There's an old saying that we teachers love because it's true that goes something like this: "The three best reasons for being a teacher are June, July and August!"
Sadly, in this day and age, summers don't really last all three months anymore; however, we still get the majority of that time off from school. Thank the good Lord for that! Hallelujah and Amen! The people who like to bitch and give us a hard time about all our "free time" should be very happy that we get that time off as well; otherwise, the loony bins all over the country would fill up fast with teachers losing their minds.
We need those summers to regain our sanity after a school year spent cooped up with children. Don't get me wrong, I adore my students, but I only continue to adore them because I get to spend time AWAY from them. As they say, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."
Every time I hear a politician or simply a whiny parent who doesn't really want the job of truly parenting his kid complaining that schools need to run year round, I want to whap that person upside the head and say, "Are you out of your flipping mind?"
Not only do teachers need summers as down time away from the students, we also need them as down time away from administrators and from the parents of the students. Sadly, the parents are usually more problematic than even the worst behaving kids. We need to get away and first unwind from a stressful year and then reconnect with ourselves because we lose ourselves to the needs of our students and our schools during the year, and then finally we need to rediscover why we want to teach.
Yep, every single summer we spend at least a day or two or perhaps the whole damn summer thinking about why we want to teach. Face it, we're highly underpaid, we don't get the respect we truly deserve and we're often the brunt of finger-pointing from those who love to play the "blame game" for the country's problems. So, why in the world do we even teach? That is a question with many different answers and those answers change as the years roll on, and we find those answers during the summers when we have time to think about our career choice outside of the stress that comes with the day-to-day job of educating our nation's children.
Knowing that the summer break is out there, just around the corner, waiting for me with open arms and a cold beer, is often what keeps me going during an especially difficult year. If my school years just rolled one right into another with no extended down time to recharge my batteries, I would have quit teaching after two or three years and not continued past twenty as I have so far.
Sometimes when I get really burnt out with teaching and the problems it brings to my life, I start considering other jobs I might like to do, but with every singe one of them I end up ultimately thinking, "nope, that job's no good." Why do I think this? Because every other job I consider would only allow me two or three weeks of vacation time throughout the year, and that's just not something I can handle anymore.
I can't imagine working on a beautiful day like today. It's a lovely 80 degree low humidity cloudless afternoon. There's no paycheck or benefit package that would coerce me into working on a day like today when I could be working in my yard, reading a book outside, walking in the park with my dog, sitting in my porch swing, swimming laps or writing this blog instead. Granted that today is actually a Sunday, but there are people out there in all sorts of fields of business who are working at this very minute. More power to them, but I'm glad I'm not one of them.
The majority of teachers also use their summers to further their own educations as well as take some time off from teaching. I've done it myself in the past while working on my Master's Degree. It's not something I really want to do anymore, but I know many teachers who are studying like mad this summer to improve themselves and their teaching, so when the new school year begins, they are doubly ready for the students.
I'm older (and I'd say wiser), so I prefer to simply enjoy my summers now. June is coming to a close today, but July and about half of August are still waiting to be opened, and I plan to make the most of what is left of my time off from teaching, so when I return to my classroom, I will return a nicer woman than the one that told the kids to get lost at the end of May. Face it, when you are tired, you are grouchy. In May, I am tired.
Summer is like a long much-needed sleep that refreshes you, so you can face a new day. For a teacher, a new day is a new school year and new students.
So that you don't think that I'm just a big slacker and being completely selfish with my summertime, know this: I teach reading, so I read all summer to expand my literary base; I teach Spanish, so I travel to Mexico to expand my cultural and lingual knowledge; I direct plays, so I read scripts and watch quality movies for ideas; I coach flags, so I teach baton twirling to keep my hands nimble; I coach speech, so I keep a sharp eye out for pieces that would work well for oral interpretation, etc.
And for anyone who thinks that a teacher shouldn't have summers off, I invite you to Shtick This! where the summer sun does not shine!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
I'm a Garage Sale Hypocrite
I admit it -- I'm a garage sale hypocrite. I absolutely hate going to garage sales, but I love it when people come to mine and buy the stuff I need to get rid of. Yes, yes, I know, I know. I already said that I'm a garage sale hypocrite, so get over it.
It's not that I wouldn't buy a used item from somebody else; it's that I don't want to spend the time driving from garage sale to garage sale and looking through piles of stuff for that one thing I might actually treasure. I have way too long of a list of projects that need to be completed and places I'd like to visit to spend my valuable weekends looking through other people's castoffs.
