Why educate yourself in the sciences?

Taking the longer view

Here are some ways I've been looking at the future:

This is the last time I'll see these particular trees in my back yard turn colors. Next year at this time I'll be living somewhere else, and see different trees lose their leaves.

I just placed my order for my cap and gown. Four years from now I'll have my college graduation to look forward to.

Ten years from now I will have become what I set out to be, working and driving (I hope) a paid-for Mustang GT.

How awesome is that?

Sometimes you just get lucky...

But sometimes you just don't.

This is the first year of a new curriculum in our district, and so far we've heard from the teachers that they are using tests they haven't seen before.  What does that even mean? is what we're wondering, until we sit down with the test and begin to understand.

And not only that:  a new grading system, weighted grades on a 70/30 split, and a much-dreaded (by the teachers!) cumulative semester exam that will be 10% of our grade. This test is SO ominous, apparently, that we are encouraged not to miss ANY days of school so as not to lose our test waivers. (Which means a lot of us are showing up sick for school, including tests, but that's another post for another day.)

The good news? This will be the first year my class will NOT spend most of the second semester preparing for the four TAKS tests we've taken every year since the third grade.

I know someone who chose to go to a college that doesn't give grades, just some kind of annual evaluation by professors about strengths and weaknesses, growth and development, etc. He said he was tired of all the intensity and competition at his big, crowded high school. I understand, I really do.

What would I choose for myself if I could choose something completely different?

Classes smaller than 35-40,  for one thing; hallways that aren't so crowded that we experiment with one-way routes (like that works any better!); and no 45-minute classes with a 5-minute bell schedule. If I never hear another bell that will be just fine with me, or see another clock on the wall stopped at some impossible time.

It's still a little strange to think that now is the time when I can make a different choice about what I want next for myself.

Decisions have consequences

So I decided I didn't want to work in fast food, and when I applied for jobs in May and June I discovered that my 9-1 class schedule was a problem for a lot of employers.

Which is how I came to be working in the sun during one of Texas hottest summers on record, by my own choice.

I'm working on an organic commercial farm, doing pretty much what farmworkers do: weeding, mulching, planting, clearing out old crops and preparing for new ones. Also changing tires on tractors, repairing their engines, and figuring out how to retrofit safety equipment on old models.

But here's the thing:  I've made quite a few discoveries. Shade moves. Did you know that? I'm a city kid, and I never really understood that one reality until I was faced with working the five planted rows on a 300 foot long raised bed that when I started was in the shade... and then it wasn't, as the sun rose higher and began to clear the trees. I don't know the temperature difference of full sun in Texas in July at 10:00 in the morning, but what I can tell you is that it feels like the difference between "OK, I can do this" to "I need water. Now."

First car accident: lessons learned

Things I did right:  the whole license and insurance exchange thing, after checking to make sure everyone was alright. Taking photos of both cars. Calling my mom.

Things to do next time:  call the police, even if they have said not to because it's minor, on private property etc.

Here's why:  it really wasn't my fault, but it may not matter. My car was hit on the left rear by a car turning from the lane to the left of me. Yes, that's right. And no, I wasn't passing on the right, wasn't on the shoulder, etc. He just decided to turn right and didn't look.

And then, his insurance company decided not to pay, so I had to file it under my insurance - who at least are going to try to get reimbursement through something they call subrogation.

But I have to wonder whether it would have just been easier to insist on a police report, because anyone standing there could see what happened.

Announcements and why they matter

At our school, which is very large and crowded (5A now), the announcements every morning can be easily confused with white noise and static on a bad radio. I know they are saying words, in English, but it's just that I can't quite hear them over the sounds of everyone moving around, talking, getting out their books, etc.

I know there are lots and lots of posters taped up on the walls in most of the hallways. The problem is that the halls are so packed with kids trying to get to class in the 5 minutes we've got, pretty much shoulder to shoulder and wall to wall. It's so crowded that last year the principal decided we needed one-way halls for traffic flow - not kidding.

I realize that our advisory teachers are supposed to pass along important information about things like major deadlines.

Except, that's not always how it works, and the reason that matters is that the deadlines are the deadlines. Hard fact, but true.

I just missed something very important:  the deadline to apply for National Honor Society, for which I qualified. The announcement the day before was in a newsletter emailed late on the day before the final deadline, and by the time I read my email it was the morning after the deadline. I explained and asked nicely, but the deadline was the deadline.

The only thing that could make this worse was that I realized I missed it last year too. Same thing:  I qualified.

Too bad that National Junior Honor Society membership back in middle school doesn't count for anything. Neither does membership in the spring of my senior year, well after college applications are done.

A deadline is a deadline. Not my favorite lesson.

