Sunday, June 01, 2008

Report Cards: Results From The Quiz



It's time to pass back your virtual papers and let you see how you did on the quiz.
In a word: Yikes. Only one of you came close to passing, and that was Jenomena, who scored a 6 out of 10, which is a D. And Jen, as I tell my students, "You may be relieved, but not happy. No one may ever be happy with a D." :-)

If I got these results in my class, I would have to take a good, hard look at what occurred: Did I fail to teach the concept or material clearly? Was there a school event the night before this quiz? Or was there simply a general lack of concern on the part of the students? Hmmmmmmmmm....

In this case, I prefer to think that I am just a Woman of Mystery. A complex being of many facets and, like Thomas' English Muffins, I have lots of nooks and crannies. To my personality, not my complexion. Sigh. Let me just get to the answers before I really start something.

1. Living Room: The place where I spend a great deal of my time is decorated in--
A. Burgundy, navy, pine green. Cherry wood. Tastefully traditional, library/study decor. On the wall is a reproduction of this Vermeer painting.

I love Vermeer, and I found a place in The Netherlands where they train artists to paint in his style. I ordered this painting done in the identical size of the original for our 20th wedding anniversary. It is huge and gorgeous. My living room is very quiet and sedate and has all my hardback books on shelves, and I can sit and read and look at this painting.

2. Career: Before deciding upon teaching, I initially chose this degree path.
B. Veterinary medicine
I have always had an affinity for animals and had a variety of pets growing up, much to my mother's chagrin. I read the James Herriot series of books as a junior in high school and resolved to be a veterinarian. Shortly into my college career, I discovered a very large aversion to the sight of blood and an even bigger aversion to math. I decided to continue with an education career. I figured I could still work with animals but there'd be a lot less blood. Ha ha, get it? (insert rimshot.)

3. Name: I have always hated my name. Detested it. If I could change it, I'd be named--
C. Samantha

This name has always held such cache for me. My grandmother used to use it infrequently as a nickname for me, and I would live on those moments for days. When I found out that it was fleetingly considered as my birth name, I almost wept. Why oh WHY had they not given it to me? I once heard a story that I was named after the song "Nancy with the Laughing Face" because when I was born, I was smiling. I'm not sure I believe that, and I'm not sure it helps. My name does not suit me.

4. Politics: True or False?

I have never voted Republican in my life, and I am damned proud of it.
Oh, I have voted for a couple of them in my life on the local and state level. Back before The Election of the Dark Times (2000), I always voted for The Person and not The Party. And, someday, I may again, especially if I know the candidate personally. But these days, even if the candidate were Satan himself, I'd probably vote Democrat.

5. Trivia: At the grocery store, I:
C. Get asked advice in the Italian Foods section
As goofy as this sounds, it happens to me frequently. My coloring is such that I am often mistaken for someone of Italian heritage, and if I am lingering in the Italian Foods section at all, shoppers will ask me about products or recipes. Sometimes I just come clean and say, "I'm happy to tell you what I use, but I'm not Italian." Sometimes I just answer their questions without referring to the Italian thing at all.

6. Preferences: I chose the color of my hybrid car, and it is:
C. Black
I like black cars. Oh sure, red cars are snazzy and sporty, but I don't feel like a red car person. And I know darn well that I'd hate a yellow car after about two weeks. A black car always looks a little more expensive and elegant than any other car, I think.

7. Talents: I once won second prize for my:

C. poetry
Okay, first of all, if it were my pesto in competition, it would win first, hands down! But anyway, yeah, I submitted to a tri-county competition and got second prize. The judge was a pretty big deal poet himself, and there were lots of entries. I was happy about it and glad that I practiced what I preach to my creative writing students. At least once, anyway. LOL.

8. Issues: I am fundamentally opposed to:
A. the death penalty
I don't feel that this should be "our" job.

9. Faults: Rick wishes I would
B. Swear less
According to Jared, the answer is really "all of the above," but he only lives here part-time. What does he know? Since we got the hybrid, my braking is fully under control. And since Rick sleeps like one dead, and I do NOT snore (but admit to breathing heavily at times), the answer is clearly "swear less." My profanity is...well...unrestrained. I have to keep my mouth so leashed while at school when, obviously, there are so many curse-worthy moments, that when I am at home it's like taking the top off a pressure cooker. I am trying to use the eff-word less, but it's hard. Really hard.

10. Pet Peeves: I really dislike
A. driving, grading papers, grocery shopping
I really dislike all of these things intensely. Rick sometimes accuses me of marrying him simply because he does not mind driving. This could, in fact, be somewhat true. One of my best friends loves to drive, as do both of my children. This is an alarming trend, come to think of it. Grading papers is a horrid, terrible, awful, heinous, and tedious job. Sadly, it is a pretty big part of being a teacher. When I was a little girl, I used to get red crayons and grade pages in coloring books and old storybooks. I thought grading papers would be the most funnest part of being a teacher. Apparently, I was brain-damaged at some point in my youth. I blame living near the steel mill. And grocery shopping? Please. No viable return on your investment. Think about it. And it's ALL WORK. You walk around and find it; you load it; you unload it; you pay a ton for it; you drive it home; unload it; put it away; then you spend time figuring out what to do with it, then do it. THEN YOU FLUSH IT ALL AWAY AND START OVER.

Anyway.

Those are the Nance Quiz results. Did you learn anything new and exciting? I didn't think so. Guess I'll get back to regular programming. I knew this Sharing Thing was not my style.

16 comments:

  1. I got 5! That's not so bad! (Um or good...)

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  2. Um, when is the make-up exam? There is too much sharing on the internets anyway. I keep seeing these "memes" on various websites. They take the annoying form of a questionnaire which is forwarded to victims. Each victim is to answer and forward on to other victims. Yuck.

