Tired Yet?

Note:  I took a two month hiatus from the SOLC, but am back and ready to write. 

MY PROCTORING SHOES
On the positive note, on the days that I proctoredexams my pedometer clocked between 4-5 miles walked
versus my normal 2-3 miles covered during my workday.

Last Tuesday, I finished my final day of proctoring tests. Like any educator currently in the field of K-12 public education, I am not alone this week succumbing to the proctoring fatigue and the giddy excitement of summer overtaking me.  As the reading coach at a high school, I spent 7 of the last 10 weeks proctoring tests.  Proctoring translates into a minimum of 3-6 hours per day or ½ or all of a teacher’s work day.  If a teacher wanted to use a computer lab or the media center during the fourth nine weeks, their students were out of luck as were all the students in any classes that were computer-based.  Most 21^st century technologies were displaced as our high school became a testing center. 

What does testing mania look like at a high school?  With End-of Course (EOC) exams in Biology, US History, Algebra I, and Geometry , Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB)  exams and the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Tests (FCAT 2.0) in reading and math, it looks different from testing at an elementary or middle school.  With a student population of 3200, it looks different from many high schools across America. With over 7,319 tests administered over the last 7 weeks at our school, not including IB tests, it looks like most public high schools in Florida. 

Fortunately we have a testing coordinator to handle the demands of testing season formerly known as “ the 4th nine weeks” and all of the other tests during the rest of the year that make this position full-time.  To our principal’s credit, we have an amazing testing coordinator, who came to school every day around 5 am to make sure the computers were up and ready to go.  She walked the eerily silent halls making sure that computers in the media center, throughout our 6 business education classrooms and in our computer lab were working.  She along with our tech coordinator handled any computer issues that literally popped up overnight.  She made sure that they were fans in rooms when AC wasn’t working.  (Did you know there is an optimal learning temperature according to some research?) She made administering the 4,152 FCAT tests for all ninth and tenth graders as well as the juniors and seniors retaking the exam, the 2,287 EOC exams, and 880 AP tests over the course of 7 weeks look easy.

It also took a team to administer these tests.  With over 180 instructional staff at our school, 140 teachers administered these tests and our team of guidance counselors helped every morning. No group was immune from making sure testing ran smoothly. Support staff including the media clerks and ESOL paraprofessionals as well as custodial staff were also involved.  Teachers provided the main support by proctoring tests, but they also made sure the right students made it to the right spot and modified their curriculum when half of their class was missing due to testing.  Also 133 substitutes were also used to cover classes while certified teachers were proctoring tests.  Does instruction stop when testing season begins? No, but it agonizingly slows down. 

As I think about the countless hours spent proctoring tests this year and know that I have neglected to include numbers about the instructional time that was lost during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd nine weeks due to mandatory progress-monitoring tests and teaching students how to navigate the computer-based testing system, I continue to think about the actual cost of high-stakes testing. I am reminded of my mentor's favorite quote attributed to Albert Einstein, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

Camping in Yurt

A rare site, a scenic river bluff in Florida

Heading to Florida for vacay?  Planning that trip often includes a trip to Disney and the beaches.  If you have lived here long enough, you know there are secret places---brilliant pools of blue encircled by moss-covered live oaks.  I spent the last weekend of spring break in Northwest Florida. Our three day adventure including meals, gas, park visits and lodging cost less than a one day family visit to Disney would cost.

One side of the 360 degree yurt.

We stayed in a yurt at  Torreya State Park. It was gorgeous and not so primitive for people who don't like to camp. We normally bunker down on the ground in our tent, so this site was a treat. We then spring-hopped by heading to 6 of the over 500 natural springs found in Florida.  We leaped into Wakulla Springs from a 33 foot platform in to the 155 deep spring.  We went spelunking in the Florida Caverns, then plunged into the fountain of youth at Ponce De Leon Springs and took a short trip to check our Morrison Springs.  We also enjoyed a unusual site in Florida, a 73 foot waterfall at Falling Waters State Park.  

Wakulla Springs

When I came home today, I cracked up because that area, Florida's panhandle and places to eat there  were featured in The New York Times Travel section, yet the all of the places I traveled  except for one restaurant weren't secrets shared with the New Yorkers.

It was a full weekend to close spring break with brilliant swimming weather and no distractions, but the splash of the blue water and the chimes of laughter.

Fears

Fears
We all have them.
Fear of my A1C.
Fear of losing my sight.
Fear of heights.
To name a few of mine.

I try not to let fear consume me. Sometimes you have a physiological reaction like the one I experienced on Friday when I jumped from a 33 foot platform into a 150 foot deep spring. I jumped despite my racing heart. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath surfacing, perhaps the shock of the cold 64 degree water or my fear.

Fear constricts us. I climbed the platform and jumped again. Facing fear releases you from it's grip. Name your fear. Face it. Say it aloud to someone and hold their hand to face it together. 1.2.3 Jump!

Road Trip

In 1994 I took my first serious road trip, 11,000 miles, six weeks, 28 states, a tent, a map, and a friend. I had traveled the length of the eastern coast with my family from top to bottom, but had never ventured past the Mississippi River. This trip was about what lay west.

I've not done such a lengthy trip since, but spent much of my late twenties and thirties road tripping to ultimate tournaments. Those trips were more about the drive than the destination. Once there we spent ninety percent of our time on the fields. I've been to Savannah at least twenty times for ultimate yet never stayed long enough to enjoy more than the fields at Forsyth Park and breakfast at Clary's. Ultimate memories such as the 8 hour trip to Atlanta with Nami, a Japanese exchange student whom we showered with Broadway show tunes or the 8 hour drive to Pensacola where I unknowing kicked a friend's wallet onto the interstate and someone found and returned it, are all layered in laughter.

