BlitzKrieg!

Use Your Wings Often.

2011-12-21T20:38:00.000-05:00

Toodles: I've forgotten how to fly.

Inspector Good: Yes, well... one does.--Hook

9/11/01--Why it Matters

2011-09-11T14:32:00.017-04:00

Can you hear and do you care and
Cant you see we must be free to
Teach your children what you believe in.
Make a world that we can live in.
-"Teach Your Children," Crosby Stills Nash and Young

So we looked at our lives a little harder, called our friends a little more often, hugged our kids a little tighter. And then we complained about the long lines at the airport and obsessed about the stock market in lieu of soul-searching. Time passed. The blade dulled. The edges softened. Except, of course, for those who lived through birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, without someone lost in the cloud of silvery dust, those families the living embodiment of what the whole nation had first felt and then learned not to feel....
-"One Day, Now Broken in Two," Anna Quindlen

This past Friday our multimedia class at UCHS aired a five-minute 9-11 tribute video during homeroom. I have no working TV in my room, so I urged them to go next door to watch. One student hung back though, distracted by other things; looking at his phone, he absently said to no one, "Yes, it's 9-11. We get it. We see it every year. What else is there to say?"

Five years ago--even last year, for that matter--his comments would've prompted from me a response akin to anger and disbelief, probably followed by a huge lecture that would involve more emotion than substance. But this time...I just went silent. I thought awhile, then responded to the young man, some minutes later, by simply asking, "How old were you when September 11 happened?" Turns out, this young man was in kindergarten on September 11, 2001, so of course he doesn't remember anything. His frame of reference is skewed by time, relevance, and, of course, the pace and focus of life as we know it today. After a brief--and civil--conversation about the importance of just how much life has changed since that day, we both seemed to leave a bit more satisfied with the outcome. Little did I know the response prompted from me was far from over, and would soon turn into what I am composing right now, September 11, 2011....

It was no coincidence that I woke up at 8:45 this morning, with a Crosby Stills Nash and Young song in my head, and turned the T.V. on at 8:46 to catch the first moment of silence--a silence marking the first of five other moments which will forever be remembered as part of that day 10 years ago when "the machinations from within a country of rubble and caves and desperate want [created] the willingness to slam headlong into one great technological achievement while piloting another as a way of despising modernity."

So I watched this morning with remembrance in my own heart, and as I shed some tears, I began to explore--really explore--why it matters that we not just remember, but truly KNOW, the importance of 9-11. I'll never forget where I was this day 10 years ago. My first year teaching, at age 23, with a group of seventh graders on their way in to my ridiculous little computer lab trailer.

"Mrs. Duvall, " (I was not married then) one of the girls said on her way in, around 9:55 a.m., "One of the World Trade Towers has been hit by a plane."

Those words will forever ring in my head as the penchant of my own "Where-were-you-when-you-heard?" story. Hardly a story compared to some who remember where they were, for example, when they heard JFK was shot, or when they watched the first moon landing, or, my favorite: the story my grandmother told me when she heard for the first time that the U.S. had entered World War I. She was in the corn fields here in Blairsville, a girl of nine, and a man rode up on a horse to tell her father, my great-grandfather, the news of America entering "The Great War." A neighboring family who had seven sons, she went on to tell me, had two of the boys the very NEXT DAY set off to Atlanta on horseback to sign up to serve in the war. Within the following year, the other five boys all decided to serve as well. What a calling--especially when it mattered.

It matters to have knowledge of the event. This weekend I gave my AP students the Anna Quindlen article I quote from above to read and respond to--the same reading I've given every AP class for the past five or six years, never once giving much thought to how far removed they may feel from the event. After all, they were just in second or third grade, and none of them lost a parent or loved one. But it does matter because 3,051 children did lose parents on 9-11-01.

And it matters that we acknowledge these numbers. I saw another statistic today that hit home: less than five percent of the American population knows someone serving in our Armed Forces abroad, or in the Middle East. This number makes sense, though; even as I look back over the past 10 years of teaching and the roughly 25 young men and women I've taught who have entered a branch of service and deployed to the Middle East, I wonder how many of our students know someone personally who has served tours of duty in this dual-pronged conflict that has its very root borne of 9-11? A handful, perhaps? Are we as a nation--as one political analyst put it this morning--afraid of exploring REAL healing post-the attacks? Why have we tried so hard as a nation to mask our real wounds, spending ourselves instead into a frightening deficit, just to make things SEEM the same as they did before Sept. 11, 2001?

I pray daily for the children who will inherit the mess of an economy that is a result of many things rooted in 9-11. It matters that they know where the endless stream of political analysis, the debates, the picking sides, comes from. Whether they care or not, it is OUR responsibility to make them aware, lest this "Millennial Generation"--as they've come to be called--looks back and asks the question: "Where did all these problems come from?"

Still not convinced? Here's some more numbers to think about:

It matters because the U.S. has suffered 4,421 casualties total in Iraq since 2003.

It matters because there have been 1,648 total American casualties in Afghanistan/Operation Enduring Freedom since its outset.

Since 9/11/01, 2.8 million people have signed up for service in the U.S. Armed Forces. This so-named the '9-11 Generation' and their TRUE call of duty (NOT the PS3 game, people) represents the largest volunteer-based military the U.S. has ever had.

It matters that our children know that of our $14 trillion-dollar debt/deficit (yes, that's 14 followed by 12 ZEROS), about FOUR trillion of that is a result of involvement in the current conflicts we have in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You see, life has changed, as I told that young man, since before 9-11. That watershed day changed us culturally, socially, ethically, and, of course, economically. We see these changes everywhere. I see it every time I fill my car up with a tank of gas--at no less than $3.75 a pop. I see it every time I fly, when I'm herded through security and treated like a suspect or terrorist if I have one ounce of liquid over the allowed quantity. But, I remind myself quickly, there IS someone out there who does think that way. And I move on through the security line, silent, compliant. I know freedom is not free.

Look at visiting our nation's capital now, and 10 years ago, for example. I see the changes there as well: concrete barriers everywhere, sharp shooters posted atop The White House, heightened security at all national buildings with general public access. I see the changes abroad as well; traveling as a U.S. citizen is not highly encouraged in many places, and civilian/tourist safety is a definite issue in the Middle East.

I see the change in even this small town we live in, far removed from the hustle and bustle of New York City or Washington D.C. Just this past weekend in the sleepy little neighboring town of Hayesville, NC, a gas station was fire-bombed and the statement '9-11 GO HOME' spray painted on the side of the building. Little do the assailants know, I guess, that the people who own the store are not Arab or Muslim. They are Indian--from India, to be precise, far removed from the Arab conflict in the Middle East. That type of spiraling hatred and ignorance matters, and our children must be educated otherwise, lest we find ourselves faced with another 9-11--except this time, one in our own back yards of small town America.

For whatever reason--good or bad, economical or moral, pacifist or xenophobic, religious or worldly, civilian or soldier, disingenuous or passionate, Democratic or Republican, young or old--September 11, 2001, has CHANGED US. We must recognize this. And we must understand that IT. DOES. MATTER.

...........

The UCHS chorus is traveling to New York City in April of 2012, and I will be with them. I will be there, and so too will that young man who absently sparked this entire intriguing dialogue this past Friday in homeroom. I will again visit Ground Zero, the ninth time in 10 years I have been to that place. I have seen it as it has progressed through its various stages of rubble and on now to its glorious rebirth. I want to touch that new memorial unveiled this morning--physically touch it as I touched the cool granite of the Vietnam Memorial Wall, sifted my hands through the sands of Normandy beach, felt the warm ocean waters of Pearl Harbor, picked up clumps dirt from one of Gettysburg's many battlefields. Touch it like something as simple as my deceased mother's wedding ring--for, at that moment, when I slip it on my finger, I know--just know--that I can remember something about her. I do this not so it should become some talisman of gloom and despair, but instead so it can become a somber physical embodiment of WHY it matters to remember an event, a person, a time--a day like 9-11-01.

So, as we stand there at the Ground Zero Memorial, I will be able to look that young man in the eye--as I touch that memorial, and say, "THIS--this is why it matters."

Persistence: A Lesson.

2011-02-27T10:00:00.003-05:00

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

-Calvin Coolidge

=+D

2010-12-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

Autumn in Southwest Michigan

2010-10-13T13:26:00.004-04:00

Fall starts much earlier in Southwestern Michigan, apparently. And, although I enjoyed my trip to the "flat land of 1,000,000,000 corn stalks," loved visiting with Jon's family, had farm-fresh eggs and produce every morning, was in awe at the fall color, and now appreciate the Amish community and their persistence and simplicity in all things, it sure is great to be back in the North Georgia mountains!

There truly is no place like home.

New Blog for 2010-11 Agenda for my classes

2010-08-04T15:52:00.004-04:00

I've started a blog that is specifically for my daily agenda and homework assignments for each of the six classes I'm teaching for 2010-11. I hope this works out smoothly and doesn't add unneeded stress to the mix for me. Anyhow, I'm posting the link here for those students I'll have who look at my blog. We'll talk about it in class extensively as well. It's just basically going to be a "running list" of the daily agenda for each class--hopefully helpful for those who are absent and wanna know what went on in class.

And, I think this will post to my husband's Facebook as well. Jeez, there's really no excuses anymore for students not to know what's going on! :))))

Hopefully this will be up-and-running the weekend of August 13th, 2010, complete with agendas and all.

http://168.8.72.8/weblog/aprilkrieger/

:v)

2010-07-24T23:52:00.003-04:00

Just a great quote that made me smile this week...funny that I'd been thinking about the Peter Pan syndrome a lot these past two weeks....

"You're a...you're a complex Freudian hallucination having something to do with my mother and I don't know why you have wings, but you have very lovely legs and you're a very nice tiny person and what am I saying? I don't know who my mother was...I'm an orphan and I've never taken drugs because I missed the sixties; I was an accountant."

--Peter Banning (Robin Williams) to Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) in Hook

Inter-Office Memo

2010-06-28T15:21:00.002-04:00

Dear BlitzKriegerBlog;

I'm sorry I have been neglecting you lately. Sadly, I must admit I have been cheating on you with Facebook--but it's not my own, it's my husband's!

That should count for some type of reparation, seeings I don't have my own. lol

I promise to post something of more substance with you soon.

Love,

April

Because it's on my mind....

2010-05-04T22:50:00.005-04:00

At the risk of sounding completely defeated and run down as I have in so many of the 71 or so posts I've logged on this site in the past three years, I will at least say this: this year is finally almost over. Two weeks. A year of many firsts for me--too many to name--, a year of struggle, doubt, fatigue, frustration, occupational burnout, and complete and utter impotence in teaching.

Yeah, this year = EPIC FAIL.

A good analogy to compare my frustration with this year to would be the scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where King Arthur and his men have decided to construct the wooden rabbit which will grant them access into the taunting Frenchmens' castle. The solution: oh, so totally allusional to the Greeks, but still totally brilliant. The PROBLEM: in their haste and delight at their solution, they forget to PUT THEMSELVES INSIDE their creation, thus making their solution INEFFECTIVE. This is how I've felt all year: a mind and agenda teeming with great ideas, all foiled in the end by good intentions and plans which never came to fruition. It's made me even wonder whether it really is ME who is the problem; am I perhaps IN my OWN way???

I could write another dissertation detailing the many many reasons behind my thinking (which is completely logical to me, I promise), but alas, it will not help me to move on and do a better job in whatever comes next. What is next? Oh, hmmm...let's see: a few summer weeks of tutoring at MEC, grading some SATS, perhaps some rest, catching up on housework and yardwork that's long overdue, and getting ready to do it all again come August 12, 2010. It's a vicious cycle, but it's what I've pledged to do, and next year, just maybe, I'll be able to teach. Really teach and feel effective, instead of feeling like I'm standing up in front of a group of students, trying to sound convincing.

Funny how the need to do so passionately the one thing you know you've been called to do can become so fiercely defended and territorial to you when someone or something threatens to get in your way. I feel like this year teaching became ancillary to everything else in the institution of the public school. And that makes me terribly sad. And surly!

So, being the bookworm/lover-of-all-things literary that I am, I have compiled here a few quotes that characterize the few people who have been privy to the frustration I've felt this year and have, in their own unique ways, encouraged me along the way. Be it colleague, friend, student, former student, family member, spouse, or whomever else, thank the Good Lord for people who, for once, became my enablers--in a positive manner, that is. :)

....
When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares. ~Henri Nouwen

....
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~Albert Schweitzer

....
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you." ~A.A. Milne

....(and, my favorite)...
"Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don't worry...I'm here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you." -Charlie Brown to Snoopy

Now I remember why I love literature so much....

2010-03-17T12:59:00.004-04:00

The English department had a textbook presentation yesterday, and I found myself--instead of paying attention to the presenter's pitch, thumbing through the pages of one of the 11th grade teacher's editions, and I happened upon this poem. I remember reading it in Poetry and Poetics class as an English major undergrad. at NGCSU. I LOVE it. It has a sort of subjective and tactile mystery to it. It makes me think about things other than the rocky state of education in Georgia right now and how I used to love a good poem--just because....And note the typography--it's written like that ON PURPOSE. Gotta love e.e. cummings....

"somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond"
--e.e. cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

Wow...

2010-02-26T18:46:00.003-05:00

"...it's not God's will that any should suffer. [However,]...we
bear the consequences for what we have done to ourselves,
and for the sin that rules the world. Jesus forgave
the thief, but he did not take him down off the cross. (13)
--adapted from A Voice in the Wind, by F. Rivers

I just read that statement, and I believe it's one of the most powerful and thought-provoking passages I've come across in a long time. Simple words with a very dynamic purpose. Perhaps for me, it bears the resemblance of a much-needed wake-up call, something to help me become more grounded in my faith.

Faith.

A tenet that sadly becomes overshadowed at times by my own disasterous attempts to control everything. It's something we all tend to do--the struggle to control, to order, to obsess--but it is inevitably my poison. That passage above is just what I needed to hear, because in the hurry and bustle of life's ups and downs, it becomes much easier to focus on the effects of our decisions instead of the causes--the roots--of the issues we get ourselves all tangled up in. So, before the web becomes even more impossible to escape, I think God gently nudges us (or sometimes kicks us full-on in the face!) with the realization that we cannot fight our battles on our own. It just won't work, and will ultimately become a counterproductive, unsuccessful, one-sided EPIC FAIL.

Consider the cause, He says, Make good decisions in the first place.

I hope this helps others out there who are struggling as well. Who knows...

I. AM. STRESSED. (Stream-of-conscious-style)

2010-02-18T13:53:00.002-05:00

I have, in the past two weeks:

--had the stomach flu and was out two days and felt sicker than I have in 15 years

--missed another three days of class b/c of, as you know, this ridiculous weather that gets me out of my routine, and screws up stuff even more

--had a record 387 texts from students about misc. assignments, etc. (even while I was sick; I know they love me, but REALLY??? a little rest, please!!)

--helped 14 past students/now college kids w/papers ranging from 3-5pg upper-level U.S. history article summaries, literary analysis take-home exam essays, proofreading comparison papers, movie review summaries, etc. etc....

--received over 319 emails related to either school stuff and/or help w/class assignments/tutoring at my 2nd job at MEC

--been worried about Jon/money issues at home b/c his job is really NOT in good shape right now...it's looking grim, for real, and our bills just don't wanna go away...ha...and we still keep paying on time, no matter what, just making it...makes me SO ANGRY at those people out there who get a free ride b/c they just throw it all away and declare bankruptcy and everyone just rushes to help them out w/foreclosures and stuff...just swell :/

--been worried about not teaching my Advanced Placement Language class next year; the one I fought to get to teach in the first place; we may even have more cuts here next year, including 3-5% pay cuts and 3-4 more furlough days...way to stand up for the importance of EDUCATION!

--found out after I finished my taxes this wkend that we made $8,000 less this year than last...that's A LOT of money and we are feeling it in so many areas

--helped 55 seniors during EVERY free moment I have on their senior research papers which we have been working on for 25 WEEKS; I have conferences scheduled, literally, before school, during my planning, during lunch (heck, I haven't taken a lunch break in, like, 3 months, and after school.

--worked at MEC til 10:30 two nights in a row, tutoring in US history and Brit. lit.

--still not even looked at the 135 papers I have to grade from as far back as 3 months ago.

--just finished spending a wasted hour and twenty minutes in the computer lab here with the honors freshmen who were going to take an EOCT test prep, BUT NO!!!! The internet proceeded to "load" nothing for 45 minutes. REALLY???

And the list goes on. I really could add to this but that's not the point. Sometimes I hafta get it off my chest. I write; that's what I do. I know everyone has stress, and it's not fair for me to sit here and scream about it, but I just sometimes find it hard to reconcile what I do, my love for what I do and why I do it, w/all the "stuff" that happens to make it so difficult at times. I know God is trying to teach me patience, but jeez, this has been AWFUL! Or maybe it's just my reaction to it all. I feel a lot of my OCD behaviors slowly creeping back into my life.

I just don't know how else to do things other than the way I've always done them; on purpose, passionately, with drive. I'm too much of a perfectionist, I know, but hey; we're dealing with training future leaders here, so I want to make it all WORTH IT.

I guess I need to--as Queen Elizabeth II said during WWII-- "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON."

Now for AP, the saving grace of the day............

SO True....

2010-02-10T07:07:00.004-05:00

Now, granted, I know our neighbors to the North are suffering through a snowstorm of proportions that I cannot even comprehend, but here, in my little North Georgia community, 2010 has yet to yield a full week of school, all thanks to the most pathetic attempts at precipitation I've witnessed in 10 to 15 years (someone please knock on wood!). Thank goodness for being cautious on account of black ice, etc., but here I sit--again--at home, and I couldn't resist posting this li'l cartoon; enjoy!

