Officially Retired

 
I am officially retired. There, I've said it. It likely won't sink in until August when I DON'T have to report back to school. Even so, this year is different because of all the good byes. Good byes to my students, good byes to colleagues and a few to people who have become genuine friends. Perhaps the hardest was to go today, Wednesday, to the memorial service for the mother of another retiring teacher. Never an easy thing, the sorrow was palpable. But the memories shared were good. Rest in peace, Honey Salzman.

I never planned on being a teacher. In fact, I privately laughed at teacher ed courses. I am still convinced that for a high school teacher, a strong background in your subject area can overcome weakness in other areas. Even after a pretty trying first year of teaching, I decided to stay with it. Ten years later, I left education and was miserable. I missed it very much. I came back the next year and have never looked back. I have been blessed. I have had 2 great teaching experiences. one at my alma mater, Norfolk Christian High School, for ten years and the other at Pine View School for the Gifted, 27 years. I wish them both continued success in their mission to educate young people.

But I am moving on. The next chapter in my life is titled, Go See The Eclipse and Take A Kid With You. But I need help. The vast majority of people in America are clueless about this upcoming eclipse. My job for the next 2+ years is to inform and educate them about the eclipse and the benefits of viewing/experiencing it.

I am closing this blog and transitioning to goseetheeclipse.com, where I will post updates on celestial events and the eclipse. (And you can buy my book. It makes a great gift.) I will also use facebook to let you know where I am traveling and what is happening in the sky.

Thank you for reading this and following this adventure that was my final year in the classroom. I knew it would go by quickly and it did.

The Time Has Come

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."- The Walrus and The Carpenter, L. Carroll

The book of Ecclesiastes says "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." Then gives a list of the kinds of activities that qualify as those having a season. While there is no mention of retirement anywhere in that list, it has come to be in our society that if you live and work long enough, retirement usually becomes an option. And so it is with me. Today, May 29, 2015 was my last day in the classroom with students. It's true I have 2 more days in my contract next week, but teaching is about the students, so that is what I count.
This was exam week for the high school. That means less than it used to. Advanced Placement courses had their national exam 3 or 4 weeks ago. Several science and social studies courses have state administered End Of Course (EOC) exams 2 and 3 weeks ago. In both those cases, the student has no school/teacher administered final exam this week. Astronomy is neither of those so I gave my exam yesterday, Thursday, May 28. For many, it was their last final exam of the year and for seniors, their high school career. It was my final final exam to give.
This week was a roller coaster of emotions for me. There was excitement at the impending conclusion of my teaching career and the prospects of freedom of schedule and opportunity to travel, alternating with regret that I would be losing the opportunity to teach any more students. A chapter in the story of my life was definitely reaching a conclusion. 
There was a study done several decades ago seeking a correlation between certain life events and illness. The interesting thing I took from the study was the ranking of life change events and their stress. The most stressful is the death of a spouse. Retirement ranked tenth behind marital reconciliation and ahead of pregnancy/gaining a new family member. The take away is that retirement is not necessarily free of stress, both for the retired worker and the (in my case) wife.
Regardless, I determined that I was going to make this week worth remembering. I gave more handshakes and hugs than I can remember. I used more than my usual amount of tissue wiping my eyes. There is no doubt, I am going to miss this.
Wednesday, the day before the astronomy final exam, my last period astronomy class pulled a fast one on my. They got me good. As students were coming in to class, a campus aide came up to me and told me the principal wanted to see me. This has not happened to me since I was a student. I told her that I had a class to teach and she said she would watch them, after taking me to the office in her golf cart. So I went and told the students I would be back as soon as I could.

We drove to the admin building and went to the principal's office. His secretary said that he had not called for me and he was busy. I was a little confused and chalked it up to miscommunication. We drove back to my classroom and as I approached, I noticed that the small window in the door was covered with a cardboard insert that I use when showing video clips or slides. I thought the students were playing around and as I opened the door, heard a shout "Surprise. Happy Retirement!" or something similar. They got me. I had not a clue. (And, yes, the aide and secretary were in on it.) They posted a sign at the front of the room, festooned the room with balloons and had cake and soft drinks. (A student posted pictures on facebook. Here's one of them.) Thank you, guys.

 In the photo I am holding a wooden box. That was a gift from another student. He had heard me make reference, from time to time, to getting on and off my soap box, so he made me an actual soap box, sturdy enough that I can really stand on. That was a terrific present. Thank you Peter.


 I have told you that I have great students. And these things serve as evidence.

Thank you for reading this. I will make one more post here before I transition to a blog at my goseetheeclipse.com site.

