As I got ready for my Grandnephew's 2nd birthday party, I was looking forward to seeing the family and dreading it at the same time. There's been so much pain, especially with my brother-in-law dying last Memorial Day of a grueling, slow cancer that ate this amazing athlete alive. On top of that one of my sister's disowned me right when I was laid off from my JobCorps teaching job due to the government sequestering. (Thanks Congress!) That was the first time in all my careers to ever be laid off. It was not easy and then to be rejected by my middle sister like that was horrific.
It ended up that she saw some childhood films that my dad had taken of the boys and I hiking. She didn't see any films of her. She actually never hiked with us, so why would there be films of her? She didn't see it that way. She saw it that I was Dad's favorite. My middle sister was always a queen bee, so if she's not the favorite, the favorite shall die! That's really why I was disowned by her. I reversed it on her and told her that I wouldn't talk to her until she finished rehab, since she's an active alcoholic.
So I wanted to see my family, but knew that people were going to be mad at me for heading for Tahoe to get away from all the pain and leaving everyone without the intention of returning. G_d had other plans for me. So He returned me back to the Low Landers, as the Mountain People refer to the valley folks.
As I walked into my niece's new home for the first time, I was greeted by her with a warm hug. That certainly took some of the edge off. I saw my oldest sister, who lost her husband, and she looked at me with a distant, hurt look and continued talking to the person next to her. I walked over to her son, and he gave me a hug. He caught me up on the mother of his son's new life. She has three children from three different men and got married for once, so is off welfare finally! We were horrified by this girlfriend of his. It's such a blessing that she is gone.
Finally, I asked my sister if I could hug her she agreed, and we hugged. Later while we were talking she told me who her real family was. It was her friends from church mostly. It wasn't me according to her. I just smiled and wondered why she felt that that was a godly thing to say to her blood sister who just had a fiance leave her and really needed one of her two sisters.
So I decided a beer would be good and took a swig and tried to find out how my sister has been doing during her first year without her husband, despite her tense mouth when she spoke to me. It took awhile, but eventually she started loosening up. Then my dad and his girlfriend arrived. It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to excuse herself outside. She hated our dad. It was such a shame. Dad had trained her in her profession in his medical office and gave her the seed money to start Laughs Unlimited, but there was no gratitude toward him---just hate. Dad didn't save her house from going to the bank when her son defaulted on his student loan, so according to my oldest sister, he deserved only hate.
Her hatred toward my dad just scares me. It violates one of the most important of the 10 Suggestions---"Honor your father and mother." If you can't honor your earthly mother and father, G_d doesn't find you worthy to honor Him and turns His back on you. That's one suggestion that seems so innocuous, but is so important.
My middle sister didn't show up. I knew she hadn't died of alcoholism, but that was all I knew. I didn't dare asked about her. I had no idea what turmoil would explode upon me, if I even mentioned her name. Had she appeared the discomfort that she would have wreaked upon me would have surely made me leave early, as it has in the past.
After spending time with my grandnephews and inlaws, the room seemed to warm up toward me. My grandnephew really liked the paint and playdough that I got him for his birthday. My niece was wondering where exactly was her son going to be painting, "My house?" lol Blood family is like no other. You can't choose your blood family, but they are very similar to yourself which creates a strong bond.
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Saturday, February 14, 2015
The Barriers of G_d
Today I was savoring the end of a great book, "Inner Space" by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. It is a great book for understanding the prophets and what levels of prophecy they attained and what levels of prophecy exist. When one seeks to be more prophetic via meditation or prayer or just a natural ability to immediately be connected to G_d while carrying on everyday life, one discovers more and more about G_d. Many, however, give up on G_d, because they have no evidence of Him. G_d's barrier leaves no indication of Him to them. No matter how much a person who is spiritually connected to G_d shares, these people remain blind to Him, because each person has to find his own way to G_d in G_d's time.