However, I know that there are a lot of people out there who actively seek out garage sales every weekend of the summer and go looking for bargains on barely used clothing (or in the case of a bunch of things I recently sold that were my son's -- NEVER worn! Grrr.), old items they can restore and sell for big bucks and whatever other oddity that sets their hearts to beating.
I think that avid garage sale shoppers view a garage sale the way I view used bookstores -- as treasure troves of things to be discovered. I also know that my preference for old, used books goes against my natural aversion to buying other things used. Again, I'm inclined to buy used items; I'm just not inclined to spend the time looking for the opportunities to do so -- after all, my cars have all been used, but I've actively shopped for them when I needed a new (to me) vehicle.
I recently held a garage sale in which I got rid of many things, and I will be having another one in a few weeks to, hopefully, get rid of the things I didn't sell on the last one and a variety of other things that I still plan to take out of my house. As I sorted out things for the last sale, I sadly realized that over half of my house is full of stuff that I either no longer use/need or stuff that has never been used/needed. That's what happens as children age and outgrow clothing and toys, and that's what also happens after a divorce.
A divorce is an enforced purge. Yet, it's a purge that is good for you. I not only unloaded a person who made me miserable for years, but in the garage sale I also unloaded things that reminded me of that misery. By selling them to strangers who will now put them to use, I've removed the stigma from my house while also giving new life to the things that were unwitting reminders of a person I just want to forget.
Of course, removing the reminders will never make me completely forget that person, but it's still been a wonderful cure for my soul. Where the offending couch that he always fell asleep on once stood is a cute little love seat I'm borrowing from my parents until I find the perfect piece of furniture that suits my taste and my new life. Knickknacks he liked and things from the wedding have been removed, and things I like have replaced them on my shelves.
I don't wish the items themselves a death in the local trash dump, so I'm glad that there are others willing to give them new homes -- I do, however, wish the memories associated with those items a permanent burial somewhere.
So, despite my inclination to avoid garage sales to buy myself or my children something, I'm glad that garage sales exist and I'm even happier that the country is full of people who do like to visit garage sales. They have allowed me to rid myself not only of the things my children no longer use, but also of the things that have left behind a nasty after-divorce-taste in my home.
Now I'm working little-by-little and day-by-day to make the house reflect my life, my style, my preferences. So maybe I need to revisit my garage sale aversion and check out a few for some treasures just waiting for a newly-divorced and blissfully happy woman to come by and give them the new life she's recently been given.
After all, I do need a ladder, more tools and a good buffet for my newly repainted dining room, so . . . anybody up for a garage-sale-shopping Saturday with me?
Sunday, April 21, 2013
I Hate Trashy People!
I spend my days with teenagers, and most of the time they are a self-centered obnoxious bunch, but every now and then, they remind me why I continue to expend my time and energy on them -- they are also full of energy, surprises and actually quite generous of their time and the need to work to make a difference in our world.
As part of my job, I am the adviser for our local National Honor Society chapter. Yesterday, four of my NHS students and I spent two hours removing trash from the ditches of a road that leads into our town and where I often walk my dog. For some time now, I've been utterly appalled at the amount of trash littering the ditches and ruining what should be a lovely walk in the countryside. Since NHS students have to do community service work as part of their commitment to organization, I suggested that a few of them remove this trash in honor of Earth Day. They willingly complied, and they willingly gave up a few hours of their Saturday afternoons to walk the ditches with me on a chilly and windy April day.
While I knew that the ditches along this two mile stretch of road were laden with trash, I was still astounded at the end of our clean-up to find that we had acquired almost two full pickup beds' worth of trash! Along the way we removed numerous beer bottles and cans and discarded plastic gas station soda cups, as to be expected I suppose; however, surprisingly we also found a phone charger, a used diaper, a metal fork, a tire, a running board, various pieces of siding, and even an entire vacuum cleaner!
What the hell is wrong with people? When has our collective laziness reached the bounds where we can't even place our empty cans in our cup holders in our cars and then throw it away when we get home? Personally, I don't understand this, and I never will. We are a society of consumers, and we have a trash system designed to manage the gross amount of stuff we throw out as it is without there being any need to toss crap out the window as we drive.
"Trashy" people disgust me -- and by that word I mean the ones who throw their shit along the roadways for everybody else to "enjoy" as we drive along or stroll along a road. I don't know what goes through their minds as they casually throw their bags of fast food containers out the window while cruising along at 65 miles per hours. What do they think happens with that stuff? It sits there and ruins the area for others -- both human and animal -- until considerate people come along and pick it up
Trash receptacles exist all over this world and for a reason, so use them. Keep a trash bag in your car if you don't like having trash sitting around in your car until such a time when you can clean it out. If nothing else, realize that other people use that road and want to enjoy the view of nature and not of your crappy trash, and realize that animals survive out there and can survive longer and better without your crap ruining their habitats.
