Summer Vacation - Newspaper Article for June

Here's my newspaper article for this month - published yesterday.  I suspect the newspaper holds a contest to find the blandest headlines possible for my articles - that's the one part I don't get to write.  This one was entitled "Teacher Thankful for Summer Vacation".  That's breaking news, right there!

***

I know a teacher who found herself in an awkward position a few summers ago.  It was late July and she was in the midst of a group of friends at church making small talk when one asked her, “So how’s it going with you?”

“Well, things are fine but I am so bummed that there are only two weeks of vacation left,” she replied sadly. 

Instead of pity, cold stares and dropped jaws greeted her comment.  It quickly dawned on this teacher that she was speaking to some folks who received a mere two weeks of vacation time in total each year in their own jobs.  She wanted to crawl under a rock. 

                Like most of us teachers, I suspect, this particular woman had lost sight – at least momentarily - of how very fortunate we are to have such a long break from work. [If I had more space available for my column, I would have mentioned that this particular teacher is usually a very upbeat person who rarely complains - which is remarkable, considering she is married to my brother.]

                Even non-teachers often claim that educators are underpaid.  That may be so, but it wouldn’t hurt to pause and factor in the very real benefits of our ample time off.

 It is difficult to put a price tag on summer break.  My family and I just returned from a three week trip.  We flew to Seattle for a nephew’s graduation and then rented a van for the journey home.  We drove through Montana, spent a day in Yellowstone, saw the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, and visited relatives I hadn’t seen in years.  It was the sort of trip that will linger in our memories for decades.

                And when I got back, did I have to jump out of bed the next morning and then rush back into the rat race?  No.  I still had six or seven weeks before the school year starts!

                I’m not trying to rub it in – I am simply saying that I am likely to take such a blessing for granted, while those in the 9 to 5 world might have a better appreciation of its true value.

                Whenever I am tempted to grumble about my profession, I remember that I have students in class only 180 days a year.  I don’t know if this has ever occurred to you, but the math is pretty simple:  On average, I work every other day.

                Not only that, but my days off include each and every major holiday – without question.  I have never been called into work on Christmas Eve.  And while many workers must double down when the weather gets snowy, spending extra time at work and in travel, I get a phone call telling me to sleep in.

                I really am not trying to make you jealous.  I guess my point is not just that I’ve got it pretty good – but that I know it.   And I am grateful.  I just think the general public should hear that from a teacher at least every once in a while.

June Trip Highlights in Pictures - Part 1

I was going to do ONE entry of highlights from our June trip but quickly realized the trip was TOO GOOD to get by with just one.  In fact, it may take 4 or 5!  We thank God for such an awesome family time and we know we are privileged to have been able to make the trip.

My brother Ryan and his wife Suzan and their two boys, Jonathan and Spencer, have lived in Seattle area for years now and Melissa and I had never had the opportunity to visit them.  So when Jonathan's high school graduation approached, Melissa and I thought, "This would be a good time to go."  (I have sometimes been guilty of missing important milestones, such as weddings or reunions of various sorts, only to deeply regret it later.)  Our reasoning was that if we are going to Haiti (and we are!), it is never going to get MORE convenient to go to Seattle than it is right now.

At first, we thought it should just be Melissa and me going - for the sake of finances.  But it just didn't sit right with either of us to go off for a week without the kids.  So we ultimately decided to fly out to Seattle and, after a week there, rent a van and drive back to Indiana.  (It was like one of those home improvement projects that starts out small and then just keeps growing!)  In the end, we were away from home for just two days under three weeks time.

We hit Seattle at a time when ALL the rhododendrons were in bloom - and they are EVERYWHERE!  And HUGE!  This picture was taken in my brother's backyard.

One of the greatest things about my brother's house is the fact that all it takes is a short (but steep) hike downhill to get to the water.  Several days we were more than content to simply spend time on the beach there at low tide - exploring all the creatures we never get to see in Indiana.

The only down side to our visit was the timing - Suzan and Spencer were in the midst of the final days of school yet and Jonathan was doing all the things a graduate wants to do.  So that left Ryan to play with us - and I have to reluctantly admit that he turns out to be an excellent tour guide.  Here is The Drama Queen (age 10) admiring a view of Gig Harbor.

