Happy 21st Birthday, Brittany Engebretsen!

While I am a day late, I think it is important for Brittany’s 21st birthday to be recognized on her blog. She wouldn’t do one herself, so I decided to write something short for her. I hacked onto her blog as a surprise! Much more exciting this way!

As some of you may already know, we spent Brittany’s birthday in Kentucky. Why spend her birthday in the Fried Chicken State? Well, Brittany has a tradition of waking up in a new state every year for her birthday: so far she has had birthdays in California, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Texas, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, International Waters (on a cruise), Pennsylvania, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and now, Kentucky.

As I mentioned previously, this year was Kentucky. I won’t say all the details since Britt will probably post a more detailed account with more humor than I could ever muster. But essentially we spent the day exploring underground caves in one of the most boring and vacant towns in the United States. Trust me, I would rather live in an actual cave than in Cave City, Kentucky.

Anyway, Brittany took the many of the big memories and events that we have had for her post about my birthday, but I thought of a few that she didn’t include. The first one I thought of was when Brittany first asked me to sing with her. We were at our musical theatre class, and she motioned for me to come over to her, and then asked if I would sing a duet with her at a local variety show. Now normally, I would have said no, but I felt a strange spontaneity overtaking me, and I said yes. I am still not sure why I said yes (aside from God putting me together with my future beautiful bride), but I am sure glad I did.

Another time I remember is when Brittany’s parents first bought a cabin up in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. I went with them at the very beginning, and there was absolutely no furniture, so we ate our meals sitting on the stairs, and slid across the wood floor on our socks. Oh, and Brittany made me an incredible double-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The last memory I will share is another food item Brittany made for me (she is a great cook/baker/chefette(?)). One year for Valentine’s day, she made the most amazing cookies I have ever had—ever. She took two or three recipes and combined them to make what she calls her “Heart Attack Cookies”. These cookies start off as very large chocolate stuffed cookies, which are two cookies pressed together with a pile of chocolate chips between them in the middle. Then she makes some sort of thick chocolate frosting, and makes a huge cookie sandwich by putting this frosting between two of the chocolate stuffed cookies. I am sure I forgot something, but the end result is a monstrous pile of delicious chocolate and dough that takes days to eat. They must be two inches thick and seven to eight inches in diameter. Seriously though—it is the best thing ever.

Following the mold Brittany set for my birthday post, I would appreciate it if everyone would post about memories they have made/shared with Brittany over the past 21 years.

Note to Self...

...don't ever take a movie suggestion from Dad EVER again. He encourages me to watch horror films; I suppose he doesn't realize that I am a scaredy cat if there ever was one. He, on the other hand, has nerves of steel. On to the movies.

First, it was The Exorcist; boy, THAT was a treat! Then tonight we watched Children of the Corn... WHYYYYYYY?!?!?! It was a straight-up slasher movie with a demonic plot. Joy. Travis and I are now sitting up in bed watching cartoons and working on our Macs. I'm sure Dad is sleeping quite peacefully right now... thanks for that, Dad.

lesson. learned.

#6- My Thoughts on Public Education

Topic #6 From Travis (A.K.A. My Hubby): "Or the current state of the US public education system..."

As requested, I will discuss the current state of the public education system. First, I will say that the public education system varies by state, obviously. I will first list the top ten states with the best public education systems according to www.WalletPop.com:

1. Maryland
2. Massachusetts
3. New York
4. Virginia
5. New Jersey
6. Ohio
7. Pennsylvania
8. Georgia (tie)
9. West Virginia (tie)
10. Arkansas

Where would be the lemonade without the lemons? Here they are:

1. Washington D.C.
2. Nevada
3. Idaho
4. Mississippi
5. Nebraska
6. South Dakota
7. Montana
8. Oregon
9. Arizona
10. Missouri

Remember, too, that the education system also varies according to districts. Now as far as I’m concerned there is one serious problem- circular blame. Teachers blame the administration, the administration blames the government, and the government blames… the teachers! Then you have parents sprinkled in here and there blaming and being blamed.

