It's hard to tell where one dog ends and the other begins! That's Sam with the teeth, and the other is Freedom, his pal who is a guide dog:

Rather than flower pictures, here's one of my pre-mulched garden in Castleton (none post-mulch, and none of Samsonville yet):


And here's one of my new shed for garden tools:

I've been busy and not on the computer much. Spent Thursday-Sunday in Samsonville and did a lot of socializing. Yesterday was mulching day for the garden there (it was hot!), and that was today's task in Castleton. I was sore last night and this morning, but seem to have worked it off today.

On Friday we went to FDR's house and library in Hyde Park. I've been there before on elementary and high school field trips, and I also went many times with my mother and grandmother. I took some pictures that I will post once I download them. I also have some new flower pictures.

The pool is not quite as disgusting, but it is still cloudy. I had to order a new part for the filter and I hope that does the trick. Swimming weather approaches!

Sya links to this post, which invites comments here. So I posted this from 2004.

Two things that are constantly in the news that I don't care about: Duke Lacrosse Team and Paris Hilton.

Here is a PDF file that I created based on my October speech on One Room Schools. It is an adapted/expanded version of the One Room Schools virtual museum that is on the Gully Brook Press site. The attachments are not included. I may eventually create a booklet, and offer it for sale on the publications page.

Interesting and kind of creepy, reminds me of AI. It's sort of cute, but Haley Joel Osment was a lot cuter. Put some clothes on that robot!

This story reminded me of my master's degree graduation ceremony. At that time, the university had commencement at the Knickerbocker Arena - or was it the Pepsi Arena by then? Not sure (it's now called the Times Union Center). Unlike now, it was a combined ceremony, undergraduate and graduate students at the same time. Only the doctoral students got to go on stage when their names were called. I believe the dissertation title was read, also.

The ceremony was already a bit controversial, because some Turkish official was receiving an honorary degree and there were people who were not thrilled. I remember being cornered in the office by a woman who worked with me. She was a strange lady, claimed to have some sort of chronic or terminal disease and she always had a nurse/companion with her who was equally odd. But that is another story! Anyway, she demanded to know if I planned to boycott the ceremony, or at least turn my back and join a protest against the Turkish guy. At the time I was a graduate assistant, so the power differential made her behavior even more inappropriate. But I held my ground and said, "if you think I am going to disappoint my parents who have been waiting for thirty years to attend one of their children's college graduations, you are crazy."

Well, that was a bit of a tangent. Back to the ceremony. There were quite a few doctoral graduates that day; it took quite a long time for the names and dissertation titles to be read, for each student to be hooded on the stage, shake hands, and for the audience to clap. To be perfectly honest, it is a large school, it was a very long ceremony, graduate and undergraduate commencement don't mix that well, and the whole thing did get to be mind numbing. So after quite a few names, the graduating seniors, who were seated in the back and had been batting around beach balls, somehow collectively devised a different response: they all clapped at the same time, but only once. There was this thunderous clap as each doctoral student was hooded. It was hysterical, in an embarrassing sort of way, although if I was getting my PhD rather than my master's degree, I may not have appreciated it. But then again, maybe I wouldn't have minded. It was a happy day. Nothing could spoil the experience. And the undergraduates were just being exuberant.

Later there were lots of letters in the Times Union criticizing the university and the undergraduates. I am not sure that the ceremonies were ever held together again.

About the linked story, I can't believe the school district was this stupid in the first place. But then high school is really mostly about control, rules and authority, isn't it?

Judge Sophie reacts: "how dare she! Lock her up and throw away the key!"

At 12 students, my summer class is the smallest I've ever taught. Most years I get enrollment in the low 30s, which is enough for me to get the large course incentive. This year, I changed the schedule from a 6 week intensive to a 12 week all summer, and I knew I wouldn't get that many students because they have to register for it almost as soon as spring classes end. But I thought there would be more than 12! Of the 12 students enrolled this year, two are nonresponsive (which in an online course means they have done no work and do not answer emails but for some reason stay registered).

