Snow Day!!

So today was great. I was awakened by a phone call from the school saying that there was a 2-hour delayed opening. It was a WINTER WONDERLAND!! Snow was everywhere! It was so light and airy that it looked like little pixies spread glitter everywhere. It was gorgeous! It wasn't too bad where I was (being only 3 miles away from school), but I hear it was worse elsewhere, which explains the 2-hour delayed opening. Delayed openings are always a plus since I'm able to wake up and take it easy in the morning. I woke up, took some pictures, took the dogs out and let them play, took Joce to the speedline station, then came back home and worked on lesson plans. I felt so refreshed when I got to school and the energy stayed with me all day. Only if we would have 2-hour delayed openings everyday! Also, I just got my results from my 2nd quarter classroom observation and they were great, so that helped add to the day's greatness. So besides that, not much else is new. Click on the picture below for some pictures and videos of the snow around here for you "sutherners."

Snow!!

paz!
-jason ... (c:

First post of the New Year!

Alrighty. So I'm a bit behind on the posts. I think I'll always have these small periods of lulls with this thing depending on what all is going on. Well, we're back in Jersey and getting back into the swing of things. It's quite frigid here! Supposedly in the next couple of days we're going to have some of the coldest days in many years. I'm still waiting on the snow. It says it's supposed to maybe snow tonight and tomorrow, but I've learned not to get my hopes up. The weather forcast here is never accurate. At least in Texas if it's going to rain, it pours and if it's going to have sun-shining beautifulness (which I am starting to miss!) - just look at this beautiful day in Austin when we were there several weeks ago! - then the forcast is mostly correct. I've gotten burned the last couple of times it was supposed to snow. We'll just have to see.

So I've learned that some students of LHS are checking out the blog, so I'll be careful what I put on here now. No badmouthing students anymore I guess. Bummer. But I'll be more likely to keep up with things and take (steal) little things off of their pages. For example, I was looking at one student's blog and saw that she had music playing on it. Well, naturally, I was jealous, so I found last.fm's "gadget" so anyone can enjoy my kind of music while they peruse the good 'ol blog here and I put it up top here. (Gran, I'm not sure if you'll be able to use it - and honestly, I'm not sure if you'll like the music on it anyway - although most of it is pretty soothing - this is becoming the longest run-on sentence ever - sorry Mr. Abram's if you're reading this - this is why I'm not an English teacher, but stick to the beautiful concepts of mathematics -*sigh*, so beautiful).

Well, I've recently learned that I'm going to be observed tomorrow, I so need to make sure I have everything ready. I'm going to try to use my wonderfully-awesome blog (www.fowlermath.com) and have the students do some online stuff. I'm still trying to fiddle with what to do with it and how to use it in a math class. I eventually want to make class more student-centered where I'm just a facilitator instead of instructor but that's still an unrealized dream. We'll see how well it goes tomorrow. It may be more preparation up front, but should result in easier times in class. Then after all of that, I still have butt-loads of grading to do to catch up since the break. Any students reading this have no idea how long it takes to really grade stuff and write notes (plus the whole getting myself to stop doing stuff online and actually do it - but i digress). :-P Let's end on a happy note of fun Christmas break pictures:





paz,
-fowler out!

11 Days and counting / 1 Day and counting!

So the past 11 days of school, I've ridden my bike to school - through sun, rain, sleet, & cold. Today is been the coldest yet. The actual temp was 17°F & Weather Channel's "real feel" temperature was 2°F! I did pretty well, but I now see why someone invented bike shoe covers. My feet were freezing! If I had some good REI wind/rain pants, some water-proof gloves, and some water-proof shoe covers, I'd be set for any conditions. Right now I'm using my ski/snowboarding pants over jeans if it gets windy or wet, but they're really baggy.

The picture is of my bike in my room. There's no real good place to put it, so I put it on the side wall & lock it up to a desk (just in case), although I'd like to see someone try to ride it with no bike shoes with the fixed gear. Think it'd be hilarious.

