67 thoughts on “Wednesday Forecast”

1. Thanks TK!

   Holyoke elementary schools have banned homework! Yaaay! 😀

   The caveat is that school days are extended two hours. 😉

   I am curious as to what Tom and others here think about this concept.

   1. Ban busy work, yes. But not homework per se. I think occasional assignments outside of the classroom are a very good idea. But, I believe busy work with no purpose is both futile and frustrating.

   2. There are some nights when my young boys have to spend a good amount of time on homework but very rarely is it two hours. I find that to be a bit excessive. And how do they handle afterschool activities now?

      1. Yes, kids should have time to play or do extracurricular things after school in both an organized and unorganized fashion. We do not want to head down the path of South Korea or Japan. In spite of their excellent records in terms of aptitude achievement, the toll such systems take on children is enormous. Moreover, there’s a stifling of creativity. And ultimately creativity and knowledge are what drives economies, not knowledge alone.

         1. Completely agree!

   3. I am a huge proponent of emulating the best systems in the world. We are not one of them. I was excited to see homework was banned but then of course we follow it with two more hours in school. I’ve mentioned Finland here before. But there are others. Finland spends far fewer hours in school, no homework, no standardized testing, play and most important empowered teachers. Another aspect I firmly believe is that kids are not separated into groups and subgroups. I think that leads to a lot of bullying in this country. In other countries, they learn to work with each other. Sutton has adopted some of these principles – one is allowing the teachers to teach focus on the student and not some imaginary goals that every child must meet. We are already seeing an improvement already in my oldest grandson.

      I have several topics that I am passionate about. This probably tops by my lise.

      Matt, I believe they read your comment on the WBZ video chat on FB last night.

      1. Massachusetts kids are among the smartest in the world, year after year. If the state competed as its own country it would be top 3.

         1. They’d rank 9th so certainly higher than many but a long way to go

            1. That is according to Forbes. The problem is countries like Japan also rank high but their method is not something I’d ever want my child to be exposed to. MA already has among highest hours in country and teaches to the test.

   4. I think it is great! I HATED homework, but then I so hated school, I am not
      a good person for an opinion on this. The thing I detested MORE than anything in school were the assignments given just prior to a vacation and expected
      to be turned in upon return to school. It Always RUINED my school vacations.
      A vacation is a vacation from school work. I guess they didn’t get the memo. Didn’t help my already BAD attitude!

      1. So you would rather go to school for two extra hours a day?

         1. I had to laugh when I thought about what my answer would be since I also hated school. School was a social experience for me so I suspect I would not have minded two more hours. It was the homework I hated since it interfered with my socializing after school 😉 Either way I would not have learned more in those two hours.

            1. EXACTLY!!

         2. I think so, yes. I would mean I was FREE when I got out.
            Given the choice of homework or Stay in school, I “think” I would chose stay in school. Of course that would be trusting that school officials could make it interesting
            enough, which would have been a tall assignment for me. 😀

            1. I do think my boys would choose to stay in school over homework also. As it is now by the time they done with football practice, dinner, homework, and showers they aren’t hitting the sack until after 9:00.

   5. Oh boy. I could write 19 pages on this ……

      In simplest form, I favor short assignments that reinforce what concepts are taught in class, as needed:

      It’s not a one solution that should fit for all.

      It should be something that’s flexible. There might be a topic a student has absolutely mastered and doesn’t need that extra out of class practice. Then, the next topic, that same student might need 15 minutes of extra practice.

      I share the idea that students should not be bogged down with hours of homework each night. Too much.

      1. And you and so many teachers like you should have the flexibility to recognize what individual students need. Great comment Tom

         1. I agree with Vicki. I like your train of thought on this Tom.

2. Thank you, TK.

   Hermine broke up a long time ago, but she’s still trying to get back together.

   1. Still out there…

      http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/sfc/90fwbg.gif

3. Good morning and thank you TK for the update.

   Picked up another 0.03 inch in the past hour or 2.

   Hoping for a little more before it’s all over.

