Interior Designing at its BEST

"Can we fix it? Yes we can!" Bob the Builder's theme song repeats in my head as I watch my parents tear apart and reconstruct almost anything imaginable. We have numerous rental properties, so fixing up houses has somewhat become my night job. I have helped take down, put back up, plaster, and paint more walls than I would like to admit to. As a family we have become quite efficient in the whole remodeling process; however, usually at our rentals. Our house is not brand new, and it could easily be upgraded in some areas. But I am not complaining! I think that every imperfection makes a memory. I love how comforting our house is and I wouldn't change anything if the opportunity was presented.
It was not until my father recently got laid off at the mine that he started to pay more attention to our house. With all of his free time all of the little projects are starting to get checked off our massive to-do list. His most recent victim was our shower. Tiling? I arrive home from school and to my surprise our newest renters pickup sits gleaming in the sunlight outside our front porch. I curiously walk inside and find a cloud of dust settling over every available object in the house. The familiar noise of sledge hammers and destruction rings through my eardrums. Oh great, not this again. I subconsciously think about all of Dad's "projects" that had horrible endings...
I open the bathroom door, inhaling all the dust from our shower that is no more. Through the clouded room, I quietly approach the crime scene.  Yikes! Our shower has been completely demolished! Realizing a workable shower is most definitely a must, I frantically think of how long I will have to wait until I can bathe again. Gross. The calendar days zoom by in my head. Impossible. Certain things in life can be used as luxuries; however, I do not believe a shower is one of them! Doubting my father's handiwork I leave the bathroom without a word and quickly call my relatives in town. Relief floods through my body once I hear I have permission to use their cleaning facilities whenever I need...
This incident occurred a week and a half ago. I am extremely thankful to say he is almost finished with this project  and it is looking better than anyone could have imagined. The learning experience was remarkable! I am quite thrilled my Dad decided to tackle this job. I will admit, I had some huge doubts for him. But I am pleased to say it will be tentatively completed on Thursday! Bob the Builder pulls through once again for my family. Not only can we FIX it, we can TILE it.

Students and Teachers...and now Parents too?

Electronic grade books are no longer a nifty gadget imagined for the future. Students and parents now have the opportunity to check their attendance history or grades from any class. This allows the student to be aware of where they are grade point average and how they are ranking on a personal record. At first the thought of this was overwhelming and a new idea I quickly shot down. However, as time has passed I have come to adore the idea of being on top of my grades and in touch with the teachers if an issue is present. 

Powerschool has been around long enough now to where I can easily operate and manage the site. After some time I have found some flaws with this electronic device. As a concerned student, I admit to having access to this website every day whenever I desire. Personally, I love this feature. I am able to keep tabs on my grades and follow up with every paper I ever hand in. But this site is also available to any parent. I believe this is where the issue arises. Some overprotective mentors take advantage of this opportunity and step over the boundary and abuse the system. 

With technology advancing at the rate it is, the ease of access is incredible. Parents can have notifications sent to their phone and any other device. This can lead to overbearing guardians to assume the best for their child and head strait for the teachers with any issue that becomes present on the students behalf. In a sense this could be a perfect system, but in other ways it completely reverses the point of having a Powerschool account.

I do believe that the students should be able to have access to these sites, but I think it is going too far to allow parents to have this same responsibility. Students should have the option to keep track of their grades as they please. The teachers put their papers into a grade book anyways, so putting them into an electronic file only seems to make sense. But this is a private thing and should be only kept between the student and teacher. Children on average spend five days a week in school! This is time spent away from parents and bonding with the administration. Granted all students do not bond with their teachers, but their profile should still be kept personal. This is a situation where the parents are out of the loop and not involved. 

I am not saying that students shouldn't develop a relationship with their parents and share their grades; however, I think it should be an option not a forced action. If a student has a personal relationship with their guardians they will talk about their grades somehow or another. Powerschool just gives them the chance to step over their bounds and hound the school system if a mistake is made. I find this website to have more negatives rather than positives. 

Powerschool is a brilliant resource for students and teachers. They can connect on this site and view the grade book at any moment. But that is where I find the issue, it should be between the students and the teachers. Creating a triangle of events by incorporating the parents is just asking for trouble.

Valentine's Day?...again

The adolescent obsession over giving away anonymous gifts of various types of candy attached to a secret love note is mind boggling to me. I just do not understand the concept. I am always down for a mid-afternoon sugar high; however, I cannot bring myself to comprehend the logic of Valentine's Day.
I am honestly not even sure the meaning behind this silly holiday? Thanksgiving. Christmas. Easter. I completely get the meaning of those celebrations! But this lovey-dovey holiday is still a weird concept for me. If I am going to express my love for someone I would like them to at least know I was their admirer. I put all the time and thought into making them a sweet card, and then they don't even know who it was from? How does this make any sense at all!?!
As a younger student I do recall the thrill of Valentine's Day. We would take the prior week to make boxes, envelopes, or any other assortment to hold all of our sugar and love notes. Back then, it was ideal! But once we fast forward to the present, I still am at a loss for understanding. Of course the sugar has been upgraded to heart shaped boxes of chocolate, and the cute Valentine cards replaced with red or pink roses, the purpose of it all just isn't there. I am a seeker. I want to find a meaning for everything around me. So here we are...again. Why do we dedicate a special day of our calendar year to St. Valentine? If you think about it numerous people were influential in our history; however, we do not dedicate a day to them?
The only logical solution I can bring myself to is that as a whole we long for a romantic side in our lives. Daily living can get overwhelming and stressful. So to fix this awful but true situation, we dedicate February 14 to all the sappy humans of the world. A day for all of the women to indulge in arrays of chocolate creations, and the men to express their feelings to these very same women. Sounds like a pretty successful day if you ask me...
I guess in the end, the confusion and clutter is worth the happiness. I do; however, still long to find a more suitable meaning for this holiday. Making someone smile and realize they are appreciated still matters though. People don't share enough of their true emotions with each other. So if we have to dedicate a day to telling others they matter, then I suppose I can sacrifice and enjoy the tasty, sugary treats that go along with it...