PS--The photo above was shamelessly ripped off the inter-web; it's some place in the Midwest where snow actually accumulates. Perhaps I'm wishing that's what would actually happen here! :D

Giving [Random] Thanks

2009-11-23T09:01:00.007-05:00

It's the time of year to give thanks for all the many blessings and wonderful people we all have in our lives, and in light of the fact that this has been a tough year for me (the death of two of the greatest influential people in my life, money issues--who doesn't have them?--four jobs, feeling very ineffective as a teacher/wife/human being, not being able to shake any sickness that seems to come my way; y'know just the usual 'ole stuff most people worry about on a daily basis), I was up last night late thinking about all the positive aspects of my life--it helps me to find the little quirky things in life when all else seems so frustrating.

SOOOO, here are a few totally random things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving season....

I AM THANKFUL....

1). that I do not--and have never had the desire to--have either a MySpace or Facebook account.

2). that I have never watched a full episode of the following: The Oprah Winfrey Show (I've avoided that for 24 years--WOW!), Grey's Anatomy, Survivor (what are they up to now, like, Season 35?? "Survivor Attica--Escape from an L.A. Maximum Security Facility")

3). that I teach seniors whom I can vent to on my days of frustration with MEC, school bureaucracy, and the totally perplexing and frustrating freshmen class we have this year here at UCHS (except, of course, for my 1st block Lit. Center kids ;)...)

4). that I teach seniors who DON'T GET IT, and in a year or so, I'll be getting phone calls, emails, and texts saying, "yep, you were right--this IS totally like you said it was gonna be...."

5). that I have a Dyson Animal vacuum that TOTALLY SUCKS up all the cat hair that I thought I had gotten with the other vacuum. That thing is amazing!!

6). for Pepperidge Farm Coconut three-layer cake. Totally love that stuff!

7). that Jon and I have TV shows that we enjoy watching together--NCIS, CSI, and Top Gear

8). for the invention of the Snuggie. And, to all those false imitators out there--hey Slanket, I'm talking to YOU!--you'll never live up to the reputation of the original!

9). that I literally have a different pair of shoes for all five days of the week, for about 35 to 40 weeks of the year. Really, I do....

and, finally...

10). that when I go to the snack machine here--or anywhere, for that matter--that I look inside the vending area where the item you buy falls into. Wouldn't wanna get bit by any live copperheads, now would we?????

And now for something completely different...

2009-10-06T00:07:00.001-04:00

WORLD ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

FEUDALISM
You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM
You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM
You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you should need.

FASCISM
You have two cows. The government takes them both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM
You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM
You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM
You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you.

DICTATORSHIP
You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY
You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
You have two cows. Yours neighbors pick somone to tell you who gets the milk.

BUREAUCRACY
You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other one and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows. In triplicate.

ANARCHY
You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors take the cows and kill you.

CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

A Teacher's Credo

2009-08-27T19:11:00.001-04:00

We the willing,

Led by the unknowing,

Are doing the impossible

For the ungrateful.

We have done so much with so little for so long,

We are now capable

Of doing EVERYTHING

With NOTHING.

New Year, New Sked.

2009-08-09T01:36:00.000-04:00

Well, the AB schedule is upon us now at UCHS. Yesterday was our first day back, A-Day (a.k.a. "Purple Day"--Monday will be B-Day, or "Gold Day"--everyone following? :]) and I have to admit, it went pretty well. Let's see how many of my seniors are prepared with their essay draft when I see them again on Tuesday....

Here's the rundown for my year:

A-Day Schedule

1st block--Planning
2nd block--12th II British Literature
3rd block--12th III AP Language & Comp.
4th block--12th II British Literature

B-Day Schedule

1st block--Literacy Center
2nd block--9th III Pre-AP Literature/Comp.
3rd block--Planning
4th block--12 III AP Language & Comp.

A total of about 95 kids. Wish me luck with all the essay grading! :-?

Twelve hours of thinking & studying+politics (health care)=a 2200-word post/dissertation

2009-06-30T08:45:00.013-04:00

The sun is starting to come up and I am finally finishing. People, this is a long one. I've warned followers in the past that despite the fact that I may go weeks without posting, when the urge to express myself comes upon me, there may be no limits to how long I may ramble on. I love having readers, but sometimes, too, I just write for myself. That's the advantage for me of having a blog over Facebook or MySpace and that other junk. Sometimes I just need to write and get thoughts out of my head. Have fun with this one, readers. May my words prompt you to think about these issues as well....

**********

What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom "to" and freedom "from."
~Marilyn vos Savant, in Parade

God Bless America for freedom of speech and the right to express our opinions like I'm about to do here, without the fear of physical harm. I can't even imagine what it would be like to have been in Iran last week, what with the government disabling the country's internet, living in fear of violent mobs armed with axes, facing a bogus election completely certified 100% accurate by a corrupt group of overlords who call themselves a legitimate "governing" body.

So I've been online for the past eight or so hours studying up on the red-hot topic of heath care reform and Pres. Obama's proposed 2010 plan. It was basically a "crash course" on what is/may be to come.

I know little more than I did to start with this time yesterday.

Please don't think for even a second that I don't care about the repercussions that could come from this plan. First and foremost: it's expensive; I realize that now more than ever. However, unfortunately, like everything in the media, it's hard to get a totally unbiased opinion about what this plan is all about; every side seems to have their own "spin" on the whole issue. One of the many advantages of having a free press. (Although I wouldn't have it any other way). No big surprise there. So I've been everywhere, every perspective, sideways, diagonal, medical, private insurance-related, Canadian, British, media, right-wing think-tank, left-wing lobbyist, the so-called "neutral" info sites, question/answer blogs, etc; foxnews.com, cnn.com, whitehouse.gov, Family Research Council, AMA, JAMA, pnhp.org. There's a lot out there on the good 'ole internet. And, I have talked personally to several people who work in county hospitals/doctor's offices (radiology, nursing, family practice) in Florida and North Carolina.

Basically, I like to do my own homework and then oftentimes--especially when it comes to these kinds of "politicized” issues--I still can't get a clear picture of what I believe to be true. The older I get, sadly, the more aware I become that national decisions like this one are always being made for economic reasons, not for ethical, moral reasons. (To back up my point--and this is just one perspective, mind you; I'm not saying this is the whole TRUTH--read Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. Yes, it'll make you say "huh?" at some parts, but it really does ask the right questions and at least offer an answer instead of the old political trick we see all the time where the politician completely avoids the question and instead offers something like, "Well Matt, that's an important question, but the real issue is ___(you fill in the blank)____, so let's talk about that first...." WELL. Great job there, Mr. Elected Official who's supposed to be looking out for my interests there on Capitol Hill. You just committed a HUGE rhetorical fallacy: it's called a "red herring," and any 17 year-old in my AP Language class can spot that railroad tactic from a mile away. Stop patronizing us, grow a pair, and ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION instead of avoiding it altogether.) But I digress....

I shudder that I ever say this out loud, but unfortunately it's the truth: you just can't legislate morality. It's especially disheartening if you're a Christian, but it's true. And even sadder is the fact that as a Christian I am chastised often because I will stand outside the boundaries of organized doctrine and say this. I take a figurative beating at times, so I mostly keep my mouth shut when it comes to hardline conservative topics. And, then sometimes I wonder if I'd even want to legislate the way people think/act. Isn't that communism/socialism in its purest and simplest form? I think of North Korea (who, by the way, call themselves People's Democratic Republic of North Korea) and the influence that dictatorial government has over its people. It's intellectual slavery, and it's wrong. As a public school teacher, I am always frustrated when I get those SPAM/forwards crying for signatures to petition prayer back into public school. They always make it sound like we're all a bunch of hate-spewing, bloody liberal-thinking educators brainwashing the youth of America into rejecting God and embracing "open-minded" free-thinking, anti-religious lifestyles. Hooray for 21st century Post-Modernism! No thanks, we're all out of room here, because I see this mentality on a daily basis and I don't need any more thrown at me. News flash, folks: the kids can pray any time they want to, any where. I just can't lead them. And why should I, as it seems all the time they are the ones showing up the adults when it comes to being examples. They lift my spirits more than I can express, and we oftentimes don't give them proper credit for their efforts. But, I can, however, answer any question they ask me first. And I do talk about God (yeah, he shows up in literature a lot, people :]) all the time in my classroom.

My point is this: would a Christian parent want their child taught Bible history in high school by a hard-line Muslim? Or, how about a sanctioned time for prayer to several gods because a small Hindu/Ba'hai minority population in your child's middle school felt they were being discriminated against? All of a sudden separation of church and state makes a vast amount of sense to the general public when it's put into a perspective that affects their own, especially their children. This is what we open ourselves up to if we actually sanction prayer as a part of the public school day. This nation was founded partly on a group of disenfranchised people's wish to have the freedom to worship God how they saw fit. While I will defend to the death my right as a Christian to worship God, I always keep this in mind: the way our Constitution is written, there are others out there who are guaranteed the same right by our Constitution to defend to the death their own right to worship how they see fit. With great power comes even greater responsibility. This statement is nowhere more true than it is right here in our own country.

Basically, I'm just thinking out loud here. This is how I learn. This type of deductive reasoning helps me wrap my mind around what I really believe about these issues.

I'm not a liberal, a bleeding-heart left winger, or whatever they're called, but I'm definitely not a hard-nosed conservative either. I believe in the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, I support our troops no matter where they are, I say the pledge and I mean it. But I also believe in the fallibility of America, the United States. We are a strong country, we are a superpower, but tell me why we, the strongest country in the free world, seem to always try to do the right thing after we've tried everything else? The belief in second chances seems to be one of our greatest strengths, but by that same token, one of our greatest weaknesses. I think Churchill actually pointed that out once, so props to him for that tidbit of wisdom. The old adage "my country, right or wrong" does not sit will with me, folks. My wonderful country, full of contradictions and rationalizations, puzzles and frustrates the hell outta me at times, so I often take the easy way out and opt not to think about these issues, not watch the news, not open emails about support, voting, legislation, etc. It's a cop-out, I know, but sometimes it's more than I can care to think about when life's practical "in the moment" issues seem more plausible (such as the grocery list, lesson plans, the next car payment, or spending time with those I love).

Speaking of practicality, one of the best pieces of advice I was ever given about my civic responsibility to my students came about two years ago from one of my former political science professors at Young Harris College. I sat in on a six-week terrorism round-table/seminar he held for our faculty. He told the group that as an educator, he is very careful about not touting his political views in front of his students, even college-age. He made the point that students are very impressionable, and quick to pick up the beliefs of others, especially political convictions, as students are typically idealistic, and look for fresh, new ideas at that age to wear on their sleeve. He said he never gives away his own political sway in his class lectures and students often leave his class after a semester with no more insight into his political views than they had on the first day. I'm sure it frustrates them, trying to pin down his views, but this tactic makes so much sense to me. I never want to be accused of indoctrinating anyone into my views, especially when that young person may have no better reason to believe what I say than just because I say it. It's scary how kids today, even in my own classroom, often want me to "tell them" what to think, even about literature. Few have their own opinions about important issues. Granted, I know they have so many distractions today, but I still encourage them to question respectfully and responsibly, explore, tactfully agree to disagree, find evidence, accept no one person's opinion/dogma as 'gospel,' be savvy and decisive when giving an answer, avoid being xenophobic with their patriotism, expect change and criticism, practice discretionary thinking, and, of course, write about it all in the end. :)

I'll start wrapping this up, since it's 5:30 a.m. and I have errands to run in town today: in short, I know my generation sucks. We pale in comparison to our predecessors. "Gen X," the product of late-born Baby Boomers, those of us who were the toddlers while the 80s "Age of Excess" and Reaganomics reigned supreme--and big-hair bands were livin’ it up. Call us what you will; I know we suck. We're spoiled, we don't know what it's like to 'want' for anything, we have no idea what a draft or living on war rations feels like. We feel the effects of this deficit we're living in, but have we felt the devastation of a full-blown depression, stood in line for bread? No, we have not. Thank God, we haven't? (Notice the punctuation there.) Just think about it. I know times are tough for many, many people, and I've felt it lately, too. But I thank God every day that my husband and I have jobs, a home (don't forget the debt that comes with it--minus the all-too-typical foreclosure that seems to loom behind the mortgage these days :]), a beautiful community with a sweet mountain view to boot, good friends far and wide, a handful of graduates that we consider our adopted family, a supportive immediate family, and three too-cute kitty cats that do just fine as a replacement for the standard two or three kids we are "supposed" to have at our age. Go ahead: you try being thirty-something without children in a small traditional Southern Bible-belt community and see how many times you get the third-degree about not having offspring yet. Ha. Any more I just laugh it off. No trophy kids here, thank you. (And that is NOT meant as an insult to those of you out there with children. Good for you and your choice! It's just not for us right now.)

So the ‘American Dream’ is at work here in the Krieger household. Is it an illusion/a big idealistic slight of hand? Perhaps. It may not be the traditional husband, wife, 2.5 kids, and a white picket fence any more, but I believe I have been blessed with something that I have the responsibility to nurture, to take care of. I am one person in a great big nation, and I by no means have all the answers, but I do try to wade my way through the nay-sayers and the optimists and find my happy medium. It's hard at times though, as we all know.

And now, in the spirit of our great nation and freedom of speech at its purest, I’ll end with a piece of wisdom by one of our most-loved American authors/thinkers, whose acid-tongue spoke more truth than many of us ever have the courage to admit. He’s kinda like that wise old grandfather some of us had the privilege to know, whose experience, practicality, and especially quick-wit far outweighed the pretentious, meaningless words of those who thought they knew what they were talking about.... ;)

"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them." -Mark Twain, "Following the Equator" (1897)

*************

**Interesting website related to health care reform: pnhp.org (Physicians for a National Health Program). The article “10 Myths About Canadian Health Care, Busted” I found especially informative.
Link:
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/february/10_myths_about_canad.php

Back from an early spring hiatus...

2009-04-29T01:04:00.000-04:00

I have been so incredibly busy that time to post here has become almost impossible to find. Just when I thought my life couldn't get any busier...ha.

Thought the new color scheme is more fitting for spring, since it FINALLY decided to arrive.

Three weeks and three more days until school's out. That's three more Mondays! I am eagerly counting down the days....

Off to bed.

"Learn to Live, to Laugh, to Love"

2009-03-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

I consider myself to know a lot of people. Jon sometimes gets frustrated with me because it's near impossible to go anywhere with me and not run into someone I know. Take trips to Wal-Mart, for example. What usually starts out as a well-intentioned 20-minute trip can soon take an hour or two because I run into fellow colleagues, church family, or former and current students.

But, very few people "know" me. I mean, actually KNOW me--my hopes, my fears, my passion for living life to the fullest. Few realize sometimes it takes me a bit of time to process my thoughts enough to put them into coherent writing or conversation. I hold things in; I get frustrated easily. I think constantly; my brain never, ever has a break from processing something I am doing or need to be doing.

So when my uncle asked me last Saturday if I wanted to speak at my grandmother's funeral the next day, I immediately started: THINKING. What to say? I knew I would speak, but I didn't even know where to begin. How do you sum up 30 years with someone whom has indeed had a tremendous role in shaping you into the person you are today? It seemed, at the time, almost impossible.

But God always gives you the words you are appointed to say if you ask Him for guidance. And that, indeed, He did. Of course, not without a tinge of ironic humor. For those of you who have read this blog in the past year or have been in my AP class will immediately recognize the passage below and the book it is from. It's good to laugh, and that is indeed what my grandmother would have done had she known the passage's background.

What follows are the words I dedicated to my grandmother, Wanda Lee Clement, at her funeral on Sunday March 1, 2009...

After Gary asked me yesterday if I wanted to speak today I thought a lot about what I might say. There are so many things I could say, but I think what I have chosen is fitting for me. One of the things Nanny told me just two weeks ago was how thankful she was that the Lord had let her keep her mind and memory in good working order through all her sickness. Many of you can attest to the fact that she was an avid reader, and she loved crossword puzzles and did them all the time throughout the years. She also loved watching Jeopardy and it seemed to me she always knew the answers. So as I was thinking yesterday, a passage from a book my seniors are reading came to me. To me, it’s very fitting. In it, one of the main characters, Nancy, is being described by a friend. I am going to insert “Nanny” where Nancy’s name appears. The friend says,

"I just love her to death. Well everybody does. There isn't anybody like Nanny...One day our teacher told the class, 'Nanny is always in a hurry, but she always has time. And that's one definition of a lady.'"

And that she was. She was a one-of-a-kind lady who was always busy but always made time for those she loved. I am quite sure most of the people in this room have a story about how Wanda, or Mom, or Nanny, made time for them. That was what she did. She was always selflessly giving herself, her time, her love, to serve others. I will remember this about her always.

I will miss her dearly, but I know she is where she belongs. And I know she—and I—wouldn’t have it any other way.

A Libba Ca Loche!

2009-02-11T13:49:00.003-05:00

First, a few housekeeping items:

Heather: you are forgiven. DON'T let it happen again. ;)
Eun and Ben: I'm coming to KSU on Wednesday, Feb. 25th for the 2nd half of my STAR teacher conference; will you two be around?
Tucker: Make sure you always LOG OUT of public computers here on campus. Desperate, stupid people are just dying to get into other people's lives and wreak havoc. It didn't bother me a bit; however, it is the first time in the history of my blog--or any communication for that matter that I have w/ students--that someone has said negative things against me. Kinda silly.
Joe: I'll buy a ticket from you if you can convince Jon that we need another one. :)
Stephanie: Jury duty?!? How was that experience?

Ok, now.

