According to this Washington Times article, a recent ruling in California states that 60,000 to 200,000 families who currently home-school their children are doing so illegally.

“California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to educate their children in their own home,” said the Feb. 28 ruling by the California Appellate Court for the second district.

“It’s clear to us that enrollment and attendance in a public full-time day school is required by California law for minor children,” it stated, laying out the few exceptions to that rule, including if the child is enrolled in and attends a private full-time day school or if the child is tutored by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught.”

Are you kidding me?

This past week, I had the pleasure of joining four other adults and twenty-four eighth graders on a trip to Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico. The majority of our time was spent serving the people, facilities, and children of Back2Back Ministries, an organization that helps several children’s homes (the positive name for an orphanage) throughout the city.

The time was saturated with hard work, intentional growth, and plain-old good times … and God really did a number on my heart too. But instead of telling you stories right now, I’d like to just share my photos. I’ve posted about two hundred online … so if you want to see what we did, check out the set or the slideshow.

What captivation!

As I was walking down the hall this morning, I asked a charming little fifth grade girl if she was having a good day. She promptly answered, “No” … and without missing a beat, proceeded to accidentally drop all of her books all over the ground.

It’s amazing to me how many of my students have anxiety problems … the smallest things can trigger the biggest reactions, and comfort just seems miles away. Pity and leniency don’t really seem to help … instead, I’ve learned that the best thing I can do is constantly bombard these students with trust, confidence, and joy.

During my lunch break today, I was skimming some interesting news on the Internet, when I came across this dandy from the UK:

A pair of twins who were adopted by separate families as babies got married without knowing they were brother and sister, a peer told the House of Lords. A court annulled the British couple’s union after they discovered their true relationship, Lord Alton said.

Yep, that’s right … they met each other later in life, felt an “inevitable attraction”, and ended up getting hitched. Totally weird.

As I was reading the article, a former student of mine, who had the afternoon off from her high school, walked into the room to say hello. I love it when that happens … we chatted about life, catching up on the latest stories and shooting the breeze a bit. Eventually, I brought up the article … and her reaction was strong. She was absolutely disgusted!

Then I realized why … she’s a fraternal twin. And she has a brother.

Whoops.

I was woken up at 5:45am this morning with a phone call announcing some wonderful news … it was our first snow delay of the season! I promptly used the two hours of cushion to roll over and enjoy my flannel sheets just a little more.

I absolutely hate waking up early on potential snow days and tuning in to the local TV/radio to find out if we have school. The endless drivel drives me crazy, and my eyelids inevitably respond to gravity just as the “C” schools are scrolling by. By the time they’ve come around again, I’m either really late (not good for a normal day) or fully awake (not good for a snow day).

Thankfully, technology is here to once again save the day. If you’re in my city, Cincinnatischoolclosings.com is an always-updated list of school closing and delays. And even better, 700 WLW will send you an email and/or text message immediately when your school makes an announcement. Now you can find out in seconds, with barely an eyelid raised!

Yesterday Jack Hanna came to my school. His granddaughter is one of my sixth graders, and the kids absolutely loved hearing about his adventures!

Jack brought all sorts of cool animals with him … a three-banded armadillo, the world’s third-largest rabbit, a tortoise, a bearcat, a legless lizard, some hissing cockroaches, a long python, and a Serval cat. He even let two flamingos run around the gym right in front of the kids!

Later this week Jack will be on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, and The Late Show with David Letterman. I thought it was pretty cool that he took time out of his busy schedule (his only free day this year, in fact) to visit our lowly middle school!

I just received a fantastic email about my portfolio from my professor:

Lance,

Congratulations! You have successfully completed all of the requirements for the master’s program. I have sent an e-mail to the university stating that your portfolio has been approved. You will need to send the Registrar’s Office a request for an official transcript. Please send me an e-mail if you run into any problems.

Attached is feedback on your portfolio. You did an incredible job documenting the progress that you have made through the eighteen months in the program. I know the journey was not always pleasant and the sacrifices were many, but it was all worth it because you now possess a master’s degree!!

Sincerely,
Rachel Bordelon, Ph.D.
Walden University

Yippee!

When parents want to take their children out of my school for several days at a time, they’re required to fill out an Extended Absence Form. This form is overall pretty bland … but one of the questions always produces quite a few entertaining responses:

What are the possible educational objectives that could be accomplished while your child is out of school?

It’s always hilarious to read the crazy “objectives” that parents come up with … you can tell which ones were good at B.S.ing their way through college and which ones still use it in the workplace. So funny!