Here is an excerpt from "Inner Space" that explains the purpose of this blindness:
"We know that no outside force can hold G_d back. Thus, if a barrier does exist that can restrain G_d, it is something that He Himself created for a purpose. We know that G_d wants us to have a separate identity and the free choice that goes along with it. Therefore, in order to allow us to exist, He has to create barriers and hold Himself back. It is only once we are separated from G_d that our returning to Him can be the source of the greatest possible pleasure. G_d wanted man to discover Him and come close to Him. This is the real purpose of creation. When a person discovers G_d behind all the barriers and achieves this by his own efforts, there can be no greater pleasure."
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
A Visit From Korean School Administrators in My High School Shops
At my new teaching job I have many shops---the robotics PC lab, wood shop, metal shop, and AutoCAD Apple lab. Today a group of Korean school administrators came to visit our American high school. When they visited my class, I showed them the things that the students make in wood shop---cabinets, boxes, chests, tables, goblets, bowls, chessboards, cutting boards, etc. They couldn't believe that the students could make all these items at this age.
One of my gifted robotics students lent me his robot, so I showed the administrators how the pre-programmed robot moves. The new tasks that the students had to have their robot perform were for the robot to be able to maneuver the course while stopping at each turn, blinking the LED to signal a turn on that side, beep when backing up, and playing a victory song at the finish. This robot played "Yankee Doodle Dandy" which I thought was appropriate for demonstrating the greatness of American ingenuity! The administrators were very impressed and wondered where the remote for the robot was. lol I explained that it was all programmed in PBASIC and downloaded into the robot's memory.
When I took them to the metal shop, I showed them the car that one of my students is rebuilding, the TIG welding stations, the metal sanders, painting booth, metal lathe, and plasma cutter which cut out oak trees drawn on AutoCAD. I showed them the pen that we were trying to get to scribe into the metal, but so far it is cutting through. They were very impressed by this, as well.
At the end of my tour I asked if they had any questions. The one administrator who spoke the best English and translated for the others asked, "How many girls do you have in this program?"
Of course I was thinking, "NOT AGAIN!" That was the same question that the Federal ROP overseer asked me. I answered, "Well, we have a few girls in each class, but when the girls at the school saw a female shop teacher, more joined my classes."
Then the administrator asked, "Aren't the girls not strong enough to do these things? How do they lift heavy things?"
Of course I was thinking, "NOT AGAIN!" Here I'd been a pioneer for women in engineering when I was running a million dollar Japanese/American project that lasted 9 months. My boss and I didn't let the Japanese know that I was a woman, since they only had female engineers serve coffee. At the end of the project that my team finished on time and within budget, which was unheard of for American engineers, I finally let my boss tell them that I was a woman, and they were in utter disbelief! Now I had to find a way to gently tell this Korean administrator about the greatness of women in creating things from thought, if they're given a chance.
Without missing a beat, I pointed at the strong teenage men in the metal shop and said, "We have all these strong young men to help move the heavy things. When I worked as a mechanical engineer, I had many people who worked for me." I pointed to my head and added, "I was paid for my thoughts and delegated to others the details of creating my designs," and left it at that. The female Korean administrator smiled at me in acknowledgement of what I do every day to truly emancipate women to be free to discover and pursue their talents. Not many of our dad's taught us how to use tools, so I'm stepping in and giving the young ladies and men a chance to discover the joy of shaping their own worlds with awesome power tools!
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
One of my gifted robotics students lent me his robot, so I showed the administrators how the pre-programmed robot moves. The new tasks that the students had to have their robot perform were for the robot to be able to maneuver the course while stopping at each turn, blinking the LED to signal a turn on that side, beep when backing up, and playing a victory song at the finish. This robot played "Yankee Doodle Dandy" which I thought was appropriate for demonstrating the greatness of American ingenuity! The administrators were very impressed and wondered where the remote for the robot was. lol I explained that it was all programmed in PBASIC and downloaded into the robot's memory.
When I took them to the metal shop, I showed them the car that one of my students is rebuilding, the TIG welding stations, the metal sanders, painting booth, metal lathe, and plasma cutter which cut out oak trees drawn on AutoCAD. I showed them the pen that we were trying to get to scribe into the metal, but so far it is cutting through. They were very impressed by this, as well.