The End is Nigh

I've got to say it right up front. As of this moment there are 9 more days of school, so the countdown has begun. This thing is really going to happen.

This was a busy week. Last Saturday was Cobalt (if you don't know, don't ask). The students cleaned up extremely well and the outfits were very nice. I must say that this type of event is where the ladies certainly shine. I mean the boys (young men) showered, cleaned up nice, wore tuxes, some came in limousines, and were quite dapper. But the ladies really had the stage. I mean bright color dresses, dramatic designs, terrific coiffures, and high heels made for one great visual impression. And a very memorable evening. Oh, and the dance floor: so cozy, so warm, so active. I actually stepped onto it for 5 minutes or so and pretended to have a sense of rhythm.

This was held at a new venue, The Devyn. Trying to find a place to comfortably hold the 300 or so (I don't really know how many) students for dinner and a dance is difficult in Sarasota. But this place worked reasonable well. I would come back.

Then we had the second of the two AP Exam weeks. Students who took multiple AP courses this year were very busy. Once again my classes were affected, but it worked out alright. Friday I gave the last of my weekly constellation quizzes. There is a final test on these this coming Thursday. This is the one thing that sets my astronomy class apart from every other that I know of in the country. I make the students learn all the constellations that can be seen from Sarasota. There are 66 of them. I am so pleased with the progress they have made and I know that many of them will actually remember these for many years, and if they practice just a bit, for a life.

This afternoon the Pine View Foundation and PVA hosted a get together for the retiring teachers. It was very nice to see some retired teachers who came back and visited. The time was very rewarding for me. My family was there and as long as there were cookies and soda, my grand-daughter was happy. There is no question that it is the people that make the institution. I have truly enjoyed my time teaching at Pine View. I'll say more about that in a later post.

Each of the retirees got an opportunity to say something. So naturally I mentioned that I am going to be busy promoting the total solar eclipse of 2017 and my book about it. If you haven't already, like my facebook page, Go See The Eclipse, or my website goseetheeclipse.com . Either has all the information you need about the eclipse.

May the fourth be with you

This week saw May the fourth, a pseudo-holiday for Star Wars aficionados, Cinco de Mayo, an actual holiday in some locations, and May the seventh, the day the AP Computer Science Exam was given, the final one of my teaching career. In an interesting side note, I was not anywhere near the exam room when it was given. The College Board does not want teachers of a given subject anywhere near the testing room, lest they see some of the questions or help a student, I guess. So during AP Exam weeks (there are 2) we hire exam proctors whose sole job it is to deal with handling, supervising, and collecting all the AP exams we give (which is a LOT). In addition to AP testing we have FSA (Florida Standards Assessment) and EOCs (end of course) exams, so we (at least the high school) are up to our eyeballs in testing. Since I knew this was coming I had my astronomy students working on presentations for their 4th quarter astronomer biographies.

This has also been Teacher Appreciation Week (my last) and our parents have shown once again that they are the best. No really. At least when it comes to food and feeding us. We have enjoyed daily repasts of breakfast, lunches and dessert (ice cream). They have been doing this for years now and it never gets old for us teachers. The food is wonderful and the chance to sit and talk with others that I don't normally get to, is also appreciated.

I went to see a 5th grade class do water rocket launches today. The students, in teams, had designed, one per team, and built a rocket using a 2 liter bottle as the fuselage. They then launched the rocket using a special launcher that controls the process and is safe to use when used properly. I enjoyed seeing them liftoff in a rush, only to spend their fuel and drift slowly back to earth.

I have noticed that the closer we get to the end of the year, the more comments I get from others about my impending retirement. I don't bring it up. They do. The cutest is the office assistant who reminds me, "Your days are numbered." Many people ask me "How many days?" I reply with "June 2nd. All I know is June 2nd." A few tell me that they are envious of me and my retirement. I must admit I have mixed emotions. I am having a terrific year. Great kids, classes I enjoy, and a full paycheck ;-) Although I do have the eclipse to look forward to in retirement.It will be BIG!

So remember, Go See The Eclipse And Take a Kid with You.

Stop Mocking Me

As I write this, the count down clock on my blog says there are 36 days until retirement. That doesn't seems possible. This year is going by so fast. I thought that it might, but the reality is setting in. In my distorted version of Latin, tempus fidgets. Oh, there was one "last" this week. Much of life in PV high school classes revolves around AP courses. We offer 23 or 24 of them. The national exams are in early May. In preparation for those we try to simulate exam conditions by giving students a mock AP exam. This year we tried something a little different. In prior years, these mock exams were spread over two weeks or more. It really disrupted the other classes for the entire two weeks. This year we packed almost all of them into one week. This week was a total mess, instructionally speaking, but it was just one week. I gave my last such test Friday to my computer science students. As a result I spent most of Saturday grading them. (Grading AP exams is not for the faint of heart.) The students have 8 school days to finish preparation for their exam on May 7. I realize that some students take four and five of these courses. The next few weeks will be very stressful for them.