My company on the road changed once I married. He and I would travel to tournaments. He, a new designated driver. Our most memorable trip was a week driving around the peninsula of Washington state where we marveled at mountainous terrain, lush rain forest, cliff-lined beaches, and deep blue glacier-filled lakes. After my daughter's birth, we did shorter trips to the Keys and the mountains. I am planning a summer when we do our own version of a Westward Ho, but for now I'll be content with our small trips like our one today.

We are off heading north to Torreya State Park, but we will make several stops such as hopping into Wakulla Springs, Defuniak Springs, and Ponce De Leon Springs, checking out Falling Waters, and spelunking in the Florida Caverns. We will bunk down for the night in a yurt. We don't have a schedule. As long as we have gas in our car and a few day left in our break, we will make some new road trip memories together.

Spending Time at the DMV

It was inevitable. I had been avoiding doing this for as long as possible, but at a certain point you are setting yourself up for trouble.  I renew my driver's license today.  The last time I had to do this was before my daughter was born when the cop absconded with my old one which was basically a laminated piece of paper with my picture on it.  He whisked it away from me saying that I had 21 types of protection built into the new format and that was what he needed me to do, get a new license   Yes, but you can't sell my data with it, I retorted. I should have been happy that he took my license rather than giving me a speeding ticket.    I waited in a hot dark cramped office that summer to renew my license  My picture looked like a mug shot.  I had high hopes for my experience this morning.

In Orange County, you can't make an appointment.  I knew that did not bode well for my morning plus I had to drag my nine-year old with me.  We were prepared with books. I am reading Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Princess and unbeknown to me, my daughter packed The Walking Dead Compendium One for me and Compendium Two for herself.  I had all of my paperwork, passport, social security cards, and 2 different pieces of mail with my address on it.

We waited in line to get in number.  There were over a 100 people in the room.  The woman told us it would take about 45 minutes. I had number 346 and they were on 320.  We read.  We said hi to a school friend. We read some more.  Forty-five minutes passed.  I couldn't figure out the numbering system. There seemed to be another "ticketing system" going on with the numbers in the 100's and 800's that were moving much more rapidly than the 300's. After 2 hours, we were getting close.  We were still reading.

To my delight, a teenager interrupted me and asked what I was reading.  That made the two hours worth it.  We talked books and exchanged titles for the 20 minutes that it took for number 245 to transform to 246.  I shared titles. She told me what her plans were. She was getting her driver's license and this was her fourth visit this week.  She spent four hours waiting the day before. I considered myself lucky.

Number 346 was finally called. It took under 10 minutes to process my paperwork, but I left the office knowing that I made a difference and that I had a decent picture on my license
, but not a glamour shot.

The Wicked Spoon

When I travel, I try to eat at least one memorable meal with good friends. In Chicago, it was The Girl and the Goat. In Vegas, it was The Crooked Spoon, a complete accidental find. I wanted to experience a Vegas buffet. My friends who had been to Vegas before said The Wicked Spoon was nothing like a Vegas buffet and they were right. We wandered into the Cosmpolitan thinking that it was part of the Bellagio. Don't ask me how, but it ended up turning into a fortuitous case of mistaken identity.

Bone Marrow

I don't normally eat at buffets. You end up stuffed with a bunch of food that doesn't taste great. On the my last cruise, I ate in the dining room enjoying the small portion sizes and a better quality of food. The Wicked Spoon buffet was different. I had an opportunity to try food that I would never cook, but might watch others make on TV. I avoided many items on the buffet, items that I might otherwise have access to or might count as frivolous carbs. But I indulged in the main dishes.

Braised Short Rib

That night I tried wild boar, bone marrow, and duck confit. I sampled braised short ribs. I loved the braised ribs and would eat them again. I can say, "Why yes, I've tried wild boar" but isn't that just a fancy name for a pig that lives in the woods? I can also live without bone marrow a rich and decadent dish that had such a weird mouth-feel. And I still don't like duck.

Butternut Squash &
Duck Confit Ravioli

Aside from the unusual food, what made this buffet unlike most buffets were the serving dishes. Items were served in individual tiny portions and miniature dishes. The duck confit was in a single ravioli enveloped in an creamy butternut squash sauce. The braised short ribs were served in a half-cup sized pot with a lid.

The pictures have been taking up space on my phone since November reminding me about the amazing meal and company. When I go back to Vegas to take my husband to see the Cirque show Love, we will definitely stop at the Wicked Spoon. I am now thinking about my upcoming visit to Boston. Any suggestions?

Breakfast

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and the meal that I most prefer to eat out.  I don't mind making breakfast, but I love to go out for breakfast. I don't like starting the day amassing a pile of dishes. I don't like pancakes or waffles. I love the savory elements of breakfast: potatoes, meat, and the key ingredient,  eggs.   I often eat breakfast for dinner. This meal I make myself at home. If you are in Orlando, here are a few places that you might check out.

My Top Five 

5. Juniors on Corrine Drive in Baldwin Park-Poached eggs on a bed of steamed spinach. *
4. Keke's in Waterford-Buffalo chicken omelet with the egg as thin as a crepe. *
3.First Watch in Maitland or UCF- Caps and Buttons aka steamed mushrooms and poached eggs on a English muffin
2. Bikes, Beans, & Bordeaux on Corrine Drive in Baldwin Park-- a dry latte and whole wheat egg sandwich with a fruit cup.  Their quiches are amazing too. *
1.  Jack & Mary's on Goldenrod & Curryford. The real deal, hash browns and homefries, made in house from real potatoes and Smucker's Jelly, as well as the perfect egg over medium.*

*Locally owned and operated

If you are ever in Savannah, I recommend Clary's.
The huevos ranchos at the MGM Grand in Vegas were divine too.