I have come to the realization that the world keeps spinning and the clock keeps ticking no matter what I think about everything. lol Life has been...busy. Forty freshmen, 10 AP kids, 30-50 papers per week, college kids in and out every weekend or two, distributing magazines around town (new job #4!!!), 10-12 hours per week at MEC tutoring my group of girls, just today accepted an offer to score the North Carolina 10th grade writing exam in March/April (through Pearson, job #3!!), soccer's about to start back up for Jon, BILLS BILLS BILLS!, company from out of town, new furniture for the living room, logs for the fireplace (FINALLY), an average of 75 texts and 40 emails per day, trying to refinance our mortgage to lower our house pmt. $400+ per month, ROCK BAND SATURDAYS!!, supper w/the Duncan's--our neighbors--every Sunday, AWANA Sunday night, senior recommendation letters, keeping the class agenda up-to-date, TRYING to take care of myself by taking vitamins and losing weight (WHAT A STRUGGLE!), cleaning the house, keeping my room at school neat. And, I still have to finish doing our taxes!

Whew. I took the day off yesterday and it seems like I created even more stuff to do. Oh well, c'est la vie.

As for the title of this blog, it's dedicated to Leslie. She left today at 10am for Army basic training. Her presence will be greatly missed around our house and the Duncan's. Love ya, Les!

Wow. I just spent 30 minutes of my planning writing all this. Hooray for time spent venting about life's whirlwind of activity. :)

Brrrrrrrrrr!

2009-01-21T14:18:00.000-05:00

Someone please tell me why my air is coming on in my room right now?!!! It's 20 degrees outside, I have NO KIDS in here because it's my planning block, and the air conditioner is on. It's probably 58 degrees in here. This is ridiculous.

I'll write more when my hands have time to thaw. :-/

I HATE...

2008-12-04T04:51:00.000-05:00

being sick. Ugh. I've been out the past two days, and here it is, 1:45am, and I'm restless. Oh, the joys of sinus infections, runny noses, and body aches.

Someone wanna loan me their immune system for an indefinite amount of time???

PS...Heather and Joe (aka Schmoe)...I'm diggin' your blogs and the angry li'l exchanges ya'll have going back and forth at times. Bet'cha thought I haven't been payin' attention? Fooled ya! :D

Holiday Madness

2008-11-17T11:42:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe it is almost Christmas. Again. Wasn't that holiday just, like, yesterday??

First, though, comes Thanksgiving. Can't wait for some yummy turkey or ham and all the 'fixins at Jenette's. :) Of course, then the obligatory nap that must follow courtesy of the triptophan (sp?) in the turkey. :)

I feel like my house hasn't been clean since the beginning of the summer. Yeah, just thought I'd throw that in here. I haven't actually mopped my floors in four weeks. FOUR WEEKS. That's unheard of for me. I guess this has something to do with the fact that I'm never home. And when I am, there's always two or three people besides Jon and me padding around the house, playing Wii, checking out what's in the fridge, or just plain hanging out. Don't get me wrong, I love the company. It's been a valuable and refreshing lesson learning how to care more about being with the people you love and having fun instead of worrying about how clean your floors look. See, I'm slowly but surely saying goodbye to my compulsive tendencies. Kinda.

But, people still come over and can't even tell I have two inside cats, unless Lilo and Stitch come stalking out of the bedroom, of course. So there. Ha.

PS--Casie; I still plan on coming to see you sometime in the next millennium. Between day school, night school, and the possibility of Jon's job taking a nose-dive at the beginning of the year, it's been a struggle to keep up lately. I work constantly. But I haven't forgotten about ya, and the possibility of a weekend of relaxation. Promise. Maybe when the holiday rush is over. I'll be in touch. :)

Have Pwoblems?

2008-10-08T14:02:00.000-04:00

It's funny how life keeps getting in the way of me doing the things I'd like to do for a change--like posting regularly on my blog. Fall break is upon us, and maybe then I'll have time to ramble on about some interesting and/or annoying subject that's been plaguing me. But for now, this will have to do. One of my favorite poems below. I think it speaks to us all about our responsibilities to those around us...and how sometimes we just want to avoid that responsibility at all cost...enjoy.

"Maybe Dat's Yowr Pwoblem Too"

All my pwoblems
who knows, maybe evwybody's pwoblems
is due to da fact, due to da awful twuth
dat I am SPIDERMAN.

I know. I know. All da dumb jokes:
No flies on you, ha ha,
and da ones about what do I do wit all
doze extwa legs in bed. Well, dat's funny yeah.
But you twy being
SPIDERMAN for a month or two. Go ahead.

You get doze cwazy calls fwom da
Gubbener askin you to twap some booglar who's
only twying to wip off color T.V. sets.
Now, what do I cawre about T.V. sets?
But I pull on da suit, da stinkin suit,
wit da sucker cups on da fingers,
and get my wopes and wittle bundle of
equipment and den I go flying like cwazy
acwoss da town fwom woof top to woof top.

Till der he is. Some poor dumb color T.V. slob
and I fall on him and we westle a widdle
until I get him all woped. So big deal.

You tink when you SPIDERMAN
der's sometin big going to happen to you.
Well, I tell you what. It don't happen dat way.
Nuttin happens. Gubbener calls, I go.
Bwing him to powice, Gubbener calls again,
like dat over and over.

I tink I twy sometin diffunt. I tink I twy
sometin excitin like wacing cawrs. Sometin to make
my heart beat at a difwent wate.
But den you just can't quit being sometin like
SPIDERMAN.
You SPIDERMAN for life. Fowever. I can't even
buin my suit. It won't buin. It's fwame wesistent.
So maybe dat's youwr pwoblem too, who knows.
Maybe dat's da whole pwoblem wif evwytin.
Nobody can buin der suits, dey all fwame wesistent.
Who knows?

-Jim Hall

informal request letter

2008-09-10T11:53:00.000-04:00

Dear world,

I am so tired. May I just take a nap?

Sincerely,

April

PS...Hawaii would be an awfully nice place to sleep, btw...

OK, I admit it...

2008-08-20T11:57:00.000-04:00

I have totally been an Olympics junkie these past few weeks. Who can blame me? Between Phelps winning as many medals as a small nation, the Chinese "women" gymnasts who look like they're 10, and our own awesome USA gymnastics team, I've been totally mesmerized.

And I did watch badminton at 3am one morning. Who knew THAT was an Olympic sport??

Time to grade some papers...

My Challenge to Myself

2008-08-04T18:21:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, I know. This summer has been...absolutely awesome. Sleeping late, reading, relaxing, sleeping, sleeping some more, shopping, bowling, playing Wii, acting nowhere near my age, actually refusing--yes, you heard me right!--refusing to clean my house, and, most importantly, just plain hanging out with people I really love.

But, now it's back to the big, looming reality that's soon to slap me and about 250 other employees of Union County School system in the face. School starts Friday. I'm numb this year. My last group of kids just graduated; in that, I mean the last group that I've been with since 6th grade just graduated. Gosh, I will reeeally miss them. But, I have ties with many of them outside of school, so I'm positive we'll keep in touch.

This is going to be a challenging year. There are so many obstacles facing teachers in our system this year, and I hate it, but I can't get into the logistics of any of these sticky situations here. Just know we need prayer, as teachers, as a faculty, and as a school community. For the sake of our own sanity and for the kids with whom we are charged.

Here's my pledge for the year--my challenge, if you will, to myself, to live and to remember every single day I stand up in front of the kids in this classroom:

...I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my personal approach that creates the climate. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized....--unknown

AP test scores/summer misc.

2008-07-06T18:50:00.000-04:00

Hello out there! Get me your scores, please! I wanna know how you all did. Oh, and check out The Onion website for "Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty Totally Bad Ass." Thanks for that one, Bonnie.

And Casie, I would love to come visit you sometime. What's your schedule look like? Email me if you have time; I'm having problems sending from home. Who knows...blah.

Life is so Finite...

2008-06-27T13:16:00.000-04:00

We tend to take every breath for granted, and the fragility of life never really hits home until we lose someone we love; or even someone we know, for that matter.

Mike West--friend, teacher, coach, colleague, husband, father, student, adviser, mentor--passed away yesterday morning from an apparent heart attack. I don't know many details, but I know this was very unexpected, as most situations such as this are.

I'm not really good at talking about things like this, so I'll encourage everyone to click on HEATHER'S blog over to the the left of this page ("Heather (who sits behind Jo[e]"). She's done a great job of remembering Coach West for many of the positive and humorous details that made him so likable to those of us who know him as an instructor and a colleague. Thanks, Heather.

mea culpa, readers

2008-06-18T16:07:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the interruption in site service. I had to blackball the blog for a day or so for fear of the "immature readers" who may have gotten wind of this outlet while I taught at summer school. Anyhow, I'm finished there now, and hopefully they've forgotten my frustrations. And if they haven't, then, oh well. Water under the bridge.

Truth be told, they weren't all bad kids. It's surprising how a few can really ruin a learning community. I actually had three or four of them come up to me after class Tuesday and say thank you for teaching them and that they learned more from me in a week and a half than any other English class they'd ever been in. Wow. And one young lady even wrote me a note apologizing for her peers' rude behavior.

Now to enjoy the rest of the summer...all is well in the world of blitzkrieg. :D

Abandon all hope...

2008-06-16T16:00:00.000-04:00

Bleak and somber thought for the day:

If the fate of our nation rests in the hands of kids the likes of these 8th graders/soon-to-be 9th graders, we're doomed.

What the hell is the matter with the world?

Spitting tobacco in the floor when there's a trashcan an arm's-length away?

Throwing and kicking apples down the hall?

Writing notes about your make-believe sexual escapades on a mountain top (and believe me, I DO MEAN make-believe because I can't even IMAGINE what right-minded female would even CONSIDER a conjugal union with these idiots who write that they're "BOARD" in class)?

Drawing pictures of penises and the "n-word" while I'm up at the board reviewing what a freakin' noun is because they can't even grasp that simple concept?

Shoot me now.

At least I had the pleasure of getting at least three of them kicked out of the program today.

PARENTS, WHERE ARE YOU IN THIS EQUATION? I know middle schoolers are wired for disaster in the first place, but, please people, DO NOT be an enabler by giving that old cliched excuse, "Oh, well, they're just going through a phase; they'll eventually grow out of it..."

NO. THEY WON'T.

Ignorance perpetuates more ignorance. I'm trying my hardest to impart some glimmer of hope and education to at least the ones that care about their future.

I'm never having kids.

I'm going home to my cats. They have more sense than this damn bunch. Gah.

Summer=relaxation (yeah right)

2008-06-13T00:14:00.002-04:00

Hawaii was amazing. I hope to be posting some pictures soon. We took about 260 total. As soon as I stepped off the plane in the ATL, reality was back to stare me straightaway in the face.

Two weeks of summer already gone by; where does the time go?? I'm teaching summer school to the annoying 8th graders until next Tuesday. I work the resource/transition room at MEC every Thursday from 3:30 to 10pm (where I am right now). The June SAT administration started today; essays to score when I get home. I still haven't completely unpacked. It's been 90+ degrees this week. Relay for Life is next weekend and I'm team co-captain. AP staff development work is coming up next week. All told, I will have turned in a time sheet for an extra 110 hours for the month of June. Whew. Add that to the extra 95 hours I worked in from my birthday to the end of the school year and I've been one overworked madwoman!

Houston-Bush Airport, Part II

2008-05-27T13:43:00.001-04:00

Aloha from....sunny, muggy Houston, Texas.

That's right, we're still here.

After a 16 hour delay, a second time on the plane and being herded off again at 1:15am, a crappy Ramada hotel courtesy of the airline last night, WE. ARE. FINALLY. GETTING. ON. A. NEW. PLANE. It's 11:15am, a day and a half late, but we've extended our stay another day. I thought there was gonna be a riot here last night.

Tip for the week: Don't fly Continental. Ever.

Live, from Houston-Bush Airport, it's.....

2008-05-26T17:27:00.003-04:00

...yeah, so I'm sittin' here in on the ground propped up against a window, watchin' an older lady from Guam be helped out by EMTs because she can't breathe. And she doesn't speak English, either. That's right folks, I'm at the Houston airport, where approx. four hours ago, myself and about 250 others boarded a 767, and then promptly were told to get back off w/our belongings due to mechanical difficulties with our plane. Better late than never be told, I guess???

So we've sat here, walked around aimlessly, ate free lunch at Panda Express courtesy of Continental Airlines, and have just now been informed that our plane will be fixed ("tentatively") by 8:45pm, which puts us in Honolulu just before midnight their time. That's a WHOLE DAY of our trip wasted, down the drain, GONE. I'm not happy.

What exciting things have I been doing all this time, you ask? Well, hmmm, let's see...I've sent/received about 60 texts, read from cover to cover the June issues of both Glamour and Vogue, called the school (no one answered b/c it's Memorial Day), entered EOCT grades and figured out all the 9th honors final grades, bought some lotion and Shea butter at L'Occitane, typed four emails, and finally, now, am catching up on my blogging. Thank goodness for internet for $7.95/day (and ipods). Normally, I would never splurge on such a waste, but today's worth it since WE HAVE A WHOLE 'NOTHER SIX HOURS TO GO. Blarg (as Dakota says).

BOO CRAPPY AIRPLANE!

I'm goin' to Starbucks.

Various and Sundry Things

2008-05-14T11:21:00.001-04:00

For all those out there who appreciate a good literary joke and "poking fun of" every now and again, check out the site below...

http://www.suck.com/daily/2000/08/14/daily.html

My AP class reads the article Bloom wrote in 2000 titled "Can 35 Million Book Buyers Be Wrong? Yes." and this site offers a hearty response to Bloom's criticism. It's worth a read and a laugh.

I am so tired. Senior grades are due tomorrow and I still have their senior research projects to grade as well as their final exams from the past two days to enter. I'm attempting to read an adapted version of "Romeo and Juliet" with the 9III class in the next three days. Ha. Never accomplished that before, but I must say, we've read a lot this semester: Fahrenheit 451, Speak, Night, The Wave, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Odyssey excerpts, and various and sundry short stories, essays, and poems to suppliment the large texts. Fun stuff. This is a great group of freshmen. I have to say I'll miss them. :)

Seniors, ah...I'll miss them too, but it's time for the next big step. Overall, it's been a really successful, productive year; I just hope the skills I taught them/shaped for them transfer over in their college classes as well as life itself.

On an even brighter note...1 1/2 weeks til HAWAII!!! !!!!!

Yay!!!!

The end is near...

2008-04-23T11:39:00.001-04:00

Dear viewers,

I have no time to post anything significant; eight days left in AP, 12 with Brit. lit., and 16 or so til graduation. So much to do and so little time!

Sincerely,

Me

Compulteely Fulbgasted...

2008-04-14T12:19:00.004-04:00

Got that????

I'm scoring the 4th grade North Carolina writing exam w/ Pearson and it's amazing how 4th graders can kill the spelling of a word they wanna use no matter what. (The phrase above is "completely flabbergasted," btw)....

And I can definitely spot the kids who have dyslexic tendencies..."I wnet to teh sotre adn bote mlik." ("I went to the store and bought milk.") Plus, I have an awesome, new simile to add to my repetiore: "I was as confused as a dog trying to figure out colors." Hot off the press! Good one! Then again, some of those kids write as well as/if not better than some of our 9th graders.

NYC was great. Love that city. I led a group around and thought I did a pretty good job. We didn't get lost and we did a lot of trekking/shopping around given the time we had. I could be accused of walking a bit fast, though. Sorry, girls. Wasn't that 14-block sprint in eight minutes fun, fun fun?!?!? Back to work now. Five weeks left with seniors. I'm ready for another break already. :)

Oh, Ben: change "Taccoa," please...oh, and welcome to America courtesy of Ellis Island; you know, in case I forgot to tell ya years ago....

EGG ROLL!

2008-03-31T13:20:00.002-04:00

That title's for you, Eun. :D

Ok, I have a small gripe. Church marquee signs. Now, again, before I go on, I am NOT trying to be all "anti-establishment" nor am I questioning any practice of my church. But, as I was leaving my church last night, I noticed our sign. It said:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Beautiful quote. A refreshing change from the corny ones you see. Here are a few favorites:

Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!
Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins.
Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!
Have trouble sleeping? We have sermons - come hear one!
Sign broken. Message inside this Sunday.
Fight truth decay - study the Bible daily.
How will you spend eternity - Smoking or Non-smoking?
Dusty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives:
This is a ch_ _ ch. What is missing? --------- (U R)
Forbidden fruit creates many jams.

The issue, then, you ask? The quote on our sign was said by Ghandhi. Was his name attributed to the quote? Nope. I don't know; it just bugs me. Ghandhi, though not a Christian, was a great man, a humanitarian, a great speaker. Give credit where credit is due.

Thoughts? Am I way off base here?

That is all.

Spring, where are you?

2008-03-25T11:47:00.001-04:00

So it snowed yesterday. Big flakes for about 30 minutes. This time last week it was 70 degrees by the afternoon. Springtime is flirting dangerously with our senses.

I just can't think of anything interesting to write a blog about at this time. Classes are great, home is great. We're building a flagstone sidewalk outside the house. NYC trip next week. Oh! Jon and I are going to Hawaii the last week of May! I found the trip for an awesome price; five nights at the Waikiki Marriott plus airfare. Finally some warm sunshine to look forward to!!

Hopefully something post-worthy will enter my brain within the next week or so. Adieu til then!

Robitussin, Z-packs, and Lortab...these are a few of my favorite things...

2008-03-06T23:43:00.005-05:00

Ugh. Being sick sucks. Especially when you're sick for two weeks solid. Ugh.

I think you're right, Casie. My respiratory system IS out to get me. Like a little tricksy hobbit. Yeah, that's the medicine talking.

