Trying to Please Everyone

Here's an old lesson, rebooted...YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE.

I'm writing this more for myself than public review, but it bears repetition, anyway.

YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE.

(There, I repeated it.)

See, I thought class was swell today, but there were two (2) of twenty (20) who went away disgruntled, for they don't like my delivery, the pacing, the (sometimes admittedly too-) goofy delivery. They did not like the rushed group quiz (it was a GROUP quiz, for crying out loud, over content they'd been assigned to read in advance, that we'd just gone over in class). I even gave everyone the chance to go solo if they did not like the group guesses...AND these displeased people left EARLY, when they would have had another five minutes or so to revise/do on their own, etc...

But the point is, I remind myself, that I should get over those two and their petty snarkiness. I should brush it off. I should move on. It's not like I did not have technical difficulties today. It's not like I wasn't trying to cover weeks and weeks of content in one session...ENOUGH already. I should not be justifying this for any audience.

I should not fuss over it. I should take the good days and the bad. I should take the pleased students AND the impossible ones and throw them out the window about now, for it's time for me to punch the clock and go be a family man.

...so that's what I'm going to do.

...so there.

(ugh...it still bugs me.)

9 years ago...

Zacatecas, Mexico

Gadzooks--has it been that long?

I was awarded the opportunity to tour a Rotary district in Mexico. I was part of a GSE team, and the five of us had a whirlwind month-long tour of the northern states of Mx.

I guess I am thinking of the trip for several reasons...1)that nasty swine flu, 2)I keep gazing at my favorite pictures of the Rafael Coronel Museum of Masks, Zacatecas, and 3)it was just about this time 9 years ago that I was sick (literally) and tired of my tour, ready to come home.

Outside, the place is drop-dead stunning! If I could visit somewhere on earth again, that would be one of my stops, along with Victoria Falls and Petra.

It was wonderful...I'd toured ruins in England, and of course, I want to again, but the convent ruins-restored-into-museum...well, it was over-the-top. Inside, the facility is truly a museum of masks: See Pro pic of masks and Someone's flickr pic of masks ...and I found those engaging enough by themselves.

...man, I'd sure like to be wandering the grounds again, knowing that come evening, I was going to visit a mine-turned-disco (truly, 300 ft underground, in a cave--cRaZy!!) all over again.

Good times. I'm glad I still have something of a memory.

Obama on Education

In his 1st 100 days address, Obama just said, "The most important ingredient in education is the quality of our teachers. " He claims his administration will dedicate more resources toward "Training, professional development, recruitment of teachers..." He says we need to appoint master teachers, that we need to keep drawing from professional fields to classroom... (I like this next part, though it does not really apply to me) He says there must be an increase in teacher pay so more people will go into teaching...we must pay excellent teachers more. He went on to state that the single biggest ingredient in an education is the parent. The government cannot tell parents to shut off television and help kids do their homework. Parents must instill a thirst for knowledge and excellence.

I have my issues with trillion-dollar deficit spending. I am not one to be bribed, like so many who clamor for their piece of this stimulus package or that recovery plan...but I have to admit, I continue to like what he (at least) says about my field, education. Even more so, he acknowledges that you can have the best of everything at school, but if it's not reinforced at home, it ain't gonna fly. I continue, then, to like most of what he preaches, but I am not sold on how he puts it all into practice....at least not when it comes to spending money out of thin air.

Some of my colleagues have issue with merit pay, concern that those who compromise the system (like by teaching to the test) will be the ones who get the cookies. I have noticed a correlation between those who grouse around and those who are not too eager to work up a sweat in the classroom. I wander the halls of my college and see profs kicked back, feet on the desk, doing "lecture." Some instructors let class out so early it's hardly time for the tardy students to get there. Others claim it's okay to grade an essay after just skimming the first page! These are the same folks who usually gnash their teeth about merit pay, for I believe they know they would be smoked out. Those who do their best, who always strive to do even better--well, we never get weepy over merit pay.

I have always argued that the system is on its head, that celebrities, athletes, politicians, etc. all get paid too much. I've always argued against the entire concept of the career politician, even paid representation. Instead, homemakers (of either sex), teachers, and all manner of mentors to youth--they are founding our future. Instead of blowing so much money on bombs (or with this current administration...on EVERYTHING) we should concentrate our investments on tomorrow, that is, our youth, our homes.

So...from this one snippet of Big O's presentation today, he's headed in the right direction. I love to listen to him. I am wooed by his charm and rhetoric. Afterwards, I shake it off and begin questioning things, but I have to hand it to him, he has the best presence of an political figure I can recall. Dashing!

Under-prepared

...which is to say, NOT READY.

Driving to work today, I had to ford a wash over the county road I drive. The water was over the road for the length of a football field, and it appeared about 4 inches deep...well, that was a bit of an under-guesstimate, for it surged in under my doors as I crossed. Once on the other side, over the next hill, I discovered an utterly impassible wash that sent me backtracking, taking an alternate route (that was also partially submerged).

