Julia Sweeney

Note: I have tried for a week to write this post. I almost just gave up because the thing was just not coming together. However, I really, REALLY loved this show, and I really wanted mention it. Therefore, sorry for the quality (and the rambling) but at least it's here.


Have you ever had that experience where you have an idea in your head and it makes perfect sense, but when you try to explain it to another person it just comes out as nonsensical babble? Perhaps not (depending on your level of elocution) but it happens to me fairly often. Now, I know what you're thinking, a teacher should be clear at all times. In the classroom I do a pretty good job on that, but when it comes to more esoteric topics, I often have trouble laying things out clearly. That is why I was so excited by the things Julia Sweeney had to say in her show "Letting Go of God."

When we first saw the ad for a show by Julia Sweeney (of Saturday Night Live fame) and Ira Glass (of NPR fame) we thought it sounded like an interesting combination, so we bought tickets without really knowing what we might get. What we did get was a very intelligent and also hilarious look at Julia's struggle with religion and spirituality. I have seriously tried several times to write a summary of her show, but it just isn't happening. Her timing and delivery were such an integral part of things that it just doesn't seem to work in text form (or maybe I'm just a lame writer) Suffice it to say that she illustrated her true and honest attempt to have deep faith, but she could never quite get past her own doubt. Blind faith turned out to be really hard to maintain when she took a good, hard look at the things she was being asked to believe. When this show comes out on DVD (in June?) I would highly recommend it to anyone who has ever been troubled by these kinds of doubts.

In the end, this show took my opinions about religion, summed them up, cleanly refuted any opposition through careful research, and then added perfect comic timing, and bitingly funny commentary. It was a beautiful experience. Now if only she would do the same for my views on politics, relationships, the environment, food, child rearing, school funding, health and fitness, textbook selection, the economy...

The Promise

On Sunday a friend of ours organized a trip to see the new Chinese movie The Promise. Reviews for the movie were mixed, but since it looked so beautiful we were excited to see it for ourselves. I was definitely not disappointed. Costumes, sets, cinematography, actors- everything was lovely in the extreme. Add to that, it was a fairytale, and you have something I enjoyed very much. My particular favorites were the sea goddess (be sure to notice her floating crown) and the fighting scene around the bird screens (if you see the movie you'll know what I mean). Some people complained that the computer-generated graphics were not convincing, but I really was not bothered much about that. Some reviewers actually complained that the fighting and some other elements were not realistic enough which I thought was pretty laughable. You would think the frequent use of magic and the superhuman strength would tip people off to the fact that the story is supposed to be just a wee bit outside the normal boundaries of reality.

Book Committee Redux

Yesterday was a VERY good day. Be warned, I am about to shamelessly toot my own horn.

Some people may be familiar with my other book committee experience (Shot Down and Pissed Off) and may remember that it was not a happy one. To sum up, I was the lone hold-out against the favored social studies text book, and I lost out to the crowd. However, I was not about to let that scare me off of the rest of the committee work (that would be letting them win!). Therefore, I signed up for novel selection committee as well.

While the social studies textbook committee took almost an entire year and much piloting to make a choice, the novels were given barely two months of consideration. This turned out to be a very good thing for me because I came to the first meeting with a list of books I thought we could use. No one else was prepared for things to move so quickly, so my selections formed the core of our candidate list. We did all go away and read the books on the list, and then, yesterday, we got back together to come to a decision.

Now the only sticking points were a few people who wanted to include science fiction (Hello! We're supposed to connect to the history curriculum. You know, the stuff from 600 to 1600!) and the people who wanted to bring an existing book down from the gifted program. The first group were dealt with pretty easily since they wanted something that clearly didn't fit with our goals (that didn't stop them last time, but in this case things were more clear cut). The second group were a little tougher to quell. They wanted to take a book that we currently teach in the gifted program and assign it to all students. I said that we should not do this because the book was too hard for the average kid. However, I could not back up my claims based on reading level alone because this book scored a 7 on the standard level test (about 7th grade level) just like one of the books I suggested. Once again, I came prepared.

It turns out that the reading level given for most books assesses only the complexity of sentences and vocabulary. Thus, a book with a very complicated plot can get a low score just because it uses small words and simple sentences. Knowing this, and with the help of our librarian, a few of us from my school managed to find another scoring system (you can find it on Amazon.com under "concordance") that takes other factors into account. Using this scoring system we discovered that the book from the gifted class scored a 9.3 (about ninth grade level) while the book I suggested scored a (wait for it!) 6.8! What do you know! Objections cleared, we were ready to move on.

My main goal for this committee was to get at least three decent books on the required list. In the end, we managed to agree on FOUR. Remember, it is tough to find books that suit our particular corner of world history (the world from 600-1600 minus North America, but also Washington state history). While these are not the best books I've ever read, they are at least decent which is more than I can say for some books I've taught. I am quite pleased with the combination of literary quality, historical content, and readability. In the end we chose Ghost Canoe, Catherine, Called Birdy, Beduins' Gazelle (spelled that way for some reason), and The Kite Rider. Now all we have to do is figure out how we want to go about teaching them next year.

Tazo

Some web designer (or several) out there deserves an award. One of my favorite mainstream (as opposed to boutique or specialty) tea companies is Tazo of Portland. Imagine my pleasure when I happened across the official Tazo website. Imagine my even greater pleasure when I discover that this is one cute website. Take some time, learn about the teas (my favorites are Citron, Awake, and Passion) and be absolutely sure to have your leaves read by THE GREAT ORACLE. Just make sure you have the sound on so you can appreciate his own special language.

Formatting

Yes. I admit it. I fight with blogger over formatting all the time. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I don't. What can I say. I appologize for all the bumps in the road.

The Wonders of Pittsburgh

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we recently went to visit my younger brother at his university in Pittsburgh. We really enjoyed the trip, and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Pittsburgh is really a pretty interesting place. One of the best parts about it is that it used to be a hub for the steel industry. Now steel itself is not very interesting, but the huge amounts of money produced by the industry did lead to some very good things. In the past, when a town was filled to the gills with the super-rich, charity was a natural outcome. Pittsburgh is the lucky recipient of two universities, many parks and gardens, museums, music venues, libraries, and at least one fantastically detailed dinosaur statue.

After the dinosaur, one of the more striking examples of philanthropic fervor is on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The Cathedral of Learning was built in the early part of the 1900s to look like a cross between a medieval church and a castle. It features some very elaborate stone carving, beautiful stained glass windows, and many perfectly medieval details. One visitor summed it up by saying that Harry Potter could have been filmed inside. In keeping with the castle theme, the interior features two huge fireplaces, a massive common room with vaulted ceilings, and several giant wooden thrones. As far as we are concerned, my little brother is the king of Pitt (hey, we hardly know anyone else there) so we made him sit in the throne and look regal. I think it is especially funny that his shirt says "ego" (his shirt really says Oregon, but happenstance made it funnier) because he does get a little bit of a big head sometimes. Who would have thought that my round baby brother would turn out to be brilliant and handsome :) Anyway, if you ever get to Pittsburgh be sure to visit the Cathedral of Learning. It's both strange and cool enough to be well worth the trip.

Botanical Garden

Last Friday we went to the Botanical garden with some friends. Being a garden fanatic, I love to visit this place. One or two visits a year will not cut it either because the garden changes SO much over just a few weeks. During the spring and summer I try to fit in a visit at least once a month. On this trip we saw how the spring flowers are really starting to pass off and the summer buds are just beginning. In other words, goodbye tulips and daffodils, hello marigolds and roses. The pics below are just a very few of the lovely ones we got on this visit. We also have a great one of geeks beneath a tree. M is doing is best to look really regal and intelligent.

Locked Down

Friday was supposed to be the day when we got back to normal after the end of WOSL. We were going to take it easy, watch a movie, and have a cookie to celebrate. By 8:30 in the morning we were laying on the classroom floor in the dark. The doors were locked, the blinds pulled, and we were doing our best to keep silent. We'd been locked down by the principal and we had absolutely no idea why. The whole idea of locking down a school comes out of the very few and very famous incidents of school violence that have taken place in the last decade. Columbine, Springfield, and others have done much to change the view of school security. Now, whenever the smallest thing happens, schools get locked down "just to be on the safe side." Of course, laying there on the floor we had no clue as to what might be happening. Was there a danger IN the school, or just some concern in the community? The kids (and I) really wanted to know why, but it is hard to get news from that position. The hardest part was that the kids were not remotely afraid. If they had been afraid they might have huddled quietly, hoping to avoid detection, in the corner. As it was, they thought this was some sort of amusing game, and then as time went by, some sort of mean joke. They were NOT good at being quiet, and they did NOT want to stay on the floor. Then again, it was tough to blame them as the time dragged on.

