JNez@thirtydaes.2010

the girls are undergoing annual state testing this week. in new york, grades 3-8 are required to take three days of standardized tests for english language assessment in january, followed by two days of math assessment in march. we’ve been preparing for these tests at home in addition to the class preparations since november. my third grader will be taking the tests for the first time this year and has had some difficulty grasping the concepts that she’ll be tested on. she’s a very capable reader, but is not always able to demonstrate that she has a clear comprehension of the text. additionally, she has proven to be easily distracted and a bit impatient and prone to casual mistakes while undergoing testing.

to help prepare her, i’ve obtained testing booklets identical to the standardized assessment test and we’ve completed the exercises together as a supplement to what she does in class and independently for homework. i’m hopeful that this has raised her competence, for the stakes are high with these tests: the scoring rubric uses four levels of assessment and any third grade student scoring in the lowest level must repeat third grade. last year, my fourth grader was assessed at the highest level of competence and i’m hoping for similar results with her younger sister.

as for my part, i made sure they were in bed and asleep by 830 last night and awoke them to a hearty bacon & eggs breakfast. we (lightheardedly) reviewed test taking strategies as we walked to school and i gave them both big hugs & kisses (as usual) and wished them great skill. now it’s all up to them. i’m confident that they will do well.

the girls (and all other nyc school children) headed back to school today, ending a brief but enjoyable 10 week summer vacation. i’ve got a 9th grader now (who didn’t want to pose ), and a third & fourth grader.

i’m looking forward to a productive school year for all of us. there will be a readjustment to going to bed and arising early, especially as warm summer weather continues. i hope i’ve done my job and helped them maintain scholastic achievement over the break so that the adjustment to learning the curriculum is smooth. these are high stakes school years for each of them: my third and fourth grader will need to prepare for standardized tests this winter and my 9th grader will have to resist the many distractions that compete with scholastic achievement in high school.

But we’re ready; we all have each other as accountability partners, so to speak. i see no reason not to be optimistic about everyone’s progress (including my own) this year. So let’s usher in the 2008-2009 school year!

even though i’ve only missed one semester, it feels great to be back in academia. i started pursuing my undergrad degree for the third time in January 2004 with an expected January 2008 completion date. But about a year later, i started to suffer a paralyzing writing anxiety and began to miss deadlines for writing assignments. as a result, over 8 semesters, i lost credit for at least 6 classes because i couldn’t meet a second, third, or even fourth deadline to submit final papers. when i filed for graduation last fall, it all came crashing down and i had no will left to even address the instructors to recover the missing assignments. January 2008 graduation was canceled and in a state of denial coupled with a self-destructive ability to ignore critical issues, i failed to register for the Spring 2008 semester.

my daughters asked me last spring why i hadn’t graduated or wasn’t in school anymore. i admitted that i’d stopped going and was immediately labeled a dropout by my oldest daughter. ouch! but she had a point. i’d already allowed depression and a lack of determination and self confidence to derail two previous attempts to obtain my undergrad degree and here i was letting it happen again. i promised them i’d return and finish my degree by the fall 2008 semester.

all spring and summer i avoided contacting my advisor to discuss my outstanding assignments and determine my enrollment status. but with the fall 2008 registration deadline fast approaching and the summer rapidly coming to a close, i finally met with my advisor and developed a plan to get my degree. it turns out that 3 INC’s can still be transformed into credits as long as i contact the instructors and submit the writing assignments. additionally, an F i received after stringing another instructor along for a missing final paper can also be turned into credit provided i complete that assignment. this leaves just one class to repeat and a 20-page senior thesis in order to fulfill my degree requirements.

so i’m all set now. i registered for 3 additional classes in order to of course qualify for the maximum financial aid award. i just need to develop and adhere to a plan to complete the outstanding writing assignments by November 1. that will be the difficult part i’m sure.

i’m depending on you readers to keep me as accountable as my children no doubt will. i’ll be 36 this december and it’s well past time for me to conquer this college thing. i’ll keep you all posted for sure…