Thursday Morning

Thursday morning.

I have suspended the housecleaners for the summer and I decide to vacuum this morning.

Find the vacuum cleaner, plug it in, move a bit of furniture.  Turn on the vacuum.

Turn off the vacuum because the dog is barking at it.  It's a toy.  I'd forgotten this.  Put the dog upstairs and shut the door.  Turn the vacuum back on.

Finish vacuuming the tile and move to the bedroom.  Turn off the vacuum to move the unfolded BOYS laundry (not my job to fold and put away -- their clothing, their job).  Turn on vacuum and vacuum the carpet around the bed.  Turn off vacuum because the NEW CARPET has unraveled and is now wrapped around the beater bar of the vacuum.

Go upstairs.  Find the business card for the carpet company.  Find the payment information on Quicken.  Look up the business hours – have to wait an hour before they’re open to call them and complain about my NEW CARPET that is fraying.

Go back downstairs.  Decide to take a photo of the damage; back upstairs.  Find the phone, back downstairs and take a couple of photos.  Back upstairs because if I don’t put my phone where I can find it, I will never find it.

Back downstairs.  Vacuum everywhere except the frayed part of the carpet.  Move to the media room; move furniture.  Notice the garbage hasn’t been emptied even though Tuesday’s job is to EMPTY all the inside garbage cans into the outside receptacles because WEDNESDAY is garbage day.  Empty the garbage.

Turn the vacuum back on and vacuum the media room, returning all the furniture to its correct position.  Vacuum the stairs.

Mentally note that I started the carpet removal project on the stairs four years ago and they are still only half finished.

Mentally note that the hole in the landing at the front door is getting bigger.

Mentally note that I’ll need the ladder to dust the entry way (this will likely never get done).

Mentally note that the un-carpeted part of the stairs needs to be cleaned, sanded, stained and sealed.  (This will likely never get done).

Decide to blog about this.  Actually, I was going to post it on Facebook, but it’s too long so I open a Word Document and blog about it.

Finish the stairs.  One toddler is crying because of the vacuum noise.  Phone alarm goes off; it’s time to take one kid to camp training.  Find phone, keys, purse, and wallet.  Drive to drop-off.

Return home, put things on floor up on the counter, remind 4 year old to go potty and start to vacuum again.  Toddler crying about vacuum.  Move couch and ask toddler to put the toys away that were under the couch.  Vacuum living room.  Toddler STILL crying about vacuum.  Send them all outside to play.

Now I need to make snack.  Wait.  I should call the carpet guy first.  Its 9:06 no one answers.  I leave a voicemail.  I hate voicemail.  Now I have to remember to follow up.

Snack.  I’ll pick strawberries from the garden.  Strawberries are mushy from too much rain.  Get enough for snack.  Have to clean them.  Toddler needs to go potty, can’t find her underwear and swears her cloths are too small.

Carpet guy calls back.  He can’t fit me in until July 1st.  When I tell him it’s likely a full fix and the guys didn’t leave any carpet pieces or my hemmed remnant (as promised), he has to call me back to reschedule.  I need to send him a photo of the damage.

Open up OneDrive to transfer photos for email.  Download, rotate and email photos.  Text husband to see if there are carpet scraps.  There are.  Wait for return phone call from carpet guy.

Snacks downstairs, outside.  Play in-and-out with dog who can’t decide where he wants to be.
Go downstairs, get clean couch throw.  Put couch throw over couch upstairs.  Remember I need to wash other cover; but I have to wait in line for laundry because someone’s load is in the wash.

Move dining room furniture to vacuum. Vacuum, then remember to move all the cords and toys that are left out.

Mentally note that I need to come up with lunch.

Two hours later and I’ve vacuumed the media room, bedroom, stairs, hallway, living dining and kitchen and nothing much else.

This is why I pay for housekeeping.  This is why my house always looks half-cleaned.  This is why I complete nothing.

***Very few dust bunnies were harmed in the creation of this post.  Those that are still alive will replicate and expand until it's no longer noticeable that I've even cleaned within 24 hours.***

Activity Day

I’m not sure I understand the purpose of school anymore.  Today, my son is home from school (with my knowledge and approval) because it’s “Activity Day” due to EOC testing.  End of Course exams for freshman who didn’t pass the 8th grade math/Algebra 1 EOC or those students who took Biology or Geometry and need to pass the EOC for that course.  The students that don’t need to take these exams have Activity Day.

When my son attended the Activity Day last semester, he was hoping to get some finals study in, help with class issues, workshops or sheets to work on for classes he was struggling in.  Instead they played games and then had field day on the football field.  Clearly a good use of pre-finals time for students.

My son passed the 8th grade Math EOC in 8th grade.  He didn’t take Biology this year – it’s mostly a 10th grade class.  Currently his grade in 9th grade Algebra is a C-; in English a D and a C in French 1.  The other grades are A’s and B’s (Band, PE and Science).  He’s a freshman in High School.

Here is the schedule for EOC testing on Wednesday, June 4th:
(From the LWSD website )

Wednesday, June 4 

EOC Biology 

Students will be tested in classrooms. We will be on an alternate bell schedule. 

EOC Exam 7:30 – 10:24 

Lunch 10:30 – 11:00 

Tutorial/Finals Prep 11:06 – 12:30 

For students not testing, the library and Career Center will be open, 7:30 – 

12:00 

My heartburn with this is that’s it’s a waste of a school day just before finals.  Why not have the students who don’t need to take these tests in study hall or finals work-shops or; here’s a thought a regular learning day?

I know, those students who are testing will miss all the instruction for the one day and it gives the others an unfair advantage.  Well, that might be, but ACTIVITY DAY???

First of all, this is a Wednesday.  It’s already a short day in our District (LEAP Day – Learning Enhancement and Academic Planning).  Students are dismissed 1.5 hours earlier on every Wednesday in the district as a “teacher professional development day or a day of professional learning”.  Every.Wednesday. during the school year.  To make this work, the classes that are usually 50-55 minutes are reduced to 25 minutes.  Did I mention this was EVERY Wednesday in the school year?  EVERY level of school is included.

So, what are the teachers doing during the regular school hours (that they would usually be teaching classes) that they can’t hold regular classes?  Are there THAT many students in 9th grade math classes that the classrooms would be nearly empty?  Are there THAT many 8th graders that failed the 8th grade EOC?

I’ll renew my suggestion that instead of having a day that the students consider unnecessary, why not make it another regular school day but have them focus on studying for finals or working on class issues they haven’t understood or resolved yet?

And WHY wasn’t something sent home to the parents explaining this?  Allowing us the choice to opt out or ask questions?  How many students stayed home today because it was a waste of their time? According to my informal FB poll 5 parents kept their kids (9 total) home today (various grade levels) because of the lack of school classes.  During school hours.  On a school day.

Meanwhile, RHS is looking at changing the lunch schedule for the 2014-15 year to give students more time (30 minutes, once a week) to meet with teachers if they’re struggling.  They’re doing this because they want to reduce the almost 30% failure rate at the high school.  1 in 3 students are failing AT LEAST ONE course.  2500 (approximate) students at the school and roughly 800 of them are failing at least one course in a quarter.

But of course, let’s have them play games and have shortened class days because of testing.