I couldn’t help but collect some of the best answers over the years … so here are the student names, followed by the “educational objectives” that parents said they would accomplish during their vacations absences:

• Luci: increased geographical knowledge; exposure to Carribean culture
• Nick and Kathleen: learning about the diversity and cultures of the world at Epcot and MGM Studios
• Chad: Exploring the Pacific Ocean and tidepools
• Jeremy: Jeremy will be visiting Inverness. Jeremy’s desire is to see the Loch Ness monster.
• James: hunter safety; outdoor environmental education
• Ben: Ben can help plan for the trip; expensives, milages, average mph, average temp. for week, written report on history of the area
• Chris & J.T.: An opportunity to be enriched by the diverse cultures and the geographical features in California.
• Brian: travel, see the real world
• Jennifer: Will have the opportunity to visit the Carribean Islands and see different cultures and geography. Will get the opportunity to see marine wildlife (on Disney Cruise).
• Courtney: studying.
• Sam: Learn about mountains and mountain life; additional geography appreciation. (family ski vacation)
• Jacob: Will help AIA staff with the 2003 Super Bowl breakfast, much exposure to Christian athletes who use their platform to share their faith (going to the Super Bowl with AIA)
• Aaron: Calculating time, distance, altitude, flying (math); environment, animal and plant life during winter months and on mountains at altitude, altitude and how it affects your body (science); lots of excersize (p.e.)
• Joe: In the past, our children have been enriched with not only time spent with their Grandparents but also written reports on “red tide” (done with our laptop), explored marine life upclose and personal, and visited natural surroundings.
• Christian: Louisiana history (thanksgiving holiday to visit grandparents in louisiana)
• Maria: It is teaching her to juggle a heavy schedule of practices and homework, there is a lot of discipline involved.
• Jonathan: He will experience the mountains of Lake Tahoe and tour San Fransisco. Jon will definitely grow in his snowboarding skills.
• Jamie: Absolutely nothing.

“Mr. Webel, I like how you’re legitimate and funny at the same time.”

– Elise, sixth grade

For the past two years, I’ve been pursuing my Master of Science in Education with a focus in Integrating Technology into the Classroom from Walden University. I finished my last of ten courses in May … and at that point, all I had to do was complete my portfolio.

Because of some miscommunication, my move back to America, and some downright irresponsibility, I completely missed the June deadline. Yeah. I didn’t even think about it until August … and at that point, I had to petition to be let back into the program and have my portfolio graded. What a mess it was.

Fortunately, they let me back in … and now my portfolio is due on November 15th. I’m hoping to finish it before then, however, so I’m spending all weekend here at home plugging away. It’s so difficult for me to concentrate … but at this point, I don’t really have a choice!

I’ve actually decided to shun the usual format for portfolios and instead put mine online. So if you’re interested, you’re welcome to check it out as I upload new components and fit the pieces together. If nothing else, I sure could use the accountability!

Grace, one of my former student-athletes, just sent me an English paper that she wrote about her first few days on my cross country team two years ago.

She’s an incredible writer … grammatically better than most adults that I know and downright hilarious too. Her narrative had me rolling on the floor, remembering a footprint-covered Grace crossing the finish line and the never-ending stories that followed. I really hope that she chooses to use her gift of writing, maybe even as a blogger!

Without further ado, here’s Grace’s story.

The Finish Line
by Grace Reifenberg

Cross Country was the worst decision of my life.

I wearily rubbed my sleep-deprived eyes with a clenched fist and slowly trudged through the empty parking towards my waiting cross country team. The damp grass still glistened with drops from the morning rain shower. The unpleasantly cold morning air chilled me to the bone. Shivering, I huddled in my warm-up even tighter.

At only 8am, I was not looking forward to running, in a mere couple of hours, the 2 mile race. I approached my team still only semi-conscious. My forever-energetic coach enthusiastically slapped me on the back and attempted to pry away the blanket wrapped firmly around me with no luck. Still drowsy, I joined my other teammates huddled together under our team tent. The wind thrashed against the flimsy fabric, threatening to blow it away. The biting air stung our faces as we tried to shelter ourselves from the cold. It was our first cross country meet of the season – my first meet ever.

Under the tent, the oranges and bagels were ignored while the hot chocolate was gone within minutes. As the meet rapidly approached, it soon became time to start our warm-ups. We slowly began our warm-up jog. The cold air nipped at my cheeks, making my eyes water, as we jogged slowly around the soccer field where the course began. As a team, our goal was to keep our muscles warm by leaving our warm-ups on until the very last minute. Even with the thick, water-resistant warm-ups, you could still feel the chill of the frosty air. With rosy cheeks and blue lips, I joined the circle to stretch. My coach began to explain the course’s layout to us. We would start on a soccer field, run around a couple baseball fields, cross a creek, through the woods, along a dirt road, past many cow pastures, and then eventually make it to the chute. As he was describing the course, I began to realize that this race was going to be nothing like practice.

The race official stood up with his winter jacket, earmuffs, and gloves and blew on his whistle. It was time. Dread filled my body. This was it. I had to part with my warm, comforting warm-up and be exposed to the freezing air. Some choose to slowly peel off their cozy pants and jacket, savoring every last bit of their body heat, while I went for more of the shock method. As I tore off my sweats and stood in my skimpy cross country uniform, I was hit with a blast of icy air. Immediately, my entire body shook uncontrollably. Within the couple minutes it takes to get situated on the line, my legs and hands went completely numb.

