Raise your hand if you had fun today?

Let me start by saying that I really lag at staying up on posting. I'm going to work my way backwards in time. Today at the end of my first period class I decided to ask my students if they had fun in class. It was just one of those days where I got to watch the light turn on for so many different students. They were totally engaged. Well, at least most of them were. It started yesterday when we did the first lab using microscopes. My favorite moment yesterday was Alexandra saying "Oh, I see it! I found it! How cool it looks sooooo different." All of that, and she was just looking at a letter "e" on the microscope. Today they got to look at evidence samples. This class started out at the beginning of the year and it gave me total anxiety. It is a combo class with Honors and CP students and 15 of the CP students are in Special Ed. I really wasn't sure what to expect. It's still a lot like work, but I feel like I'm getting some of the RSP students interested in Biology or at least more motivated to put in the effort. I had the sense today that they really had "fun" in class today. So I said "Raise your hand if you had fun today." 3/4 of the kids raised their hands. I followed that up by saying that we would continue looking at the evidence samples on Monday because they were so on task and so into what we were doing. Vicky Walker (the Special Education teacher that I'm working with) said "they" are usually only good for one or two days like this in a year. I said "Well, hopefully we can have 1-2 days like this every week or so."

Senior Retreat 2010

For the last couple of years I've considered going on a Senior Retreat at Diamond Ranch. Two years ago I felt guilty because I wasn't able to go. Then when students got back from the trip I heard nothing but positive comments about how meaningful it was for these students. Last year I helped persuade some students to go. The caveat was, "I'll go if you go Mr. Anderson." "I'm going this year" I said. Well I got half way up the mountain in 2009. Then it snowed on the way up. No problem. That's what chains are for...until they break. Then I couldn't attend the make-up session because it fell on the same weekend as mom's 55th birthday. No way was I going to miss that day. So I didn't go. There were some disappointed kids when I informed them that I wasn't going to be able to make it. Fortunately, when they came back they still had a wonderful experience.

Now 2010 rolls around, and the retreat was scheduled for the Spring...on mom's birthday again. I really didn't want to miss her birthday, but when I explained the situation to her, she understood. Mom is cool like that.

I suppose I sort of knew what to expect, but not to the level that it would impact me. It was an amazing experience for the young men and women that had the opportunity to attend. Jam packed with fun, honesty, openness, self-reflection, and encouragement for the future. I have amazing colleagues that are willing to open themselves up to students in order to provide guidance and encouragement to these kids. I was so impressed by the things that were shared by students and staff. I was also impressed by the acceptance that everyone had of each other and the ability of these kids to be so open about personal experiences. Obviously, the retreat is well planned out, but unless the sessions and conversations are embraced and accepted by the students then it would be meaningless.

One of the things that I have taken away from the retreat is that these kids have gone through so much at this point in their lives, but they are resilient. So many of these kids have damaged homes. Parents try to do their best, but it turns out that parenting is difficult. Every kid is different. Every parent is different. What works with one child, may not be effective for another. As a dad I know that my three girls are all very different, and yet somehow, I'm supposed to know exactly what to do, what to say, and how to say it, but it's impossible to get it right every time. Just like these kids' parents, I try to do my best, based upon my past experiences and what I learned growing up. I love my parents, but they weren't perfect. I'm just trying to do my best, just like they did. But I blow it, just like every parent that has ever walked this planet.

Inclusion - "Using RNA"

Just recently I was teaching my AP Biology class about viruses. I was explaining that viruses, specifically bacteriophages, inject their genetic material into bacterial cells and take over the machinery of the bacteria, which forces the cell to make proteins for the virus. As soon as I finished making this statement, Chris chimes in "using RNA." I was totally floored by this statement, because Chris was making the connection from a previous concept that was covered in my class. He knew that protein synthesis involves using RNA. Since the viruses use the bacteria to make protein, then naturally they must be using RNA. What is so awesome about this statement is that Chris has a traumatic brain injury and is one of the students in the Moderate-Severe program that is enrolled in my AP class. The inclusion program has been more than just the social growth that has taken place, it is also about "meaningful learning" as Maizel would say.

Right after Chris said "using RNA." Jocelyn said "and DNA", because the genetic material is DNA. Jocelyn wanted to demonstrate that she knows what's going on too. By the way, Jocelyn is a student with Down Syndrome.

