Thomas's K - 12 News

Interested in some K-12 Education news? I thought you might be and it just so happens I have a couple of new news bits to share myself.

The Virginia Dept. of Education has recently posted online tutorials for middle school math teachers. The tutorials are designed to help teachers learn new techniques for teaching fractions, statistics, and measurement. The new initiative seems to have been spurred by concerns over the previous year’s nationwide test scores as well as a desire better prepare students for college and careers that require mathematics (there is a need for workers with such skills, especially in Northern VA).

On separate note, the debate about No Child Left Behind seems to be raging on. Both the state senate and the House of Delegates have passed bills that contemplate the pulling out of the program. Virginia could even be the first state to set a deadline for withdrawal. Lawmakers are looking for more flexibility with the current law’s requirements.

For more information on these issues, just click on the links provided on this page. Please note the No Child Left Behind story is linked to an editorial page and the views discussed are not necessarily my own.

Where in the World is.... Thomas Gordon

For any of you who have been following my blog (not many of you I know...) I'm sure you have been wondering... what happened to Thomas? He used to come in to class and talk computers, ask questions and pretty much be a huge nerd... But he hasn't been in class these past two weeks. What's going on? Well I feel I have a pretty good answer for you... The first week I was out was because I came down with an awful case of the flu. The doctor told me to DEFINITELY not do anything for the next couple of days because I was contagious and he gave me some strong medicine (the kind you only have to take for 5 days)... so by Tuesday I was indeed feeling better. Tuesday night however was a completely different story... I woke up at around 4AM with a severe pain in my abdomen on the right side. By around 8AM I decided to go to the emergency room because the pain was not going away, but instead getting worse. It turns out I have a kidney stone about 4mm to 5mm large. If you don't know much about kidney stones check here for more information

Kidney Stones

As the article on wikipedia mentions, the main symptom is pain "often described as the worst pain I've ever experienced" and I must agree. They put me on heavy pain medication and told me to return to the emergency room if the medication did not help with the pain. I left the hospital around 2PM that day... I had to return to the emergency room Saturday after experiencing another long night of pain. The doctors then put me on even heavier medication (oxycodone) and I was put on a fast track schedule with the Virginia Urology clinic. I saw the urologist Mon. (yesterday) and he gave me some medication that makes me slightly less loopy and I am scheduled to have a Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy this next Monday. If I still do not pass my stone then I will then require surgery. So I have had a slight run of bad luck. I am trying my best to hang in there however and I am crossing my fingers hoping that I will not need surgery. I'd like to personally thank my parents for all the help they have given me during this ordeal (I know you guys read this) and would also like to thank my friends and family for keeping me in their prayers. I hope I never have another experience such as this again.