Ayn's Multiple World

Some good work done today

Good morning … this is me and its about 8:30 am. We’ve been in the office for a while now. We got here about an hour ago. There was something strange happening in that we found a cell phone on the ground outside next to a car. We picked it up and have had a couple of phone calls from people looking for the person that dropped it. One was a friend in a hospital, and the other was the person’s mother. I’m fairly sure that she is going to get word to her so that this person picks it up.

It sounds like she lives in the area. Probably, on the block and she dropped it getting out of her car. There are like 27 messages on it so I figure that its been lost for the weekend. I’m sure there are people trying to get ahold of her and are worried, and I would guess she’s tried calling her own number trying to see if anyone’s picked it up.

But, beside that … nothing major happening. Brandi pointed out there was a serious staph infection bug going around, so we printed out an article for her. Otherwise we need to get into the day here.

It’s a Monday, so I’m not particularly inclined to want to jump in… Though - Monday’s have become one of my favorite days, because I don’t have to worry about any groups.

AHA! The person just came by to pick up the phone. Rosa called Brandi for some reason and then Brandi came in for me to return the phone. I think that was nice of her. I’m sure the woman was appreciative. The people that had tried to contact her seemed nice. It’s kind of cool for an instance stepping into someone’s life, but its ok to now step out of it. WooHoo! We did our good deed for the day 

Ok, ok … shhh, let’s keep going on the other stuff ok? I think we did a brief summary of what happened last night this morning. So, I’m not going there. There was something more of the conversation we had with Rich between 11-12 yesterday before the Bears game. We were talking about business related stuff. It took Rich a bit to get into the part of the conversation that I wanted to be in. I wanted to tell him that I was having trouble separating the work and personal, and about this kind of writing I was doing to get into the work portion. He’s still not seeing the writing as essential as I am and he brought up a point, that it doesn’t seem that we do too much reading of the material that we type. That was true, but then we have to ask – what makes this writing so essential?

I have known for a while that we think and talk to the writing to our selves. It’s like a couple of seconds release to go over what we had just said to make sure we understood what the other part was trying to say. There are sometimes that we’ll go over something, but not as often as we could. Usually, there is only enough time to get something down because we are already moving on with the next thing. But, there is some grand feeling of getting it down, because if we don’t it will – hence our life – be forgotten. I want it to have some kind of purpose. I’d like to think that someday it will be read and it will be read by a writer so great it will inspire him or her to do years and years of research. Thinking back to Tiffany and her comment that it could be a life series television show and that she knows a couple of screenwriters that aren’t doing anything. But, I don’t think people working in television spend much time going over thousands of pages of script. They are more likely to be looking for the punch line. Though … I bet we had plenty of material for a long-running sit-com. I think that’s sort of the way Seinfeld got written.

Naw still rather be a textbook case of multiplicity. I don’t see the multiplicity in our everyday writing, but I suppose there are visible changes others see in the writing of our story. Just that I think we’re just seeming to be someone with a lot of difference and quite a few repeats in thought. It seems when we’re writing that we’ve been here a million jillion years and that we wrote everything, but then there are times our thinking is way off like in thinking through suicidal thoughts a couple of weeks ago. That doesn’t seem like something that I would go through directly.

Ok, just heard the song lyric “if ever did I think my work was done.” I think that was some kind of cue to me … need to concentrate and focus more on work. I heard the thought that it seems we’re blending pleasure and work, more and more together.

Getting to the long lost point of what happened in that hour conversation with Rich … He kept getting unfocussed … at least one the things he was trying to help me with. I could tell though that the things he was saying needed to be released from his thoughts. He doesn’t just talk so much, so I think things get bottled up. And, we got stuck on the point that we didn’t want to do secretarial work, when we could do work like this writing which gives us so much gratification.

