h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, Coely! I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I thought you did a fine job trying to get through to Colleen (That1HotBlonde). I can tell what a fine mother and teacher you are. I'll bet you are very popular with your students.

You did seem to make an impression on her, at least for a while. I hope she is okay.

Witty

Witty! What a lovely thing to say. You've made this old blue fish blush.

I hope she's OK too. I thought a lot before posting, but she's very young and I just thought something needed to be said. I tried to be fair. If she doesn't listen then at least I tried.

We're all on holiday for a few weeks now. How are you and yours?

We are on holiday, too. Today, for Passover, and the Friday through next Sunday for Easter and spring break. There is an amusement park nearby (Six Flags Great Adventure) that we get season passes for, and we are planning on spending some time there during the break.

Daughter #1 is breezing through her first year of high school with the exception of her honors geometry course. But all of the students in those classes are having a hard time and I suspect that it's the system, not the students. We're doing what we can at home to supplement the course work, because it is very difficult to fight the bureaucracy.

Daughter #2 (she is 10 years old) is having a great time in 4th grade. Pardon the bragging, but she was one of only 425 students who got a perfect score on a standardized test that over 250,000 students across the US took. http://www.wordmasterschallenge.com/

Hubby just got back from a 2 week business trip to Bahrain. He's been there before, but I was little tense this time, current events being what they are.

How are Moonbeam and Sunshine?

We're off to an amusement park at the end of the break, just before the next term (semester) which is filled with hard work and exams. The weather should be a bit warmer then too. It's sunny, but still cold and these places seem to involve getting wet a lot don't they! Is there a web cam at the Six Flags?

You must be very proud of your girls. Go ahead and brag - that's a wonderful achievement! I had a look and it's hard! It's a shame about the geometry. Is this something you know?

Sunshine too is the kind to breeze through things. She wants to be a vet and has helped to deliver some lambs recently, also been bottle feeding one that was abandoned. It's fine and strong now (named "Mary Poppins") and recognises her when she goes over to the field. No teenage storm and stress with her, she'd never be able to stop smiling long enough. Her sister, on the other hand, seems to be having enough for the both of them!

I'm glad your hubby got back safe. I imagine the security checks he had to go through for Bahrain were very thorough. Flights to the USA seem incredibly cheap at the moment and there's an ad on TV about how useful it is to be able to fly over for business meetings.

Sadly, Six Flags does not have web cams. I sure they will as soon as they figure out a way to charge by the minute. No free vicarious thrills are allowed. They don't even let you bring your own food into the park. You have to trudge all the way back to your car if you want to picnic. And, of course, the onsight food is expensive.

On the geometry front, I've been refreshing my skills in an effort to help her. I also picked up some software for her that has pre-algebra through trigonometry. I've been using the approach that if she doesn't get it the way the teacher explained it, I try to express the concept in a different way. So far, so good. This is an honors course and she is well qualified to take it. These honors kids are used to always doing well. They are really shocked when they hit a roadblock.

I was just taking a look at the Six Flags website. I loved the Hot Tips for things to take to Great Adventure. Top of the list:
"Money for food, beverages and souvenirs."
Do you need reminding? There seems to be plenty of places to eat, of course. I ran the admission price though a currency converter and it is expensive! I notice that there are some of their parks in Europe too, although not in the UK. Yet.

Good luck with the geometry. Like you say, it seems it's not the students but the system. (Were you being polite and not saying that the teacher might be the problem?) You'll be ready to take the exam yourself soon.

Polite? I'm practically biting through my tongue. But since you brought it up, she blames their lack of Algebra skills. This is a group of kids that were spread among 3 different Algebra teachers last year at two different schools and performed well. They wouldn't have qualified for Honors Geometry otherwise. She will only stay after school one day a week for remedial help. But I've learned that it is easier to supplement the coursework myself than to try to change the system. It would be too late for daughter #1. But since #2 is 5 years down the road, it might be worthwhile in the long run.

Great Adventure is expensive to go for a day. But the season pass pays for itself after 2 visits, so it's a good value if you go regularly. And if the weather turns or it gets too crowded, we just leave and come back another day. And daughter #2 is finally tall enough this year to go on the big coasters.

Its a shame about the teacher. Is it her actual specialist subject? Maybe she's just trying to keep up with the students herself. How likely is it that she will be teaching #2 anyway? Do teachers tend to stay in one place that long?

In the UK there is a national crisis in the profession. Far more jobs around than there are people to fill them and schools will take anyone they can get at the moment. I know that this means children being taught subjects by people who don't know much more than what they did at school themself. Its either that or the classes have nobody at all.

There's lots of reasons for it. One of the big problems is that 40% of people who qualify as teachers leave before they've done 3 years in the job.

I don't know about you, but after the weekend, my and that's before going on any rollercoaster rides!

Ah, where was I?

Yes, the teacher. I'm not sure if her degree is in secondary education or math with an education certification. She is, however, going for her masters degree. My daughter doesn't know the specifics. But the teacher has stated that much of her time is taken up with her own studies.

We have a high attrition rate during the first 3 years, also. This is due to comparatively better pay in private industry. There is a high demand for foreign language teachers (due to a new state mandate to teach languages starting from kindergarten onward) and special education teachers that the schools are struggling to hire. 20-25% of students in this area are classified special needs children. There is another reason that 3 years is a magic number here in New Jersey.

