When is a trapezium not a trapezium?

Why, when it's a trapezoid of course.

There are some days when the English language is soooooo frustrating. What version should I use? Standard Australian English (SAE)? American English? British English? Living as I do in a land of many expats, from various corners of the world, I've had to learn some extra words and meanings.

Earlier this week a colleague commented to me about this topic and then e-mailed me some further information about it. The problem arose when he was teaching his students about 2-D shapes, using his personal knowledge of 50+ years, to teach them the names of various quadrilaterals. Now this learned gentleman comes from the USA, so he naturally used the US terminology, just as I would naturally use the Australian terminology. Not a problem you might say. Well, for most shapes, you are correct. There is no problem because there is no difference in the shape names. A triangle is a triangle, a square is still a square, a rectangle is definitely a rectangle (although a few might also call it an oblong), a parallelogram is still a parallelogram (or maybe it's a rhomboid), a rhombus is still a rhombus, and a kite is still a kite, no matter which side of the ocean you might be on.

But what do you call a quadrilateral with exactly one pair of parallel sides? That's where the problem comes in. If you are from the USA, then you will call it a trapezoid, but if you're an Aussie (or using an Aussie mathematics curriculum), then it is a trapezium! OK, that doesn't seem like a big issue. The problem comes in when you discover that the folk from the USA consider a trapezium to be a quadrilateral with no parallel sides. We Aussies would just call that an irregular quadrilateral!

So, I just did a search trying to find out how this anomaly came about, and found this interesting article. It seems like this problem has been around since 1795, and a resolution has yet to be determined. For those of you who like pictures, here's one I found, this one summarises the quadrilateral family quite neatly.

Oh the joys of the English language! I guess it's yet another situation where we have to think carefully about our audience, and then say, "it's not wrong, it's just different", unless you're preparing students for an exam which specifically uses one definition or the other, in which case you'd better make sure you know which one is considered correct by the examiners.

So what are we teaching our students? In the interests of consistency across the grades from K to 5, we'll call it a trapezium, but it the kids ask the question, then I'm happy to say that I will now be able to enlighten them, thanks to my learned colleague from the USA, and some Internet research.

Thinking about church

During the past day or two I've had the opportunity to read two magazines put out by the denomination of my home church. The first is a national missions magazine which you can read here, and the second is a state magazine which you can read here. The first article (on pages 6 & 7 of The QB) is written by the principal of Malyon (previously the Queensland Baptist Theological College) and looks at the issue of church attendance. This was very interesting and I was able relate to a number of points which he made.

When I was growing up, church on Sunday mornings was basically not negotiable. It was what you did. It wasn't a chore, it was an important part of being a committed Christian. We also attended Sunday School which was usually before the service. To the best of my recollections Sunday School went for an hour, then there was a short break (maybe half an hour) and then we went to church. The whole family attended the whole service together (except for babies & toddlers who went to nursery / creche). Services rarely went longer than an hour, unless there was communion, in which case it might go for an extra 15 minutes. Up to the end of primary school we were allowed to read a book during the sermon (or colour in when we were smaller) but after that we were expected to listen to the sermon. The rest of the service we were expected to join in with. Consequently I grew up learning many hymns. When I reached my teens, Scripture Choruses were becoming popular and so the music began changing. Over the years I've seen so much change in church services. Some of those changes I enjoy, but others I find a struggle. I distinctly remember that once we went into the sanctuary we were required to be quiet. Usually the organ would be playing quietly for 5-10 minutes before the service started and people took time to be quiet and prepare for worship. That's something I really miss.