Once the shock of the cold began to wear off, I felt the nervousness creeping up in me. Standing on the starting line, I slowly began to realize the terrors of the situation I had somehow gotten myself into. After only two practices, somehow I was standing on the starting line of my first cross country race ever. My stomach felt like there was an entire family of butterflies living in it, while my confident swagger quickly vanished and was replaced with trembling knees. Absolute terror was etched upon my face as the official announced,

“Runners, take your marks.”

I gulped and fearfully stepped up to the line.

“Get set.”

Fear clutched my chest as I crouched down. And my legs began to shake uncontrollably. I took one last big breath and braced myself for the single word that would declare my fate.

“Go!”

The deafening blast of the gun made my heart jump in my chest as my legs simultaneously propelled my body forward along with the rest of the pack. I threw myself forward, desperate not to get stuck in the back. When I glanced around, seeing others jostling for position, I was quite surprised to find myself near the front of the pack.

Within the first 100 meters, my legs went completely numb and turned a dark shade of red. After a little while I began to feel the effects of my “not-so-smart” quick start. I settled into a more reasonable pace and tried to focus on the little yellow flags directing me where to go. I was determined not to get lost.

As we turned into the woods, I was met by a raging creek. Its powerful waters demanded respect. The usual trickle of a stream had turned into a rushing, fast-moving creek from the early morning thunderstorm. So much for the new running shoes. Toward the front of the pack, I carefully strode across the creek. As I turned to continue on, I was met by the steepest, muddiest hill I have ever seen. It took up the entire bank of the creek. Already, bodies were scrambling up grabbing onto whatever root they could get a hold of.

Not wanting to miss out, I threw myself into the middle of the pack. Many had made it up the treacherous hill and were continuing on with the race. At the bottom of the pile, I was being crushed by the many bodies attempting to get up the slippery slope. I dug my fingers into the mud, holding on for dear life and managed to pull myself up and hang onto a root. Unfortunately for me, I was stuck like that. Because I had become a barrier, not at the top or bottom of the hill, people began to use me as a replacement for the missing root. Before I knew it, people were grabbing onto my jersey, pulling themselves up by my leg, and even using my shoulder or head as a foot step. I was helpless; lying there in three inch deep mud with my opponents using me as a ladder. Yet, the whole time I was laughing uncontrollably.

My friend and teammate, Sarah, grabbed one of my arms and desperately tried to pull me free. At this point, we were both laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes. Eventually, after just about every runner not only passed me, but used me as a stepstool; I was able to slowly pry myself out of the oozing, bone-chilling mud. I quickly grabbed the root, hoisted myself up, and took off at a dead sprint. As I ran through the woods, I eventually caught up with most of my other teammates. I was just a little more tired, a little bit colder, and a whole lot muddier then anybody else out there.

Eventually, I got back into my stride. With every pounding step, the shock vibrated through my entire body. My lungs began to burn and my throat felt like I swallowed nails. Yet strangely, it wasn’t as nearly as miserable as I had expected.

As my body began to tire, my brain came up with millions of reasons why to stop. My raspy breathing came in gasps and I was positive there was no way I could finish. Yet, my feet keep moving; one step after another. Just one step.

As I rounded the bend towards the finish, my breaths came in short, inadequate gasps. I no longer had any control over my legs. I propelled myself forward towards the finish line. Towards warmth. I gave everything I had that last 200 meter stretch. I didn’t feel anything, I just ran. As I crossed the finish line, my exhausted yet exhilarated body collapsed with relief. I had accomplished my goal.

Cross Country was the worst decision of my life. Yet, it was also one of the best. It challenged me to push myself further than I have ever done before. It took a ton of willpower and perseverance to finish and not stop. But every time I crossed the finish line, I got the greatest satisfaction in knowing that, once again, I had the strength and courage to push myself and finish the race.

“Mr. Webel, your motherboard is so fat that she went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico and farted, and that’s what made Hurricane Katrina.”

– Grant (5th grade)

“Don’t be talkin’ ’bout my motherboard.”

– Me

Every autumn, my school lets the students out early one Friday afternoon for a huge extended outdoor party called Fall Festival. Students from all four schools come to the middle school backyard, tons of rides and games and prizes are brought out, and a good time is had by all.

For my contribution, I always pull out my old Glee Club tuxedo, red tie and all, and take a one-hour shift in the dunking booth. It’s pretty fun … after hearing my taunts about their bad aim and seeing my over-confidence all week, my students show up in droves to humiliate me, over and over. This year they were particularly accurate … I must’ve been dunked over a hundred times!

I was searching for some information about my school on Google News today when I stumbled upon a few shots of me in the dunk tank on the Cincinnati Enquirer website. Nothing too special, but it’s always fun to accidentally find yourself online!

Well, I’m off to Gettysburg, Antietam, and Harpers Ferry for the next three days on the annual eighth grade trip. It’ll be the first time I’ve gotten to ride in the bus with the kiddos … and I’m really looking forward to hanging out with the fantastic group of girls that I’m chaperoning.

Historical America, here we come!