Yesterday I took my boy to Athens, Texas to go fishing at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. This is a beautiful facility. It will make you proud to be a Texan. The facility has museum quality aquariums, a nature trail, and a fishing pond.
You can rent a rod & reel and buy bait at the pavilion by the fishing pond, but you are better off bringing your own gear and bait. The catfish love hot dogs! Bring pliers in your gear. They ask you to flatten the barb on your hook because most people catch and release. Fishing is included in the modest cost of admission. You must pay extra if you want to take your catch home with you.
The gift shop is a hoot. Everything is about fish or fishing! There was a fish mail box, a bobber pillow, fishing-lure bookends, and Fish-opoly, a fishing oriented version of Monopoly.
The entrance to the Fisheries Center is on the right, just past the entrance to the public boat launch. When you leave, I recommend you enter the drive to the public boat launch and enjoy lunch at the Marina Restaurant. I recommend the Pecan Crusted Tilapia. The view of Lake Athens is wonderful.
It is an hour and a half drive to Athens down good roads and decent scenery. Going fishing in Athens is a great day trip for the family.
Robert
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
What is Going on at the Plano ISD?
The Dallas Morning News has nice web link to find recent DMN articles about the Plano Independent School District:
http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Plano_Independent_School_District
It is a useful feature to keep track of what is going on at the Plano ISD.
Robert Canright
http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Plano_Independent_School_District
It is a useful feature to keep track of what is going on at the Plano ISD.
Robert Canright
Sunday, March 7, 2010
TAKS Time: Watch Out for the Test Traps
TAKS testing is upon us again. The 4th grade writing test has already been administered March 3rd. The majority of the testing is in April. I like to know what tests my child will take and when they will be administered. I went to this TEA website and downloaded the 2009-2010 school year testing calendar.
You can administer previously released TAKS tests to your child if you wish. You go to this other TEA website for tests and answer keys. Whatever grade your child is in, there are four sets of tests available. Before you print a test, you might show the PDF file to your child and ask if those test questions have already been used in class. Why print something and end up throwing it away? The teachers use these tests in class but they usually don't have the time or need to use every test.
I like to administer an old TAKS test to my child because I want to know what my child is facing.
I break up the test into parts so it is not a burden. I exmine the problems that get marked wrong according to the answer key. Aside from mistakes in subject matter, it is important to coach a child on the art of test taking. There are traps in the TAKS tests. The most prevalent traps are the "false attractor" and the "most correct answer" traps.
The false attractor trap is an answer that is almost correct. It looks like the correct answer, but has a tiny mistake, usually at the very end of the answer. This trap is usually inserted before the correct answer to lure your child into a mistake on the test. It is sad to see your child correctly work a math problem and then get tricked into selecting the false attractor. My recollection is that math problems use the false attractor.
The most correct answer trap is very devious. There will be two correct answers. You will see this in verbal answers, usually not in math answers. The test writers will claim that one answer is more correct than the other. If there is a strategy for a most correct answer, perhaps it is the answer with more information. The test writers are sometimes wrong. Do not be surprised if you cannot understand why the test writers like their most correct answer better than the most correct answer you and your child both agree upon.
If you want to help your child with the TAKS testing, I hope this helps.
Robert Canright
Former Math Teacher
Candidate for PISD Board of Trustees, Place 1
PS: Here is a modestly entertaining video about the TAKS test from Irving High School
Here is I Failed the Science TAKS Test for some light humor.
The TAKS Ninjas is a bit long, but it humorously provides test taking advice.
You can administer previously released TAKS tests to your child if you wish. You go to this other TEA website for tests and answer keys. Whatever grade your child is in, there are four sets of tests available. Before you print a test, you might show the PDF file to your child and ask if those test questions have already been used in class. Why print something and end up throwing it away? The teachers use these tests in class but they usually don't have the time or need to use every test.
I like to administer an old TAKS test to my child because I want to know what my child is facing.
I break up the test into parts so it is not a burden. I exmine the problems that get marked wrong according to the answer key. Aside from mistakes in subject matter, it is important to coach a child on the art of test taking. There are traps in the TAKS tests. The most prevalent traps are the "false attractor" and the "most correct answer" traps.