Decisions you might regret

I am facing a tough choice about next year's classes. I am on track to graduate under Texas' distinguished degree plan, which requires four advanced measures and a third year of the same foreign language.

I am in my second year of French, and I have an amazing teacher. I'd follow her pretty much anywhere, which is just about what I'll have to do next year because French III may only be offered as a Pre-AP class. The problem is that I'm in the regular French classes and since I'm a junior I won't be in high school for French IV, AP or not. French III is supposed to be tough anyway, and PAP French will be that much tougher.

I wish I had started French in my freshman year so that I could take AP French in my senior year. Instead, I pretty much wasted a year in American Sign Language with the kind of teacher that can make you want to run away from a subject (hard to do, but it happens) so here I am, with a great teacher and a language I love but one year short of a goal.

Guess that's one thing college is for.

Big class, tough lesson

My AP English class has 39 people in it. The teacher has 200 AP English students total. She told us at the beginning of the year that she'd never had this many, and what it meant was that she didn't have the time to write comments on our papers. (I know, right?) She said she would try to use examples to explain in general. She also said that there wouldn't be any projects or extra credit or anything but essays and AP multiple choice tests, less to grade for so many students.

What this REALLY means is that this has been an unbelievably tough year, just really hard and frustrating. I took the course because I've always taken Pre-AP English and earned good grades, A's and B's no problem. I also wanted to take the class because I keep hearing how important writing is in college and I wanted to make sure my skills were what they needed to be.

But that's not how it's working out. I feel like I keep making the same mistakes over and over. Actually, I think I really am making the same mistakes over and over.

I don't know if this means I shouldn't have taken AP English this year. My teacher is great, just really really busy. It's hard to get in to see her. I've started working with a tutor, and she's been great too.

Did you know that on a lot of the AP English III multiple choice questions that there are usually two answers that are right, only one is more right than the other?

And did you know that one of the most important things you can do is study vocabulary, literary terms, etc. ? I learned this when I bought an AP exam prep book, and started using the vocabulary lists. Amazing.

Also, do yourself a favor and search for the websites that other AP teachers create across the country for their students. Some of them are making awesome use of the internet for homework essays. I found several that had students take turns writing essays then critiquing and re-writing after the teacher added some comments, all viewable to the whole class. That was their homework, all online.

What I do know is that it's going to be my grade, my transcript, my GPA - and that's the reality. It's made me think a lot about college, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to be in huge classes with a couple hundred people. I'm not sure about a lot of things, but I'm pretty sure about that.

What are you proud of?

I was asked recently if there was something I was especially proud of, and I was kind of surprised by the question, because it really was focused on school accomplishments. My answer was a little bit surprising too.

I am most proud of how many projects my teachers have asked to keep so they could be used as examples for future classes. It isn't just the grades, although of course getting the highest grade on a special project is pretty great too. My pride comes from creating something so good that it was considered the best example to show others about how to do the assignment, setting a standard to aim for.

The other day I saw my Silk Road scrolls on the wall in the AP World History classroom, and I hear that the video of the one-act play about two young traders making their fortune on the Silk Road was shown to this year's classes. Down the hall is the Catch 22 billboard and the Greek Isles brochure. The champion purple and white mousetrap car is on display in the lab. Across campus is a book explaining the parts of the brain for my AP Psych class, and over in the theater department there's an exact scale model of a furnished medieval castle great room. Across town at my old middle school is the periodic table I made using flavors and colors of jelly beans, and a book explaining Newton's laws with original cartoons. All were kept for examples of best of the best.

There are fewer and fewer projects every year, and I miss them. They were fun and I worked hard on them, but it's nice to leave a kind of standard for the kids who come after me.

Besides, I'm too old to have them on display at home. I am, right?

Breakfast. Seriously.

You might be the exception to the rule. By now I know I'm not. I feel so much better, and DO so much better, when I eat breakfast. And not just any breakfast - a good one. Coffee has almost replaced hot chocolate, plus some fruit like cantaloupe, and for sure some protein:  an omelet, oatmeal with walnuts and raisins, granola and milk, or the breakfast tacos we like here in Texas. Sometimes it's annoying when your mother's right, but that doesn't mean you should skip it.

Relationships, or not

I know that  I learn better and work harder for a teacher I have a good relationship with. Duh, right?

But what I've realized this year is that if I DON'T have a good relationship with a teacher, I let that get in the way of my learning what I need to learn in a class. What I mean is that I don't go to tutoring to get extra help, or even ask questions in class.

The problem is that this hurts me, and has absolutely no effect on the teacher.

So I'm trying to remember that this is MY education, MY grade, MY high school years. And I'm trying on a new approach - that I'm not going to let it get in my way.