At the end of my tour I asked if they had any questions. The one administrator who spoke the best English and translated for the others asked, "How many girls do you have in this program?"
Of course I was thinking, "NOT AGAIN!" That was the same question that the Federal ROP overseer asked me. I answered, "Well, we have a few girls in each class, but when the girls at the school saw a female shop teacher, more joined my classes."
Then the administrator asked, "Aren't the girls not strong enough to do these things? How do they lift heavy things?"
Of course I was thinking, "NOT AGAIN!" Here I'd been a pioneer for women in engineering when I was running a million dollar Japanese/American project that lasted 9 months. My boss and I didn't let the Japanese know that I was a woman, since they only had female engineers serve coffee. At the end of the project that my team finished on time and within budget, which was unheard of for American engineers, I finally let my boss tell them that I was a woman, and they were in utter disbelief! Now I had to find a way to gently tell this Korean administrator about the greatness of women in creating things from thought, if they're given a chance.
Without missing a beat, I pointed at the strong teenage men in the metal shop and said, "We have all these strong young men to help move the heavy things. When I worked as a mechanical engineer, I had many people who worked for me." I pointed to my head and added, "I was paid for my thoughts and delegated to others the details of creating my designs," and left it at that. The female Korean administrator smiled at me in acknowledgement of what I do every day to truly emancipate women to be free to discover and pursue their talents. Not many of our dad's taught us how to use tools, so I'm stepping in and giving the young ladies and men a chance to discover the joy of shaping their own worlds with awesome power tools!
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
Monday, February 9, 2015
A Warm Holiday of Skiing With My Children
After 5 years of only a distant adult relationship with my daughter due to a combination of my own errors and my ex-husband's parental alienation, we had a break through on July 7th of this year. She finally "friended" me on Facebook. She had "friended" my sisters, my step mom, her new step mom, and just about everyone but me. It was a painful issue to deal with and caused me many a tearful night of prayers for reconciliation. The day of being "friended" came though. It came on my day when all is reconstructed for me, July 7th.
To keep positive momentum going in our healing relationship, I invited my daughter with her fiance and my son with his girlfriend to Tahoe over the December break to snow ski. My son insisted that instead of paying for lessons that I actually teach all of them how to ski. That seemed quite daunting. Memories of my friends with bloody lips from me taking them on slopes that were too hard came to my mind. Memories of my brothers getting on both sides of me and skiing me off a cliff in retribution for me trying to teach my ex-husband how to jump a cornice when he was only an intermediate skier came to my mind. Being an expert skier after starting to ski at 7 years old makes one forget what is scary and what is difficult.
However, now I'm a high school teacher who knows how to teach. I just didn't know where to begin. So early in December I started asking ski instructors that I rode with on chairlifts how to teach beginners, so I wouldn't inadvertently upset, hurt, and scare my children! The first step to learn how to ski is walking on skis. How simple!
It's simple in theory, but if a person has never used an edge to stop a snowboard or an ice skate, walking on skis is completely foreign. My son's girlfriend had never seen snow before she arrived at my Tahoe home. So she was quite a challenge to teach. In contrast, my daughter and son both learned to snow board when they were children, so walking on skis wasn't such a problem once I showed them side stepping and V-stepping to climb up a hill.
Since I learned to ski at Boreal Ski Resort, I chose that resort to teach my adult children. When I learned how to ski there with my dad, he'd push me down the hill, and he'd push me back up the hill by the lodge. Later, I progressed to the rope tow, and finally the beginner chair. I remember not being able to get off one chair lift there, so the chair operator had to take my skis off and have me fall into his arms.
Boreal Ski Resort now has an amazing set up for beginner skiers! They have mowed down the hill where my dad had pushed me, so beginners could easily walk on their skis to their runs. There are two escalators that the skier just steps onto and it takes them up a very mild incline, so they can learn how to stop and turn. The escalators are much easier to ride than a rope tow or chair. That was such a blessing for our start.
