siliconjim1 :: Recent Entries

Title:	Got 403(b)?
Date:	2008-10-17 @ 08:17
Security:	public
Music:	Fish Cheer, Country Joe McDonald
Mood:	pissed off

In the continuing saga of our wonderful school district and it's teacher friendly policies and practices, I submit the following:

By regulation of the IRS, school districts (and other public employers) are required to provide a third party plan administrator to employees with 403(b) accounts - the public sector equivalent of a 401(k). Our district has chosen a firm in Southern California who is charging our teachers $3. per month per 403(b) account.

Just the other day, I find out from my financial advisor that his company offered to plan administration for our teachers with 403(b)'s for NO CHARGE. Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough for our district who chose to go with the company who charges $3 per account.

Is there ANY other district in the Bay Area charging teachers for their 403(b)'s? Please respond whether or not your district is charging this fee.

siliconjim

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Title:	ETP Blues?
Date:	2008-08-05 @ 10:53
Security:	public
Location:	Health Sciences Library
Music:	Steam Roller Blues, James Taylor

I looked at my ETP, so far, and found several things I'd like to include in it.

I looked at the Rubric and decided that I have demonstrated, included and covered the required material. I'll find out soon enough if Diane agrees or not.

I took inventory of the paper consumption of my ETP and determined that, without the links/attachments, it is two pages and I recall being encouraged not to be the excessively wordy kind of guy I usually am.

Now for the real dilemma, is this enough to actually give life to this crazy idea of mine in a classroom of alternative education high school students? The answer, obviously, is NO! But I truly doubt that Diane is looking for a cradle to grave, canned program that covers an entire (fill in the blank). Not in two to five pages she's not!

I believe my real challenge is to prepare the attachments and web related material as best as I can to provide a whole learning experience for the students in the first five to ten days of class. I think that I should have, in the can, a follow up unit. Then, I think I should have the students take the ball and run with it - within the boundaries of the field, of course. At that point, I will know which way to go and what kind of adjustments to make.

Or am I missing something - again!

siliconjim

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Title:	I KNOW you're busy but...
Date:	2008-08-01 @ 11:06
Security:	public
Music:	With a little help from my friends
Mood:	anxious

could you PLEASE take my survey if you haven't already - please? I have seven responses and I only need two more to have enough data to make some earth shattering conclusions with an adequate confidence interval!

Here's the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AoDdE95UzSmFembYB_2bLQFA_3d_3d

Thank you very much!

siliconjim

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Title:	Repost of a survey. Try it, you'll like it!
Date:	2008-07-30 @ 14:08
Security:	public
Location:	Medical library
Mood:	anxious

A major part of my project is to create a survey in Surveymonkey for my mentor. I am definitely working on ways to utilize surveys to teach math. I know I can get some mileage and engagement out of surveys in the topics of fractions, percents and decimals, as well as probability, odds, mean, median and mode.

While preparing my mentor's survey, I tried out surveymonkey to see how it would work.

Take my survey, please! I hope you find it interesting. It may take you a minute or two to complete.

Click Here to take survey

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Title:	Killing two birds
Date:	2008-07-29 @ 14:44
Security:	public
Location:	medical library Antioch
Music:	A little help from my friends
Mood:	drained

I am looking at the results of the survey I put on the blog and have received three replies. To those of you whom have replied, my eternal gratitude. Hey, I know what, I'll buy you a glass of wine at End of Summer!

To those of you who may not have had the time to take the survey, yet, I certainly hope you will.

Now, I didn't make it easy for you at all which is why I am so grateful to the bloggers that did reply. I am trying to find the reply that I made to someone else's post that had a survey attached and I can't find it either! Perhaps I'll have to use the three responses for the example in my ETP. Three is good, it's easy to work with, it'll just have to do!