For the first 45 minutes or so, we played telephone as quietly as possible, next we tried pass around conversations (on paper and pencil), then we played connect the dots in pairs, and finally we started "toss the question." In the middle of all this the kids would ask me repeatedly if I knew anything, how long I thought it might last, and what they could do to amuse themselves. In the beginning, one girl asked why we had to lay on the floor in the dark. This girl has participated in many drills over the course of the year, so she should know this already. However, I gathered together my patience and explained that this was the school's way of keeping us safe just in case something dangerous might be out there. They all seemed to accept this, and we went on trying to be quiet. A little while later, another kid crawled over to me to ask if we would still be going to lunch on time. Again, I gathered my patience and explained that unless the lock down were over, we wouldn't be going to lunch on time because standing up and walking down to the lunchroom would, you know, defeat the purpose of the lockdown. This news caused furious whispering and many complaints of imminent starvation. Eventually, however, I got them quieted down with promises of left-over cheezits at lunchtime. Some time during the third hour, another child raised his had and asked "Miss L when it gets to be 2:06 (the normal end of the day) they will let us go home won't they?" I counted to ten before answering.

Finally, almost three hours after we went into lockdown, we were allowed to sit up and watch a video instead of lying on the floor. Officially we hadn't been released, but the police were confident enough to allow some flexibility. I handed out cheezits and cookies when lunchtime rolled around. Then, almost four hours into the whole thing they finally declared the lockdown over, and we could return to what was left of our normal school day (including full lunch by the way). Why, might you ask, did we have to do all this? Because a man, a grown man, decided to wander up and down the road outside school waving what appeared to be a rifle. They never found the man, but his "rifle" was actually three soda bottles taped together and painted black. If they find him, I think his punishment should be to lie on the floor in the dark for four hours times 982 for all the people who were forced to be part of his "prank."

So Glad It's Over!

Hooray! WOSL is over for this year! I am SO glad to see it done, but not nearly as glad as the kids. They are exhausted (I am too) by six tests in eight days. After the last two tests they were woozy and starving (writing for two hours straight will do that to you I guess) and more than a little punchy. I've learned from long experience about this, so I bought a huge box of Cheezits from Costco (I know, I know, but they're not that bad for you, and the kids LOVE them) and handed them out after the test. I used to give them treats before the test to take some of the sting out of the whole experience, but that is now banned by the state because treats might give my kids an unfair advantage over other, treatless, kids. On the whole, I was very proud of them this year. We all did the test through our homerooms, and my homeroom is comprised of kids who often struggle with school. They took the tests very seriously and worked long and hard on each one. Tomorrow, cookies and The Princess Bride (the best movie ever by the way). They've certainly earned it, and anyone who disagrees can just kiss my certificated bottom (if you kow what I mean).

Deep Secret, Deep Nonesense

For several weeks now I've wanted to blog about the WOSL (which I'm misspelling on purpose to avoid word searches of blogs). It sort of permeates my world for the month of April, and besides it's pretty goofy stuff. This is a test so bound up in bureaucratic rules that you have to either laugh or cry. I prefer the former, so I laugh a lot when this season comes around. Every year seems to get funnier than the last, and this year I am positively rolling in the aisles. Of course these funny rules also state that I can't talk about most of what I see. The state likes to think that this test is so hugely important that it must be kept utterly secret. I have news for them: Any information that you choose to share with thousands upon thousands of teenagers IS NOT a secret anymore. Nevertheless, we are bound, by contract and threat of legal action, to keep our mouths shut on most of the process. For example, the directions for administration (DA) are available on the state website. However, if we do not return our copy of the DA to our test admin. we are in big trouble. Why? Who knows?
The first thing that strikes you about all this is the acronyms. Now I admit we are acronym-heavy in education, but this takes it to the extreme. Weeks before the first test, we have a training meeting where our admin is legally required to explain the process to all of us (because we can't remember from last year or the year before that or the year before that...). This is an actual sentence from the training (the acronyms have been changed to protect, well, me):

Okay, if everyone would get out their DA we can have a look at the WOSL versus the WOOS. Now in order to maintain OYM, we need to improve our RLS, MLS, and our WLS in 7th grade. Our CAP says that we will especially focus on WLS for all grades. For those who do not qualify for WOSL, we still need to prove OYM, so we will be turning to the WOOS system to measure WLS. Your DA should have instructions for calculating OYM.

I swear I am not making this up. I am told by a friend that we are not alone on this one. Most states have similar forms of testing, and if they do not now GWB will be speaking to them soon. NCLB, the most reviled acronym in education, is the bill that requires all sorts of "fun" changes in the nation's schools. One of these changes is to require testing in every grade from K-10. Thanks GW we really needed that.

Being Useful

When we contemplate a weekend, M and I always try to leave room to "do busy things" as he likes to put it. Busy things are all those sorts of chores that need doing on a regular basis such as vacuuming the carpets or buying groceries or weeding the garden. This is really the perfect term because these are things that aren't horrible or painful; they just require the spending of time and the will to actually get going. The will to get going is something we often lack on weekends because there are just so many nice ways to waste time. Sleeping until 10:00 is fun, drinking tea and reading the paper is very pleasant, and hanging out with friends in any number of places is always a good time. However, since we bought the house we are finding it more and more important to do the busy stuff.
This weekend, I am proud to say, we did many busy things. Yesterday we did all the grocery shopping at both TJ's and Costco. Today we finished painting the spare bedroom (okay, I still need to do the trim, but the WALLS are done at least) and now there is not a speck of that horrible neon yellow in sight. M broke out the lawn mower for the first time (our first ever lawn mower by the way) and mowed the front AND back lawns. I weeded, planted, laid plastic over weedy paths (Will this work? I want to avoid weed killers, and everyone who thinks I'm being silly can just kiss my slightly hippie behind!) and swept the sidewalk and the patio. I also planted my bleeding heart plant underneath the trees in the backyard. I hope, I hope, I hope it will survive and bloom beautifully.
The odd part about all of this? It's really kind of fun! When I was a kid doing these kinds of chores often seemed like a form of painful cruelty invented by my parents. Now that we have our own house, though, I actually like taking care of it. Perhaps the glow will wear off eventually and I will be grumbling by next spring, but for now it's a satisfying way to spend a weekend. This afternoon, M and I are off to pick molding and a new door for the spare bedroom. Maybe while we're there we'll pick up some soil amendment and a few annuals for the garden. Oohh the possibilities.

The Truth About Pittsburgh

As I mentioned in an earlier post, operation SNOW MY MOM was a huge success. My brother has been bugging me to come and visit him in Pittsburgh pretty much since he moved there two years ago. "We are just so busy" was starting to sound pretty lame, so we decided to go ahead and visit for a long weekend. However, my brother suggested an interesting wrinkle to the plan. What if we were to take our mom, and not tell her beforehand that she was going. We've never done anything like this to her before, but we couldn't imagine that she wouldn't be happy about the plan. Therefore, we set out to be sneaky. Many people helped us to get her the day off of work, make airline and car reservations, take care of her pets, and create diversions so she wouldn't know what was really going on. Several people told her lies, both small and large, but lying is actually pretty fun when it is for entirely good purposes.

On Thursday I asked her to go out to dinner with several of us to celebrate the end of my pro cert program (it's not really over, but close!). We went out to a nice restaurant, had pleasant conversation and a good dinner, and then we told her that we wanted to get dessert somewhere else. Everyone was being very vague and cagey by that point because we were all afraid of giving something away. We started driving down South, and I was wondering when she would say "what the heck is going on!". However, she was very trusting (it probably helped that we would never lie to her normally, so what reason would she have to be suspicious) and she didn't say anything until we were at the airport.

