Dear Diary

Last night I wrote a post that, upon re-reading it this morning, I realized had no business being up on the internet.  A blog should not be a diary.

DON'T Let Them Eat Cake

In my office, it is ALWAYS someone's birthday. Or someone is retiring.  Or someone got another degree, or got married, or had a baby.  There is ALWAYS a reason to party and ALWAYS a reason to eat cake and ice cream.  All of the newer people complain that they have gained weight since working here.  Macon County's obesity rate is almost 30% and this is reflected almost everywhere you go, be that to the office, the library, or the grocery store.  A very small number participated in the fitness challenge a few months ago, but no one turns down cake.  Elevators take our cake-eating butts up and down the measly four flights of stairs and the parking spots closest to the building are coveted by all.  Why can't we celebrate birthdays with watermelon and popcorn (NOT the movie theater butter kind)?  I can't lie, I always eat the cake, but at least I turned down the ice cream.

Side note: Government offices are behind the times in everything from fashion to computer software.  The PAPER!  Paper files filling entire offices and storerooms, paper print outs of every meetings' agendas and minutes, etc.  My vision of the future includes a tablet for every attorney and a smooth, updated programs for clerks and support staff to keep updated.  Yes, the system might crash, but it is not difficult to find a reliable place to back-up the system.  What if the building burns down with all the files?  It will be harder to back up all of those paper files!

UPDATE:  I decided that obesity rates would be an interesting addition to the community profile data.  I have found a wonderful site on the CDC website where you can see interactive maps of obesity by state and county for every state in the United States.  Macon County is a bright spot in the middle of Illinois. The only county in the state with an obesity rate of 29.7+.  Go Macon County! We're Number One!!!

Spirits Lurking Everywhere

Kindred Spirits, that is.  Today I spoke with a woman in my office- a very experience and intelligent attorney- with whom I agreed with at almost every turn.  We spoke, initially, about child support.  However, once business was finished, there was an off-hand comment made about politics.  Of course, I couldn't let that one lie once it was thrown out.  We touched on everything from the "debt" to the grant process and my future run for political office.  Getting to know someone who shares the same dreams and ideals as you is so rejuvenating.  It's like a fresh log placed on the fire within.  Right now, with my nose in my books instead of on the grindstone, my fire had started to weaken.  I manage to find so many people like I met today.  It restores my faith in humanity after sitting in this office where murder, assault, rape and so many other heinous crimes are discussed so casually.

I KHAN Do It!

The quantitative reasoning section of the GRE is just math, mainly algebra and geometry and data analysis.  Easy stuff, right?  Well its not as easy as I thought it would be, since the last math class I had was statistics in my first semester of college, almost five years ago now.  Yea, I remember that there IS such a thing as the quadratic formula and I remember that there IS an equation for the slope of a line, but NO, I couldn't have told you how to figure it out.

In my quest to re-learn the math I have forgotten over the years, I remembered a TED Talk I had seen on the Khan Academy.  Number one, if you dont' know what TED Talks are, get on there and look around- incredibly innovative ideas on ALL kinds of topics, from clean water to education and wireless electricity to economics.  Number two, if you don't know what Khan Academy is, get on there and look around!

Khan Academy is a learning site where the creator, Salman Khan, teaches through YouTube videos.  For example, I needed to learn the quadratic formula.  Khan academy is wonderful for learning math.  In his videos, he takes you step by step through the problems.  I am not sure how well this works when you are learning something for the first time, since I was relearning what I had learned in high school.  However, some teachers are using sites like Khan Academy to improve classroom productivity.  Students' "homework" becomes watching these videos and doing some practice problems online.  When they get back to the classroom, the teacher spends their time and energy in helping the students with what would usually be their homework.  Teachers basically become tutors.  This saves classroom time, and frustration at home.  I can't remember how many times my brother brought home homework that he didn't understand, and neither did my parents.  Even for students whose teachers don't use Khan Academy, the site is free and open to all.

