Looking for Good News!

I’ve searched the web, pondered over my email inbox, stared at the names online in Instant Message, and wondered, “What’s missing?” I’ve finally identified the vague sense of something lacking in the world around me, and decided to make it personal: no one is sending me good news! There’s only one thing to be done, then: send it to you all first.

Our good news is very low key, however, which is probably why it hasn’t been reported on the radio, TV, or online news sources. Which is a shame, because all those outlets have been scraping the barrel to find bad news, however trivial, to fill the white space or air waves. Too bad!

Our 2008 has been on the whole very nice. The biggest news is that Rob completed his studies at Santa Clara University and received his teaching credential last summer. The next biggest news is that the next day he was offered a job at the same school where he student-taught last spring, so he is now officially a full-time High School Chemistry Teacher! This will simplify gift-giving for everyone – there are a wealth of items with funny chemistry-related themes, such as ties, t-shirts and coffee mugs, and as you know Chemistry teachers will love to bring these to their classrooms to share the lighter side of science with their students!

I have found it quite an experience as a professional in educational publishing to live with someone who is actually using the materials I build. Actually, Rob’s school doesn’t use texts from my company, so I have learned that we publishers are pretty much the same in fundamentals: there are never enough good test questions, the media that goes with the book is hard to navigate, and there is always something better published by someone else out there on the web. August was a tough time for me personally, as I spent the days at work helping frustrated professors who needed materials for their classes, then went home to a frustrated teacher who needed materials for his classes.

All three girls are doing well in school, as usual. Gabby and Teresa are in the 4th grade this year, for the first time they have the same teacher that Rachel did in that grade. They are getting letter grades this year, and have a whole new level of anxiety around that. It’s interesting to hear them discussing their performance: Teresa immediately translates a numeric score into a letter grade to reassure herself, Gabby is much more relaxed about it. Both achieve the same high marks, but Teresa’s come with a little more stress.

They love science, particularly anything involving space. They have decorated their bedroom with glow-in-the-dark hanging planets and stick-on stars, and have enjoyed using the telescope from Poppa New York (my Dad). They are also enjoying the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and will probably learn to read it better than any of us.


This year Gabby went out for Girls’ Softball, which runs from September through mid-October. She says she’ll also go for Volleyball in the spring. Teresa didn’t think she wanted to do softball until after it started, but says she’ll do it next year.

Rachel is in 7th grade this year, technically in Jr. High or Middle School. I’ve noticed a new seriousness in the school work, but she continues to excel in everything. Socially, her classmates seem to be catching up to her at last, and she is also more comfortable dealing with them. She also has an extensive online social network, and I’m learning a lot about how the new generations will be interacting. For us older folks, the time she spends online chatting or emailing is the equivalent of the hours I spent on the phone at the same age. The conversations cover the same topics: boys, books, current events, parents, siblings. The difference is that these communications go on in parallel, and include the sharing of visual and audible materials. There is also a strong element of collaboration – they work together on writing stories or creating new websites.

Without the internet they would probably be pretty lonely at school, since there are only one or two kids like this in a class. But the Internet has overcome the geographic barriers. Rachel’s group of five or six close friends includes kids from across the US and into Europe. It’s fascinating to watch.

I’m doing fine too, in large part because the family is doing well. The textbook arm of the publishing industry hasn’t suffered the same downturn as trade publishing, so we aren’t looking at the same threats of layoffs and such. Our challenges come from the changing way in which information is distributed to students, both within the academic environment and in the general population. Verified, accurate information no longer gets to students through the strictly limited channel of an academic lecturer or expensive textbook, and we need to evolve in recognition of that. It’s a slow process however, which probably won’t be completed until today’s middle school students grow up and start teaching themselves.

Until then, things are interesting but not exciting. I hope you can say the same as you enter the New Year!