Sadly, only one day later I took a walk with my dog along the road I'd helped clean up yesterday and already there are two new pieces of trash lying around. Trashy people need to stick their own crap into their own trash cans! That's where I'd like to see them actually stick it; otherwise, they can truly "Shtick This!"
As part of my job, I am the adviser for our local National Honor Society chapter. Yesterday, four of my NHS students and I spent two hours removing trash from the ditches of a road that leads into our town and where I often walk my dog. For some time now, I've been utterly appalled at the amount of trash littering the ditches and ruining what should be a lovely walk in the countryside. Since NHS students have to do community service work as part of their commitment to organization, I suggested that a few of them remove this trash in honor of Earth Day. They willingly complied, and they willingly gave up a few hours of their Saturday afternoons to walk the ditches with me on a chilly and windy April day.
While I knew that the ditches along this two mile stretch of road were laden with trash, I was still astounded at the end of our clean-up to find that we had acquired almost two full pickup beds' worth of trash! Along the way we removed numerous beer bottles and cans and discarded plastic gas station soda cups, as to be expected I suppose; however, surprisingly we also found a phone charger, a used diaper, a metal fork, a tire, a running board, various pieces of siding, and even an entire vacuum cleaner!
What the hell is wrong with people? When has our collective laziness reached the bounds where we can't even place our empty cans in our cup holders in our cars and then throw it away when we get home? Personally, I don't understand this, and I never will. We are a society of consumers, and we have a trash system designed to manage the gross amount of stuff we throw out as it is without there being any need to toss crap out the window as we drive.
"Trashy" people disgust me -- and by that word I mean the ones who throw their shit along the roadways for everybody else to "enjoy" as we drive along or stroll along a road. I don't know what goes through their minds as they casually throw their bags of fast food containers out the window while cruising along at 65 miles per hours. What do they think happens with that stuff? It sits there and ruins the area for others -- both human and animal -- until considerate people come along and pick it up
Trash receptacles exist all over this world and for a reason, so use them. Keep a trash bag in your car if you don't like having trash sitting around in your car until such a time when you can clean it out. If nothing else, realize that other people use that road and want to enjoy the view of nature and not of your crappy trash, and realize that animals survive out there and can survive longer and better without your crap ruining their habitats.
Sadly, only one day later I took a walk with my dog along the road I'd helped clean up yesterday and already there are two new pieces of trash lying around. Trashy people need to stick their own crap into their own trash cans! That's where I'd like to see them actually stick it; otherwise, they can truly "Shtick This!"
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Winter, Shtick This!
Dear Winter,
Go away! If that isn't clear enough, then let me add these -- Scram! Skedaddle! Shoo! Amscray! Leave! And get your white filth off of my lawn!
While you might be a welcome sight at Christmastime and even in mid-November when you haven't been around for awhile, here, in mid-April, you are no longer wanted. So, stop playing the bully and quit pushing Spring around. It's her time to shine.
I want to feel her lovely breath upon my cheeks as I walk my dog. I don't want your frigid gusts keeping me indoors any longer. I want to hear the birds chirping again like they were only days ago before you felt the need to rush back in for an encore -- nobody's clapping, Buster, so get off the stage.
The flowers are waiting to burst up from the ground, but they can't do that with an inch of solid ice preventing their progress. The leaves are about to spring forth from their branches, but you just might have killed some of them off in their infancy -- I hope you're happy, you homicidal maniac!
Seriously dude, nobody wants you here anymore. You've had your say for over six months, so if you haven't made your point by now, you're never going to -- so shut up! You can blow as hard as you want around my window frames and you can whistle through my gutters, I'm done listening to you. Blah, blah, blah is all I hear from you. Pack up your stuff and get off my property.
There are many people over the course of a day or a week or a month that I want to say "Shtick This!" to, but right now, Winter, you are numero uno on my shit list. Go away and don't let a tornado kick you in the ass as you go -- this is the Midwest after all.
You're like a spoiled little drama queen who has to have all the attention and just needs to step in and take all the fun away from anybody else who seems to be getting the love from others. Well, here's the hard truth from one Winter-hater -- Summer is the true queen while Spring and Autumn are the lovely princesses, and you're just the ugly step-sister. So, get over yourself and get out of my life!
Sincerely,
Your biggest hater.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A Teacher's Tirade
If you haven't noticed by not only the name of my blog but also by the content of many of my posts, I like to bitch and moan about things that I really cannot control -- things that get under my skin because they are ridiculous, asinine, ludicrous or simply annoying to me for whatever reason big or small. Students annoy me, I admit it, and the older I get, the more they annoy me -- it's an age gap thing I understand that, but there is more to it than that.
