All 61 students arrived yesterday. 40 girls, 21 boys, and each brought approximately 2 parents/ friends/ siblings. This meant that approximately 180 people were shuffled through the registration process, and the dorms. They got their students moved in and set up for a semester. I, along with two other graduate students were responsible for meeting, greeting, and directing 120 of those people from 9am until 5pm. They're walking around, still have the stars in their eyes and are all interested in making new friends and finding their place here.
Looking at this from the perspective as a student this is perhaps what the day might have gone like:
5am: Wake up and drive for about 6-10 hours. You planned to sleep during this time but you can't because you're so excited.
11am: Still with mom, dad, and little brother walk around and register. Lots of forms and paper pushing which mom sorted out before you even got here. You and your parents gawk open mouthed at the facility
noon: Lunch time! Eat lunch with other students and their families. Feel overwhelmed
1pm: Health screening! For 15 minutes talk to the nurse, potentially about embarrassing things you might have such as asthma, your medications, and have to listen to your mom say 'I don't feel comfortable with you giving my child such and such'
1:30: Go see your room! Be greeted by a graduate fellow (me!) and be shown your room, be asked the usual questions "do you have any contraband items?" or my personal favorite "do you have any questions" and while you're trying to process the HUGE amount of information that is in your head and thinking of a good one your mom instead says 'I have some."
1:30-2pm: Take a tour of the building with mom while dad and little brother lug things upstairs and pile them in no semblance of order outside your room completely in the way. Your mom is asking lots of embarrassing questions which you don't care about like 'where is the laundry?' 'can they cook?' 'What will the food be like?' or making statements like 'oh hunny look! a drying rack so you can air dry your bras!'
2-3pm: Mom helps you unpack your things, she makes your bed nice (the ONLY time it will look like this), puts your toothbrush in the toothbrush holder, and folds the clothes in the drawer. Dad and little brother are sitting on the common area couches.
3-5pm: During this time you're all unpacked, and now lots of other girls have arrived and they want to meet you, to talk to you. Your parents and little brother are going to tour the facility and make you know where you're going. They also leave during this time.
After they leave and before anything else happens: You're stuck. You don't know anyone. You try to be nice, cool and accepting during this time. You look at the other girls dorms and assess their sense of style by what they're wearing and how they've decorated their rooms.
5-7pm You do an opening ice breaker with the whole group which makes everyone feel uncomfortable, awkward and potentially a little inadequate. You eat dinner and everyone makes small talk with each other.
After that opening ceremony and bed!
While looking at it from this perspective the kids are still on information overload and we're trying to squeeze in as much as we can. They still walk around with stars in their eyes, they don't see themselves as part of place yet and they're curious to get the year started. I could see myself in the students. When I was a freshman in college I remembered leaving my parents and having that same scared but excited look on my face. I'm looking forward to seeing how these students learn and grow throughout the semester.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Dyscalculia
How many people have you heard ever say 'oh I have number dyslexia'? I bet there are a few people. Guess what? It's its own thing. It is called dyscalculia, I know it kind of sounds like Dracula, but trust me it's not a vampire related learning disability. If you haven't put a face to this learning disability yet, I have dyscalculia.
I have struggled with math all my life. This is not an exaggeration, I really have. In high school I understood the processes and what to do to solve problems, but on tests and homework I would do all the right work, but my answer would be wrong. I know many of you are saying 'Well there are lots of kids who do that' but do they transpose numbers much like someone who has dyslexia would transpose letters? Do decimal places come and go? Do negative signs pop up and disappear in places they shouldn't? I was often told to double check my work. I would solve the same problem the same exact way six different times and end up with six different answers. I was also told to work slower, but no matter how fast or slow I worked it didn't matter. I could retake tests multiple times, but still nothing really helped. My teacher in high school once told me, 'Melissa, your work is all correct, you're doing it right, it's just the answer that you're having the problem with. I don't understand it'.
I passed math well enough to graduate and go to college and I took my last math class, and struggled once again through chemistry (this can be a story in and of itself so I'll spare you the painful details of my college chemistry experience). In my freshman year in college I took a work study position basically pushing papers around in the Disability Centers office. I said something once to my boss that I hated math and she asked me why and I told her, in jest, that I had number dyslexia. She told me that I should look up dyscalculia because it was a thing that I should develop strategies for if I hadn't already.
Reading the symptoms was like reading a book about my life and math. What kills me is that nobody really knows about it beyond a handful of people. Teachers now still don't know what to look for and how to recognize it. Kids all the time are slipping through the cracks. Apparently the national average of students who have dyscalculia is 1% over half of those students were previously diagnosed with ADHD. I feel that this number is much too low and the reason is because nobody knows that it's a thing to look for and document. Or if they do know to look for it's because the student is already having trouble.