I had grown dissatisfied with the intensive format; a number of assignments were not possible at all, and the workload was extreme. A lot of students wound up taking incompletes, and some of those students never bothered to finish and get a passing grade.

Unlike my experience with on campus classes, there is always a lot of adding/dropping in an online course, so it is very hard to predict enrollment and arrive at a class size that is "just right." Luckily, the official enrollment stayed above 10 (dropping below that number before the class started would cause it to be canceled). That was a relief. I am not sorry to miss out on the incentive, but I didn't want to lose the course entirely!

I suspect next year I will have to go back to the 6 week intensive schedule, though. Twenty less students is a significant amount of tuition dollars for the university to forfeit due to my experiment in changing pedagogy. So I am going to enjoy what will probably be my only summer of spread out, minimal work.

Now, what will I do with my extra time?

We opened the pool on Saturday. That's the earliest we've ever been able to do it. To our dismay, the water was disgusting!! Lots of algae. Green water. Yuck. It has never looked so bad. So Bob dumped in a ton of chemicals and we got the filter going. Unfortunately it has some sort of a problem. It works, but there are leaks. My father will figure it out and let me know if we need to buy new parts. Swimming is fun, but pools are expensive, and a lot of work.

Here's one of the window boxes.

My prediction about being done with planting on Wednesday was optimistic...and inaccurate. I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and until 2 pm today. (As well as Saturday in Samsonville.) I'm done!! Lots of comments from passersby when I was working on the window boxes and flower beds in the front of the house. The sunflowers are a big hit. And the geraniums are something too. I'll put up a few pictures eventually. My mother reports that the cukes and zukes are up in Samsonville. Hopefully the weather will hold and we'll be able to open the pool this weekend.

Busy weekend! Got in the Samsonville garden on Saturday. Now working on the one in Castleton; should be done tomorrow. No complaints from students about Spring grades! This really was a good year. Summer session class starts today.

I finished with grades at 7 pm last night! Since I made several changes this semester, it was a lot easier. I did have to work 10 or 12 hour days, but there were no late nights and this past weekend, I only put in a few hours each day. They become available to students at 12 noon today. Hope I don't get a lot of complaining emails. The last thing I have to do is email feedback and the breakdown of their grades to all students, but that will keep for a few days.

My summer session class starts 5/29. It became accessible to students yesterday, and I had it ready last week. So now it's on to other endeavors. Cleaning inside a bit for one, but more importantly: Gardening!! I'm psyched!

The lilacs are coming!

I came across this post and remembered that recently I was thinking of my driving (or rather, non-driving) again. I did a search of the Gully Brook Press archives to see if I'd written about this subject, and all I came up with was this quote from February 2003: "Certainly there are way too many angry drivers on the road; this became more apparent in my quest to get a license. So I gave up. I think I’m just not mad enough to drive." That sort of sums it up.

I've taken the written test to get my learner's permit three times in my life. Every time I got a perfect score on it. I am a walking manual of driving laws. The first time I got my learner's permit was when I was 16. I wasn't all that interested in driving, but learning to drive is expected at that age. I practiced a few times in an old Jeep my parents had, and later in an old car that my father bought. I never got up to the point of going very far from the house, mostly I drove around in the church parking lot next door to where we lived. The situation was complicated because a friend of mine lived with us and my parents didn't really feel like teaching her, so she would have resented them doing it for me. Then, shortly before I turned 17, I went off to college and abandoned driving. I think permits were only good for one year at that time.

I took the written test again several years later, but never bothered to practice driving at all and it expired. My final attempt came seven years ago. I was graduating with my PhD, figured I needed a new goal, and decided that I wanted to try to get my license before I turned 40 in 2001. I've received a lot of pressure over the years on this subject. People think you are crazy if you don't drive. They can't comprehend how you can function in modern society without a license. It always embarrassed me. So once again, I took the written test, but this time I made a serious effort to learn. I practiced all the time, and even took one lesson to sharpen my parallel parking skills. The end result: I failed the road test. Four times. Once in Kingston, twice in Troy and once in Delhi. Three times in a car, and once in a truck. Every time it was for a different reason. Twice were automatic failures, twice because of too many points.