One of the hallmarks or distinctives of my astronomy class is that, over the course of the year, I have the students learn the names and key facts about the constellations we can see from Sarasota. This is a lot of constellations, sixty-six to be exact. There are eighty-eight altogether, but some can only be seen from the southern hemisphere. The students learn these two or three each week. Every Friday we have a quiz that is cumulative and I am so pleased that they have managed to learn so much about these. Most of them have missed some items on the quizzes and lost points but for those who manage to go the entire year with perfect scores, I have two awards. They are exempt from the final constellation test and they receive a certificate awarding them the status of Magister Siderium, Master of the Stars. As of now thirteen of my ninety-six students are still in the running for this award, the most I have ever had.

To show how unusual my requirement of learning constellations is in astronomy courses, I must tell you a story. Last summer I had coffee with a former astronomy student, who went to college majoring in astrophysics. She entered a graduate program and, several years later, successfully defended her dissertation again in astrophysics. She told me that the department had the graduate students help with undergrad labs and public stargazes. She knew that she would always get to talk about constellations because she was the only doctoral student who knew them! I, personally, am a little sad when I realize that learning about the celestial sphere and the constellations is not on the radar of astronomy departments. I have had former students tell me, in a pleased tone of voice, how they were able to show their parents/girl/boy friend/children the constellations and stars they learned in my class. <Big smile>

And if anyone asks you what my favorite constellation is, it's Perseus the Hero, slayer of the Medusa as portrayed in movie Clash of the Titans, the 1982 version anyway. The story line was altered beyond recognition in the newer release.

Thanks for reading this post.

No Man Is an Island

 

There is no question that there is a new fragrance wafting on the breeze around campus. It has been around for a while as a faint, hard to discern aroma, but has blossomed into a heady scent. Some would call it the bouquet of spring (Okay, it's practically summer in Florida.)  Others would call it the smell of freedom. I'm not sure what to call it, but it has cheered me, despite the loss of instructional time due to student testing and field trips. This has been a good week and I fully expect to have six more of these before June 2nd, the last day for teachers this year, and for me, period. The book that I announced last week is progressing nicely. I received the proof copy and approved it. It looks great, if I say so myself. They are now converting it to a Kindle ebook format that will be available on amazon.com. Again, as soon as that is ready, I will let you know. Trust me.

This week I have started using my planning and lunch periods to walk around campus and reflect on my time in the classroom at Pine View and at Norfolk Christian High, where I graduated and taught for ten years before moving to Florida. PV's campus is so big and departmentalized that you can go nearly a year without seeing other teachers in the 'north 40' as I call the new building. I have decided to make deliberate stops and visit with some of the other teachers I never get to see, while I am still on campus. This has been cathartic. Reconnecting with these people has been uplifting and encouraging to me and reminds me again and again, what a great place I have had the opportunity to work. Are there issues with the place? Sure. Are there things I would change? Yes. Is this a great place to teach. Oh, YES!

Each quarter in astronomy the students do a report that is a biography of someone who made significant contributions in the field of astronomy. We start with historical figures and work our way to the present. This quarter students will make a presentation instead of a report. I additionally made the requirement that they make note of the names of people in their astronomer's life who influenced them or who they influenced or collaborated with. Which made me think of the people who have influenced me in my career and life. I know when you start lists like this, there is always the danger of leaving someone off the list who definitely belongs. If that happens I will make an addendum next time.

My favorite teacher in high school was Don Emmett. I had him for math, physics and as class sponsor. When I went back to teach at my alma mater, he was still there, so I got to be his colleague as well as his student. We have kept in touch and spent a day together last summer. Great man to know. Keith Phillips, 'Coach', taught American History but was the basketball and baseball coach. I was team manager, so got to spend much time with the team and Coach. A great experience being manager. In college there were two: my physics professor, Elmer Nussbaum, a great and humble man who was a great teacher and mentor. Also my computer science professor, Wally Roth, who was a huge help. We kept in touch and we even worked together as APCS readers one summer. Great role model.

