My dad...

My Mama and Papa

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I get the chance to write about my dad.

My dad is awesome...the best...funny, humorous, caring and entertaining. 

My dad was my coach for all of my ball playing days.  He hauled me off to practice after practice and ball game after ball game.  We played "fetch" in the park across the street when I would practice pitching.  He would spend countless hours at pitching clinics and batting practice.  We traveled all around Canada and the US to play ball.  We would wake up before it was light out, get an Egg McMuffin or some donuts on the way to a 7 AM game time with a 6 AM warm up time.  We talked and he taught me everything that he knew about the great game of baseball.

It was our thing.

We would watch Braves games on tv whenever they were on.  I learned how to keep score by watching the games on tv.  He taught me all about stats and what RBI's and OBP's were.  I can honestly say, I know the game better than most.  

Even though I stopped playing ball when I was 19 (I started to travel...met a boy...had kids), it is still our thing, although we root for a new team now...things have not changed much.

Princess' first Christmas present from Big Papa was a ball glove (a lefty...we hoped, but, that did not happen).  It is pink and black.  At not even four years old she can throw a ball better than most kids her age.  Being out here though it is using her foot that has developed a lot (my nemesis...soccer).

My dad is awesome.  He is always there.  He always has been.  He is there to play catch, to watch a game or to move a very heavy piano from one place to another.  My dad is awesome because he has a servant's heart and is always willing to lend a hand.  No matter how heavy something is, or how early you need to leave in the morning to get where you need to be.  He is simply the best.

Happy Father's Day Big Papa!  

Love, Kimo Perez, Hip Hop, Princess and Dimples.  You ROCK!

Our family

Grandpa and Dimples when he was only hours old.  

Dimples with Grandpa.  You cannot see it, but he has baseball shoes on.  Shedding baseball wisdom on his grandson.

Go Sox!  Big Papa with Princess...also sporting the team we represent!

A Bittersweet Ending...

This is my class...my wonderfully challenging and beautiful class...

I have done all I can do to teach my grade 7's.  Classes have ended and exams have come and gone.  The marking is finished and the report cards are done.  There is still one week of work left...cleaning up the class, dealing with textbooks and moving to my new classroom for next year.   I had been counting down the days to get this point.  I was excited to finish the year and enjoy my summer.  I looked forward to the end of the week...and when it came I was sad.

I had a spectacular year teaching here.  It was my first year and as I blogged previously, it was a year of ups and downs and teaching assignment changes.  I learned a lot of things about myself as a teacher, discovered my strengths as a teacher, and finally settled on a classroom set up I actually like...in May.

I have spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the past 10 months with the students.  Most of them came into grade 7 unaware of what the year would hold.  Many of them were still very naive and open to many new ideas and ways of doing things.  A lot of them had little to no organization skills and the world of Middle School, class changes and lots of teachers was overwhelming to them.  At the beginning they required a lot of guidance.

By the end, most of the students emerged from their shell.  They have grown into beautiful, intelligent young people, full of interesting and insightful questions and perspectives.  When I look at the topics we discussed in social studies, it is incredible to see a shift in their perspectives particularly as it pertains to human rights.  I gave them a self reflective evaluation of their levels of Global Citizenship the other day.  Their responses and comments were incredibly honest and reflective.  I was impressed.

Then it hit me.  I am going to miss these kids!  They will move on to grade 8 and encounter more new teachers and new ideas and I will stay in grade 7 and welcome the next batch of students to the world of middle school.  It is a job that I love...they require so much guidance in grade 7.  But, now that I have seen my first group come and go, I know that I have it in me to engage in facilitating the transition.

My students like to write me notes at the end of tests and assignments.  Some of them tell me the "test was too hard", or "wow, that was super easy".  But, at the end of the exams, the notes written were of a different nature.  They did not complain about the exam being tough or too easy, or too long...these comments were ones of gratitude.  "Thanks for a great year...I learned so much and it has been the best year of school EVER!", and, "Ms. K, you are the best", and, "Ms. K, thanks for being entertaining".

These comments were unexpected...and made me wish there was more time left in the year to spend with them.  Although they were challenging at times, (what 12-13 year old isn't), they were a blessing and they taught me many valuable lessons.  I sent them off to grade 8...and I know that they will be a blessing to whoever teaches them next year.

