I’m not an educator. I am a student. I’ve been a student, an avid and sometimes unwilling consumer of education for over 17 years. I dropped out of the educational system for the seven years while I’ve started a family. I rejoined as a mother and PTA volunteer for the last nine years as my children have attending public school.

I remember several of my first days of school. The anticipation in meeting new teachers, friends, and subjects; of reading new textbooks. Yes, I was a strange student. I sat quietly in my seat absorbing the atmosphere of the classroom. The teacher’s walk, gestures, and patterns of speech. The students: the clown, asking for attention to hide their own deficiencies in the subject, the nerd, asking for approval for their ideas from the teacher; the flirt, asking for attention from the members of the class of the opposite gender; the sleeper, always with their head down, dozing away the hour; and me the watcher. I learned my subjects, but I also learned how to teach. I spent 16+ years observing teachers and thought it ironic that for my education certificate I was required to spend more time back in those same jr. high and high school classrooms yet again observing.

Here are the teachers that I saw:
The Pontificator– this teacher loved their subject and themselves, they tended to talk above and beyond most of their students to the top 5% of the class, thus building a frustration and hatred for their beloved subject in the majority of their students.
The Textbook– this teacher had set out lectures that they went through step by step, they didn’t stop for questions or descriptions, but ran through the day’s notes. If you had skipped class and just read the notes you could get through the same material in a 1/4 of the time. The by product of this teaching method was boredom and apathy.
The Storyteller– this teacher had a great teaching method, they just tended to stray off topic, I remember a great deal of soccer stories about a certain teacher’s young children’s games, more than the matrices I was supposed to learn in that class. Students love this kind of teacher, but the subject doesn’t always get taught.
The Connector– this teacher combines the best traits of the first three, but with the added bonus of being able to reach his or her students. Being a woman I value relationships, and so this teacher who is able to build that relationship with their students is the one I prize. The example that sticks out in my mind was my tenth grade English teacher. Not only did he love his subject like the pontificator, know it like the textbook, and tell it like the storyteller, he also got the last item in place that the other three missed, he knew his students. He knew what it was to be in the same classroom for an hour-and-a-half every other day for a year. He knew what the students were interested in and reached for that place in his discussions.
The greatest flaw I found in teachers after 16+ years of observing was a failure to reach for the student. After all it isn’t the teacher who is tested on their knowledge, it’s the students. Where does responsibility for the student’s education lay? With the state board of education? With their teachers? With their parents? With their school? With the national government?
As my daughter starts school, and I look down the road to her jr high, her high school, my first question for them starts at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy: Are they providing a safe environment for learning? Are they providing a supportive environment for education? Then I work my way to other no-less important “What will they be teaching her? How will they be teaching her?”

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the demise of the public education system, in the United States, as we know it. I can see several alternatives, some of which really scare me.

First scariest alternative:
1. Alternative and charter secondary schools. At sixth grade students are tested and sent to one or the other. Alternative secondary schools handling the “second class citizens’ children” and charter handling the middle class children. (Upper class will probably continue to attend private schools, ironic how the people who instituted “No Child Left Behind” are the ones whose children won’t be affected by it.)

Second scary alternative:
2. Violence in schools escalate to the point where most sane parents send their children to private schools, home school, or pray desperately as they drop their children off at the public school and drive off to work.

Third scary alternative:
3. The federal government puts out core curriculum for all the states to follow and tests the students abilities in core areas. The fed then reduces funding for all “failing” schools, thereby furthering digging them into a pit. Schools scrap all other programs (science, arts, geography, PE, etc.) in an effort to focus only on the getting the majority of students through the core curriculum in math and English. Wait that isn’t a future alternative, that’s our current reality.

Ideal dream world:
1. Schools become more based on the public library system. Serving the public, a dish at a time, instead of a year at a time. Mandatory school is required for basic math, science, physical education, reading, social studies, but the classes go at the student’s individual pace. If a student wants to learn a year’s worth of math in two months, let them. To set up this system we need computers and/or tablets for each student. We would need educational software programs with video lectures and/or animations that the student could watch at their own pace. (You can watch at faster speeds or slower as you need, you also have options for which educator lecture series you watch, depending on your learning style.) Homework would be a matter of proving that you understood the material. Once understood you are allowed to move on. If you show a relapse through quizzes or tests then the computer pulls up a question by question review. Teachers would be used for class discussions, performance classes(i.e. orchestra, sports, woodshop, arts) and saved for students who are less self-motivated or need extra attention. The primary goal is student mastery. Grade years are too broad, students need to be broken into groups based on mastery of the material. They learn the current unit and the move up or down as needed. If they don’t learn it they aren’t automatically passed up. They are responsible for their movement through the education system.

