Oh Summer

Does anyone still read this anymore? I can't imagine why you would, given that it's July and I've only posted seven times this whole year. I keep thinking of things I want to write about, but then things like teaching get in the way. Here are some topics I truly intended to post about during the school year, but obviously never got around to (and probably never will, ugh):
-A summary of my course evaluations
-Reflections on this quote: "Excuses don't change policy."
-What it means to be a "Productive math learner," as defined by next year's 9th and 10th grade math teachers at my school (I am super-excited about this)
-Reflections on what a school can--and should--focus on to achieve maximum success. The big question: should a school put its time/resources into supporting content and classroom learning or into developing student skills? Is there a way to do both effectively?
-Should a school give D's?
-What does it mean for a student to "show mastery at the basic level" of a subject? Is showing mastery at a basic level one time enough to say that a student should pass the class and/or is ready for the next level of the subject area?

But enough about teaching and about all of those things. Because it is SUMMER. Oh glorious summer, with your unscheduled days, long hours of sunshine, and lack of teenagers. I love you summer, with your oh-so-many opportunities to nap by the pool and feel only semi-guilty about it (as opposed to the full on soul-crushing guilt I feel during the year when I take time to do something like cook dinner instead of work). Seriously, during the school year I forget how normal people live. Here are some things I've done since classes have ended:
-Went curling
-Saw Wicked (the musical)
-Tried out new restaurants in San Francisco
-Saw friends who I haven't seen in forever
-Stayed awake past 10pm doing things unrelated to school
-Went to the Exploratorium to see the greatest math exhibit ever (also the only math exhibit I've ever seen). I might have to put up a post about this later.
-Went to a movie in a real movie theater
-Walked around and explored new parts of San Francisco
-Went to Point Reyes

And I have also done all the things that I wrote about in a similar post last year. Sort of. This summer so far, what with a trip back to Michigan, two weddings, and a week of math curriculum planning, has been somewhat more busy than last summer so far. Right now I have eight more days of relaxing and then it is off for my not-so-relaxing (in a good way) adventure for this summer. Which is why I started writing on the blog again. Stay tuned; you're going to want to see the pictures giant tortoises, baby sea lions, and blue-footed boobies.