But, I am ready to return to Canada...that is my new countdown...T-13 days.  I cannot wait.

Musings on the elections

I am sure that some of you are surprised that I have not yet written about the historical event occurring in Egypt these days.  The truth is, I have been shying away from commenting on anything political so that I do not offend anyone.  But, I have still been following the events here very closely and drawing many conclusions based on conversations with Egyptians and balancing that with what I see, hear and read in the news.

The Egyptian political mentality baffles me.  The fall of Mubarak gave them the courage to stand up for what they perceive to be right.  That if they show up by the thousands and make their demands clear, that they will ultimately get what they want.  It appears that the fact that the greatest way of expressing your desires, through voting, was missed by many.  Only 50% of the Egyptian population turned out to vote in the historical election.

There were a lot of candidates to choose from.  Therefore, many ways for the votes to go.  There were suspected front runners as there always are.  Two of the front runners, were indeed the final two.  But, neither candidate accumulated more than 50% of the vote.  So, Egyptians head back to the poles in a run-off election between a candidate from the Muslim Brotherhood, and, a candidate that was once a part of Mubarak's group.

The Egyptians that were hoping for a moderate government were not particularly happy with the outcome.  This is the category that many of the people we know fall into.  This is the group of people that heads out with vigor to Tahrir when they are unhappy. When the results were announced.  They headed out to stand up for what they wanted.  Some set fires, some threw shoes, most were partaking in a peaceful sit-in.  I have to wonder, how many of them actually went out and voted?

For these people, the idea of going back to a Mubarak candidate or to the Brotherhood candidate are equally bad options.  But, in the end, most seem more fearful of a Brotherhood president.  We will have to wait and see what happens on the 16 - 17 of June.

Then in the midst of all of this...Mubarak was sentenced and the people were not happy with his sentence.  Life in prison.  Many were hoping for his execution.  Many of the others that were up for sentencing were acquitted They headed to Tahrir again.

Tahrir is a place of revolution, of drastic change and a demonstration of the power of the voice of the people.  At the same time, it represents the idea that we can get what we want when we stand in numbers.  This is not always the case.  But, it is refreshing to see people passionately stand up for what they believe in.

As the year is winding down, and exam reviews occur in class, I asked my grade 7's to fill out an evaluation of their level of global understanding.  It covered many ideas that were covered in class throughout the year in social studies.  The statements they needed to evaluate themselves on ranged from, "I understand the connection between people and the earth", to, "I understand Human Rights", to, "I solve conflicts without violence".  Some of their comments on these points solidifies the ideas I posted above.

I received numerous responses that involved Tahrir.  These are my grade 7's.  They cannot vote, but, they are more politically aware, and more politically involved than the majority of the students I have encountered in Canada.  One can only hope that this interest in politics carries with them as they get older and that they will always head out to vote.

The future of Egyptian politics is unknown.  It is a mystery that will begin to unfold in the coming weeks, months and years.  

A Delicious Day...

I wrote this blog a couple of days ago...sorry for the delay in posting...

I do not normally blog about food.  Probably because I spend most of my day at the school and by the time I get home I am tired and do not want to venture into my kitchen.  But, today it is a must!  It is how I spent my day, and my concoctions were too good not to share.

Since the Presidential Elections were yesterday and today, the school closed for homeschooling days and I get to be a housewife, stay home with the kids, read books, and cook.  My little princess is quite the little chef and she is very helpful and motivating in the kitchen.

After a delicious breakfast including french toast with fruit compote, we decided that we would have a picnic by the playground.  Typically, I would try and keep things simple and quick because that is all the time that I have.  But, with no agenda today, I was in the kitchen.

My first creation was a pasta salad with a basil vinaigrette.  The salad was simple enough, elbow noodles, red pepper, tomato and cucumber...but the dressing is what made the salad outstanding.  And so incredibly simple.  It really is a wonder more people do not make their own dressings.  I was one of those store bought dressings people until we moved here.  The dressings that are available are either unappealing, or, expensive because they are imported.  So, I began a quest of making my own...kind of like my journey with soup (as mentioned in a previous post).  The results have been incredible, not to mention, a healthier option for us.