When I started at Pine View, a teacher was designated as my mentor for my first year. I will never forget, Sol Malinsky. My first year at PV turned out to be his last. I am grateful for the chance to get to know this loud, boisterous, obnoxious sounding man who had a heart as big as all outdoors. He would gently poke fun at the students and had crazy nicknames for many, but they knew he liked them and they loved him for it. He died in 1990 and the service was packed with students, friends and family. Bernie Brenner taught next door to me on the old campus. She taught English. We attended the same church for several years and I appreciated her skills as a teacher. She passed away and her memorial service was touching and memorable. Sharon Griffiths was, I believe PVs first full time computer teacher. The program was growing and they needed another, so I was hired.  She was on the committee that interviewed me. I was grateful they made the decision they did. Sharon and I were the Tech Department for 5 years.

I may add to this list, because there are so many who helped and encouraged me along the way. I hope that I have done the same for others. God has been good to me. Thanks for reading this post.

The Big Reveal

Before I get to the title topic, I have to mention one thing. This week our school's history club put on a day long simulation of the Renaissance. This was for all grades, 2 through 12. It involved doing all kinds of activities of the time period (roughly 1450 to 1650). Among the titles of these activities were:  stained glass, armor workshop, apothecary, Sistine Chapel painting, weaving, Mermaid Tavern, The Renaissance Museum, and meet Copernicus and Galileo. I had the privilege of being Galileo for the day and performing in a recreation of a court trial during one period. Bonnie made a terrific costume with pants, top and hat for me. Thank you, dear, for making it. The tights weren't so, but other than that, it was terrific and I had a great time. No, really, I had a wonderful time. NOTE: I chose not to use an Italian accent because mine is really cheesy. Pine View has a history of doing these simulations. The first that I recall was the Berlin wall simulation in 1990. There have been others. This is the first one that I have been directly involved in, partly because I do not teach history and partly because I did not feel a direct connection to the theme. What was different this year was the character, Galileo. I teach about Galileo every year in astronomy. And since this is my last year, how could I not.

Speaking of which, when people hear that I will be retiring at the end of this school year, the most common response is "What are you going to do after you retire?" Well, hear is the answer. (I am doing this today, because I presented at a conference this weekend, so it is out.)

I teach astronomy (among other things). It is a hobby as well. I enjoy seeing and sharing the wonderful sights that are in the heavens. Saturn and its rings, Jupiter and its moons, and the Orion Nebula are three of the sights that are considered among the most beautiful and ones I try to make sure my students see. Another one those sights is a total solar eclipse. Most of my students have never seen one. How many of you others reading this can say that you have seen one? Not a partial solar eclipse, but a total. Probably not many of you. That is because they are rare at any given location. Bonnie and I have traveled to see 5 of them. They are common globally but at any given location they occur on the average once every 200-300 years. The last one visible east of the Mississippi River in the USA was in 1970. Forty-five years without one. That is a long time. But that drought is about to end. Mark your calendars for August 21, 2017 because a total solar eclipse will be visible along a 60-70 mile wide strip going from coast to coast, west to east, Pacific to Atlantic. I want as many people as possible to see it. But especially school age children.

After I retire, my (self-imposed) job will be to promote and inform people about the eclipse and encourage people to go see it. [What follows is a shameless plug. You have been notified.] To that end I have written a book, Go See The Eclipse And Take a Kid With You. The book will give you a taste of what it is like to travel to see one of these. Each one of the five trips I have taken has been an adventure in and of itself. The book contains ways to prepare to view solar eclipses and information specific to this upcoming one. For instance, the center line of this eclipse travels through 12 states, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina Georgia, and South Carolina. You will have to be in one of those states to see the eclipse. I show you specifically where you can go.  I have a companion website, http://goseetheeclipse.com and a facebook page. The book will be available in early May on amazon.com as an ebook and on createspace.com as a print on demand softcover hardcopy. The website is up and will be fully functional soon. After June 2, I will be closing this blog and transitioning to a blog on that site.

The cover of my book.

Put a Great Title Here

Bubble, insertion, selection and merge. What do these word have in common? The answer is, not much, unless you know a little about computer programming. In that case you could continue the list with quick, shell, heap, and shaker, among others. These are names for different ways to sort data sets. I mentioned in my last post that my teacher observation was in my AP Computer Science class and the lesson had to do with sorting data. I have just listed the names of 8 different ways to sort data. There are many more. Why in the world would there be so many different ways to get such a simple job done? And, yes, at its heart sorting data is a simple task. Part of the answer is that not all data sets are the same and different sorts are better at sorting some data sets than others. Another part of the answer is that we are creative creatures and sometimes enjoy the challenge of finding another, maybe better, way of doing something. One of favorite sayings in APCS is one my mother said many times as I was growing up: "there is more than one way to skin a cat." Having never done this particular activity, I can't vouch for its validity, but I think it is simply a way of saying that things don't always have to be done the same way. In fact, there is a lot to be said for recognizing that when someone does something in a way that is not the 'usual way' and it does the job, we should acknowledge it.