We also got stuck because he always talks about doing grants just the opposite of what the book had been saying. The book had the more honorable viewpoint, in that just wanting more money isn’t what the grant people are looking for … they really do want novel means to be solving world problems. But, somewhere there is a stop thing we’re doing. Rich picked it up … he said, but your system isn’t working either. I know that he spoke the truth. We tried to explain that we needed help structuring both at home and work … we explained how our free time was being spent, but he didn’t want any part of that. He got confused as to I was asking him to give up his free-time to be doing what he wanted me to be doing. But, he doesn’t see that he schedules in my time for other things such as movie watching and playing in bed.

Well, of course like I’m going to give up that kind of time! Ha! Yah like, right!

But, then he is nailing me for not spending my time doing his grant. I think he means to suggest that I should be working on stuff during the time I’m writing.

BUT, that just isn’t going to happen. I told him we preferred to write in the morning and early afternoon, and that we weren’t going to give up that time, unless it meant being directly with him. So, we got to work on that a bit.

Then we got into things that were more structured. He likes to tell wherever he is with it and he likes to think that his way is the only way. But, I don’t think like that. I want to see how he is doing it, but I would like more talking/discussion than I am getting. He just likes to go off on long stories. And, by the time they are through, I have no idea what the original point was. It gets confusing – though it’s interesting sometimes to be hearing his stories. The frustration comes with the part where I know his time is limited and we are not into the problem that I needed him to work through with me. I do notice that he is more receptive after being given a chance to talk again. And, he doesn’t always like to talk. Sometimes he likes to be just processing some chore or another of his.

Hmm, our diabetic client is here to take her tests. She does it in Rich/Candice’s office around the corner. Oh, that was another thing. Sister was in earlier. She came in “confused.” She didn’t know what she was going to do, which means you are just about going to get involved in volunteer work, or covering for somebody else’s schedule. I know that we are sending Kathy and Maria to a meeting downtown, and apparently Imelda is in the hospital – for unknown reasons. And, Margarita has taken off several days for getting a passport for her and her daughter and Sister doesn’t know if she’ll be in to watch Group IV. So, plan A is that I take group 3 in the morning, and Holly takes it in the afternoon, and Plan B is that I take group 3 all day and Holly takes group IV. Either way it interferes with what I would prefer to be doing, which is for now just writing. It’s 9:30 am now.

I think then that, at least, let me use the washroom, and then we’ll come back to figure that out. K?

Ok, that’s better. Ok, what are our work goals? Rich said something about the last system that we started. We might need to get back into that. I don’t know why it got stopped. Let’s see … we could probably figure that out. Hmm, looking at the last time we printed out … it seems that it was last used 45 days ago. I don’t know what happened to the things that were listed as needing to be done. Most likely they’ve just sat there. Might have to open that back up today and explore it a bit.

Ok, that was done, but we didn’t get as far as opening it. It simply wouldn’t open. I knew there was a fairly new program in there. They called on their own to correct the problem. It was fine as long as it was open, but then after it was closed and we tried to open it again, it wouldn’t. So, we copied the message and sent it into PaperTiger Support. I really need that to be better. But, it probably doesn’t excuse the fact we should look at the last copy printed out.

Hmm, there was one other thing, Gary from CSO is here. He was supposed to have a staffing with Candice, but the parents couldn’t come in and Candice didn’t cancel.

We’ll have to talk to Sr. Theresa about that and the other meeting she was supposed to have. I’ll ask sister if I should intercede and make a date for the staffing.

Since I have to sign off on it – I don’t want it on my record. Hopefully, she’ll become a Q before the state visits, because I don’t want my records ruined by her.

Gary went ahead and is looking at the records. I think the two clients he has of mine are good. So, I’m not worrying about that. Both are fairly caught up with Q notes and annual reports. So, then on to the next thing. Why don’t we read the contents of the Paper Tiger stuff, k? Ok, brb.

