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.