Testing and Less Testing

Most folks shake a little in their boots at the sound of the word testing as the mind runs wild trying to figure out what .....testing. Today's local newspaper carries a headline touting a call by school administrators for less testing. As one who has had a career in public education my mind is turned toward the query of who is the testing for, who instituted the testing, who made the initial call, what do we do with results. What crosses my mind quickly is politicians with their allegations that schools, i.e. teachers, were not doing a satisfactory job in educating the students in public schools. Therefore, we must test to prove our point!!

On the other hand, looking at a broader picture of the entire scene we see the following. In the arena which is the school and classroom we must actually teach for mastery. So we teach, teach, teach and then we evaluate in some form to 'see' if the concepts taught were mastered! In their efforts to be more effective some where along the way it was decided that perhaps an evaluation should be done at intervals (called benchmarks) to check for gaps and progress making intervention easier rather than waiting until the end and just measuring deficits and shaking fingers at those "darned teachers!" And I might add placing blame. Personally I have always felt that a gap in this procedure is what is done with the results when benchmark testing shows deficits in understanding and mastery.

What has evolved with all of these intentions and evaluations has been an elephant in the house who has devoured the one thing of which teachers are always short.....instructional time. How do you resolve this issue?? A curriculum is designed with each teacher being charged with teaching and developing mastery of concepts in given area(s). There do not seem to be enough instructional hours within the allotted time in a school year to teach, test multiple times, remediate, and still move forward with the charge of teaching and developing the curriculum in a course of study

I have some ideas but I doubt they would be very popular since many of them involve the appropriation of additional dollars to public education. Do you have any of your own?? Most folks can think of many complaints but few have suggestions for solutions.

Washing Machines and Jewelry

And so it goes....I did my research!!! I mean I truly did my research. My washing machine died back in the fall; it was only about sixteen years old, maybe! So I started checking out new machines knowing detergent had changed but without a full knowledge of what that meant in terms of washing machine re-design. How convoluted can an issue be!! I learned that rather than all machines being driven by an agitator in the center the newer designs were what is known as impellers. From what understanding I could gain this design is one in which water and a cleaning agent is forced through the dirty clothing to clean them. I had my doubts. All of the studies I could find verified my doubts. Some of those purchasing and using these machines indicated they were satisfied and a significant number indicated they were less than pleased and felt their clothes were not as clean with the impeller system as with an agitator.

I continued my quest of finding a new machine. I went from store to store. I talked with salesman after salesman. Pretty soon it was obvious they did not like my shopping techniques or my questions. They seemed to wonder why I just didn't play stupid, buy a machine, and leave. I asked too many questions, I asked about complaints, feedback, their understanding of how the machines operated and cleaned the clothing. I wore myself out. I was getting nowhere. I was bent on finding the best agitator machine possible. What I found was a large collection of available impeller machines by various companies and very few makers of agitators available locally for purchase.

I continue to be angry with myself for my choice. I hate to admit that I finally gave up. Rather than buy an agitator (type) which appeared to be more cheaply made machines lacking features I let myself be talked into buying an impeller type machine. And as I had gleaned from the reviews and studies, my own experience has been no different. An impeller machine does not clean clothes as well as does an agitator. With that being said, there are legitimate complaints about agitators such as clothing being caught around the agitator post. Most of the mentioned complaints were of lesser importance than the cleanliness of clothing to me. I have found myself putting items through several wash cycles before I could even accept their level of cleanliness. Stay tuned. I may pitch this washing machine out any day in a fit of Irish anger known only to Daugherty descendants. Then I will again be looking for agitator machines hoping they are still making them!

By the way, I also bought a new dryer and its performance is quite acceptable.

Now to my deal with jewelry In recent years, fashion has been on a bend of low necklines. Seemingly to go along with that, costume jewelry has been caught up in a revival of necklaces to fill that void of exposed neckline and cleavage. It is strand after strand of logging chains with some colored crystals or beads hung on them. While they started out looking quite attractive, as they have evolved they just get tackier and tackier. Need I add that I don't think many of them do a lot for accessorizing an outfit. Don't get me wrong. I love jewelry --but with a bit more class. Just my opinion......no one needs to agree.

Cotton-Pickin' Politics

I admit it....I read the newspaper regularly. I follow politics and political issues. Sometimes political issues irritate me "right out of my frame," so to speak! However, I have learned over the considerable years of my life that I have very little power to influence the outcome of political decisions. Certainly, I can vote and I do. I could lobby, write letters, arrange appointments with political representatives but....I have come to realize that many of those whom we elect pay little attention to our requests, reasoning, and opinions once elected and in office. This is not the way the system is supposed to work --- we all know this but.....unfortunately 'it is what it is,' as I use an overused cliche'.

As for political views, I am not certain I could be identified with any political party, thus I am an Independent. However, in this state I am identified as Unaffiliated. Go figure. Independent versus Unaffiliated!!

What I have learned is this, it does not pay to get your panties in a wad or your britches in a stitch over these issues alone. If you find you are able to align yourself with a group of individuals who represent your thinking, have influence, and the ability to approach reform in a lawful and acceptable manner you might have impact. Otherwise, try not to waste your energy and blow your blood pressure out of the water thinking you, alone, can control a bunch of politicians once they have that all important thing called "power!" Once that happens, they go deaf!!

Pet Ownership and Responsibility

I am convinced that when we long for a pet to enrich our lives we never ever give thought to losing that object of our love and devotion to disease or the cost and care that may be incurred in trying to take care of the pet. That particular thought occurs to me very often these days after having several doggies who have suffered pain and disease and in one case was lost to cancer.

It tears at the heart when you take your pet to the vet hoping for treatment and relief only to find that there exists a disease that can be treated (perhaps) but not cured and in some cases becomes the cause of loss of the pet to death. We do the best we can hoping we are doing all that is right/correct sometimes finding we were not 100% on target.

At our house these days we have one healthy mini schnauzer (age 4) and one (age 10) who has been diagnosed and is being treated daily for diabetes which in pets is Type I. Wow, what a ride this has been! She is contrary to feed for whatever reason. She once was easy to feed. Nowadays, not so much. I am never sure whether she just isn't hungry or doesn't want what I can offer. Diet is limited in that sugar or carbs which convert to sugar are limited to exclusion. There are days when I almost lose my mind trying to get her to eat so that I can administer the required insulin. Dogs receive an insulin injection about 15-30 minutes AFTER eating. Then there is the question of walking your dog. As you know, exercise affects use of sugar in the burning of energy by the body. So...much must be considered here in caring for her basic health. Checking their glucose levels can also be a trial. After all, who likes to be punched with needles and sharp things all of the time. I never thought about a dog having diabetes previously but now I certainly do. With my first schnauzer, I learned lessons about dogs with bladder stones and removal plus having them lodge in the tract and needing removal. I learned that bladder stones are of two varieties and what causes each --- and consequently prevention. So much to learn, so much responsibility.

Each day we move forward in our house, try to do our best to care for and love both mini schnauzer girls and meet the challenges which occur. Will I consider pet ownership after this? I don't know the answer to that. With pure bred dogs prone to a variety of diseases it can be expensive. Time will tell.