The one evening our kids got to spend with their cousin Spencer they thoroughly enjoyed.  Ryan and Suzan took us to a Korean restaurant and the kids sat at a separate table with Spencer.  Not sure what was going on at that table, but the kids couldn't stop talking about Spencer afterwards.

There was a big open house planned for Jonathan Friday night after the graduation and Suzan talked me into decorating the cake.

Part of Ryan's expertise as a tour guide lies in his knowledge of all the best places to eat.  The kids all enjoyed a donut outside of Sluy's Bakery in Poulsbo.  You can tell from this picture that Dats (age 11) is eyeing his sister's jelly donut.  He seems to be thinking, "What are the chances I can get my hands on her leftovers??"  Aunt Suzan was laughing at this pic later and Dats exclaimed, "And I got it, too!"

Uncle Ryan earns brownie points with The Princess (age 5).

The handsome graduate with his two beautiful cousins just before leaving for the graduation ceremony.

The graduate with his proud Grandma.

Uncle Ryan treated us to a drive-on ferry ride from Bremerton to Seattle.  Hear the ferry pulls into Bremerton as we get ready to board.

Uncle Ryan bought some popcorn for the kids to throw to the seagulls.  The kids were thrilled - they don't know that seagulls are just rats with wings...

Approaching Seattle from the water.

Melissa wanted to bring back some flowers for Suzan - and Pike Place is certainly the destination for flowers!

Piti Piti

Last July when we had the kids in Haiti for two weeks, we met a small group from Spokane, Washington.  These folks had developed an ongoing relationship with a pastor and his church in Godin.  We had the opportunity to help a bit with the VBS that the Spokane folks had funded.

While there in Haiti, the Spokane group did a lot of videotaping.  Now they've put that footage together and are using it to promote their work with an ongoing terracing project there in Godin.  I came across the finished video on Facebook earlier today.  Their website is pitipitievents.org.  The "piti piti" comes from a Haitian saying: "Piti piti zwazo fe nich" - meaning "Little by little the bird builds its nest."

I think all six of us appear - briefly - in the video.  Also, there are quite a few scenes (especially towards the end) which were filmed on and around the OMS mission compound where we will be living.  The video even gives a taste of Haiti's difficult history.

Check out their website HERE - and consider giving to help continue the work.

Here's the video:

A Perfect Day

Last Sunday was one of those days that struck me as being about as beautiful as life gets here on earth.  I kept telling the kids that we were truly privileged to be in a position to where we could be on a trip like we have been on.  (I am writing this on Wednesday evening - June 13 - and we don't expect to be home yet until late Sunday night. We left home two weeks ago today!)


I have to record the highlights of the day in an effort to capture a bit of that perfection and preserve it here in a way that I am sure will escape my unaided memory:


We arrived in Custer, South Dakota Saturday evening after a beautiful drive across Wyoming.  We had rented a cabin for two nights in Custer sight unseen.  Well, there were pictures online, but you always know that the pictures are capturing only the best angles. 



So a picture from this angle might appear on the website...



But not from this one!

And you might expect a cabin to have a kitchen, but it turns out the "kitchen" fits in the corner of one of the bedrooms!

But the kids loved the place because they could run around outside and there was a pond to poke around in and a few rocks to climb on.  So we were happy enough.  And I actually liked the challenge of cooking breakfast - because you've got to have a hot breakfast when you are "camping" - so I used the charcoal grill out back to do some bacon and eggs in a frying pan I bought at the Dollar General.


The Princess looked so sweet early in the morning with her kitten from Gig Harbor, Washington.

After breakfast, we headed into Custer State Park and took the Wildlife Loop road.  The donkeys are always waiting for a handout.  They surround a vehicle and beg for food.  Here Dats (age 11) feeds one a bit of bread, apparently a bit disgusted by the experience.  We had donkey slobber all over the van's windows by the time we moved on.