Several years ago I was a reader for the AP Computer Science test. I spent 7 days on a college campus with 120 other computer science teachers and professors (including my college computer programming professor!) We had a couple days of training and 5 days of grading the free response questions from that year's test. The APCS exam has 40 multiple choice questions and 4 free response (sort of like essay) questions where they usually have to write code to solve a problem. During the grading week we each graded one question and one question only, 700 times. The same question, 700 times. This particular exam is notoriously difficult to grade because, in fact, there is 'more than one way to skin a cat'. Several more ways and we, as readers, had to able to grade them all in a fair, equivalent, consistent manner.

Why am I telling you this? I have taught APCS for over 20 years and it has taught me one thing for sure, not all students learn the same way and not all students perform equally well in all ways. For instance, in astronomy we have book test, but we also do many online activities. I love the website known as APOD, Astronomy Picture Of the Day. Since 1996, NASA has posted a picture related to some astronomical topic. It is accompanied by a paragraph of description and explanation written by a knowledgeable person. That is a lot of pictures. You could do an entire course in astronomy just using these images. Check it out. This is a link to the archive page which lists all images: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
I also have them do reports and presentations. But best of all are the two ways we experience the sky: in Starlab and through a telescope at nighttime observations. I get no greater thrill than showing someone something they have never seen before through a telescope and them responding with a "that's cool" or just "wow." We haven't had one in a while so we're due.

In other news, Thursday we had our Cobalt Reveal, the current method the junior class Cobalt Committee has of telling the rest of the juniors and the seniors the theme and location of this year's Cobalt (think prom.) It is at The Devyn, a relatively new venue in Sarasota for this kind of event. I am looking forward to going especially since it will be my last one. Everyone looks fabulous in their gowns and tuxes. They do clean up well.

Let me remind you that I will be making a big announcement next post. You don't want to miss it.

Thanks for reading this.

Re-Evaluating the Situation

Well, This week I had my last full-class-period observation by an administrator as part of my teacher evaluation. Since my teaching goals this year related to AP Computer Science, that was the class in which I was observed. It went great. I had a good time, the kids got to do an activity that hopefully gave them better insight into the topic at hand (sorting algorithms) and the administrator posted encouraging comments. Sorting (and searching) is the last topic left to cover before the national exam. We have a mock AP exam April 24 that is their actual final exam in the class. That's right, the final exam in APCS is 4 weeks away. The national exam is 2 weeks after that. (Since the score for that exam doesn't arrive until July, it cannot be included in the student's course grade). Holy Smokes! The end is in sight.
A couple weeks ago my principal came to my classroom and showed me an advertisement for an astronomy teacher position at Pine View. He wanted me to read it and see if there was anything they might have overlooked. I couldn't find anything. It was pretty thorough. He said they were going to advertise in some national journals and astronomy organizations for my replacement, since astronomy teachers are hard to find. They are hard to find, in part, because there are very few positions for them. According to Larry Krumenaker, the editor of The Classroom Astronomer, a magazine for K-12 astronomy educators, fewer than 5% of high schools offer any astronomy course. My situation is exacerbated by the fact that I teach astronomy with a dual enrollment option, so students can get college credit. That requires an advanced degree in astronomy. Most of the few high school astronomy teachers have degrees in some other field and even fewer have an advanced degree in the field. I am a little concerned that the program I have built at Pine View might not endure for long. It is out of my hands, but it concerns me nevertheless.
In other news, the Pine View History Club is sponsoring a school wide simulation on the Renaissance April 7. They sought teachers to portray significant individuals and I chose Galileo Galilei. I have a week or so to work on it. Should be fun. I'll post a report after the event.
This past Thursday, I had my astronomy classes meet in Starlab. Now, my wife, Bonnie, often asks me how my day was and whenever I say we had Starlab that day, she knows it was a good day. I can't help myself. Sitting in the dome under the stars, listening to great music, learning about the sky, is a great way to spend a period. It is definitely one of the aspects of my job I will miss. There are only 2 more Starlab days left.


The big announcement I have will come in 2 weeks. Really. Stay tuned.

Odds and Ends

This week started as a normal week (I know, define normal) but ended as a very 'different' one. All my classes were pretty typical, except for astronomy, where we are talking about pretty unusual things that form at the end of the life of a high mass star. Things like neutron stars, pulsars and stellar mass black holes. This is just one more reason why I love teaching astronomy. This stuff is crazy. As an example, a neutron star is so dense that if you took one teaspoon of it, it would weigh (have the mass of) a mountain.  I used the terms 'wild, wacky, weird and wonderful' when talking about these things.