When a teacher has worked in a district for 3 years and one day, they become tenured. At that point, a teacher practically has to commit a felony on school property in ordered to be fired from their job. Merit pay increases are officially frowned upon by the teachers' union. Of course, many teachers perform admirably, but there are always some that take advantage of the system. I know teachers and administrators that have been in our district for 35 years!

I enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt. I really didn't expect to be online that much over the holiday weekend, but I got sucked into that game like it was a black hole!

On the other hand, my daughter had a teacher recently who ranks up there with the best. The resources he provides are just outstanding.

http://mrheitmann.com/

Help me out Witty! I'm going to hit him in a minute! http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/F72097?thread=197012 Nice link to that teacher's site btw! I meant to say so at the time and got carried away with it. Anyone you'd like me to for you at the London meet? I'm off soon.

Oh, darn! I think you've left before I could reply!

No for anyone in particular, but if it comes up in conversation, you can say that Witty sends her regards to all.

Have a great time!

* to check that link*

I missed your posting or else I would have passed on your wishes. The meet was fun and I had lots of hugs from Phil so you could share one of those if you like. I'm keeping the ones from Ashley the italic all to myself. *swoon*

I think I may have made some progress with the youngster in the thread. I'm not getting rudeness back anyway, which is nice to see.

It's been hot and sunny in the UK this week - at last! However, I think that's it and the summer is over. Rain is on its way! Of course it never gets as hot here as you've had it for the past few weeks. I hope you are managing to stay

Sounds like a wonderful time was had at the meet. I'll take a from Phil anytime.

Did you see Gnomon's pictures from the meet? There is one of you looking very bright and happy.

It's remains hot and muggy here. All of New Jersey is practicing water conservation due to a drought. My town in particular just cracked down quite hard. We are allowed no outdoor use of water at all. Not even to water the poor tomato plants, and don't even think about washing the car. We draw our tap water from a river that flows into the ocean. Since the water level is so low, salt water is being drawn up-river very close to the intake pipes.

I think you made an impression on that fellow. I think I bookmarked the conversation. If it perks up again I'll stick my nose in.

He's calmed down, unsubscribed from threads he's been rude to people in and seems to be making a better effort. I'll leave him to it.

I did see those pictures. As you can see it was a hot night. For a better view of me, take a look at Dr EV's, linked from A687701 . There'd a particularly fetching one of the back of my head, my bra straps and my tattoo. The handsome chap whispering in my ear is Ashley the italic, who was on our quiz team and with blatant cheating we managed to come a dismal 4th I believe! The other picture I'm in is when I'm chatting to Mark Moxon. I'm not sure how many people reminded him to pack a towel for Africa, but he remained smiling all night.

Hot and muggy sounds as if it's unbearable. How long before a storm can break it? Every so often the UK has a water shortage. Homes get cut off and water has to be collected in containers from standpipes or even delivered in trucks. The Government appointed a special "drought minister". There was even a national campaign a few years ago to see who could come up with the best ideas for conserving water. The winner was "Share a Bath" but some people thought this was a dreadfully permissive thing to do! Another idea was for every household to put a housebrick in the toilet cistern.

Yes, we really are just a small island! I have no idea if any of this made a difference! After all, this is Britain. It rained soon enough.

Storms may or may not break the humidity. When it is HHH (hazy, hot and humid), it tends to generate thunderstorms late in the afternoon. But if there isn't followed by a cold front moving in from Canada, the storm doesn't really provide any relief.

It's interesting to see the steam rise off the pavement, though.

On the education front, my husband and I made a big decision regarding our younger daughter. We transfered her to a different elementary school in a neighboring town. It's a public school, but because it is in a different school district we have to pay tuition. Statistics:

Old school:
Grades: kindergarten through 5th
540 students
Avg class size: 25

New school:
Grades: kindergarten through 8th
101 students
Avg class size: 10

Advantage goes to the small school with individualized attention and a student handbook with rules for behavior and dress codes that are enforced. It also means that she won't have to attend the Giant Middle School with 1200 student in grades 6-8. My older daughter saw things at that school that should never happen in a school environment.

Maybe I'm too conservative, but I think it is totally unacceptable for oral sex to take place in the classroom. Not to mention the girl who was taking up a collection to pay for her abortion. These kids are 14 years old!

I'm so embarrassed I almost can't hit the post button.

Oh, and your tatoo is so petite. What is it, if I may be so bold to ask?

And now you've got me all intrigued about Ashley. That's only a piece of his face I can see there. I must find a better photo.

These are the official photos from the Winter 2000 meet A493724. I've just discovered an awsome list of all meet photos from Croz. A479441 Well done that man!

You've done exactly the right thing with the school move there. It can't have been that difficult a decision to make. The old school sounds a dreadful place. Good luck and I hope it all goes well.

My petite tattoo is a small bee. I used to wear badges, necklaces or bracelets with a bee on all the time. I'm even wearing one in my student card photo taken when I was 18. I have mugs and a few ornaments too. I'd wanted the tattoo for many years and when I got to 40 a friend booked the appointment at a place so clean that it reminded me of the dentist. She'd got fed up with hearing me say that I would get it done one day! I particularly specified that it shouldn't have a sting in the tail.

Today is overcast and raining. I wish I could send you some.
"I went to England for the whole summer once. I think it was a Wednesday"

* to check out the meet pics.*

Hubba hubba!

I knew we did the right thing when I brought up the possibility of changing schools with her. She was surprised for about 3 seconds, asked if she could visit the school and completely agreed with our reasons for the change. That kid impressed me, I figure she deserves the opportunity to reach her potential. I'm sure I've mentioned it somewhere... she's 10 and will enter 5th grade.