I realized the other day that my complaints to my students sometimes are misconstrued. One young man said to me, "If you hate teaching so much, why do you do it?" To be honest, I was quite annoyed at his question because I don't hate teaching, and that is when I realized that to teenagers who don't see the bigger picture it may very well come across as me sounding like I don't like teaching and that I don't like my students -- and both of those things are not true.
I found myself launching into a tirade to clarify the situation for him, and I realized that this blog would perhaps be a better place to make it clear what it is that actually annoys the hell out of me about teaching teenagers. Again, to be very clear -- I LOVE teaching when the students actually want to learn what I have the knowledge and expertise to share with them, and I LOVE my students even on the days that I want to walk away and never look back. Each kid is unique and special, and I believe, I firmly believe, that they all want to learn, but they too often let their attitudes interfere with their learning and definitely with my teaching.
It isn't teaching or the kids, per se, that drive me crazy -- it these three statements that I simply cannot tolerate anymore: 1. "Whatever!" 2. "It's good enough." and 3. "I don't care."
Let's examine that damnable word Whatever usually said with unnecessary emphasis on the second syllable and a noticeable touch of sass thrown in for good measure. Basically, it is a kid's way of saying "Shut up, old woman. I don't need to listen to you. I'm young, and I know everything, so you can just keep talking and lecturing and moralizing, but I'm going to go right on behaving in a completely idiotic and inappropriate way no matter what you say." Or it can mean, "Well, you are right, but not in a million years would I admit that you are right because then I'd lose face with my friends, so I'll just say this really obnoxious word, so that I can retain my cool status and make others my age think I got the best of you even though I know you are right, but once again, I would rather die than admit that to you or anyone else." Whatever is a kid's way of telling an adult to "shut the hell up," and it is not acceptable to me. Also, it shows that the kid doesn't care to truly learn anything new -- he'd rather just go along happy in his own ignorance, and that is never good for getting an education. If all you want is for others to justify what little you already know, then why are you in school? What is the point? Whatever is snotty sassiness and ignorance all rolled into one extremely annoying word.
It's good enough. Whenever I hear that from a kid, I immediately ask, "For whom?" Certainly not for me because he is usually telling me this in response to me pointing out an error in a sentence or how his paper is really sloppy or something else that is easily fixable with a little effort, but therein lies the problem -- too many teenagers these days don't want to do the work to make something truly good or even exceptional. They'll happily settle for "good enough" to just get it done. Now, I'm not saying that this is just a teenage problem because that would be an understatement by far. I'm even guilty on occasion of both feeling and saying this sentiment, but usually when I do hear myself say this, I give myself a mental or even physical head-slap and remind myself that GOOD ENOUGH IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. "Good enough" implies that it can be better, and if it can be better, then it should be better, and you should take the time and put in the effort to make it better. This will not only help you, the student, to earn a better grade on the assignment, but it will also help you improve your work ethic which will, in time, help you earn more money and gain more promotions over your lifetime. You'll be known as an achiever and a person who doesn't settle for second best. So, when my students scoffingly say to me, "It's good enough," I tell them that the D or even F that they are going to receive on their assignment then is a "good enough" grade. In that light, they often rethink their attitude; unfortunately, just as often they simply shrug and walk off after saying "Whatever."
My final complaint concerns the ever-popular phrase of I don't care. Here is my take on that -- when you say that, this is what I hear: "I don't care about myself." Period. Simple. Sad. Pathetic. Pitiable. I have to ask, "Why don't you care? Why don't you care about yourself and your future? Why don't you care about others? Why don't you care about the school, the community where you live, the state where you reside, the country that has provided you with the right to not give a damn? Why? Why don't you care? Why is it so damn hard to give a damn?" Seriously, think about it the next time you casually announce that you don't care because plain and simple, if you don't care enough to care, then why the hell should I care about you? Why should I waste my time and energy and vast amount of knowledge about the subject I teach upon somebody who does NOT care when there is a wealth of knowledge-hungry kids living in impoverished conditions all over the world who would love for me to come teach them? Maybe you'd care if you went hungry every night. Maybe you'd care if you were homeless. Maybe you'd care if you lived under a regime that kept you downtrodden and miserable. Maybe you'd care if you had parents who gave a damn and instilled that within you like they should have. Maybe you'd care if you hadn't been brought up with a false sense of entitlement that you haven't even come close to earning. Maybe you'd care if you lost everything in a fire or a flood or a hurricane or a tornado or any other horrible catastrophe that can befall you at any given moment. Maybe you'd care if you stopped for one minute and really looked at the world and your place in it and realized just how much you need an education to get you ANYWHERE in this world. Maybe. But who am I to know this? I'm just a teacher. What the hell do I know?