Getting back to the article, the focus was on the changing regularity of attendance. It was noted that many folk often attend fortnightly (every two weeks) these days, and that is even stretching out to every third week. The writer reflects on a number of reasons for this changing attendance trend, varying from the busyness of our lives, through to pure laziness and rebellion. I know that for me personally I find it hard to attend every week, and I sometimes wonder if attending church on Saturday instead of Sunday would be a good option for me. One of the reasons for that is that I find I'm really ready for a "down day" or "Sabbath" on Saturday, and Sunday is the day when I'm more productive in preparing for the week ahead. Unfortunately teaching is not the 8 - 5 job that I had for the first 20+ years of my working life. When you work in a job which doesn't require additional hours of planning, preparation, and marking, it's somewhat easier to be committed to attending church every Sunday. Regardless of whether I'm attending every Sunday or not, it's important to have a local church where I feel connected, both to the Lord in worship and to fellow believers.

The other article (on pages 8 & 9 of Resonate) talks about the purpose of church, discussing churches as being selling or sending churches. Selling churches are about delivering goods (meeting the needs of the members of the congregation), while sending churches are about equipping members to reach out to the community. I think there needs to be a balance of both. It's important to meet the spiritual needs of the congregation, to encourage and build them up so that they can effectively reach out and serve. What do you think?

Yep, I'm human

This post is prompted by this one, shared by a good friend and fellow blogger.

In sharing the post, she used this quote from the original article:

When we tell only of our achievements, we do harm in two ways.
First, we imply we're above failure and therefore better or more mature than they are. Second, we imply that they're inferior because they struggle over issues that don't trouble us.  (Cec Murphy, 20 December 2013)

She followed her quote with this comment:

Ouch! Advice for writers, but it applies not just to professional writers, but those of us on FB as well as missionaries who write news/prayer letters! (W Marshall 2013)

As I read it, I thought of the e-mails that I get addressed to me as a "hero" and I thought how so often I share the positive things that happen, but share little of the negatives. Now, I'm not saying that I shouldn't share the good things that happen, but by only writing about and sharing the good things, I'm painting myself in an unrealistic light. Let me tell you now, I'm human.

So, humour me, and keep reading as I share some of the things I struggle with.

People often tell me I'm a great teacher, and that's encouraging. Trouble is, I know the darker side to my teaching. I struggle daily with the need to be "in control". Now, at first you might think being "in control" is a good thing. It can be. We all need a hefty dose of self-control, especially where kids are concerned. Where the problem comes is when I "over-control" and fail to allow the students the freedom to learn in their own ways. Over the years I've learned to relinquish some of that control, and to allow my students more freedom, but I also know there are days when I blow it. This need to be "in control" has been part of the cause of a tough first semester this year. If you read this and pray for me, then please pray that I'll be able to relax that "control" a little in the coming semester.

Another thing I struggle with is "reacting". When things go wrong, and kids do things I'd rather they didn't, I react. Again, I've made some progress in this area, but I admit that this year there have been more "reactions", and particularly loud voiced reactions, than I'd like. I'm ashamed of this, but I also know that God knows me, and understands me, and as I confess this, He forgives me. If I was to put this in a prayer point, I'd ask you to pray that I would be more like Jesus in my reactions. He was gentle and loving in all His corrections.

Well, that's enough for one post. I'm human, but I won't bore you with any more struggles. I thank God for a caring, thoughtful, compassionate principal who has greatly helped me recognise these faults, and who patiently helps me to overcome them. I also thank God for his loving forgiveness in my struggles. Most of all, I thank Him that He loves me just as I am, that love is so great that it wants to help me change. Thanks Lord.

My new buddy

I just discovered it's three months since I posted anything here! Oops. Sorry folks. Life's been hectic. This year's grade 4K is really challenging me. Looking at some strategies to implement after the Christmas break to see if we can turn things in the right direction. I feel a bit sorry for the kids who have been doing the right thing week after week, because they haven't been able to have the fun that my previous classes have earned, so I'm also working on something to fix that.

Meanwhile I was feeling so discouraged today, and just plain tired, as well as frustrated with intermittent internet problems that I went for a walk down to the local phone shop, got a new sim for 3G internet and then treated myself to something fun.

Meet my new buddy. I haven't got a name for her yet, but I think she's pretty cute. In addition to being cute, she also has the responsibility of protecting my phone on the odd occasion that it slips out of my hand and hits the ground.