I'm in love with Khan Academy.  If you create a login (you can connect using your Google account or Facebook account), you can earn points for every practice question you answer, and you can earn badges for  getting a certain number of points, or for watching so many minutes of video.  Anything you can turn in to a game or competition, I'm in.  I love to earn points for learning!  And I LOVE doing math.  My bedroom floor was littered with scratch paper as I tore through the practice questions.  The quantitative reasoning section is my favorite part of the GRE and hopefully I can get a score to prove as much.

First Attempt

Competition for high grades seriously limits the quality of learning at all levels of education.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

Sports motivate kids to work hard and dedicate their time, patience and energy in order to excel.  Many of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate youth to succeed in sports, should play a role in education.  Competition for high grades is an academic motivation to study harder, ask questions and to go above and beyond the usual expectations.  The best athletes don't simply go home after practice- they practice on their own, attend sports camps and play for fun on the side.  Likewise, the best students don't relax at home after school-  they get tutoring where needed, spend hours on projects and are inclined to academic past-times such as reading, writing, or playing games such as sudoku or scrabble.  Not everyone can play in the championship game, and not everyone deserves an A.  However, even second string deserves a chance to play, and everyone deserves a quality education.  Competitive grading works well for students with natural ability and strong intrinsic motivation for success in education, but this policy may leave behind many of the students who need the most help.

Competition for grades is an extrinsic motivator that taps into the intrinsic need to succeed.  As a straight-A student, I NEED to get that A.  Because this drive to succeed, I would do anything necessary to get it.  I would spend hours making a presentation polished and perfect.  Not only did I want to do well, I wanted to have the highest GPA, the highest ACT score and the most decorations at graduation.  Although this did not happen, that spirit of competition forced me to delve deep in to my school work where more than a little learning took place.  

Unfortunately, some students struggle more than others.  No matter how much extra time is put in, nor how many questions asked, some students are not able to reach the top level.  This spirit of competition may actually discourage them when they see others around them succeeding where they are not.  For this reason, there should be a limited number of grades available.  It is difficult to objectively say who deserves the limited number of As - should it be the student who works incredibly hard, but doesn't quite grasp the concept or the student who easy understands, but never goes out of his/her way to learn more?  This is not to say that all students like the former deserve As, or than none of the latter deserve them.  

Some of the most difficult teachers are those who only give out 3 As per semester.  In my experience, these are also the teachers who work the hardest to help those who WANT those As.  This does not mean that competitive grading works for all students, nor for all teachers.  This is a policy that could not be implemented as a standard which all teachers must follow, however, it works well for certain students and certain teachers willing to go above and beyond for the students.

I have presented my response honestly with no changes after the initial 30 minutes I was given.  At least my integrity will remain in tact, if not my self-delusion of intelligence.  

I could already critique myself as I was while writing it.  Don't talk about yourself so much.  You shouldn't write in an essay that you are a straight-A student, especially if the essay isn't very good!!! Too much time setting up the introduction with the crazy sports analogy, not enough time developing your two main points.  Also, the two main points contradict each other.

Jeeze louise!  This timed essay thing is stressful!  But I believe I would give myself a 4.  It is adequate for the limited amount of time given.  I believe I followed the task adequately.  The support for my first point was mainly based on my own experiences.  I am not sure this is necessarily a weakness of the essay.  The support for my second point is somewhat weak.  In my own experience with matters of education, competition for grades hardly seems like the most important topic, but this was the task assigned to me.

1400 or Bust

GRE GRE GRE GRE GRE. 

My mind needs to keep on this track for the next month and two days.  Thank goodness for Cassie Steele, who gave me a great tip this weekend.  She suggested I try Nummber2.com.  This is a free site that gives really easy and detailed explanations of the types of questions you are likely to run in to on the exam.  I have already started to work on some of the math and sentence completion questions.  I had no idea I was so bad at arithmetic!  I only scored in the 55 percentile.  The great thing is, it gives you more practice questions and it will track your improvements.  I did a little better with the sentence completion (76 percentile), but I'd like to get both scores above the 85 percentile.