My theory is that students will become naturally curious when the numbers they are dealing with came from something that they did. I intend to use their acquired bad habit of involving themselves in all sorts of distractions to lure them into learning fractions, decimals and percents without realizing that they did. Okay, I'll tell them that the possibility exists that they might be able to do fractions, decimals and percents, but first, we have to find out what the best song/rap/recording of the summer was!

Among my challenges in pulling off this exercise in new level teaching is to manipulate the software and hardware necessary in an environment of unsatisfied technology needs. Not only must I learn to use the tools, wiki, surveymonkey, twitter, etc., I must obtain sufficient hardware to make the program work and not create more problems than I would otherwise experience with, as I love to refer to them, my little darlings.

What I have in my classroom right now is the barest possible equipment to start the process. I am going to have to do one of two things in order to change that to a more tenable situation. One, I can use the computer lab when the computer teacher isn't. Those of you who teach in a computer lab environment recognize the war I will start with that move. Hey, it's for the kids, so too bad if it isn't comfortable for one teacher.

The other challenge has to do with learning to use wikis to put the lessons (for lack of a better word) in reach of the students. I firmly believe that without immediate access to the wiki and the surveymonkey, the entire program will fall on its proverbial face.

I have to wiki with the webinars and the manual and the demos I can download. I may have to apply and get some grants for the computers. Does anyone have any ideas for me to pursue or incorporate into my plan?

Boy, I'm glad I asked you this while you still have plenty of time to think about it and get back to me!
siliconjim

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Title:	I saw a student...
Date:	2008-07-28 @ 11:21
Security:	public
Location:	medical library ANTIOCH
Music:	"Blowin' in the Wind", Arlo Guthrie
Mood:	uncomfortable

at Starbucks on the way to work this morning.

My wife prefers to live a distance from the place at which she teaches so she doesn't have that experience so often. We figured just how far we'd have to move when we visited Puerto Vallerta over Thanksgiving for her niece's wedding. We were having traditional Thanksgiving dinner, norte americano style, when a person on the food service staff at the resort came up to her and asked her if she remembered him! Yes, he was her student about ten years ago or so!

The student I saw and visited with works at Starbucks and had a little time to chat before her shift. She was attending Los Medanos College in order to finish high school. She likes it and is very close to graduation. She talked about getting her act together with school and how going to Riverside (continuation high school where I teach) was helpful to her in doing that! (You just LOVE hearing that, even if it isn't true!) We talked about school and graduating and the summer and other pleasantries. We had a very good conversation.

I have a theory about our high schoolers. If they are alone, they are just part of what's going on and easy to get along with. If they are infected by other teenagers, they become obnoxious, unruly and downright unpleasant to be around. This only happens when adult authority figures are in the mix. I have had the opportunity to observe small teenage gatherings and you wouldn't identify the conversation as teenagers talking. Put these same kids in a classroom, and it's as if their evil twins took them over.

This observation begs the question: is it live or is it Memorex? Actually, whose fault is the behavior abnormalities of teenagers in a classroom? Is it the kids who should know better? Is it our unbelievably outmoded model of school and education that needs the kick in the pants?

Think about the truly inane rules, policies, requirements and other assorted BS kids have to put up with in a high school environment. Now, all praise and glory to those amongst them who not only successfully navigate through it, but excel along the way. They are deserving of our highest praise. As for those who lack the appropriate skill set or are simply unable to deal with it all, what do we do with them? I know, ship their @$$*$ off to CONTINUATION HIGH SCHOOL!

Perhaps it is time to consider a different model for the conduct of business in the secondary public education arena? Perhaps, if we find it a bit much to have to deal with a keypad at an ATM instead of a touch screen, we should recognize the unsuitability of the myriad of mickey mouse policies, procedures and regulations that we are putting our children through in the public schools.

Now, I want to hear from you!

1) Why are we doing this disservice to them?
2) How can we alter this model to allow them to decide they really want to participate instead of just go through the motions?
3) What systemic change must precipitate this alteration of the model?

