9th Grade Physical Science
- What we did:
- 1st hour: no class - we'll catch up next week!
- Whiteboard session on FPM Worksheet 2 - Analyzing and Calculating Forces
- Due today: FPM Worksheet 2 - Analyzing and Calculating Forces
- Due soon: N/A
Thank you to those students who took the time to thank me for my Navy on veteran's day - I truly appreciate that! Thanks as well to 7th hour for your note to me on the back whiteboard:
For what it's worth, below you'll find my remarks from this morning's Veteran's Day ceremony. I put a lot of time and thought into what I had to say today...
Good morning! As Amanda mentioned, my name is Mr. Weiger. I teach 9th grade science here at Century. I am also a veteran of the U.S. Navy – I served for 10 years in the Navy. I would like to thank all of you – students, teachers, support staff, and administrators for taking time out of your day to honor veterans. It’s truly humbling. I was given a gift by the United States Navy, and it’s a gift that to this day I cherish and hold dear to my heart. That gift was a deep and unshakeable belief in myself and my ability to persevere. More specifically, a belief that if I need to learn how to do something, and I mean anything, I believe I have the ability to learn that skill. This is not because I’m super smart – I’m just a regular guy. So how did I come by this gift the Navy gave to me? Well, a little back story is in order. I worked in the power plant on an aircraft carrier, specifically on the machines that generated electrical power for the entire ship. When those machines break, which they sometimes do, the operational capability of the aircraft carrier is reduced. I was deployed to the Persian Gulf twice, and believe me, if there’s one thing that battle group admirals don’t want, it’s a limited capability aircraft carrier in the middle of the Persian Gulf. So that broken equipment would have to get fixed. Sometimes, it would be me doing the repairs. I would do some initial troubleshooting on the machine – so figure out what, in general, was the problem. Then, I would go to our ship’s technical library, check out the technical manual for that piece of equipment, and then I would sit down and start reading. I would examine the mechanical blueprints, I would interpret the electrical schematics, and I would read about how that machine worked. I would often spend hours reading before going to repair the machine. Hours. Over time, because I took the time to learn, I became a master technician. I had to do it – the equipment had to get fixed, but the Navy gave me the time, the tools, and the opportunity to make it happen. So what does this have to do with you as students? We, your teachers here at Century want you to have a deep and unshakeable belief in yourself and your ability to persevere. When we try to explain to you how critical your reading ability is, we are not joking. When we ask you to really dig into an assignment to gain understanding of a concept, we are looking for your true, best effort. We want you to persevere and experience those feelings of both struggle and success. I believe, that the truth of the matter is students, that our country cannot afford to have you give your minimum effort. In order to keep the United States of America competitive in the 21st century, your country needs you to put forth your best effort, your maximum effort. And right now, as I speak, men and women in the armed forces are putting their lives on line, and some may be dying, so that you can feel safe here in Forest Lake, MN and concentrate on your education. Honor those men and women, believe in yourself, you’ve got the tools, you’ve got the opportunity, make it happen. Thank you.
:)