2. For the social aspect some school classes could consist of inter-state or even international groups of students who progress through the years in cohorts, where cooperative methods are encourage, but individual accountability is also fostered. The product is reasoning, responsible, intelligent, and caring adults who go on to productive careers furthering the world community as well as their neighborhoods.

I think that we are part way there, but there are gaps.
Here are some of the big ones:
ESL – immigrants struggle with learning a new language and culture, where children are in-betweens, not at home in their parent’s culture or in their new land’s.
Cheating – When the emphasis is placed on the grades rather than on mastery of the information, some students take the route of cheating. This isn’t teacher problem this is a problem of our society. As long as we emphasize appearance over mastery this will be an issue.
Families – I could say parents, but I think that children have a role here too. Do we need families? Yes we do! They are essential to the support system of students. When students don’t feel secure at home, or aren’t fed, clothed or provided for, learning becomes much more difficult. Should high school students work? Should jr. high students work? Should college students work?
Money – We get what we pay for. If we expect a highly literate, competent and creative work force we better invest in education.
Technology – I’m not talking about introducing technology into the classroom, that’s a nice idea, but it’s stupid. It’s like taking a battery powered typewriter back to Laura Ingall’s classroom. It would be an interesting tool, but only one child could use it at a time. When it ran out of ink ribbons, or batteries, it would be a nice piece of junk. Technology is so much more than just a power point presentation with neat graphics. If technology is used only to supplement the classroom it’s like using a typewriter instead of a computer. The typewriter is nice for typing, but you can network, explore, create, build and learn using a computer. The only activity a typewriter is superior at is for filling out printed forms. Some students graduate believing that computers are used only for typing term papers, and others graduate believing that they’re only for violent games. Every child needs access to a computer at school all day!

The first adaptive test that I ever took was the GRE(after four years of college.) I understood the principle behind it, the more correct answers you get, the harder the questions are, conversely if you get the questions wrong, the easier the questions get. Your score isn’t based on the number of correct answers, it’s based on what you answered correctly. Using this test in a classroom setting would make it harder to cheat, because the test changes with each answer that you put in, and it accurately places your knowledge level. Besides that, it’s cool. The idea of a machine that takes in consideration the fact that if you don’t know the answer to the medium question, you won’t know the answer to the hard questions. You don’t have to answer a bunch of questions that are too easy or too hard. Instead of looking at every inch along a measuring tape to get a height, you just look at the three or four inches of tape around the top of the object. Schools spend a lot of time looking at every inch along the way, instead of just the ones at the end that matter.
I was bored in school. I was bored with the teachers, with the students, with the repetition, and with myself. I wasn’t a straight A student. Looking back, I think that I could of been, but I didn’t want to be. It was a subjective number game that I didn’t want to play. Why waste hours each week making up the difference between my effortless B’s and those elusive A’s (only elusive in the tougher subjects)? If I could go back and do high school again, I think that I’d work on getting more material covered. I think that I’d read a lot more out of class, and maybe in class. I’d ask more questions, I was too much of a watcher and not enough of a participant. But I learned a lot. I learned how to write left-handed (it kept me entertained in otherwise very dry classes). I learned how to teach. I learned how to write challenging multiple choice test questions. (That can be tricky for math, but I’ve got it covered.) I learned how to leap through bureaucratic hoops. I learned how to march, I learned how to listen for test questions in a teacher’s lecture. I learned how to run a campaign. I learned how to sit still in a desk for six hours every day. I learned how to navigate the halls. I learned how to drive.
I wish that I’d learned how to re-wire the twisted circuit in my house. I wish that I’d learned how to change the oil in my hybrid car (the mechanic gets it wrong sometimes.) I wish that I’d learned how to change the laws. I wish that I’d learned how to scuba dive.

Do we want a reasoning, creative, and scientific society? Or do we want worker bees who excel at working quietly for hours at a time? Do we really value our place as a leader in the world in technology and innovation, or are we content to let it slip away? Other countries are willing to put in 10+ hours a day into a student’s education. Let’s not match the time, but let’s put the time that we have into better use. It will require infrastructure, new ways of organizing students (more by where they are in their educational path and less by age,) computers at every desk instead of a computer lab in every school and using innovative software. We don’t realize the power that we already have in the combination of the internet, wonderful teachers, creative students and able administrators. We’ve been dragging the cart and the horse. Let’s put the students in front of the cart and let them lead. If they are motivated, have access to technology and have the support of the adults around them, instead of dragging the horses, we’ll be running to keep up. And isn’t that what we want?