I'm also trying to understand why I have great relationships with some teachers, and not so great ones with others. For me, it's all about sarcasm, impatience and irritability. Some of these teachers just aren't very nice people, in class or after class, with me or anyone else as far as I can tell. Some of them don't seem to care much about teaching whatever it is they're here to teach, and some seem to like teaching just fine but not the students.

It makes the nice teachers who seem to care really stand out.

Sometimes this means I have to decide how bad I want the help. But sometimes it means getting a tutor outside of school. Or using online study websites.

Whatever it takes, is my point.

Grocery shopping for the rest of us

I am grocery shopping on my own for the first time these days, now that I can drive, and I've discovered you can wander around a grocery store for a LONG time if you're not careful, looking for what you want to buy. In fact, they're designed that way.

Which is fine, if that's what you have time for - Target is always good for a half hour.

But if you want to get in and get out, try making a list, and put the things on your list together if they're in the same area:  dairy with dairy, etc. And better get a basket, because there's a lot of stuff to try.

Be safe with a safe

Go to Target and look at what are called document safes. They come in different sizes, but the point is to have one you can lock.

So, obviously, someone could pick these safes up and walk out with them, but that's not the point. What you want is a place for the important stuff, so you can keep it in a special place and know where it is:  passport, blank checks, receipts, etc. Stuff you don't want laying around for just anyone to see. Maybe those notes from your first girlfriend in 5th grade. Whatever.

Engineering summer programs

I've spent three weeks this summer exploring college engineering programs, living in dorms, eating in cafeterias, doing my own laundry, living with a roommate I've never met before. I had the opportunity to actually do some field and lab work in the areas of environmental engineering and hydrology, and spent some time learning about materials engineering - all pretty interesting.

If you get a chance, go somewhere for what's called a pre-college summer camp or program. Some cost money, but some - like mine this summer - are competitive for a scholarship to attend. All I had to do was get myself there and bring my sheets, towels and clothes.

Start looking early, as soon as February or even December. It's worth it just to experience life as a (sort of) college student, away from your family and out on your own.

Pockets for all

Basketball shorts are great for comfort but terrible for phones, wallets and keys. Let's hear it for pockets.

Cargo pockets down low on the side of your legs with Velcro are my favorites, or zippers. Not buttons; who has time to button a pocket? Snaps never work for long.

Back pockets are good, and deep side pockets are the best.

Mostly, the more the better.

Yea for duvets

Looking for a shortcut? Get a duvet. It's like a pillowcase for a fluffy blanket. Make your bed in 10 seconds. Bonus is that it's harder to lose socks and stuff. I can see the need for one in my dorm room.

Here, go crazy at Ikea

Paypal debit card

If you carry around gift cards from relatives, you may discover, like I did, that the longer you carry them around the more the fees reduce the balance, until when you finally use it you've only got like $4.26 left to spend. Likewise, gift Mastercards are a problem because if you lose them they spend just like cash.

My new solution is a Paypal debit card, which is PIN protected. Your parent can set it up for you tied to an existing account, then transfer money to your card immediately whenever you need it. Of course, this means that they can monitor how you spend it, but you probably are going to use it for gas and food anyway, right?

More info here

Getting the hang of laundry

OK, I know how to separate the lights and darks. I even know about different water temps. That's not the point.

Here's how to knock it out. Buy the sheets that go in the washer and the dryer. They have the laundry soap for the washer AND the fabric softener for the dryer.

Use cold water for everything. Keeping the really dark stuff separate from the really white stuff is usually best, unless you're in a huge hurry and you don't care.

Hang up the t-shirts straight out of the washer if you don't want them to shrink.

Hang everything up right out of the dryer and you won't look like a wrinkled mess, unless that's the look you're going for.

There, you're done. You're welcome.

No rest for the almost-adults

With some encouragement (OK, a lot of encouragement) I'm planning a summer that, like every summer for the past few years, is a little more work and a little less play. Is this what growing up looks like?

I'm still counting on hanging out by a pool somewhere as often as I can, but I've got a lot of ground to cover.

Getting my drivers license, a week long PSAT prep class, and two different summer camps - one for materials science (where I hope to learn exactly what that is) and the other a two week engineering camp that I actually had to compete to get into BUT the scholarship pays for everything and I get to live in a dorm and see what being an environmental engineer is like.

Eleven weeks seems like a long time at the beginning of summer, doesn't it? I'm going to make this one count.

Comments

Although it's been fun, I'm finding that I just don't have the time to moderate the comments. (Yes, the comments DO need to be moderated, trust me)

I had no idea so many people would be interested, and I'm kind of amazed at all the comments. Sounds like I'm on to something, and even though I enjoy hearing from some of you this isn't something I've got the time to keep doing.

So I've taken down all the comments, and disabled comments for all my posts. Not to be mean, but some of you might need to start your own blogs. Sorry, it was either moderate or stay in school. Email me if you just feel you need to...