I learned many things at Central (yeah, and you thought only the kids learn in school- wrong!). But one of the best things I acquired was my love of Luther Vandross' music.
Fridays are always hectic in a school. Teachers were testing, kids would be going out of town, there are hundreds of different activities happening-- from athletics to the arts-- the weekend was in sight. Fridays are just plain busy. On Fridays, Tricia Hall would keep a "Luther" CD playing in the front office-- he would calm all of us as he sang softly. Luther kept us cool. He crooned us into believing that life was just as smooth as his voice was. If Luther said that it would be okay....we knew he wouldn't lie to us....it would be okay.
Luther kept us in a good mood. The music was so soft that most people couldn't hear it, but we knew every word of every song and it kept us moving towards 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00....the end of the day. A House is Not a Home, Dance with My Father, Always and Forever....those melodies and words flowed through our souls and we kept a smile on our faces. And we got our work done with a lightness to our step.
Tomorrow is Friday-- yep, Luther will be singing softly in the background of my life....For Always and Forever.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
And to think that I heard that from Mulberry Street
And to Think that I Heard That From Mulberry Street.......$350,000. WOW! That's a chunk of change, isn't it?
Sorry, Dr. Seuss...I had to rework your title. If half of what I have heard from the "street committee" is true, Bibb County Public Schools are in deep doo. I care. I loved my jobs in the Bibb County Schools. I loved my students, my teachers, my friends, my coworkers. However, currently there's a feeling of malaise radiating throughout the entire county.
I have stayed clear of writing about the mess in Bibb County intentionally. I might want to work again someday in the land of education. It seems like it's a bad sorority rush down there-- you do something to hack people off and Shazam.....you're in the douche room and you're never going to be successful. It doesn't matter if you are a successful professional, if you aren't singing on the same page of the hymnal, you will be encouraged to find a new church.
BUT, that being said, I have a few things to say as a Bibb County taxpayer, which I still am.
1. I want children to be able to learn and teachers to be able to teach. Rudeness is NOT a disability.
2. Teachers should not have to buy their own supplies. EVER.
3. English teachers need to have classes so that they can require their students to write frequently. If you have 100 students and assign 100 essays, and it takes 30-45 minutes outside of class to grade each one of those papers, it just doesn't work. The teacher must have time to teach-- and that includes meaningful responses to the writings of a student, rewriting, more messages, the writing process!
4. School requires students to put in some effort. Learning requires listening, thinking, and remembering. My own favorite is when 2 ninth graders came to complain to the principal (me) that their teacher said that George Bush was the president. They had learned in the 4th grade that George was KING. They weren't really convinced that the teacher and I were telling them the truth until I showed them a picture of George W. with the word PRESIDENT under his picture on the Internet (everything on the Internet is true). I tried to explain that George was a popular name.
5. School is not always fun. If it was fun, it would be called a carnival.
6. A system cannot and SHOULD NOT spend money it doesn't have.
7. If you work in a school system, anywhere, you should become a member of that "community". You should pay property taxes, go to church, shop, go to dinner, register your auto, and become a member of that state. Football games, mock trial, choral programs, plays....your smiling face needs to be seen.
8. Fear and intimidation work wonders during a recession. I really understand how rule by terror works.
9. Just answer me one thing. WHAT has been successfully completed in the past two years? We have projects halfway completed, ideas and programs started and abandoned, people hired, fired, and promoted to positions far past their knowledge base of law, rules, regulations, and common sense. I voted on the past ESPLOST especially for a building to replace Heard Elementary-- now where is it?
10. I worry about the privatization of the system in the areas of maintenance and transportation. I still remember the fiasco with Laidlaw.
11. A skunk smells his own scent first.
12. I don't think the media makes things up. They report what's happening. It is more of a narrative than a persuasive venue. I also believe that the "sunshine laws" were passed for the betterment of society. I have lived with Bill for too long to think that the media just goes halfway in research. Seriously, they don't make things up!