I substituted for a third grade class today. We had two bloody noses and four students crying (they took turns) and a stapled finger. The Friday before one of the students went home early for stitches in a finger. He came today with a large purple wrap that covered most of his finger.

I really did watch them and work with them. I have only had one student cry before today and that was a junior high boy faced with suspension. There must be something in the weather. I mentioned it to a fourth grade teacher at lunch and she said it was typical of third graders. I didn’t realize that was an issue.

So why would third graders be so emotional? Is it because they are transitioning from concrete operations stage (Piaget’s theories of learning) to a higher level where they can speculate more and try to understand others’ intentions. About this age they begin to grasp that others may think about them. This is different from the teenagers who thinks everyone is thinking about them. It’s the beginning to understand, that just because I know something doesn’t mean that others know it as well.

I managed to keep my fingers intact and my nose unbloodied, though I do wonder what kind of stories those parents will hear tonight about their student’s substitute teacher…

Last week my little sister and mother, from California, came to visit for a few days. My sister found out that Comic Con was in town during their visit and decided to go on Thursday. I wasn’t planning to go with them, because money is tight right now. On Wednesday night, I was in a late church meeting and a friend gave me a free ticket!

April 17th, Thursday morning, I went to the first day of Salt Lake Comic Con with my mom and teenaged sister. When we first came in we were greeted by a large penned off area where a green and purple balloon sculpture was growing. When we entered it was about six feet high, as we left it was the size of a pioneer cabin. Booths lined the wide aisles. Vendors were selling illustrations (fantasy art, comics, movie graphics), jewelry, costumes, swords and daggers. They had a full-sized Star Wars droid, one of R2D2’s cousins, a DeLorean from “Back to the Future” and several blue phone booths scattered throughout the halls.

We sat in on Ioan Gruffudd’s panel. (good luck saying his name, unless you are Welsh or you practice) He’s the star from the Horatio Hornblower PBS series and Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four. The Horatio Hornblower book series, by C. S. Forester is historical fiction set during the early 1800’s and follows the Royal British naval career of Horatio from underling up to Admiral Hornblower. I enjoyed the author’s authenticity and attention to detail. Time after time, Hornblower saves the day through his intelligence and determination.

My sister was excited to catch a glimpse of Adam Baldwin (John Casey from the TV series “Chuck”). Okay, I was excited to see him too. I saw Natasha Yar, Warf, Gates McFadden and others from the Star Trek cast. A telephoto lens would have been nice, they were set back from the walkways by their autograph lines. The actors all looked smaller and slimmer then they do on the screen.

James Marsters, (plays Spike in Buffy) was also there, but his autograph line was packed and so we didn’t actually see him.

Many of the fantasy and Sci-Fi authors were familiar from the Life the Universe and Everything conference that I’ve gone to for many years.

In the Dr. Who panel we saw this great family all dressed up. The oldest boy was the 12th Doctor, the pre-teen girl had on a grey dress with grey wings and the cute five-yr old girl with the short dusty blond curls was dressed as River Song.

I even did some shopping for illustrators and got some business cards. (I have to justify a day of staring at actors somehow. 😉

I’d recommend the Salt Lake Comic Con as a great place to indulge your inner geek! See you next time.

Recently I attended the LtUE writer’s conference down at the Provo Marriott Hotel. I’ve been going for several years. Because this conference focuses on science fiction and fantasy writers, which I am one of, there are always too many classes to choose from. How do you decide between “Creating Your Own Language part 2 of 3” and the “Writing Martial Arts for non-martial artists”? It’s like all my childhood dreams in one place.

I attended a panel on armor, where I got to heft a helmet that had been used in mock-battles. “This baby has saved my life more times than I can count.” The presenter said as he patted the dented white metal helmet. He pointed at the grill over the eye slit. “Originally this area was open, but I had the metal worker weld these extra strips across the front. I like to keep my eyes.”

In the martial arts panel they talked about Bruce Lee taking on an NBA 7′ 4″ man who was inexperienced in martial arts. “Afterwards he (Bruce Lee) was so sore for all those really high kicks. There is a real advantage of height in martial arts vs. experience.” An audience member asked about experience vs. weapons. All four panelists answered in chorus, “Weapons, they are always going to give you the advantage.”

What does it say about me that I’m into learning about combat even if I’m never going to be in a fight or learning about armor, even if I never wear any? I love learning about these elements of fantastical worlds. Oh yeah, and writing about them too.