Oh, and BTW, Casie, this template is one of the standard ones you can choose from under the Blogger "Templates" tab. All I did was change the fonts and colors in the "Customize" tab. Hope that makes sense, and sorry for not answering this in my email. I knew there was something I was forgetting. Meds, again... :P

I coughed and sneezed so hard this past weekend that I pinched a nerve in my back. No joke. Hence, the Lortab. Which I DO NOT take during the day. I don't wanna risk being all drugged up in front of the kiddies, ya know.

Next week should be interesting at 'ole UCHS. The GAPSS team for school accreditation will be on campus for three days next week. Oh joy. Time for the dog and pony shows. :/

That's about all from here.

"ahhhh, jo[e]..." a (very) short story

2008-02-21T22:38:00.000-05:00

Dedicated to 1st block...

The weather had just about done her in. Now this??? she thought aimlessly to herself. Not only had she caught a nasty cold and had to practically wade her way into the building this morning for another pointless 7am meeting, now she was standing here, answering these absurd questions...

"Can we put the rest of the answers if we know them?"
"How about the pots...can we fire them now?"
"WHY are you crying?"
"Ummm....this is not mine...."

...she woke up in a cold sweat. The clock read 3:34 am. It was all just a bad, bad dream.

DESTROY THE EVIDENCE, KIDS, WHEN YOU READ THIS! lol...good times...

I thought I'd heard it all, but...

2008-02-15T11:44:00.001-05:00

My, my; I guess ignorance truly is bliss for some people. I'll let this one speak for itself...

The Immaculate Conception as Perverted in the Pagan Harry Potter Books

(thanks for your html expertise, Eun!)

:D

2008-02-11T14:19:00.000-05:00

I just found out that Angela is STAR student this year and has chosen me as STAR teacher. I am honored. Thanks, Angela, you deserve this honor for all your hard work. I hope that I have lived up to my end of the bargain; you're an outstanding young lady and a true life-long learner. Love ya!

Casie, I miss you!

2008-02-07T13:36:00.000-05:00

Casie? Casie Harbin? Are you out there??? It's been so long since I've talked to you. I feel like a slacker for not keeping up w/ you. We've been looking at your European cruise pictures in my 4th block senior class. They've come in handy as great visuals for Brit. Lit. Anyway, drop me an email when you have time.

That's all!

Ok, Eddie...

2008-01-31T11:25:00.000-05:00

...it's your turn now. =D

Cold Chills, part deux...

2008-01-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

...and this time it's the weather! Snow in the forecast again. Hope it's not another perfectly good waste of snow like yesterday, when the rain washed it all away by 7am. Ahh, I love days off, but pretty soon we're gonna be saying "bye-bye" to Spring break. Not good.

New semester, new kids. Pretty good groups. 9th graders in honors are on top of it as of now, but we'll see if they stand the test of time. AP is fun and this group's dynamics are different from 1st semester, but in a good way. 12II is goofy, what with Austin and Garrick. At least they pay attention and do what I ask them to.

Looking forward to the Key Club benefit concert tomorrow. Hope we have a good turnout.

Not much else to say. Just felt like jotting down the obligatory post. Bye!

Cold Chills...

2008-01-08T20:06:00.000-05:00

...and not from the weather, either.

This Meredith Emerson (the missing hiker whose body they found yesterday evening) case is creepy. The Hilton guy who kidnapped/killed her has been seen in this area by numerous residents of Union Co. in the recent past. Plus, I've hiked the trail where she was kidnapped MANY times; by myself, in some instances. I've even been to trails in the area of Dawson Co. where her body was found. !!

I pray Emerson's family and friends will find some peace in this terrible situation AND that justice will be swift in the case against Hilton. Who knows who else he's killed!!...

BEWARE: Hot-topic controversy abounds in this post!

2007-12-26T22:56:00.000-05:00

Shall we explore the latest frenzy surrounding author Philip Pullman and his series/trilogy His Dark Materials, which begins with The Golden Compass? (Which I might add, was published almost 11 years ago, was titled Northern Lights in Britain, and was followed by two sequels with a fourth one now on the way.)

Just as with the Harry Potter debate and the Da Vinci Code controversy, I had to explore, research, pray, READ, and make up my own mind about this one, too. As a Christian who seeks to bridge the broken gap between acute awareness and blind, dogmatic, "religious" thinking, I never accept what someone "tells" me to think about a book. How could I face myself as an instructor of literature if I acted any other way? I would be leading a life of lies and deception of myself as well as my students. Rowling, Dan Brown, Lolita, Broke Back Mountain, Dracula, Nietzsche, The Koran, Freud: yes, I've read them all, and now Pullman (gasps from the members of the Southern Baptist Association in the room: "She goes to OUR church?" they whisper). And while the Harry Potter debate seems overzealous and the Da Vinci Code dilemma offered a challenge to the Church's traditional thinking (FICTION, PEOPLE), I do feel much more concern about Pullman's series and ideas, especially put in the wrong hands of weak-minded young people. So I guess this post's main context is to promote awareness and let you, the reader, make up your OWN mind about the subject at hand.

I want everyone to notice the new link I've posted to the left under "Cool People..." for the Film Chat/Pullman Interview. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE everyone who has questions or misgivings about this author/series to read this interview and the responses that follow. I know it's long, but it's quite interesting and sheds light on some important issues. Plus, it's a rare example of good-spirited journalism. And, while Pullman never comes out and says the point of the series is to "kill God," (per the latest SPAM email wave) he is quite adamant about his materialistic, atheistic beliefs. Beliefs, I might add, that could be quite dangerous to someone who is not strong in their faith in the first place. And, the fact that Pullman admits his background/childhood is steeped in an upbringing in the Church of England speaks VOLUMES and begs the question of what sparked his huge distaste for Christianity.

I went to check out Pullman's home page as well. I do, surprisingly, agree with one statement he makes concerning reading and the reader's responsibility for creating meaning within a text (AP kids, take note!). He says, "The democracy of reading means that as soon as a book is published you lose control of how it's interpreted anyhow, and so you should. To tell someone else how to read your book is to fall into the temptation of fundamentalism." Very true.

Finally, the following response appears as the next-to-last post at the bottom of the Pullman interview. I've copied it because it's too good to pass up, and in case most of you don't make it that far in the post. "Tiffany," I couldn't have said it better myself! My sentiments exactly, and I wish more Christians could embrace this way of thinking....

[quoting] tiffany said...

This interview was an interesting read...thanks for sharing it. As a Christ-follower, I'm concerned that some members of the Christian community have launched attacks against PP and his work - he has adamantly claimed to believe that there is no God, so how can you berate him for writing material that reflects his beliefs? How can Christians be angry with non-Christians for acting like non-Christians? I do not believe that followers of Jesus Christ should shut their eyes and ears to every idea that may contradict their own beliefs - if you are a Christ-follower, then the spirit of God lives in you and will help you discern which ideas are of God and which are not. We should be teaching the truths of God to our children so that they won't be swayed by every new idea or belief system that they encounter in life.

However, I don't believe anyone should say that someone is "deluded" for believing in God. Might I say that another person is deluded by believing there is no God? God has revealed himself through His creation to all man - however, man will not feel the need for God until God creates that need in his heart. Followers of Christ are simply those to whom the need for a Savior has been revealed. May God reveal the need for Himself to all men! If Christians will focus on spreading the light of Jesus Christ to the world, rather than tearing down those who do not know God, perhaps God will use us to make Himself known! [end quote]

Confessions of an OCD Sufferer

2007-12-18T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well folks, it's official....

I'm crazy!

Nah, really though, I just have been clinically diagnosed with ADHD as well as moderate obsessive compulsive disorder; OCD for short, for those of you out there that don't follow the acronyms. Heck, I'm in education where practically EVERYTHING'S an acronym. Anyway, yes, I've been prescribed Zoloft (today's my 4th day): NOT for depression. I'm far from that, but Zoloft also helps with increasing seratonine levels in the brain in order to curb anxiety and its side effects. And, boy, have I been anxious and touchy lately! (Just read my last post. What a train wreck I am sometimes--jeez!)

However, I know this is a busy time of year and everyone's stressed, but I haven't done a very good job in the past half year channeling my anxieties/frustrations in the right way. Hence, my nervousness, obsessive cleaning, and yelling/crying in class. Agh. I've been afraid I'd come to this point; you know, where my obsessive, extremely order-prone personality comes crashing head-on into my extremely unpredictable day-to-day, "nothing-ever-happens- like-it's-supposed-to" career path. BAM. So maybe this 'scrip will help. It'll probably take about two weeks to be effective, though. Hmm. Too bad it can't start working before I clean my "already clean" house like mad this weekend for our family Christmas. Oh well. ;/

I've always been afraid of becoming dependent on meds (like so many people I know--people in my family, unfortunately--are), so I fought this for a while. I hate even taking Tylenol and don't EVEN try to get me to take antibiotics--unless I'm dying. As a matter of fact, a student of mine MADE THE APPOINTMENT for me w/ the family nurse practitioner I saw. I know her personally so she made me feel really good about my decision.

Anyone who knows me/interacts with me on a daily/weekly basis knows my "ticks." I pick up stuff/trash off of my floor impulsively. My room is straightened every day (desks in straight rows), I HATE it when people move my stapler, vacuuming daily is NOT an option: it's a must!, dust is consistently wiped from surfaces, I will stand in front of a framed print on the wall for minutes just getting it level, then a half hour later do it again, blah, blah; the list goes on. Some people notice more than others, and it's only in MY environments (my house, my classroom) that I become obsessive. Your house can be a wreck and it really doesn't bother me, but my house, on the other hand....I cannot work until the environment is just right. So yeah, my house does stay really clean, but that cleanliness has been coming at a high price. I've been sleeping around only four hours per night on weekdays. Granted, I'm not tired when I'm at school (just crabby :)), but when I get home (usually after working at MEC til eight or nine), then I CRASH. But then I wake up at about 11:30 and will find something to do til long after midnight. Not a good habit, so I'm trying to break it now.

Learned some really wierd things about me here, didn't ya? We all have our ways of hiding our idiosyncrasies from others. Still, I hope I've not weirded anyone out about me. What exactly is "normal," anyway????

One other really great thing came out of all this as well; several of my seniors chipped in together and got me a spa package over $100 at Serenity in the Mountains in Blue Ridge. It's reeeaaallly awesome, from what everyone that's been there has told me. What a great gift!

Hmmm, what else? Oh! AP kids: I'll save our Godiva chocolate 'til we get back in January and then we'll indulge in it. MMMMmmmmm...Chocolate...(as Homer Simpson would say!) Now, Angela; there's your other Christmas present. Stupid apostrophe!

Dakota; swell job at the talent extravaganza today! You were jolly! :p

Word of advice to everyone traveling down Murphy Hwy. here in Bville this holiday season: watch out for the Dodge Charger w/ the State Patrol driving. He WILL pull you over. I KNOW. Ughh. $66. Ask me in person and I'll tell you all about it.

In the meantime, I hope all of you out there in blogland have a super holiday...and don't forget to watch the "A Christmas Story" 24-hour marathon on TBS on Christmas Eve! Love that movie!

Blah

2007-12-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

Perdon (SPANISH, people!!!) the mistakes before we begin; this one came fast and fervently and I had to get it out...

Ever have one of those days/weeks that just baffles you? Well, that's me right now. I'm stuck, in a rut, whatever you wanna call it. I'm just...profoundly sad. And it really just hit me last night while riding the bus back from the basketball game (I had to babysit the cheerleaders last night). I've just come to an impasse. I am so disappointed with humanity, with teaching. I've asked myself so many times in my career: "Why am I doing what I am doing?" I feel as though I am not effective any more. I know, I know: everyone has these days. But it seems that "these" days are becoming more frequent.

What does God have in store for me? Who knows. I do think, though, that every day this plan runs further away from the public school system. Forget the cliches, the NCLB bull crap, and all the bad publicity for a second. It's not that at all (I'll never jump on that bandwagon, no matter how jaded I get); it's a more philosophical issue. Imagine putting your whole heart, all your energy into what you're passionate about. Imagine really knowing your "stuff," really fervently believing in the power of what you do and teach...and then having to face kids who won't even pay attention. Working on research paper plans for 15 WEEKS and kids won't even turn in a paragraph for a conference that I set up INDIVIDUALLY with them. Talking over kids who think texting their boyfriend in another state is much more important than what you're saying. SENIORS who do not even know what a sentence fragment is. Yes kids, this is YOUR FUTURE. These are our presumably college-bound seniors I'm talking about.

It's not a matter of failing to me. If they fail, they fail. It's the intrinsic factor that gets me. WHAT are these people thinking!? ARE they thinking? No. I guess I'm such an idealist that my little bubble has finally burst. Gosh, and to think, I wanted to really classify myself as a realist. Not. So.

At this rate I'm going to be a mess of a parent--IF I even consider that. I shudder at the thought right now, because it scares me. I know how I was, and I know how much WORSE things are today. So much pressure, so many social expectations.

The beauty of this situation, though, is this: this too shall pass.

Is there any equation/job/path out there that does not involve human interaction that leads to disappointment in someone? If someone can find that path, please give me a call!

Country Mouse Goes to the City...

2007-11-19T02:17:00.000-05:00

I would definitely characterize myself as a typical "country mouse," but I especially enjoy trips to New York City. Love that place! So much to see, so much to do, pardon the cliche. People moving fast, mammoth buildings, exceptional shopping--it all intrigues me. This being my third trip, I'm finally orientating myself with landmarks that serve as my compass point; I've figured out that as long as I can find Radio City Music Hall on 51st and 5th, then I can get anywhere in between Times Square on 42nd and Central Park at 59th, East or West. As for our Chicago Broadway show, the stagehand strike put a quick end to that. Instead, we saw The Rockettes 75th Anniversary Christmas Spectacular from the 8th row at Radio City, and I must say, I feel like we saw a first-rate show. The tree was also up in Rockefeller Plaza, and workers were starting to decorate it Friday as we passed by. Everyone was buzzing around Friday late night at our hotel and voila! Saturday morning the Marriott was Christmas central, complete with lavishly decorated trees, wreaths, and pine swags. Conspicuous efficiency at its best!

Oh yeah, I did work, too! The NCTE conference panels I attended were extremely informative, and Jonathan Kozol and Amy Tan as keynote speakers did a great job. Let's see, two extremely exciting/random things happened at the conference:

1.) After Amy Tan's book signing Friday morning, I attended a presentation concerning the AP Language test's new synthesis question. I had no clue when I walked in, but one of the presenters was Larry Scanlon, educator for 30 years at Brewster High in New York City (about four blocks from where we were), and the co-author of The Language of Composition, the "it" book for AP Language, and the one we use. It is the absolute authority on teaching rhetoric and I actually left several readings from it for 4th block while I was gone. Anyway, at the end of the presentation, I made my way to Mr. Scanlon and asked him a few questions and concerns we've been having in AP. He patiently answered every one of my inquiries, then I was on my way. What a nice man! I know I'm a nerd, but I was totally excited about meeting such a noted literary/rhetorical authority.

2.) After my session, I made my way to the vendor's booths. Let me rephrase that: over 12,000 square feet of more than 350 education-related vendors; everyone from EMC to MacDougall-Littell to Pearson to Everbind and Scholastic are there. Teachers turn to vultures during this time, and the mix of K-12 makes it even crazier. Within an hour we each rack up on free posters, flyers, catalogs, book excerpts, signed copies, stress balls, bookmarks, buttons--whatever we can get our hands on we take! Plus, the vendors are there all week, and the conference goes on for five days, so imagine how much damage you would do if you visited the vendors every day! I purposely took a carry-on bag that was empty; sure enough, I was FULL of books on the flight back. Anyway, I decided to purchase a few titles in the Penguin Publishers booth ($5 each for paperbacks), and as I'm backing up from the bookshelf in front of me, I back into and step on someone behind me. I turn around to discover I am standing on the foot of AMY TAN. (And NO, Robert, this is NOT funny and I did not break her foot!) Embarrassed, I apologize and hope I haven't hurt her, but she laughed and said she was fine. Being the bumbling idiot that I am, I'm still overwhelmed that I just stepped on AMY TAN, so I decide to mention how I love her books and that my honors and AP kids SOOO enjoy her novels (which is a bold-face lie!). We make a little more small talk and she sits down in her director's chair and calls her husband while I continue my little shopping spree. Kinda cool; not that many people can say they've stepped on a best-selling author's foot and struck up a random conversation. :p And for the record, I loved The Joy Luck Club, and no, I've not read A Hundred Secret Senses. So there.

As glad as I was to see my mountains when I returned home, I always feel a bit jaded when I leave New York. Ah, at least I have my knock-off Juicy Couture, Prada, and Burberry bags to remind me of my time in the Big Apple. Plus, I'll be back there in March. In the meantime, back to the real world and work again...for two days this week...

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.....

2007-10-28T18:21:00.000-04:00

We got a Wii! I'm not a big gamer, but ya know, that thing is FUN! We stayed up with friends last night til 1:30 playing. And, you can create characters that mimic your looks and traits. Gotta love those quirky Japanese people.

Two weeks and counting til New York City! Can't wait; sure it's the NCTE Conference, but Christy, Taylor and me are also going to see Chicago. Plus, we're staying at the Marriot Marquis Times Square. How fun is that?!?

Oh, and props to ANGELA for her SAT score! Way to go, kid! A 1980, right? I'm sure it's the highest in the school in one sitting. Great job, you Machiavellian wonder!

Long live Stephangela, DickDakRob, and MC KaHa! I'm tellin' ya, we've gotta get t-shirts made!! :)

Oh, and Casie; these seniors are still asking for pictures of your trip; they're certainly persistent. No pressure... :p

Fast Facts from a Fun Fall Break

2007-10-20T17:46:00.000-04:00

I love cheesy alliteration. ;p

Fall Break is coming to an end. The color here this year is waning thanks to the lack of rain. Still, what's here is a nice reminder of why I decide to live in the little town of Bville.

