So I got sick of looking at Edward's Whaaaaa?!?!? blog title and I figured that it was time for a Team Hawkins post. Let's take a minute to look back on the week of Team Hawkins.
MLK weekend was spent in St. George, Utah with part of Richard's family. Carol Lee was there for a few days and Abby, Danny and their two boys Samuel and Matthew came up from Las Vegas for a few days. We ate a lot of yummy food (which came back to haunt Richard...more on that later) including Cafe Rio, Smore's, delicious pork roast from Carol Lee, and spinach artichoke, parmesean dip. Yummy yummy. After the weekend, I bought two workout videos to compensate for the weekend and many MANY months of overeating.
We drove to Las Vegas on Monday evening and ate more food there, including Cafe Rio (A staple in Utah that has recently expanded to Nevada). We decided to leave in the morning when Nora woke up for her morning feeding, to avoid morning traffic. Richard had class on Tuesday morning at 10:50 a.m. We took off at 3:30 a.m. Of course Richard drove because I fall asleep while driving AND being raised a Gimbel, the husband always drives. I don't know if this is the case with the rest of you, but because Dad always drove, I feel like Richard should always drive. Anyone else have this issue?
When we left, Richard complained a little bit of feeling sick to his stomach. Compassionate Betsey that I am, I figured he was faking it :) Just teasing :) He is never sick and NEVER complains, so you think that I would be more concerned with this indication that he might be sick. But no...I had no idea. Well, by the time we had pulled off of the freeway TWICE for my poor dear Richard to puke his guts out. I realized that Richard was really sick. I started driving and thankfully hit LA, right at 9:00 a.m. to enjoy a nice long drive back home with a cranky baby, a pukey husband, and a smelly car (Richard puked a in a bag in the car as well). Okay, it wasn't that bad, but Richard has said it was the worst car trip of his life and he is never going to eat Cafe Rio again (I think he will take this back as soon as we get to Utah again).
Richard decided that he shouldn't go to school, since he couldn't seem to move without throwing up. He slept most of Tuesday and is thankfully back to our normal cheerful Richard. I again realized how thankful I am for Richard and how much he helps me with Baby Nora.
Baby Nora and I spent the rest of the week finishing and delivering thank you notes from my baby shower. Yes, 3 months AFTER the shower. I'm pathetic like that. We also cleaned out my closet. I wanted to clean out Richard's side of the closet, because he has a million stripped polo shirts from Old Navy that have got to go. I felt that it would be a violation of some sort, so I decided against it. Thankfully, he is cleaning it out as I type. Cross your fingers that he has edited the polo shirts (I'm only teasing Richard, I love you in a polo).
Tonight, we are going to Costco. An average Friday night for Team Hawkins. We are going to meet our friends the Crall's there. They just announced they are having their first baby! Yeah Cralls!!!
How about you all? How was your week? What was fun? What stunk?
6 comments:
My week was busy, as usual, and I know no one wants to hear any whining, but I wanted to ask everyone about their learning, since that what is at the heart of nearly everything I've done this week.
Are you able to articulate, in words, the process that you experience as you learn something? What do you specifically have to do to remember concepts and ideas you are taught in the classroom? I read a book about a year ago on brain research, and I wonder if it's different for every person. The thing is, I remember so much! Dad used to make fun of me, because I would remember so much, and his standard question would be, "What were you wearing?" because most of the time, I would remember. Even when I teach math, I can always remember sitting in my classroom doing those problems, and I can remember my thoughts while practicing my work.
Anyway, I'm asking you all to answer these questions, because I think about you all, and all of your accomplishments, and I consider you all to be very successful. Does the success mirror your learning in school (ALL of school including college classes) or do you think your success is more a result of your hard work? I welcome everyone's responses, especially spouses.
When I think about Betsey's blog concerning their wild week, and I reflect on my wild week, I am awed by the calm, unflappable way you are able to deal with life's ups and downs.
Love you all, Mother
Mom remembers everything? Hm. That statement seems curious to me. Does it to anyone else?