So, again to my doubting students who think that because I complain about them and about my job that this means that I hate teaching or that I hate them, I say that nothing could be further from the truth. My problem is that WHATEVER will never be Good enough for me, and I simply DO CARE too damn much for my own good.
If I could convince all students out there of one thing, it would be to "Schtick this!" when it comes to their negative attitudes that only serve to interfere with the wonderful educations they could give themselves. CARE. ACCEPT ONLY THE BEST OF YOURSELF. SAY "YES, MA'AM" OR "YES, SIR" INSTEAD OF "WHATEVER."
I realized the other day that my complaints to my students sometimes are misconstrued. One young man said to me, "If you hate teaching so much, why do you do it?" To be honest, I was quite annoyed at his question because I don't hate teaching, and that is when I realized that to teenagers who don't see the bigger picture it may very well come across as me sounding like I don't like teaching and that I don't like my students -- and both of those things are not true.
I found myself launching into a tirade to clarify the situation for him, and I realized that this blog would perhaps be a better place to make it clear what it is that actually annoys the hell out of me about teaching teenagers. Again, to be very clear -- I LOVE teaching when the students actually want to learn what I have the knowledge and expertise to share with them, and I LOVE my students even on the days that I want to walk away and never look back. Each kid is unique and special, and I believe, I firmly believe, that they all want to learn, but they too often let their attitudes interfere with their learning and definitely with my teaching.
It isn't teaching or the kids, per se, that drive me crazy -- it these three statements that I simply cannot tolerate anymore: 1. "Whatever!" 2. "It's good enough." and 3. "I don't care."
Let's examine that damnable word Whatever usually said with unnecessary emphasis on the second syllable and a noticeable touch of sass thrown in for good measure. Basically, it is a kid's way of saying "Shut up, old woman. I don't need to listen to you. I'm young, and I know everything, so you can just keep talking and lecturing and moralizing, but I'm going to go right on behaving in a completely idiotic and inappropriate way no matter what you say." Or it can mean, "Well, you are right, but not in a million years would I admit that you are right because then I'd lose face with my friends, so I'll just say this really obnoxious word, so that I can retain my cool status and make others my age think I got the best of you even though I know you are right, but once again, I would rather die than admit that to you or anyone else." Whatever is a kid's way of telling an adult to "shut the hell up," and it is not acceptable to me. Also, it shows that the kid doesn't care to truly learn anything new -- he'd rather just go along happy in his own ignorance, and that is never good for getting an education. If all you want is for others to justify what little you already know, then why are you in school? What is the point? Whatever is snotty sassiness and ignorance all rolled into one extremely annoying word.
It's good enough. Whenever I hear that from a kid, I immediately ask, "For whom?" Certainly not for me because he is usually telling me this in response to me pointing out an error in a sentence or how his paper is really sloppy or something else that is easily fixable with a little effort, but therein lies the problem -- too many teenagers these days don't want to do the work to make something truly good or even exceptional. They'll happily settle for "good enough" to just get it done. Now, I'm not saying that this is just a teenage problem because that would be an understatement by far. I'm even guilty on occasion of both feeling and saying this sentiment, but usually when I do hear myself say this, I give myself a mental or even physical head-slap and remind myself that GOOD ENOUGH IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. "Good enough" implies that it can be better, and if it can be better, then it should be better, and you should take the time and put in the effort to make it better. This will not only help you, the student, to earn a better grade on the assignment, but it will also help you improve your work ethic which will, in time, help you earn more money and gain more promotions over your lifetime. You'll be known as an achiever and a person who doesn't settle for second best. So, when my students scoffingly say to me, "It's good enough," I tell them that the D or even F that they are going to receive on their assignment then is a "good enough" grade. In that light, they often rethink their attitude; unfortunately, just as often they simply shrug and walk off after saying "Whatever."
