friendly

amy, xiaoling, shen, yufen, and bai ge came to visit aviyah yesterday!







(p.s. watch amy chuck the plastic ring at aviyah's head. note to self: keep amy away from the baby.)

amy!

amy came to visit aviyah on sunday. aviyah hearts amy!

(ps. watch how amy won't share the book with aviyah at the end.)

the clapper

we caught her! it was like snuffleupagus.

faces

bottle girl

aviyah can hold her own bottle. it's so funny . . . i remember when she went crazy if we tried to give her a bottle.

classical baby

this is aviyah's joint! the show pairs classical music classics with very cute animation. she's in love.

: )

(ok, ok. just so everybody doesn't go crazy that aviyah watches tv. . . the crazy thing is, i'm pretty against watching tv with aviyah. but, samantha said to me this morning that if we never let her watch tv, then she'll only ever want to watch it. since i know what's up, we let her watch a little tv today.)

snapshots

aviyah makes this really cute scrunchy face and makes noise like a monkey.
: )

middle school

in january, the new york times introduced an ongoing feature that profiles the challenges for students and teachers in middle school. they report there is specific concern about lagging test scores for 6th through 8th grade students.

Driven by newly documented slumps in learning, by crime rates and by high dropout rates in high school, educators across New York and the nation are struggling to rethink middle school and how best to teach adolescents at a transitional juncture of self-discovery and hormonal change.

the achievement gap is highlighted by recent gains for elementary and high school students. researchers are concerned that tumultuous middle schools may be ineffective, and many recommend the middle years fold into early education primary schools or secondary education high schools.

the times has published 3 reports from a series of 7 articles. the introduction profiles the problem, the second report introduces alternative solutions, and the third report identifies challenges for teachers.

and they've published a interesting multimedia video, as well.

there is a stark contrast between 6th and 8th grade students. 6th grade students are still largely innocent, and they are generally nervous or slow around authority. at times, they make poor choices, and they challenge authority. however, they are still younger and cuter and limited. in contrast, 8th grade students understand they have new voice and new power. they are school seniors, and they walk taller and speak louder than they will in 9th grade.

i am not sure if building space limits reorganization plans, but i feel like k-8 and 6-12 plans still have clear limitations. 6th grade can effectively fold into elementary school. however, 8th grade students are clearly outside primary education. is it possible to shift middle school years to 7th - 9th grade? a recent proposal even recommends that compulsory liberal arts education end after 10th grade. if students are interested in pursuing secondary education, they can attend smaller preparatory high schools for 11th and 12th grade. if students are not interested in liberal arts education, they can choose to attend a professional or vocational high school.

students change so much during middle school. there's an incredibly stark contrast between 6th and 7th grade students. during the beginning of last year, i asked another teacher what she thought happens to students between the two grades. why do they change so much? she said, "puberty." in the end, it may be that middle school buildings are not the largest challenge. it may be biology.

upanddown

when aviyah first started standing, she would stand and stand and stand until her knees got weak. she would make a really loud noise and look to see if we would help her down. now, she is starting to get the hang of helping herself up and helping herself back down.

closeups!

standees

aviyah loves standing and standing and standing.

toyz

this is my favorite childhood toy!

trippin' march 7th

an early march against the war in ann arbor, michigan, proclaimed, "support our troops: send them home." in the leadup to war, and in campaign 2004, president bush and conservative hawks questioned the credibility and patriotism of war opponents. however, two recent articles strongly question the credibility and patriotism of the republican administration.

thomas friedman writes that the walter reed scandal highlights an irresponsible arrogance. friedman argues that war activism has remained largely absent because the administration has worked keep the american public distant from the sacrifice required by war.

dick cavett explains that asking soldiers to sacrifice their life is offensive. his uncle was a decorated veteran from the south pacific. his uncle explains:

“Your life isn’t given,” I remember him saying, “it’s brutally ripped away from you. You’re no good to your buddies dead, and when the bullets start pouring in you don’t give a goddamn about God, country, Yale, your loved ones, the last full measure of devotion or any other of that Legionnaire patriotic crapola. You just want you and your buddies to see at least one more sunrise.”

cruiser

aviyah is starting to cruise. she's not a professional yet, but she's trying.

yeh yeh's 80th birthday party

before we left for florida, we celebrated yeh yeh's 80th birthday.