Usually, I find myself repeating details that I'm sure I'd previous shared with Mom. So I'm not quite sure the "I remember so much!" with exclamation point is accurate... BUT at least Mom remembers what she was wearing in 1969 on a date with a boy named Jerry. That's very important.
As far as learning - I have no idea. I think it's a combination of factors included but not limited to capability, experience, and motivation.
Past experiences make you more sensitive to information and thus enhances or enables you to remember things. What you were wearing was probably important to you, Mom, because you didn't grow up with a lot of clothing options. You were more sensitive to it, so you remember. I think if I were to ask you what you wore last week you'd be hard press to tell me as those details as they are less important to you now. Or at least I hope they are...
I think everyone's learning process is unique. Everyone needs to take concepts in at their own pace -- learning the basics and then understand the theory behind those principles over time. I don't think there's a secret formula for learning. There are best practices, surely, but no fail-safe process for every single person. All of which makes your job as an educator nearly impossible, Mom. So, I'm sure your week was busy. I applaud you, and love you very much.
(BTW: Brandon does not endorse this post. He says it’s too critical. If that's true, I'm sorry. That was surely not my intent.)
Much Love!
-M
No, actually the things you said were very useful to me, Marjorie. I wish I could identify each student's needs, and best learning styles, but I feel so paralyzed by all the work that is now required for my job. I feel like I know my kids superficially, and only from my own viewpoint and perspective.
I continually marvel at how you guys were able to learn so much without nagging from me and Dad. You were motivated, you did your homework and other prerequisite learning to give yourselves the background information and experience. You intrinsically desired to learn and know and do.
Tell Brandon I'm not offended. Yes, we all come from difference places, but I do remember being excited to be in school and learn and become more intelligent. Today I'd be an anomaly.
Love you all. Wish I could hear more ideas from the rest of you.
Claudia
I'll be completely honest here. i never really did that well at keeping up on my homework. School just came easy. Its been a few years since i've been in school, but free body diagrams and force vector analysis in my statics class just come to me as a common sense. i'm not telling you i'm newton reborn, but i get by.
I'd chalk my ability to grasp these concepts with relative ease up to genetics.
Something else that can probably be contributed to genetics, is the enjoyment i gain from the sense of accomplishment i feel from putting my head down and getting something done. was that a run on sentence? It feels good to lose myself in a project. time goes away, and i watch as my work comes to fruition.
Mom, i've had some bad teachers, and i've had some good ones. For me, it is best exemplified in my math classes. some teachers just wrote stuff on the board. these same teachers would just read off from the book, and were unable to express what they saw in their head. i'm not saying they didn't understand, i'm just saying they couldn't paint the picture that needed to be painted.
Maybe it can be attributed to using more layman terms. who knows. this is getting too long.
-ryan
i hate these posts. i feel like i'm bragging and i hate that. hate is a strong word. maybe dislike.
Again, I really appreciate the insights. I really want my students to "get it", and I have been feeling so much frustration in my chosen career because so many of my kids don't pay any attention, and I know I'm explaining the concepts thoroughly and understandably. The powers-that-be downtown are telling us that the students' learning depends on our instruction (it's all our fault if the kids don't learn) and I wonder how much is instruction and how much is student choosing to learn. Of course they won't learn if they're not engaged, but does that mean I have to put on a red clown nose, and fuzzy hair, and jump up and down to entertain them?
Ryan and Margie, your insights are useful to me, and I really want to improve my instruction if it will help the kids learn, but math is not like science or social studies, where I can put on some sideshow and expect them to master the processes. (There's a run-on sentence!) There needs to be effort, and practice, and a desire to remember the skills. I tell the kids that they must retain the skills from day-to-day, month-to-month and year-to-year, and that I STILL use knowledge I gained in first grade, like 2 + 8!
Finally, you are not bragging when you acknowledge that you have a particular gift. I honestly believe that you kids are gifted, each in your own ways, and I really don't know how much is inherited, and how much is simply hard work and good attitudes. Be very grateful, because this isn't always something you see in the general population.
Love you guys!
Claudia
Claudia, I saw this interesting article you might enjoy. It is titled, "down with fractions".
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/mathscience/2008-01-23-fractions_N.htm?se=yahoorefer
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