Our education system is broken because so many families in America don’t have maps, and that’s why our education system is not helping South Africa as it should.
Since we now live in SC, I’m particularly proud of this video…
Month: August 2007
Breakfast
Coffee on the deck.
After such a hectic week, one of the most calming experiences of my life thus far was finally to be able to sit with wife and child on our own deck, with a forested background we own, sipping coffee.
Eduwonk.com: The Teacher Voice in Data-Driven Accountability
From Eduwonk.com:
Rather than invest in teachers, and capitalize on their knowledge, policymakers and administrators attempt to create systems that they hope will obviate the need for excellent teachers.” The Teacher Voice in Data-Driven Accountability
Fortunately, this is far from the situation in my new school…
Recipe for Exhaustion and No Time
Begin by
- Moving, to a
- New city, where you live in a
- New house, while starting a
- New job, with a still relatively
- New baby.
Eventually, I will begin writing here again...
Crawling
New video with L learning to crawl -- rather, already knowing. Didn't catch enough in the act of learning...
Fan Participation
I sometimes play guitar for L. She likes it, but she doesn’t sit quietly and listen, much to my dismay. It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate music — she loves music. The problem is she wants to play too:
It’s not that I mind her playing. Rather, it’s somewhat dangerous: her little fingers fit between the strings and a tug can cause her sudden pain as the string digs into her.
Still, it’s an enjoyable way to pass some time.
Horse
The Girl met her first horse the other day:
She wasn't exactly thrilled.
Details
When looking for a house, there are certain things you look for and think about and many details that just seem to disappear. Then, when you go to paint the house, you notice the details.
You notice, for instance, that a door was poorly hung and instead of fixing the problem, the installer just modified the placement of the strike plate; that all the door hardware has been painted, and that paint is now peeling; and that someone was once so lazy with painting that he didn't bother opening a window before painting it:
And all the things you want to correct (to put it mildly) grows daily. Hourly. By the second, sometimes.
Top Painting Music
I’ve been painting. Lots of it. A house of it. And it’s not done.
But I have determined what music works best with painting — that’s always critical.
Topping the list, without a doubt, was Bach’s Mass in B-minor. Bach just exudes linear symmetry and exactness — just what you need when painting.
Next: Grateful Dead’s classic American Beauty. It’s a great travel album, and maybe that has something to do with it — traveling from one corner of the room to another and back again, from one room to another and back again, from one end of the house and back again … there’s a lot of walking to painting.
For jazz, Coltrane’s A Love Supreme seemed like a good choice, but it was too intellectual (read: tiring) when painting. I found Ellington’s Piano in the Foreground to be about perfect: not too stimulating, but not overly mellow.
Bad choices:
- Mahler’s second — I love it, but I swear, too manic-depressive for work.
- Beck’s Mellow Gold — like Love Supreme it’s too busy. Odelay was better, but not much.
- Springsteen’s Ghost of Tom Joad — holy cow! You can’t be depressed while painting!
In the end, silence was actually fairly acceptable.
Sunday Morning Suprise
This morning I changed our Geico insurance from North to South Carolina. Previously, I'd been fairly pleased with Geico. We were paying just over $300 for six months' coverage -- more than reasonable, I thought. A great deal, in fact.
Moving to SC, however, would bring about higher rates. How much higher?
Geico's quote was $690 -- an increase of 122%!
"Time for insurance shopping," I thought. First call -- Nationwide. $440, or an increase of 41%. Still a significant increase, but certainly more reasonable.
Any suggestions for insurance companies that might offer better rates?