Friday, June 17, 2005

Steak, sex, ribs, and Kodaly

I teach on Tuesday and Thursday nights until 9:00, so a few precious peoples and I have been meeting for a late supper on those nights, in whatever combinations we are able. Tonight we met at the Tumbleweed; on Tuesday we met at the Texas Road House.

Yes, we love a light meal at that hour.

As for next week, who knows? We're all over 21 and we're all night owls and nobody is the boss of us.

Even though one of this crew is my daughter; heck, nobody has EVER been the boss of her!

Tonight in class we read an essay in our textbook about the basic differences between transsexuals and homosexuals. Boy, the curriculum is sure different at this level. . . . .

I have a student who has never used a computer before. Had to be shown how to log in, how to scroll, how to type things inside the little rectangles, how to click on links, etc. All of it, from scratch. From nada.

How could a person be that computer illiterate in this day and age? Okay, I know. My mom thinks that if she clicks the wrong button she could blow up the planet. Really, she does. She would much rather spend the big bucks on long distance phone calls, than use a computer. Sigh.

But since much of any college course is online these days, the students simply HAVE to have a few computer skills. This student is smart and hard-working; I am confident that he can do it.

(Shhh, don't tell anybody, but I found some sample sites for my two textbooks that have tons of practice quizzes, etc, on them. I put the links on our class website so my students can practice on their own, at home or here in one of the computer labs. )

Seriously, if your child's teacher doesn't have a class website, I think that is inexcusable these days. Every teacher should have a class website, and it should be updated every single night. It's incredibly easy to do. I use Schoolnotes.com for my class website. It's public, accessible from any computer at any time, and so easy for even a computer-illiterate teacher to use. If your child's teacher does not maintain a website for students and parents, tell them about Schoolnotes. You can go to their site and click on samples, if you are interested.

As a parent, you are also an educator. You could make a Schoolnotes site yourself, complete with flashcards and child-safe links. Go there and check it out. It's free, and really easy. If you want to see mine, I'll send you the link.

And now, since no one else seems to be up, I guess I'll turn in.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are fast becoming my favorite days.