Speedsters

In England this week, the punishments were intensified for not driving under the speed limit.  There are speed cameras galore where we live in Southport (the average speed limit around us for miles is 25 mph).  But on three of the long stretches of road that Jackson and I travel on every day in order for us to get to school have a speed limit of 70 mph--which means that many people drive 80 or more--yet there are no speed cameras to be found in these areas.

One road had a speed limit of 70 until Friday when the new signs must have been installed over night.  Either way, there were multiple signs warning drivers of the new speed limit and 'repeater signs' for the entire two-mile stretch.  I had sixteen cars pass me and when the dust cleared, there was no one left behind me on the road.  And, the people who overtook were nowhere to be seen after a minute or so.  Maybe they didn't hear about the new sanctions for speeding?

Here is what will happen for drivers who are caught going at least one to ten mph over the speed limit:  a Band A fine and 3 points on the driver's licence.
For those who are caught driving 11 to 20 mph over the posted speed limit:  a Band B fine and either 7-28 days of disqualification or 4-6 points on the driver's licence.
And for drivers travelling 21+ mph above the speed limit, they will receive a Band C fine and either 7-56 days of disqualification or 6 points on their licence.
The maximum fine anyone can ever pay for one offence is £1,000, and it is £2,500 if on a motorway.
(Band A=25-75% of weekly income; Band B=75-125% of weekly income; and Band C=125-175%)*

I know that it can be annoying sometimes to drive right on the speed limit.  For instance, we have a downhill drive leading to our village on the last stretch home and I have to brake the entire way down the hill to keep the speedometer on 20.  The other annoying part of following the speed limits is having other drivers ride too closely behind in an attempt to make me speed.  If they only knew me, then they'd know this is a lost cause.

Hopefully the majority of drivers will begin adhering to the speed limits for fear of the harsher fines.  And hopefully the police will be firm in enforcing the law because although the changes are new, those sixteen cars that passed me and going at least 65 in a 50 didn't seem to have any respect for the rules of the road.

Doing his best Tom Hanks impression

"This town ain't big enough for the both of us."

"Draw!"

Dancing at the outdoor food fair in New Brighton and cheering at the end of every song.  He brought a smile to all of the concert-goers' faces.

Developmental updates:  Jackson can point to his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, toes, belly, belly button, and head accurately and is starting to pronounce all of these words, too.  His other new words of the week are ball, door, more, and bowl.  Jackson seems to have a close bond with the other little 'lads' at nursery because Jackson tripped and fell this week and all of the boys apparently huddled around him and took turns giving him hugs to make him feel better.  (It's amazing to me how at such a young age these babies can be so sympathetic.)  We have been noticing that Jackson likes to play while holding onto a toy or other object.  For instance, today we went to New Brighton to an indoor play zone called Bubbles.  Jackson was climbing up ramps, going down slides, and bouncing through the ball pit all the while holding onto a spongy ball that he found in the big kids' area.  The other day, in the backyard, Jackson picked up a stone and carried it with him while he played on his climbing frame.  Holding onto these things obviously made his play more difficult, but he insists on carrying something while exploring.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

*Information gathered from www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Feedback

I can only remember three times that I was ever given 'constructive criticism' in elementary (primary) school.

The first time was in preschool:  I was being bossy and tried taking away the napkin distribution responsibility from a boy named Derrick.  I was five-years-old and I remembered being put in my place from that day forward.  I learned that I should share and that other people are fully capable of doing the classroom jobs--I didn't have to do everything.

The second time was in kindergarten:  I was six-years-old now and tried to be 'cool.'  A staff member knocked on our door and Mrs. Fulk answered the door and got into a quite lengthy conversation with her colleague.  The entire class--other than my best friend, Dee--got out of their seats and roamed about, playing with toys, running, and talking loudly.  I waited with Dee until I thought, "We can't all get into trouble," so I got up and joined everyone else to have fun.  When Mrs. Fulk finished her conversation and turned around, she was pretty furious with the class and ordered, "Anyone who is out of their seat, pull a stick."  This meant that we were going to have to 'stand on the wall' while the rest of the class got to enjoy their recess for one day.  Other than learning that being cool was not my forte, I learned to respect the classroom setting.

The third time was in second grade:  Now a mature eight-year-old who knew her place and respected the classroom environment, I thought I had everything figured out.  My handwriting was an issue with a certain capital J, apparently.  I liked to put a horizontal line at the tops of my Js and my teacher would rather have a capital J sans topper.  I continued to cross my Js until around Christmastime of that school year when I was fed-up of having points deducted every time I wrote a capital J.  That year, I learned that my strong will and conviction may have to be set aside to appease the people in charge (and that not everything is worth fighting over).

The approach for guiding my academic success back in good ole Ohio must have been shaped through whole class teaching and positive reinforcement when I did something well.  Writing tasks were usually given more notes and feedback, but usually my assignments received a letter or number (out of three) grade.  If I got an A or a 3, then I got the picture:  I did well.  Anything less than that, then I also got the picture:  try harder next time.

