November 23, 2008
National Boards
I spent last year working on my National Boards. It is a rather involved process, with me having to create four different entries that explore several of my students as they grow into better readers and writers, including entries that involve videotaping a whole class discussion and a class working in small groups. Finally, I had to create an accomplishments entry that showcased different valuable nuggets I imparted upon my learning community. I also had to take six thirty-minute timed assessments over at NC Central.
Anyway, my scores came back and I passed. Yay! I thought I should pass – I mean, jeez, someone has to pass and I seem to have my act together. I needed 275 total points to pass and I got 294. That sounds pretty good, but some of my scores were below average – I don’t like to think much about that part and am going to try to figure out what I did. I know a couple other teaching buddies that got their scores back and they didn’t make it. I think I was aided by being able to go to NCCAT (North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching) last October and they really got me on the right track. The instructions for how to do it are about 300 pages and before going to NCCAT, I just looked at it and became overwhelmed and walked away. I wonder if I would have made it on my first try without a little free expertise being thrown my way.
Being an English teacher, I think I am a better writer than some, but not necessarily a better teacher. I’ve talked to several teachers that I think are incredible and they have missed the cut on the first try. The state of North Carolina pays for teachers to do it the first time, but the second time is out of the teacher’s pocket (I think). And I can’t quite remember, but I want to say it costs something like $2,500. Yuck. A lot of teachers told me that I would work something like 300 hours on this. Wrong. I think people try to make things sound tougher than they are. I probably worked something like 100-130 hours and it was stressful, but totally doable if you are one who can set a schedule and stick to it.
My certification lasts for ten years and after that, I’ll have to redo it so it will last for another ten years. I hear getting it again is harder so I have that to look forward to. So what does this get me? Money. I think I’ll get something like 12% more money over the next ten years, so that’s nice. And I get a fancy certificate. Yay again. Sometimes I think about getting my masters, but then I think that it would be nice to just take some time for Kristin and me to enjoy each other’s company. Besides, a masters is nice and would pay more money, but is it worth the cost of getting the degree? For now, I say no.
Posted by ed at 16:55 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)
October 19, 2008
I Voted Today.
I voted today. Yay me. I wanted to wait until November 4th because it’s more fun to go with the big crowd on the big day, but I know the polling places are going to be crazy all day and I have to be at school. So I’m done. I met a lady out front at one of the early voting spots at Southwest Elementary School who said if I bought an Obama yard sign, I could get a free magic carpet ride. She was laughing and standing on a carpet, but my thoughts verged on dirty. Never mind…
Looking back over the last few months, I’ve done my part to help turn North Carolina blue for the first time since Jimmy Carter won back in 1976. I have convinced one of my conservative teacher friends to back Obama and I have convinced members of my family to vote for Barack. Taking the advice of another colleague, I have offered to have some other family members stay at home on the fourth. Maybe that’s not the most democratic thing I’ve ever done, but there’s supposed to be good fishing that Tuesday. I’m just saying…
It’s exciting to think that my vote may actually make a difference this year. I was having a conversation with a fellow teacher from Michigan who was trying to complete an absentee ballot – I asked if she had considered voting here because we needed her vote more here. She told me she wasn’t convinced Michigan was safe so she was sending her vote north. Every little bit helps.
Bottom line is that I got a sticker. And I’m going to wear my fancy sticker tomorrow at school. I like stickers. People should wear more stickers.
Posted by ed at 20:10 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)
October 05, 2008
This and That
Random Thoughts From My Weekend
This weekend was peppered with interesting tidbits. Enjoy.
On Friday, Kristin booked our trip to Blowing Rock. We’re taking my mother for a little trip and my brother’s family is going as well. It’s not quite New York City, but it should be fun to hang out, have some family time, shop, and maybe do a little light hiking. We’re staying at the Chetola Resort (www.chetola.com) which looks a little like there might be a dirty dancing class there. I’ll tell you more when I return, but that’s all I know right now. I will say that having Kristin around makes shopping for my mother entirely enjoyable – it’s nice to have a lot of help.