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  3. Anonymous11:08 PM

    Best description of why grocery shopping sucks.

    Yesterday, while driving in six lanes of traffic on the Washington Beltway, I had a near-death experience and dropped an F-bomb. I immediately apologized to my children, and my daughter said, "It's OK, Mom, we know how much you hate to drive."

    And can I just say that my living room has deep cranberry walls, oversized wing chairs in a tapestry brocade of hunter green, and khaki and a large cranberry sofa that matches the walls. Until we moved into this house, my living room always featured a wall of floor to ceiling bookcases. This living room features Belgian art, including an original oil painting of Holland from the 19th century. You'd be SO at home here.

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  4. Au contraire, Nance ... because I only got two right to begin with (although I admit being torn between my answer and the correct answer in several cases), I DID learn a lot. It was a fun exercise. I found the questions, the possibilities, and the real answers very entertaining!

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  5. Sweetie, you really need to be kinder to yourself. ;)

    I'll admit I didn't try the quiz because I *knew* would get them all wrong. Still, I came back to read the answers. :)

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  6. Damn! I would have totally failed even if you were grading on a curve!!!! And I'm ticked that a few of those I guess right the first time and second-guessed myself...I certainly should have known better!

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  7. Anonymous3:55 PM

    I SO wish I had been around when your test first came out. I'm with you on #4 and I'm hoping my next car will be black. Too bad we don't live closer together. And for what it's worth, every person I've ever known with the name Nancy was worth knowing. And I was a big fan of Nancy Drew.

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  8. I almost didn't take the quiz since I thought I knew you pretty well, but when I read through the questions, I realized that I didn't have any particular edge! Though, I know #10 was absolutely A--I was one of your paper graders :-).

    Trust me, even engineering classes hasn't taught me to be happy with a 'D'.

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  9. jenomena--you knew me better than anyone. and yes, paper grading is the absolute worst. i still farm as much of it out as i can.

    a.l.--you were missed. i was a big nancy drew fan also, but my real heroine was trixie belden.

    tera--i should have offered extra credit! LOL.

    ck--were you worried you'd get a detention or a trip to the principal's office? how's the patient at home?

    shirley--we call those possibilities "reasonable wrongs" in the education business. the kids hate them because, as they tell me, "they're still WRONG!" sigh. it sucks, doesn't it?

    v-grrrl--dear god, the BELTWAY! how hideous. and be careful what you say. I am thisclose to a visit with you this summer. honestly. we're so very near you in August, attending a wedding in So. Md. I'm tempted.

    nancy in A2--i have a strict No Meme policy at the Dept. I did one once for a dear friend, but that was it. once in a while I share a few thought nerfuls that are velcroed to my brain, but it's all highly informal, as you know. this was an experiment.

    potu--in comparison, you did pretty well, yes. find yourself a little badge and post it on your blog: I KNOW NANCE. totally worthless, but a major conversation starter: "wtf is a NANCE?"

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  10. Anonymous5:22 PM

    Nance,

    We must have been separated at birth, almost 40 something years apart. I am nearing 80 and you are probably in your 40's.

    I also have the color scheme of burgundy,green and dark woods in my den. The only difference in our two rooms is that I have Vermeer's The Girl With The Pearl Earring hanging in my room and you chose another of Vermeer's great works for your room.

    When I was born in 1928 my Mother wanted to call me Nancy but the local priest told her that I had to have a Saint's name for Baptism. HE decided on Ann. So, for all of my life on any legal documents I am Ann, but everyone has always called me Nancy.This has been a plague because everyone misunderstands my two names.

    I asked my Mother once why she didn't say my name was Nancy when she filled out the papers for the civil authorities for my Birth Certificate and she shouted," Oh, no, I couldn't do that. Suppose the Pope found out?"

    See what I was up against?

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  11. Gosh, I only got 4 right. And I really thought you'd turn out to be a grape eater!

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  12. Absolutely. I was only ever called to the principal's office once. A lesson I dare not repeat. ;)

    Sweet Pea is doing just fine. Thank you.

    BTW, I sent an email to your Yahoo account. :)

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  13. ck--glad to get the update. and thanks for the email. take good care of THAT sideshow.

    nina--heck no. those aren't even washed!!

    nancy--i am 49, and a recovering catholic. my mother is a convert to catholicism in order to marry my father, who promptly stopped going to church. her improvisational rules of catholicism (don't eat 15 minutes before going to communion) used to crack me up. have you seen any Vermeers "in person"? i've only seen the ones in DC. i cry every time i go there. i don't even breathe on them.

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  14. Anonymous6:50 PM

    Nance,

    My Mother was a convert to Catholicism,too. Also to be married in the Church.My Mother loved the priests and nuns, mainly because she never had to deal with them in school as my sister and I did.

    Once, we were driving along and a carful of nuns passed us and my Mother said,"Oh, isn't that nice? The sisters are all out for a ride."
    From the back seat of the car came the tiny voice of my sister sighing,"I wish I had a hand grenade."

    About the Vermeers. No, I have never seen one in person. Wikipedia tells me that Girl With A Pearl Earring is in the Muritshuis in The Hague.It was sold at auction at The Hague in 1881 for two Guilders and thirty cents. It was in very bad condition. The buyer,A.A.Des Tombe,died with no heirs and left the picture to the Mauritshuis, where it hangs today; there,and in my den.......

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  15. Now THAT is one test that I'm sorry I missed. But, that is a great insight to your world!

    Absolutely Great!

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  16. TTBM--thanks for stopping by! nice to have you here at the Dept.

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Oh, thank you for joining the fray!

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