   “storm” total: 0.38 inch. 😀 Drought Buster for sure.

4. Good morning and thank you, TK.

   So far we have picked up 0.08 in Sutton. But then east of here needs it even more than we do so I am happy to have it go that way.

5. The newest one in the Atlantic.

   http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/xgtwo/two_atl_5d0.png

   1. That looks destined for OTS wide right

      1. So far it’s looking that way.
         We’re in a severe drought, so we’re not getting anything tropical up here. Hermine doesn’t count since it was a piece of crap when it got here and ran into the “DRY DOME”.

6. We once enrolled our son in a fancy Catholic School when he was only in the 4th grade.
   The busy work homework he received was disgusting! I went to have a chat with the
   Mother Superior Head Master (I’d like to use another term for this brain dead turd)
   to complain about the excessive homework, most of which was “busy” work.
   I nearly died when her response was and this and is GOSPEL TRUTH, “Idle time is the Devil’s time”! I am dead serious.

   We yanked him from that school. Best decision we ever made.

   1. Hahahaha! Sounds like some of the schools my wife had the misfortune of attending when she was a kid. She fought it tooth and nail and got kicked out of multiple schools until her parents finally broke down and enrolled her in public school where she was much happier. It’s not for everyone.

      1. Certainly not! That school was insane. Big Mistake on our
         part. Big.

      2. Your wife? Thrown out? I’m having trouble picturing that. Me, I can see but……

         I went to Belmont Day for my first four years. When I moved to the Belmont Public schools, I was behind. Go figure.

         1. She’s sweet on the outside, but inside she’s a firecracker 👿

            1. I love it!

7. Another 0.01 inch here. It’s really accumulating. We’ll need the boats really soon!

8. Thanks TK !

9. I have mix feelings on homework, Never thought I would say that. Hated it in Elementary school and Middle school. High school when classes started to have more in the way of Papers needing to be done, I rather do them as homework, at home where I have time to do it and have all my possible resources. I like homework to balance out the test grades, as I am not the best test taker. In college, I tend to do better in classes with homework that is mandatory. I believe homework should be a thing unless a kid did not finish work in class in elementary and Middle school. the amount of work in general to students, are over done. There are things that we should not be needing to do especially in college but are the general college requirements. There is this writing and English proficiency test in which you take a test that involves you reading an article and then answering a question about it which is an essay. 5 pages written at least or a writing portfolio of 15 pages plus another paper that they assign. all papers 5 pages or more. This is after taking Writing one, writing two , Freshmen seminar, Intermediate seminar. Its not to go into writing one and two like other schools though this school does have that. This is to make sure those who english is not their first language is good enough, yet they make all students do it so that its not considered racist and discriminatory. Which I call BS because they grade us harder. Saw a paper of someone from Spain, have a much worse paper than my friend and my friend did not pass yet the other kid did. I believe the bigger problem with school are these stupid tests like the SATs, MCAS and the large 7 hour test in order to get a Masters/PHD.

   1. also, believed that summer reading and math packets, should not be a thing, its vacation. Winter break, there should no homework. ETC

      They added 2 hours a day, that is stupid because half the time in schools especially elementary and middle school, they won’t be doing anything for 3 hours lol

10. I’ll outline my favorite school plan later when I’m at my keys. 😉

    Today I’m starting to get that excited anticipation for the first real chill of the coming change of season….though patience is required to get to actually feel it. 😉

    1. Amazing how much we parallel each other re weather.

       I was almost tempted to turn fire on in family room last night. I am not a patient person but when it comes to weather I really do enjoy the anticipation.

       1. 😀

    2. I saw a couple of “episodes” outlined on the GFS, but I thought that they were so far out there, I totally ignored it. 😀

11. YUCK!!!!

    Temp 77 with dew point of 71 here. C’mon, enough of this crap!!!

    If there is that moisture in the air, can’t we manufacture at least a few showers????

12. One thing I notice about the next 10 days …….

    There’s no real chance a big pool of cool air can organize and/or make a charge at the central or Eastern U.S.