Once we all got out and the friend with the car drove off, she was pretty well aware that something was up. This was the moment of truth, would she be annoyed with us for springing this on her without any warning at all? No, of course not. She seemed very happy and very excited by the whole idea (although I could tell she did worry for just a moment about having someone else do her packing). We got tickets, passed through security, and boarded our plane without a single hitch. The actual time in Pittsburgh was great too, but that is another story (maybe one that M will put on his blog?). Over all, the surprise went beautifully, but I don't think we'll ever get away with another one quite as easily.

Extreme Silliness

You will not believe this one. For the final phase of the Professional Certification Program I am required to include student work as "evidence" that I have improved my teaching skills. This work must be "in student voice" meaning that it has to be an original copy (to prevent us from cheating I guess?). Therefore, we are required to photograph or scan the work and include it in a powerpoint presentation. This is the best I could do with our digital camera, and still have the whole page show at once. The amazing part is that I offered to translate the work into a readable copy, and was told that, no, it had to be original. I asked about the fact that you can't possibly read it, and they said, get this, they don't care as long as it is original student work. I am tempted to make up a work sheet that says PRO CERT IS STUPID! PRO CERT IS STUPID! over and over again. Of course that would mean, I would be lowering myself to their level of extreme silliness.

Fiendish Cleverness

Operation SNOW MY MOM went off without a hitch. It turns out the Pittburgh is actually a pretty interesting place, and not nearly the rusting hulk of a city that some people (not me of course!) might expect. More info and pictures to follow soon, but right now I'm bogged down in WASL Land.

Skagit Valley Tulips

The very first picture here shows the little patch of garden by our front door. If you look very carefully you can see our very first crop of tulips in the new house! It was very exciting (at least I thought so) when the little orange tips first showed color. However, as precious as they are to me, these are just a few little flowers. The Skagit Valley, on the other hand, has LOTS of flowers. My friend C and I decided that we have lived around Seattle for far too long without having seen the famous tulips, so we decided to make the trip. We left Seattle around 10am, drove the hour north, and made it up to flowers by about 11:15. Our first glimpse of the valley was not very promising because muddy fields (no flowers) were pretty much it. However, once we got a little closer to the farms, we could see whole fields of flowers. Since they grow each color seperetely, it was a sea of red, then a sea of yellow, and so on. At the farm we were treated to many different varieties of flowers, and these are just a very few of the pics. Perhaps I will include a few more in a future post.

Food for Thought

Many people are familiar with the book The Material World which is famous for going around the world and photographing people with all their possessions. Classrooms all over the country (world?) have used this book to get a visual portrait of comparative standards of living. Now, some of the authors have collaborated on a new book called Hungry Planet. Families are once again posed in front of their houses, but this time they have one week's food laid out in front of them. The difference between countries is staggering to say the least. Each country profile also includes a story about the family, and general food statistics for the nation over all. Looking at the rates of malnutrition versus obesity makes quite a powerful statement. Large portions of the population in Mali, Chad, Guatemala, and the Philippines struggle to get enough to eat. At the same time, millions of people in Australia, Germany, France, and especially the United States are slowly killing themselves withan excess of food.

Peace and Quiet

Hooray for spring break!

Moral Issue

I like to think that my views on moral issues are informed by an internally consistent set of rules. In this vein I've always argued that gay marriage is perfectly fine with me because, well, why shouldn't they? I’ve always argued that grown-ups who are not hurting anyone should be allowed to pretty much do as they please (yes, yes, there are exceptions, but I think you know what I'm getting at). After all, they are consenting adults, and their marriage really has nothing to do with me or Pat Robertson. What gives me the right or authority to tell a gay person they can't get married? More than that, why would I want to tell a gay person they can't get married?

However, I've recently found myself in a bit of a conundrum over this line of reasoning. The problem is the idea of multiple marriage. The new TV show Big Love has everyone talking about polygamy, and some people are starting to draw parallels between gay and polygamous marriages. After all, they argue, if adults should be allowed sole control of their marital choices then why shouldn't multiples be allowed? Well crap. According to my own logic I should agree with them, and yet I really emphatically don't. In fact, the idea of polygamy is completely unacceptable to me. But why? Why should I care about who other adults marry? Why should these two issues be so completely different for me?

All the people I've polled on this one happen to agree (at least in general terms) with me on these two issues (i.e. gay marriage perfectly fine, polygamy perfectly icky) but the reasoning varies greatly from person to person. Some people talk about feminism and the abusive caste of so many polygamous unions. Other people say it has to do with monogamy, and still more talk about jealousy leading to ruin. R even says that he can't stand the idea of how it would alter the tax code (knowing him, this is probably the truth). The only thing that everyone seems in a hurry to say is that the two issues are not the same. This article from Slate summed up many of the main points beautifully.

I wish I could say that I had some sort of good conclusion for this whole thing, but the truth is that I don't. I have not budged even slightly on views of each situation, but I am still not happy with how I arrived at them. Most all of the arguments people have proposed for the difference between the two make a lot of sense. However, accepting any of them means changing my basic belief that adults should make their own private choices. In my little world, most things of importance are pretty black and white, and this issue creates an uncomfortable shade of gray.

Noooooo!

The best boss ever (mine) is planning to retire in a mere fourteen months! I know this may seem like a long way off, but really it's just the end of next school year. The best supervisor ever got promoted out last year and now this. I don't know how we will all cope. Once you get spoiled by management that cares about workers and is responsible, responsive, and democratic it gets really hard to go back to the usual. I suppose there is a small chance we will get someone just as good, but, let's face it, the odds of that are not high. Having read my 90's management philosophy books I know that I am supposed to be flexible, role with the change, and go in search of new cheese. However, it feels as though our delicious aged French blue might be swapped for a limp piece of rubbery American.

Please Comment

Please contribute to a debate that is currently raging (okay maybe just simmering). The comment below was posted on Raymond's blog in March. The subject of Raymond's post was his annoyance at stores who do not post their legally required notices such as liquor licenses, freezer licenses, ect. When Raymond notices that someone is not following the rules he likes to make trouble for them. This is one of his hobbies. Many comments were posted in response, and this one stood out to me. Please comment on the comment and let me know what you think of the statement:

"# re: On the alert for expired food-handling licenses Tuesday, March 21, 2006 4:54 PM by Wang-Lo Many anthropoligists believe that the human male most naturally pays attention to larger aggregates and abstractions, while the female is most in touch with practical everyday details. Usually men undertake work such as associating families into tribes and tribes into nations. Organizing the big hunt is manly. Usually women perform the tasks of making and repairing shelter and clothing, gathering and preparing food, and tending the fire. Fixing lunch is womanly. This means that it is usually men who set up things like food handling regulations and a department of health to enforce them. Actually filling out the proper forms or properly posting the latest certificates would fall to some administrative assistant or secretary, usually a woman. So a man would be satisfied that proper health laws were on the books, but a woman would insist that the posted certificates be up to date. In other words, Raymond, you complain like a girl too."

Heather or Erica?

Mark and I used to have this running debate. He called this plant an Erica because that is what they are called in South Africa. I call this plant a Heather because that is what they are called both here and in Scotland. We would go back and forth about this in a good-natured way until one day I made an important discovery. Erica is the latin name of some varieties while Heather is the common name for the whole group of shrubs. Some plant tags even list this one as Heather Erica, so I guess we can safely say that we are both right about this one. Now we have this beautiful Heather Erica growing very harmoniously in our front yard.

Two Cute

Last weekend Mark and I went to a lovely tea party given by a friend of ours. The tea table was a sight to behold, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves very much. Another party guest was the four month-old son of two other friends. He is getting very big and strong, and is quite willing to be passed around to all the big people. He and Mark spent some quality time together admiring socks. They seemed quite happy with one another until hunger got the better of them and the fussing began. Luckily the baby found his mommy and Mark found his tea cup and all was well once again.

Tiny Patches of Spring

These little beauties are just coming up outside our front door. I've never been a huge fan of grape hyacinths, but these are just so cute and springy by the door that I can't help liking them. Besides, the previous owners kept both the yards so devoid of flowers that I'm happy to see anything colorful peaking out from the nooks and crannies. The tulips are taking their sweet time, but I have faith that they will bloom some time before summer.