I was going to stop there, but then decided that we needed some type of dessert for our picnic.  I have come across a dynamite oatmeal raisin cookie recipe in the last couple weeks and decided to alter it and put in chocolate chips.  Then the problems began.  I did not have enough butter, or oats.  The batter seemed stickier than before and I fixed it up to the best of my ability expecting a disastrous product.  When they came out of the oven they were moist and delicious; just a little short on oats.  The funny thing is that the place where I got the recipe from considered it a "healthy" cookie.  Really, a "healthy" cookie with one cup of butter in the mix.  I don't think so.  But, still very delicious.

Then, I thought our meal was complete.  I read a monkey book to the kids.  We drew and colored some robots...and I decided we needed a little more.  A burger, but I had no ground beef, only ground turkey.  And basil inspiration hit me again.  Turkey burgers with basil mayo...sounded delicious.  So, back into the kitchen I went and tossed the burgers in the oven (I wish I had a BBQ).  The basil mayo whipped together very quickly, the burgers roasted up really nice.  I sliced up some tomatoes and wrapped everything up.  This is all before 10:30 in the morning.

It was fabulous.  The kids ran around the playground and slid down the slide.  Hubby and I munched on our lunch.  It could not get any better.  The recipes are listed below.  Sorry there are no pictures...the memory card is having some difficulties...

Basil Vinaigrette

1 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic

Option 1: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.  Let sit for a minimum of 30 minutes.  Then, strain out the basil and garlic.

Option 2: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.  Put in a food processor until smooth.

Pour over favorite salad.

Lemon Basil Mayo

1 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves fresh garlic
3 tbsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients until smooth.  Let stand for 30 minutes.  Serve on sandwiches or burgers.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
3 cups oats
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1) Cream together butter and sugar until smooth.  Stir in eggs, vanilla and honey. Sift flour, soda and cinnamon.  Stir into creamed mixture.  Stir in oats and raisins.  Form into balls and bake for 10-15 minutes.  Seriously, the best oatmeal cookie ever.

Perceptions on Negligent Parenting

I have had this blog post sitting, completely written for a couple weeks, contemplating whether or not to publish it.  But, as the pool and swimming season is now present in many places around the world, I finally decided to post it.

I am by no means declaring that I am the perfect parent.  There are times that I just want to rest and I cannot because the little ones want to play.  I begrudgingly entertain their request at first, but, always have fun whether it is coloring, a game or a puzzle.  I always leave play time invigorated.

But, I have to comment on negligent parenting because I see far too much of it.

A couple weeks ago, our family went on a trip to a resort along the Red Sea.  We had a fabulous time as documented in previous blog posts.  But, one thing disturbed me greatly.  A little girl, seven years old, on her own in the pool.  Not a parent or guardian in sight.  She quickly attached herself to Princess and as a result, Auntie and I supervised her in the pool.

As we got to know this little girl, my heart started break for her.  Her mom was on the trip with her...and her boyfriend.  She told us many stories about her family and how she does not like the boyfriend.  She remembers her dad being sent away.  Her mom, quite young to have a seven year old, clearly had no intention of spending time with her daughter.  Someone could have walked off with the little girl and the mom would not have noticed.

My biggest concern for this little girl that could not swim, was that she was being unsupervised by the pool.  As the summer season approaches, the idea of swimming becomes enticing for many people.  But, swimming and supervision of little ones must go hand in hand.  This little girl, unsupervised, unable to swim could have been in real danger.  Sure, she had some water wings, but that is not enough to save her if she starts to sink!

Then, the next day, a dad left his daughter at the pool (again by Auntie and myself...I stated to think we should charge for babysitting).  This little girl was no more than 2 years old.  Clearly unable to swim.  Immediately, I felt obligated to stay with her until mom and dad came back.  But, as Princess opted to leave that pool for the waterslide, I had to leave.  I still kept my eye on her.  It took almost 10 minutes for the parents to come and get the little two year old girl.  A lot can happen in 10 minutes, especially around a pool.

