While Lester was driving to Iowa today, I was checking FB and an article called "100 places to take your kids before they grow up" popped into my feed. Feeling pretty confident we decided to see how well we had done. After identifying only 29 of the 100 places we were feeling pretty defeated as parents. How had we failed our children? Never fear...Lauren began searching for other lists but we continued to miss the mark. Then we turned on the authors of the lists. Who were these people? How had they come up with their lists? Why were some very important places missing from these lists? Places like the Gateway Arch, the Space Needle and Memorial Field! So we decided to create our own list of places every child should see before they grow up. After creating this list, we reviewed it to see how we fared. Guess what? We had been to all 125 of those places with at least one of our kids! What awesome parents we are! Way to go Lester and Jennifer!
Here's our list of 125 places to make sure your child experiences before they fly the coop. Pay attention friends...take a lesson from the parents of the year and get your kids to these places! Enjoy!
Mayflower II
Ft Worth zoo
Jamestown/Yorktown
Minute Man National Historical Park
International Spy Museum
American Museum of Natural History
Deadwood
Holocaust Memorial New York
JFK Memorial
Grants Farm
Cafe du Monde
Harry Potter World
Vegas
Graumanns Chinese Theatre
Hoover Dam
Cadillac Ranch
Winslow
Seaworld
Six Flags
Tubing on Guadalupe
Sandfest
Innerspace Caverns
Dealy Plaza and Book Depository
Daytona 500 International Speedway
Flaming Gorge
Louisa Mae Alcott home
Houston Space Center
Fords Theatre
Stockyards
JFK Library
Riverwalk
The Alamo
A Louisiana Plantation
Central Park
French Quarter
Crazy Horse
Mt Rainier
Pikes Place Market
Space Needle
Painted Desert
Bad Lands
Adventureland
Henry Dooley Zoo
Mall of America
Salem Witch Museum
Boston Harbor
Old North Church
Plymouth Rock
Paul Reveres House
Boston Commons
Faneuil Hall
Fenway Park
Coney Island
Newport Mansions
OKC Memorial
Smithsonian
Jefferson Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument
National Mall
Capitol
White House
Statue of Liberty
Empire State Building
Broadway
Ground Zero
Times Square
Carlos Bakery
Atlantic City Boardwalk
Montcello
Mt Vernon
Ben & Jerry's
Martha Vineyard
The Franklin Institute
Liberty Bell
Independence Hall
Cheers Bar
Freedom Trail
Plimoth Plantation
Hershey, PA
Mt Rushmore
Wall Drug
Bear Country USA
Gran Tetons
Devils Tower
Rocky Mountain National Park
Corn Palace
Old Faithful
Yellowstone
Amana Colonies
Willis Tower
Wrigley Field
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Destin
College Football Hall of Fame
Memorial Field
World Golf Hall of Fame
Kennedy Space Center
Universal Studios
Disney World
San Diego Zoo
Hollywood Walk of Stars
Roswell
Sedona
Disney land
Grand Canyon
Hot Springs
Graceland
Gateway Arch
Abe Lincoln Springfield Home
Route 66
Petrified Forest
4 Corners
Pacific Coast Highway
Santa Monica Pier
Estes Park
Mystic Seaport
Millennium Park
National Cemetery
Holocaust Memorial in Washington DC
Basketball Hall of Fame
Dr Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden
Harvard Yard
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Well, that was interesting....
It's summer vacation, finally! Or should I say retirement, again! Yea!
Last November, I came out of retirement to take a 3rd grade teaching position in the same school as Lauren. The class had been with a substitute since the second week of school when the teacher decided she had had enough and did not return. The class of 14 bilingual kids were sweet as could be. At the time, I was wondering why the teacher gave up so soon. It couldn't have been the kids.
It wasn't! It ran much higher than that. But let me back up.
When Lauren got hired in July, from that day forward, I was impressed with the principal and the superintendent (who was very hands on). They were encouraging, supportive and seemed to really care about their first year teachers. And there were a lot of first year teachers. This is a high poverty district and school that are in trouble with TEA regarding STAAR scores and yearly improvement. It was unclear if the large amount of turnover was due to people fleeing the scene or admin cleaning house. I was very impressed with the principal, even as I began to sub occasionally on the campus. She jokingly asked me a couple of times if I 'd be interested in the 3rd grade spot. Eventually after much discussion with TRS and the district CFO, I accepted the position with the understanding it was for just this year. This was a bilingual class and even though I do have my bilingual certification, my Spanish needs some work. So the district decided to transition the kids to an ESL setting. I would teach everything in English but support their understandings in Spanish as needed. All was good.
There were a lot of requirements on the teachers as far as meetings and paperwork. They were expected to follow a specific curriculum which boxed in creativity and did not allow time for anything other than that specific curriculum. The curriculum was dry and not very engaging. There were not enough textbooks for some classes. Unit test scores from this curriculum were looked over with a fine tooth comb by the instructional coach and administration. The superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal and assistant principal were in the teacher's classrooms all the time. Although for some reason never in my classroom.