    Fast flow into western Canada will keep a mild Pacific airmass across the southern third Canada.

    Then getting closer to our latitude and longitude, the Bermuda high will be a factor from time to time. Buts it’s tough to find anything upstream yet to give it a big challenge other than to knock it back a bit for a day or two.

    1. I should have had you write the DAYS 11-15 section today. 🙂

       1. Thanks TK ! 🙂

13. Tropical storm Newton, even though it was only a cat 1 hurricane, has to be one of the better held together systems coming out of Mexico and into the southwest. I can only wonder what kind of flash flooding is going on in Arizona and New Mexico.

    Plenty of times, the moisture from tropical systems survive into the U.S., but this thing seems to have had its circulation rather intact.

    1. The ones that cross the central or northern Gulf of California have a little extra time and warm water to hold together structurally and then they are crossing warm land so they don’t fall apart quite as quickly.

14. I ran Cross Country in middle school and high school and after practice or a meet I would hate having to do homework or study for a test. Some nights I would not start homework till after 7pm after getting home and having dinner.

    1. I had marching band. Tuesday through Thursday after school from 2-5. then saturday practice from 9am to 2pm then competition after practice . sometimes till about 9pm or 10pm at times. Friday nights for football, I will say this, I very miss playing all ready. I only had sundays/Mondays . I can not tell you how many times I pulled all nighters, eating dinner while doing homework. Homework when watching my younger brothers etc

15. I do not think any long lasting cool will persist in the fall, but they will probably increase as the season goes, especially November. December could be a cold one.

    1. You’re going to be pretty accurate on downplaying the heat that some were talking about for tomorrow. Warm day, not exceedingly hot by any stretch, though it will be uncomfortably muggy.

       Friday will be the hottest day but drier. Saturday’s a bit up in the air. We may set up an ocean wind with a bigger spread from coast to well inland, but fair weather.

       But it is very true that the overall pattern is quite warm in the East for a while as the interior West cools down. The “cool-down” with Hermine was just because of all the ocean-modified air as you well know.

       1. I think the placements of the berumuda high will have more to do with increasing humidity than having extremely warm temperatures. Warmer than average yes, extremely hot, I do not think so this fall. I think its going to be a muggy fall with slightly above normal temperatures by the end of it all. Yet dry.

          1. Yes. We’ll sneak in a couple more days near 90 in September, but not quite like 1983 when it seemed like the 90s would never go away. Boston hit 99 twice that September.

             Bermuda High will be there, but not exceedingly strong. Surface high axis is often too far north and we end up with more southeast and south wind which keeps the big heat away but leaves the humidity in place.

16. Sooooooo when do we start seeing some of the first real chill?

    1. When you open the freezer and grab the ice cubes. 😀

       1. hahaha – well done!

    2. We’re only going to see glancing blow kind of cool shots through September. Re-evaluate it mid month for early October, but I suspect a very slow transition.

       1. Then the cool shots will be a wonderful way to think about things to come and still enjoy what we have. Thank you TK

          1. Yes they will. I think we’ll see a very classic transition from an above normal temp pattern to a below normal temp pattern by year’s end, all while remaining drier than normal.

             1. :). ⛅️❄️

                1. Looking forward to a 33F sunny day on December 10th, followed by our first snow event of the season on the 11th – a 2 inch snow blanket to whet the appetite – and a in the wake of the mini low a Montreal Express to give us all a Christmas feel.

                   1. Sounds good to me. But December 9 Seems to be the day Mother Nature likes to Grace us with snow❄️❄️❄️

                   2. Have a feeling it may be another tough year for snow lovers .

                      1. You may indeed be right. But, we can dream about it.

                      2. this year like tk alluded like a week ago or so, is that it could be dry but cold

                      3. I love snow but I also love winter. And I can guarantee we will have winter so I am a happy camper.

17. Thanks TK.

18. Some interesting light transitions this morning with the morning fog. From grey to yellow to dark blue/purple ……. literally within a couple hundred yards of distance.

19. New post but it’s very short thanks to reasons explained at the top of it. 😛

    Expand it later!

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