Then, at dinner that night (a buffet), the little two year old girl and her parents sat at a table near us.  Dimples cannot sit still at dinner and we constantly have to get him and return him to his seat, but, he does not leave the table area.  This little two year old, got up and walked away from the table multiple times.  The parents did not seem to notice she was missing.  One time the mom got up to get her, but, did so very unhappily.   Then, a very loud scream permeated the restaurant.  Everyone was looking around except for the parents of the little girl.  Sure enough, this little girl had walked behind the buffet, to the grilling area.  She was clearly frightened and in a very unsafe place.

I understand that these parents were on vacation, but, the negligence is unavoidable.  Plus, the assumption that other adults will care for your children without being asked is completely irresponsible.

I was frightened for both of these little girls.  Without the attention of the parents, many things could happen.  The two year old could not talk, but, the things that the seven year old was telling us was incredible. She clearly feels the neglect and found attention from Auntie and myself and she would come to find us if we were around.

Being a teacher, I have seen the results of parental neglect regularly.  Some students have shared their stories and it blows my mind to think that there are parents out there that take their children for granted and think of them as a responsibility, rather than a privilege.  Children are a blessing, not a burden and as such we should give them every ounce of attention that we can give them to ensure that they feel loved, cared for and safe.  It is the very bottom of Maslow's Pyramid and sets the foundation for self-actualization as an adult.  If a child does not feel loved, cared for and safe, they will never have a foundation to build upon and will have great difficulty reaching a level of self-esteem and self-actualization in their future. 

It is evident when students do not have a foundation to build on.  These are students that have been pushed aside for most of their lives, left to fend for themselves.  They see their teachers as mentors and cling to them. They come home to parents that have worked all day and want to rest.  I can relate!  By the end of the day, I would love to rest.  But, having been separated from my two charming and beautiful children all day, I cannot imagine not playing with them, and teaching them, and answering as many of their inquisitive questions as possible.

Let's try and take the stories above to inspire us, as parents, to view our children as a privilege and joy, rather than a burden and responsibility.   

Manitoba's Education Decline - Part 4

I think that this will be my final post on this topic.  I do want to address the issue of drop outs because it is an issue that is not resolving itself in Manitoba.

As the world as a whole is moving towards a reality where, most jobs, even entry level jobs, require a post-secondary education of some sort, it makes me wonder why there are so many drop outs.  If this is actually the case, many teenagers are setting themselves up for failure.

In February of 2011, I had the chance to sit in on a round table discussion on CJOB about this exact same issue. There were a number of highly ranked people in various school divisions as well as the head of the Manitoba Teachers Society and the Minister of Education.  The topic was entirely about high school drops, why they are dropping out and what can be done to prevent students from dropping out.  It was a fascinating experience and I was very intimidated to share my thoughts.  But, in the end, it went very well.

The discussion ultimately settled on the engagement and motivation of students.  To be blunt, some classes, with some teachers are boring.  There is not much stimulation in the environment from an intellectual perspective on many occasions.  If students cannot guide their own learning, they may not care as much.  This is where the idea of rote learning, worksheets, textbooks and readings make classes mundane.  But, rote learning is easy to teach.  It requires little effort in production, is straight forward for the students and requires little guidance.  The class is the same for all the students in the room regardless of what their interests are.

Engaging students mean that we reach them where they are at.  If they are expressing interest in current political events, find a way to weave that into your social studies class.  If they find design interesting, find a way to make projects available to them where they can design a waterpark or a playground using skills that the learn in mathematics.  If they are interested in book series based on Greek Mythology, teach a Greek Mythology unit in your English class.  So, if it is that straightforward, then, why don`t more teachers employ this type of teaching method?   Well, that is easy.  It is not as straightforward as it may seem.  It does take more effort and your course takes deviations every year as a result.  Plus, for this to work, a teacher needs to get to know their students.  You cannot plan lessons around the interests of the students if you do not know your students...and getting to know your students takes time!

I have seen students walk out of class fascinated by what they had learned.  They were engaged, they were interested, but most importantly, they learned!  I have seen it in multiple classes...and it never fails.  When they want to know more about what you have to say suddenly, behaviour issues disappear and talking reduces to a minimum and students actually do their work and get it in on time.  That is when you know you are doing well.  But again, it takes a lot of extra work.

