Humming Along

Well, the new job is humming along. Keeping me very busy but I do like it a lot. I'm not sure exactly what I am going to be doing each day when I go in which is 100% different than when I was teaching. I often know some of things occurring in the day but not how filled up the day will get. I like the people I work with. They are all very interesting and have different personalities from those that I used to work with. I guess that's just moving from one profession to another.

The students are interesting too. They all have different goals than the career ed people do. More basic goals -- learning English so they can move their lives and the lives of their children and/or families forward in the world.

The teachers are amazing and extremely patient. Teaching English to adults is almost like teaching English to kindergartners. You literally almost have to start at the beginning.

Last week went by so fast, Friday seemed like it should have only been Tuesday. It was a busy week but very fun. I've stopped putting in the 13 hour days -- well for now. But when major registration comes again, I'll probably volunteer for the same hours. We have to get the job done and I like to feel like I have accomplished something each day. Some days more accomplishments are achieved than others but I always go home feeling like something got done and there's a place to start up again tomorrow.

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1.03.01

Well, I'm off to new adventures these days. I got a new job as a coordinator for adult education in my school district helping out with ABE, GED, ESL and high school completion programs. So far it's really fun and I'm learning a lot. It's been very busy and I'm extremely tired but next week we'll see how things all come out. We've been registering students and hiring teachers and getting ready for a new and busy year. Tuesday will be an extremely long and very busy day. We have to get the students into the classes before class is over. One of the schools makes the students go to the office before they can go to class but the other school just sends them right to class. The first will probably take most of the morning to get the students into the classes while the others will be able to start almost right away. Hopefully the students will be patient at school number one. I'll be at school number two in the morning so I'll miss the major chaos at school number one. I have to do testing of more students at school number two and I have to do the same at school number two in the afternoon. Then I'm on my own at night at school number one. It should be an interesting evening.

I do really like the job so far but it is really different than teaching. I still get to meet students and new people and people that are very appreciative of the opportunities adult education offers them to better themselves and their education. I cannot believe the number of students we have that have never had an opportunity to attend even one year of formal education in their countries. Women especially seem to be out of the education loop in many countries.

I will update how things go next week on the following weekend. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be wiped out next week too.

Iowa Living

Okay it was just for a week and there was a lot of visiting and napping but I had a great time. Can't wait for retirement to get moved there full time. The weather was great. A few too many mosquitoes and earwigs but good pesticides will take care of that problem. Napping with the stars would have been fun but the mosquitoes would have enjoyed that way too much. I really had a great time and can see that retirement in Iowa will be a helluva lot of fun. Well and some work but I won't have to worry about getting to work the next day or whatever. Four more years at least that's what I'm hoping and that will fly by if the speed my vacation went by is any indication. I will have to find something to occupy my time a little bit. Some hobby. Maybe mint making or cookie making or something fun. I'm open for suggestions. I like crafts. Wouldn't mind a business that wasn't too time-consuming. I'll have to think about it.

Wow, just went back in my blog history and found this from 2010.  And according to this -- I'm right on schedule!!!

Sprinklers, sprinklers everywhere but not a drop hitting the yard!

All right so maybe the title is a little over broad. Water is hitting the yard but mostly in one spot. That is not a good thing. Before long I will have a brown and green striped lawn. Doesn't that sound interesting. The problem with working on sprinklers is that I usually end up wetter than the yard. Ziggy might have the right idea. But instead I called Wes. He definitely knows what's wrong but who knows if I'll be able to fix it. Might be better to just get a new one and replace it.

The heat is on out here in sunny Cali now. Three days of 90's and I'm dying already complaining. But at least we made it into June before I had to break down and turn on the air conditioning. That helps with the electric bill for the year a little bit anyway. Can't wait for vacation though. It's always nice to get away for a little bit although I should stay here this year and get some things done on my yard. By the time I get to Iowa, get rested up from the trip, visit relatives , get stuff to do projects, it's too late to actually finish the projects. Maybe it would be better to just send out drop-in invitations to the relatives and let them come see me if they want to see me. And then when they get there, put them to work! :-). Now I'm thinking smart! Happy summer!

Sad Times at L-M High School

What a terrible an tragic loss Allen Petersen will be to the school and the community. I didn't know the man but if is Facebook tribute page is anything to go by, he must have had one profound influence upon a lot of lives. And poor Kelsey. I feel so badly for her as well. Accidents like this are so tragic. Kelsey so young just beginning the future Mr. Petersen has helped her to find. And Allen in such good health going into those years of your life which I embarked upon last year where you start reflecting on what you've done and seeing that you still have a lot of things to do so you better get moving -- as he was out getting ready for bike riding season and Ragbrai. It really hits you in the face with the fact that you really should live each day as if it were your last. We mere mortals are not in charge of those decisions. We are here to serve His purpose. And when He decides He needs us elsewhere, we will go.

