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Senior Night

Monday 28 October 2024 | 0 Comments

Tonight was the Girl's last regular-season volleyball game. Not of the year. Of her high school career. We have at least one more game as playoffs start: we'll be playing someone somewhere this Thursday, but we won't know until tomorrow morning who and where.

Six years of volleyball are coming to an end. It's hard not to get a little emotional about that. Last year, with the conclusion of the season's final game (the second or so round into the playoffs -- perhaps the first? I can't remember), L was in tears at the end of the game. "It's just that's the last time we'll be playing with our seniors," she said as she explained that she wasn't in tears so much because of the loss.

The shoe is on the other foot now, one could argue. It's the other girls who should be crying because they're losing L. "It's just that we'll never play with L or S again," they should be saying. Or maybe the tears last year weren't just about the senoirs leaving.

Before the game, we had a ceremony with intros, pictures, and cheers. The girls on the team made gift baskets and posters for the two seniors, and there was a display in the gym entry. The coach had asked parents last week to send some pictures of the girls from various points in their childhood and in their volleyball careers, and she chose a baby picture of each girl and had t-shirts made for the parents. Coincidentally, she chose the same picture Papa's coworkers chose years ago to make a shirt for him as he retired (for the second time? third?).

After the coin toss and warmups, the girls were introduced -- possibly the last time L is introduced on her home court where the cheers are the loudest and most sincere.

As for the game itself, it was a fairly simple matter: Greenwood's divisional record before tonight was 1-12. We'd already beaten them once, and we won easily tonight. But I have to hand it to those Greenwood girls: it takes a lot to keep coming out game after game when you're stacking up loss after loss, almost all of them in straight sets.

Afterward, there were the usual shots -- with the unusual shirts.

Night Hike

Sunday 27 October 2024 | 0 Comments

Looking Glass Sunset

Saturday 26 October 2024 | 0 Comments

First Ride in Weeks

Friday 25 October 2024 | 0 Comments

Final Games

Thursday 24 October 2024 | 0 Comments

The end of an era is nearing. Tonight was the next-to-last home game in L's high school volleyball career. It's likely to be highly emotional on Monday when it's the last home game, but tonight, there wasn't time for emotion. It was time for revenge.

Our girls were playing Hillcrest, a team that beat them 1-3 earlier in the year. However, they lost in five sets to Easley, whom our girls beat soundly in straight sets the first time they met this season and won again (though in five sets) the other night at home. It was, in my eyes, a must-win game.

The Girl thought so, too.

The Mavs started off weakly, though: they trailed most of the first set, and in the end, lost it 19-25. "The Hillcrest girls are so confident," K observed, "despite the fact that they've lost their last five matches."

Everyone knew the second set was a critical set: lose it, and it would be hard to win the match. Reverse sweeps are not unheard of, but they are rare. We pulled ahead quickly in the second set, and then launched a huge attack that ended the set with a 25-17 win.

One set each makes the third set the momentum-maker: whoever wins that one needs to win only one more set. At first, I didn't think our girls wanted it: they trailed by about five at one point. But they pulled back and pulled ahead. Then they let Hillcrest catch up. In the end, though, they held them off and won 25-22.

The momentum was definitely on our girls' side of the court that fourth set: they pulled ahead after being behind 1-4 and never looked back, winning a deciding third set 25-22. It extended the Hillcrest girls' losing streak to six, and while I usually don't like seeing someone lose like that, I didn't mind too much tonight.

Neither did our girls.

Department of Defense

Wednesday 23 October 2024 | 0 Comments

I was discussing with my principal how I'd like to reward the class (fourth period) that had absolutely no NHIs for the whole quarter. That means every student turned in every assignment. Seems basic, mundane even. To put it in context, one class had 57 NHIs for fewer assignments.

"I'd really like to reward them, but it would be great to be able to do something really big for them, like buy everyone lunch. But we'd need a budget like the Department of Defense," I said.

"We are the DoD," he laughed. "Those people out their have no idea what we're saving them from..."