Good week. Graded about 100 student papers (still about 100 more to go), stayed up late and watched Frasier and Golden Girls, won some sweet Neiman Marcus cosmetics samples on Ebay, started my SECOND part time job at MEC ($420 for 12 hours of monitoring kids and assisting with computer stuff), scored approx. 450 SAT essays for a total of 35 hours at $18/hr. (can't do the math). I love successful weeks. Oh, and Jon drove a new car home last night; it's a 2004 Mazda RX8. Black. He's always loved that car. Sooooo, there's a distinct possibility that we are trading in my Jeep on Monday and I will inherit Jon's current Mazda 6, and he will get the RX8. There's only about 15 more payments left on Jon's car, and I've been looking to trade in my Jeep for a while. I love it, but it gets terrible gas mileage, and something seems to always be tearing up. Or, my dad may even take over payments of the Jeep and drive it.

Now, to the fun facts. Last night I was watching "The History of Sex" on The History Channel--which, I might add, was NOT pornographic. It chronicled the changing attitudes toward human sexuality from the French Revolution (Marquis de Sade, that freak!) through the Victorian Era. Very interesting. The tidbit that got me, though, was this: In Victorian society, legs were referred to as "limbs," and it was thought that the site of a pair of "legs" would drive a man into a sexual frenzy. So, the "table skirt" was invented during this time to prevent any "unnatural union between men and this piece of furniture." Now that's funny. Gotta love Victorian idealogy.

Oh, and one more fun fact from a Food Network show today: when you visit a blood donor clinic in Dublin, Ireland, and donate a pint of blood, guess what they give you in return? A pint of Guinness! Stout, of course. Man, I want to go back there! Even though I detest beer...shhh...don't tell the Irish!

Hey...someone's outside mowing our grass! Better go see...

"Well, as long as it makes him/her happy..."

2007-10-10T14:15:00.000-04:00

I love it when my thoughts finally come to fruition through writing.

Something I've learned through the "School of Hard Knocks" in my brief 29 years on this planet is that "happiness" is definitely a state of mind we can't rely upon as our sole, intimate reason for our decision making. My title, that statement, is a cliche all too familiar to our current generations. Myself included. Since when did it become ok to base our decisions--decisions, I might add, that sometimes drastically impact the ones we claim to love--on a gutteral emotion that can come and go with the ticking of the clock? Take right now, for instance. I am happy because we just refinanced our mortgage on our house. Last week I was UNhappy because of the copy machine debachel (don't ask--kids, you know).

What I'm trying to say is that my happiness was dependant upon external circumstances and not something that permanently altered my life. I see it all too often with my students; decisions based on the "here and now" and what makes them "happy" now. Geez, what made me "happy" when I was 15 is WORLDS away from what makes me "happy" now at 30 (technically 29 :)). But lest we forget that as adults we, too, are guilty of falling into the trap of relying on happiness as our functioning power. What indecisive, fickle people we become when we rely on our emotions to be our guide to make life-changing decisions. Am I pointing the proverbial finger? Well, yes, but do not be mistaken: it points right back at me as well.

My point? Think, people. Actions have consequences, both short and long term. You're probably saying, "I know, I know!" right now, but have you really, really thought about those words? The "carpe diem" lifestyle may work for a while, but pretty soon it catches up with us all. Happiness. What is it? Temporal, fleeting, inane, ephemeral. NOT PERMANENT. Find a solid foundation (the Cross, perhaps, and all it stands for) on which to base your life decisions. I know personally grasping this truth has made me feel more blessed than I ever thought possible. Plus, living in a state of idealism and rationalism is just false gratification; pretty soon, reality slaps you in the face. It's worth thinking about. Stop living to be happy and be happy to be living. It's really all we're guaranteed. Everything else just represents added incentives.

Hmmm....I've just realized that this post represents the worst nightmare for any post-modern, anti-absolute thinkers out there, but you know what? I don't care.

p.s. AP kids--find the chiasmus; BONUS POINTS!

Lost in a sea of orange...

2007-10-05T13:42:00.000-04:00

Yep, that's what I'll be this weekend. Jon, Blake, and I have scored tickets to the Georgia-Tennessee football game Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. An SEC fan's dream. I'm very excited. All these Dawgs fans around the school like to pick on UT fans; they're so unoriginal. :) But I really don't mind who wins. I'm a house divided. What I'm really looking forward to is being swallowed up for three hours by 107,000+ roaring fans; it's an introvert's worst nightmare! But, it really is an amazing experience for a college football fan.

GO VOLS!

Oh, and sorry Angela; I'm not copying your template; this was actually my original color. I strayed away from black midway through the summer, but in honor of Halloween and fall, it's time to change back. Guess we'll just be twin blogs!

This is soooo me!

2007-09-24T22:57:00.000-04:00

So I'm rereading In Cold Blood with my AP kids. By Truman Capote. Great book. And I come across this excerpt that feels like it fits me about 90% of the time. (Insert my name where "Nancy" and "Nancy Clutter" appears):

"Goodness, no. I just love her to death. Well everybody does. There isn't anybody like Nancy. Do you know what Mrs. Stringer says?" said Jolene, naming her home-economics teacher. "One day she told the class, 'Nancy Clutter is always in a hurry, but she always has time. And that's one definition of a lady.'"

:p

So I am living like Nancy Clutter.

Well, except for the fact that I've not been shot point-blank range with a shot gun.

Ick.

At least the quote's suitable! And, I hopefully made you want to read the book!

Post from 3rd block...

2007-09-13T14:38:00.000-04:00

We are all here in 3rd about to grade a grammar and proofreading exercise. They all say hey to all the people out there who read this ridiculous blog. What's so cool is they are watching me type this because I have this groovy new computer projector that lets them see all I do. We've been all over the place today on this thing!

That's all.

The White Flag

2007-09-01T23:29:00.000-04:00

ok, ok. I concede. You got me. ROLL, not ROLE. Between that and my mistakes with argumentative essays (not to mention the AP multiple choice debacle--don't ask! I'll admit MORE mistakes on Tuesday), I guess we'll have to start a tally sheet. Oh well. At least I'm not too proud to admit mistakes; I really do think humility has to be a defining trait of a well-rounded teacher. Otherwise, you'll live a bitter and pretentious life. No one likes a person like that.

Just remember, my little pretties..."Old age and treachery will ultimately triumph over youth and skill..." cackle, cackle...

Just in case you're wondering...

2007-08-28T19:32:00.000-04:00

...I actually do check my blog every day. Actually, about every hour. Even during school. As a matter of fact, I keep the page open during the day, minimized at the bottom of my toolbar, right next to my open agenda for all classes, my internet-based gradebook, my attendance record, and the blank Word document titled "SRP topics," one of the many items on my "to-do" list. So, I do have every intention of updating, even get the urge every now and then to post randomly--alas, then, that one little factor seems to ALWAYS get in the way...TIME.

Shall we explore a typical day in The Life of Krieger? Let's take a Monday morning, usually not fun, for example (except yesterday was unusually exceptional, I must say), and I'll give you the ABRIDGED version or we'll be here all day:

5:50 am--up and at'em; shower, makeup, dress, get Jon up, converse, towels to dryer, make bed, kiss Jon goodbye, check agenda for day, grab stuff, say bye to kitties, out the door...back in the door to grab a make-shift lunch, such as a jello cup or tapioca pudding...back out the door, drive to school on two wheels...

7:38 am--the fashionable "eight minutes late" routine, check my box for misc. HR stuff, papers to give out/educational survey crap, obligatory junk mail, down the hall, "morning" to five or six students/teachers...

7:41 am--my door's not locked, two or three seniors already in, eating breakfast, trying to wake up, finishing up last night's HW, time to check email...five new emails. Crap, faculty meeting Thurs.; go write down on agenda so as not to forget...delete junk email...respond to other two...

7:45 am--first morning bell...kids in three and four at a time...questions about last night's essay assignment...thesis sentences, better verbs, scholarly vocab, Beowulf's role as a classic hero, Vikings and Anglo Saxons random conversation...open up gradebook to check a student's current grade...out to the hall, 50 "heys" and "mornings," catch a quick conversation with the other English teachers...reminder: lunch Thurs. in teacher's lounge: bring homemade potato soup!...go write in agenda before I forget...

8:05 am--off to first block...all the juniors and other visitors scurry out...AP kids come by to confirm HW last night/quick word about their essay revision...remember to ask Colt if he got my text last night w/ the "better word--consecrate"...yes. check email again...last stragglers coming in...five new emails...check quickly!!...pull up class ROLL...internet down...error message...remember to give Jordan book she asked to sign out. LATE BELL!

8:10 am--start class. For the first time in five days, remember to take ROLL! Two kids absent so I immediately write down their missed assignment on the sheet I keep of absences. Take work from those absent yesterday, and open agenda to get the day rolling! Roll still down...15 minutes into class, students doing SAT practice questions, my fave email comes up asking me to "please submit ROLL during first 15 minutes of each block..." Internet down again. Signal low. Ignore email. Look at blog page quickly...no new responses...think to self "Man, I should really post to my blog..." Minimize page. Magically, ROLL comes up! Submit ROLL with two absences from memory, enter grades from today on quick visual assessment of paper revision (I have a photographic memory when it comes to remembering who had their assignments in class--this totally amazes the kids and makes it easy b/c I don't have to take up every little piddly thing they do in class...

9:40 am--bell...first block ends, here comes the little freshies for HR! TEN minutes of sitting down after standing for 90 minutes, take ROLL, update agenda from first block on what we didn't get done w/today (move it to tomorrow), make a note on agenda of who was absent in first block for reminder, give out HR lunch forms, letters from the office, remind them of their locker #s, freshman class officer elections. Say pledge, moment of silence (the ONLY silence I hear all day, mind you)...off to second block...MY PLANNING...

9:55 am--stand at door and yell at kids to get to class...they yell back at me--playfully, of course. Think: check hotmail! Yes! I'm rehired by Pearson to score SATs in October. Respond to email, print out "Confidentiality Agreement," sign, and run to office to fax. Fax not responding. Ugh. Check mailbox. Random crap. Remember an assignment I need to copy for 12II and three I need to copy for 12III AP. Back to room. Straighten up desks, erase board, find clean folders, label, and head back to copy machine. Forget stuff to copy--back to room. Check email once more. Three new emails. I need to submit my "no shows" list and pick up my HR freshmen advisees' folders in the registrar's office. Submit no-shows. Internet signal low...move to OTHER side of room and submit no-shows list. ok. Copies to be made; good machine taken, so I work on the crappy slow machine. Only 35 minutes left of planning. While machine's running, run and try to fax again. Fax goes through, confirmed, put in my bag to file away at home with other Pearson stuff. Stop by registrar to get copy paper box FULL of my 28 HR kids' permanent folders and records FROM THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. I will look at this info all of NONE times in the next four years. Lug back to copy machine. Copies made, collated, stapled by hand in office, holes punched, in proper folders, labeled, ready to go. Back in room, check hotmail again, delete junk mail. Open blog, check other sites quickly, wish I could find time to post. Minimize blog, open up gradebook, everything looks ok...push "SAVE," and get "ERROR: See System Administrator" message. Sigh, minimize gradebook. "Force close" all other programs. Five minutes before planning ends, eat jello cup, check personal agenda for after school plans, add note to start on the two sets of essays--one personal reminiscence, one summary report on the Anglo Saxon through Medieval Age general history--I've had for five days. 45 papers total. Quickly put a grade on AP's in-class multiple choice assignment for yesterday...text Jon regarding supper for tonight...open gradebook back up...seems to be working. Open all others programs as before and minimize. Get ready for 3rd block...

Shall I go on? Nah...lunch is the same as planning, only 30 minutes to do all of the above. Actual lunch time may occur randomly once per week. Third block is 14 kids instead of the 28 in first block, and my AP kids--eight of them--are my "breath of fresh air" at the end of the day. Intelligent conversation (they are laughing as they read this, I'm sure) and stellar writing style. Plus, if I need to do something, like go quickly make copies, or pee, even, I can leave them. Ahh...

After school is pretty much a repeat of all the above, and by the time I'm done each day, it's almost 6pm.

Do I regret it? No. I love the pace of my life right now. Sure, I'm tired, and I definitely want to just chill when I get home, but right now this suits me.

So, my new mantra is simplify, simplify, simplify. Hence the reason for so few blogs and so little noteriety on my part. Heck, it may be that all of two people read this blog any way, so this may just be a waste of good internet space.

I rarely even take my Mac home anymore, because if I do, I know I'll find 20 different work-related tasks to do. Jon even had to scold me this past weekend because I grumbled when the internet went down. I didn't know what to do with myself; all I kept thinking was, "I could be putting in SO many grades right now!" Geez! What's the matter with me??!!

BTW, I just had a filling on my bottom right side and it's only 30 minutes numb. What a pain! Two more hours of this numbing, no-eating-allowed crappy torture! AGLASKFGDJSKFDKJ! And where am I now? At school. In my room. When I could be going home FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR before 5:30. But no. All two of you deserve a blog. Voila. Done, and it's 5:41 pm. Home, here I come...

Nose to the Grindstone

2007-08-10T03:10:00.000-04:00

So today was the first day of school. Again. Actually, this marks the seventh first day I've experienced, and I still find myself a little nervous and sweaty, a little unprepared, a little forgetful about everything I need to say, even to this day. Old habits die hard, I guess. At least, though, I seem to have gone through the "burn out" year last year, and that "seven year itch" you hear everyone talk about may just pass me by. :)

Five years of freshmen were quite enough. I'm teaching seniors this year; this semester, two sections of English II, British Lit., and one section of English III, AP Language and Composition. The group dynamics of each class could not be more different. As I was checking my roles earlier this week, I spotted several kids who were pesky troublemaking freshmen. I even remembered where they sat and what they did, which they couldn't believe. Typecasting students, you know, is something teachers are really adept at, especially in a small population school. However, I was pleasantly surprised at "said students'" behavior today, and despite their feeling a bit overwhelmed by the work load, I think everything will be peachy. But it was, after all, the first day. Seniors can be just as immature as the rest of the herd, you know. 18 makes you an adult on paper, not necessarily in maturity. Gosh, I feel old just thinking that!

AP should be fun--and challenging. This is our fledgling year, so to speak, as we try to build our AP program up and prepare students for college rigor and writing in all disciplines, not just 1101 and 02. We had 26 signed up in May for our two AP English courses, but about 12 have dropped as of today. They've decided to switch back to regular college prep senior English II. It's a fear factor thing. "Scared" seems the be the operative word with this group of kids--scared of failure (which they won't), scared of the work load (which is not that bad--what in the world are they gonna do when they get a 15-hour college freshman schedule???) and scared of, let me see...how should I phrase it? "It's my senior year and I want to have fun." Yikes. Yeah, we all want to have fun, but I just can't seem to empahsize to them the competitive nature of college admissions these days. Oh well. I could bore my audience forever and ever with my frustrations and soapbox on student work ethic and holding their feet to the fire. And I'm too tired to go there. 9pm leaving school every night this week has worn me down. 8am to 3:30pm? Yeah right. Not this white girl with an OCD to get it right and all planned out before I go home. Teachers hours my ass.

English teachers, by nature, are the workhorse professionals, the perfectionists, of the school faculty. I'm not being haughty. It's the truth. Just ask any faculty member at a school what group tends to ask the most questions, which department raises the most issues, and who gets on everybody's nerves the worst. Nine times out of ten, they'll say (usually while rolling their eyes, I might add), "Oh, the English department." Some might get their feelings hurt at that comment. But I don't care. I take my job seriously, and I DO NOT know how to do a "bad job" at something. I can't imagine being one of those teachers who passes out worksheets, or gives instructions and then goes to sit behind a desk. Get me OUT of education when I come to that point! And the kids know how hard we work, too. They respect how hard we work, and they reap the rewards when they get to college and are successfully prepared for their composition classes. We get phone calls and emails (and visits) all the time from former students who just want to share their success in college composition (or other classes). Among the disaster that public education sometimes can become, our English department is definitely one thing we have going for us. And that makes me proud.

Bedtime for me; I'm hoping to fall asleep to a movie I tevoed earlier today: the 1965 loose adaptation of Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" on TCM. Stars Vincent Price, whom I love and loathe, all at the same time. Have no idea how it will be played out, but knowing the cross between Poe's dark romanticism and 1960s cheesy cinematics, it may be a bit trippy!

"Tevoed." Hmmm. I wonder about the spelling of that. And how long will it take before that becomes a new entry in Webster's dictionary. Oh, and check out my AWESOME new quote that I totally made up today while standing in front of my AP class. Its creation prompted me to gloat and shout out loud. AP students, ya'll know the meaning. :)

All is well...

2007-07-31T23:40:00.000-04:00

...in the world of Harry Potter. I can breathe a sigh of relief now. What an awesome story line! I laughed, I cried, I felt pangs of guilt and remorse over Snape's predicament. His final role in Harry's quest seemed to be the "je-ne-sais-quoi" of the entire series. And in the end, I think Rowling seemed to put a neat little bow around her grand package to the literary world. Well done.

There are so many things to say, but, alas, the new school year is encroaching upon me, and I have syllabi to type, sample papers to create for AP Language, schedules to look up, etc., etc., so I'm off!

NO, I haven't finished HP #7!!!

2007-07-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

So nobody spoil anything for me!!!

JENETTE! What are you doing!??? I have to avoid your blog for the rest of the week so I won't see your HP post. I almost committed HP suicide by scrolling down; I had no idea you had already posted on the book. aghhh! I don't read that fast.

