Annoyances

[aome]

Spring has only barely started here, but I've already been dealing with nasty sinus headaches. I took Claritin for a couple of days, which seemed to help, but then have forgotten the past 2 days. Subsequently, I've had a horrible pounding headache for the past 4-5 hours, and Tylenol didn't help. I've just taken a second dose in hopes that maybe

Comments

[lls_mutant]

Your reply came in right before I was going to shut my computer off for the night last night- but that's AWESOME about 2 1/2 minutes! That IS huge, and I know they don't see it, but I'm right there with you in being proud of them! Wish I could shave 2 1/2 minutes off my 5K time. (Heck, wish I could shave it off my marathon time.)

Hopefully they will see it in time, and that MiniPlu will put it back into perspective.

Sucks that you had a rough race though! I hope things improve for you. (And I totally know what you mean about being wiped and then not being able to fall asleep. I can never sleep after a long run/race, even if I'm exhausted. Hopefully you'll crash hard tonight!)

The PSSAs sound insaaaaaaaane. We haven't had to deal with it too much yet, but that's just ridiculous. Ugh, educational law :P

[aome]

MiniPlu, alas, has always had the attitude of "If I can't be awesome at something right away, I don't want to do it." Among her complaints were, "I'm not running again until I can come in first." I tried to explain that only, like, five people at any given race ever expect to come in first, and everyone else is there just to participate, but she doesn't get it. I also pointed out that, no, I don't find running fun (only Will does) - I run for the sense of achievement. But, like you said, hopefully, as they get older, they'll appreciate the concepts, even if they don't go back to running. (I think Two would actually do well in cross-country as he gets older, but ... we'll see.)

Toby's in 2nd grade, right? You'll get your first dose of PSSA craziness next year, then. Whee! ;-)

[ceilidh]

I DESPISED monitoring tests. Kids can take all day if they want to, and the other kids in the room just have to sit there. They cannot leave, they cannot read a book, they cannot color or do ANYTHING. Except wait for that ONE KID to finish. Kids in un tested grades could not leave the room all day. They couldn't go to specials because all the special area teachers were monitoring tests and god forbid we make any noise. Teachers couldn't do anything either. We could not read, use computers or phones, plan lessons or grade papers... it was the most excrutiatingly boring thing I have ever done in my life and I totally don't miss it.

[aome]

Ugh - your testing scheme sounds even worse than ours! The younger, non-testing kids don't go to specialists, either - the specialist comes to them. The computer laptops can be put on a cart, library books can be put on a cart, etc. Not sure what the gym teacher does, but, anyway, at least they can still have specialists. The specialists' rooms are used for testing, which is why the younger kids can't go there, but after lunch, with the vast majority of older kids are done, THEY can go to the specialists in their regular locations. As you said, kids can take all day, but if someone is still working by the time lunch rolls around, the stragglers are moved to another location and the kids who are done are allowed to watch a movie or do some other quiet brainless activity of the proctor's devising

[sheron]

This sounds like actual torture to me. My god.

[hamsterwoman]

Wow, I had no idea the state tests were that regimented... (I know the SATs and such were, and there was always some jumping through hoops for AP exams, but how much harder/how ridiculous to make elementary schoolers go through this...) I don't know if our school district is less anal about this or if I just don't see it, but that's pretty crazy.

Congratulations to all of you for completing the race, and congratulations to MiniPlu and Two on their PRs!

[aome]

If you end up asking L and O about the state exam rigamarole their schools have to go through, I'd be curious to know what their answers are. (And if you don't ask, that's fine, too. :D)