Saturday 30 August 2014

Bullfrog weigh-in – a challenge

Now, as a retired teacher, I love doing math problems. When I was tutoring young women in a home for single mothers in the fall, I had to go back over my high school math. Since our medical woes, I haven't had the time nor energy to do so. I quite enjoyed helping them with their schoolwork.

I loved teaching math. The discovery math, currently in vogue, has done nothing but harm our students. The recent EQAO test result seem to confirm this.

EQAO concerned about 'persistently low' test results in math, English

CTV News-Aug 27, 2014Share
TORONTO -- Ontario's education minister wants to examine how applied math and English are taught in the early high school years after ...

The brightest and the best of our students, with rich, stimulating backgrounds, have the ability to achieve in elementary school, where the foundation is laid. It's the rest of the kids who need to be taught times tables, and need didactic lessons in numeracy. This is the same for literacy. The kids whose parents have done a lot of pre-reading work and play with their kids do not need to be taught to read. They are thirsty for learning, especially if it is modelled. I taught too many special education students to think anything different. They're doing much harm to the high-risk students.

OK. Off my soapbox. Back to my personal challenge. I was incredibly curious about the weight of my two bullfrogs. They are quite happy in my hand-dug goldfish pond. Since Jeremiah moved in this month, I've realised how big Geraldine has become. She's quite used to me; I don't often catch her.

They eat leopard frogs, as well as the odd bug. You can see what likely amounts to leopard frog limbs sticking out of Jeremiah's belly giving him an odd look. It is a frog-eat-frog world!

I found out that Geraldine is about 460 gm (~16oz.) and Jeremiah is about 200gm, although it was tricky reading the scale! I laughed so hard, hubby watched, too.



Geraldine wasn't thrilled! I set up the camera with the video running. She did a cameo appearance for me. You have to laugh! She hopped over to the camera when we were done and glared!


frog weigh-in from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
How do you weigh a bullfrog? Carefully! She was 460gm (~16 oz.); he was 200gm.
Saturday's Critters #39

12 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Jen, I enjoyed this cute froggie post. I love the photos. Thanks so much for sharing your post with my critter party.. Have a happy weekend!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Geraldine has a lot of character!

Nancy J said...

frogs on scales!!! I had to laugh too, They are quite photogenic with their colourings, and I think you are very brave to hold them!! Cheers,Jean.

Unknown said...

Wonderful post! Women don't want to tell their weight and it seems to be the same with frogs!

William Kendall said...

They're wondering if they get any residuals out of this whole photography deal!

I was okay in math, until we hit algebra and calculus.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
My smile is frog-wide now! YAM xx

A Colorful World said...

Just cracked me up! I love that you have two bullfrogs for pets! They are great. I wonder if they will have baby bullfrogs.

We are very unhappy about the new educational programs! Just horrible!!!!

Kay said...

This is so very interesting. Frogs eat frogs? I had no idea.

Kay L. Davies said...

"Sit" and "stay" are great commands for our Golden Retriever, not so good for your bullfrogs.
But I laughed and laughed. Bagging the bullfrog and expecting it to "sit and stay" — gotta love it, Jenn. If I were there, I'd be rolling on the grass, laughing.
As for math, that's Dick's territory. If I don't have a calculator handy, I ask him to do multiplication for me.
However, I could read and write before I ever started school. Unfortunately, this got me into an experimental group of about 14 children whom the school board decided to take out of Grade 2 after a couple of weeks, putting us in Grade 3. It was fine for a few years, but awful when I hit Junior High at the age of 10. Life was agony until I got to Grade 11 and boys discovered me.
In BC, where I spent the first 50-some years of my life, there won't be any school at all for a while. Not a labor-sensitive province any more.
K

Jenn Jilks said...

They do, Kay, eat smaller frogs. I have a video.

Jenn Jilks said...

It's a terrible situation in B.C., Kay L., and how horrible to lock the teachers out. Everyone demands an excellent education, some are not prepared to pay for it, and no one want to pay taxes.

Hannah said...

I love your bullfrogs, so cute! It's amazing they let you pick them up and even weigh them. It would be fun to host a lot of bullfrog tadpoles.