The week ended by me doing something that I dislike doing very much. Friday, I missed a day of school. I really don't like to do that. I feel that the students signed up to take these courses with me and I am the one most prepared to teach it. But I had to schedule a medical procedure that required me to miss an entire day. You see, several years ago I was diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus. I have suffered from acid indigestion (heartburn) for decades. Rolaids were with me at all times. After the Barrett's diagnosis, I was prescribed pantoprazole and it has made a tremendous difference. Barrett's is also know to be pre-cancerous. Now when I heard the doctor say that, I became more than a little concerned. But is really means that it is not certain that it will result in cancer, but it needs to be monitored. Hence the missed school day. The procedure I had was a colonoscopy. The procedure itself requires anesthesia, so it doesn't hurt a bit. The preparation that I had to do the day before was the unpleasant part. I will leave it to your searching the Internet if you want more details.

In other news, Friday was a new moon, a total solar eclipse and the vernal equinox. That was a big deal for northern Europe. We had the equinox (the astronomical start of spring), but not the eclipse. Reports are that much of England was clouded out. (Twitter rang with the tag #anticlimax) Ireland got reasonable views of a partial eclipse, but only those people in the Faroe Islands and Svalbard got to see the total eclipse from land. A total solar eclipse is a truly spectacular sight. More on that at a later date.

The end of the week came today. After doing some yard work, Bonnie and I went to the Sarasota County Fair. We go every year and enjoy it very much. In fact, in my opinion, if you live in Sarasota County and have never been to the fair, you need to go. It is part of the local culture and has many things to recommend it. There are the carnival rides (Nadia loves these), the midway with its games of skill and chance, the animals, the shows, and the food. There isn't much in the way of exotic fair food here, but plenty of good eats. Ears of corn, steak and cheese, fresh lemonade, Amish doughnuts, fried vegetables, frozen bananas, bar-b-q, Suncoast Church Strawberry shortcake booth, and elephant ears to name a few. This is a great place to people watch. A real melting pot of humanity. There is Crackerland (old time Florida) with its forge and wrought iron items being made and its music shows, the Old West gunfight, the Rosaire Pig Races, the bear show, magic show, musical acts and more.

Next Wednesday, March 25, marks the end of 3rd quarter, so my next post will be made during my final quarter of teaching. Oh and it won't be much longer until my big announcement. Stay tuned.

Spring Break

There is no school this week. I find that spring break is the least standard of all holidays taken by schools in the USA. Ours is a little earlier than some. Some wait until Easter Week, some a little sooner. Every school district has a formula or history that dictates when it happens. In any event, ours is this week.
Just before break, our grade level team (grades 11 and 12) had our regular meeting and we got to discuss some student awards to be presented at the end of the year ceremony.. The school has its own awards to recognize students who distinguished themselves in a variety of ways during the year. (Yes, I realize that the year isn't quite 3/4 over, but we have a pretty good feel for the students by now). In addition, colleges have adopted a way of promoting themselves while giving an award. They give a book to a worthy junior. The particular student is chosen by the faculty. That was our job last week and we had a bunch of then to figure out. This is a great time of faculty interaction. The greatest benefit for me is as follows: since the high school classes have around 200 students, it is not possible for a given teacher to know all students in a class. That means the decision must be reached by consensus using the input of a given student's teachers. In so doing, I learn about some great students that I have never taught (and will never teach). I also get to share info about some of my students that other teachers have not had. In this exercise, it really comes home, what great kids we have at Pine View. For the school awards, in particular, this is a problem. There are few awards and many deserving students. We do our very best to chose the best, most representative students as recipients of these awards, but inevitably, some who should be recognized aren't.
There are some things that are a fact of life at schools

The Saturday, March 7, Bonnie and I took our granddaughter camping for 5 nights. Several years ago we purchased an Aliner trailer to go camping with her. It has been a great investment. And I must say that Florida state parks are generally of very high quality. We have now camped at 9 different state parks and one county park. We have gone to several of these more than one time. This time we camped at Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine. We camped with some friends, so it was a great time. The first night was cold, plain and simple, dipping into the 40s. We had a big fire to ward off the chill and a little heater in the trailer that kept us nice and warm for sleeping. Sunday, the beach was nice, with some big (for us Gulf Coasters) surf. There was a motorcycle event in the area that included 5 parks, ours was one. So there were tents, displays and music that afternoon. We left and explored the town a bit in the afternoon. St. Augustine is celebrating 450 years as a town. During our time at the park we biked, kayaked and explored a terrific nature trail. We also had smores every night. (Nadia does not think it is camping without smores.)

Just before break I changed my school password for the last time. For the past several years we have had to change our password every 90 days. More final events to come. I can feel the end of the year rushing towards me.