So the reason why I wrote about having dyscalculia is because nobody knows about it. So, now my blog readers, you know. It's a thing.
I have struggled with math all my life. This is not an exaggeration, I really have. In high school I understood the processes and what to do to solve problems, but on tests and homework I would do all the right work, but my answer would be wrong. I know many of you are saying 'Well there are lots of kids who do that' but do they transpose numbers much like someone who has dyslexia would transpose letters? Do decimal places come and go? Do negative signs pop up and disappear in places they shouldn't? I was often told to double check my work. I would solve the same problem the same exact way six different times and end up with six different answers. I was also told to work slower, but no matter how fast or slow I worked it didn't matter. I could retake tests multiple times, but still nothing really helped. My teacher in high school once told me, 'Melissa, your work is all correct, you're doing it right, it's just the answer that you're having the problem with. I don't understand it'.
I passed math well enough to graduate and go to college and I took my last math class, and struggled once again through chemistry (this can be a story in and of itself so I'll spare you the painful details of my college chemistry experience). In my freshman year in college I took a work study position basically pushing papers around in the Disability Centers office. I said something once to my boss that I hated math and she asked me why and I told her, in jest, that I had number dyslexia. She told me that I should look up dyscalculia because it was a thing that I should develop strategies for if I hadn't already.
Reading the symptoms was like reading a book about my life and math. What kills me is that nobody really knows about it beyond a handful of people. Teachers now still don't know what to look for and how to recognize it. Kids all the time are slipping through the cracks. Apparently the national average of students who have dyscalculia is 1% over half of those students were previously diagnosed with ADHD. I feel that this number is much too low and the reason is because nobody knows that it's a thing to look for and document. Or if they do know to look for it's because the student is already having trouble.
So the reason why I wrote about having dyscalculia is because nobody knows about it. So, now my blog readers, you know. It's a thing.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Wallyball
You might ask... What is Wallyball? I would tell you that it possibly one of the most fun games you can play! Completely absurd and hilarious all at the same time. I discovered this amazing game here at grad school. I know I should be studying, but wallyball is a great distraction.
So Wallyball is a game much like volleyball. There is a net, players on either side volleying the ball to win points. However, what makes the game more fun is that you play it in a racquetball court and can bounce the ball off the walls. You can also get the ball up and over the net by bouncing it off any part of your body hands, feet, head, shoulder, knee... I'm sure you can see how hilarious the game gets.
My friends and I have found that we really enjoy playing wallyball as a way to unwind from our day. I usually laugh so hard I cry at least twice a game. I've also noticed that it's a great workout. Lots of jumping, arm swinging and moving around all the time. We usually play for a couple of hours. If you ever have the chance to play wallyball you should, so much fun is waiting to be had.
So Wallyball is a game much like volleyball. There is a net, players on either side volleying the ball to win points. However, what makes the game more fun is that you play it in a racquetball court and can bounce the ball off the walls. You can also get the ball up and over the net by bouncing it off any part of your body hands, feet, head, shoulder, knee... I'm sure you can see how hilarious the game gets.
My friends and I have found that we really enjoy playing wallyball as a way to unwind from our day. I usually laugh so hard I cry at least twice a game. I've also noticed that it's a great workout. Lots of jumping, arm swinging and moving around all the time. We usually play for a couple of hours. If you ever have the chance to play wallyball you should, so much fun is waiting to be had.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
My Parents Came to Visit!
My parents decided that they were going to take a weekend to come see me. I had only one big request. That they bring the dogs. They brought the dogs along with lots of other things that I asked for.
Woody riding in the car on the way here. Looking out the window.
Buster would actually prefer to fall asleep when he gets in the car.
They arrived and I gave them a tour of the place with the dogs.
My dad and I in my kitchen
On Saturday we also toured Bond Falls.
This is my deck. Makes me laugh all those people who would call in at Okemo asking if their room had a 'deck' and would get SUPER mad when it didn't. I didn't even ask for one and I got one! Everyone has some sort of patio/ balcony though.
My room
Laundry room below.
Living space.
Dining area
My drum found a place above the gas fireplace!
My car Otis has a garage!
Fire pit in the common area.
Boat launch.
Recreation Center
Garden, it used to be a softball field.
Dogs were tuckered out!
Walking into my dorm, my apartment is up the stairs to the right.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Knitting
Many of you may or may not know that I enjoy knitting. I learned to knit from the internet, no joke. I've knit lots of hats, mittens, gloves and scarves.