In England, it's a little different.  From the age of four, children are expected to go to school for a full day and begin reading, writing, and arithmetic from day one.  When I became a teacher here, I was expected to make children re-write any misspellings of words displayed on the board three times each and correct every missing capital letter or punctuation mark in all subjects.  On top of this, for every third piece of work, even if a child submitted a perfect piece of work, he or she was given the assignment back to complete a challenge (extra credit) because apparently the task was too easy for them.  So it's similar to my experience of getting corrected for my capital J a few times when I was eight-years-old, but instead hearing about it nine times a day, every day, from the age of four.

Since I've had Jackson, I know that I have become a more caring and understanding teacher who critiques with an Ohio-style approach.  I'll admit that if someone gets something perfect, then I praise them and instead of making them do more work, I change my plans and give them a slightly more challenging activity for the next lesson.  Guilty!  I also do not make the seven-year-old children that I teach correct every misspelling or every missing capital letter; instead, I plan for time to practise these skills.  Guilty, again!

Having made it two-thirds of the way through the year, I have seen no detrimental effects to teaching this way and giving feedback in my 'new' (old Ohio) way.  So, for at least one of their twelve years or more of schooling, I hope to give my students a respite from the endless torment of corrections and feeling like they did something wrong.

Celebrating Easter at his Great-Grandpa's house

Our little Sweetie Pie with his new Easter bunny

Opening presents from the Easter Bunny

He found his way into his first Cadbury Creme Egg

His best solution to collecting all of the eggs on his hunt around the house

Jackson's reply to hearing about the over-crowding on United Airlines

Exploring the sheds at Dobbies Garden Centre

Developmental updates:  This week, Jackson has amazed us with his building animal sound and word repertoire.  Today, he said a sentence:  "Go away, Dad."  We were at a garden centre and he was trying to explore the playhouse displays uninhibited.  He can hiss like a snake, bark like a dog, quack like a duck, and moo like a cow.  His other sound effects are beep and vroom for cars and choo choo for trains.  Jackson can also say shoes (sounds like "whose"), daddy, mama, yes, no, bottle (sounds like "bup").  To communicate that it's windy, he also reaches up to swirl his hair around.  Other than these new words and sounds, Jackson has become more affectionate towards us and is giving us more hugs and kisses.  From his nursery teachers, we found out that he cried at the end of We're Going on a Bear Hunt so they had to read it again.  We love our little bibliophile!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Eastertide

Happy Easter to everyone!  I never get tired of hearing the Easter story and while I've been working in a Catholic school here in England, I have to study it more in-depth than I perhaps would if I worked in a non-religious school.  The more I learn, the more humbled I am.

For instance, this year I learned that when Jesus died, the Temple veil was torn in two and there was an earthquake.  Besides those two events, the sky also went completely dark in the middle of the day.  All of this happened at the same moment that Jesus died--and people still question who the Son of God is?  The Earth literally shook and was devoid of light when Jesus gave up His life on the cross.

My class was focusing on the events of Maundy Thursday from the Last Supper to His time in the Garden of Gethsemane and then until Jesus was arrested.  From these stories, I learned that Jesus took some friends with Him to the garden to be with Him in his final hours on Earth so that He could have someone to pray with Him and comfort Him.  But, His friends were too tired and couldn't stay awake.  How lonely and scary to know what your death would look like and there was nothing that you could do to stop it.  I suppose Jesus's life was lonely many times--being the only Saviour of the world and at times, being visited by the Devil himself while looking for some time of quiet concentration in the desert.

I'm sure I'll continue to learn more details about the story I love so much and Jesus's life will continue to surprise me.  Even the details I may have known since I was little, I will begin to see in a different, more humbling light.

Here is a link to one of my favourite Easter songs:  I Love to Tell the Story

Jackson ever so carefully stacking his tower

Meeting his Great-Aunt Ann for the first time

Carrying a balloon around at his friend Ethan's party

Our little Maverick flying a plane in reverse at the party

Jackson had two birthday parties today!  He only took a three-minute nap in between each one and showed he has a high willpower to party.

Dining with Ralph, the birthday boy

Winding down at the party and sharing some lemon drizzle cake with Mommy

Showing off his many facial expressions and munching on some cucumber

Developmental updates:  I forgot to mention that last week, Jackson turned 18 months old!  At times, it feels like he should still be a tiny baby, but at other times, it feels like we've always had Jackson in our lives.  Today we tested his body parts vocabulary and he now knows 'ears,' 'toes,' 'mouth,' 'belly button,' 'eyes,' and 'head.'  Jackson has loved opening his plastic Easter eggs and finding little chicks and bunnies inside this week.  It has turned into one of his favourite games--not so much hiding and finding them necessarily, but just opening and closing them over and over again.  Apparently, Jackson can now eat sandwiches without tearing them apart layer by layer.  (We discovered this at the birthday parties today.)

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.