As far as the analytical reasoning portion of the test, I may be "up a creek without a paddle" to use a cliche that is not allowed on the exam, or "screwed" which is slang, therefore also not advisable.  There are two essays: an issue analysis and an argument analysis.  You have 30 minutes for each section.  I can't even finish this blog post in 30 minutes, let alone write a concise, well thought out, well organized essay with evidence and support to back up my opinions.  I could possibly carry out this task in say, two hours.

In undergrad, I never put myself under pressure to write a paper.  I was always very good about time management because I know that I do not write well under pressure.  I am usually a meticulous writer, painstakingly choosing words that accurately depict the message I'm trying to convey.  I LOVE Microsoft Word.  I love spell check.  I love shift+F7 which allows me to browse the list of synonyms to help me vary my sentences. 

I will be taking this test on the computer, which is a definite advantage.  I have terrible handwriting, especially when I'm trying to write quickly.  I was able to almost completely give up handwriting when I purchased a netbook that was easily transportable.  My three-pound computer fit handily into my book bag and left space for my coffee cup on my desk.  Even now, when I take minutes at meetings, I prefer to bring my netbook along instead of wasting trees and whatever ink is made out of. 

The word processor for the GRE does have some basic essential functions such as cut/paste and undo.  The problem will be, not spelling and grammar- because you are allowed some minor mistakes- but sentence variation.  I tend to repeat myself.  HOWEVER is my favorite word.  THEREFORE, I need to use shift+F7 to learn some new transitions.

I am a bit curious to see what kind of score I'm able to earn.  Issue analysis is pretty much a hobby of mine, only I do this through conversation rather than by writing.  I LEARN by talking.  I am generally an audio learner, but this also applies to hearing my own thoughts.  I find it difficult to remember my own thoughts when I'm simply thinking them.  This is usually very annoying for everyone around me during test taking.  I mutter the questions out loud to myself and work out problems under my breath.  I always wished there were more oral exams in college.  Life is more of an oral exam.

For a bit of practice, I may start writing my 30 minute essays here and having my friends critique them.  Especially Pat.  Pat would not feel bad about ripping apart my silly 30 minutes essays.

What I Read = How I Feel

Goodness knows I can't get enough politics.  I watch Rachel Maddow religiously.  I read news stories online and whenever I get a hold of one, I'll read a newspaper -- a real live newspaper!  I picked up Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman at the library and a friend gave me What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank.  I didn't finish either of them before deciding I MUST put them down.

I agree with many things that they are saying, yes.  However, I get the most reading done in bed.  This means I wake up cranky from having fallen asleep to Thomas Frank's blatant sarcasm and disdain. Or I would wake up worried, yet optimistic from dreaming of our Hot, Crowded world and all of the work it would take to change the trajectory our nation and our planet is on. 

Of course, I can't always read Winnie-the-Pooh before bed.  ALTHOUGH the next book on my reading list IS The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.  Just having read the first 4 pages of the introduction, I can already tell this book will leave me feeling relaxed and happy in the morning.

Side Note:  While searching for a picture for The Tao of Pooh, I ran in to this delightful blog: The Broke and the Bookish.  I shall visit again.  I also like the concept and maybe, considering how much I love to read, I will add a bit of this to my blog.  I also hope to turn this blog in to a crafter's blog too, but I haven't been reading or crafting fast enough to do either!

Although I should not be spending my free time reading, blogging, crafting and puzzling, but instead I should be studying diligently for the GRE.  However, I just started reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.  I needed a new series to get in to now that Harry Potter is completely over and done.  These books are pretty dang long, so they better deliver.  I should guess that, at the rate I usually read books, it will take me 3-8 months to read A Game of Thrones, depending on its level of awesomeness, the number of books I read on the side, and the amount of studying I actually end up doing.  Also, I think "level of awesomeness" will be my rating system from now on.