Once my daughter got off the escalator she was having a hard time fighting her fear of not being able to stop. She remembered how to turn, but she immediately fell to stop herself when she started moving too fast. Her fiance and I were there and she said, "I don't want to ski! I can't do this!" and her bottom lip went out like it did when she was a little girl, though now she is graduating the top of her class in nursing school. Immediately, I got uphill from her and did a mommy coo, "It's going to be all right. Just let me ski you down the hill so you get a feel for it." I wrapped my skis and self around my daughter who was 4 inches taller than me and hugged her closely to me and guided her skis with mine down the hill to the bottom of the escalator without incident.
Without any prodding she got back onto the escalator and tried again. She slowly snow plowed down the gentle slope and made large turns until she was at the bottom of the escalator again. Over and over again she tried and tried and became better and better as I skied behind her and encouraged and coached her as my teacher self, a person that she did not know.
My son's girlfriend also skied with me wrapped around her, but it took her much longer to figure out how to slow herself and stop. Sometimes I just had her move a ski back and forth on the snow and slide it and then grab an edge, so she could have some understanding of what edges do. Eventually, she was able to turn, but would crash into the safety fence and rest awhile.
My son, on the other hand, was doing quite well with little help. My daughter's fiance was enjoying the moment, but he wrestled demons from his last ski trip when he was badly hurt. Once his demons were pinned down his advanced-intermediate-skier self got bored. Then he tried to do what all more advanced skiers do to less advanced skiers---get them to go on a more interesting run though they might not be ready. I started to see him act as I once did, which earned me a warning from all who skied with me to all who wanted to ski with me, "Beware!" So I took him away to explore some more advanced runs while everyone practiced.
We had a lovely time getting to know each other. It ended up that he was the one that insisted that my daughter "friend" me on Facebook. He told her that that was just mean. He also had to pay his own way through college, and I paid for my daughter's while working four to five jobs, so he felt that that was especially mean. I really like my son-in-law to be!
After days of me teaching my kids and their significant others how to ski, we had a lot of successes. My son ended up skiing at my same speed, albeit a bit frightening for me to watch, since he lacked some control. He lovingly told me in his own words that his goal is to ski with me so that I don't have to continue my 40 years of calling out "Single!" to find another person to ride an expert ski chair with me. My son-in-law to be and I really enjoyed skiing and exploring the mountain together and perhaps he'll insist that I teach the grandchildren how to ski on their family ski vacations! My daughter became an intermediate skier and started reminding me of my mother. She has my mom's graceful, but tentative style. My son's girlfriend may or may not ski again, though she did learn to use her edges and stop eventually. What wonderful skiing memories we made all together!
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
To keep positive momentum going in our healing relationship, I invited my daughter with her fiance and my son with his girlfriend to Tahoe over the December break to snow ski. My son insisted that instead of paying for lessons that I actually teach all of them how to ski. That seemed quite daunting. Memories of my friends with bloody lips from me taking them on slopes that were too hard came to my mind. Memories of my brothers getting on both sides of me and skiing me off a cliff in retribution for me trying to teach my ex-husband how to jump a cornice when he was only an intermediate skier came to my mind. Being an expert skier after starting to ski at 7 years old makes one forget what is scary and what is difficult.
However, now I'm a high school teacher who knows how to teach. I just didn't know where to begin. So early in December I started asking ski instructors that I rode with on chairlifts how to teach beginners, so I wouldn't inadvertently upset, hurt, and scare my children! The first step to learn how to ski is walking on skis. How simple!
It's simple in theory, but if a person has never used an edge to stop a snowboard or an ice skate, walking on skis is completely foreign. My son's girlfriend had never seen snow before she arrived at my Tahoe home. So she was quite a challenge to teach. In contrast, my daughter and son both learned to snow board when they were children, so walking on skis wasn't such a problem once I showed them side stepping and V-stepping to climb up a hill.
Since I learned to ski at Boreal Ski Resort, I chose that resort to teach my adult children. When I learned how to ski there with my dad, he'd push me down the hill, and he'd push me back up the hill by the lodge. Later, I progressed to the rope tow, and finally the beginner chair. I remember not being able to get off one chair lift there, so the chair operator had to take my skis off and have me fall into his arms.