Lucky Me

Yesterday was another one of those endless ones. Get up early, rush to school, teach all day, go to a meeting at 3:00, go to a class at 5:00, home around 8:00. In short, a long, long day. Add to that the fact that the class is yet another one of those stupid, pointless exercises, and I was none to happy about things.

However, when I opened the door to the house, clouds of delicious scents assailed my nose. Not only did Mark cook, but he made my absolute favorite Indian dish, tomato paneer. Not only did he make tomato paneer, he made lentil dahl and spiced rice as sides. Not only did he make such a delectable dinner, but he made custard with fruit for dessert. All of a sudden I wasn't quite so grumpy anymore.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Why is it that nothing ever is quite as it appears? None of those bits and pieces you hear about history from popular culture ever seem to be even close to true. Why do we feel the need to lie to one another? Real history is usually quite interesting enough without all sorts of embellishments and outright falsehood.

-Most everyone has heard about St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, but it turns out they've never had any at all.

-The story about Patrick using a clover leaf to explain the trinity was made up in the 18th century and also never happened.

-There is no evidence that Patrick was ever a Bishop who met with the pope.

-Strangely enough, there is also no evidence for the claim that Patrick made a bargain with god to keep Ireland free and Catholic forever.

-Last but certainly not least, there is a great deal of evidence for the belief that Patrick was not even Irish! Most historians agree that Patrick was actually born in Wales, and that he was the son of a Roman official.

So raise a glass of green beer to a Welsh guy who was nothing more than a really good evangelist.

Cherry Blossom Festival

As promised, I went out this weekend and took a few pictures of the cherry blossoms in our neighborhood. We have one tree next to our driveway, and then they also grow up and down the street. They are beautiful, delicately sented, and full of pollen that makes me sneeze. They are so springy that I can't help being delighted by them. The Japanese were definitely on to something.

Faith?

Every once in a while I run accross this quote and I remember how much I like it. It sort of sums up everything I think about faith and belief:

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense."

The Buddha

Lightning and Snow

Yesterday was certainly about contrasts. Last afternoon I drove home from school admiring the cherry trees that are blossoming up and down our street (I know, I know, I need pictures!). At the same time, a few flurries of snow were falling. That evening I was watching the lightening and listening to the thunder, and there were still a few flakes falling. To me, snow is winter, cherry blossoms are spring, and thunder and lightening are summer (at least around here they usually are). I am confused but it makes for a pretty cool scene out the living room window.

The Longest Mile

The book drama continues, and I am trying to figure out what I have learned from this whole experience. The first thing that comes to mind is "don't volunteer to be on book committees" but that seems kind of harsh. The second thing I've been thinking about is how to deal with the other people who argued so strenuously against me. Am I supposed to move on and pretend that nothing happened? I think they did a pretty unfortunate thing, so I have trouble just putting on a happy face when I see them again. Then again, maybe I'm just being childish. Also, what can I do better next time? This is the one I will really have to think about. One requirement is to be better prepared. Since I didn't really know what I was in for this time around, I couldn't foresee many of the problems before they arose. Next time, however, I will be well prepared. My arguments will be honed, my facts will be straight, and I will make certain that I have every weapon at my disposal. All with a cheerful and friendly demeanor of course.

Shot Down and Pissed Off

Note: The following is true. I know it will seem like I am slanting things to make myself look good, but I swear I did not make any of this stuff up.

Six Months Ago

Admin (very cheerful and upbeat): Okay Gang (he actually uses that phrase all the time) we need to choose new books for the various grade levels, and it's your job to get us some good ones! I'm breaking you into grade level groups. Here are the goals we are trying to meet in each grade, and here are the options available. Evaluate each option and decide if it meets our goals.

My Grade Level Team: Okay, after looking at all the options we think these two books do the best job of meeting our goals. Book #1 does a great job on this, and book #2 does an okay job.

Admin: Great! Now I see that you think one book does a better job of meeting our goals, but you never can tell until you use it, so go out there and try it with kids! Remember, you and the kids are the ones to make the final decision! (he really does speak in exclamations most of the time)

Today

Admin: Okay Gang (I'm not making him up) now that you've field tested the books you can calculate the average student response.

Us (furrowing our brows and adding numbers furiously): Wow, it looks like both books scored almost exactly the same! Kids really liked both books. In fact, the difference is statistically insignificant. What should we do now?

Me: Maybe we should choose book #1 because it meets the goals we started out with.

Teammate #1: No, we should choose book #2 because it had fun games with it (I'm not making this up).

Me: That game was fun, but it seems like maybe the books is not as good at meeting our goals.

Teammate #2: My kids thought the game was fun AND they liked they video.

Me: That was a good video, but remember how we had the goal about making sure all of our kids would be able to read and understand the book we choose? Book #2 is very complicated in some spots.

Teammate #3: My kids didn't have any trouble understanding book #2. Also, they really liked the game (I swear I'm not making this up!).

Me: That may be true, but you teach a class of highly capable students. This book is supposed to be for everyone, and then we will choose extra stuff for the Plus kids.

Teammate #2: The special education teacher in our school said that her kids really like games.

Me: Did you show her the books?

Teammate #2: No.

Me: I showed the books to my special education team and they said book #2 would be very hard for their kids to read. Did you know that book #2 was written at the 10th grade level?

Teammates: No.

This sort of conversation circles around for a couple more hours as we finish writing up our results.

Admin: Okay Gang! It's time to vote!

Me: I vote for book #1

Them: We vote for book #2

Admin (after we explain our positions): She has some very good points Guys (we are all girls in this group, but who's really paying attention). Have you really discussed her points?

Them: Yes, we think book #2 is good.

Me: What about our goals? What about readability? Ignore the games! Compare the books! (I am getting more frantic and trying REALLY hard not to let it show, but I sort of end in a squeak)

Them: WE WANT BOOK #2!

Admin: Well Guys, it's not up to me. Make sure you put her objections into the report.

Me: Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Them: Great! Let's write the report!

Me: Squeak!

Them: We picked a fun book!

Me: squeak

Them: The kids will really like the game

Me: ---

Grrrrage Door Openers

On one recent Saturday, Mark and I decided to head down to Nameless Mega-box Store to pick up garage door openers for our house. I assumed when we bought the house that the original openers had died from old age, and the previous owners just removed them. We thought (naive people that we are) we could just buy new openers and install them ourselves (meaning I would stand there and Mark would do the work). After searching through acres of home improvement goods, we finally found the right section, picked out belt-driven models, and took them home. Then we discovered the truth: our house has never had garage door openers because the brilliant, brilliant builder put a beam in the way. This beam precludes any standard variety opener, so our house has probably never had one. We then went back to Nameless Mega-box to return the old openers and ask about alternatives. The man there got quite gleeful telling us about the dangers of all non-traditional openers ("and then, if the spring doesn't catch you in the eye, the door will fall on your head!"), and said that we are basically screwed. Never daunted, Mark called in a garage door specialist who came out to the house. His opnion? We are screwed. The only solution is new tracks and new doors which is a five figure solution to what should be a simple problem. This is quite a bit more than our origianl budget of not much. For the moment we continue to jump out of the car, open the front door, run through the house, open the garage door, jump back in the car, pull into the garage, jump out of the car, close the garage door... Thinking about all this makes me realize that I am a spoiled, spoiled person.

Civil What?

The 7th graders were supposed to take an exam on Ancient China. One of the test questions reads:

Confucius wanted men to take the Civil ________________________ Exam to see who would make a good public official.

The answers from students include:

-Rights
-War
-Society
-ity
-ian
-man

I don't understand it. We studied the Civil Service Exam in some depth, and most of the kids did quite well on the rest of the test. I guess this is proof that some test-takers never look beyond the first few words of the question. This is right up there with the large group of kids who said that a group of monks will live together in a community called a Montessori.

Under Water

I've been a bad blogger lately. The problem is that all my classes have converged on me at once! I am still working full time, but I am also taking twelve college credits as well. This week I had two research papers to write, four plans to compile, one scaffold to hammer out, and four read-and-reflect pieces to work through. In short, life is veeery busy, but at least I'm down to the home stretch. By the end of April I will (hopefully) be done with the %*&#@* Pro. Cert. and life (and blogging) should return to normal. Wish me luck.