My other countdown is when we'll be back in Texas. Jocelyn should be close to finishing up her last exam, then she'll be done. We've got a place for the pups and the cat all set up, so all we need to do is pack tonight.

Tomorrow Joce will drop me off at school, take the kids to their boarding place (Halo House Pet Resort), then head back home to have everything packed up in the car. They're going to let the kids go to their lockers and get their jackets after 7th period and do a fire drill during 8th period. Then they'll dismiss school from there. This way the students (& teachers) can go home straight from there. I'll get Joce to pick me up then & we'll be on our way to the airport. There's this valet-type parking company that we'll use. We drive to the lot, then someone drives us (in our car) to the terminal. When we get back, they come pick us up in our car. Pretty nifty set up and it's actually the cheapest! Smart move on their part too. They don't have to pay for gas or a shuttle van. Our flight leaves at 4:05pm our time and arrives in Austin at 7:30pm or so Texas-time.

Well, the bell is about to ring for 8th period, so I should go.

See you Texas folk soon!
- sent from my treo -

Tobias wants to come home to Texas

Great Lyrics

So I was checking out the place we're boarding the pups and Tobias today and making sure they have all of their shot records and a song came on my iPod that I haven't heard in a while, but I love the lyrics of. It's very applicable, especially at this time of year. Here are the bits and pieces of my favorite parts:

Where's the Love by the Black Eyed Peas:

People killing, people dying
Children hurt and you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach?
And would you turn the other cheek?

Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above
Because people have got me questioning
Where is the love?

It's just not the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane?
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations dropping bombs
Chemical gasses filling lungs of little ones
With the ongoing suffering as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the loving really gone?
So I could ask myself really what is going wrong

In this world that we're living in, people keep on giving in
Making wrong decisions, only visions of the dividends
Not respecting each other, deny thy brother
A war is going on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love y'all?
Where's the truth y'all?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders
As I'm getting older, people get colder
Most of us only care about money making
Selfishness got us following our own direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids want to act like what they see in the cinema

Whatever happened to the values of humanity?
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality?
Instead in spreading love we're spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feeling under
I've got to keep my faith alive 'till love is found

While we're on the subject, here's another song that has powerful lyrics:
Stand Up by the Flobots:

Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
Stand up
We shall not be moved
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
If you've got more to give then you've got to prove
Put your hands up and I'll copy you

We've seen planes in the windows of buildings crumbled in
We've seen flames send the chills through London
And we've sent planes to kill them, some of them children
But still we're crumbling the building
Underfunded, but we still don't understand
Under God, but we kill like the son of Sam
But if you feel like I feel like about the Son of Man
We will overcome

We shall not be moved
Except By a child with no socks and shoes
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
Except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you
We shall not be moved
Except by a system thats rotten through
Neglecting the victims and ordering the cops to shoot
High treason now we need to prosecute

Now shake, shake
A Polaroid dream
Nightmare negatives develop on the screen
We sit back and wait for the government team
Criticize them, but who are we?
The people want peace but the leaders want war
Our neighbors don't speak, peek through the front door
House representatives preach "stay the course"
Time for a leap of faith
Once More

Put your hands up high if you haven't abandoned
Hope that the pen strokes stronger than the cannon
Balls to the wall, Nose to the grindstone
My interrogation techniques leave your mind blown
So place your bets, lets speak to the enemy
Don't let them pretend that we seek blood
And who are we anyways Kemo Sabe?
Mighty warlord wanna-be street thug?
A threat for a threat leaves the whole world terrified
Blow for blow never settles the score
Word for word is time need clarify
We the people did not want war

I said put your hands up and I'll copy you
Put your hands up and I'll copy you
if you've got a dream and a lot to do
Put your hands up

Sunny day in the neighborhood

It's really nice out today, so I thought I'd let the dogs come outside for some good stick-chewing time. There's always good sticks around our little valley where we play. Here are a few pics of the pups enjoying the weather.

Only a little more than a week until we're back in Texas!

Advent Conspiracy

Please watch, then pass on this video to everyone you know!

For more information about Advent Conspiracy, go to their website: http://www.adventconspiracy.org/