I am getting closer to making that big announcement I keep mentioning. Stay tuned.

Getting in the Spirit!

This was a happening week, abbreviated though it was (4 school days thanks to President's Day). Every year my school has a fundraising event commonly called a jogathon. Well, at Pine View it is Peramathon. It is held on a Friday in February (this year that would be this week just past) and this year it was COLD, the coldest peramathon anyone could remember. I did not participate but many did. The campus was filled with parents and other family members volunteering to keep track of all the laps run and funds pledged, bottles of water and help with the general organized chaos. Lots of people. Good times.

On that same Friday the high school classes have a dodge ball competition. This is the finale to Spirit Week. Each day students are to dress according to a different theme (e.g. superhero, tacky tourist, and similar). Many choose not to but enough do that it is definitely noticeable as you walk the campus and see the students as they enter class. The learning environment is slightly altered but you adjust.

Then Friday evening we had a fundraising concert to benefit Jamie Myers, a senior who is battling brain cancer. I did not attend but from videos posted online and descriptions from students in attendance, it was a great time. When the things we take for granted every day are suddenly taken, we take a closer look and if we are made of the right stuff, it draws us together, uniting our hearts and spirits. Jamie has done that for his class and our school.

As full as it already was the weekend was not over. Saturday evening we had Astronomy night. The astronomy classes have star gazes regularly throughout the year, but once a year I open it up to the Pine View family and friends. This is scheduled months in advance and all I can do is hope for clear skies and decent temperatures. Well this year the temperature was great. The skies were less cooperative. There were several objects of interest to see in the sky: the crescent moon, Venus and Mars is conjunction, Jupiter and its 4 main moons, the Orion nebula and other lesser lights.

Saturday started clear but clouds moved in as the sun was about to set. As the skies darkened, we were struggling to find clear spots between the clouds to glimpse the heavens. With a great turnout I was hopeful that they would be able to see something. We did have minutes when the clouds parted enough to see the moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, but not much else. After an hour or so of this, a clear spot appeared low in the south (thank you, Steve Dacey, for spotting it first.). That was good news, since the clouds were moving north. It took 20 minutes or so for the hole to pass over head and as the skies cleared, a cheer went up from those who had been able to stay. We had about 20 minutes to a half hour of clear skies. Many had left but those who remained were rewarded with excellent views through the seven telescopes and viewing stations we had set up. At the very end, as I started to take down the equipment, a particularly enthusiast boy ask if there were any other planets we could see. Yes, Uranus. But I warned him that it was not big and bright like Jupiter or Venus, or even Mars, but he was insistent.  I set the scope on it and it was there: a tiny (3 arc seconds in diameter), faint, pale blue-green dot, twenty times as far from us as earth is from the sun. Not much to look at but I told everyone there that now, when they talked to their family and friends, they could say that they have seen Uranus. It got a small laugh.

I was so happy we had not been shutout. This was my final Astronomy Night as a teacher and it ended well. Many thanks to those who came and for the students who helped setup and take down. Also to Mr. Steve Dacey for manning the big dobsonian telescope. M42 was a grand sight through it.

My final thoughts revolve around this blog and the future. Another mark along the way. If you look at the main page of this blog, it has a countdown clock. As of today, Sunday, February 22, 2015, I am down to double digits left in my teaching career: 99 days. As I like to say, Tempus fidgets. The other thing is my upcoming big announcement. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading this.

My Last Valentines Day

Today is Valentine's Day. Yesterday was the closest school day to it , so I celebrated it in my classroom. Since this was my last Valentines Day as a teacher, I went, what is for me, all out. I adorned my room with 18 valentines that I had gotten in an email from a physics teacher a few years ago. I don't know the original source of these, but each one is devoted to one scientist and makes generally bad puns in a stretch to make their work applicable to the holiday. So this is a nerdy homage to Valentines Day. If you don't get the reference, I am sorry, but you will have to ask or look it up. Most of my students enjoyed it or were very polite in ignoring it. To top it off, I printed small versions of these and gave one to each of my students (unsigned so they could pass it on to their valentine)

In addition, I stole (borrowed?) a poem that I include here:
Emission nebulae are red,
Reflection nebulae are blue,
The universe if expanding
As my love for you.
This was set on a background of these two images

I also had heart shaped Sweetarts to increase the student's sugar level. I had fun doing this. I hope the kids enjoyed it as well.
Next Saturday evening is Astronomy Night, 6:30 to 8:30, at Pine View. It is open to the whole community. Come bring family and friends. There will be telescope set up for you to look through and students to help you understand what you are looking at. Featured objects will be the crescent moon, Venus, Jupiter and it's moons, the Orion Nebula, and more. It will be on the service road by Lake Largo on the south side of campus.

