Professional Chaperone

If one must be paid to qualify their work as professional, and that payment may be in food and tickets, than I am a Professional Math Club Chaperone!

A few weeks ago, I joined my darling friend who teaches calculus at our high school on a field trip for her Math Club students--the Mathletes.  considering that The Girl was the Math Club president her senior year, I figured that made me the Dowager Countess of Math Club.

Their activity took them to the BYU campus for a performance of Calculus:The Musical.  Yes.  This is a real show.

Actually, the show was hilarious.  And, considering I didn't get even a fraction of the math related humor (see that math pun I just made?), I thought that was a pretty good sign.

Two talented women who either understand math really well, or have memorized the script to the point they made me believe they understood math really well, sang songs about the evolution and creation of higher math as we know it set to modern-ish pop songs.

I giggled at the pop culture side notes and the musicality of the tunes which told the story of Sir Isaac Newton and his adversaries itn eh math world as modern math was developed.

Please don't diss the show based on my review, here.  Remember, the math comprehension was WAY over my head.  But the kids were eating it up!

My favorite part of the chaperoning gig with this group is this group!  How troublesome can Mathletes be?!?  These are some of the best kids in the school.  The adore their teacher.  the appreciate what it means for her to take them to these sorts of fun activities. And they have simple fun together.  All in all, a joyful group to accompany on a bus.

and it was also quite interesting being back on campus after not really spending much time there since graduating myself.  Boy, it has changed.  But then, so have I, I guess.

Me and Bronze Cosmo chillaxin on the bench at BYU.

Never Gonna Change Some People's Minds

Last night I was part of a forum held my our local school district.  They had invited about 100 people from all over the district to consider the areas of focus that drive the district's educational efforts and apply two questions in their regards:  What evidences have I seen of these areas of focus?  And, What evidences would I like to see?

Basically, they were asking what we had each observed in our local schools and throughout the district in terms of teacher quality, comprehensive curriculum, leadership, school and district culture, community relations, resources, and student achievement.  And then, what we'd LIKE to see in each of these areas.

If I had carried a weapon, I might have gone postal before the evening was over.  I'm not sure whop got tagged to come voice their opinions, but aside form the 8 or so PTA colleagues I saw and a few I know sit on the school- or district community councils, the majority seemed to be the pot-stirrers in the county that want to cause trouble with the district at every turn.  Their responses were narrow and politically led with their ultra conservative views.

What I mean is these are the kind of folks that don't want the schools to include sex-ed, drug education, or even mental health information in a health class or biology class.  They won't join PTA because they (wrongly) believe the national component of the organization lobbies the Feds for GLTB rights. They don't want any Common Core or to take any money from the Federal government because everything is a conspiracy to have President Obama run our local schools into the ground.  And, apparently, after listening to three of these types at my table last night, the only kids that matter are the high achieving, Gifted & Talented, highly motivated kids.

Well, I hope they NEVER get any child who doesn't fit that profile.  If they do, that child may well enough end up another uni-bomber or postal clerk that lets loose.

I came home grateful to represent a little more of the mainstream (and wider minded) folks in the area.  I am grateful to know the organization wherein I serve speaks for ALL children, and not just the specially anointed ones.  I am grateful for a school district who, at least on the surface, seek out the views of their patrons--no matter who crazy they are. and I am grateful that I have seen our educational system from both the inside and the outside and can speak realistically to what is actually happening there.

And although we are the lowest per pupil spending district in the lowest per pupil spending state, our kids do amazingly well.  I know that can't last, but my kids are getting a really great education--and taking advantage of that.  And if mine are, then others might be too.

Where Do I Cash My Reality Check?

Genius Golfer is getting dragged into my world of volunteering at school today. It is our Junior High's Reality Town event today and we are going as part of about 60 parents volunteering to give these eighth graders a little Reality Check.

This is a program that gives the kids a taste of the adult world and also helps to emphasize the important of education and good career choices.

Based on the kids' GPA and career aptitude test, they are assigned a job and an appropriate salary. That means, a C+ student is not going to be making the big bucks as a doctor, for example. Then, like the game of LIFE, they are randomly assigned a spouse, or not, and child or children or not and they have to be for the dependents they are given.

Then the fun begins. The parent volunteers are in the gym, sitting in "booths" with names like "Car Insurance", "Health Care", "Housing", or "Entertainment". The kids have their pay stub, and a check register, and they have to make choices for their "family" on what they need and what they can afford. If they make poor decisions, then they have to go to the "Financial counseling" booth and there be told they need another job to pay for what they have purchased and can't afford. Ideas of what childcare and groceries can cost to a grown up will snap some of these kids into reality, with any luck.

It is unfortunate that American Society at large doesn't get a day, or even a week to visit Reality Town. But maybe, this eighth grade event will prepare future society to avoid the trouble we are seeing now.

I'll let you know how this goes down today. I am anxious to see how The Girl does. Poor thing, she has been told for ever that she has to work hard and do well in school and save her money and not spend what you don't have....

Today is the testing day to see if she understood our lessons. Check, please!

Compare and Contrast: Swim Meets

So far we have had 2 "away" swim meets. One in Spanish Fork just over a week ago, and this weekend our meet with Lehi is in 2 parts: Part 1) Friday afternoon the novice swimmers at the Lehi Legacy Center pool and today, Part 2) the more advanced swimmers at our pool.

The SF meet began about 7 AM with a call for "more parents needed to time the meet. We'll start as soon as we have enough timers." Many Pleasant Grove parents heed the call and go help. Fast forward, 5 and a half hours and we are f i n a l l y done.

Yesterday at the Lehi pool, the meet began about 3:30-ish with a call "for parents to come help time the meet. We'll start as soon as we get enough parents to help time." Again, many parents from the PG team head down to help. Fast forward again, this time about 3.5 hours--remember, it is ONLY a NOVICE meet--and we are finally done but without ANY RELAYS.

Contrast those two situations with ours today. We hosted the advanced swimmers from Lehi. We began later than normal, closer to 7:30 AM. No Lehi parents were requested to help time. We had enough PG parents help time, plus run a concession stand, plus run a ribbons table, plus run the entire meet on the computer, plus start & judge the events!

In the Bull Pen, we had a completely screwed up list of Lehi swimmers (apparently because separating the novice and advanced meets would be too much work) and had to scratch and then add swimmers to every event. Fast forward this morning, and we got out of the pool including cleaning up and moving benches, chairs, chaise lounges before 10:30 AM. And we held EVERY RELAY.

I love swim meets at our pool. I may have lost my voice but not my appreciation for all our PG swim family parents that step up and realize that even though it is "only a rec team" there is more to do than write a check and get your kids to practice every day.

PS--I saw a handful of Lehi coaches at The Pizza Factory at lunch after the meet and they smiled at me--without any snarky undermeanings. I love swim meets--when they are at our pool.