I forgot so many blasted details of #5 and #6 that I had to go back and skim read them. And unfortunately, while skimming the plots of #'s 1-4 on Wikipedia, I saw some details of #7 that I shouldn't have! aghh! No big plot-turning details, but enough info to make me avert my eyes quickly and get out of that page pronto! STUPID MEDIA!

So I'm gonna go read now. I'm only on page 150, so I've got some catching up to do!

Harry Potter--the final countdown (and the movie, too!)

2007-07-17T02:10:00.000-04:00

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains information and opinions pertaining to the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie. Those of you who have not seen the fim yet and plan on it need not read on!

Sadly, the IMAX 3D version of Order of the Phoenix was sold out for ALL shows Saturday. So we had to "settle" for the plain ole' cinema version. Second time for me. Sigh. :p

Personally, I LOVED the movie. I think it's the best one so far. One of the biggest complaints I keep hearing from people and various critics is how "dark" the movie is, both in cinematic presentaion and in theme. Well. I guess those people forget the premise of this particular book, for, indeed, it is masterfully dark; yet "light" rushes in to save the day just at all the right times. However, I think that's one of Rowling's main points. Harry and the gang are growing up, the sky is metaphorically filled with ominous predictions, and just when things seem to be at the lowest point for Hogwarts and the lot, Rowling pulls a brilliant tactic by bringing her audience back to the main point of her series to begin with: good WILL ultimately triumph over evil. As the ensuing Voldemort invades Potter's mind and begins to convince the teen he has lost, Harry says, (paraphrased because I can't remember the exact words) "No, you're the one who has lost because you'll never know love and friendship. And I feel sorry for you." BAM. That's it for me, folks. I can't get into all these theological debates and wars over Harry Potter. To me, and to the general majority of people out there who READ for pleasure, those lines epitomize what this series has always been about (without oversimplifying the sub-plots of the series, of course!)

Oh, and the flashbacks! I've always loved those type of scenes in movies. They make your mind work quickly and force the audience to visualize thematic connections from one point to another.

As we left the theater my brother commented that he thought the directors were trying to cram too much into the movie. I see his point, but my only response to that is, "You should see what they left out!" Which is quite a bit. No Dobby the house elf, no Ron and his new adventures on the Quidditch field, and definitely no flying brain trying to attack Ron in the Department of Mysteries scene at the end. Whew. This was Rowling's longest book so far (I guess we'll see if that holds true when my #7 is delivered Thursday) and if Hollywood would have treated this book at face value, we'd be facing a monster much bigger than the tidily packaged 143 minutes we just paid to view.

I heard another person say they thought the movie focused too much on the Umbridge dilemma at Hogwarts. I'd like your thoughts on that, Casie. I can't decide whether I agree with that or not. Oh, and Sirius' death, to some, seems overshadowed by other happenings. I can't decide about the treatment of those two.

But overall, the fact that I thought a couple times through the movie, "Hey, what about...." was completely trivialized by the enormity of everything else that was featured in the film. In the end, I think the film was "spot on." Ok, ok. No more British quips.

RESPONSES WELCOME!!!!!

Earth-Shattering Decisions

2007-07-11T04:05:00.000-04:00

Within the last two days I have come to two important conclusions:

1.) Birthday Cake flavored ice cream is fabulous and I could actually eat a pint in one sitting. And eating it straight out of the GALLON container is extra devious. ;p

2.) Wearing flip flops while it's raining and deciding to step over the outside doormat = recipe for disaster.

I fell yesterday--because of my own stupidity (see comment #2 above)--and ended up with a very bruised, skinned up knee. Walking is very painful right now. I feel that I am paying the price for poking fun at my brother and his "gimpy-ness." You know what they say: all things come full circle.

I'm going to see the new Harry Potter movie tomorrow at noon--and again on Saturday at the IMAX theater in Atlanta. I feel like a kid again; I rarely get excited about movies, but this one comes with anxious anticipation. And then there's the last book...I've had it pre-ordered since the day it went on the Amazon home page. Not a little obsessive, am I? Nah. Hey, at least I'm not lined up at the book store waiting...

Laugh-out-loud, pee-in-your-pants funny...

2007-06-21T02:30:00.000-04:00

I really don't know what prompted me to post this, but I was sitting here thinking about my TOP 5 FUNNIEST MOMENTS IN MOVIES, and here's what I came up with. Feel free to respond with other "funnycrap" I can't think of right now. Like Ricky Bobby and Monty Python; mi hermano needs to get on those...

#5. "The Money Pit" (circa 1980s) Tom Hanks buys a fixer-upper house, and about halfway through renovations, when things aren't going so smoothly, the upstairs bathtub falls through the floor, with Hanks inside. He spends next two minutes sitting in the bathtub laughing his butt off and screaming, "HAAAAAA! HAAAAAA!"

#4. "Animal House" Come on. We've all seen it. The classic scene where Belushi, befiited in a toga, comes down the stairs in the frat house, grabs the guitar from the yuppie playing love songs, and precedes to smash the crap out of the thing, then casually hands it back to him. YES!

#3. "Napoleon Dynamite" His "destined to be remembered forever" line to his girlfriend: "I caught you a delicious bass." omg! I could laugh for hours at that one line!

#2. again, "Napoleon Dynamite" The scene where Napoleon throws oranges at Uncle Rico's van, prompting Uncle Rico to jump out of the van. The ensuing fight consists of Napoleon throwing an orange directly at Uncle Rico, and hitting him at point blank range. I laughed out loud as I wrote this one down!

And now, the number one, funniest moment I can think of in any movie...

#1 "Austin Powers #1: The Spy Who Shagged Me" Powers, making his way into the lair of Dr. Evil, steals a golf cart thingy, to travel faster down the hall. However, he has to maneuver and turn the cart around, going from drive to reverse. He does this for a while, then the camera switches to another scene. THEN, when the camera comes back to Powers, he has the golf cart WEDGED between the two walls, going nowhere, still switching from drive to reverse. I could rewind and watch that part of the movie EVERY DAY and it would NEVER get old! AGGHHHHH!!!

The summer passeth by...at break-neck speed!

2007-06-20T05:00:00.000-04:00

Yes, a new template, a new look for the blog, in tribute to summer. A little more feng-shui, a little less lightening warrior. Don't get used to it, though. I like my black.

It's 2 a.m. and because I'd like for this post to be more coherent than the last one, I'll finish this up...this morning...later.

WEDNESDAY 6/20, 10:30 pm...
Can I just say that I HATE HATE HATE FIRE ANTS!!!! Little $%&*^)*^@#~s!!! Yeah, we're doing a ton of landscaping around the house, and I've managed to stay away from them--until today. Pulling up weeds unearthed a colony that didn't take too kindly to me uprooting their humble abode. I have a swollen pinky, a throbbing toe, and I even managed getting bitten on the NECK. Who knows. Perhaps I should reflect on the positive side off all this annoyance: our yard is going to look SWEET when all this is done. If we were to pay someone to do this job professionally (plants, mulch, spreading, rock work, pavers, labor), it wouldn't be a dime under $5,000. Guess how much we've shelled out? Around $400. OH. YES.

This weekend is Union County's 13th Annual Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. My church, Antioch Baptist, has sponsored a team this year. My best friend since "way back when," Danita, and I are team captains. We're in for a Friday all-nighter of camping out at the high school football field, walking, selling bottled water and smoothies, fellowshipping, and all sorts of good stuff. We've already raised about $2,300, and hope to add more $$ that night. We're in good company, too; last year there were about 40 teams there all night, adding up to about 2,200 people and over $150,000 raised. Not bad.

I still have a serious post brooding around in my head, but it's not to fruition just yet. Let me just give you a little taste: it has something to do with my frustration over how we tend to romanticize and rationalize people's bad choices and behavior. Sometimes even our own. I'm included in that group sometimes, too, unfortunately. I'm getting there on writing that one down.

Next week I'm off to UGA (GO VOLS! he-he) for training to teach my AP Language and Composition class next year. I'm excited, yet apprehensive. I have a lot to live up to, but I know I'll be fine. The kids are no problemo; 12 of the 20 in the class were in my first 6th grade advanced reading class. Love those kids. So eager, yet not so nerdy and overbearing that you want to pop them. They will be missed sorely as well; the next best thing to the class of '07. My biggest worry is getting around Athens by myself. I tend to get lost really easily in Athens. Casie, remember when we were going to visit Jenifer and I was, like, TWO HOURS late because I got stuck on the flippin' loop around Athens? I called and Jenifer had to come find me. It was terrible. I think I have a complex now because of my bad experiences driving there. We shall see.

Beware: Insomnia prompted this random post...

2007-06-07T04:12:00.000-04:00

Did you all know that Huntsville, Texas is the "Lethal Injection Capitol of the World?" Well, now you do! Thanks, History Channel, "Death Devices," at 1 a.m. Gee, what a bumper sticker that would be. I'd put it on my car if I lived in Huntsville, Texas...

I think I'm allergic to my cats: I just sneezed four times. Or, maybe I'm allergic to Jon, who is asleep beside me, LIKE I SHOULD BE.

Oh, and get this: today, USPS delivered a package to the house. NO, that's not the punchline. The name on the package was "KAN FINAE HUBBLING." Yep. It was my package, a box of books ("Fountainhead," for my 9th honors class) from the Ayn Rand Institute. They emailed me to apologize for the incorrect name. I'm fascinated now. Who is this mysterious "Kan Finae Hubbling?" Irish, perhaps? Maybe Polish. Irish-Polish?? I feel I must find out more about him/her and our inexplicable package connection.

My fave websites this week: anything Josh sends me, and Jenette and my brother's blogs. Anyone who reads my blog needs to check theirs out, too--they're listed on this page under "Cool People." Jenette's posted an incredible tribute to my husband this week and Jeremy (a.k.a. Mr. Murphy's Law) explains in great detail his latest fiasco: spraining his ankle at company headquaters in California while playing basketball with his colleagues Monday.

My fave quote this week: "In democracy, it's your vote that counts. In feudalism, it's your count that votes."

My fave joke this week: Two peanuts walk into a bar and one was a salted.

Fave song this week: Hayseed Dixie's remake of Snoop Dogg's classic "Gin and Juice"

Fave shows this week: SNL's "Best of..." series and "Frasier"

Things that annoy me ALL THE TIME: the American public's fascination with celebrity lifestyles, NO RAIN, allergies, people at the board of education office who push papers all day long and huff when you ask them for a P.O. number to spend the $800 that the GA Dept. of Education gave you because you earned a $2500 grant and will be teaching a new AP class next year...but NO! We must not complicate the fragile universe of those who push papers, because apparently thinking of that eight-digit P.O. number would implode the inner workings of the powers-that-be. whew...got that out. It's a long story...

Yeah, I'm so tired I can't sleep. Ever felt that way before? So, instead of fighting it, I've decided to channel the energy into something constructive. I do feel a post creeping up about some very important issues that I'm churning about in my mind. It's not quite all together yet, so stay tuned. Enough of this wealth of useless knowledge.

The Long-Awaited Pictures

2007-06-02T23:40:00.000-04:00

Here are the pictures you all have been waiting on. Three leaf clover, celtic interlacing, black ink shading. I'm satisfied with it.

We spent last night in Athens with a friend who will be a senior at UGA this fall. Ahh, the college life. I'd almost forgotten what it was like--for some. Apartment furnished with second-hand, broken furniture, posters and tin signs decorating all the walls, minor scratches on walls and beverage stains on carpet, Lord knows who crashing in your room at any and all hours of the day and night. Oh, and who could forget the collection of miscellaneous and empty liquor bottles decorating the top shelf above the kitchen cabinets. LOL. Casie, remember all those trips to Jenifer's? How many places did she live at that we visited? I remember one dorm and one apartment, but I'm sure there was more than that. Oh, and we did stay at Kevin's that time, too. Alas, the creeping in of the thirty-something age range makes it a little difficult to live that lifestyle. I appreciate my privacy and own bed too much these days. Nevertheless, we had a great time, and maintained our respectable adult facades...yeah.

Bail o’ Dhia ort

2007-05-30T01:18:00.000-04:00

Those who know me well are very aware of my fervent fascination with everything Irish. I ADORE that place. The rich Celtic culture and history, the friendly people, the aura--heck, I even have a tattoo of Celtic origin. I want to move there someday, or at least have a permanent vacation spot there. I even know the name of the little village where I want to stay. Waterville. It's on the Atlantic coast, County Kerry. Green rolling hills, sheep grazing to altitudes of 2,000 feet above sea level, and white pines sweeping all the way down to the most beautiful stretch of azure blue, unpopulated coastline one may ever see. Totally breathtaking.

Granted, I could never become an expatriate; Hemingway and his gang had guts, but they also lived in a time of deep distrust and hard feelings toward the U.S. Just read "The Sun Also Rises." My longing to relocate there permanently runs only as deep as the next presidential election. Jon and I have often joked that if Hillary Clinton wins the election, we're outta here. But, ARE we really joking? Time may only tell...

So, this summer--the endless summer--the first summer in FIVE years that I am not enrolled full-time in some sort of schooling--I plan on studying a bit of the Gaelic language. It's so interesting. So many dialects, just like English, and the accents and sounds seem to stick in your mouth like peanut butter on a piece of starchy white bread. Ha, what a simile... :) It feels good to do something "just because."

By the way, the title of this post translates, from Gaelic, to "May God's blessing be upon you."

Empty Nest

2007-05-24T15:33:00.000-04:00

I've not blogged in a while for a number of reasons. 1.) I've really not had--or made--time to. And, 2.) I've been processing what I'm going to say in this post for a while, turning it over in my head again and again, trying to get the words just right. But, alas, there are no perfect words to express the feelings I have right now about life, my career, the end of another year, so I'll just ramble in a very English teacher-like, cohesive manner. Bear with me.

And, I realize this blog has evolved mainly into an outlet for my feelings about teaching--the woes and triumphs. But, that's what consumes me. I do it because I love it, because it drives me, because I give it my EVERYTHING. I am many personas, and one of those labels says I am a TEACHER. For good, for bad; for better, for worse; for richer...for poorer. :) I cannot apologize for who I am.

Eleven years ago, my senior year, I started working with a group of first and second graders in the after school program...they are the graduating class of 2007. Set to fly away tomorrow night, May 25. My babies. I started teaching that same class in 6th grade as a substitute, had them in 7th for keyboarding class, 8th for multimedia, and 9th for literature. I've been their senior advisor for the past four years. I've seen them through the deaths of two classmates to drug overdoses, a generous amount of ignorant high school drama, several proms and formals, 850 late passes, a host of make-up courses at MEC, ten tree's worth of recommendation letters, and countless hours of tutoring, essay writing, and advice sessions. I know them all too well (some, better than they know themselves), and they the same with me. NO, I don't have kids, I don't exactly know the fervor that comes with a "mother's love," and I certainly don't feel the same sense of loss--and relief--that many of their parents are feeling right now. But, just the same, when those 165 kids walked out of this building last Friday for the last time--19 of them in my homeroom, and a good 60 more of them my "kids,"--I experienced that old adage that's called "Empty Nest" syndrome.

It's crazy. For as much grief and frustration as they've put me through in the past four years, I find myself feeling emotions that are hard to grasp. Granted, I am very happy they are graduating. VERY happy. But, these halls, this classroom, that for 180 days out of the year, became occupied by at least one of them, at any given time of the day, feel somewhat empty. Sleeping on the floor, working like mad to finish an essay due the next block, listening to me intently as I teach the current freshmen, recalling their own days in my class, just hanging out, saving my sanity when I felt like I could lose it.

I'll never, ever forget the memories...

Cason's 1st grade bowling birthday party, and him walking up to me on my high school graduation night to give me a gift
Babysitting Jordan...trips to town, errands to run, and ball practice
Babysitting La...watching her eat raw Bisquick mix before I could make the pancakes
6th-8th grade typing class in the trailer at the middle school...commonly referred to as "the ghetto days"
Eddie screaming out a random curse in the middle of a 7th grade typing lesson gone bad : )
9th grade, 2nd block, reading Romeo and Juliet with Jake Stevens as Romeo, so in love with La as Juliet that he put his ALL into that part, every line he said to her he meant!
Chris Hampton warning me in 3rd block, 9th lit.: "Krieger, I'm going to cuss in 5,4,3,2,1...sh*t."
Stolen cheesecakes in homeroom...TAYLOR!...and Cody Huggins running to catch the thief...and he did!
Teary-eyed parent conferences over kids who just don't get it...and probably won't for a while
Ashtin always outside the door in homeroom, keepin' it real...
Colton bringing me a hash brown from McD.'s almost every morning for two years
Corey coming in to watch the '96 Romeo and Juliet movie at least once each year since his freshmen year
Devan and his apathy over my "damn crappy TV" reception in homeroom
Packy (I can't believe he's actually graduating!) in my room at ALL hours of the day: "Hey dad!"
Josh Dills' (cuz) "Hello, Mrs. Krieger" guitar solo, at least one time at the end of every year
Michael Myrick, the fastest man on earth, runnin' down the soccer field...and from the law
Preparing the senior homecoming parade float this year...G&R's "Welcome to the Jungle!"
Kate, and first block peer facilitating..."Kate, hand me that folder. NO, not THAT one!" She's still the BEST! IF you know what I mean...!!
Robert Everett loading over 1,000 songs on my iTunes...fellow lover of Led Zeppelin
Watching episodes of Friends with Jess (pronounced "JE-USSS") during my planning last year and talking about life after all the basketball games
La and KC...everything...Magrin papers, light saber wars, driver's ed., Homestar Runner, and sleeping at Krieg's when her life seemed to be at its lowest point ever
Blubaugh coming to school without eyeliner: "Michelle, where are your eyes??! I can't see them!"
Amanda and Amber after school working on Magrin work (though they didn't pass the class), looking up Chuck Norris jokes and making me laugh out loud
Hoppy and his "infinite wisdom," his quotes on the board for the freshmen, and his Thoreau-esque outlook on life
Chorus Disney trip with Johnny and Grady..."THIS PLACE SUCKS!" and "Mustard Twins forever!"
Senior trip and Keith, Matt, and Taylor yelling "MOM!" over and over while I'm trying to pee in the bathroom at Islands of Adventure
WHOAH...LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!!
J.P., Godiva chocolate, makin' fun of 1st block freshmen, and the days of Ft. Blitzkrieg... J.P., he's so pretty...and G-off says he smells like Ivory soap...and he does...ha...