Friends/ co-workers at Okemo last winter were having a baby. I knew that mom-to-be had admired my knitting for a little while. So I figured I would knit them a baby sweater. It zips in the back so that the little guy can't wiggle out of it too easily. I wasn't able to see the baby in the sweater though as it was knit for a larger than newborn but they did send me pictures of him wearing it. What a cutie!
Friends/ co-workers at Okemo last winter were having a baby. I knew that mom-to-be had admired my knitting for a little while. So I figured I would knit them a baby sweater. It zips in the back so that the little guy can't wiggle out of it too easily. I wasn't able to see the baby in the sweater though as it was knit for a larger than newborn but they did send me pictures of him wearing it. What a cutie!
Coincidentally, this is a family knitting pattern. All babies born my generation and after have all received this same sweater knit may times. Glad that I was able to pass on a family tradition!
Monday, August 5, 2013
Packing in the Porcupines
My friends and I this past weekend decided that we wanted to hike. I'm not talking about a measly two miles in, pitch a tent, get out the 24 pack of beer and have a campfire. I'm talking an 8 mile hike where at the end you have your campfire but your dinner is pasta sides because you didn't want to pack anything else in. I wanted to come home sore, tired and content.
And so a hike was planned. We headed a little ways north to the Porcupine Mountains. We started along a river and hiked about 7 miles to the shore of Lake Superior. Coincidentally, we were on the North Country Trail which is where we hiking before while visiting Marquette, Michigan. The Porcupine Mountains are very old growth and the forest feels that way, old. It has history and it commands respect. The trees were mostly deciduous and hemlock, it would be beautiful in the fall. After hiking for 7 miles along the river we saw Lake Superior. Lake Superior looks like an ocean, in fact it has tides.
The Porcupine Mountains have campsites ready to go with bear hangs set up. We got to one we had heard was nice but unfortunately it was taken, along with every other campsite along shore. Thankfully we had a back country permit (necessary when going camping in the Porcupines) which allowed us to camp anywhere we wanted as long as we set up a bear hang and didn't have a campfire. So we set up our camp along the shore. We couldn't find a clear spot because there were so many thimbleberries we ended up just putting the tent right on top. Unlike raspberries or blackberries their stalks don't have thorns and the leaves are real soft, they also don't get really woody stems.
We cooked dinner on the beach and took a swim. The stars were amazing and the moon wasn't out. We stayed up late taking sips of whiskey with apple juice chasers as we watched the shooting stars fly by. The milky way was also out in it's full glory. A rare sight with all the stars out like that. Very few times do you get such a clear view.
Overall we hiked about 17 miles going in and out. We did a loop going back in along a very muddy trail and then visited a waterfall on the way out. Tired and content, just like we planned, we rolled back into school.
Trips like this remind me of why I am out here learning about environmental education. These wild places have immeasurable value, they add in ways that we wouldn't even expect. What kind of price can you put on a weekend like that? What would you pay to see not one, but many shooting stars? The price: 10 mile hike in, sore feet and exhaustion. I feel that's more than fair.
And so a hike was planned. We headed a little ways north to the Porcupine Mountains. We started along a river and hiked about 7 miles to the shore of Lake Superior. Coincidentally, we were on the North Country Trail which is where we hiking before while visiting Marquette, Michigan. The Porcupine Mountains are very old growth and the forest feels that way, old. It has history and it commands respect. The trees were mostly deciduous and hemlock, it would be beautiful in the fall. After hiking for 7 miles along the river we saw Lake Superior. Lake Superior looks like an ocean, in fact it has tides.
The Porcupine Mountains have campsites ready to go with bear hangs set up. We got to one we had heard was nice but unfortunately it was taken, along with every other campsite along shore. Thankfully we had a back country permit (necessary when going camping in the Porcupines) which allowed us to camp anywhere we wanted as long as we set up a bear hang and didn't have a campfire. So we set up our camp along the shore. We couldn't find a clear spot because there were so many thimbleberries we ended up just putting the tent right on top. Unlike raspberries or blackberries their stalks don't have thorns and the leaves are real soft, they also don't get really woody stems.
We cooked dinner on the beach and took a swim. The stars were amazing and the moon wasn't out. We stayed up late taking sips of whiskey with apple juice chasers as we watched the shooting stars fly by. The milky way was also out in it's full glory. A rare sight with all the stars out like that. Very few times do you get such a clear view.
Overall we hiked about 17 miles going in and out. We did a loop going back in along a very muddy trail and then visited a waterfall on the way out. Tired and content, just like we planned, we rolled back into school.