Boreal Ski Resort now has an amazing set up for beginner skiers! They have mowed down the hill where my dad had pushed me, so beginners could easily walk on their skis to their runs. There are two escalators that the skier just steps onto and it takes them up a very mild incline, so they can learn how to stop and turn. The escalators are much easier to ride than a rope tow or chair. That was such a blessing for our start.Once my daughter got off the escalator she was having a hard time fighting her fear of not being able to stop. She remembered how to turn, but she immediately fell to stop herself when she started moving too fast. Her fiance and I were there and she said, "I don't want to ski! I can't do this!" and her bottom lip went out like it did when she was a little girl, though now she is graduating the top of her class in nursing school. Immediately, I got uphill from her and did a mommy coo, "It's going to be all right. Just let me ski you down the hill so you get a feel for it." I wrapped my skis and self around my daughter who was 4 inches taller than me and hugged her closely to me and guided her skis with mine down the hill to the bottom of the escalator without incident.
Without any prodding she got back onto the escalator and tried again. She slowly snow plowed down the gentle slope and made large turns until she was at the bottom of the escalator again. Over and over again she tried and tried and became better and better as I skied behind her and encouraged and coached her as my teacher self, a person that she did not know.
My son's girlfriend also skied with me wrapped around her, but it took her much longer to figure out how to slow herself and stop. Sometimes I just had her move a ski back and forth on the snow and slide it and then grab an edge, so she could have some understanding of what edges do. Eventually, she was able to turn, but would crash into the safety fence and rest awhile. My son, on the other hand, was doing quite well with little help. My daughter's fiance was enjoying the moment, but he wrestled demons from his last ski trip when he was badly hurt. Once his demons were pinned down his advanced-intermediate-skier self got bored. Then he tried to do what all more advanced skiers do to less advanced skiers---get them to go on a more interesting run though they might not be ready. I started to see him act as I once did, which earned me a warning from all who skied with me to all who wanted to ski with me, "Beware!" So I took him away to explore some more advanced runs while everyone practiced.We had a lovely time getting to know each other. It ended up that he was the one that insisted that my daughter "friend" me on Facebook. He told her that that was just mean. He also had to pay his own way through college, and I paid for my daughter's while working four to five jobs, so he felt that that was especially mean. I really like my son-in-law to be!
After days of me teaching my kids and their significant others how to ski, we had a lot of successes. My son ended up skiing at my same speed, albeit a bit frightening for me to watch, since he lacked some control. He lovingly told me in his own words that his goal is to ski with me so that I don't have to continue my 40 years of calling out "Single!" to find another person to ride an expert ski chair with me. My son-in-law to be and I really enjoyed skiing and exploring the mountain together and perhaps he'll insist that I teach the grandchildren how to ski on their family ski vacations! My daughter became an intermediate skier and started reminding me of my mother. She has my mom's graceful, but tentative style. My son's girlfriend may or may not ski again, though she did learn to use her edges and stop eventually. What wonderful skiing memories we made all together!P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Girls in ROP
When I started my new teaching job, the ROP chair told me that a Federal ROP Oversight Observer would be visiting my class. She add, "But don't worry. I'll prep you on all the questions."
So I prepared all my robotics students that the Feds were coming on Friday. We made the robotic track tape in red, white, and blue, and the students were actively trying to get their Boe Bot programmed to properly run the course without touching the tape. The students also knew to be on their best behavior.
Friday came and no one had prepped me on the questions, so I wondered if the Feds were coming after all. Then while I was wandering around with my laptop in hand taking roll, I turned around and there they were. The observer was a woman of my age---a 1980's technical professional. She immediately asked me a few questions about how I've set up my program.
I explained, "Well, the first day of this class I had to move the student computers from another classroom to this one. Most of the computers had been very beaten up, so each student had to rebuild their own computer with extra boards that we had lying around. The keyboards were ruined, so one student's dad donated keyboards from Sac State.
Most of the students were able to get their computers running again, and that was their first grade. Then they had to get the old Parallax Boe Bots working again, so we learned how to trouble shoot to find which part didn't work by trading out parts one part at a time. Finally, they programmed the robots using PBASIC and are getting graded on if their robot can follow the track.