Ok, went through that. It wasn’t too bad. Quite a few things can be let go and some need to be added. There are a few like the Techsoup one for the new computer back-up program and the insurance for CARF where we are going to start watching the problem licenses more closely – that one was never completed. And, then there is the ongoing ones. I need to track that. I just got a ticket number back from paper tiger acknowledging that they got our email. I can deal with that. Ok, then next would seem to be the thought that I should finish an annual or two. The first one is for – ok, so and so. Better take out his file. Then figure out what’s next.
Ok, got the file … seems like I put the loose stuff in it from the annual file. The rights an other paperwork like the agenda is here. But, there is no annual and no notes. Thinking now that is the silly meeting we had with Evelyn and the parent/individual where sister wasn’t here and we sat back in the activity room. I think I was winging that because there was no DSP. I wonder did we take any kind of notes prior to the meeting? Hmm, that might have been the last person. I think Brandi was sick for that one. Ok, so we’re going have to wing this one. It might be very short. I might have taken a reference frame from Brandi’s schedule or the scattered notes that she uses generically. Better pull up a blank annual.

Principles of Learning Staff observation

Today’s exercises utilized some great teaching skills, such as Theresa had everyone in the room participating in completing workshop work, cleaning the room, measuring the lines, and then closure of the individuals’ day. The following is a set of general principles of learning that might be considered and applied to teaching/learning experience. These are additional ideas not corrections.

• When measuring use real rulers and actual objects rather than paper rulers and paper lines. It seemed the group had a little trouble distinguishing the smaller paper as a measuring tool, especially because it looked so similar to the paper they were measuring.
• Give the exercise some meaning by connecting it to something personal, such as giving the individuals a reason they might want to learn measuring.
• Break down the steps as a group prior to working with the individuals individually. Try to capture group attention by giving perhaps an example on the board prior to asking them to do the task.
• Give the group an idea when they will use their measuring skills next, which future application
• Add a more vivid dynamic by pulling group together prior and post to the session ending – go team! There weren’t clear directions what to do after the session – collection of materials, no conclusion drawn.
• Explain the ruler experience as a series of steps, i.e. “ We are going to measure jagged lines on paper and we’ll first start, and then second you … ”
• The last 20-30 minutes of the day was left undefined – there could be goals aside the primary task of measuring. Ask if the individuals knew what was expected of them? i.e. Rita leaving later than 2 pm.
• Stick with individual long enough to know that he or she can complete an entire sequence without your assistance, prior to going on to next individual. Plan that it will take time to get to everyone – pull the group back together intermittently so that some group teaching may be attempted, and people relieved from the boredom of waiting for assistance.
• Assert a goal for the session. Is this lesson a part of a master plan – is it related toward an outline or progression of goals? The continuation of counting is valid, but that seemed a secondary or lower concern, unless they were learning to measure bead strings.
• There was some confusion with “close-confusers,” such as washing and drying we’re similar tasks both completed with rags – some people were doing both tasks, and others just one. Rita was confused and frustrated over needing to dry a table she had already dried because another individual washed it a second time. Antonella didn’t understand “wash just this row of tables” because someone else would wash the second row.

Some of the positive aspects gleaned, were:

• During the cleaning exercise, people were assigned up-front tasks, and then people we’re given reinforcement if they did not follow through. The individual tasks were direct and specifically labeled, i.e. wash the table, dry the table.
• There was a progression of learning – match the zero to the first dot you want to measure, keep the ruler under the line so you can see it, and count the inch marks to the second dot. What ruler number does the second dot end on?
• DSP modeled what the cut-out ruler should look like.
• DSP went to each individual and worked well independently with them making it an active learning session.
• With assistance each individual was able to have an “AHA!” moment, which is a positive learning experience.
• After exercise discussion on “what to wear for Halloween” added percolation to the group in that the last people to leave had a means to come together excitedly and giving an end or closure to their day.
• Each individual received coaching, and at least three lines to practice – It would be interesting to see how the exercise will be followed-up.
• DSP stayed with individuals long enough for them to “get-it,” which allows familiarity with the task with gradual release from the teacher-directed instruction.
• Asked individuals good questions that helped lead them to answers through their own thinking.
• There was good opportunity to practice when giving cleaning tasks, because the work was distributed randomly rather than willed to just one individual. And, as one individual completed his or her task, then an opportunity was given to help someone else if necessary. Group finished together.

posted by Ann Marie @ 10/29/2007 05:20:00 PM Comments: 0