Every week there are moments like this, that confirm the inclusion classes have been worth the extra work. If you had told me on the first day of this class, that Chris would be volunteering insightful answers to unasked questions, then I would have said "No way." The first day of class Chris was feeling so much anxiety from this completely new room filled with 35 students, that he had his knees pulled up to his chin with his lanky arms wrapped them, and he was rocking back and forth. He wanted no part of this new classroom. But the school year would not be the same without him in my class.

Soccer - Mid Life Crisis

My brother-in-law, Scott and I watched some arena (indoor) soccer back in October while at GJ's b-day party. He said "we should get a team together" and I laughed at him. I told him I would play, but that he had no idea how tiring it is to play indoor. There's a reason why they sub out all the time. So, now we are playing soccer. Tonight was our 6th game and we only lost 7-8. We have improved so much. The first time we played this team, we lost 4-22. No, that wasn't a typo. It helps that Kent and Andy joined the team. They have ball handling skills, but collectively as a team we have gotten significantly better. I still stink, but I hustle when I'm out there and disrupt the flow of the other team. I try to position as well as I can, but my ball handling skills aren't good at all. It's a total blast, and if you had asked me if I would be playing soccer at 38, I would have laughed.

The first game we played the girls came and watched. When I came home Sarah looked sad and dejected and she said "I'm sorry that you lost." It was really cute. I told her that it didn't matter because I had so much fun. She's just as competitive as I am. Sarah always wants to win, be the best, smartest, etc. Sometimes, that saying "It doesn't matter if you win or lose it's how you play the game," actually rings true. This group of guys is having fun and now we might be getting competitive.

Winter Formal

This school year I've been working with Matthew Maizel in co-teaching two AP Biology classes. Matthew teaches students that are in the Moderate-Severe Special Education program at Diamond Ranch. I've thought about logging some of the experiences that we have had this past school year, but I just haven't taken the time. The short version of what we have done is that we have combined AP Biology students with students that have moderate to severe disabilities, all while teaching the AP Biology curriculum and following IEPs. Eventually

I will have to back track with some of the stories from the beginning of the school year. I have a terrible memory for details so I hope I can do this later. Anyway, what I wanted to document now is the ripple effect of this experiment of inclusion. It's not really an experiment so much as an experience. These kids have had such a good experience. I know what you just thought. Which kids? THE Kids, all of them have gained something through this. Some more than others. Recently, ASB decided that they would invite all of the students involved in the Moderrate-Severe program to the Winter Formal, free of charge. This has never been done, as far as I know. I'm not sure whose grand idea it was in the first place, probably Lilliana's, but I'm sure it was an ASB student that is in one of the inclusion classes. I don't think that this would have happened unless we had the inclusion class. As I said before, it's the ripple effect of being in the same class everyday together. They are all just kids, students, people, with different abilities, interests, and experiences. And they are just kids with some of the same abilities, interests, and experiences.

Moutains then the Beach

Just a quick post, since I haven't done this in awhile. I suppose it's better to have started a blog and posted something then to never log my thoughts, experiences, joys and frustrations. Of course, I don't think I've complained yet, but there's always that possibility.

Anyway, here is the experience. Yesterday we went up towards Mountain High to go play in the snow. It was very casual, so we got a late start. Mia wasn't too keen on the idea, but Grace and Sarah were looking forward to sledding and making a snowman. Once we got up there it took a little while to find a place to park and play. Eventually the girls had a blast sledding, playing in the snow, and building a snowman. Mia ended up having a good time. She struggled walking around the snow at first, but loved sledding with Tracey and even went down on her own a couple of times.

Today we went down to Balboa and rode our bikes along the boardwalk. We rode all the way down to Newport Pier and then ate some ice cream and frozen bananas. Grace and Sarah did a great job cruising along the busy sidewalk. It was relatively crash free, one little slide in a sandy section, but no scraped knees or hands. When we were walking along Balboa Pier, the sun was setting and the view of Catalina was awesome.

The drive down there was nerve wracking with the bikes strapped to the back of the van. My bike tires sat pretty low and actually hit the road when I pulled into the Woody's Diner parking lot. No damage because everything flexed up, but it's time for a bike hitch.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've been in the snow one day, and then at the beach the very next day.

I almost forgot, apparently we were on Private Property in the mountains. Didn't see the sign until we were leaving.

Summer 2009

I just went back to school last week and several people have asked "how was your summer?" My response has been "this has been the best summer since I started teaching." It's the first time in the last thirteen years that I haven't had some other responsibility during the summer. No summer school. No coaching. No babies being born. No Master's program. No WASC. No major house projects. No kidding.

We had lots of plans this summer and really had a great time. Tracey and I are truly blessed to both be teachers and have the financial ability to stay home for the summer with our children. It's awesome.

