Summer Corn Time

Nothing lets me know it's really summertime like fresh corn on the cob. My wife came home from here school on the last day of the school year with a dozen or so ears of freshly picked locally grown sweet corn. I shucked a few ears headed for a pot of boiling water. Yummy! 

I need to check the blueberry bushes today. 

Friday last workday for 2015-2016

Made it to the end of another school year. I'll spend some time reflecting on how to improve instruction. What worked, what didn't, and what I can improve. 

Best of all, I took the test to have another area of certification added to my licensure. This means our school can now offer additional courses to our students. We have thrown around ideas for elective courses that may be interesting to our learners. Too bad there are courses on sleeping and listening to sports we could give them credit for. [I'm joking here]. 🙊

One of favorite thoughts about the end of the school year comes from having watched way too many cowboy tv shows and movies as a young boy. It was something the sheriff of a Wild West town would say standing at the edge of town, near "Boot Hill". "When one gunslinger leaves, another one just takes his place." [pan camera to trail leading out of town with men on horses arriving at a distance] to be continued tiles on the screen. 

My classroom's 3D-printer

MakerBot Sharkz

I had to printout a blaze orange Sharkz. 

MakerBot Replicator: Day 1

Firmware updates. 

Amazon

Baseball Game

Principles of Technology 2016

Old school VOM. Still works. 

Measuring voltage 

Weather Reporter: John Blake

Electric Curcuits

Circuit laboratory activity 

Lab 1M1 Setup

1M1 lab setup. 

Vectors in Mechanical Forces

Ready for Christmas Break!

Science

What kind of cloud is this?

With all the BS, Why Teach?

I could not sleep after walking the dog in the middle of the night. It had rained and thundered since midday and the dog hates stormy weather. So, at 2;20 AM, I was awakened and got my shoes on and walked the dog. 

Upon making it safely back inside, from a successful dog walk spurspectivel, I grabbed my iPhone and deleted the spam emails. I addicted to social media. There, I admit it I checked the notifications on my Facebook newsfeed and flipped to my Radarscope app to check storm locations. Speed reading the notifications, I noticed a couple of comments on my Summertime 2014 photo album. After clicking on the link and reading and indicating I "Liked" the comments I had one of those rare moments of inspirations to write down my thoughts. Blogging takes a huge effort on my part. I'm a horrible writer. I write the way I talk-- Redneck and proud. 

On the comment notifications, one of my former students and my mother caught my attention. My former student is now a an experienced elementary teacher. She earned a Masters degree and National Board Certified.  She is also my daughter's sister-in-law. She commented on my photo album saying, "it's so funny...when I see your pics each day I think, John [Blake] is so awesome with technology. And then the teacher in me, that has actually grown to enjoy teaching science, remembers how awesome you were as a science teacher and the majority of your pics are about science, weather, and nature! She continues, her comment on Facebook in a reply to my mother's comment discussed below. "I loved having John as a teacher Grandma! We had so much fun in his class because he was passionate about what he was teaching! It makes a difference in the impact you have in your classroom!" 

In a comment by my 88 year old mother and retired college professor, she reminded me to celebrate my successes. Life is like a war. Days with their changes are like battles. Parents can be various types of participants. I've been blessed with loving supportive parents. They still teach. This Favebook comment is a lesson we all need to remember when we are wondering why the hell we got into education or any career. Work hard, be passionate, listen more than you talk, and It's all about the children. 

"You should make a copy of AT's complement and FRAME it!Nice to know your efforts were appreciated!" --Dr. Eugenia Q. Blake. 

Thanks for the kind words Amanda Tedder and thanks for my mother's comments. 

Walking with my GoPro

Morning Haze

Saturday observations.

Pink Classroom?