Soon after beginning in November, things began to change. The second Friday in December an emergency faculty meeting was called after school. Our principal told us that she was moving to a position in the admin building effective immediately. Our assistant principal would be the new principal and the current director of special programs would be returning to the school to be the assistant principal once again. She had been the assistant principal last year and was not well liked by the returning staff. As the superintendent, assistant superintendent and several others looked on, the staff sat in a stupor not really understanding what was being said. The superintendent quickly ushered the principal out and the "new" principal stepped up to speak about her excitement in moving to this spot and announced who the assistant principal would be.
Do you smell that? It's something fishy. I've been around the block enough times to know that it ain't all that it seems.
As time wore on things got increasingly stressful and difficult at school. We also covertly began to see the old principal on the side and soon learned that she was instructed to stay away from the campus. In conversations with her, I have since gleaned some more information regarding her move and other crazy ass things that are happening in the district.
Currently the superintendent continues to run a gotcha system in this district. He dislikes veteran teachers and has instructed the school leaders to look for things to write up the veterans for. He has paraded interviewees around the school and at school functions with no regard to the current staff. If you ask a question in a faculty meeting when he is present, or try to buck the system, or questions why something is happening, you are added to a list of people he is trying to get out of the school. Some people are blackballed just because of who they are friends with. He posts listings for positions which are not even empty. No one is safe. If however you do well with your class on STAAR, you are offered whatever you want to stay and not leave the district.
All I can say is that in 30 years I have now seen it all. I told Lauren (who luckily has a job in a different district for next year) that at least she learned a lot of things in this first year that most teachers never see or learn in entire careers. It will make a her a stronger teacher.
On a side note: the original principal is an amazing person and leader. I would work for her in a heartbeat in a different situation. I wish her and all my colleagues a peaceful summer. The superintendent can go straight to hell. Actually he doesn't even deserve that.
Last November, I came out of retirement to take a 3rd grade teaching position in the same school as Lauren. The class had been with a substitute since the second week of school when the teacher decided she had had enough and did not return. The class of 14 bilingual kids were sweet as could be. At the time, I was wondering why the teacher gave up so soon. It couldn't have been the kids.
It wasn't! It ran much higher than that. But let me back up.
When Lauren got hired in July, from that day forward, I was impressed with the principal and the superintendent (who was very hands on). They were encouraging, supportive and seemed to really care about their first year teachers. And there were a lot of first year teachers. This is a high poverty district and school that are in trouble with TEA regarding STAAR scores and yearly improvement. It was unclear if the large amount of turnover was due to people fleeing the scene or admin cleaning house. I was very impressed with the principal, even as I began to sub occasionally on the campus. She jokingly asked me a couple of times if I 'd be interested in the 3rd grade spot. Eventually after much discussion with TRS and the district CFO, I accepted the position with the understanding it was for just this year. This was a bilingual class and even though I do have my bilingual certification, my Spanish needs some work. So the district decided to transition the kids to an ESL setting. I would teach everything in English but support their understandings in Spanish as needed. All was good.
There were a lot of requirements on the teachers as far as meetings and paperwork. They were expected to follow a specific curriculum which boxed in creativity and did not allow time for anything other than that specific curriculum. The curriculum was dry and not very engaging. There were not enough textbooks for some classes. Unit test scores from this curriculum were looked over with a fine tooth comb by the instructional coach and administration. The superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal and assistant principal were in the teacher's classrooms all the time. Although for some reason never in my classroom.
Soon after beginning in November, things began to change. The second Friday in December an emergency faculty meeting was called after school. Our principal told us that she was moving to a position in the admin building effective immediately. Our assistant principal would be the new principal and the current director of special programs would be returning to the school to be the assistant principal once again. She had been the assistant principal last year and was not well liked by the returning staff. As the superintendent, assistant superintendent and several others looked on, the staff sat in a stupor not really understanding what was being said. The superintendent quickly ushered the principal out and the "new" principal stepped up to speak about her excitement in moving to this spot and announced who the assistant principal would be.
Do you smell that? It's something fishy. I've been around the block enough times to know that it ain't all that it seems.
As time wore on things got increasingly stressful and difficult at school. We also covertly began to see the old principal on the side and soon learned that she was instructed to stay away from the campus. In conversations with her, I have since gleaned some more information regarding her move and other crazy ass things that are happening in the district.
Currently the superintendent continues to run a gotcha system in this district. He dislikes veteran teachers and has instructed the school leaders to look for things to write up the veterans for. He has paraded interviewees around the school and at school functions with no regard to the current staff. If you ask a question in a faculty meeting when he is present, or try to buck the system, or questions why something is happening, you are added to a list of people he is trying to get out of the school. Some people are blackballed just because of who they are friends with. He posts listings for positions which are not even empty. No one is safe. If however you do well with your class on STAAR, you are offered whatever you want to stay and not leave the district.
All I can say is that in 30 years I have now seen it all. I told Lauren (who luckily has a job in a different district for next year) that at least she learned a lot of things in this first year that most teachers never see or learn in entire careers. It will make a her a stronger teacher.
On a side note: the original principal is an amazing person and leader. I would work for her in a heartbeat in a different situation. I wish her and all my colleagues a peaceful summer. The superintendent can go straight to hell. Actually he doesn't even deserve that.
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