Tulips

Here is a series I took of tulips. I like these pictures because they show the flowers (which I like) and the sunshine (which I really like). These flowers were also quite satisfying because we bought them as tightly closed buds, and then watched them open in only about twelve hours. Steerpike decided to pose as well.

Aaaaaaaaaah

I don't want to make anyone jealous, but I am currently on vacation. It is Mid-Winter Break for most schools in Washington State. That massive "WEEEEEEEEE!" sound you heard last Friday was all the school children (and perhaps their teachers?) getting out of school for a week. I've spent my time off relaxing, doing all those little things I never quite get to, doing homework for my Pro. Cert. classes, and also relaxing. The best bit is, of course, the sleeping in and NOT getting up in the "wee sma's." The next best bit is all the quiet. It turns out that Mark and the kitties are not nearly as noisy as 900 teenagers.

Three Ways of Thought

Every year around this time we study ancient China in my social studies classes. We read about early emperors, see a video about the terra cotta soldiers, create a timeline of ancient dynasties and so on. I always try for a mix of different strategies to teach this stuff because no two kids learn in exactly the same way. However, most students agree that the best part of the unit is the simulations. Some of the early dynasties experimented with different forms of rule, so we take the kids through an activity designed to give them a feel for life under three of the systems.

The first system is the philosophy of Confucius. Because Confucius taught that younger people must respect and learn from their elders, we have the five eldest kids in class become the leaders. They get to sit ON TOP of the desks, and they get to tell all the students in their small group what to do. However, they are also responsible for the behavior and success of their "younger brothers and sisters." We talk about the power of honor and shame, and how a person's life could be ruined through loss of "face." They study the teachings of Confucius in their small groups, and then answer questions from me, the emperor. We leave out the part about men being thought superior to women until the end.

The second system is legalism. In this system I get to be the extreme heavy if you know what I mean. This is a system based on the idea that people are inherently bad, and the only way to have peace in society is through strict rules and serious consequences. All the students have to sit up in their desks, hands behind their backs, and pay strict attention to the lesson. They are not allowed to speak, look up, or move without permission. The smallest transgression leads to punishment. The best bit is wandering the rows and smacking a yardstick onto the desks of people who are "bad." Even though they know it is fake, some students still show signs of stress after a few minutes of my shouting and smacking desks. If a student is really bad I make them sit on the floor, or even kneel in front of the class. This year I added the punishment of standing in front of the room while holding a sign that says "I am a bad student." They must study the readings on legalism, and try to avoid getting punished. Each time a student is punished they get a check mark next to their name on the board. At the end I assign fake punishments to those with the most checks. Beheading is one of my favorites. The really odd part is that they absolutely love this lesson. They ask again and again if we can have another day like that one. I have no idea why they like it so much, but I'm just glad they don't complain to their mothers.

The third way of thought is Taoism. This lesson is such a great contrast to the previous day because it takes a totally different view of the world. Taoist philosophy says that people are naturally good, and the best way to govern them is to leave them alone as much as possible. Thus we clear the classroom and kids are allowed to choose their own seats on the floor as long as their seating choice "promotes harmony and not discord." We then talk about how the real struggle most people have is in their own mind, and how Taoists wanted to find inner peace more than anything. I place a potted plant in the middle the circle, and we all marvel at how it desires nothing and seeks only to be. Of course the kids are all snickering and trying to make fun of the whole thing, so I've developed a special strategy that avoids punishment, but still quiets them down. I talk about how some people are made uncomfortable by their own feelings, and these are the people who seek to act out as a way to cover up their won discomfort. They start to understand that if you are being a problem you are admitting that you can't cope. Finally, we do a little transcendental meditation where they all visualize a pond, imagine it experiencing a terrible storm, and then imagine calming the storm. This is a metaphor for all the problems that trouble our minds. Most kids think it is silly nonsense, but every single year there are a few who think it's a revelation.

In the end, we discuss how each of the three ways might have been used to rule a country. we also compare how these ideas might appear in the modern world, or how they might be applied to solve modern problems. More than one kid has come back to me years later and said that they remember these lessons better than any others. I love simulations!

Flower Geeks

Last weekend Mark and I went to the annual Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. We've never been to this event before, but since we got free tickets in the mail, we decided to give it a try. What we found was an entire world unto itself. It turns out that there are quite a number of hardcore flower geeks out there. Now many people might think this is obvious. There are millions of people out there who enjoy gardening, and who spend every weekend planting, mulching, weeding, or feeding. These people may have grubby pants and fingernails, but their yards are often spectacular. Some, or even many, of these people were at the garden show, but there was another kind there as well.

These are the people who don't just like flowers, they are obsessed with them. These are the people who say things like "I'm SO tired of zonal!” while looking at the geranium stand. These are the people who come, not just to get something unusual like a pitcher plant, but to get a certain variety of pitcher plant. These are the kind of people who actually get married in a garden display! I am not making this up. While we were there they were actually holding a real wedding in one of the big, room-sized displays. I cannot imagine what causes a person to choose a garden show for their wedding. Perhaps they met at the garden show? Perhaps they were paid to add authenticity? Perhaps they just love that convention center ambiance so much that it was the only choice? I really don't know.

Anyway, we had a pretty good time on the whole. Mark bought me a gold cast of a gingko leaf done as a coat pin. Of course, it was not actually alive, but at least it was still plant-related. I did not get to buy as many plants as I'd hoped because it turns out that what I wanted was way too mundane for this crowd. We did pick up a cute little sprout of dark red clematis and some very nice dahlia tubers, but I think I will have to just go to a regular nursery if I want lilacs, columbines, primroses, and other "boring" plants.

Happy Valentine's Day (schmaltz warning)

It know it's not very new or original, but E.B. Browning just said it so well:

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to useIn my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to loseWith my lost saints.
I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life;
and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

I hope Valentine's finds you happy--- whether you have romance or not. Remember that there are a million different kinds of love in the world, and it is okay not to have them all at once. All MY love to the family and friends who are scattered near and far.

P.S. February 14th was also my Grandpa John's birthday. All who knew him would have to agree that he was the best of men and the best of grandpas. Here's to him.

Fish Update

Well folks, I know you've been on the edge of your seat wanting to know how the goldfish is doing. I am proud, and more than a little surprised, to say that he continues to survive, and even seems to be mending nicely. We added some stress coat (Aloe Vera gel for fish) to the water, and it seems to be doing a good job of smoothing his raggedy edges. His poor tail is still in ribbons from the loss of blood, but I do believe he will eventually recover entirely.

I Think NOT!

It is time that I confessed the embarrassing truth: I am passionately fond of the band Queen. Well, to tell the truth, I was passionately fond of the music as a teenager, so much so, that I sort of exhausted it before I graduated from college. I listened to the band while doing my homework, driving in the car (I learned to drive to "I'm Going Slightly Mad") and just about everywhere else. I even read the official band biography, and learned the truth about Brian May's Red Special guitar (he and his dad made it out of an old mahogany mantle piece). Even now I still pop in the greatest hits CD sometimes when I need a pick-me-up. Therefore you might think that I would be all excited about the news that the band will be touring the United States in 2006, and they plan a show at our own Key Arena! The only small problem here, the only fly in the ointment if you will, is that FREDDY IS STILL DEAD! The remaining members of the band actually believe that they can simply swap in just any old singer and themselves Queen. As if ANYONE could replace the great toothy one. I have absolutely no problem with three former members of queen meeting up with a new guy and touring together, but they should not take the name of the original band in vain. The really sad part is that they will do it, and they will sell tickets too. People will actually go "oh well, I guess it'll be pretty much the same thing" or worse yet, THEY WON'T EVEN REALIZE THAT THEY'VE BEEN DUPED! To borrow from George Harrison--- There can be no Queen reunion as long as Freddy remains dead.

