The end is near, and TAKS Sucks.

It has been a very interesting year at school. We were out of school for 2 1/2 weeks for Hurricane Ike, I had 3 students become mothers and 1 become a father, I had a fairly serious situation with an irrational parent and a most unpleasant April full of TAKS review and testing. It's been long, exhausting and challenging, and I am very excited for the year to be over.

April was filled with TAKS review and ended with the TAKS tests the last week of the month. For a few seniors, this was extremely stressful because if they did not pass they could not graduate. It was somewhat less stressful for the 11th graders, but if they pass they don't have to worry about it next year. The 10th graders still have to take the 11th grade test, so it was more of a pain in the butt because they know they have to do it all over again next year. And so, the focus has been nothing but TAKS for April, and it looms over the school like a dark cloud for the rest of the year.

The test results came back this week and we were able to share scores with students and I found myself hugging and congratulating many students on the passing of the science TAKS. I was giving high fives, and in the midst of all the celebrations I realized that we are celebrating and focusing on nothing but taking a standardized test. Lawmakers and other officials like to say that teachers don't need to teach to the test and they should do just fine with regular knowledge they learn in class. This is complete crap, in my opinion.

I have seen old released science tests, and they are full of random facts that they require students to memorize. As a scientist you would not have to memorize such things as what the mitochondria does or how a virus reproduces. You might come to know those things because they are important to what you do, but science is not about memorizing facts. Science is about the process of questioning and discovering, and the joy of that has been completely removed from high school science classes because of these tests. We have to teach students how to memorize as much as possible, and how to answer tricky multiple choice questions. Again, I have seen old tests, and many of the questions are tricky and poorly written. They do not assess how well a student can do in science, but how well they can memorize and answer questions.

I felt very sad today when I realized the hold that the TAKS tests have on schools and teachers. We should be celebrating students asking interesting questions, designing experiments and wanting to learn more about something they find intriguing. Students hate science because it is very difficult to make it fun and interesting while covering everything we need to for TAKS, especially at my school. In the end the students at my school did fairly well, but we did extensive after school tutoring and review in class. And, we celebrated what a wonderful state 'report card' we will have, but it's all at the expense of learning to love learning so that politicians can have their numbers.

A weekend without the kids!!

Paul and I had the most amazing weekend! We went to a wedding in Dallas, and it turned out to be the most extraordinary party we've ever been to, and probably ever will, for that matter! There were more orchids, peonies, roses, hydrangeas and little mini hydrangeas than I've ever seen!! There was a 10 tier cake, an amazing band, caviar, and an after party with scantily clad models handing out pink boas, blinking rings, pink hats, chocolate cigars and cotton candy and a lady who read everyone's lips!!! We enjoyed connecting with many of Paul's relatives who live in Texas and hopefully can get together with them sometime.

The best part was that we were able to sleep in until we were forced to get up at 10:15 on Saturday morning to attend yet another lunch celebration. We came home and literally slept all afternoon until we had to get ready for the wedding. It was so relaxing to not have to worry about the kids for 2 1/2 whole days!!!

The wedding was at the Ritz Carlton, and so we stayed there as well. When we pulled up in the car they knew somehow that we were Mr. and Mrs. Paul Niles - they had the parking ticket all ready and when Paul walked up to the front desk they said "Welcome Mr. Niles" - it was unbelievable!! There wasn't a single soul around the lobby or outside who knew us. We are still baffled as to how they knew who we were. I guess that's why they are the Ritz Carlton! After the rehearsal dinner we hung out at the hotel bar, which is quite the hot spot, even for locals! We got a glass of wine, and it was $16 for one glass!! That's probably more than the whole bottle it came from, and clearly explains how they (at least partially) make all their money!! But, the hotel was beautiful, and they did an exquisite job on the reception and the food.

It was so awesome to be away from the kids for 2 nights to refresh! They had a wonderful time with my parents and barely cried while we were away, which made me feel very happy!! In fact, they were really sad when they left today. Thomas told me he was very sad! I think one of the most important things in being a parent is to have time to ourselves as a couple, and to teach my children that we will always be there for them - I think going away for long weekends only strengthens that idea. They learn that even though we left we will definitely come back. Plus, they get to hang out with their grandparents, and everyone knows kids always behave better for others than for their parents!!!

Well, I forgot to bring my camera to the wedding, but have a couple pics from my phone of a particularly me and Paul next to a large flower arrangement (there were at least 8 of these), the cake (the pink wall behind the cake is made up ENTIRELY of pink roses) and a really awesome fruit sculpture from one of the three buffet tables at the cocktail hour (bottom pic - there are tomatoes, raspberries, some herb and blueberries in it!!).

A few more of the outside

Here's a couple more. The one on the left is taken from our backyard looking at the empty lot next to us, and the one on the right is our backyard as seen from the back door. The sidewalk leads to the garage.

Pictures of the new house

I've gotten several requests for some pics for the house, so here goes. We are still unpacking and so things are still a bit messy. But here are some pictures. From top to bottom it's the back patio, my fountain, the living room, the kitchen from the living room, and a different angle of the kitchen. We are getting settled and would love to have visitors anytime!!!