from a walk to work

The Examination

I'm not kidding when I say the room was freezing. It was not our normal room. Sure it was a beautiful old college classroom with chalkboards everywhere and old wooden windows. When the professor asked for volunteers to sit toward the back of the class for the final, I volunteered. I like natural light and don't mind sitting on the perimeter during a test. As I looked out over my classmates, I noticed several wearing stocking caps, winter coats and scarves. Meanwhile, a dull whistle blew through the window frame. The room was chilly and the test extensive. I think I did fine, the questions were fair, but tricky. Really, as long as I am around the mean, I will have reached my goal.

I finished the two hour test at 11:45 with just enough time to dash across campus and eat a half piece of left over pizza before my next two hour exam commenced at 12:00. This test however was not fair. Usually, I have confidence in my "selected response" options. The professor called them "forced response." I think her terminology accurately reflects the feelings I experienced while taking the test.

After four hours of testing with a short lunch, I was ready for something more strong than a coffee break. One of my friends and I headed for Happy Hour to laugh the tests away. It worked. Afterwords we walked home together.

I have my last final Friday morning. It begins at 7:30 A.M. We are expecting a major winter storm tomorrow. I hope I can (1) make it up that early and (2) get there safely.

This evening while making a pot of chili, I was thinking about the testing experience I just had. Sure four hours is a lot. But then I think back to my students and every student in every public school across this country and the amount of NCLB testing they do every year. Schools have become data happy and don't always recognize what a test can and can't tell you about a student, school, building, state. I really appreciated this article from Educational Leadership regarding the "New Stupid" and the misueses of testing data. We expect a lot from students, we expect a lot from tests and we expect a lot from test data. The extensive amount of testing cannot always support our expectations.

Tubas and Sloths

What are the holidays with out a tuba/ euphonium holiday concert? Can you think of any better combination of instruments to play the Dreidel Song? Nope, me neither. Last Friday afternoon I got my wonderful Bucketlist-friends to attend the concert with me. We bobbed up and down do classics like Jingle Bells and Frosty. Part of the bobbing was inspired by the festive tunes, the other part because it was so bloody cold, it was just one more method to keep warm.

After a half hour of low brass entertainment, we ducked into the Natural History Museum to see the much heralded sloth. Evidently these animals roamed the Iowan forests back in the Pleistocene. It was really big. Katherine told me it was big, but I just had to see with my own eyes. Although we didn't stay for too long, we did dash through the rest of the displays and decided we need to come back to spend more time with the exhibits. They were actually quite good and warrant another visit.

I do want to update you on my new exercise regiment. I've never been a runner, much the less one that runs in the cold temperatures. However my interests have changed. I now run all the time when I'm outside because IT IS SO DANG COLD!!! I really can't bear to walk, I just run everywhere. Weather.com says it feels like -11 right now! I'd agree. That seems about right.

2 New-s

Two new-s happened today. First, a new do. Second, a new bike! The decision to chop my hair was a spontaneous. I needed the change.

The bike was safely delivered from Colorado to IC. I love it! Immediately, I took it out for a ride along the river. Ahh FREEDOM! It felt so good to get out of town if only a mile or so. It was cold and I didn't have a helmet or cell phone so I didn't venture too far, especially on the sandy paths. But it felt so good to ride. Thank you J and M!!!!!

Post Script: March of the Penguins

Upon my arrival to the bus stop to catch the 8:15 bus I was briefed- the 7:45 bus never came. There were approximately 25 people waiting at the stop at 8:30 someone called the bus company. The bus was stuck and couldn’t get unstuck, they didn’t know when it would come. We all looked at each other and decided to start walking. Dedication.

It was like March of the Penguins, all of us waddling along. Sometimes walking in the street sometimes walking on the grass, avoiding the ice if we could. Our cell of 12 grew as we passed other bus stops informing them of the situation. And some jokester would quip, “They want us to push the bus.” Soon we had about 18 and we kept walking. We were warned to avoid a particular steep driveway, several people wiped out on the slope. The hill was covered with discarded personal items. It was as if people were climbing Everest and jettisoned belongings just to make it. A pencil here, a coffee mug there. What usually takes 10 minutes to walk took twice that amount. The sound of futile spinning tires sped through the air. We would wait for each other if one person wiped out and cautioning each other unexpected ice was found. I do like the sense of community poor weather fosters.

I’m curious to know what my trip home will look like.

Cold

This morning I awoke to freezing rain rapping at my window. I looked out to see frozen rivulets of ice streamed down my window and the sidewalk looks treacherous. People always think since I'm from Denver that I'm used to this. I'm not. We had a more gentile winter in Denver. Sure it would snow and ice over...but it always seemed to melt. The ground has been blanketed with snow for a week now.

Tis the week before finals, ie: the week all projects are due. I'm turning in one project this morning and another this Friday. It will be good to get my project done. I've been disappointed with the assignment and have put it off. I've already written two pages, so I'm not completely neglecting the asssignment, but I WILL be spending more time on it today and tomorrow.

BU-BYE!

BU-BYE!

I love the Onion.

I also love this superintendent.