Flying Fish

Yesterday I got up at my usual ungodly time. As always I dragged myself out of bed in the dark, hobbled over to the bathroom, dressed, washed, combed etc. By the time I finish with all this I am beginning to wake up, but I'm still pretty bleary-eyed. Imagine my surprise then, at coming down into the kitchen and finding a fish on the floor. My poor, sleepy brain actually had trouble registering the fact that it was a fish because fish really are not part of the usual landscape for our kitchen floor. Once I registered the fact of the fish I noticed that this was actually a fish I knew, and that it belonged across the room in the fish tank. At first I thought the poor thing was dead because it was clearly dried out, it did not move at all, and it was covered in dust bunnies (okay, yes, we have one or two small dust bunnies in our house). I was just think "oh no! Poor Fishy! We hardly knew ye!" When the fish went !GULP! in a big way. I ran around frantically finding a bowl, scooping water from the fish tank, and trying desperately not to squash the poor little guy while putting him in the bowl. He didn't move at all. In fact, he sank to the bottom of the bowl and sat there without moving a muscle. I started to think I had imagined the gulp, and that I'd just plunked a leathery, dead fish into a bowl of water. By the time I had to go, he was still not looking good, and I really thought there wasn't much hope.

However, by the time Mark got up, the fish was swimming slowly around the bowl. Mark returned the fish to the tank and poured out the bowl of dust bunnies and slime (when fish get dried out they lose their protective gel coat). Long story short (too late for that you're probably thinking!) the fish survived his near air-drowning. He is a little the worse for wear from his experience. Without much gel coat, he looks very rough and it is hard for him to glide through the water as he should. His tail and one fin are ragged and shredded because they were deprived of blood for too long. Over all, though, he is alive and he will eventually recover. This weekend we will definitely have to go to the pet store and buy a cover for our fish tank. I just don't think I can take any piscine rescue missions so early in the morning.

But I'm Not Bitter or Anything

Teaching is one of the few professions where you are guilty until proven innocent again and again and again. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot simply jump through the hoops of getting certified and then be done. No, in fact, the job of certification is never truly over for those of us under the age of about forty. For those of us who became teachers in the last seven years, the job is especially arduous. Even though we have passed all the criminal checks, psychological profiles, course work, internships, student teaching, and provisional teaching, we are still considered "suspect" by the state. Thus, we must participate in Professional Certification courses or lose our right to teach. The courses are a series of classes that are supposed to help make us better teachers by identifying our "deficiencies" and assigning courses to "correct" them. I know, this sounds like a probation plan for people who can't cut the mustard, but no, they require it for everybody. I am nearing the end of this insulting, expensive charade and I cannot wait for it to be over. Last night was the first class of my final course. For three hours (after a full workday by the way) we sit and listen to the lady read our handouts out loud to us. We then go away and collect some important "evidence" about our school (such as the number of kids we have) and present that to our peers in the class. Perhaps this is meant to improve our patience with trivial things, but otherwise I can't see any real benefit to our skills as a teacher.

Hooray for Losers

For the sake of the kids and other fans I know I should be sad that the Seahawks lost. They certainly do care a great deal about their team. Yesterday, during the game, we stood outside our house and listened to the houses around us. Normally, our neighborhood is a very quiet place, but yesterday there were perfectly choreographed bouts of screaming. It would so quiet you could hear the breeze blow, and suddenly, bloody murder on all sides. Then, like a window closing, the sound would stop. A few minutes later there would be yelling again. We could not tell a significant difference between joyous and despairing, but they were definitely loud.

Nevertheless, I'm still happy they lost. I can't help being more than a little disgusted at the emphasis placed on sports, and professional sports doubly so. I know people need entertainment, and I can understand the joy of being a part of a movement, but I think it just goes too far. Leaving the huge amounts of wasted money out of it (that's a whole other post) I think football is dangerous on an emotional level as well. The fact that domestic violence spikes on game days says something about the intensity of feeling involved. Does watching violence cause violence? Who knows. However, a culture that encourages rabid behavior (the Pittsburgh police were moving through the city in riot formation) over such a meaningless subject certainly has problems with priorities.

Hooray, then, for the losers! May they lose again and again. May football culture wither and die here, and may we be spared the expense, on all levels, of football fanaticism. A girl can dream can’t she?

Wind Storm

It was definitely "a blustery day Pooh" as Christopher Robin would say. We actually had a high wind warning from the National Weather Service for all of Saturday, and I think it was richly deserved. We could hear the wind blowing throughout the night, and then when we got up this morning we noticed that the power had been out for a few hours. All morning the trees were whipping back and forth, and the road was littered with downed branches. Luckily, our house seems to be safe and snug. Finally, around noon, the power went out again. When you lose power in our area, the stoplights simply stop working. No flashing red, and no warning that something is wrong. As a result people don't quite seem to know how to behave. We saw more than one person just blow through a light without even seeming to notice.

When I lived in the countryside the power would go out all the time, and sometimes it would stay off for a day, or two days, or even more. However, it was kind of a different story because we were not so helpless as we are here. Our house had a woodstove for cooking and heating, and we always had big supplies of firewood, food, and water. More than anything, losing power just didn't seem to bother people the way it does here. Still, nothing can ever make cold, dark showers anything other than awful. Luckily, the whole thing only lasted about five hours, and we are able to warm and digital once again.

Lip Sync Your Way to Happiness

I've been working like a demon all week trying to keep my ducks in a row. However, they just keep flapping around and quacking, and more seem to show up all the time. Sometimes I feel tired, nibbled, and covered in feathers! Perhaps that is why the mood at school today is so welcome.

First of all, most of the kids are in ecstasy over football. The Super bowl is not remotely special or important to me, but I love it that they love it. The student activities advisor ran a contest this morning for the class with the most "spirit" (he went around counting the number of kids in blue and green) and the outfits were very impressive. One kid sprayed his hair green and blue, wore a jersey, and wore a cape made from a Seahawk blanket. He was beaming ALL day.

Second, we had the lip sync assembly today. Now I know this is not the most common type of assembly for a middle school to have, but it has certainly become tradition around here. I believe the whole thing started years ago (I can still say that without involving myself!) when they had try-outs for the talent show. It seems that they had so many lip sync acts that they decided to ban them from the talent show, and have a separate assembly for them instead. Now our talent shows mostly consist of dance and classical music, and we have the lip synch assembly too. This year we had some hilarious performances of both modern music and a few "golden oldies."

To begin, we had a group of girls doing their best impression of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." They danced around in artfully torn white shirts and totally failed to look ghoulish. One of my boys honestly wanted to know if that was a song they played when I was in high school (No! I was only about seven when it came out!). We all laughed at the boys who did an enthusiastic performance of "Yellow Submarine" and we cheered when two girls did a wonderful version of "supercallafragelistic." In short, it was great fun, and not so long that your bottom fell asleep on the bleachers. The kids are so buoyant; you can't help but feel good along with them. Days like these remind me why I love being a teacher. Now, if you happen to see any of my ducks, please let me know...

Welcome the Year of the Dog

Gung hay fat choy! (roughly translates to "may you be prosperous" or so I am told) Many Asian cultures celebrated the lunar new year on Sunday with all sorts of different traditions. In one way or another, most begin their celebrations by cleaning out the old and bringing in the new. This means a thorough cleaning of the house, getting rid of anything you don't need, getting new hair cuts, new clothes, and lots of fresh food. Feasting around the hotpot is common for many groups, and some sort of sticky rice treat seems to be a staple as well. Some also have traditions surrounding the eating of long noodles for a long life.

2006 is supposed to be the year of the metal dog. According to Chinese astrology (if you buy all that) this could be a very good thing for international affairs. During the year of the metal dog, the world can expect:

"The year of the Yang Dog teaches the lessons of watchfulness, defense of the weak and fair play. International justice will be the order of the year. Causes, protests and the righting of wrongs defines Dog years. Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge...."

I can't say that I really go in for astrology, but it's a comforting prediction. No matter what you think of it all, the idea of starting new, fresh, and clean is enticing. Perhaps I will actually manage to finish unpacking all those boxes...

Total Disgust

Sometimes I really hate American culture. No, no that's not fair. Sometimes I really hate PARTS of American culture. I have always disliked Abercrombie & Fitch, and all that it represents. Now I understand why. Recently, I ran across a reference to an interview with Mike Jeffries, the current head of the Abercrombie empire. As if the charming sentiment in the picture were not enough, it turns out that this company really is making a concerted effort to be hideous. Jeffries held forth on his company's philosophy:

"[Sex is] almost everything. That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that."

"In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

This is the company that brought you g-string panties for middle-schoolers. You can find the entire article on Salon, but make sure your not eating at the time because this guy will make you nauseous.