My final complaint concerns the ever-popular phrase of I don't care. Here is my take on that -- when you say that, this is what I hear: "I don't care about myself." Period. Simple. Sad. Pathetic. Pitiable. I have to ask, "Why don't you care? Why don't you care about yourself and your future? Why don't you care about others? Why don't you care about the school, the community where you live, the state where you reside, the country that has provided you with the right to not give a damn? Why? Why don't you care? Why is it so damn hard to give a damn?" Seriously, think about it the next time you casually announce that you don't care because plain and simple, if you don't care enough to care, then why the hell should I care about you? Why should I waste my time and energy and vast amount of knowledge about the subject I teach upon somebody who does NOT care when there is a wealth of knowledge-hungry kids living in impoverished conditions all over the world who would love for me to come teach them? Maybe you'd care if you went hungry every night. Maybe you'd care if you were homeless. Maybe you'd care if you lived under a regime that kept you downtrodden and miserable. Maybe you'd care if you had parents who gave a damn and instilled that within you like they should have. Maybe you'd care if you hadn't been brought up with a false sense of entitlement that you haven't even come close to earning. Maybe you'd care if you lost everything in a fire or a flood or a hurricane or a tornado or any other horrible catastrophe that can befall you at any given moment. Maybe you'd care if you stopped for one minute and really looked at the world and your place in it and realized just how much you need an education to get you ANYWHERE in this world. Maybe. But who am I to know this? I'm just a teacher. What the hell do I know?
So, again to my doubting students who think that because I complain about them and about my job that this means that I hate teaching or that I hate them, I say that nothing could be further from the truth. My problem is that WHATEVER will never be Good enough for me, and I simply DO CARE too damn much for my own good.
If I could convince all students out there of one thing, it would be to "Schtick this!" when it comes to their negative attitudes that only serve to interfere with the wonderful educations they could give themselves. CARE. ACCEPT ONLY THE BEST OF YOURSELF. SAY "YES, MA'AM" OR "YES, SIR" INSTEAD OF "WHATEVER."
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Pet Peeves
In my freshman speech class each semester I make the kids give a short speech about one of their pet peeves. I tell them that it needs to be something grander than people drumming fingers on a desk or rapidly clicking a ballpoint pen, and I also tell them that it can't be a person. I want it to be something that truly gets their blood boiling a bit, so that when they deliver the speech, the audience can see their conviction.
Since these are freshmen I'm dealing with here, this assignment immediately elicits its fair share of groans and whines and complaints from the kids, which leads me to point out that they are demonstrating one of my biggest pet peeves -- people who complain before even trying something new.
Many of them will tell me that they don't have a pet peeve, which is usually stated in an attempt to get out of doing the assignment, but after I give them lots of examples from my own lengthy list (I'm easily annoyed -- I admit it -- and students putting forth more effort in their attempts to avoid doing work than they would if they'd just do the assignment is another of my school-related pet peeves), they all manage to settle on something that irks them at least a little bit.
They are usually flabbergasted at one of my top pet peeves, and it inevitably leads them to want to argue with me about it; however, arguing with the person about what bothers him or her is not allowed. The audience is simply supposed to listen and try to see the speaker's side of things, and as a teacher, I always hope that the kids will come away from this project with new insight into others and understand that everyone is entitled to her own opinion even if others don't agree with it -- but these are freshmen, so that is a bit of a stretch (yet I remain optimistic even while knowing it is foolish optimism).
The one my kids have the hardest time accepting about me is that I am NOT a Husker fan nor do I care one iota about sports in any shape or form. I tell them that my particular pet peeve is that it annoys me when others ASSUME that I am a Husker fan simply because I am a Nebraskan born and raised. I even attended UNL where the Huskers are based, but I did not go there to attend football games; no, I went there to get that important thing called an education, and, frankly, nothing pisses me off more than to be out shopping deliberately on a Husker game day Saturday when the stores aren't crowded (another pet peeve of mine is crowds in stores -- told you I have many) and then to have every single person I encounter in the mall ask me what the score is. I DON'T KNOW! If I gave a crap about the game I'd be home watching it or I'd be at the stadium in Lincoln (after paying enough money to feed my family for a month or more for the tickets) watching it live. I wouldn't be in a mall attempting to buy shoes undisturbed if I actually cared about the game.
Once I share my little tirade with my students, they first all stare at me mouths agape and then they all burst forth with noises of shock and dismay and outrage. How can it be that their teacher, a Nebraskan just like them, doesn't care about the Huskers? How can it be that anybody could dare to have her own interests that vary from those of almost every other Nebraskan? Shocking as it may be to them, there are LOTS of Nebraskans who do not care about the Husker football team or the volleyball team or any other Husker sports team. It's just that most of the others don't speak up for fear that the Husker nation will come after them with pitchforks and over-sized corn hats they'll use to beat them senseless with.
Sorry. I believe a university's main job (just like any school's main job) is to educate its students. The sports' craze annoys the hell out of me because it puts too much importance on the teams and winning and not enough importance on the students and on learning. This has always annoyed me, but I'll admit that the longer I teach, the more it gets under my skin.