It reminded me that I live on the edge.

Not the edge of civilization, really. My whole route (even the alternate route) to work is paved.

I am referring to the edge of my seat, my pants, my sanity. I am on the cusp of something, the brink of something, the very lip of this chasm--

I am under-prepared for Hardship. If my car were to have stalled out, there I was in my dress shoes. If I run low on gas and there's been a raid on the stations, I'm running on empty. I did not eat breakfast this morning, so likewise, if civilization crashed right now, I'd go hungry. If the Internet were to blow a gasket, where would I be then? Unable to get this out!

More realistically, I have no provisions stored up. We have no fresh water in reserve. We have no goods to barter. I don't even own a generator (as last night's power outage reminded me, yet again.)

Even more realistically, there's this pandemic scare, and my household could not go into isolation if we wanted to. People in my house depend on their daily newspaper, their daily runs to the market, and god forbid a cell phone infrastructure collapse!

And last night, as winds raged and tornadoes threatened, I realized how very under-prepared we are even for tornado or fire. We have flashlights and a battery-powered radio, but that's it, and it took 1/2 an hour to get that stuff rounded up.

My grandmother used to make me pack blankets, candles, food, warm clothes--just to traverse Kansas in the winter--heck, even to go the 12 miles to our farm some winter days! She was always prepared for any eventuality. She had weathered the 30's, and she was one tough customer.

Mennonites and Mormons are always prepared. Some of those folks have told me a tenet of their faith is to have 2 months-worth of supplies and resources at hand, always. They are always among the first responders and disaster relief teams, too. You have to respect them for that--not only are they prepared, they help mop up for all us dopes who were not-so-at-the-ready.

Getting Prepared is a good goal. Being self-sustainable may be a long, long way off, but at least this early step seems achievable--and vitally important!

GUILTY--I made too many footprints

Well, it seems I have come full circle. Twenty years ago, I was of the camp that insisted on zero population growth. I read Future Shock and all the prognostications of too much breeding. I knew in my heart it was the responsible thing to do for the good of the planet--I was going to adopt children of developing nations, never bear my own. To reproduce was simply wrong, in my head at that time. Why make more babies when there are so many already here who are not being cared for, bursting the doors of orphanages and refugee camps? What gave me the right to put more pressure on the planet by making more and more carbon foot prints? Shame on anyone who even thought of such a thing.

Well, in about two weeks, I will be the father of four (4) children. That's quite the about-face, eh?

The whole issue was brought to my attention (of course) by the upcoming arrival of our #4. It has been also resurrected by a radio broadcast I heard on the subject. In that broadcast, the expert claimed that having only one or two children was the only patriotic thing to do. More would burden the system, our nation, and thus the world. It would make the good ol' USA seem gluttonous and inconsiderate of the plight of the planet. So, for ma, apple pie, and Chevrolet, get fixed today! I had not entertained the idea of reproduction in any political light prior to that drive-time broadcast.

Since then, I've been worried what might come of such talk. Will we be breeding for the State before long? Will we offer up our brood for the VolksLand? Will larger families be ostracized for their excess?

I realize that there are some (televised, I'm told) LARGE families that boggle the minds of many. Once one gets over a dozen (there are movies to this effect, like Cheaper by the Dozen) even I find it harder to explain or justify. I've heard all I ever want to hear about the infamous Octo-mom and related cases.

Here's the thing: I'm not one of those families. Yes, we have more than replaced ourselves. Yes, we are consuming more resources than we need to be. On the other hand, my kids, even at the age of two, are learning self-sufficiency. They are learning how food is made and how much work goes into it. They are also being exposed to the harsher realities of an uncomfortable planet where inequities in the food supply are hard to forgive. (When I was a kid, we had some mystical paradigm that suggested that if I cleaned my plate, it was better for starving kids in China.)

Is my larger-than-necessary family leaving a bigger carbon footprint than those who abide by the recommendations? Sure. I would argue, however, that they will tread lightly on the planet, maybe even contribute to the greater good of the planet, than many who have been carefully and more-conscientiously born and bred.

Rain

So, it's raining here in KS. It's now monsoon season, spring. Forecast says it's to rain virtually every day this week.

Some people dislike the rain, the mud...flooding. It inconveniences some folk; musses up the hair.

For me, however, there's nothing quite like it.
I grew up in Western Kansas, where all precipitation comes from the side, usually the north, not from the clouds. Rain was rare; when it did come, it was revered. There's nothing quite as exhilarating as the fresh smell of rain. My grandma told the story how that during the '30's they would sometimes pour a pitcher of water on the dusty driveway, then bend over and inhale that sweet smell they'd been so-long separated from.