I also got to see Orson Scott Card (author of Ender’s Game and a bunch of other sci/fi fantasy) speak. He was one of my favorite authors growing up. I was worried that he wouldn’t live up to my childhood vision of who he was I got from reading his books, but I didn’t have to worry. He was fantastic. He talked about the struggle of making Ender smart. How it took him 30+ years to come up with an ending that he was satisfied with. I feel like he gave me permission to put my books published, even if I don’t feel like they are at their perfect state.

Yes I’m another one of those strange middle-aged moms with a secret passion. I am a K-dramaholic(addicted to Korean Dramas.) My sister introduced me about two years ago to my first Korean Drama “Playful Kiss.” I was hooked from the first episode about a socially backward girl whose family is forced to move in with the most popular boy in school’s family, after her brand-new home is demolished in a 1.5 magnitude earthquake. Her house was the only one damaged in the whole city. So sad and hilarious!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Korean Dramas, they are sappy, emotional, goofy, funny, mostly clean, well written and full of plot twists. And contrary to the trend in American TV shows, the series end! Everything tied up neatly at the end of 1 to 3 seasons, very satisfying. They are in Korean with English subtitles. Suppliers are Netflix, Viki, and Hulu.

Side effects include: Laughing, yelling, cheering, crying, saying “Arioso” or “creo” to people you meet and binging. After watching six or more hours you may experience a short time where English begins to sound like a foreign language. You may find yourself hugging complete strangers when you find that they are fellow addicts. You may also find yourself eavesdropping on unsuspecting Asian tourists, to find out if they are Korean. (Yes you! Korean family on the sailboat in Lake Tahoe in September of 2012, I knew you were Korean!)

Other Side effect include: picking up on an Asian student’s head nod as an abbreviated bow. Wanting to bow as you meet people and apologizing excessively “Kam sam ne da”. Wanting to call older people Ahjussi(older woman) or Sunbae (teacher or older student.) Calling your mom – Omma and your dad – Oppa. And for females speaking with a high-pitched, spunky attitude.

Some of my all time favorites:
“City Hunter” – action drama, reminds me of “Arrow” but he’s much more moral than the Arrow guy.
“The Great Doctor” – historical drama, about a plastic surgeon abducted back in time by a warrior to save the queen’s life.
“The Secret Garden” – stuntwoman vs. macho jerk CEO, loosely based on Pride and Prejudice, refers to Little Mermaid.
“Can You Hear My Heart” – deaf executive who reads lips, hides the fact that he’s deaf. Girl with deaf mother recognizes what he’s hiding.
“Moon Embracing the Sun” – historical drama, king and queen betrothed while young, she dies.

There are many other great Korean Dramas. I’d recommend them, but then you’d be addicted too. So stay away! Beware!