That is true of my second pet peeve that I share with my students but which is my biggest pet peeve of all. I absolutely cannot stand it when people BRAG that they don't read. I've already devoted an earlier post to this very topic, but a few things bear repeating. When you brag that you do not read, you are basically announcing with pride that you are an imbecile. People who are illiterate are either unfortunately born unable to learn and deserve our pity, or they are oppressed people who live in horrible conditions where their governments deliberately keep them ignorant to control them and those people also deserve our pity. However, if you CHOOSE to be quasi-illiterate, then you are simply stupid, and you deserve whatever bad things happen to you because of your choice to be that way -- whether it is that you never rise above minimum wage or you never get a promotion but instead have to watch others pass you by or you don't get the girl of your dreams because you have no idea who Virginia Woolf is or any other of the myriad of things that could befall a non-reader.
I can understand not having time to read. I can understand struggling with reading, so it is just something that you don't do much because it is hard for you. I can understand putting off all the pleasure reading you might like to do because there are too many great movies or television programs to entertain you instead. I can understand all the excuses as to why people do not read more; however, I cannot understand the need to brag about not being a reader. Like I said, instead of going on and on about how much reading sucks and that you don't do it at all, you might as well go on and on about how dumb you are and how proud you are of your own stupidity.
I think that the more educated a person is the more easily he is annoyed by the actions of others. It takes almost no effort at all to walk a shopping cart over to any of the gazillion cart stalls crowding department store parking lots; yet how often do we still find shopping carts all over the lots? I have had a lot of education in my lifetime, and all that learning took a lot of work on my part, and I can't wrap my head around just how lazy a person has to be to somehow manage to push a laden cart all the way to her car yet not be able to get it either returned to the store or placed snugly between the rails with all the other carts.
This same line of thinking goes for putting anything away. If you use it, put it away. It's a simple concept. If you borrow it, return it; if you dirty it, wash it; if you break it, either repair it or replace it. The rudeness and laziness of others continues to confound me.
I could go on and on about my pet peeves. Most of them are very minor, but when you get down to it, they almost all revolve around rudeness and insensitivity. Here are a few more:
** People cutting in line.
** Students taking something from my desk without asking.
** People ignoring posted signs like "don't feed the bears" or "dogs must be leashed" or "no fishing from bridge, " etc.
** When people learn I teach Spanish and the first thing they say to me is "Why don't those Mexicans learn our language?" (this one will probably be a future post as it really gets my blood boiling to have this be the first thing said to me)
** People who misuse English and don't even care how they sound, especially when they are one of the same people mentioned in the pet peeve above this one.
** People who litter. Can't stand it. Seriously want to cause bodily damage to the person when I see this happen.
** People who criticize other cultures and types of people they've never even experienced or met.
** People who shove their religious or political views down your throat. Do they really think that is going to make others see things their way?
** People who care only about improving their exteriors and nothing about improving their inner-selves.
** Hypocrites.
** Repeat-offenders.
** Deadbeat Dads or Moms.
** Selfishness.
** Animal cruelty.
** Religious intolerance.
** Sexist prigs.
** Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera. (and, NO, I didn't misspell that, so please don't attempt to further annoy me by attempting to point out my mistakes)
Like I said, I have many things that annoy me. I try to be optimistic, but I'm not naturally that way, so sometimes it takes a lot of effort on my part to see the good in things. Fortunately, I have many wonderful students, fantastic children, great friends, fabulous parents and many other phenomenal people in my life that show me every day that the world, while full of faults, is still a great place to be. I am just a picky person, but that has also led me to pick the best people in the world to surround myself with, so I am glad I'm picky.
Since these are freshmen I'm dealing with here, this assignment immediately elicits its fair share of groans and whines and complaints from the kids, which leads me to point out that they are demonstrating one of my biggest pet peeves -- people who complain before even trying something new.
Many of them will tell me that they don't have a pet peeve, which is usually stated in an attempt to get out of doing the assignment, but after I give them lots of examples from my own lengthy list (I'm easily annoyed -- I admit it -- and students putting forth more effort in their attempts to avoid doing work than they would if they'd just do the assignment is another of my school-related pet peeves), they all manage to settle on something that irks them at least a little bit.
They are usually flabbergasted at one of my top pet peeves, and it inevitably leads them to want to argue with me about it; however, arguing with the person about what bothers him or her is not allowed. The audience is simply supposed to listen and try to see the speaker's side of things, and as a teacher, I always hope that the kids will come away from this project with new insight into others and understand that everyone is entitled to her own opinion even if others don't agree with it -- but these are freshmen, so that is a bit of a stretch (yet I remain optimistic even while knowing it is foolish optimism).