We had been a bit disappointed in not seeing as many animals in Yellowstone as we had hoped to (no moose and no bear!) so it was good to see actual wildlife along the Wildlife Loop.

We saw tons of buffalo (literally!).  And the kids thought the calves were cute.  At one point, a herd surrounded our vehicle.  At another, a herd bolted into a stampede across a road where we had just passed.

As soon as we got a little further into the park and started to see the large rock outcroppings, our little monkey boy, Ida (age 8), was almost visibly vibrating with anticipation of all the climbing to be done.  I was almost afraid to let him out of the van for fear he would disappear.  The kids all loved the climbing - including The Princess, who proved she could keep up with the best.  It gave Mom and Dad the nerves, but on our perfect day there wasn't so much as a skinned knee or a turned ankle.

On to Mount Rushmore around noon.  The kids were duly impressed.

For me, part of the joy and "perfection" of this day was sharing with my kids a part of my past that I love. My dad grew up in South Dakota so we traveled there often when I was a kid and every few years we'd get out to the Black Hills.  So on this trip, it warmed my heart to hear my kids say they liked the Hills better than Yellowstone.  The other joy for me was exploring some aspects of the Hills I had never seen before - including a trail at Mt. Rushmore that carries you a bit closer to the carving.  The kids and I hiked this little trail while Mommy enjoyed some alone time ... apparently with a bowl of ice cream back at the gift shop!

Speaking of gift shops, each of the kids has put a lot of thought into what souvenirs they might want.  They each had $10 from Uncle Ryan and Aunt Suzan, $12.50 from Grandma Gross and $10 from Mommy and Daddy - which we promised before we knew they'd be getting money from other sources!  Among other items, Ida got himself an eagle because we saw eagles in Washington...

The Princess got herself a "fairy dog", as she called it.  (She was unfamiliar with the word "prairie" apparently.  Later, we all laughed when she was looking for "Big Orange Sheep" when her siblings were looking for Big HORN Sheep.)

After a picnic lunch, we climbed a bit of rock and spent some time reading from Scripture together and admiring God's creation.  Psalm 19: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Next we went to my favorite spot in all the Hills - Sylvan Lake.  It's a small lake with a trail that loops around the water.

The Drama Queen (age 10) poses for a picture on top of some rocks at the far end of the lake.  This was the site of the only injury of the day ... some chunky kid whipped a stone toward the water and managed to hit me in the arm instead, mainly because I was standing between him and the water.  I survived.

The kids were excited later as we drove through a tunnel on the Needles Highway to see a mountain goat up close.

As we were driving back to Custer for dinner, Dats screamed, "Turn around, turn around!" "What?  Why?"  "I just saw a mountain lion!"  We whipped around and parked and Mommy took this picture.  We watched in awe from a distance while the thing scratched around in the pine needles.  Then the creature lifted its head ... and it was a dog.

We grabbed some hotdogs and bratwurst (and supplies for smores) from a grocery in Custer and headed back to the cabin to build a fire.

A strong wind whipped the fire up so hot that Dats had to hide behind a rock to roast his dog.

After we tucked the kids in, Melissa and I had a few quiet moments to enjoy the campfire by ourselves before turning in for the night and ending our perfect day. 

Trip Update from Bozeman, Montana

We spent the week with my brother Ryan and his wife Suzan and their sons, Jonathan and Spencer.  What a fantastic week it was, too.  I am too tired to post any pictures at the moment, but I will when I get the chance.  The week there was better than we could have asked for.  Such beautiful surroundings and such generous hospitality!  Melissa and I had the chance to share about Haiti at Ryan's church last night at the Wednesday night prayer service and then Ryan treated us all to a treat at Dairy Queen.

This morning we hit the road to wind our way back to Indiana over the course of the next ten days or so.  Our first stop is here in Bozeman - which puts us about an hour and a half outside of Yellowstone Park.  It was a gorgeous drive today, making the time pass quickly considering the number of miles we covered. 

When we pulled away from Ryan's house this morning, we didn't get ten minutes down the road before The Princess (age 5) blurted out, "I miss Uncle Ryan!" The next thing I know, she and Dats (age 11) were both literally in tears.  It was so sweet. 