I know. I know. I should "stay in my lane" but I can't. I see a board divided. I see families running for the hills. I see the infastructure of our town and county eroding.
Time for me to teach a little bit: Maslow [(who really was a great psychologist) (and I'm really simplifying this)] proved that if a child didn't "trust", the child would not be able to learn and become a productive adult. We are there. Bibb County is at a stalemate. Teachers walk with their heads down, principals won't make eye contact, and everyone is blaming everyone else.
Who do you trust? $350,000 is lots of money. I hope we have learned something about ourselves and our community. It is time to move forward together.
Sorry, Dr. Seuss...I had to rework your title. If half of what I have heard from the "street committee" is true, Bibb County Public Schools are in deep doo. I care. I loved my jobs in the Bibb County Schools. I loved my students, my teachers, my friends, my coworkers. However, currently there's a feeling of malaise radiating throughout the entire county.
I have stayed clear of writing about the mess in Bibb County intentionally. I might want to work again someday in the land of education. It seems like it's a bad sorority rush down there-- you do something to hack people off and Shazam.....you're in the douche room and you're never going to be successful. It doesn't matter if you are a successful professional, if you aren't singing on the same page of the hymnal, you will be encouraged to find a new church.
BUT, that being said, I have a few things to say as a Bibb County taxpayer, which I still am.
1. I want children to be able to learn and teachers to be able to teach. Rudeness is NOT a disability.
2. Teachers should not have to buy their own supplies. EVER.
3. English teachers need to have classes so that they can require their students to write frequently. If you have 100 students and assign 100 essays, and it takes 30-45 minutes outside of class to grade each one of those papers, it just doesn't work. The teacher must have time to teach-- and that includes meaningful responses to the writings of a student, rewriting, more messages, the writing process!
4. School requires students to put in some effort. Learning requires listening, thinking, and remembering. My own favorite is when 2 ninth graders came to complain to the principal (me) that their teacher said that George Bush was the president. They had learned in the 4th grade that George was KING. They weren't really convinced that the teacher and I were telling them the truth until I showed them a picture of George W. with the word PRESIDENT under his picture on the Internet (everything on the Internet is true). I tried to explain that George was a popular name.
5. School is not always fun. If it was fun, it would be called a carnival.
6. A system cannot and SHOULD NOT spend money it doesn't have.
7. If you work in a school system, anywhere, you should become a member of that "community". You should pay property taxes, go to church, shop, go to dinner, register your auto, and become a member of that state. Football games, mock trial, choral programs, plays....your smiling face needs to be seen.
8. Fear and intimidation work wonders during a recession. I really understand how rule by terror works.
9. Just answer me one thing. WHAT has been successfully completed in the past two years? We have projects halfway completed, ideas and programs started and abandoned, people hired, fired, and promoted to positions far past their knowledge base of law, rules, regulations, and common sense. I voted on the past ESPLOST especially for a building to replace Heard Elementary-- now where is it?
10. I worry about the privatization of the system in the areas of maintenance and transportation. I still remember the fiasco with Laidlaw.
11. A skunk smells his own scent first.
12. I don't think the media makes things up. They report what's happening. It is more of a narrative than a persuasive venue. I also believe that the "sunshine laws" were passed for the betterment of society. I have lived with Bill for too long to think that the media just goes halfway in research. Seriously, they don't make things up!
I know. I know. I should "stay in my lane" but I can't. I see a board divided. I see families running for the hills. I see the infastructure of our town and county eroding.
Time for me to teach a little bit: Maslow [(who really was a great psychologist) (and I'm really simplifying this)] proved that if a child didn't "trust", the child would not be able to learn and become a productive adult. We are there. Bibb County is at a stalemate. Teachers walk with their heads down, principals won't make eye contact, and everyone is blaming everyone else.