On Saturday, Kristin and I enjoyed the Beer Festival after a one year hiatus. This time it was held at the newer Durham Bulls Athletic Park and it was a nice experience. I won’t say I encountered a ton of new beers, but I did enjoy some North Carolina beers that I had never heard of such as the Black Radish, straight from the Weeping Radish Brewery in Jarvisburg and another Foothills concoction, Sexual Chocolate. Once again we enjoyed Sweetwater Beer and once again Kristin asked when their beer will be available around here. “November.” the lady said, and I responded, “That’s what you always say!” and we kept moving. There were a ton of Obama supporters there, but then again, duh – this is Durham.
Later, I watch my Dodgers finishing sweeping the Cubs and I’m proud to say I made it to the end of the game. This was aided by a two hour nap beforehand, but still I would say that’s pretty impressive. My predictions so far are pretty good – I picked the Dodgers, Phillies, Rays, and Angels (this may not be my best prediction). Which brings me to Dan. What type of new bet should we have? As you may know, Dan and I have an annual bat as to which team will have the better record. We always say that if our teams meet in the postseason, we will throw out the regular season bet and come up with something with much higher stakes. I don’t know what that will be right now, but I’m open to suggestions. And one of these teams will make it to the World Series, which will have three games played the three nights we are in Las Vegas. Looks like someone is going to learn how to place sports bets…
And finally, on Sunday Kristin and I saw Bill Maher’s Religulous at the Galaxy in Cary. I was his perfect demographic so don’t trust me, but it was awesome and scary. He asks questions about many religions and visited creepy places like the Holy Land and the Creation Museum in Kentucky. At the end, the audience clapped. I always like that.
Posted by ed at 20:37 | Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0)
September 28, 2008
October Fun
This CC isn't a music factory, he's a strikeout factory!
I’m a little disappointed that the Mets didn’t win today so that we could have a National League playoff. Since they lost to the Marlins and the CC Sabathia-led Brewers beat the Cubs, the Mets lost their playoff hopes on the last day of the season for the second straight season. It seems to me that the Mets have taken over from the Red Sox for the suckiest team ever to challenge but come up painfully short. Look for another eighty-eleven years of not winning out of the Mets, I guess.
And speaking of CC Sabathia, I know this is known by everyone, but this guy is gonna get paid. And paid well. This guy should be the MVP of the National League – yep, I know. He’s a pitcher. There’s the Cy Young Award. Yep, I know. He only pitched in the N.L. for a couple months. But would the Brewers be in playoffs without him? What’s his ERA over his last 10 starts? (1.71) How many complete games did he have? (10) And he could suck next year. He’s in a contract year. I’ve seen what Adrian Beltre could do in a contract year. But he will bring in a record amount of money. That’s 290 pounds of awesomeness. I hear the Dodgers have a lot of money. I’d love to see his big ass in Chavez Ravine.
And speaking of the Dodgers, they are one of the eight best teams in baseball. They start their World Series run against the Cubbies on Wednesday. So I should do some predicting or something. Here goes. Feel free to bet your house, car, or child on these results. They’re gold! Gold Jerry!
NL Divisional Series
Dodgers over the Cubs, 3-0
Phillies over the Brewers, 3-1
AL Divisional Series
*White Sox beat Twin in one game “playoff” Monday*
Rays over White Sox, 3-2 (Why not?)
Angels over Red Sox, 3-1
NLCS
Dodgers beat the Phillies, 4-3 (Manny is himself, Chad Billingsley arrives)
ALCS
Angels beat Rays, 4-1 (What did you expect? A miracle?)
World Series
Angels beat the Dodgers, 4-2 (Ugh. This ruins everything. But I’m in Vegas to make some money off my team losing.)
You think I’m wrong? I was wrong once back in 1990. I can’t even remember the circumstances. What do you think will happen?
Posted by ed at 21:48 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
State Of Fear