Our Instructional Goals

Tuesday 22 October 2024 | 0 Comments

Today we had our first benchmark for this school year. It's not a benchmark anymore -- I can't remember the new jargonistic name we call it. A something-something predictive assessment. "Predictive" means that it predicts how well students will perform on the SC-Ready test, the end-of-year, state-mandated assessment. Except that it doesn't. The company that sold the program (Mastery Connect) to the district bragged that it is over 90% accurate in its predictive assessments. Except that it isn't. We had questions today that weren't in the pacing guide for first quarter.

"Mr. Scott, what's a 'gerund'?" several asked.

"Don't worry about it. We haven't covered it. It's not in the pacing guide until second or third quarter. I can't remember which. Either way, we will have covered it by the time we get to the SC-Ready test."

The assessment would be a little more useful (i.e., a little more predictive perhaps?) if it weren't for one small issue, which I elucidated on my daily update for my class website:

All students began the day with the first benchmark of the quarter. We’ll go over the results at some point next week, but since the test is proprietary, we won’t be able to look at or discuss the actual questions because of licensing and copyright. It makes it challenging to use the benchmark as any kind of instructional experience, but we’ll do our best.

That's right -- I don't get to see the test. At all. I can't go over the test with students. At all. All in the name of capitalism and profits.

What kind of questions are they? Well, if they're anything like the questions from our textbook's unit tests, they're something like this:

Example 1

A quick question about a straightforward topic: plot structure:

How does the plot structure and specific events in Passage 1 contribute to the overall meaning of the text?

They create a sense of mystery and suspense, leaving the reader questioning the truth behind Mrs. Sappleton's husband and brothers' disappearance.

They highlight the importance of social etiquette and the consequences of misjudging social situations.

They emphasize the theme of deception and the power of storytelling to manipulate perception.

They showcase the protagonist's journey towards self-discovery and overcoming his anxieties.

But it's not so straightforward. What exactly does this question mean by (pardon the repetition) "overall meaning"? What is the "overall meaning" of a text? I'm not sure. I know what the overall theme is. I know what the main idea of a text is. I can figure out what a specific, confusing passage means. And I can teach my students to do all these things. But the overall meaning of a text? According to Google's AI explanation,

The overall meaning of a text is the main idea, or central idea, which is what the text is mostly about. The main idea is the point or message that the author presents and the reader takes from the text.

So it's just main idea. Or central idea. Still, I hold that, considering how "meaning" is generally used, the question is confusing as hell.

Example 2

This question has two parts. Students are literally instructed, "First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B." But knowing middle schoolers' reading habits, perhaps it's best to maintain clarity:

Part A

Which character undergoes significant development in Passage 1?

Framton's sister

Mrs. Sappleton

Vera

Framton Nuttel

Part B

How does the character development contribute to the overall meaning of Passage 1?

Mrs. Sappleton's character development enriches the text by revealing her resilient and upbeat demeanor despite the lingering grief over her family's tragedy, thus underscoring the theme of coping mechanisms in the face of loss.

Framton Nuttel's character development adds depth to the narrative by showcasing his transformation from skepticism to terror, highlighting the impact of the tragic backstory on his psyche and reinforcing the theme of unexpected shocks in ordinary situations.

Vera’s character development serves to contrast her initial composed facade with her vulnerable moments, emphasizing the theme of appearances versus reality and suggesting the fragility of human emotions.

Framton's sister's character development provides context for Framton's state of mind and his motivations for seeking refuge in the countryside, thereby deepening the reader's understanding of his character and enhancing the exploration of themes related to mental health and escapism.

Again with the confusing use of "meaning."

But in the end, it's not even the confusing use of words. What is the point of these questions? What is the practical application?

I know there's a practical application; I know there's a point. I'm not dumb. But I am frustrated. I have some kids who can barely on a third-grade level, and I'm expected to get them to the point that they can not only make sense of such questions but also answer such questions.

It's overwhelming.