Jessica lost her Grandma the same day Laurens lost their science teacher. Wonder if the people that die on the same day having a meeting when they get to heaven. Kind of like an orientation. Something to let you know what your new job in heaven is going to be. Here I am not planning to die any time soon and I'm trying to figure out what my ever after job will be! Sure does put things into perspective.

May those who have been lost this week rest in peace...

Coldest May on Record

Sorry my Iowa, friends, apparently mother nature has things a little mixed up this year. We are getting Iowa weather and Iowa is getting California weather. Well I'm gonna enjoy every minute of it because once mother nature gets things turned around, it will probably shoot right to the 100's and stay there!

Okay, there's the weather report. Now on to the diet report. Okay, that's enough of that. Now on to the work front. Okay, that's enough of that. Now on to my brats. They are lying on the floor backs to each other with the little man checking out whether there is a threat coming from mom. There is a large heart shaped cookie at stake here.

Yes, it's been one of those days I'm not really sure what happened. But most of it wasn't too good and I don't really wanna talk about it until I've had a little time to digest it a little more -- oh, God, not back to the diet thing again!

Have a really great day!

It Feels Like Friday

Oh, yes, last post said this week would be a new adventure. Feels like it should be Friday!! And the cartoon -- I think I'm up a rung or two on the faking it ladder this week!

Well, I think once operator error with the computers gets resolved, we'll be in good shape. There were a few glitches and tech support was really "John"ny on the spot! I'm so appreciative that we have good administration at my school who is very quick to respond. Custodial staff was also great to get things moved around where I hope they will work. You know how it is when you move into a new place. You kind of have to live in it for a while before you get to know if it's gonna work or not. I'm not sure how I'm going to lecture. It's going to be a real pain. The room is huge and the computers are far away from where you are supposed to lecture in the classroom. I guess I'll figure it out as time goes on. I might have to use Synchroneyes and just capture their screens and broadcast right in front of them. Solves another problem with computer lectures -- students not paying attention! They have to when you capture their screen. You have control of their machine.

Well hopefully the rest of the week will smooth out and I will get everything settled into place.

New Adventure

This week brings a new adventure for me at work. I will be teaching four new curricula: Excel (I've used the old Excel and have taught the basics before, but I haven't taught the advanced features), PowerPoint (I've used this endlessly so am pretty familiar with 2003 but haven't used 2007 much), Publisher (which is a fun program and I've used a lot but again not much of the 2007) and the final uncharted territory of Web Page Design. I have taken a couple of web page design classes. I've done a couple of web pages through Google and Yahoo and I've altered my Avon web page using web design skills but I've never taught the class. It will be an adventure.

Still swinging in the wind regarding whether I have a job next year or not. We got our second and final "we aren't inviting you back" notice although I haven't picked mine up yet. Just have to go with the flow for now and cross that bridge when I come to it. I have options but none of them are the best.

Life is like a box of chocolates -- I just hope I like the inside of this one!

The True Reason for the Blog

Yup, Adult Education really isn't my first priority this year. It is very important and I love my job and the students I work with. They are both very important to me and my reason for being who I am. However, I really started this blog because my intent is to get serious about losing a bunch o' weight this year. My big hang up is stress. But the brutal realization has finally hit me -- I will always have stress in my life. I need to get a handle on it or I will be dead in ten years. Diabetes, you know. Well it's not really bad yet, but it will get that way if I continue on as I am now. My doctor will surely kill me the next time I go in. I was supposed to go in February but I've been putting it off because I knew I haven't been following any diet -- diabetes conscious or otherwise. Today it hit me.

I will go to the doctor and do those blood tests this week or next. After I get back from Iowa, I'm putting in a visit to Jenny Craig -- okay, that sounds a lot like putting things off yet again. I'll make that Jenny appointment this week and see if they'll work with me for keeping the budget low at least until this fall. If they can't keep it around $50 a week, I might have to wait until September. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I must take action now or face me fate. I will not whimp out like so many have bariatric surgery. That's just a bandaid. You really have to do the work to lose weight. You can't just take the bandaid treatment and continue on. It just doesn't work out over time. You learn absolutely nothing from that.

Now back to my horrible week. I have a ton of papers to grade, a decision to make on my job, my health to straighten out -- wonder what else will crop up by tomorrow morning!