The false attractor trap is an answer that is almost correct. It looks like the correct answer, but has a tiny mistake, usually at the very end of the answer. This trap is usually inserted before the correct answer to lure your child into a mistake on the test. It is sad to see your child correctly work a math problem and then get tricked into selecting the false attractor. My recollection is that math problems use the false attractor.
The most correct answer trap is very devious. There will be two correct answers. You will see this in verbal answers, usually not in math answers. The test writers will claim that one answer is more correct than the other. If there is a strategy for a most correct answer, perhaps it is the answer with more information. The test writers are sometimes wrong. Do not be surprised if you cannot understand why the test writers like their most correct answer better than the most correct answer you and your child both agree upon.
If you want to help your child with the TAKS testing, I hope this helps.
Robert Canright
Former Math Teacher
Candidate for PISD Board of Trustees, Place 1
PS: Here is a modestly entertaining video about the TAKS test from Irving High School
Here is I Failed the Science TAKS Test for some light humor.
The TAKS Ninjas is a bit long, but it humorously provides test taking advice.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Voting in the Primaries
Today was the only Saturday for early voting for the Republican and Democratic primaries. Sunday, 2/21, still has early voting available. Monday through Friday early voting hours are 7am to 7pm. Here is a link to the locations for early voting.
If you don't know who to vote for, you can go to this web site. At the bottom, below the voting locations, you will find a list of precinct numbers and a sample ballot for your precinct. (Your precinct number is printed on your voter registration card.) There are many important spots open for voting: the Governor, the Rail Road Commissioner, a couple of State Supreme Court spots, the County Judge, and many court judge positions. With this list of names I used Google and studied the available information. It took over an hour to select select the candidates I voted for.
Election day is Tuesday March 2 for the party primaries.
On March 27 there will be the run-off election for the Plano City Council. Here is a link to info for the City Council election. Early voting for this City Council election will be March 11 to March 23.
I hope you will take time to vote in these elections.
Robert Canright
If you don't know who to vote for, you can go to this web site. At the bottom, below the voting locations, you will find a list of precinct numbers and a sample ballot for your precinct. (Your precinct number is printed on your voter registration card.) There are many important spots open for voting: the Governor, the Rail Road Commissioner, a couple of State Supreme Court spots, the County Judge, and many court judge positions. With this list of names I used Google and studied the available information. It took over an hour to select select the candidates I voted for.
Election day is Tuesday March 2 for the party primaries.
On March 27 there will be the run-off election for the Plano City Council. Here is a link to info for the City Council election. Early voting for this City Council election will be March 11 to March 23.
I hope you will take time to vote in these elections.
Robert Canright
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Plano, Chess, and Texas Tech
Small World!
I introduced myself to a gentleman giving a chess lesson at my neighborhood coffee shop and discovered he was from New Orleans. Alfred Carlin has been the Louisiana State Chess Champion 5 times. He is missed as a chess teacher in New Orleans, as mentioned in this article, in the section "Scholastic Drought".
Chess and Scholastic Achievement
If New Orleans had to lose Mr. Carlin, I'm glad he came here so our children can benefit from his chess instruction. The Plano schools require student participation in Choir or Band in 6th grade because studies show a connection between music and scholastic achievement. Similar studies have shown that playing chess improves scholastic achievement. Alfred Carlin was tutoring students at the coffee shop and I'll wager his students do well in school.
Chess at Texas Tech
Many students from Plano go to Texas Tech. You will be happy to hear that a chess team from Tech tied for 2nd place at the 2009 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship held Dec. 27-30 on South Padre Island. A chess team from Tech tied with a team from UT Dallas, which has been a national powerhouse in chess for years. The Tech A team defeated Princeton, University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University. The Raiders B team defeated Yale University’s B team.
Texas Tech has Grandmaster Susan Polgar heading SPICE: the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence. Grandmaster Polgar, born in Budapest, Hungary, now lives in Lubbock. I'm happy to see a major Texas university like Texas Tech bringing world-class talent to Texas to help our students achieve at the highest levels.
It's great to see talented teachers like Alfred Carlin in the Dallas/Plano area and Susan Polgar in Lubbock helping our children compete at the highest levels.