Who do you trust? $350,000 is lots of money. I hope we have learned something about ourselves and our community. It is time to move forward together.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Ink or not to Ink? That is the Question
I am not scared of pain. I could give a shit if I howl or cry or bite on a towel while writhing in agony.
I worry about it looking "icky".
My inside wrist longs for a Mike Weaver *V*. Small, simple. A tribute to my first son, second child.
But......all I can think of is Dixie Foster. Dixie was a parent of one of my 4th grade students back in the 1980s.
During a parent/teacher conference, Dixie explained how she had scratched her name into her knuckle--D-I-X-I-E with a protractor in math class. Then she went to an art room and poured a bottle of India ink all over the open wounds. Immediately, Dixie had her own permanent tattoo. (No, I don't know why people tell me things like this. They just do. People are magnetically drawn to me to tell me weird things. AND I am programmed to listen and remember.)
It was a scary, jagged mixture of pure mean and artful stupidity. It looked like white trash come to town. The ink had bled randomly into the surrounding skin.
I like tattoos that are fine-lined and precise. I love the stories behind body art. I like seeing a random star on a stranger's ear lobe--there's a story there. I ask. I do. And people tell me the "whys" behind their pictures. They tell me with the wild abandon of someone who will never see me again. I don't judge. I just listen.
My *V* would be a reminder to the world that I am missing someone on a daily basis. Visible, small, discrete-- my act of love.
Bill told me he'd get me some Sharpie markers and I could tattoo myself all I wanted in a non-permanent manner.
I'd probably draw a mustache on my finger and go around holding my finger under my nose.
I worry about it looking "icky".
My inside wrist longs for a Mike Weaver *V*. Small, simple. A tribute to my first son, second child.
But......all I can think of is Dixie Foster. Dixie was a parent of one of my 4th grade students back in the 1980s.
During a parent/teacher conference, Dixie explained how she had scratched her name into her knuckle--D-I-X-I-E with a protractor in math class. Then she went to an art room and poured a bottle of India ink all over the open wounds. Immediately, Dixie had her own permanent tattoo. (No, I don't know why people tell me things like this. They just do. People are magnetically drawn to me to tell me weird things. AND I am programmed to listen and remember.)
It was a scary, jagged mixture of pure mean and artful stupidity. It looked like white trash come to town. The ink had bled randomly into the surrounding skin.
I like tattoos that are fine-lined and precise. I love the stories behind body art. I like seeing a random star on a stranger's ear lobe--there's a story there. I ask. I do. And people tell me the "whys" behind their pictures. They tell me with the wild abandon of someone who will never see me again. I don't judge. I just listen.
My *V* would be a reminder to the world that I am missing someone on a daily basis. Visible, small, discrete-- my act of love.
Bill told me he'd get me some Sharpie markers and I could tattoo myself all I wanted in a non-permanent manner.
I'd probably draw a mustache on my finger and go around holding my finger under my nose.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Vanishing Tummy? I need a "Get Rid of Your Gut"
I just saw a super thin model on tv modeling some cute little black panties. It was a advertisement for panties that helped hold in your tummy. The ironic part of this ad was the model didn't have a tummy. She had visible hip bones.
I need "panties" that push my gut to the bottoms of my feet. I would be ten inches taller and willowy. Now, that would sell.
It would be difficult to find shoes, though.
I need "panties" that push my gut to the bottoms of my feet. I would be ten inches taller and willowy. Now, that would sell.
It would be difficult to find shoes, though.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Ewe's not Fat, Ewe's Fluffy
I crept into the Wellness Center for the first time two weeks ago. BJ Dumas, former Central Biology teacher extratorinaire, told me I had to come to senior yoga. It's yoga with a chair. She told me I'd like it and that I could do it. If you know BJ, it wasn't a request. It was an order. And I'm glad I did.
