Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Great Math Worksheet Site
I'm doing some math tutoring twice a week in addition to what I do at home with my own children. Math texts are a great outline of where to go, but really can be limiting. For instance, today I noticed as we were working through the answers to the previous lesson in Saxon Algebra 1/2, that there was a lack of understand in the area of decimals, so we stopped and worked on the theory behind decimals and some of the rules. The problems arises when the text has only three or four questions and the student needs to practice about 20 questions to really understand the process. The best answer I have found is The Math Worksheet Site. It is a subscription site that is certainly worth the annual fee. I was able to print out several pages of decimal questions in just a few minutes which were suited to the academic level of my student thanks to the great family powering The Math Worksheet Site.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Shopping for a Cart
I have finally decided on a shopping cart: Zen Cart. It was recommended by a friend and has the perk of being open source (free). I want the Polestar Montessori site to have a nice shopping cart before I write articles and direct a whole bunch of traffic to the site. I will also use the cart for the ThreadKey site.
In the process of getting this far I have also downloaded MySQL (to make and manage databases), Notepad++ (to edit the code) and FileZilla (to ftp). My next task is creating a MySQL database on the server.
In the process of getting this far I have also downloaded MySQL (to make and manage databases), Notepad++ (to edit the code) and FileZilla (to ftp). My next task is creating a MySQL database on the server.
Roads to GWU
Today we had the opportunity to help clear the road for the GWU Groundbreaking ceremony – literally. As a family we went to the GWU property and watched the sunrise over the La Plata Mountains in southeastern Colorado. We and the Brooks family then began clearing sticks and other debris from the road leading to the site of the first building. It was truly inspiring to see the conceptual images of the campus near the location of the future buildings. Dr Brooks had us close our eyes during the approach to the site of the first building and then see the artist rendering for the first time all together. It was powerful.
I am excited to be a part of the groundbreaking tour crew next Friday and Saturday. Manike, the GWU Event Coordinator, tells us that we are anticipating 400 people to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. It will be a very busy and fun weekend.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A New Dimension to Statesmanship
I never would have thought that acting like a monkey and revealing my greatest fear would lead to an increase in statesmanship, but it did. Last weekend’s Writings of Thomas Jefferson II Graduate Seminar at George Wythe University was greatly enhanced by the addition of a three hour session on letting go of our facades and expanding the range of our communication. Dr Schulthies explained that being able to truly communicate with people on a deeper and more meaningful level would enhance our impact as statesmen, so we committed to 100% participation and dove right in.
We applauded the inherent value of each person as we spent 45 minutes on introductions. Some members of the class objected to receiving applause when they “didn’t do anything” to merit it. Dr Schulthies saw that J recoiled when applauded and led the class in a discussion of recognizing the value of each individual and responding to each person’s desires. We then gave a much more subdued recognition of J at her request. Subsequently several other people made similar requests.
A lot of personal growth came for me during the range-expanding “envelope exercises.” Dr Schulthies broke us into small groups and each person was assigned to speak for one minute as the others listened. We then spoke for a minute assuming the persona of a famous individual; a five-year-old discussing one of his favorite topics (monkeys, magic, marshmallows); and sharing personal insights (my greatest fear and what I love most about myself) with a short debrief after each round. My most pronounced revelation was just how much I depend on my prep time in order to feel confident in responding to requests.
A few people were clearly ruffled by the whole experience – it wasn’t easy. When we finished, C, a member of my group said, “I’m sure glad we’re finished with that!” It was very interesting to note who was not comfortable participating in each part. In general, those who objected to enthusiastic recognition of their mere presence were also uncomfortable sharing during the envelope exercises.
The results of laying this foundation of caring and openness were readily recognizable when we began discussing Jefferson’s writings. I have been in Graduate Seminar groups of about this size in the past, so I know what a profound difference this was. Everyone participated in the discussion and were engaged in the dialogue more that any other class. One person even felt comfortable enough to explain how little relevence there was between her circumstances and those of Jefferson, so consequently there was little to be found in his character which applied to her life.
Saturday morning the same feeling prevailed. The conversation was lively and insightful. Everyone had comments, even D, whom I have never heard speak up in the past. Responding to the first quote took and hour and a half of fantastic discussion. The camaraderie was so great that nearly half the group was still there talking 45 minutes into our one hour lunch break.
I find it hard to say for certain what the difference was that made this GradSem so much more delightful. Maybe Dr Schulthies is always able to generate this type of introspective comment to a dry text; maybe Dr DeMille’s genius typically keeps us in mute awe; maybe we had all prepared more; or maybe the stars were aligned just right. I’m not sure that each of those didn’t play a part, but my gut feeling is that spending three hours exploring communication and gaining personal insights had a lot to do with it.
If it is true that others “don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” and that real communication is the key to our success, statesmanship among the members of this Graduate Seminar increased dramatically this past weekend thanks to Dr Schulthies being willing to break the mold and share of himself by teaching us something we didn’t know we needed to hear.
We applauded the inherent value of each person as we spent 45 minutes on introductions. Some members of the class objected to receiving applause when they “didn’t do anything” to merit it. Dr Schulthies saw that J recoiled when applauded and led the class in a discussion of recognizing the value of each individual and responding to each person’s desires. We then gave a much more subdued recognition of J at her request. Subsequently several other people made similar requests.
A lot of personal growth came for me during the range-expanding “envelope exercises.” Dr Schulthies broke us into small groups and each person was assigned to speak for one minute as the others listened. We then spoke for a minute assuming the persona of a famous individual; a five-year-old discussing one of his favorite topics (monkeys, magic, marshmallows); and sharing personal insights (my greatest fear and what I love most about myself) with a short debrief after each round. My most pronounced revelation was just how much I depend on my prep time in order to feel confident in responding to requests.
A few people were clearly ruffled by the whole experience – it wasn’t easy. When we finished, C, a member of my group said, “I’m sure glad we’re finished with that!” It was very interesting to note who was not comfortable participating in each part. In general, those who objected to enthusiastic recognition of their mere presence were also uncomfortable sharing during the envelope exercises.
The results of laying this foundation of caring and openness were readily recognizable when we began discussing Jefferson’s writings. I have been in Graduate Seminar groups of about this size in the past, so I know what a profound difference this was. Everyone participated in the discussion and were engaged in the dialogue more that any other class. One person even felt comfortable enough to explain how little relevence there was between her circumstances and those of Jefferson, so consequently there was little to be found in his character which applied to her life.
Saturday morning the same feeling prevailed. The conversation was lively and insightful. Everyone had comments, even D, whom I have never heard speak up in the past. Responding to the first quote took and hour and a half of fantastic discussion. The camaraderie was so great that nearly half the group was still there talking 45 minutes into our one hour lunch break.
I find it hard to say for certain what the difference was that made this GradSem so much more delightful. Maybe Dr Schulthies is always able to generate this type of introspective comment to a dry text; maybe Dr DeMille’s genius typically keeps us in mute awe; maybe we had all prepared more; or maybe the stars were aligned just right. I’m not sure that each of those didn’t play a part, but my gut feeling is that spending three hours exploring communication and gaining personal insights had a lot to do with it.
If it is true that others “don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” and that real communication is the key to our success, statesmanship among the members of this Graduate Seminar increased dramatically this past weekend thanks to Dr Schulthies being willing to break the mold and share of himself by teaching us something we didn’t know we needed to hear.
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