She was very impressed. Then she asked, "How many girls do you have in the program?" Now when I arrived at this high school I was very disturbed by how few girls were in my classes, so I took a moment to answer. Then I explained, "I have one girl in this class and a few in the other classes. However, when a few girls saw that a female was teaching the ROP classes, they transferred in to my classes. They were met with some resistance, but I separated them from the boys causing the resistance and started training the girls on basic woodworking skills. Some of the boys also needed to learn these skills, so they came over with me. Then some of the advanced boys started helping the girls learn their skills, as well."
"At my last school a girl came into my class kicking and screaming and told me that she didn't want to be there, but had no other place to go. By the time that I left that school, she loved engineering. She even wrote me a letter saying that she wanted to be just like me!"
The federal observer smiled at that and we agreed that boys didn't come born knowing how to use tools, some one showed them how to use them, so boys and girls both had the capability to be good with tools. I mentioned, "My dad gave me a lot of great tools for my dowry, but it backfired on him, because I ended up being the one who used the tools!" and we all laughed. I added, "I always tell my classes when they asked if they should call me Miss or Mrs. that I have never gone by either. I've always gone by Ms., because I'm not defined by my marital status, but by my own accomplishments." We also bonded over shared experiences in the technical industry in the 1980s.
I'll never forget being a speaker at San Jose State's ASME meeting in the latter 1980's. The young men were so disappointed that I was a woman. There wasn't a single female engineering student in the room either. Then I gave a speech about being a manufacturing engineer in order to become a better design engineer. In manufacturing an engineer sees all the design mistakes and design strategies. Armed with that knowledge, one can become a great design engineer! By the end of the speech, I'd won them over and hopefully left an impression about women being competent engineers.
Apparently, I left a great impression on this federal ROP observer, because my principal came in to my next classes to personally tell me that our high school ROP program passed and was saved!
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
So I prepared all my robotics students that the Feds were coming on Friday. We made the robotic track tape in red, white, and blue, and the students were actively trying to get their Boe Bot programmed to properly run the course without touching the tape. The students also knew to be on their best behavior.
Friday came and no one had prepped me on the questions, so I wondered if the Feds were coming after all. Then while I was wandering around with my laptop in hand taking roll, I turned around and there they were. The observer was a woman of my age---a 1980's technical professional. She immediately asked me a few questions about how I've set up my program.
I explained, "Well, the first day of this class I had to move the student computers from another classroom to this one. Most of the computers had been very beaten up, so each student had to rebuild their own computer with extra boards that we had lying around. The keyboards were ruined, so one student's dad donated keyboards from Sac State.
Most of the students were able to get their computers running again, and that was their first grade. Then they had to get the old Parallax Boe Bots working again, so we learned how to trouble shoot to find which part didn't work by trading out parts one part at a time. Finally, they programmed the robots using PBASIC and are getting graded on if their robot can follow the track.
She was very impressed. Then she asked, "How many girls do you have in the program?" Now when I arrived at this high school I was very disturbed by how few girls were in my classes, so I took a moment to answer. Then I explained, "I have one girl in this class and a few in the other classes. However, when a few girls saw that a female was teaching the ROP classes, they transferred in to my classes. They were met with some resistance, but I separated them from the boys causing the resistance and started training the girls on basic woodworking skills. Some of the boys also needed to learn these skills, so they came over with me. Then some of the advanced boys started helping the girls learn their skills, as well."
"At my last school a girl came into my class kicking and screaming and told me that she didn't want to be there, but had no other place to go. By the time that I left that school, she loved engineering. She even wrote me a letter saying that she wanted to be just like me!"
The federal observer smiled at that and we agreed that boys didn't come born knowing how to use tools, some one showed them how to use them, so boys and girls both had the capability to be good with tools. I mentioned, "My dad gave me a lot of great tools for my dowry, but it backfired on him, because I ended up being the one who used the tools!" and we all laughed. I added, "I always tell my classes when they asked if they should call me Miss or Mrs. that I have never gone by either. I've always gone by Ms., because I'm not defined by my marital status, but by my own accomplishments." We also bonded over shared experiences in the technical industry in the 1980s.