I also decided that the bright pink would make my phone easier to find in the depths of my handbag! Having spent the huge amount of 10,000 riel (less than $3) at the phone shop, I decided to also treat myself to a "Mango Chiller". An icy cold drink on a cool day (everything's relative here) was just what I needed.

So, what do you think I should call my new buddy?

First Day Fun

Just a quick post to let everyone know I survived the first day of school today. I have 22 students on my roll, of whom 20 were in attendance today. It's going to be a great year, and I'm looking forward to seeing this group of students show just how great they can be. They just loved the fact that I gave them a test on the first day of school (kidding), and also handed out homework on the first day. I'm such a mean teacher, but with only 7 full weeks in the first 16 weeks of the school year I have to make every day count. Looking forward to a good night's sleep (I've earned it), and another day of fun and learning tomorrow.

Post 300 - Farewell Summer Break

This post marks a landmark on my blog. It is post number 300. I hope all those who read it enjoy the glimpses they get of my life, mostly here in Cambodia but occasionally in other places. I look forward to writing more once school resumes for the students in one week!

Meanwhile, teacher orientation and preparation week starts tomorrow.

This last week has just flown by, with most of my time focused on two tasks.

Most teachers would be familiar with taking "running records" to assess student reading. This summer one of my projects has been updating our resources for this. There's been a lot of downloading, printing, and photocopying done, and there's still some laminating and then a lot of filing to be done before that job is complete, but it is well and truly on the way. My goal is to have that job finished by the end of the week, but I am somewhat dependent on other people to get that done.

The second task was one that has saved our principal a heap of work, and hopefully will make staff quite a bit happier. The principal, one of the Khmer teachers and I made some decisions about a baseline supply list, and the Khmer teacher and I went to the markets and got some prices. Later that day I went back to the markets on my own and placed the initial order. It was a big order, and was delivered the next day. With over 2000 books to be sorted and allocated, as well as other materials, I spent most of Saturday working on it. However I'm hoping the result will be a happy principal and happy staff. It won't be everything they want or need, but it will be a starting point. We'll see what sort of reactions we get tomorrow.

So now, I've got a few jobs to do and then I'm off to bed. Need to get a good night's sleep so I can be up bright and early tomorrow. Getting excited!

One week to go!

It's hard to believe there is just one more week of "summer" holidays. Yes, this time next week I'll be getting ready for our Orientation week. At the end of this coming week I will have had eight weeks of "holidays". So how did I fill those eight weeks?

The first few days were spent getting my classroom ready for the break, and chasing up some outstanding photocopying for the next school year. Then I packed my bags and headed to Singapore for 5 nights, and Bangkok for 6 nights. I had a lovely time in Singapore and I need to write some individual posts about my time there (and share some of the photos), but in brief it included catching up with friends from Youth Choir days, visiting the Gardens by the Bay, the "Mummy" display at the Art Science Museum, Singapore Zoo, Singapore Night Safari, Jurong Bird Park, and the Singapore Botanic Gardens (including the National Orchid Garden). Singapore was a feast of cleanliness and greenery, although a little expensive. I will return. Bangkok was mostly time to just relax and enjoy the shops. I did make time for a medical checkup while there, but really just enjoyed lots of walking in air-conditioned shopping centres.

Once I returned to Phnom Penh I started doing half days at school, working on unit plans and preparation for the coming year. It was good to do these things without the pressure of needing to teach them immediately, and also to do some sorting, cleaning and tidying. There were a few days when I had a whole day off, and when I enjoyed being in the classroom the whole day. I also made time to catch up with friends, and do stuff I don't have time for during the school year.

I've got one more week of working at my own pace and then it will be "Orientation" week, filled with meetings, tracking down resources, planning with my colleagues and getting ready for the children to arrive. I'm feeling rested and ready for the year to begin, even if I haven't done all I wanted to do over the "summer". It's been a productive time, but also a relaxed time, and I'm happy with the choices I've made about how to spend this "summer". The next big holiday to look forward to is Christmas/New Year down under! :)