Remember, I will be making a big announcement in a few weeks. Stay tuned for that.

Variety Is the Spice of Life

Friday evening I escorted my wife to this year's version of the Pine View Variety Show hosted each year by the sophomore class as a fund raiser. I am not sure when the variety (sometimes called talent show) started but it was after I came to PV and before we moved to the new campus, so that would make it between 1989 and 1994. There may have been occasional shows like it prior to then but that would be before my time there.

I was closely involved with two of the shows, with the classes of 1997 and 2001. I was a class sponsor to each of those, so that would mean the Variety Shows of 1995 and 1999. They are huge undertakings. First, there has to be talent that auditions to perform. Then there has to be students willing to act as stage hands, sound and light people, program designers, schedulers, etc. For several weeks before the event, the auditorium is abuzz with activity rising in crescendo until the dress rehearsals and the actual performances of the show.

This year's effort was themed Hawaiian Luau. As one would expect, flowered leis were everywhere, helping to set the tone. One feature I particularly liked was the house band performing before the show began, during intermission, and again during a break in the program, when a performers track could not be found. The band, "The Flipside", composed of mostly (all?) sophomores, did a credible job throughout.

There were numerous issues with the mics and the sound system, but the show went forward and my wife and I both found it entertaining, one of the better variety shows that I have seen. There were many singers, both solo and groups. I'll mention a few. The Serteen club performed All About the Bass with two of the group signing the lyrics. Joanna Malvas sang She Was Mine accompanied on the guitar by her brother, Joe. I particularly enjoyed the singing of Arooj Khan. But for me the top act (I know, they were all great for getting up on the stage) was Claire Opal-Lavine who hula hooped. She was quite good and my wife and I commented mid act about how we were enjoying her performance, when the lights went out and the hoop lit up with LEDs and a multi-colored display dazzled us. I told my wife I wanted one of those hoops.

In addition, each class (grade) had an act. They were Pine View specific and had a lot of inside jokes that I am not sure parents and other family members fully appreciated, but I found many of them hilarious. The junior and senior class acts were videos. Here is a link to the senior video: http://vimeo.com/117727296.

All this brought to mind the variety shows I have been involved in. There are many good memories there for sure. I wonder if you have any special memories of a show. If you do and would like to mention it, this post is both on my blog and on facebook, to facilitate commenting. These events are fundraisers, sure, but they are also memory makers. I have found that you only get as much out of life as you put in. It takes effort and is not always comfortable, but is almost always rewarding. My thanks to all those who made the effort and took the time to participate in this variety show and those from long ago.

The Show Must Go On

One of the things I have enjoyed about being a grandfather of a slightly older child (Nadia is 9) is taking her to performances of various kinds. The school where I teach has grades 2 through 12 so many shows have children about her age in them. In the past few years I have taken her to a Variety Show, a chorus concert, and two plays put on by the school's Drama Club. Last year was Peter Pan. She and I thoroughly enjoyed that, especially the wire apparatus that allowed for Peter Pan to fly around the stage. Very cool. The student performers had worked very hard and the show was a definite success. It was so good that I wondered if this year's play would suffer by comparison (which is unfair but inevitable.) Well last weekend I found out. I picked up my date for the evening and we went, tickets in hand, to see Beauty and the Beast, a musical.

The music was a sound track, which was fine, but the singing was so-so. I don't think the soloists were miked and they were easily overpowered by the track. But that was the only problem I saw. The costumes were wonderful, over-sized creations that were just right for the size stage we had. The acting was generally quite smart. It was clear that the co-directors had done their jobs, and the student actors as well. I especially enjoyed the performances of Belle, Cogsworth and the Lumiere. Gaston was a great, inflated-ego bully of a man, just what was needed. The makeup for the beast was right on. The fight scene was full of action and great to see. The sets were of high quality for a high school performance. Nadia and I agreed that it was worth coming to see. Congratulations to the Drama Club, the directors, cast and stage hands. Can't wait to see what they do next. (Note: I am not a drama critic.)

On the retirement front, I have started my final semester of teaching. I am down to double digits in school days left to teach. But I am not prepared for it to end just yet. I enjoy my classes too much. AP Computer Science is just getting to the good stuff. Astronomy is wonderful. The students are a terrific lot. I am so glad they took astronomy. I hope they feel the same.

For the next several months, look west after sunset for Venus as the evening star. It is currently getting brighter and higher so it will be easily seen until June.

In the coming weeks and months I will have a big announcement or two that may be of interest to readers. I am working on something to do post retirement. Stay tuned.