Roundly

It's March! Not only did I survive to another year of age, some signs of Spring should be here by the end of this month. I have rarely been so glad to see Spring as I am this year...

Kaylee got a paper home from school in Math that had one marked wrong that I shook my head at. See what you think. The question is: "Explain it. How could you describe a cylinder to someone who has never seen one?" Kaylee's answer is: "It looks like a coke can." The correct answer the teacher wrote in below that? "2 flat surfaces called bases connected by a curved surface. It does not have vertices. It can roll."

Really?! First of all, these are 9 year olds, right? Secondly, the question did not ask for the technical components of a cylinder, it asked how would you describe it to someone. Do you really think that anyone but an engineer brain would instantly get a mental image of a cylinder based on the above description? *I* had to look up "vertices", and I have a Bachelors of Science degree. Third, her answer shows that she in fact does know what a cylinder looks like, and has an efficient way to describe it to someone. Last but not least, after I read "two surfaces called bases connected by a curved surface with no vertices that rolls", my first thought was "Oh, you mean like a Coke Can??" ;) I told her that while she has to put the answers they want her to in school, I still thought her response did a better job answering the question that they actually asked. ;)

In all seriousness though, I can't complain that the school is not "dumbing down" the kids at least.

Today has mostly been a "ground work" day. Phone calls, flight planning for trips, going through mail and responding appropriately, billing and accounting for the end of the month, all that fun stuff. Tonight I had a school board meeting, where I asked the other twelve professionals there how they'd describe a cylinder and the two who responded said "a hot dog with the ends cut off" and "a soup can". HA! I told them the answer that was expected in Kaylee's class, and the administrator laughed and said she was glad to hear her 3rd grade math curriculum stumped us. ;)

I have some accounting to do for SMA Support as well here that I need to get to tonight, and a bit more planning for an upcoming trip. Life, continued!

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"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference."
– Virginia Satir