Thursday, November 03, 2005

By the sea, by the sea...

I'm in sunny Myrtle Beach right now. There's a state science convention being held here, and, you know me, if there's fun, I'm there. I'll be there through Friday.

I was smart enough to take my laptop with me, and there's wireless access in the hotel, so I'll have some time to catch up on posting. I'll have more time in the future at home, since...

I PASSED THE PRAXIS II IN CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS/GENERAL SCIENCE. TA-DAAAAA!

Honestly, after the mix-up with the test booklet and the answer booklet, I was increasingly sure I failed. It took about 2 weeks longer than usual to get the scores to me. Now, mind you, I passed, barely! But, as many a coach will tell the team, even an ugly win is a win. I'll take it.

I'm looking forward to getting to know the science teachers in this state, and learning more about the issues that they are facing. In SC, we have an End of Course Test in Physical Science, which is, by state mandate, 20% of the students' final grade. Unless they have a fairly high grade, a failing grade on that test means they fail the course, which means they get no credit for the course. So, this is indeed a high-stakes test.

I've volunteered to help with the Science Club, and we've decided to enter the science Olympiad. If anyone has any experience with that, could you email me? I could use some guidance on how to prepare a team.

Now, I'm off to eat, and register for the conference. I'll post later, hopefully with lots of pictures.

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