There's a lot to be said for growing up in a desolate, barren place like SW KS. It makes me appreciate the little things, like, say: other people, trees, and especially rain! I'm always more happy when it's cloudy, raining, soggy. To me, rain means life, liveliness, and (as a wanna be farmer) livelihood.

I have been known to go for a walk in the rain. I've ran naked in the rain. I like to catch rain drops in my mouth. What's more pure, more quenching, than fresh rain?

Alas, it escapes me...
Out at my mom's place there's a 500 gallon tank that once held well water (in my grandfather's day). The tank is still sound, though I'd have it professionally rehabbed and cleansed before using it. I'd like to have that to pump full of well water AND to capture rainwater. I could easily water my whole property (and future livestock) from that tank, if only she'd let it go.

Meanwhile...
I like the sound of rain. I like to watch it rain. I like the patter and patterns of rain on a window. (I wish I had a window in my office!) I like songs about rain. Rain, like food, is an old, powerful word...

rain
O.E. regn, from P.Gmc. *regna- (cf. O.S. regan, O.N. regn, O.Fris. rein, M.Du. reghen, Ger. regen, Goth. rign "rain"), with no certain cognates outside Gmc., unless it is from a presumed PIE *reg- "moist, wet," which may be the source of L. rigare "to wet, moisten" (cf. irrigate). The verb is O.E. regnian, usually contracted to rinan. Transf. and fig. use of other things that fall as rain (blessings, tears, etc.) is recorded from c.1200. Rainbow is O.E. renboga (common Gmc. compound, cf. O.N. regnbogi, Du. regenboog, see bow (n.)). Raindrop is O.E. rendropa; first record of raincheck is from 1884, originally of tickets to rained-out baseball games. Raincoat attested from 1830. Rainmaker first recorded 1775, in ref. to tribal magicians. Phrase to rain cats and dogs is attested from 1738 (variation rain dogs and polecats is from 1652), of unknown origin, despite intense speculation. One of the more idiotic assertions is that it refers to pets sliding off sod roofs when the sod got too wet during a rainstorm. Ever see a cat react to a rainstorm by climbing up on an exposed roof? To rain on (someone's) parade is attested from 1941.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

Rainmaker is one of my favorite words/concepts, from the very sound of it to every connotative meaning it may pack.

Listening to: "Have you ever seen the rain" by CCR.

Stranger than Fiction

I've now watched this film something like 17 times (sometimes not too attentively) through class, etc. Repetition does not make me an expert, but it does likely make me fairly familiar with the film.

What strikes me is that I am still affected emotionally by it. I know it's a bit hammy and heavy handed. I know that Will Ferell is an unlikely actor to carry a romantic comedy. I know the message is Hollywood drivel. Regardless, it still gets me.

Likely this is because I'm such a sucker for high concept movies. While others poo poo them out of the blocks, I default to being their champion until proven otherwise. I like a movie with a premise that surprises me. (Yes, I am aware that STF does not offer a premise that has never been proposed before. Like thrift store clothing, though, it was new to me.) I like a movie that makes me pause to consider, especially if that pause is right in the wake of the initial surprise of circumstance/premise.

If I can just ride the tide of a film, then I am typically bored by it. SOMETHING has to jump out at me via acting, characters, plot, even the setting/situation can stir me...but if I leave the theatre or couch w/o being affected, I never recommend the film to anyone.

"Being affected" is a nebulous criteria, I realize. Something happens across my synapses, some "wow" response is stimulated. I am (at the least) led to say 'hmmmmmm' and at the most immediately evangelizing the film to all I know.

Sometimes I enjoy a toe-to-toe slugfest with someone who may criticize a film I like. This is something I really relish when it's a film I am really behind: Serenity, Pirates of the C...., and now, more and more, Stranger than Fiction.

At the very least, I recommend it. Give it a view.

Humor

I'm a founder of the campus creative writing club, and we generate new assignments weekly...last week I was tasked w/historical fiction. This week we are to craft something humorous.

Comedy has always evaded me. Next to poetry, I find it about the hardest thing in the world to write. Part of the problem is that humor is relative. Fart jokes work in middle school (and on sophomoric radio talk shows) and knock-knock jokes work on my kindergartener...

...and then I try to think of a timeless bit of humor, something that might still get a chuckle one hundred years from now. THAT's really challenging!

I am taking ideas, if anyone has any.

April Fool's Day

Why do I like this "holiday" anyhow? Maybe it's empowering, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that I get to let my fun side out some, I guess.

Today's jests included:
shut off hot water heater
turned up house thermostat
advanced clocks 2 hrs
toilet seat goo
hid the newspaper
keyboard retardation trick
turned several optical mice blind
punked my entire class, twice
and more to come.

I'm going to think up some for my little boys yet today, to get them in the spirit of things. I'm sure my family is cooking up something for me, too.

I used this in class today as a hoax website example. Fun. Fun. Fun.