Spring is here

Despite swollen rivers, the lakes are moving and the land is dry. I think all of the snow is gone, except in deeply shadowed, shady forest. The last bit of ice melted in our above 20 degree temperatures.

April 13th the water was open at the shore. By April 18th it was open on our small lake. The ducks returned, as did the Canada Geese.


There is an open fire ban due to the lack of moisture on the land. In other places some roads are impassable due to the meltwater.

The birds are building nests wherever they can find a spot. The fish have become active and I can spot the dragonfly larvae as they work at their growth. Their are a few tadpole and lots of frog's eggs ripening with the warmth.

Internet Safety

Dear SLC,

I think your guest, "Beatrice", doesn't know what she is talking about. I am quite shocked. She demeans the entire school system in Canada.
There are many, many school with Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs). Just google that and you will find them. (TDSB, Wessex, Ottawa, Durham, NNDSB) You're giving air time to a woman who has no statistics, other than American ones, and doesn't know what she is talking about. That doesn't "sound like Canada" to me!

Parents and students must sign forms, usually embedded in a planner or school agenda. It is a standard practice.

For the most part, teachers must be vigilant in supervising students. Students cannot be left alone in a computer lab.

Vancouver is a different state than other provinces. That said, kids exploring site like Facebook in school time - that is the best time to do it. Most schools have created safe conditions, i.e. all the computers face the middle of the room and the teacher walks around surveying use. Most teachers assign work to do and surfing is not an option.

I have given many talks/workshops for parents and teacher-colleagues, and it is the parents who need more information. It is some principals who are afraid to institute discipline, but, for the most part, the schools are doing a fine job on educating kids on Internet Safety.

There are many things parents can do. But it is the parents who must be vigilant. Suggestions are here:

http://www.jilks.com/articles/InternetSafety.html

http://www.jilks.com/articles/InternetSafety.ppt.htm

Muskoka Weather

It always amazes me the power of the lake effect. Georgian Bay, to the west, both moderates and provides extreme weather, and dumps precipitation on us.

Our wee lake must have some effect as well. Our deck faces south. The sun warms the property, the trees keep in the warmth. There were days I could sit by the mostly frozen lake with only a t-shirt. More often than not, the weather station for Muskoka Township has quite varied temperatures from ours and forecasts tend to be inaccurate in our area.

This morning, the Weather Network told us to expect -2 degrees, with blowing snow. While we woke to very thin ice on the goldfish pond, frog pond, and the lakeshore that is open, the temperature was a solid zero degree, and the sun shines between clouds. The frost on the dock and deck has now melted.




The birds are busy eating and feeding. The bulbs are starting to appear. The buds are swelling on the trees in anticipation. The chickadees lick the sap that drips from open wounds in a maple.

The red squirrel gives EVERYONE a hard time. It thinks that the bird feeder has been created just for its benefit. Every other creature is a chump!

Muskoka Nature Awakes

It is wonderful seeing the breakup of the lake.The shore is appearing as the run off meltwater dissolves the ice.

The birds are active. The raccoons awoke last week. I had to replace the large stone on top of the metal garbage can that has housed our bird seed all winter. In the evening I heard a clank as the 'coon ripped the lid off and it hit the ground. The cats were quite excited.

This morning I saw one cat sitting on the deck looking down. The other was perched strangely on a rock. As I watched, the coon that was pigging out on bird seed, took off into the forest and up a tree. The cats seemed quite proud as the coon treed itself. Twice their size, they were ready to sit at the bottom of the tree.

Our younger cat is quite excited with the breath of fresh air. He keeps flinging himself up the tree!

Spring approacheth

We are continuing our afternoon walks. Everything is melting. The big fissures in the ice do not deter the tourists! I would not let MY kids out on the lake!

Lots of folks (3?) have their bubblers going. It seems like a colossal waste of electricity. The ice is thick and heaving and people don't like losing their docks.

There must be 8 mourning doves hanging around. They sound and look beautiful. There are great big icicles dripping off of the rocks. Giant stalactites. It took me 3 years to get good photos of them. I keep driving by thinking I should have put the camera in the front seat. Then I'm always on my way somewhere and don't have time to stop.

Redpoll

The birds and the wildlife continue to fascinate me. Every day is different. It is peaceful.

The birds sing, wood pecker bash away at the bark, the wind blows and all feels rights with the world.
The cats hunt for prey, keeping our park-like property safe from those wicked mice!