Robert Canright
PS: I can help you contact Alfred Carlin if you so desire.
I introduced myself to a gentleman giving a chess lesson at my neighborhood coffee shop and discovered he was from New Orleans. Alfred Carlin has been the Louisiana State Chess Champion 5 times. He is missed as a chess teacher in New Orleans, as mentioned in this article, in the section "Scholastic Drought".
Chess and Scholastic Achievement
If New Orleans had to lose Mr. Carlin, I'm glad he came here so our children can benefit from his chess instruction. The Plano schools require student participation in Choir or Band in 6th grade because studies show a connection between music and scholastic achievement. Similar studies have shown that playing chess improves scholastic achievement. Alfred Carlin was tutoring students at the coffee shop and I'll wager his students do well in school.
Chess at Texas Tech
Many students from Plano go to Texas Tech. You will be happy to hear that a chess team from Tech tied for 2nd place at the 2009 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship held Dec. 27-30 on South Padre Island. A chess team from Tech tied with a team from UT Dallas, which has been a national powerhouse in chess for years. The Tech A team defeated Princeton, University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University. The Raiders B team defeated Yale University’s B team.
Texas Tech has Grandmaster Susan Polgar heading SPICE: the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence. Grandmaster Polgar, born in Budapest, Hungary, now lives in Lubbock. I'm happy to see a major Texas university like Texas Tech bringing world-class talent to Texas to help our students achieve at the highest levels.
It's great to see talented teachers like Alfred Carlin in the Dallas/Plano area and Susan Polgar in Lubbock helping our children compete at the highest levels.
Robert Canright
PS: I can help you contact Alfred Carlin if you so desire.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Thanks Daddy and Goodbye to All That
Thank you, Daddy!
My daughter graduated from Plano Senior High in 2009. It was a happy occasion for her and she told us that she loved going to school in Plano. I reminded her that I changed careers so she could grow up in Plano, and she gave me a hug and said, "Thank you, Daddy!"
There came a time when I needed to move to Silicon Valley to continue working in the design and manufacturing of computers. My wife and I had a heart-to-heart discussion about the future of our family and we decided Plano was where we wanted to rear our children, so I changed careers. The sacrifice I made for my daughter worked out, but I wonder if my sacrifice will work for my son.
Goodbye to All That
When my daughter reached middle-school in Plano, the math curriculum improved so I no longer had to send her to Chinese School for her math instruction. My son, however, is stuck with Connected Math, so I have to continue supplying him with extra instruction to compensate for the poor math program in Plano.
Plano is a great community, but the math curriculum in the elementary schools has always been weak. Now the weakness has spread to the middle-schools. So many children go to Kumon, or Chinese School, or Japanese school, getting extra tutoring, that the problems with the math curriculum are covered up. The danger will be in the dumbing down of the high school math curriculum. The high school math program in Plano has been a gem, but the dumbing down will eventually reach the high school and the damage will be too great for all the tutoring companies in Plano to overcome. When the high school math program is dumbed down, then we can say goodbye to Plano's reputation.
School Realignments
After my daughter attended a Texas Tech football game she was surprised at the lack of school spirit. I told her that Plano Senior High was a gem. I explained that her high school experience was rare. We bought our home so she could go to Plano Senior. I changed careers so she could go there, and then the PISD board ruined it for my son. Even if we move or we transfer him so he can attend Plano Senior, all his friends will go to Plano West.
The Plano Board of Trustees and the PISD Administration have done a dismal job of planning for very many years and the goofy school realignments are the by-product of years of poor planning. The once great Plano school system has been unraveling around us for years. The neighborhood chemistry is important for a school and this was ignored by the Board.
I hope Plano Senior High can survive the changes. I hope the city of Plano can survive these changes because the schools are the heart beat of our community.
What Can We Do?
People have been trying for years to fix the problems with the PISD, but the problems are so deep seated that there is no end in sight. However, we might be able to either undo the problems from the school realignment, or at least minimize the some of the problems.
We Plano parents should get busy over these next few years. Either approach -- undoing the realignment or ameliorating its problems -- will take years.
To undo realignment problems will require changing a majority of the Board of Trustees, which will take a couple of elections. There will be a school board election in May. That will be a time to voice your dissatisfaction with this realignment.
