Do what I say, not what I do

9 May 2007, 12:24 pm by Giggles
Categories: Education

Education classes can be so incredibly frustrating at times. I’ve attended lectures about how not to lecture because it is not an effective means of teaching. I’ve had lessons that weren’t engaging on how to engage students. And one of my favorites, although I’m sure it is not confined to education, I’ve found myself disagreeing with the philosophy of a paper and being told I didn’t understand it and that I just need to read it again.

I have been in classes where we talked about creating a classroom environment where people feel safe sharing and how important that is for effective teaching and learning. And I have then watched as one student is attacked to the point where they leave the room almost in tears. Kind of makes the lesson seem hypocritical. That student never shared anything in the class again, and neither did many of the others who watched it. Nobody wants to ask a question of a teacher who can make you feel like your’s was the most stupid question ever asked. Although it is amazing to watch how fast they were able to do that.

I have had some amazing teachers during my education. I have been in classes that really challenged me and that changed how I look at things and made a difference for me. But every now and then I get one of those teachers or classes that just makes me shake my head and wonder.

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Heavenly Hot Dogs

9 May 2007, 11:58 am by Giggles
Categories: Happy Things, Random

Every now and then I really want a hot dog, and not just any hot dog, but a pressed one from the street vender Dog do Ceu in the Bacacheri neighborhood in Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil. Those, as the name might imply, were from heaven.

You might be asking what makes their hot dogs so much better than any other hot dog. And that’s a reasonable question. One I will gladly answer.

For starters, it isn’t just a hot dog. The bun has to be the size of our hoagie buns here to get everything in it. You start with a hot dog, just a regular one. Nothing too special about it. But then you add a tomato sauce that is just so much better than ketchup for a hot dog. Put on some shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, lettuce, potato strips like the kind you top a salad with, cheese, corn. With everything inside the bun, you put the whole thing on a flat waffle type thing except without the waffle texture stuff, just two flat heated metal things, and you press the whole thing flat.

It was absolutely delicious. The cart would come out on the corner about the time of sunset, and after discovering their goodness, I came up with all kinds of reasons we needed to stop and get one on our way home. The other hot dogs I had down there were good, but really didn’t compare to those. I’ve fixed them a few times since coming home. It is a lot of work for a hot dog, but the results are so worth it.

2 Shared thoughts

I have been changed for good.

27 April 2007, 1:50 pm by Giggles
Categories: Education, Happy Things, Life, Work

The Fifth Grade Traveling Show was yesterday. I love that show. It has been a high point of the year for me since I started working at Mt. Mahogany. It is amazing what those kids are able to do. And it always humbles me how much work the fifth grade teachers put into that show. They couldn’t do it without all the parents who volunteer though. It really is a great production. Other than the year they had me be a dancing hot dog, my role in the show has simply been to make a few DVDs that are shown during the show. I started with digital photos of the different classes put together, but the last few years I’ve used the digital camcorder and filmed various things throughout the year and made a year in review type movie for it. In the past, I have also been the one running the computer and the projector that the DVDs are played on.

This year we added a second computer and projector that had a power point of pictures of the various singers and narrators that was projected up on the wall so that people in the back of the room could see what the kids looked like. And this year, a student ran both projectors and both computers. He did a great job too. I was real impressed with him. It felt good to not be needed for that.

The Traveling Show is one of my favorite things of the year. And watching it this year I again wondered how I will ever be able to leave it all. How will I be able to leave my students? The fifth graders this year were my first graders when I started. I’ve watched them grow and I couldn’t be prouder of them. How will I be able to leave the teachers I work with? They’ve watched me grow and I think of them all as my friends. Things change and I know it won’t be possible for me to stay there forever.

The last dance of the program this year was a ballet to the song “For Good” from the musical Wicked. I have issues with that musical, but I felt the song was very appropriate for me right now. Because I knew you: I have been changed for good. Because I’ve been at this school, I have been changed for good.

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Mr. Rogers

26 April 2007, 12:13 pm by Giggles
Categories: Random, Science & Tech, Work

When I got to work today I did something that reminded me of Mr. Rogers. And I do it almost every morning too.

The temperature in my classroom is a strange thing. It is never a constant. Having 30 computers running will do that. My room can be very warm and very chilly, all on the same day. So I keep a cardigan on the back of my chair that all year long.

I got to work this morning, turned on the lights, woke up my computer, took my coat off and immediately put on the cardigan. And the very next thing I did was think that it was just like what Mr. Rogers would do at the very beginning of every show. And then I thought that I needed to blog about it because it was weird. So now I’m blogging about it. And when I leave work, I’ll put the cardigan back on my chair and grab my coat.

1 Shared thought

“Normal” People

22 April 2007, 4:22 pm by Giggles
Categories: Family, Learn Something, Questions, Random

I remember my dad telling me on countless occasions that I needed to sleep when normal people sleep. The last few days have been Spring Break at work so I’ve been able to get back on “my” schedule. I was talking with someone about night owls and early birds at the fabric store, and she too thought that I wasn’t “normal” in when I slept. So I’ve started asking around. Normal should be what the majority of people do, yes?

So far, out of 25 people surveyed, only 4 claim to be morning people. I know this sampling is small, and I will continue to look into the issue. But as it stands right now, I think I’m the normal one.

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How do you recognize death?

21 April 2007, 2:08 pm by Giggles
Categories: Life

Do you take “any” news of death the same as a tragic event that is closer to home? Does one affect you more than the other? Are there any specific reasons for your reactions? This question was posed recently elsewhere on the web. I had to think about it.
This is what I came up with.

I know I don’t react to all acts of violence the same. I am sad that there are people in the world who suffer and die. But school violence and school shootings always get to me more. I have spent 24 of the last almost 29 years in school in one form or another, and I don’t see me leaving the school environment any time soon, just changing how I participate in it again.

When Columbine happened I was working on my education classes for my under-grad degree. I remember knowing that if I were ever in that situation I would put myself between my students and the gun without even a moment’s hesitation. And that scared me, because at that point I hadn’t even been in a classroom. I know there are a lot of mothers who would say the same thing about their children, but they are mothers. I’m just a teacher. And yet I know that there are about 1,200 young children in this world currently that I would stand in front of a gun for. They are my kids and I would do anything I could for them.

So when someone else’s “kids” are hurt like this in a place that has often been my sanctuary, when the sacred halls of learning are violated like this, it hurts me and takes something out of me, even when I wasn’t there.

School violence affects me more because it is an environment with which I am familiar and that I hold dear to my heart. I can relate to it.

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Hokie Hope

20 April 2007, 1:20 pm by Giggles
Categories: Life

Virginia Tech family members from across the country have united to declare this Friday, April 20th, an “Orange and Maroon Effect” day in honor of those killed in the tragic events on campus Monday and to show support for VT students, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni and friends.

“Orange and Maroon Effect” was born several years ago as an invitation to Tech fans to wear orange and maroon to Virginia Tech athletic events.

Everyone from over the country is invited to be a part of the Virginia Tech family this Friday, to wear orange and maroon to support the families of those that were lost and to support the school and community.

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