These folks are serious about getting me healthy. My physical assessment was last week. I have many pounds of fat on my body. I told Brian it was pure butter. FYI--I could butter many baked potatoes....shoot, if I lived in Iowa....they could carve a butter cow out of my fat. (Note: I love the butter cow. Look it up. The butter cow is part of the Iowa State Fair. It's a tradition.)
I've led a very sedentary life. I watch athletics. I don't do athletics. I really love to watch other people do athletic things. I knit. I cook. I read. I don't do athletics. So, here I go into the world of sweat, BMI, and heart rate.
I have learned how to "do" three cardiac- type machines. Bill asked me their names when I got home. I said, "Betty, Sunshine, and Boom-Boom." Names? I was so nervous walking in front of people, I have no idea what their names are. I almost fell off the elliptical....I watched the Food Network while riding the recumbent bike....and the other machine....heck, I just kept working and thinking that at my speed it would take me two days to work off one Snicker candy bar.
I do love the yoga class. It is fun. The music is beautiful. And I can tell my balance is getting better. I can truthfully recommend yoga to everyone. It would certainly be easier if I knew my right from my left. I spend a lot of time switching my stance, my arms, my position. It seems like I'm up when everyone else is down.
I have been walking daily. I am going to yoga. I am watching what I eat by Weight Watchers standards. And I know how to "do" three machines.
This week I learn some of the strength machines.
I go back to the knee doctor on April 1. Does anyone think that's funny besides me? April Fool's Day?
Namaste.
These folks are serious about getting me healthy. My physical assessment was last week. I have many pounds of fat on my body. I told Brian it was pure butter. FYI--I could butter many baked potatoes....shoot, if I lived in Iowa....they could carve a butter cow out of my fat. (Note: I love the butter cow. Look it up. The butter cow is part of the Iowa State Fair. It's a tradition.)
I've led a very sedentary life. I watch athletics. I don't do athletics. I really love to watch other people do athletic things. I knit. I cook. I read. I don't do athletics. So, here I go into the world of sweat, BMI, and heart rate.
I have learned how to "do" three cardiac- type machines. Bill asked me their names when I got home. I said, "Betty, Sunshine, and Boom-Boom." Names? I was so nervous walking in front of people, I have no idea what their names are. I almost fell off the elliptical....I watched the Food Network while riding the recumbent bike....and the other machine....heck, I just kept working and thinking that at my speed it would take me two days to work off one Snicker candy bar.
I do love the yoga class. It is fun. The music is beautiful. And I can tell my balance is getting better. I can truthfully recommend yoga to everyone. It would certainly be easier if I knew my right from my left. I spend a lot of time switching my stance, my arms, my position. It seems like I'm up when everyone else is down.
I have been walking daily. I am going to yoga. I am watching what I eat by Weight Watchers standards. And I know how to "do" three machines.
This week I learn some of the strength machines.
I go back to the knee doctor on April 1. Does anyone think that's funny besides me? April Fool's Day?
Namaste.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Naughty but Hilarious
My post on Saturday morning:
Do you remember smelling fresh dittos? This takes me back to my first year of teaching.
Do you remember smelling fresh dittos? This takes me back to my first year of teaching.
Late morning I received this message from a dear friend who teaches school in the midwest:
- Saturday
Friday, February 1, 2013
Random Thoughts About School
I examine my professional life in my head.
1. I haven't ever had a bonus since 1969 when Father Beelner gave me an extra ten dollars during Holy Week for playing the organ five days in a row for services.
2. Recess teaches kids how to get along. I remember playing hard so we could work hard. It wasn't organized. That was the point. You could make friends and have fun. "Run hard so you'll be ready to work."
3.. Lesson plans seem like play writing. And you have to write 180 plays a year.
4. Wouldn't it be interesting if teachers had a draft like the NFL? Then you could judge me on the type of scores my students achieve. I would pick the kids who would compliment each other. I wouldn't take the "top"-- I'd take the ones that needed a friend.