Robert Canright
My daughter graduated from Plano Senior High in 2009. It was a happy occasion for her and she told us that she loved going to school in Plano. I reminded her that I changed careers so she could grow up in Plano, and she gave me a hug and said, "Thank you, Daddy!"
There came a time when I needed to move to Silicon Valley to continue working in the design and manufacturing of computers. My wife and I had a heart-to-heart discussion about the future of our family and we decided Plano was where we wanted to rear our children, so I changed careers. The sacrifice I made for my daughter worked out, but I wonder if my sacrifice will work for my son.
Goodbye to All That
When my daughter reached middle-school in Plano, the math curriculum improved so I no longer had to send her to Chinese School for her math instruction. My son, however, is stuck with Connected Math, so I have to continue supplying him with extra instruction to compensate for the poor math program in Plano.
Plano is a great community, but the math curriculum in the elementary schools has always been weak. Now the weakness has spread to the middle-schools. So many children go to Kumon, or Chinese School, or Japanese school, getting extra tutoring, that the problems with the math curriculum are covered up. The danger will be in the dumbing down of the high school math curriculum. The high school math program in Plano has been a gem, but the dumbing down will eventually reach the high school and the damage will be too great for all the tutoring companies in Plano to overcome. When the high school math program is dumbed down, then we can say goodbye to Plano's reputation.
School Realignments
After my daughter attended a Texas Tech football game she was surprised at the lack of school spirit. I told her that Plano Senior High was a gem. I explained that her high school experience was rare. We bought our home so she could go to Plano Senior. I changed careers so she could go there, and then the PISD board ruined it for my son. Even if we move or we transfer him so he can attend Plano Senior, all his friends will go to Plano West.
The Plano Board of Trustees and the PISD Administration have done a dismal job of planning for very many years and the goofy school realignments are the by-product of years of poor planning. The once great Plano school system has been unraveling around us for years. The neighborhood chemistry is important for a school and this was ignored by the Board.
I hope Plano Senior High can survive the changes. I hope the city of Plano can survive these changes because the schools are the heart beat of our community.
What Can We Do?
People have been trying for years to fix the problems with the PISD, but the problems are so deep seated that there is no end in sight. However, we might be able to either undo the problems from the school realignment, or at least minimize the some of the problems.
We Plano parents should get busy over these next few years. Either approach -- undoing the realignment or ameliorating its problems -- will take years.
To undo realignment problems will require changing a majority of the Board of Trustees, which will take a couple of elections. There will be a school board election in May. That will be a time to voice your dissatisfaction with this realignment.
Robert Canright
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Why an Election on November 3?
If you have heard there is early voting going on and wondered why, I can tell you that it is because there are 11 constitutional amendments on the ballot for a November 3 vote.
I care about one in particular: Proposition 4 is intended to help create more tier one universities in Texas.
I explained back in September why I believe we need more tier one universities. I encourage you to vote for Proposition 4.
You can go to the website of the Texas Secretary of State and (1) see a sample ballot, (2) read "Explanatory Statements" (the propositions in simpler English), and (3) read an analysis of the propositions. The analysis is nicely done and is in a PDF document you can download and read at your leisure.
Where do you go to vote? The website for Collin County Elections has the info you need. The locations and times are available online. It looks like a very convenient time is Saturday: 7am to 7pm.
Here is a link to an article about Proposition 4 for all you Texas Tech fans.
Please support higher education in Texas. We truly need more tier one universities.
Robert Canright
I care about one in particular: Proposition 4 is intended to help create more tier one universities in Texas.
I explained back in September why I believe we need more tier one universities. I encourage you to vote for Proposition 4.
You can go to the website of the Texas Secretary of State and (1) see a sample ballot, (2) read "Explanatory Statements" (the propositions in simpler English), and (3) read an analysis of the propositions. The analysis is nicely done and is in a PDF document you can download and read at your leisure.
Where do you go to vote? The website for Collin County Elections has the info you need. The locations and times are available online. It looks like a very convenient time is Saturday: 7am to 7pm.
Here is a link to an article about Proposition 4 for all you Texas Tech fans.
Please support higher education in Texas. We truly need more tier one universities.
Robert Canright
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