Provincial Budget

TheStar.com | Canada | Flaherty strikes back at McGuinty

"With a possible federal election looming, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is trying to lay the blame for Ontario's economic woes at the feet of Premier Dalton McGuinty."

and
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Opinion/Editorials/2008/03/25/5093961-sun.html

Do you think Flaherty is going for sound bytes? Last time they cut taxes we lost hospital beds, and education funding. How can we pay for infrastructure without a tax base?
They run on a platform of cutting taxes (Flaherty: Federal Tories) and take out those who are committed to providing Provincial services (Ontario Liberals).

Many coalitions are fighting for adequate funding. The government provides $118 per diem per day for a child in foster care. It costs $200/day since we have to outsource to private group homes here in the north. We don't have the funding to spend time recruiting and following the elaborate training procedures required by the Ministry. In LTC there isn't the funding to do the work required, and the onerous paperwork demanded in both education, mental and physical health care compounds the issue. What are they thinking?

Here in the north we have huge issues is accessing resources (human and physical). Those navel-gazing Toronto dudes...I can't wait to see what the Ontario Budget says about Long-Term Care. The Federal Finance Minister (Flaherty) is lobbying in public to tell Provincial Premier, McGuinty (Liberal), to cut business taxes. If he does that how will we pay for any of our services?

Last time that happened we had to close hospital beds.

Flaherty (Conservative) wants to screw up the Ontario economy (driven by Liberal provincial politicians).

How stupid do they think the electorate is?

You can't cut taxes and offer services. It has nothing to do with keeping business in Ontario. It has to do with everyone helping to pay for the services that keep at-risk kids and offenders off of the streets and getting the help they need. Big business wants a bail out (i.e., the automotive industry) even though we don't make the kinds of cars people want to buy. For those making $50,000 per year to build a car? Why do folks demand we dump tax dollars into private business for this purpose? Let's build cars people want to buy (the ZENN car!). Let's pay Canadians to do the work that needs to be done, rather than outsourcing.

Why do I phone another country to get help from my bank of credit card company?
Why do we not pay people a fair wage for work that needs to be done?

Let's pay for our fair share of oil, gas, hydro.

Cottage Country

What a joy it is to visit with friends and family. Muskoka has a long tradition of entertaining family and friends. For many it is a long drive, for others it is only a few hours from Toronto.

We were graced with the visit of our kids and granddaughter. We know that spring approaches, and after that those long, lazy days by the lake.

The increasing strength of the sun's rays results in indoor plants, as well as cats, blooming and sun bathing.

The hope and promise of the changing of the seasons warms my body, heart and soul. The wildlife is becoming frantic in their bid for survival as they seek to mate, eat, and perpatuate the species. What a blessing to live in this beautiful country.

Plagiarism

Interesting issues regarding a clash between a Ryerson University professor and a student, who created a Facebook study group. I think this is not a culture clash, or, if it is, it is a clash that has endured over time: students aiming for top marks and professors attempting to assess and evaluate a student’s knowledge and skills. There is a huge difference between assessment and evaluation. To assess is to assign a mark. To evaluate you are gathering information about the student and the teacher and the teaching methods. ‘Homework’ seems to be a term mistakenly attributed to a chemistry experiment. Assessment may be a means by which the professor determines knowledge that is lacking on the part of the student(s).

The purposes of assessment are for accountability, feedback, and classification or certification of students. With the issues in post-secondary education, it is up to the professor to determine if the student has prerequisite knowledge. Many students go to higher education without the basics they need. I think the interview made a mistake, in that to have a technology expert to weigh in on the issues negates those who attempt to assess and evaluate students. The university wants to ensure that student gain knowledge, rather than just data, information and facts, and are able to apply them to their work. The professor made a mistake in that his evaluation of the assignment should be based on the work turned in, originally a B, and not the behaviour of the student. Likely he assigned an ‘F’ because he assumed that the student cheated.

There is a difference, too, between a study group where students have peers to ensure that students are assisted with gaining knowledge, or tutors who cleverly determine how to lead a student to knowledge, and website that provides answers to problems that must be solved and where learning may not occur. Facebook, being unregulated and unsupervised by parents, teachers, or others in positions of clarity, young people are doing what they ought not to do. The media attention is grand in that it will help students understand that sometimes they just have to do as they are told!

Ryerson Student faces expulsion

re: I have a hard time distinguishing between collaborative student work in the library, study hall or the telephone and doing the same within a Facebook group.

There IS a difference. Tutors and teachers, and study groups do not give answers.
On-line groups, just like "essay writing services", give answers. Good tutors and study groups assist students in arriving at an answer. It is a difference between the destination and the journey.

The prof specifically said do it independently and we do not know why, but it may be for the purposes of assessing prior student knowledge, or the mastery of lessons, for assigning marks, or to help the student understand his/her failings, or to help the prof figure out what else should be included or missing in the curriculum or what needs to be retaught.

Student assessment is different from student learning.