I'm taking a deep breathe now!

siliconjim

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Title:	Untitled
Date:	2008-07-25 @ 14:40
Security:	public
Location:	medical library Antioch
Music:	not suitable for this one
Mood:	disappointed

Here is a little presentation that was sent to me by my brother in law. I'm certain you'll find it interesting. While I admit that some of the messages he sends me are not to be opened at school, this is not one of them.

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016

siliconjim

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Title:	How NOT to open a brand new school - or two!
Date:	2008-07-24 @ 13:02
Security:	public
Location:	medical lab Walnut Creek
Music:	Ball of Confussion
Mood:	amused

I attended the Board meeting last night and was treated to some interesting, if quite depressing discoveries.

We have two new schools opening this year, an elementary school and a junior high school. Yes, the decision was made to drop Middle and go with Junior. At the Board meeting, the construction coordinator gave his report on the construction status of both schools. The new elementary school, after continuous reports of on time performance, is now NOT going to be finished in time for a September 2nd first day of school. The Board isn't happy but they can't do a thing about it! The junior high is expected to be ready with minor cosmetic issues to be completed after school starts.

The Board is considering contingency plans to start school without the new elementary school. A few of their ideas demonstrate their lack of understanding of what goes on at our site during a school day. You see, we are currently directly across the street from the new elementary school. (We are supposed to be getting a new facility, but I'm not holding my breath as to when - probably a week after the new elementary opens.) We have three sites on our campus: the continuation high school, independent study and opportunity (continuation for middle schoolers - or should I say Junior High nonconformists). We have the continuation high building with every available classroom being used as such. We have the independent study trailer and four "portable classrooms" (trailers) of which one is empty, one has a bathroom and is not used at all, and the other two house the opportunity kids.

One of the contingencies the Board is considering is to have the elementary students use our campus for a recess playground. Yes, it is quite remarkable so I'll say it again. Just walk the kids across the street and have them play in the continuation school parking lot as if it were a playground. I can't wait to see that happen. I will refuse to be of any assistance, support or participation in the management of that program.

We have one girls' bathroom and one boys' bathroom on the bottom floor (basement). Will we be required to deny bathroom passes while the little kids are at recess? There are NO STALL DOORS on the boy's toilets. I have no idea of what the girl's facility is like, but I can just imagine. Yah right! I would love to be a fly on the wall at the home of the elementary school kid's house when their parents ask what they did at school today!

School hasn't even started and the overpaid managers of the District are already planning a disaster for all concerned. Of course, they'll be in their cushy offices with the phones off the hook while it all goes down the tubes. I'm starting to feel sick already!

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Title:	They're going back tomorrow - maybe
Date:	2008-07-23 @ 09:36
Security:	public
Location:	Medical library, Antioch
Mood:	grateful

My teacher friends in the Liberty Union High School District return for an optional day of work tomorrow, Thursday, July 24th. Friday is the convocation, a mandatory day. On Monday, July 28th, they start the school year with students. This provides a reasonable example of the extended school year that someone else brought up. I believe the description is a single track year 'round school. All the feeder districts follow the same schedule in the K through 8 grades, so it will be almost impossible for them to change to a traditional schedule.

They will have a two week break at the end of September and return half way into October. Their Winter break is traditional and, it begins with the end of the first semester. In the last half of March, they have another two week break. Basically, they go for nine weeks, take two weeks off, go for another ten, two weeks off, nine more, two weeks off and the last ten weeks. Their school year ends in the first week of June. Their summer is six weeks in duration.

When I was in the District, I absolutely hated teaching in August! I'd be happy to plow through from September to December and January to June not to have to teach in August. I found, however, that their schedule provides teachers with the opportunity to plan the nine weeks and grade and retool/reload in the two week breaks. I miss that for certain, but it is counterbalanced with the fact that my wife and I are now on the same exactly schedule.

It's good to be a teacher - in July! My friends also miss out on the opportunity to participate in IISME because of their schedule. I guess, the longer you think about it, it's 184 days per year.

siliconjim

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