Nicole Maccari

The more time I spend in math classes where some people are completely lost while others are doing fine the more I think that teaching technique means nothing if the student won’t ask for help. I used to think that the main reason students were lost in math class is because the teacher is not building a base for his students to learn from. I have found that to not be the case this semester. I am taking math classes from beginning algebra to a third level of calculus and analytical geometry as I prepare to become a math teacher. The professor teaching the basics to us education majors is an excellent teacher and there are still people who have no idea what is going on. I have adopted a young man in my 2nd algebra class who is completely lost. Every day I spend 15-30 minutes of class explaining to my young man the same thing we are going over but in different terms. I now have him straightened out on the basics and have been urging him to go to the professor for additional questions or problems because he needs more practice than what everyone else is using to concrete the concepts in their minds, but he is so shy he won’t ask the professor to make up extra work. Coincidentally he is beginning to get off track again. I hope that I will be able to make my students comfortable enough to ask for help.

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I have been taking an open book history test for 2 days now…that is just a little too much. I am using my favorite history book that has no answers in it. I have to find the section of the book that talks vaguely about my topic then I have to research in depth on the internet for the actual pertinent information so I can answer the questions. I think I will never again take an online course. The problems I (and everyone else in the class) are having I think stems from the professors negligence in forming questions without checking the text to see if the answers are really there for student to find. I can’t wait till this class is done!

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Here are the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire photos I promised! Also once I get done some of my papers  (late November ) I will be going through my old Faire photos, scanning them and  posting them for review also.

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So after living in our home for over 6 years I have finally made a decision on what to do with the family room windows. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a curtain snob from way back (even before I got my interior decorating license) I truly believe that window coverings and art work are the two things a room cannot live without. This simple fact is what makes it so absurd that the room my family spends the most time in, our family room, is quite literally the only room that is undecorated in my home. I began fretting over the family room curtains in January 2001 and hadn’t stopped until just a few short months ago, when I went to a huge sale at F. Schumacher’s/ Interior Alternatives (moving to a new location).  I found the perfect fabric for my cornice boards at an unbelievable price which set me on a warpath to choose my other fabrics, curtain style, light control devices, paint color, lighting, furniture and built in entertainment/ bookshelf units.

Now all I have to do is find the time to actually get started sewing, building and installing.

Wish me luck!

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I do not make movies, but I know someone who does… hey that’s my camera and youtube profile! Do you like philosophers? look up my videos:

alain badiou

jean paul sartre

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So my husband, son, sister and I went to the Pennsylvania Renassaince Faire today. The weather was nice even if a little chillly. I worked at the faire the seasons of 1991, 1992, 1993 and possibly 1994 but my memory is really really bad.  I was a noble woman, French, and in the Queens court. My character, Jaqueline Bassent (pronounced  like croissant with a B), was cruel  to most anyone and while I was there one of the other actors litterally had my most widely used phrase ” sorry, meant that” coined for me (really printed on gold colored coins that we used as currency). I was purposely unkind even to my most beloved and equally nasty compatriot, Felicia Bournemouth.  Well when I went today I wanted to see if I could catch up with an old friend of mine who I have kept in touch with regularly since my young, strange Faire days. He had not worked the PA Faire in many years, so I thought why not try to catch him there. Sooooo much had changed since I had been there I could hardly recognize the place. However, believe it or not, I did recognize more than a few of my old firends and it was absolutely delightful.

I am going to add some pictures here within the next few days.

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I am currently taking five college courses 2 of which are online and the others are lecture classes and I have to wonder who sets the homework assignments or if there are any regulations on how much of a course is designed to be initiated and complete by the student without help from the professor or the course text. I have an online history class that every single question that we are asked has no direct reference in the text…it is crazy. then I have a education class (16 weeks long ) that I have to do 10 hours of observation for which seems ok , but then I have literally 10 papers for. I am not talking about some neat little page long essays…I am talking about APA style papers with a title page, citations and a reference page real papers…that is in addition to 5 in class 1-3 page essays. It is just insane to think that I am getting the same college credits for a class that is taking me a minimum of 2-3 hours work every day of the week as I am getting for a math class where if you understand the material the homework takes less than 1/2 hour. I just wish I knew how the school’s come up with the credit assignment on a course.

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This weekend upcoming is the last week of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. I hope that it will not be raining on Saturday because that is when I want to go… I will be scanning and posting some old and new photos of the Faire within the next few days.

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Tom told me yesterday that Amazon was/is selling downloadable music. I was busy doing something else while he was talking about it, so I was only 1/2 listening. Well, this evening I thought of a song that I don’t have and started to iTunes to get it…then I remembered what Tom had said” Amazon is selling mp3’s now. I love the iPod and my iPhone, but I am not a fan of iTunes…I am just not in love with the set up, so I went to Amazon. Lo and behold! Some of the clips were cheaper $.89 instead of $.99 or $1.29, but the real surprise came when I looked at the album price. Ani DiFranco’s Cannon @ Amazon $13.98, @ iTunes $19.98. Yeah now the older stuff is like a $1.00 or $2.00 difference, but still….why pay more than you have to?

worth checking out! 

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I have recently returned to school after a 15 year hiatus. I want to get my masters in mathematics education. In order to be able to teach any level of math my best course is to get an elem ed degree and a secondary math ed degree concurrently. This leads up to me having to take “Post Civil War History”…. the book for the class is The American Pageant.

This is by far the worst written book I have ever had the misfortune of studying from. That is, of course, if you can consider me doing the required reading and then looking up the info to answer the questions on the internet, studying.

Not that I many of you are planning on taking Post Civil War History, but if you do and the professor asks you to purchase this book….change classes

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