Yeah! We're done with our science fair project.

I mean....ummmmmm...Andrew is...done with his science fair project. javascript:emoticon('')
Mr. Green

I have seriously had the best time helping him with this. It made me realize how much I enjoyed teaching and how much I miss it.

He basically came up with the question of whether or not noise effects student's test taking ability. He gave three math tests to a group of students and changed the noise level in the room for each test. It was pretty interesting.

He was sure that the hard rock music group at 90 db was going to have the worst math test scores...which...they didn't They actually had the best scores on his tests

We made graphs of average grades, did a scatter plot, did a regression analysis...yippee...we had fun. I have been busy with helping and explaining for days and it has been a blast. I can't believe how little help they got from their science teachers though. Pretty much, they were told that they had a science fair project to do, that they needed to separate it into sections: Background, Recipe ( RECIPE??? Try Materials and Methods...HELLOOO. Why start out teaching a child the wrong name? Andrew kept telling me "Mom, the Recipe is just a list of ingredients." You know me...MRS. Math...I insisted that he do a proper Materials and Methods section in the past tense without the use of I, my or we. :> I'm sure Angie and Fluff are rolling their eyes at me right now. He balked at first and then was so proud of himself when it was all done! )

We spent 2 days talking about scatter plots and best fit lines...

He just couldn't *get* the whole equation of the line thing until I told him that the equation of the line is like the line's URL address. :> I'm sure there is a math person out there screaming "OMG, she told him the equation of the line is like a URL address...why can't she teach it to him correctly the first time?" The correlation Coefficient or R2 value turned into an internet 404 error. BAM...he got it. I sort of cringe a little about this. I understand that this helped him to understand the concepts, but I absolutely abhor the idea of teaching kids things like "the mitochondria is the power house of the cell" or "a cell membrane is like a plastic bag holding the contents of the cell" (Ummm..no, not even close).

He was so excited. I ... was so excited. So he ran around making little scatter plots telling me about the URL of the line (ANDREW, NO...it's the EQUATION of the line..."yah, whatever" and explaining to me what his results meant...and...yes, he did "Get" his results!!!!!

NOW, the only downside to this whole mom helping with the science fair project thing (and btw, I saw some of the other poster boards and I'm soooo not alone....some kids got help from moms that were art majors in college, I'm sure ) is that I don't really know if a regression analysis was the right tool to use... It seemed to fit and was the easiest and I'm not really comfortable with many other tools anymore. So...I can hear it now "ha, ha, your mom helped you with your project and you got an F"

I'm totally stressing for him. He doesn't present until Monday, but he informed me that he wanted to practice more graphs and keep learning until then so that he could really do a great job.

Go Andrew Go!

We had so much fun...what a bummer that it's over!

On the Amanda front...(and can I first thank everyone for the PM feedback. I feel like a heel for not responding yet, but I've been busy with my science fair project...I mean...Andrew's science fair project )things went from bad to worse....of course. Amanda and 2 other girls ended up in the office talking to the school counselor yesterday after some yelling matches and this little girl's older sister stopping them in the hallway twice and threatening them.

I just got off the phone with the vice-principal who is ready to take action.

I pretty much told the vp that I don't know what my daughter's contribution is to all of this and that I wanted her to talk with the other girls independently to find out if my daughter has a role in any way, shape or form in this. If so, I want the disciplinary action to be even-handed....ie...both Lauren and Amanda would get detention.

My gut feeling is simply that Amanda is not involved other than having hurt feelings and being upset....I know what I've seen here at home in the backyard. I just want to make sure. Also, I didn't want to seem like the kind of mom who blames everyone else's kids and never takes an honest look at her own child's behavior.

I am expecting an investigation to clear my child. If it doesn't....well....then you'll all hear about that too.

I admit that I was offended that the vp said that in cases that go on and on like this that usually both kids are involved in the teasing.

I'm going to open up a little to you guys.

I was teased horribly in the 7th and 8th grades. I had people stick notes to my back "kick me" (and they sure did!), had kids pour food on me in the lunchroom (and I got in trouble for getting up and going over and yelling...I got detention for it...the injustice still bothers me today). I was a cheerleader (basketball) for those 2 years and when I was cheering, the *popular* girls actually threw food at me and heckled me from the stands. I spent 7th and 8th grade in an utter tailspin. I believe these experiences shaped my social problems today!

At the end of 8th grade, one of the *popular* girls (whose name I still remember, btw) cornered me in the school atrium with about 50 other kids (at least). She got a 2 liter bottle out that she had filled with perfume....and she poured it all over me while everyone laughed at me. I was devastated and embarassed.

The next day, the same group of popular kids planned to do it again...and a girl I barely knew came up to me and told me. I reacted defensively, assuming she was *with* them...and she turned to me and said "I wish I hadn't told you...I bet you deserve it". I tried apologizing for being defensive and she just walked away. The same girl came at me with the bottle of perfume and...I socked her in the jaw so hard that she was bleeding...and then I ran all the way to the principals' office in tears.

I was..a geek in school. I loved polo-style shirts and...I wore the buttons all the way to the top. I didn't unbutton them. Can anyone say..Mrs. Math?

Amanda's issues with this girl really strike at the core of who I am. I am devastated by what is happening to her because I don't want her to suffer the rest of her life with social issues because of the actions of a few idiotic girls.

I really don't feel that I was involved in the teasing that happened to me...other than drawing negative attention possibly to myself by dressing odd or getting embarassed/upset about being ridiculed. Because the kids could see how much it bothered me, they kept doing it. It makes me a bit uneasy that the principal is ready to say that both girls are responsible because it's gone on for so long.

Ahhhh...as the stomach churns.............



kris[/quote]