5. One year I had a very immature group of 4th graders. As a group they couldn't remember if we stayed inside for tornado drills or went outside? It was the same for fire drills-- inside or outside? I did teach them the difference. Thank you, Jesus!
6. My favorite part of working with students was teaching them the love of reading.
7. Some people just don't like school. Some of the people are teachers.
8. Most high school kids don't come to school for the academics. If they learn something, it's icing on the cake of life.
9. Pep rallies can be fun. Or they can be the worse hour of the week. Heck, they can be the worse hour of the year....or they can be the best.
10. Good kids sometimes do really stupid things.
11. When a parent tells a principal that their child would never lie to them, the correct response from the principal is to ask sweetly, "Did you ever lie to your parents?" AND lift one eyebrow.
12. I've never met a kid that didn't hope that "this would be their year."
13. Some teachers have a better communication network than the FBI, the Underground Railroad, the CIA, mafia......his name is David Ruff.
14. An initial investigation is only about half accurate.
15. Making high school kids go to school so early isn't good for anyone. Those little kids like getting up early. High school should run from 10 am until 5 pm. You could have Zombie High from 10 pm until 5 am.
16. I'm an equal opportunity "arrestor"....let the courts decide. I didn't go to law school. Crimes committed on Friday afternoons get double punishment.
17. Parents don't keep the good kids at home. They send us the best they got.
18. Bullies are the sneakiest people with which to deal.
19. Whenever a student threatened to get me in trouble, I would give them my business card and wish them luck.
20. There's nothing better as a principal than watching your seniors march in for graduation....unless it's watching the 9th graders come to the first day of high school.
Just saying.
1. I haven't ever had a bonus since 1969 when Father Beelner gave me an extra ten dollars during Holy Week for playing the organ five days in a row for services.
2. Recess teaches kids how to get along. I remember playing hard so we could work hard. It wasn't organized. That was the point. You could make friends and have fun. "Run hard so you'll be ready to work."
3.. Lesson plans seem like play writing. And you have to write 180 plays a year.
4. Wouldn't it be interesting if teachers had a draft like the NFL? Then you could judge me on the type of scores my students achieve. I would pick the kids who would compliment each other. I wouldn't take the "top"-- I'd take the ones that needed a friend.
5. One year I had a very immature group of 4th graders. As a group they couldn't remember if we stayed inside for tornado drills or went outside? It was the same for fire drills-- inside or outside? I did teach them the difference. Thank you, Jesus!
6. My favorite part of working with students was teaching them the love of reading.
7. Some people just don't like school. Some of the people are teachers.
8. Most high school kids don't come to school for the academics. If they learn something, it's icing on the cake of life.
9. Pep rallies can be fun. Or they can be the worse hour of the week. Heck, they can be the worse hour of the year....or they can be the best.
10. Good kids sometimes do really stupid things.
11. When a parent tells a principal that their child would never lie to them, the correct response from the principal is to ask sweetly, "Did you ever lie to your parents?" AND lift one eyebrow.
12. I've never met a kid that didn't hope that "this would be their year."
13. Some teachers have a better communication network than the FBI, the Underground Railroad, the CIA, mafia......his name is David Ruff.
14. An initial investigation is only about half accurate.
15. Making high school kids go to school so early isn't good for anyone. Those little kids like getting up early. High school should run from 10 am until 5 pm. You could have Zombie High from 10 pm until 5 am.
16. I'm an equal opportunity "arrestor"....let the courts decide. I didn't go to law school. Crimes committed on Friday afternoons get double punishment.
17. Parents don't keep the good kids at home. They send us the best they got.
18. Bullies are the sneakiest people with which to deal.
19. Whenever a student threatened to get me in trouble, I would give them my business card and wish them luck.
20. There's nothing better as a principal than watching your seniors march in for graduation....unless it's watching the 9th graders come to the first day of high school.
Just saying.
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