Last Friday, yearbook day, a group of about 25 seniors piled outside my door, in the floor, signing yearbooks, singing to Cory Smith's "I'm Not Gonna Cry" (But I did.)

Teaching is SOOO much more than "schooling."

So here I sit, the next to last day of school, thinking, crying, rejoicing, reminding myself not to wear eyeliner tomorrow night. How appropriate that they chose Dexter Freebish "Leavin' Town" as their senior class song. It's one of my all-time faves. : ) Time to make some more memories. I think The Verve said it best in a song: "But it's a bittersweet symphony, this life..." That's what I feel right now. I love my life. Not everyone could do what I do, so that makes it all worthwhile...the thank-you notes, the dozen or so invitations to graduation, the 10,000 hugs, the tears, the laughs, the countless number of times these past two weeks I've heard "I-don't-know-where-I-would-be-without-you." Oh, and the flowers just now delivered. Can't forget those. Wow. I am TRULY blessed.

I LOVE YOU, CLASS OF 2007. There will NEVER be another class like you all.

The Final Countdown...

2007-05-15T14:19:00.000-04:00

I sit here with a group of juniors who finished their End-of-Course Tests over an hour ago, waiting, waiting, waiting, for the bell to dismiss them to their next destination. Life here this week is one big bubble grid, what with testing and finals. Anger ensures with these tests. No, the kids aren't rude and angry with me, just the whole concept of standardized testing--even with as little as they understand about the dark underbelly of the beast--really erks us all. It's a viscious cycle. Hey, at least I get to catch up somewhat on my blog!

"An Ode to the Agnst of Testing" (in honor of Mr. Garrett's 2nd block U.S. History class)

So much of adolescence is an ill-defined dying,
An intolerable waiting,
A longing for another place and time,
Another condition.
--Theodore Roethke, “I'm Here"

EIGHT tedious, painful, wincing days to go...

The "Hap-Hap-Happiest" Place on Earth?

2007-05-01T19:55:00.000-04:00

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!

--Edna St. Vincent Millay
--"First Fig" (1920)

This poem sums up how I feel right now. One successful trip to Disney down, yet one more to go. Two weddings this past Saturday; one in Rome, one at the Jewish Temple in downtown ATL (THAT was a very cool experience, I have to say). I have graded 133 papers in the last two weeks. I need to plant flowers and rake out the huge pile of soil conditioner in my yard. I start grading SATs again next week. I have a house payment to pay before 5:30, yet HERE I SIT, in my classroom. I have a syllabus to make for the 9th graders for assignments through the end of the year. I have sub plans to make for Thursday and Friday for two classes. I have seniors in my homeroom who need to be reminded (nevermind the fact that they are legally ADULTS NOW and should be responsible for this on their OWN) that they owe paperwork and money to be turned in if they expect to graduate on the 25th. I have to pack...again. I have to eat sometime in the grand scheme of things. I'm missing one of my college sketchbooks from my classroom. I have NINE seniors I have to get graduation gifts for (can we say, "cha-CHING?"). My computer is going dead as I type.

Welcome to my train of thought. On a daily basis. Imagine my "to-do" lists. But, in the end, guess what? It all miraculously gets done. I am a multi-tasking FOOL. And, no mood-enhancing or altering drugs are ever taken in the progression of this chain of events. I guess that's what I get for being such an eccentric, subversive individual. Only THREE more Mondays to go, though!

Check out the photobucket link to the right for pics of the first trip to Disney (which, we have scientifically concluded, is NOT necessarily the "HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH." ) : p The password is "themustard2007." Long story.

STUPID COMPUTER CRAP!

2007-05-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so I just figured out that the "Cat Pictures" link doesn't work. HELP! I'll figure it out...eventually...

AND...when I went to delete the link, I DELETED THE ENTIRE LINKS LIST. Stupid %^^&*)(*&()*&$%$#@ computer crap. I will now start over...

I love it when...

2007-05-01T18:55:00.000-04:00

...technology bites you in the ASS! Yeah, so I've been trying to post pictures and all sorts of stuff on my blog for a week now, but Macs and the Blogger site do not communicate very well. It even says so on the Blogger help page. Thanks to all of you who gave me tips and stuff, but it's just a glitch that I can't control. I'll have to put up pictures from my Dell (which are not downloaded on there now either), which is at the moment being loaned out to an AP student who is finishing up exam practice. I've tried and tried to link pictures, post pictures, copy pictures, but, alas, no luck. I sit and stare at a rotating triangle with a "!" in the middle of it for, like, five minutes. I have no tolerance for that. Soooo...I was able to add links to my SIL Jenette and my brother, Jeremy's, blog pages. Good stuff--check them out. Especially the link at the right to some freakin hilarious pictures of cats on my brother's website....I named it "Cat Pictures." My, how original of me.

Speaking of techy stuff...CONGRATS to my lil' bro Jeremy on his graduation from the indentured servitude of the mother goddess GEORGIA TECH. Nah, I'm really proud of ya, and hope ya'll have a great time at your shin-dig this weekend. I'll be thinkin' aboutcha' while I'm at Univesal and Islands of Adventure on Saturday. You Japanese wanna-be nerd, you! Go make money! waaaaaaaaa-haaaaaaaaaaa! (not sure where that came from...it's been a long day.....)

p.s. I made my honors kids use "serpentorbidal" and "asterlane" today in their SAT journals. They said to tell you that you have too much time on your hands. I told them they were just jealous they didn't think them up first!

Whirlwind

2007-04-15T17:55:00.000-04:00

I'd like to offer a public apology to all my fans out there (Casie) who have missed me (Casie) and the entertainment value I provide through my blogs every week (Casie). Ha...

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Literally. Jenette, Ethan, and beautiful baby Kara visiting, a sudden, tragic funeral six hours away in South Georgia, the "final countdown" week before spring break, our 5th wedding anniversary, and a seven day cruise (eight days total away from home) to end it all. Wow. However, no complaints here; Jon and I seemed to weather everything just fine. We didn't even argue that much; funny how in times when situations seem to be spinning faster than they should Jon and I seem to metaphorically "ride the ride" and not even manage to get sick!

Here's how things panned out...

Mon. 4/2: Praying for the week to go by fast just seems to make God slow things down more and put me in my respective place. Which is OUT of the driver's seat. No matter how fast you wish for vacation to come, you can't grease the wheels and make time go faster. That time thing... I planned on wishing the week away, had my schedule full of last minute "finish-before-spring-break" assignments and what not, for each class. Granted, every class worked hard, each finishing an in-class essay (now I have 116 papers to grade in my famous "green bucket for papers to grade"), finishing another unit, and starting a segue into the last unit for the semester and testing skills review. Yet...alas, you just can't rush authentic learning. I know this; I don't know why I try to do this same thing over and over every year. It's just that a break just looks so enticing, and tying up loose ends seems to be part of the package. I fully expect, however, to come back tomorrow, say to 2nd block, "I'll be finishing up your essays this week," and have a blank stare from 29 faces come back at me. I don't blame them, it DOES seem like it's been forever in just the past two weeks. Jenette, Ethan, and Kara, who have been in B-ville for the past week, stayed with us again tonight before heading on their way to South Carolina Tuesday. Thank you, "Pantless Jedi" for not unleashing your wrath upon me and my infantile knowledge of THE FORCE.

Tues. 4/3: At 8:50 am Tuesday, tragedy struck. La was in my room while 1st block finished up the film "A Time to Kill" and her dad called with bad news. Brandy (Dyer) Zipperer, who graduated a year after me, whom I had played softball with for 12 years, passed away early Tuesday morning from a blood clot on her brain stem. Wow. She was 28. My age. Suddenly the surreal becomes all too real. She had a three-year-old and a husband. Her younger brother, Ben (who called to wish me happy birthday while I was writing this), is almost literally my adopted brother. He's a permanent fixture in the family, one of my brother's best friends, and comic relief, encouragement, and positive energy to anyone who needs it. Funeral plans begin.

Wed. 4/4-Thurs. 4/5: The natives were getting really restless at UCHS. Can you blame them? I think I acted just about as rebellious and silly as they did. Of course, while sporting a facade of utmost professionality. Ha... Since Brandy lived in Rincon, GA (20 minutes north of Savannah), the funeral will be held there. I spent most of Wednesday and Thursday on the phone with countless people from high school, some of whom I haven't talked to in years. Funny how a funeral can bring people together. Brandy's mom wanted all us girls who played softball with her to be pall bearers, so Jon and I changed our plans and decided to drive down to Savannah Friday for the funeral, then take the two hour drive up I-95 straight into Charleston, the port where our cruise leaves from Saturday afternoon. Time to pack and clean the house--a day earlier than I planned!

Fri. 4/6: We left at 8:15 am for Savannah, with the Mapquest directions telling us it's a 6-hour drive to Rincon. Well, Jon and I were in the parking lot of the church at 1pm. Gotta love Georgia drivers. :) We made great time, no traffic through downtown ATL, no cops, no stops for gas til right outside of Macon. At the funeral, there were more than 100 people in attendance from Blairsville. Brandy was loved. I served as an honorary pall bearer. When I got back into the car after attending the gravesite, I was forced to finally realize my vacation was about to start. Not a good segue; funeral to vacation. Here I was, all week trying to rush myself into "vacation mode," then when it was finally time to live it, I just couldn't summon the energy to care. Who would've ever thought, just a week earlier, that we'd all be gathering to pay final respects to a friend? But I will see Brandy again someday, both of us have hope that rests in Christ, what a comfort!

Oh yeah, happy 5th anniversary April and Jon. Yay! We celebrated by going to a Red Lobster in Charleston Friday night and staying in a nice suite at a HAMPTON INN. Oh yeah, baby! We're livin' large! I think be both fell asleep after watching The Sound Of Music on TNT. We're an inspiring couple. I love you, Jon. I'd rather be with you in times like these than anyone else in the world.

Sat. 4/7-Sat. 4/14: Yeah, well, the rest is history. Last week was utterly stellar. (Ok, I'm reaching for adjectives now, I know...) We spent the week sleeping, EATING, walking around and making fun of other people's idiosyncracies, me reading an ENTIRE BOOK FOR PLEASURE WITHOUT INTERRUPTION BY EDUCATIONAL PROPAGANDA AND INFO (Cold Mountain, LOVED the beauty in Frazier's language, HATED the sniper rifle ending, pardon the pun), EATING, sleeping more, shopping, EATING, and running up a pretty hefty bar tab. And, thankfully, I did not see even one of my students; several were on ships from other cruiselines going to the same destinations we visited. (There was another couple from B-ville on our cruise, an optometrist and his wife, but we didn't know they were on the ship til later on. The man's name is JoHn too, and he won a raffle which made my JoN ill because they came on the intercom and said, "The winner is JoHn from Blairsville, JoHn Mark Turner!") I loved the Grand Caymans for the shopping, friendly people, and the coolest Margaritaville ever! Key West is an awesome place to people-watch, plus being absolutely beautiful on the residential streets. We took a tour of the Tulum Mayan ruins in Mexico, sailed into Playa del Carmen from Cozumel, and rode an hour down the Mayan Riviera. I could talk all day about the trip. But I digress...

Vacation endings are bittersweet, you know. I'm always glad to be back home--especially after spending it all week in a cabin about 120 feet-square with my beloved hubby--but I'm apprehensive about going back to my obsessive self. I've already put about 12 things on my to-do list for the week. Oh, a week that's only THREE days long because Wednesday at 10pm, I leave for DISNEY and EPCOT! I'm either fearless or a glutton for punishment (maybe both) because I do it again in two weekends with the senior class for their Disney trip. Good Lord. At least this is the chorus, a good group of kids, AND, I'm skipping out on prom duty this weekend, to boot! That's a pretty good trade-off. I am still very very anti-prom after last year's fiasco. Don't get me started on that...

And here I sit Sunday night. A little poorer, a little more tan, a LOT colder. Sporting one new tattoo from Grand Cayman. Not a tacky, flashy one. It's tasteful and I can cover it up so the kiddies don't see it--though two or three already know I have one; I got several text messages while I was in Key West interrogating me about my doings. Nosy kids, gotta love'm. Thus the cycle begins again. (Actually, I had already made a "to-do list" for today and tomorrow yesterday as we were waiting to disembark the ship--yes, I'm sad, I know). And today is my 29th birthday. How thoroughly anti-climactic. At least I have my taxes done. : ) And it's been SNOWING all day. I'm sorry, but what the CRAP? We've went from 95-degrees on Wednesday and a great tan, back to rain, sleet, snow and 31 degrees today. I think I lost part of my tan just coming back to this weather. Nah, it's not that bad. Gotta love the curve balls the weather throws at you; or at least a "Noreaster" or whatever they're calling this storm front. It makes life interesting.

I'll sign off now. Tune in later for pictures. Maybe I'll figure out how to post them from this dang Imac. We shall see...

A light at the end of the tunnel...Dedicated to La

2007-03-27T19:47:00.000-04:00

Dear La (affectionately known as Beverly),

I wish I had some profound words to say to you; I don't, I'd be lying if said I did. But, trust me, when I tell you "I know where you're at," I am being uncompromisingly honest. I remember that loooooong, unforgiving last stretch of my senior year....ah, the fact that I never have to return there is...refreshing. No, that's not fair, I don't want to make it sound that dreary, but I remember the feeling; leaving familiarity, yet at the same time looking forward to something new, college and the UNKNOWN, putting aside B-ville/UCHS drama in exchange for something...better? Change is frightening, and I know that's probably not your biggest fear, you've always performed well under pressure and changing circumstances. I've known you for quite some time so don't think for a second that I give into everyone else's preconceived, ill-founded notions about you. People are brutal and ignorant, as I told you in my text (hmm, this seems to be a presiding THEME in my blogs so far), and no one wants to look at their own mistakes without first taking a magnifying glass to everyone else's transgressions.

Yet, as you said in your text, there's still that little spark of apprehension (that's a good word) associated with the thought of "reliving high school." This one's the double edged sword: after all I've been through, learned, dealt with, and suffered through in life, I can without a doubt say that LIFE DOES GET BETTER AFTER HIGH SCHOOL. However, I can also say that there are day-to-day affairs in every walk of life (jobs, interactions with friends, relationships) that mimic a sort of high school mentality. You could be at UGA, Young Harris--heck, even YALE, for that matter--and life will throw you those ridiculous high school-esque situations. Now, though, YOU have the choice about how to respond to these. As you grow older and wiser, you will learn to pick your battles, overlook the petty stuff, and not spend a moment worrying about what makes absolutely no difference in the long-run. I know you may not see it now, but you will, I promise....

Oh, and FLEE, FLEE, FLEE from those who try to create drama! Those type of individuals are nothing but destructive to themselves and others around them. You will become a miserable person quickly by associating with those people.

You know I feel like I'm graduating with you all. That's corny, I know, but like I told you, I've known so many of you seniors for what seems like forever. It's a new beginning for all of us. What now? Pray. Trust God. Learn from your mistakes and don't repeat them again. Don't give in to moral compromise. Be strong. OWN YOUR FUTURE. With so many people for four years telling you to "do this and do that," of course we've made it frustrating. But, that's the territory that comes along with being labeled an (shall we say it!!??)...adult. Lauren, I've told you so many times in the past that you have a "good head on your shoulders:" you do. I mean that.

God put this on my heart, so here it all is, typos and all. Yet I am only one person in the world, so take it all with a grain of salt. I'll leave you with something from a much more reliable source... :)

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."
Psalm 32:8 NLT

I LOVE YA!!!!

To err is human...a rant on the paradoxes of public education

2007-03-26T00:18:00.000-04:00

First and foremost, BRAVO to my little brother for successfully getting the Mustang impounded this weekend. Yeah! Yep, I heard all about that fiasco already, and don't worry, your secret's safe with me! :p

Second, Jenette, THANKS for that beautiful post on the responsibilities and power struggles associated with effectivelty raising kids today. Well said...

Now, let me be honest: this year has been my "burnout' year as an educator. I've heard tales of this syndrome from others for a while now, but I never honestly thought it would happen to me. But, here I stand, in my sixth year of education, and I am just that: BURNT OUT. Does that mean I'm going to quit my adventures in the topsy-turvy world of public education? By all means, NO! My frame of mind may be due to the fact that I 1) "gave up" planning this year and stay til about 6 pm every day, 2) am ready to give this senior class their "bon voyage" because I've been with them for SIX YEARS and know them way, way too well, or 3) am simply tired of freshmen (already remedied that; I'm teaching seniors next year...)

Soooo, I've thought a lot lately about what I am doing in that classroom every day--affecting lives, shaping curriculum, molding the human thought process--for a group of kids with so much already on their plate. No, I cannot change what happens in students' homes each and every day/night; no, I cannot control and/or transform their jobs, their frustrations, their motivations. BUT, I can try to help them see how education can help transform their futures into something better, something worthwhile, something dynamic, something GENUINE. It makes me really sad, some of the situations I see on a day to day basis (hence, another possible reason for my burnout).

What am I to do with this sadness I tend to "butt heads with" on a day-to-day basis? Here's a quote. And an application. (Get used to it. This is how I teach, as well. Metaphors, allusions, and analogies masquerade as the greatest teaching tools in the world.)