I'll never forget being a speaker at San Jose State's ASME meeting in the latter 1980's. The young men were so disappointed that I was a woman. There wasn't a single female engineering student in the room either. Then I gave a speech about being a manufacturing engineer in order to become a better design engineer. In manufacturing an engineer sees all the design mistakes and design strategies. Armed with that knowledge, one can become a great design engineer! By the end of the speech, I'd won them over and hopefully left an impression about women being competent engineers.
Apparently, I left a great impression on this federal ROP observer, because my principal came in to my next classes to personally tell me that our high school ROP program passed and was saved!
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
Monday, February 2, 2015
What I've Learned While I Was Away
What I've learned while I was away: "Even my favorite place in this world did not bring me the peace and respite for which I was hoping. True peace and respite is only found when your reactions from the onslaught of issues that this world slings is peaceful due to a purely defensive and not offensive reaction, and you rely upon your G-d-given wisdom for navigation and upon G_d to ultimately right the situation."
Trust me---it takes a lot of practice to not be offensive, but purely defensive. It may take a lifetime of practice. Just as it takes a lifetime of practice to purely rely upon G_d. We have to trust when logically there is no way to deal with an issue that the manna will come. We have to know that Amalek, evil, will attack every generation. We have to know that our troubles are honing us and moving us along our divine path.
We have to be vessels to emit the light in the darkness that was created by G_d. The darkness is not evil. The darkness was the only way that we could exist without being overwhelmed by G_d's light, so that G_d could bestow good upon us here in the darkness. Each one of us is capable of connecting to G_d and connecting the light of our neshamah, spiritual soul, to G_d. When we do that we create a ray of light. Imagine if we all created that ray of light! We would all be at peace and it would be like being in the Garden of Eden again.
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
Trust me---it takes a lot of practice to not be offensive, but purely defensive. It may take a lifetime of practice. Just as it takes a lifetime of practice to purely rely upon G_d. We have to trust when logically there is no way to deal with an issue that the manna will come. We have to know that Amalek, evil, will attack every generation. We have to know that our troubles are honing us and moving us along our divine path.
We have to be vessels to emit the light in the darkness that was created by G_d. The darkness is not evil. The darkness was the only way that we could exist without being overwhelmed by G_d's light, so that G_d could bestow good upon us here in the darkness. Each one of us is capable of connecting to G_d and connecting the light of our neshamah, spiritual soul, to G_d. When we do that we create a ray of light. Imagine if we all created that ray of light! We would all be at peace and it would be like being in the Garden of Eden again.
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
I'm Back!
I've been away for a very good reason. I didn't want you to know what I was doing for the last 2.5 years. When I finally write the third book of "My Anatomy of a Midlife Crisis Series," I want you to be surprised.
I have been kayaking, but nothing as awesome as my San Diego times---no kayak surfing. I have been teaching, but now I teach high school engineering more than math. Teaching engineering is so much more fun and much easier, since it is the ultimate of Common Core practices. Love has found me, but I can't tell you how that ends yet.
What I will tell you is that I plan to write again. My books are just about bursting from me and will write themselves, if I don't sit down and finish my series of memoirs. This summer I've decided to not teach summer school, and I'm just going to write.
Here's a fun little video of my engineering students testing their CO2 cars that they made. I had a special population student start the race. He really enjoyed his job! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76DlZrBEAcI&feature=youtu.be
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
I have been kayaking, but nothing as awesome as my San Diego times---no kayak surfing. I have been teaching, but now I teach high school engineering more than math. Teaching engineering is so much more fun and much easier, since it is the ultimate of Common Core practices. Love has found me, but I can't tell you how that ends yet.
What I will tell you is that I plan to write again. My books are just about bursting from me and will write themselves, if I don't sit down and finish my series of memoirs. This summer I've decided to not teach summer school, and I'm just going to write.
Here's a fun little video of my engineering students testing their CO2 cars that they made. I had a special population student start the race. He really enjoyed his job! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76DlZrBEAcI&feature=youtu.be
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
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