I have the answer… I know who the real problem is… everyone!!! Wow! What a concept! Everybody has some part in the education of children. Period. Even the children have a part. If a child simply refuses to try after everything has been done to help him or her, then he or she may not make it to the next grade on account of his or her own doing. You know what my response to that is? Oh well! If everything has been done to motivate and help that student save cheating on standardized tests or other illegal methods, then that child will have to learn to accept that he or she did not try. Now don’t get me wrong; I am not saying that students will special needs or learning disorders should be included in this category. I am referring to the children who have positively no ambition whatsoever.

However, I digress. The main point is- we all have some part in the failure of the U.S. public education system. No one person or group is to blame. Yes, even I as a teacher would have to accept some blame if a student of mine did not succeed.

The reason I believe this is because my mentor for my teaching internship had to deal with the administration, unsupportive parents, and students who didn’t want to try… wake up call… every one of his students passed the FCAT. Even the ones who we were certain would not pass. Why? Because he is an amazing teacher who feels it is his responsibility to try his best to help each child succeed. He didn’t give up on them. He understood his responsibility and took it upon himself to try his best for every student.

The overall U.S. public education system is messed up in my opinion. There are reasons:

1. Standardized tests
2. Over diagnosing children with disabilities that are non-existent
3. Lack of discipline at home
4. Lack of homework help/attention in general at home
5. Lack of repercussions in school
6. The mushy gushy “everybody is a winner” garbage
7. Lack of parents helping their children learn English
8. Too much "English as a Second Language" obsession… learn English… you are in the United States!
9. The Great American Melting Pot turning into a “Salad Bowl”? I am surprised we aren’t “Salsa” if you know what I mean.
10. Lack of respect for education
11. Tenure
12. Unions
13. Grade levels based on age instead of developmental levels

Those are just a few. If you have any to add, please comment with your ideas and add your much-needed two cents. Two cents… hmmm, I believe that is a teacher’s yearly salary. ;) Like I said… add your two cents… do you agree? Disagree? Are you indifferent? What’s your point of view?

eggs.

The yoke of an egg is not the chick. Yes... chicks come out yellow... but that is not because they were the yoke at one point. However, the yoke is where the embryo is formed.

I learned about eggs today... you should, too.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/birds/info/chicken/egg.shtml

"Aruba, Jamaica, Ooh I Wanna Take Ya..."

Hey friends! Ahhh, we are back from the beautiful Caribbean, and boy, did we have a blast! We visited the Princess Cay (private island for Princess Cruiseline in the Bahamas), St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk. Let me break down the activities for you:

><> Bahamas <>< Lay out, eat, swim,
putz around, etc., etc.

><> St. Maarten <>< Kayak with Kristin while Travis checked out the shops around the port with Grandmother E., Grandfather E., and Erik and chilled out on the ship.

><> St. Thomas <>< Travis and I snorkeled together and went to the chocolate shop downtown. :D Yum!

><> Grand Turk <>< Horseback riding on the beach and in the ocean with Kristin while Travis toured the island with the rest of the family.

Phew! How exhaustingly fun! Clearly, we had a great time. In case you were wondering, Travis didn't go on some of the excursions because we could only get two tickets. Since it was Kristin's cruise, she definitely went on the excursions, but she could only choose one other person to go with her- that was me! :) We are just epic sisters like that; girls gotta stick together. Despite Travis and my separation for some of the time, we had a great time individually and together!

Overall, it was a fantastic cruise with the Engebretsens Sr. and Engebretsens Sr. Sr.! Although it was sad to leave, I am now tanned and ready for Tennessee with my Johns parents! Let's see how long my tan lasts in the Tennessee mountains; I am going to attempt to at least lay out on occasion. We'll see how that goes. ;)

<3