But like the old Bill Cosby routine about grandparents, I wanted to tell them, "This is not the same guy I shared a room with while we were growing up - this is an old guy trying to get into heaven."  Just kidding, Ryan!  You and Suzan were fantastic to us all and we love you guys.  We're so glad we finally took the opportunity to visit you all!

Seattle Trip

Here's what we came for:

My nephew, Jonathan, graduated from high school last night.  The ceremony was beautiful and meaningful.  Too often, graduations I have attended (including my own high school graduation) have been rushed and all too brief.  This one savored the significance of the milestone. 

And beyond the graduation, there have been all sorts of fringe benefits.  Neither Melissa nor I have ever been to this part of the country, so every new experience is such a treat for us.  And my brother Ryan loves to show off this corner of America, so he makes an excellent tour guide.

The rhododendrons are HUGE here and they are all in bloom right now.  This one is in my brother's back yard.

It's a bit treacherous to get to the beach from my brother's house, but it CAN be done.

The kids enjoyed turning over rocks to watch all the tiny crabs scatter.

The Drama Queen was willing to pick up crabs too small to give a her a pinch.

Dats at Gig Harbor.

Gig Harbor panorama.

Uncle Ryan took us to Sluy's Bakery in Poulsbo yesterday.  It made us VERY happy.

Jelly donut for the Princess.  Dats has already finished his apple streudel and is wondering if the Princess will finish her donut or if he will.  A minute later, he did.

On the rock at the harbor of Poulsbo.  It was a slippery rock - I had to pull everybody up.

This is how Dats and Ida have been spending any free time - reading through the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes comics.

Plagiarism

We are in Seattle for my nephew's graduation and I will pull together some photos and thoughts regarding this adventure soon.  For now, I will post here my newspaper article from last week.  It's certainly nothing profound, but I guess it does remind me of the effects of The Fall and how tempting it is to take short cuts and tell lies:

It is May and I have wrapped up my grading of research papers just in time to tackle final exams.  In my last article I shared my perception that research papers are even less popular with English teachers than with the students, due to the time and mental energy consumed by the evaluation process.  (This is when I dream of being a gym teacher.)  To be done properly, each 5 or 6 page paper I receive requires not only grading with a fairly complex rubric, but also a healthy dose of detective work.  I have to be on guard against plagiarism.

 At the heart of the research paper assignment lie fundamental cognitive skills undeniably worthy of several weeks of class time:  analyzing the words and ideas of others, processing them accurately, and then synthesizing them into a coherent and independent piece of writing.

Plagiarism is a short cut which bypasses all that is worthwhile about the research paper.

My students are generally honest and hardworking, but in the age of the internet, the temptation to steal another person’s words or ideas has never been greater, and the means to do so never easier:  a simple copy and paste job can add multiple paragraphs to an anemic paper. And just like that, the five page minimum is within reach.

Fortunately, spotting the most blatant plagiarism is actually fairly easy.   Once I received a paper where all the plagiarized paragraphs were printed in a recognizably different font.  And in blue.  Another time I received a short story in which my Hoosier student had unexplainably picked up the British penchant for spelling “color” as “colour” and “favorite” as “favourite”, etc.  But even when there aren’t such obvious signs, it is not terribly difficult for me to recognize the difference in writing style and vocabulary between a high school sophomore and someone with a PhD.  Finding the proof becomes the time-consuming part.

The funniest thing about plagiarism is that it is always “accidental”.  Always.

 I caught a rough draft a few years ago that was entirely a free paper found online.  (Apparently, some students don’t realize that I can Google too.)  When confronted, this student stared at the paper in disbelief a brief moment and then explained, “I can’t believe my friend did this to me.  I gave her my handwritten rough draft to type since I don’t have a computer.  She must have run out of time and just printed this out with my name on top.  I’m sorry – I should have looked at it before I turned it in.”

“Who was this friend?” I asked.

“You don’t know her; she goes to East.”

I was impressed.  An “F” for analyzing, processing and synthesizing, but an “A+” for impromptu creative storytelling.