Pity Party

Five whole months I made it without giving in. However, I am now the victim of a cold, and not just a small, sniffly cold either. Usually colds start in my throat and move up to my head or down to my chest. This one is an equal opportunity congestor. Tea and cough drops don't even seem to touch it, and I have the strangest dreams all night long. The "best" part is that I am losing my voice. I sound like I am channeling either Barry White or one of the muppets. Also Mark is still on his business trip, so, all taken together; I'm inclined to be a little mopey. I know, I know, I should be tough and independent, but I still miss him.

Still, I can't manage TOO much self pity because yesterday we got sun. Not just watery winter sun, but real, warm sunshine. It didn't last long, but it did happen to pour into my classroom during the last two periods of the day. It made us all very happy. You just can't feel grim when you get sun in January. Also, we have bulbs coming up in our front yard. I thought we would never be able to grow any because of all the squirrels, but here they are coming up all on their own. They're only little green thumbs right now, but they are coming on fast. Any flowers would be nice, but I'm crossing my fingers for daffodils or tulips.

Comments

Just a note to let people know that I've changed the comment setting to "anyone." You still have to go through word verification (so I don't get a whole bunch of spam) but it is not difficult at all. Please feel free to leave comments whenever you like.

Three Good Books

Over the winter break, I was actually able to get some real reading in for once. It was such a pleasure just to sit on the sofa for a few hours and read something really absorbing.

The first book of my vacation was Blink by Malcom Gladwell. This time, Gladwell is interested in the power, and danger, of snap judgments. First he lays out the frequency with which people make sudden decisions about things. For example, an art curator can often spot a fake in the first moment. She doesn't analyze and think it out carefully; she just seems to "know." There are many other examples of such judgments, but they are not always a good thing.

The second books was Spook by Mary Roach, and it appealed to me right away because the author is a self-confessed skeptic. The basic premise is that the author's mother passed away, and so the author thought she should investigate all the spiritual/religious claims about what comes next. She tries, really tries, to get excited about mediums, angels, reincarnation, ghosts, and the physical weight of sheep souls (you'll just have to read for that story). Her story is hugely entertaining as long as you have a sense of humor about such things.

The last of the three was Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Now, I have learned from long experience that you should take whatever an economist says with the proverbial grain of salt. However, this author has some very interesting points to make about how life actually works from a numbers perspective. Levitt looks at everything from the link between legal abortion and reduced crime to how realtors behave differently when selling their own houses to the power of names. It's a mishmash of topics, but his main message is about putting aside "common sense" and looking at the actual statistics. Fascinating, disturbing (in spots), and especially good when read along side the first book.

Dark Days

It has certainly been quite a week here at school. When the councilors are in a bad mood, you know it's been a very rough time indeed. Last week the mother of one of our students went missing. She was supposed go to an appointment, and she just never appeared. She stayed missing for several days, and the worry over her whereabouts got more and more intense in the community. Some people were genuinely worried about her, while many others were just interested in the mystery. Finally, last Friday they found her car parked downtown (next to the police station actually, but it still took them four days to notice it). She had driven it there, climbed into the backseat where the windows were tinted, and then shot herself. Her kids were nine and thirteen.

When the news hit school (via an idiot parent who called their child at lunchtime) the students went mad. Well, I should say the girls went mad. They dissolved into tears, the wailed and cried. The boys do things in a different way. The stood around and looked stoic. Many of them were upset because they knew her, or because they knew her child. However, many more were upset to the point of hysteria because "a mom did that." They were shocked to the core that a mom, anyone's mom, could actually kill herself. Moms die sometimes, they understand that, but moms DO NOT kill themselves. They are moms, so they just can't.

I watched the kids get picked up that day. One big, tough boy hugged and hugged his mom when she came, and judging by her face I think it was an unusual thing. Another girl just kept patting her mom on the sholder as if she was making sure of something. Hopefully these kids will have learned more than just saddness from this event. There is certainly no way to kow why she did what she did since she left no note, but there is not doubt that her "furious goodbye" had a huge impact on the people she left behind.

Sofas for the Bourgeoisie

What an experience is shopping in Western Washington. You would think that all the Microsoft money would have cured salespeople of making judgments about people based on their appearance. However, it seems to me that age and clothes still make a huge impact on how you are treated. The effect seems also to be magnified when the items you are considering are of the "big ticket" variety. Two weeks ago Mark and I made our first foray into the world of sofas. Since we moved into the new house we've been thinking a nice, new sofa would be good for the front room. Thus we went out on a rainy Sunday afternoon, and stopped into a nearby Lazyboy store. Our sales lady took a very good look at my ratty sneakers, fleece, and ponytail, and just about turned around again. Now, to be fair, Mark thinks I may be overly sensitive on this one, but our experience at Bassett cannot be doubted.

Dressed a little (but not much) better this time, we ventured into Bassett just to see what was available. We wandered around and found that it was very hard, no pretty well impossible, to catch a salesperson's eye. Finally, we actually went up to the counter and stood in front of the two people working there. They flatly refused to look at us or break their own conversation. We walked out, question unasked, and sofa unpurchased. We then had nearly the same treatment at Macy's. Granted, weekends are busy in furniture stores, but this seems a little extreme to me.

In the end, we are going to buy the sofa from one of the two small shops we visited on the side. In both cases the salespeople were polite and attentive, but they still made sure to mention the payment plan right away. I guess next time we should break out the tweed and cashmere before we go shopping so we can be sure to impress the right people.

Martin Luther King Jr.

" I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

The first is beautiful and, of course, very famous. The second is painfully appropriate now.

"When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of now way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice."

(Martin Luther King Jr.)

Just Call Me Alex

About a week ago I got the honor (curse?) of being the moderator for a school-level bee. Believe it or not they hold bees for many more subjects than just spelling. There are math bees, geography bees, vocabulary and writing bees, and so on. This bee was held for the ten students who won the classroom level competitions.

There we are at school. Its 6:30 in the evening so most rooms are dark, and there are very few people around except those attending the bee. The students are seated in a row along the stage; my timer (Mark) and my scorekeeper (another teacher) are at a table behind me. I am doing my best to sound official without being callous (I don't want to be Ben Stein or worse!). For each round, every child gets one question. I ask these questions in turn, wait for the answer, and then tell them if they are correct. At the end of each round we assess. Anyone with two wrong answers must leave the stage. The timer times; the scorer scores (no joke!). The air is tense with teenage nerves.

Then, half way through the competition I am in the middle of asking a question when I notice to small girls standing just outside the door. They cannot be more than six and eight years old; far too young to attend middle school. They are both in tears. Only the people on my end of the stage can see the children because they are mostly hidden by the shadow of the doorway. I finish the question, but everyone is wondering why I am so distracted. The scorekeeper suddenly jumps up, says "I know those girls!" and takes off with them. Now I am standing on stage, wondering who they are, and trying to figure out how to finish the round without a scorekeeper. I call a pause. Surely the kids need a moment to relax right? I call my brother out of the audience for emergency scorer training, and within a few minutes we're off again. We finish the bee with a clear winner. The winner gets his medal, I thank everyone for their participation, and people file out.

Afterwards, we discover that the little girls were dropped off at an elementary school a few blocks away for an evening event. The mom did not go in to the school, so she did not know that the event had been cancelled. The little girls, finding the school dark and empty, began walking up the road toward out school. What a nightmare for a kid! They wandered in hoping to find someone who could help. It turns out that the scorer recognized them from her church, so she was able to take them outside and let them call their dad. Dad came, with much apology (save it for your kids!) and picked them up a bit later. I felt so badly for those little girls. It is the kind of event that could really cause some lasting trouble for a kid. It was certainly a much more memorable bee than any other we've had at school.

Yard Work

We finally did it. Last weekend, Mark and I broke down and did yard work. Granted, there is not that much to be done at this time of year, but we still needed to get out there. This was my first real experience with raking leaves. Now this may sound funny to some, I mean come on what could be a more perfect example of a suburban American chore. However, you must remember that I am not from Suburban America. In the country no sane person rakes their leaves. If you tried, you would end up with raw palms after only the firsts acre or two. Thus I found myself standing in the yard wondering how you are supposed to get the leaves into the yard waste bin. Raking them into a pile was easy, but this next bit escapes me. Are you just supposed to pick up armfuls and not worry about getting covered in dirt and worms? Is there some tool I am missing? TV and movies are full of leaf raking moments, but it's sort of like fictional dinner parties, you only see the picturesque beginning. I am at a loss. Mark, resourceful person that he is, eventually invented a dual shovel and rake combination that seemed to work pretty well, but I still feel there is a better answer out there somewhere.