Chapter 2 – Walter
Walter hurried home after school. He usually studied in the school library for a half hour to give Sienna a chance to get to the pool, but today he wanted to make sure that everything was ready. He arrived at his white- brick house. “Mom, I’m home.”
“I’m upstairs.” He followed her voice into the sun room. “You’re home early.” She was sitting in the white wicker chair bathed in sunlight from the floor to ceiling window.
“I felt like getting my chores done.”
She raised her eyebrow. “Are you feeling alright?”
Walter grinned. “I have a girlfriend coming over after dinner. I mean a girl, who is a friend.”
She smiled. “That’s wonderful Wally. Who is she?”
“Her name’s Sienna and…” He wanted to say ‘and she’s gorgeous.’ But Mom might share that comment with Sienna. “She’s my partner for a history report.”
Mom reached up and squeezed his hand. “That’s wonderful.”
Walter raced through his chores, then went and cleaned his room. He wasn’t allowed to have girls in his room, but he didn’t want her to catch a glimpse of his dirty room through an open doorway. The he went to the sunroom, he sat in a wicker chair across from his mom.
“Mom will you do me a favor?”
“What’s that Walter?”
“Please don’t tell Sienna I’m adopted? I want to tell her my own way.”
“If that’s what you want, sure honey.” Mom said.
Walter opened his book. He was reading The Hunt For Red October, but he had trouble concentrating. He kept picturing Sienna’s smile, her bright blue eyes and her caramel-colored hair. His fingers stretched for a pencil.
The doorbell rang. Walter put down his book and walked downstairs. Sarah, his little sister, shouted from the living room. “Wally! Your girlfriend is here.”
Walter paused on the stairs and took a deep breath. Why did he even like her? She wasn’t a mermaid. He felt the necklace under his shirt. He turned the last corner of the stairs. Sienna was standing in the middle of his white slip-covered living room looking at his family’s portrait, they had taken it the day his adoption had become official.
Walter was standing in the back, right behind his adopted mother. Sarah was next to their father. And Walter’s brothers were on the other side of his mother. Walter walked over to Sienna. Her caramel-colored hair was straight and loose down her back. It was still damp from pool practice. He could feel the moisture in the air increase as he walked toward her. “That’s my family.”
Sienna didn’t flinch. “That’s a great picture, but the woman from your drawing isn’t your mother, so who is she?”
Sienna turned as Walter felt his cheeks warm. She turned back to the picture. Walter didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t going to tell her his secrets. Sienna turned back to him. “Were you adopted?” She blurted out. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer. Your picture, you look a different then your brothers and your sisters.”
Sienna was perceptive if she had seen that he was adopted from a picture. Walter studied the photo. His jaw line didn’t match his brothers or his father. His hair color was brown like his family, but it was a darker brown and finer. His eyes were different, more shaded, and darker.
When he finally spoke his voice was almost a whisper. “I was adopted.”
“When were you adopted?” She asked.
“I was adopted July 17th, this last summer.” Walter said.
“You were adopted this summer?” Sienna sounded surprised. “What happened to your parents?”
“They passed away a few years ago.”
“I…” She was quiet.
Walter wanted to smooth over the awkward moment. “Come on in the kitchen and we’ll get started on our history report. Where’s Brad?”
Sienna followed him into the kitchen. “He has a student government activity tonight. It’s just us.”
Walter felt his heart skip a beat.
It was so strange to see Sienna sitting here at his kitchen table. They were reading about the Red October Revolution. At least Sienna was reading. Walter was pretending to read. He had already read the section completely before she arrived. Reading was still hard for him. He didn’t want distractions like reading while she was here. He glanced at her again. She was biting her lip as she concentrated on the page, her eyes darting from side-to-side.
She glanced up and saw him watching her. “Are you done reading already?”
“Yeah.” Walter said.
Her eyebrows came together. “You must read really fast.” She continued with her reading.
The comment she had made in the living room about the drawing not being his mother had been ironic. He had drawn his mother at school. She was one of the reasons he had started drawing as soon as he had been introduced to the smooth perfection of white paper and pencils. He hadn’t wanted to forget her face. He had no photographs of her. He touched his shirt where his necklace made a bump.
“Why do you do that?” Sienna asked.
His heart went faster. “Do what?”
“Why do you touch your necklace? May I see it?”
Walter thought of bringing it out to show her, just to see her stunned reaction. He hadn’t even shown his necklace to his adopted family. One didn’t flash around a three-carat diamond. He turned away from her. “It’s personal, it was my parents’.”
“It’s shaped like an eye.” She was still looking at the diamond’s bump under his shirt.
Walter hunched forward to hide its shape. “Why do you like to swim?”
“How do you know I’m a swimmer? Is it the green in my hair?” She tugged on one of her caramel-colored strands draped over her shoulder.
He laughed. “There’s no green in your hair, just seaweed. I see you at the pool practicing, everyday after school.”
“I love the feel of the water, the way that it flows over my skin.”
Walter gave a shudder of revulsion.
“You don’t agree with me.” Her lower lip pushed out.
Walter shook his head. “I don’t like pools. They’re disgusting.”
Sienna wrinkled her nose. “Do you swim at all?”
“Not anymore.” As soon as the words were out, he regretted them, now she would ask questions. “I’ve never swam in a pool.” He clarified.
“What about the ocean or a lake?”
Walter side-stepped her question, “There’s no ocean here, in Utah, and I’ve never swam in a lake.”
“Would you like to learn how to swim?”
Walter ached to say yes, especially if she would be his teacher. “Not really.”
“Anytime you change your mind, come to the pool, I’ll teach you for free.” Sienna offered.
“I’m not interested.” He was so very interested, but he didn’t know how he would react to pool water. And he couldn’t take off his shirt without revealing the diamond. And he couldn’t take off the diamond without changing back to his true form. And his true form would… well it would be a problem.
She shrugged. “I can’t imagine not knowing how to swim. It’s your loss.”
He almost groaned out loud. Instead he cleared his throat. “So what do you think of the Romanovs?”
They had a good start on their history report. Sienna looked at the clock. Walter saw it was nearly nine. “I’ve got to go, I have early morning practice.” She said.
“You swim in the mornings too?” Walter asked.
“I swim morning, night and daytime too, during the summer.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Later.”

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