http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool All about life at school and in the San Diego Unified School District Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:06:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've been a busy guy lately, and neglecting my blogger duties.  I was nudged by my friend Rich Brady to take a position about tomorrow's election, in particular, the school board issues.  He sent me this email, and I figure he says it pretty well:   The teacher's union is trying to ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/uncategorized/election/ Yes, I'm prolific today. It's a topsy-turvy world in which we live, and I'm always surprised when women are treated unfairly because of gender roles.  My turn for a surprise was yesterday. In our family, I'm the home parent.  Yes, I have a business I keep alive, but mostly between 8 am ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/uncategorized/ive-just-always-called-the-mom/ I like Terry Grier.  I do not know him well, but I'm aware we share similar views on two critical issues:  Unions and barbeque.  Don't laugh- if you don't shares these issues, you may not understand.  And while I "don't want to get all biblical on ya" there is something ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/uncategorized/its-the-grier-phone-o-rama/ I have before me on my embarrassingly cluttered desk (one of three desks of the same ilk- clutter is a hobby-no, an avocation!) the results of our child's Standardized Testing and Reporting Program test.  My teacher friends will continue to be irritated by me- I like this.  I like having these results. I know- it's ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/uncategorized/our-stars-student-report/ Our son's name has not changed- nor his birthdate, or his emergency contact information, his health insurance, his conduct, his doctor. His social security number, he's still not taking medications, and he still brings his own lunch, but probably doesn't eat it, and that's not changed either.   Why am I filling out all ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/general-discussion/his-name-has-not-changed/ Food for thought- this video was posted in November of 2007, and is already looking tired.  No, I don't believe in throwing books away, but yes, I agree with using new tools to teach.  Tools with which students are familiar, but many teachers are not.   [youtube width="425" height="355"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8[/youtube] http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/general-discussion/interesting-video/   Are you police officers?  No, ma'am, we're musicians. The Blues Brothers   Are you an education expert? No,I'm not an educator, I'm a photographer.  And a dad, cook, chauffeur, nurse, mechanic, IT wizard, handyman and blogger.  I wanted to know what teachers need to tell me and other parents, based on their observations in the ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/uncategorized/how-can-we-help-our-child-from-a-teachers-point-of-view/ Anyone catch the Union Tribune Q&A with Camille Zombro on Thursday, July 31st?  I thought I might provide a little translation for folks who (like me) are still catching up on union-speak. But first, let me tell you the little I know about Zombro.  I like her.  I think she does ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/uncategorized/translation-service-press-1/ We're all able to take a shot at the Superintendent and the Board of Education.  It's not difficult, and there's plenty of fodder.  Everyone will, at one time or another, be able to come up with a reason to dislike their decisions and processes.   But after attending most of a workshop ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/uncategorized/yes-they-work-hard/ An advantage (there are many DISadvantages) of being a geek is immediacy. Today's example is this post, my first created entirely on iphone directly from a school board meeting. This is an amazing process, and makes me even more thankful that I'm a photographer and not a boardmember. There is ... http://pmbowers.com/lifeatschool/general-discussion/blogging-in-action/