The first trip this summer we went camping in Sequoia as a family. We camped with Grandma Judy (GJ), Uncle Scott, Aunt Amy, Emily, and Abby, as well the Shirotas and Wes. It was beautiful, relaxing, and lots of fun. It was great hanging out with friends and family. Hiking, cooking together, hanging out by the fire, riding bikes, and enjoying nature. Last summer we stayed in Yosemite, but couldn't get a campsite there this summer. We "settled" for Sequioa, which sounds ridiculous because it is such a beautiful place. I'm sure we will camp in Sequoia for many years to come. We were only able to see such a small portion of this National Park. We hiked Tokopah Falls, visited Crystal Cave, General Sherman and drove through a Sequoia (I can't remember the name). We also got dangerously close to running out of gas on the way down the mountain. Note to self: get gas before you enter a National Park.

A week later we camped in Carpinteria with the Medlins, Alexanders, Shorts, and Contis. We have known the Medlins for a long time. Tracey has worked with Cindy for nearly 16 years and has known Christy about the same amount of time. The other families are all involved in the Indian Princess program so Grace and Sarah had lots of friends to play with while we were there. The campsite is right by the beach. The days were filled with bike rides, dips in the ocean, seaweed gathering, hole digging and.....throwing up. Unfortunately, Tracey got sick on the third night of a five night trip. In the morning she was absolutely miserable so we quickly packed up and came home. It turns out that having the stomach flu in a campsite is actually worse than just having the stomach flu. A 50 meter walk before you puke in a dirty public bathroom is not a good time. Although we had fun while we were there it ended on a bad note. You could say that it left a bad taste in our mouths. Okay, in Tracey's mouth, because somehow no one else got sick.

In between camping trips we spent a lot of time in the newly redone pool. We had a couple of BBQs with friends and family. We went to Disneyland several times. Tracey and I also bought bikes for our 10-year anniversary. So we went bike riding as a family which the girls love to do.

I played poker throughout the summer. I hosted a poker tournament and 20 people showed up. I won, so it looked totally rigged, but the very next night I played at Pat's house and finished 2nd. He also had 20 people in his tourney and several of the players, played both nights. I also played at the card club a couple of times.

Tracey and I spent three nights in Las Vegas for our 10-year anniversary. The first night we saw a stand-up, Vinny Favorito, he was very funny. The second night I played in a poker tournament at Caesar's Palace. Tracey encouraged me to play, because she knew I wanted to, and it didn't start until 10 PM, so she slept through most of it. I finished 3rd overall out of 67 entries and was really comfortable at the final table. I won $470 which was great. Sometime around 2 AM, one of the guys that I was playing with asked where my wife was, and if she played poker. I had to laugh, because I realized that it was now the next day, and it was technically our anniversary day. So I said "She's in bed, and actually today is our 10-year anniversary." My end of the table overheard the conversation and really didn't believe me. I then explained that we had plans that evening.

The third night in Vegas, Tracey and I ate at a restaurant overlooking the dancing waters at the Bellagio. It was very cool to eat out on the balcony and really enjoy the ambiance. We then saw the Cirque de Soleil show "Love" it was incredible. We both really enjoyed the show and I think we will go back and watch "O" sometime in the future.

A week later we had a nice dinner with my mom's side of the family. She wanted to take Tracey and I out for our 10-year anniversary. It was really thoughtful of her and made me appreciate, even more, the life that I have with my wife. My mom, Grandma Cathy, Mark, Uncle Scott, Aunt Jackie, Uncle Mickey, Aunt Dawn-Ellen, and cousin Courtney were all there. We don't usually all get together like this, unless it's a holiday, so it was nice that they could all celebrate with us.

Last weekend I went to Havasu Springs for the annual guys trip to the river. Allen has a boat and sets up the trip for everybody. It's one of the few times that we all get together during the year. It seems like I usually see those guys individually and not as a group. This year everybody made it out: Allen, Wade, Dave, Mark, and Kirk. I've known Allen, Wade, and Dave since high school. It's been nearly 25 years that we have been friends and I'm sure that we will be friends until we're all old guys. Okay, older guys than we currently are. Forty is right around the corner. Once again we all had a good time. It's funny how there can be no set plans other than a boat, the water, and some beverages, and we always have a good time.

As the summer winds down and I head into another school year, I'm really happy with all the things that I got to do this summer with my family, with friends and on my own. I'm looking forward to the next school year and for many more wonderful summers to come.