What is Religion Anyhow?

Upon coming back from break, my class began a unit on world religions. To begin, I broke them into groups, and asked them to list for me what they think are the major world religions. Here is what I got from one group:

1. Christans
2. Aitheists
3. Catholics
4. Jewish
5. Sonnians (I'm guessing they meant Sunnis?)

Luckily, other groups came up with more reasonable answers, so I know there is hope. I think many kids don't know about anything other than their own tradition, and many more don't know about any tradition at all. I can't say I'm really surprised by this.

Sleepy and Gray Day

Today my whole class seems to have SAD. They are low, slow, and sleepy, and it is not just an excuse to avoid work. Part of it definitely has to do with it being Monday. Another piece is certainly the gray, gloomy skies outside. However, I think the biggest impact on their mood is the time of morning they are forced to arrive. Because we are the second of three in bus order (High-schooler get transported first, then they come for us, and lastly they come for the little kids) most kids have to be up and out the door well before 7:00am. I think this is really early for a bunch of pre-adolescents to be getting up. Most of the research says that teens are "off" by about one hour in their Circadian Rhythms, so 7:00am feels more like 6:00am to them. I'm sure this will come as a huge shock, but the research also says that kids perform better on tests and at problem solving later in the morning. With all this research floating around about later starts, you might be wondering why we don't have them here. The answer, of course, is money. We would need more busses for a later start, so never mind what it does to the kids, we have to start early.

Relative Wealth

The following is a comparison chart I made for my 7th grade Social Studies students. The info is off the internet, so I do warn them about taking it with a grain of salt. We also talk about the importance of per capita GDP (Luxemborg, for example). Still, the comparison is pretty surprising:

7 billion--- Spent by Americans on video games
7 billion--- Total GDP of Iceland

8 billion--- Spent by Americans on Christmas decorations and décor
8 billion--- Total GDP of Zambia

16.8 billion--- Spent by Americans on professional yard services
17 billion--- Total GDP of Honduras

17 billion--- Spent by Americans on pet food
17 billion--- Total GDP of Panama

20 billion--- Spent by Americans on non-food, non-vet, pet supplies
20 billion--- Total GDP of Latvia

20 billion--- Spent by Americans on ice cream
20 billion--- Total GDP of Luxembourg

20 billion--- Spent by Americans on jewelry
21 billion--- Total GDP of Bolivia

25 billion--- Spent by Americans on beer
25 billion--- Total GDP of Cuba

30 billion--- Spent by Americans on gifts bought online
30 billion--- Total GDP of El Salvador

40 billion--- Spent by Americans on books and other products related to dieting
41 billion--- Total GDP of Ecuador

110 billion--- Spent by Americans on fast food
114 billion--- Total GDP of Ireland

World Concerns

Probably a post like this is more appropriate before the end of an old year. Nevertheless, I think it is still worth notice even if I'm only getting to it now. The subject of this post, then, is the world at large. I know, I know, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to worry and complain less, but I think this may be, what, cathartic perhaps?

When George W. won the first election, the only way I could deal with my depression was to limit my own access to news. Now I know you must be thinking how irresponsible this was, but it was really my only way of avoiding total black despair. I call it the "head-in-sand" approach to life, and it served me well for those first terrible months. However, I realized pretty quickly that complete disconnection from news was not a good idea, so I started reading The New York Times online. This allowed me to control which stories I read, and it prevented me from having to hear G.W.'s whiney little voice. Now, some time into our unconscionable second Bush term, I am once again listening to my favorite news source, NPR. From these sources, and a few others, I've pulled a few of the stories that worried me the most (at least as far as I can remember) in 2005:

The Problem---The War in Iraq
How could this one not make the list. While I don't disagree that Saddam Hussein was a despot of the worst kind, I really don't think that is why "we" invaded Iraq. This is a war for the sake of having one, and it has just about killed any good feelings the rest of the world may have had for us.
On the brighter side---Well, I guess the war really is making Bush look bad, and I suppose some Iraqis are better off. However, I'm really having trouble seeing much of a silver lining in this one. "Exit strategy?" is becoming a common refrain.

The Problem---Bush begins second term
How can this happen? Because Democrats flounder around trying to "capture the middle" while in fact alienating the very group they are supposed to represent- the left. Democratic party leaders think they need to capture that small margin of "swing voters" in order to win elections. I think they should ignore the middle and focus on getting liberal democrats to actually vote. The simple fact is there are more Democrats than Republicans registered in the U.S., so the party has no excuse for losing to a monkey's butt. Did I digress from the stated topic? Perhaps.
On the brighter side---Is there a brighter side to Bush being president? I guess I'm glad that Cheney doesn't have the job.

The Problem---The "War on Terror" aka The War on Civil Liberties
This is one of those problems where the more you read about what is actually going on, the angrier you get. It makes me think of that bumper sticker "If you aren't completely appalled, you haven't been paying attention." From illegal wiretaps to access to you library record, the Bush government took 9/11 as a wonderful opportunity to corrode civil protections.
On the brighter side---Even some members of congress who supported the act are now looking at things a little differently. Plus, the ACLU has been very busy lately.

The Problem---Hurricane Katrina
Aside from the obvious, I think the problem with Katrina is the way people see the disaster. Many people seem to see this (and the Tsunami come to think of it) as being random, truly natural, disasters. However, most of the science news is saying that these unusual weather patterns have a cause- and it's us.
On the brighter side---The reconstruction can now begin, but maybe on a little higher ground? Also, this whole thing has precipitated some pretty interesting conversations about emergency preparedness and about race and economics.

The Problem---Earthquakes in Southern Asia
One of the worst earthquakes in history, and because the people are brown, Muslim, and far away, we don't seem overly interested in helping them. Far more charity has gone to Katrina victims, who are eligible for FEMA and such, than the people in Pakistan.
On the brighter side---See Katrina

The Problem---Intelligent design in public schools
Once again, the creationists are trying to slide their religious bias into science class. Time and again the courts have said that there must be a separation of church and state because we have this thing we like to call the constitution. Ever undaunted, they changed the name of their "theory" to Intelligent Design, and began their campaign all over again. Kansas and several other states either adopted or considered adopting I.D. as a part of science class.
On the brighter side---Okay it's true; I saved this one for last because it actually has a brighter side. We win! We win! One court recently called I.D. "a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory" and banned it's inclusion in classrooms.

Why do a whole long post about things that make me anxious? Because, as I said, talking about them seems to help, but also because there are some bright spots here and there. We can go into 2006 hoping (and praying if you're the type) that all sorts of things are on the proverbial mend. Plus, there are all sorts of good things already happening in the world. For example, the prospect of President Schwarzenegger is slowly but surely fading into the distance.

Happy New Year!

2005 was a wonderful, eventful year. There were many very good things like rewarding work, lots of travel (Hawaii, Washington D.C., South Africa), buying a new house (wow!), and selling the condo (whew!). We had great fun with our friends and local family. We were happy for the time we got to spend with our out-of-town (or country!) family, but we always wish for more time and opportunities. Once again I am overwhelmed by how lucky we really are.

As to the new year, I hope we can continue with all the good stuff, but I would still like to work on improving in one or two areas. Thus, my New Year's resolutions are as follows:

1. Be less judgmental (what me?! why would anyone say that?! they must be stupid!)
2. Listen very carefully to others (no glazing over!)
3. Worry and complain less (lying awake at night will not produce an exit strategy)
4. Be more organized; keep the details straight (become one with the personal planner)
5. Plan more engaging, interactive lessons (more doing, less outlining)
6. Read more to prepare for new social studies content
7. Finish icky old Professional Certification
8. Get more exercise (I will not be flabby! I will not be flabby!)
9. Keep away from naughty foods
10.Do projects to spruce up new house (Just pick a room and get started)
11. Plant a garden, and keep it up (this one should be fun)
12. Truly stop to appreciate ALL the good things

Happy New Year everyone!