"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn, “…is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails.” --from The Once and Future King

As I said in my first EXTREMELY POSITIVE BLOG, (:)) I am an idealist at heart. I like to believe in the good in people, to believe that we are all capable of making a positive impact on society; I love the old cliché that says, “It only takes one person to change the world.” (Alas, though, that thought seems more distant with each passing day...) So, like Merlyn tells King Arthur in the quote above, I believe that learning is something that all are capable of, something that never fails. But, as the viscious cycle rears its ugly head again, my adventures in the art of teaching, have somewhat indoctrinated me, for lack of a better term, into the unfortunately harsh realities and paradoxes of our world. What follows here are some conversational examples, followed by the realistic answers we should be ready to fire back with today (sans hurting some kid's already over-inflated self-image):

"You can be anything you want to be!" (Stop reinforcing false hopes in these kids! Achieving success involves hard work.)
"No, you can redo this and not get a zero." (Stop teaching kids it's NOT OK to fail; because IT IS!)
"You made a mistake...but it's ok. You can continue your absurd behavior." (Stop playing Russian roulette with your life and GROW UP.)
"You failed me in your class, Mrs. Krieger. That's not fair." (Take responsibility for your own education. Oh, and LIFE ISN'T FAIR!!!!)

See what I mean? Backwards logic. There's nothing logical about the relativism and feel-good-coddling-post-modernist education bull crap we wallow in today. These kids' sense of entitlement is messed up enough as it is.

Also, I love teaching literature; however, I am not naive enough to ever believe that every student who crosses my classroom's threshhold will absolutely fall in LOVE and sell out to Shakespeare. And, concerning my own failures as an educator, one of my favorite quotes in an educational "inspiration" book (you know, the ones they force you to read for your graduate degree) says,

"I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the joy….But at other moments, the classroom is so lifeless or painful or confused—and I am so powerless to do anything about it—that my claim to be a teacher seems a transparent sham. What a fool I was to imagine that I had mastered this occult art—harder to divine than tea leaves and impossible for mortals to do even passably well!"

I LOVE THAT.

So, in the end, who am I and why am I? Without using a lot of philosphical, educational jargon (which I loathe), as a teacher, I am a mixture of many modes of thinking about the aims, methods, and curriculum of education, the many experiences, both positive and negative, of my career; and no doubt my mantra will be molded into one that is less divided as I continue teaching. No grand epiphonies or moments of clarity here; I'm just expressing the same frustrations and asking the timeless questions we all ask in defiance of our evermore strange and bittersweet capitalistic society. Just like Merlyn in The Once and Future King, though, I firmly believe the mission of education is to learn and my job is to teach from the heart so that my students know that learning is the weapon; “the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.”

In the meantime, though, I will continue down the road toward that "just out of reach" idyllic view of our world, toward the old cliché of “It only takes on person to change the world’—I just may have to be satisfied that good results may only come one person—one student, one life-long learner—at a time. So help me God.

Cats and Soccer...because these subjects are...related...no, really!

2007-03-14T01:00:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to make up for the negative energy exerted in my previous post, I've been thinking today about two subjects that I love...my cats and SOCCER---excuse, me I mean FUTBOL! The REAL, ORIGINAL football, that is! :)

First, I am a cat person, and always have been. I spent many hours of my childhood playing with our "community cats," as we referred to them--no, they weren't necessarily yours, but you fed and loved them just the same. According to my grandmother and dad, I also liked to toss the cats off the porch by their tails...don't worry, no cats were harmed in the making of this blog. Besides, cats always land on their feet anyway, right?? ;)

Jon and I currently have two cats. Lilo and Stitch. Lilo thinks she's a dog (always "barking" and trying to get our attention, and she loves to flop over and have you rub her tummy) and Stich, well Stitch is calm most of the time, but she has a nervous twitch and she tends to go spastic whenever startled. As I encounter more students in a day's time who hate cats rather than like them, it's made me think for the last little bit about why people may not like cats. And I have a theory. I think many people dislike cats because feline behavior, at most times, mimics the behavior of human beings, typically that of stubborn, hard headed individuals who like things their way, and no other. Think: you spend what seems like ages singing, "Here kitty, kitty! Come on kitty..." And what does the cat do? Usually, they just sit there and look at you, like, "You're talkin' to me?" (I like to imagine them saying this like one of the Italian mafia family members in The Godfather. Try it! It makes it sound funnier!) And, cats are very territorial, very OCD (about being clean--like me!), and they are really into sleep. I am envious of the fact that my cats get to stay home all day and sleep. I'd like to trade places with them, just for one day, darn it...

So I have this joke I'd like to share; it's from Reader's Digest about three years ago, and it pretty much sums up a cat's mentality. And I do love dogs, too, but it's the cat here that gets me:

How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?

BORDER COLLIE: "I'll change that light bulb and fix any wiring that's not up to code while I'm at it."
SHEEP DOG: "What light bulb?"
LABRADOR RETRIEVER: "Oooh! Pick me! Pick me! I want to change the light bulb!"
ROTTWEILER: "Make me."

CAT: "Dogs don't change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So the question is, when can I expect some light around here?"

That cracks me up! Yes, I have a corny, juvenile sense of humor most times, but I also have a dry, highbrow British humour side of me that surfaces at times as well (anyone else enjoy reruns of "Keeping Up Appearances" and "Are You Being Served?" Smashing!).

On to soccer. I was solely inspired by my husband on this one. Before we were married, I knew absolutely ZILCH about the sport. I have since then been inundated with the lingo, rules, teams, leagues, players, and facts on most of the major soccer leagues in the world. Our fave is the English Premier League, watching Man U, Arsenal, and Chelsea, for instance. We also had to add a package to our monthly Dish Network bill so we can get FSC (Fox Soccer Channel) and all the Mexican soccer league channels. I dont understand a word they say---except "GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOALLLLLLLL!" That I know. :)

My life is fun. My students are always laughing at me, telling me I'm so funny and random. That's great! I never want to lose the love of life and laughing and transform into an expressionless, sour, indifferent individual. That's when I'll definitely know it's time to hang up my teaching hat, so to speak. Who cares if you look silly in front of a bunch of 14 and 15 year-olds? If they could only see themselves from where I stand.... :)

THE FIRST OFFICIAL SOAPBOX

2007-03-11T10:53:00.000-04:00

Well, well. Here I am. My students have asked me many times over the past year, "Krieger, why don't you have a MySpace page?" Huh. As if. I can't even IMAGINE the liability that could be involved with a HIGH SCHOOL teacher posting her face all over MySpace. The kids already know too much about me as it is. What I post here is probably nothing new to most of them. They hear me yacking about my life every day.

So why, I ask myself, am I now "breaking the proverbial rule" of professional privacy (for lack of a better term) and putting myself and my innermost thoughts on the web for the whole world to potentially see??? Let's see...have you ever had one of those weeks where it seems that every stupid person on the face of the planet, just perchance, seemed to travel your way? Alas, that's exactly what happened to me this past week. And for that reason, I have decided that I need an outlet for my own frustration with all the stupid people in the world. Hence this blog.

Granted, I am an optimist at heart, and I really, really HATE complainers. Yes, I know, shame on me. "Hate" is such a strong word. However, I created this blog so I could express my thoughts, and since thoughts are one of the most powerful human capacities in the world, I might as well be honest.

Back to the point. I hate complainers. But brace yourselves. This blog is FULL OF MY DEEPEST COMPLAINTS. Being around complainers and naysayers all week has turned me into my deepest enemy. See what you've done, stupid people??? Thanks a freakin lot! No really, I think I have just reached a point at which I must get all this off my chest. So, fair warning: for a first post, this is not a characteristically happy one. BEWARE: BLOG FULL OF DEEP SARCASM, APATHY, AND FREQUENT CURSING. So there, you've had your warning. I suspect this will be the only one where I am this negative. But this has to be. I feel it coming and I have to let it out. (Remember Linda Blair's projectile vomiting in The Exorcist? That's what the negative thoughts spewing forth in this blog remind me of. Sorry. I think in terms of odd metaphors and analogies.) And if it's funny, that's great, too. For what else can we do in times of frustration? We might as well laugh about it, or then we really could go postal.

Oh, and one more thing before I take the plunge. Thanks to Jenette, my sis-in-law, who is a blogger as well. I've been reading hers lately, and they are delightful, I must say. Her thoughts have inspired me. I hope as a newbie to this I can find the time to continue posting, but yet not let it consume my life, for it was Emerson that said, "Man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can leave alone." So. True.

Soo...
What do I hate in life? Let me count the things... (Shakespeare: turning over in his grave as we speak)

I hate it when people are jealous. Recently Jon (my hubby) and I were blessed enough to be able to buy a new house with a wonderful mountain view and plenty of space for "whatever" the future may bring. We love it, and because of many "things" that have happened in the past with our relationship, we felt this move was the right thing to do. We are happy. I grew up in a double-wide and my grandmother's 700 sq. ft. house, so I've always dreamt of having a big house. Nothing wrong with that. However, Jon and I have friends that I would really like to do more stuff with, but they will not come over. Always an excuse. I even heard that one of them had made the comment that our house is "overkill." That's uncalled for. I've almost given up, because I'd rather avoid someone than be around them if they make me feel bad. Plus, it's not like we bought this house to make anyone "jealous." That's ridiculous. In fact, the couple whom I speak of spend almost as much per month in CAR payments as we do on our new mortgage. I could say more about that...but it just gets me that people sometimes want what you have, but instead of showing that, they internalize those feelings through avoidance and silence. Me, on the other hand, I've decided to "turn over a new leaf" and try once more to invite them over. We'll see where it goes from there...

I hate it when people ask "So, when are you and Jon going to have kids?" This gets worse as the years go on. I'm 28, Jon's 31. Why, oh why, are people here so fixated on being in a hurry for us to have kids???? I have a 16-year-old in my 10th grade class who is pregnant, and it's hard enough for me to imagine HER being a mother, much less myself!!! I know tradionally in this community couples have children younger than most Northern communities (we have friends that lived in Maryland for two years and there people weren't starting to have kids till their mid 30s), but please! When (AND---gasp!---IF) we decide to have kids, I'll send around a news flash. Hell, I'll write it in the sky if I need to. This frustrates me so.

I HATE HATE HATE it when parents take no responsibility and/or issue no discipline for their child's behavior. We'll call this "Parent A," for name sake. Walking into a parent conference and making connections about who a student is related to (brothers, sisters, mom, dad, etc.) offers a moment of perfect clarity for a teacher. It's like, "Oh, well, that explains it all." However, in NO WAY, does familial relation excuse kids from being held responsible for their behavior. I've been in conferences NUMEROUS times in the past 6 years where the kid yells or speaks disrespectfully to mom, and I'm thinking, "No WONDER this kid is a little s**t! Look at the way you let her talk to you!" I would be on the floor if I ever talked to ANY of my family that way. Oh, and my favorite of all time: parent slides back from the table, throws hands in the air, and says, "I don't know what to do with (insert name here). I just can't handle him/her anymore." hmmm....I KNOW some things parents could do, but they wouldn't be appropriate to post here. This attitude of futility parents feel with their kids is fascinating to me. However, I am a firm believer that there are some people who should never procreate. Maybe they've just realized this a little too late. LOL. Teaching, and particularly parent conferences, have been great forms of birth control for me, you know.

I HATE it when overbearing parents ("Parent B") ground their kids for making an 89.98 in my honors English class instead of the "expected" 'A.' Good Heavens. Unlike the scenario above--portraying the "slacker" parent--this is the scenario with the "obsessive" parent. I always hear, "Well, he always made A's in middle school." Laughable. I can't even begin to highlight the differences between the middle school and high school curriculum and study habits, in general. And I don't mean that negatively toward middle school teachers, either. Believe me, I taught at the middle school level. It's just the level of critical thinking and work from middle to high school expectations is like comparing apples to oranges. And consider the "nature of the beast" in a adolescent, hormonal, drama-driven, hyperactive middle schooler. Ninth grade is a HUGE transition for them (which is why I think we need a 9th grade academy, but don't get me started, that's a whole 'nother post). THEN, add the honors expectations to that and the stakes are even higher. Most of my class of 28 have 'B's right now, AS THEY SHOULD. Anyway, this poor girl texts me this weekend, asking if I offer extra credit. Apparantly, her mom is ragging her over her 89.98. AND she's still #5 on my Top 5 list. What am I saying? I don't know, I guess that there has to be some happy medium for these parents and their unrealistic expectations of their kids. Someone please slap me if I ever turn out like a carbon copy of Parent A or B.

I HATE food snobs. I love the Food Network (I'm watching Sandra Lee and the rest of the Sunday morning lineup right now), but I just can't stand it when they make you feel guilty about the food you eat, the way you cook it, or the ingredients you use. I know, this one doesn't seem to fit into the other blurbs so far, but the fact that I've been brooding all week was not helped by some of the food snobs I watched on the Food Network. I guess they were all just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Like Giada, for instance. Food snob. Italian. Beautiful and skinny. Who cooks in the clothes she wears???? And Ina Garten. OMG. She's the worst of all. If I hear her tell me one more time that I need to make my own chicken broth instead of buying it canned...Oh, and does anyone else besides me want to throw something at the TV when Rachel Ray is on? HOW is she always so freakin peppy? Dunzo! Yummo! E.V.O.O.! Shoot me!

I hate that, in the push for testing and standards, we have forgotten about learning for learning's sake. I ask myself every week, "What happened to teaching?" Case in point. Our school did not meet AYP last year b/c of our "socioeconomically disadvantaged" subgroup's score on the "enhanced" math questions portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test (got that??). To make a long story short, our school has been focused almost solely this year on school improvement plans that are designed to raise our test scores. So, in order to improve our scores in every area, we have introduced this year a program called "The Blitz." Students at risk for failing one of the four subject areas of the GHSGT (math, science, social studies, lang. arts) have been identified and targeted to attend a two week "Blitz" on testing skills immediatly preceeding the test the last week of March. The catch? Teachers are being pulled out of the classes they teach in order to "teach" this Blitz. As if we don't have enough interruptions to academic time as it is. (I threw my phone in the floor the other day after it rang FOUR times in one period.) Tell me the logic behind taking an 11th grade lit. teacher out of her 11th grade lit. class in order to teach 11th grade lit. to another group of 11th graders??? Can you tell me? Didn't think so. Despite that, we're doing this every day, EVERY PERIOD for the next two weeks. Kids are being pulled from classes, and some are attending sessions all four periods per day for the whole two weeks. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't our education research say that cramming is counter-productive? I'll leave that one alone before I get myself in trouble...we better freakin meet AYP after all this!

I hate that kids these days listen to sucky music..and even worse, that they cannot identify good, solid, foundational music. We just finished a unit on Arthurian legends in my 10th lit. class, and after talking about the history of the Britons and how the warring Saxons came in with their Viking-esque, barbaric ways, I decided to play Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song" (illustrates that Viking mentality) and "The Battle of Evermore" (a ballad with references to Avalon, Arthurian elements, and LOTR, even). After trying to get them to shut up and listen, I finally gave up. They laughed at the music, laughed at Robert Plant's trademark vocals, even laughed at the lyrics. Sadness. At least some of them liked and recognized Journey. Jeez. What's the matter with me? Am I expecting too much? Maybe I'm just getting old...and most of the music keeps getting more crappy and predictable.

I hate it when other English teachers in my department correct me. Yes, I've ended several sentences here with prepositions. So sue me. Yes, I tend to use "me" as a subjective pronoun once in a while. Big deal. And who in the world thinks "I'm doing well" sounds right???? I'M GOOD, I don't know about you...We all end up laughing about it, but it is annoying, nontheless. I DARE any of them to write a critical analysis of Emily Dickenson's poetry compared to Emma Bovary's suicide notes as effectively as I did. Ha! Take that!

And most of all...I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE GENERALIZE. Biggest annoyance right now. This is the tangent that turned all my frustration into the landslide you see in this blog. I talked with someone this week who is thinking about moving away from Blairsville to a more Northern area. Nothing wrong with that. Here's what irked me: this person proceeded to explain that she wants her girls to "experience the real world" and be around culture, that "the kids here know nothing about real life." Hmmm. Just exactly what is "the real world?" And how can one lump all the kids in Union County into a pile of clueless, backwoods, naive miscreants? Last time I checked ANY community in the world deals with its own share of problems. Show me a community where kids don't bully one another. Show me a community where the kids don't harbor the racial and cultural indifference. And what the HELL is this whole comment about no culture??? The Appalachian culture is steeped in literature, art, and nuances unparalled by many! I've dealt with this attitude way too long. I have friends from high school who move away from Bville only to complain, complain, complain about how "utterly boring, backwards, and behind our town is." Well, how "utterly" tacky of them, I say. Move on. Generalizing an entire town of people into one lump sum is totally inaccurate! I love living here. However, I love visiting NYC, for instance, and I tend to like anywhere I visit. It doesn't take much to please me. I guess it goes back to that whole Emerson quote from the beginning of this post (yes, I know that seems like eons ago at this point! )...I also had a colleague (who moved here from Florida) make this ridiculous observation about the fact that kids around here drink: "Oh, it's the culture here; it promotes the drinking." She did NOT just say that! So, you mean to tell me that if I ask any teen in Blairsville why they drink, their first answer will be "Oh, well, it's the culture that promotes my silly behavior." Yesssss, that's what they'd say. Oh, and I forgot, kids in Florida and the rest of the U.S., or the world for that matter, don't drink! How utterly stupid of me to forget that!

So, there you go. You're probably thinking, "Man, she's angry!" Not really. I actually feel much better after all this. Like a clean slate. Thanks for sticking with me through all these random rantings, but, I swear, the stupid people really did me in this week. Feel free to comment. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time! ;)