So, what does this all have to do with drop outs?  Well, that is where the discussion began during the round table just over a year ago.  The issues raised above were discussed at length.  But, eventually it moved into a discussion about attention span and artificial realities.

The attention span of students is diminishing rapidly.  Due to the increase of technology at the disposal of students, they cannot focus their attention for long if there is no technology for them to use.  They do not like to sit and take notes, the do not like to sit and read and get distracted by everything around them.  BUT, all of these issues can be quickly combated with some of the strategies listed above...everything ultimately comes down to creating interactive and engaging lessons.

Sometimes, it does not matter how interesting or engaging a lesson can be.  Some students make choices to work instead of go to class.  Some students choose to cut class to get high or get drunk.  Some students have no one encouraging them to get to class, others could really care less.  Some feel that no one will miss them if they do not go to class.  Others feel they need to be working to help mom or dad pay the bills.  There is no doubt that is no shortage of reasons why students choose to be away from school, but, the reality is, that without that high school diploma, life will always be a little more difficult for them.

Some students feel that their teacher is just their for their job, to get their paycheck and take their vacation.  But, there are some teachers out there (more than just a few) that are genuinely interested in the success and well being of their students.  Those are the teachers that go the extra mile in their lesson planning to create the lessons that will make the students want to come.  And, if there is one class that a student REALLY wants to attend, they will make an effort to get to school to be there for that one class.  Then, because they are already at school, they may stick around for the rest of the day.

The students that concern me the most however, are the students that are brilliant, but, drop out because the material being covered is not challenging.  Although students constantly complain about the amount of work or the difficulty of work, students thrive on challenge.  Students grow through challenge.  The easy and mundane work is often what is left alone and left undone.  It is the challenging work that allows self expression that gets completed.  This is another HUGE reason why teachers need to get to know their students.  If the teacher really knows where their students are at academically, they can appropriately challenge each student.

If you are a teacher, I challenge you to be the one who brings the student to school when they REALLY do not want to be there.

Manitoba's Education Decline Part 3

Some of my teaching contemporaries have stumbled upon my blog and have sent very encouraging comments to my personal mail.  I am grateful for your support in this blog series! Today I am going to discuss science briefly.  This post should not be long as I do not teach the subject.  But, I do still have some observations about science.

Overall science rates are dropping in Manitoba; just like reading and math.  This actually makes logical sense.  The three major components of science are Biology, Chemistry and Physics.  Biology is largely involving visual media in print form, utilizing memorization of concepts.  This requires higher reading levels and exceptional study skills to master.  Physics and Chemistry largely involves formulas and mathematical calculations.  This requires a solid foundation in mathematics to be successful.

If you have read my previous two blogs on this topic, science suddenly seems to be somewhere in between literacy and numeracy; a fascinating combination of both!  Perhaps this is why I always enjoyed science, it is the best of both worlds.

But, with science being the "best of both worlds", students really need to have a good grasp of literacy and comprehension and mathematical foundations.  If either are lacking, science can be a very frustrating endeavor for students.  Sure, the students that excel in literacy will find the biology units to be simple, but may struggle with chemistry and physics.  Those that excel in mathematics will love chemistry and physics yet detest biology.  It is not until grade 11 that students get to choose the science that they are interested in, so, until then, students waver in the inbetween of science.

Although I do not teach science, I do hear students talk about it.  Depending which unit they are studying, depends on the comments.  It is quite clear that science is a very relevant subject that students can quickly connect to the things around them.  Pulleys are everywhere, biology surrounds us and everything is made of matter.  There are real world connections sitting in every classroom.  This should make science the most interesting class of all, yet, because the foundations of literacy and mathematics have been dropping, science suffers too.

It is not fair to the science teacher to have to spend time teaching basic algebra to students who do not understand the concepts.  That is something that should be drilled by the math teacher.  Working through the basic algebra in science then rips time away from the fascinating world of science.

So, to me, it is natural to see the difficulty in science if there is difficulty with literacy and with math.  They all go together.  So, if you want to see an increase in your science mark, head back to math and reading.  Pull up your socks there, and suddenly all things come together in science!

Perhaps this is not the most enlightening post, but it is the one thing that makes sense.  Can`t read, can`t use formulas...can`t do science.  It all ties together in the end.