Trips like this remind me of why I am out here learning about environmental education. These wild places have immeasurable value, they add in ways that we wouldn't even expect. What kind of price can you put on a weekend like that? What would you pay to see not one, but many shooting stars? The price: 10 mile hike in, sore feet and exhaustion. I feel that's more than fair.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Water Week
My week at grad school has gone something a little like this: becoming a canoe instructor and getting wilderness water safety certified. A week of water training. In and out of canoes, in and out of the lake. Luckily it was sunny for most of it.
I always assumed that canoeing was this lumbering antiquated way to cross a lake. It was really for those who hadn't discovered kayaks yet. I always thought that kayaks were much easier to handle in the water and went better. Steve at River Sport Adventures definitely showed me wrong. Our beginning course went far beyond anything that I had ever learned at summer camp. We were doing figure 8's, going backwards, learning the best techniques to make paddling easier and we were of course having fun. We spent all day in the canoes from about 9am until 4:30. I got a few blisters on my palms from the paddles but with them just about to worn raw I got my certification. We also did tip tests and T- rescues. A tip test is when you try to flood your canoe while still maintaining a level of control if you've done it right you will still be sitting in your sunken canoe. A T- rescue is what you might use when a canoe has capsized and dumped it's passengers. Another canoe, or two canoes that are still upright will come over and link up creating a raft. They will create the top part of a T shape to the sunken canoe. One of the people who dumped their canoe will stand on the end of the swamped canoe away from the rafted ones. This will cause the tip of the canoe to go in the air. The passengers in the upright canoes will drag the canoe onto their own and once it is fully out of the water they will flip it, and put it back in. Now the hard part comes in, getting the dunked canoers back into their now upright canoe. There are a few ways to do this and none of them are graceful. All of them involve your canoe fighting back and giving you lots of bruises. The canoes just had to remind us of how stupid we were to flip them in the first place. However after two very tiring days that was done.
Then we had a day of rest, and did paperwork while our muscles stopped screaming.
It was then time for Wilderness Water Safety! We all basically became backcountry lifeguards. I have never been to a lifeguard certification class before. Honestly the thought of saving someone in the water is downright terrifying. It still is. I've actually avoided getting lifeguard certified so that I wouldn't ever have to feel like I was the responsible one. I learned how to successfully carry another person into shore, how to find them on the bottom of a muddy lake and still I feel that everyone should be wearing their life jacket... even while swimming. 12 people in the water at once is a huge deal. just wear your life jacket and make it easy on me. Thinking back on some of the things I've done makes me cringe.
Overall good week of training and lots of knowledge that was passed on. Thanks grad school for seeing that this was valuable to our training and knowledge bank!
I always assumed that canoeing was this lumbering antiquated way to cross a lake. It was really for those who hadn't discovered kayaks yet. I always thought that kayaks were much easier to handle in the water and went better. Steve at River Sport Adventures definitely showed me wrong. Our beginning course went far beyond anything that I had ever learned at summer camp. We were doing figure 8's, going backwards, learning the best techniques to make paddling easier and we were of course having fun. We spent all day in the canoes from about 9am until 4:30. I got a few blisters on my palms from the paddles but with them just about to worn raw I got my certification. We also did tip tests and T- rescues. A tip test is when you try to flood your canoe while still maintaining a level of control if you've done it right you will still be sitting in your sunken canoe. A T- rescue is what you might use when a canoe has capsized and dumped it's passengers. Another canoe, or two canoes that are still upright will come over and link up creating a raft. They will create the top part of a T shape to the sunken canoe. One of the people who dumped their canoe will stand on the end of the swamped canoe away from the rafted ones. This will cause the tip of the canoe to go in the air. The passengers in the upright canoes will drag the canoe onto their own and once it is fully out of the water they will flip it, and put it back in. Now the hard part comes in, getting the dunked canoers back into their now upright canoe. There are a few ways to do this and none of them are graceful. All of them involve your canoe fighting back and giving you lots of bruises. The canoes just had to remind us of how stupid we were to flip them in the first place. However after two very tiring days that was done.
Then we had a day of rest, and did paperwork while our muscles stopped screaming.
It was then time for Wilderness Water Safety! We all basically became backcountry lifeguards. I have never been to a lifeguard certification class before. Honestly the thought of saving someone in the water is downright terrifying. It still is. I've actually avoided getting lifeguard certified so that I wouldn't ever have to feel like I was the responsible one. I learned how to successfully carry another person into shore, how to find them on the bottom of a muddy lake and still I feel that everyone should be wearing their life jacket... even while swimming. 12 people in the water at once is a huge deal. just wear your life jacket and make it easy on me. Thinking back on some of the things I've done makes me cringe.
Overall good week of training and lots of knowledge that was passed on. Thanks grad school for seeing that this was valuable to our training and knowledge bank!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)