Although no one at New York State motor vehicles will vouch for this, I am actually a competent driver and should have had no problem passing the test. But here's the thing: I hate driving. I have never felt comfortable in a car, whether as a driver or as a passenger, even when I have complete confidence in the driver. One thing my last attempt taught me was that I am not concerned about my own skills. Before that, I was always afraid I couldn't control the car in an emergency, was certain I'd hit deer and other critters and I couldn't cope with that. But I discovered that isn't a problem at all, my observational and reaction skills are fine. Other people, all those people who have had no problem sailing though the road test hurdle, just scare the crap out of me.

Unfortunately, the awareness of how truly dangerous driving can be only increases with age. It's a crime really, what a bloodbath our highways are and no one bats an eye. We advocate about diseases and protest war but act like getting killed in a motor vehicle accident is not the much greater threat. It's just a fact of life. It is a much better idea to get a license when you are young and naive. Even with a ton of practice, I had to psych myself up every time I got behind the wheel and practically wanted to kiss the ground when I arrived at my destination. Driving never felt natural to me. I think this is the real reason I failed four times at my age. My demeanor makes my feelings obvious on the road test. It isn't simple nervousness, because in truth, I was not that nervous when taking the test. I just know I could never pass it.

My learner's permit was good for five years this time, and it expired in 2005. This time, I made peace with it. Decided that driving is just not for me. What I thought in the past - that if I practiced enough I'd get comfortable - isn't true. It would take years not behind the wheel but on the couch to get the courage to pass the road test, and I don't care to invest the energy. And that's OK. I don't get nearly as much pressure as in the past; everyone knows I tried hard and it isn't in the cards. While I was searching for old posts, I came across this one. Could that be the seed for my driving phobia?

The Spring 2007 semester comes to a close! Yesterday was the last day of classes. I had a funny experience in the cafeteria. The cashier said to me "you certainly look happy." I responded, "yes, it's a beautiful day, and it's the last day of classes, and that's always a good thing." She replied, "are you graduating?" I laughed, and said, "no, not graduating. Actually, I'm a faculty member." So she said, "you're a professor? You look so young!" How flattered I was! It's been a long time since anyone has mistaken me for being that young, I have far too much grey hair. But maybe my casual dress yesterday (I held class outside) threw her off?

Last night we saw Five for Fighting and Chantal Kreviazuk at the Egg. Awesome concert, I basically agreed with this review.

While we were waiting for the locksmith to come today, a good samaritan called - he found Bob's briefcase! So even though it was an expensive episode (still had to pay for the service call and a stop payment order on the checks was already in), it restores our faith in humanity.

As the semester draws to a close (classes end Tuesday), I am looking back on the 2006-07 academic year with satisfaction. This has been the best year since I started teaching. I had wonderful classes, and seem finally to have learned how to intervene in a negative class and make it better. Two really good additions this semester were the book lesson plan and presentation assignment, and Just in Time Assessment. It has left me energized, even as I face the enormous, ridiculous, anxiety-producing workload of the end of the semester! This summer, I am converting my summer session class from a six week intensive to all summer, twelve weeks, almost just like the fall and spring sections. In the fall, I am changing some of the required books in all of my classes.

Yesterday Bob was at an all day meeting in Albany and during lunch he left his briefcase in the WWII memorial park next to the state museum. When he realized it and went back it was gone. He reported it to the Empire Plaza police, lost and found and museum front desk but so far no one has turned it in. It had less in it than when his briefcase was stolen out of our car last year, but one thing it had that wasn't in there last year was his key chain with the car and house keys. There was a checkbook in there too with our address so now we have to have the locks changed. And of course the briefcase is a loss again, I'd replaced the one he lost last year with a new one that was the same from LL Bean. Luckily I had a copy of the car key, so I took the bus downtown to meet him and we were able to get home.