Beautiful Day

Awww, another day in paradise! Although a little windy, it is beautiful out. The sun is shining, the birds are singing -- oh, and the grass is growing. Going to have to work on a haircut for that. It will be a day of outdoor therapy and stress relief for me today. I was planning to go to church this morning but got a call from my Aunt in Iowa. It was great to hear how she was doing. She's getting up there in years but she's doing fine. Hope I'm doing that well at her age! Well, off I got to proceed with a haircut for the lawn and a trim for it's sideburns! Hope everyone is having a great day!

S**T Does Run Downstream!

Well I've taken a bit of a break from the susie sunshine department. Things got a little gloomier last week. Kind of like a waterfall -- things are really running downstream now! Sounds like the school districts are all looking at two time funds to take now instead of counting on the prez coming through for them with a little more cash. So they'll take the bulk of the Tier III funding and run. Wonder what happens when 2012-13 comes and they have no adult ed program to allocate money to? Just a thought. A program that came into existence 150 years ago purely to train the immigrant population in California so they could find productive jobs is slowly disappearing. Within a year the remnants will disappear like the dodo bird. Wonder what will happen in ten years when the state figures out that they need a program to help their new immigrants assimilate. And when they figure out that their non high school grads finally grew up and now need some help completing their high school education requirements so they can take care of all the old farts in the state? Things are going to get interesting. Or maybe we are looking for Armageddon to put in an appearance before all that happens. Oh, how my peaceful little home in Iowa is looking better and better! Too bad I can't magic fast forward to 55 1/2 so I can happily retire.

The Future of Adult Education in California

California is kind of unique in the wonderful adult education system it has. There are the usual university and college systems which are, of course, adult education. There are also the community colleges which help with vocational training and transfer courses for college and university at a savings to the student and their parents. Of course that is also adult education. But California has a unique adult education system that has been around for over 150 years. It came into existence basically to help immigrants learn English and then get job training to become productive and contributing members of their new home.

The California Legislature took steps last year that seriously maim this system and actually wiped it out in some cases. Adult Education was placed into the third tier of the flexibility options for education spending dollars. This gave school districts the choice of how to use the money that had been earmarked to be used just for adult education in years past. Many smaller school districts immediately did away with adult education programs and took the money to balance their K-12 budgets. Medium to large districts took measures to bring about a slow whittling away process of adult education in their districts. The first year was the grab of all the reserve funds. The second year (this year) has started the major inroads into the life of adult education programs.

The flexibility of adult education funding was legislated to last through the school year 2012-13. Some of the large programs may make it with a skeleton still in place and hopefully with a small amount of flesh left. The process though brings bad morale to the valuable staff are the adult education program facilitators. Pink slips are issued whether the teachers and office staff will have a job or not. The process demoralizes the teacher and office worker to such a state that it is difficult to hold out hope for a future for adult education.

The strong, however, believe there is a future. They know adult education plays a valuable role in the infrastructure of the education system in California. Most Californians who have not had a need to use adult education's services have no idea what a valuable jewel they have been providing to their fellow citizens. My challenge to Californians who have no idea what adult education does for the community is for them to ask an adult educator -- while you can still find one!

The Maiden Voyage

Since I'm new to the blog world, I'll start with a little about my work life. I've been teaching for 28 years. I spent a few years at a private school. First teaching and then as Dean of Instruction. That was fun but it was a private school and they oftentimes are rife with problems.

Next I moved on to a public school. California thankfully has had a fantastic adult education component to the school system. It's being mutilated a little this year and for the next few years but I'm hopefully the legislator and school leaders will see the error of their ways and restore adult education to their curriculum in its former glory. Adult education in California gives people a hand up to success. The focus is on new people in the country with citizenship classes, English as a Second Language training, older adult classes, adults with disabilities and vocational training. The last is the one I've given my life to. I first taught in the court reporting program which is where I had worked in the private sector. I'm currently working with the office occupations as the teacher of the accounting classes and coordinating the program. I've also taken on leadership roles at the school by serving on the WASC committee (next time around I'll be chairperson of the committee). I'm also the head teacher so I help administration out when they get pulled in too many directions.

I love my job and my students are interesting. Our adult education vocational students are looking for training to help them get back into the work world. Some have been raising a family, some have been laid off, some have had illnesses that require them to be retrained. My goal for my students is that they attain their goals with my assistance. It's extremely satisfying to help a student with new training and then see them find a job in that field.

Yes, I am in California -- land of the 12 point something unemployment rate at this time. It's been pretty hard for the students to find work. But if they are persistent, they will succeed. And things are starting to look better.

Okay. That's long winded synopsis of my major work life. Tune in tomorrow for the next installment!