The one my kids have the hardest time accepting about me is that I am NOT a Husker fan nor do I care one iota about sports in any shape or form. I tell them that my particular pet peeve is that it annoys me when others ASSUME that I am a Husker fan simply because I am a Nebraskan born and raised. I even attended UNL where the Huskers are based, but I did not go there to attend football games; no, I went there to get that important thing called an education, and, frankly, nothing pisses me off more than to be out shopping deliberately on a Husker game day Saturday when the stores aren't crowded (another pet peeve of mine is crowds in stores -- told you I have many) and then to have every single person I encounter in the mall ask me what the score is. I DON'T KNOW! If I gave a crap about the game I'd be home watching it or I'd be at the stadium in Lincoln (after paying enough money to feed my family for a month or more for the tickets) watching it live. I wouldn't be in a mall attempting to buy shoes undisturbed if I actually cared about the game.
Once I share my little tirade with my students, they first all stare at me mouths agape and then they all burst forth with noises of shock and dismay and outrage. How can it be that their teacher, a Nebraskan just like them, doesn't care about the Huskers? How can it be that anybody could dare to have her own interests that vary from those of almost every other Nebraskan? Shocking as it may be to them, there are LOTS of Nebraskans who do not care about the Husker football team or the volleyball team or any other Husker sports team. It's just that most of the others don't speak up for fear that the Husker nation will come after them with pitchforks and over-sized corn hats they'll use to beat them senseless with.
Sorry. I believe a university's main job (just like any school's main job) is to educate its students. The sports' craze annoys the hell out of me because it puts too much importance on the teams and winning and not enough importance on the students and on learning. This has always annoyed me, but I'll admit that the longer I teach, the more it gets under my skin.
That is true of my second pet peeve that I share with my students but which is my biggest pet peeve of all. I absolutely cannot stand it when people BRAG that they don't read. I've already devoted an earlier post to this very topic, but a few things bear repeating. When you brag that you do not read, you are basically announcing with pride that you are an imbecile. People who are illiterate are either unfortunately born unable to learn and deserve our pity, or they are oppressed people who live in horrible conditions where their governments deliberately keep them ignorant to control them and those people also deserve our pity. However, if you CHOOSE to be quasi-illiterate, then you are simply stupid, and you deserve whatever bad things happen to you because of your choice to be that way -- whether it is that you never rise above minimum wage or you never get a promotion but instead have to watch others pass you by or you don't get the girl of your dreams because you have no idea who Virginia Woolf is or any other of the myriad of things that could befall a non-reader.
I can understand not having time to read. I can understand struggling with reading, so it is just something that you don't do much because it is hard for you. I can understand putting off all the pleasure reading you might like to do because there are too many great movies or television programs to entertain you instead. I can understand all the excuses as to why people do not read more; however, I cannot understand the need to brag about not being a reader. Like I said, instead of going on and on about how much reading sucks and that you don't do it at all, you might as well go on and on about how dumb you are and how proud you are of your own stupidity.
I think that the more educated a person is the more easily he is annoyed by the actions of others. It takes almost no effort at all to walk a shopping cart over to any of the gazillion cart stalls crowding department store parking lots; yet how often do we still find shopping carts all over the lots? I have had a lot of education in my lifetime, and all that learning took a lot of work on my part, and I can't wrap my head around just how lazy a person has to be to somehow manage to push a laden cart all the way to her car yet not be able to get it either returned to the store or placed snugly between the rails with all the other carts.
This same line of thinking goes for putting anything away. If you use it, put it away. It's a simple concept. If you borrow it, return it; if you dirty it, wash it; if you break it, either repair it or replace it. The rudeness and laziness of others continues to confound me.
I could go on and on about my pet peeves. Most of them are very minor, but when you get down to it, they almost all revolve around rudeness and insensitivity. Here are a few more:
** People cutting in line.
** Students taking something from my desk without asking.
** People ignoring posted signs like "don't feed the bears" or "dogs must be leashed" or "no fishing from bridge, " etc.
** When people learn I teach Spanish and the first thing they say to me is "Why don't those Mexicans learn our language?" (this one will probably be a future post as it really gets my blood boiling to have this be the first thing said to me)
** People who misuse English and don't even care how they sound, especially when they are one of the same people mentioned in the pet peeve above this one.
** People who litter. Can't stand it. Seriously want to cause bodily damage to the person when I see this happen.
** People who criticize other cultures and types of people they've never even experienced or met.
** People who shove their religious or political views down your throat. Do they really think that is going to make others see things their way?
** People who care only about improving their exteriors and nothing about improving their inner-selves.
** Hypocrites.
** Repeat-offenders.
** Deadbeat Dads or Moms.
** Selfishness.
** Animal cruelty.
** Religious intolerance.
** Sexist prigs.
** Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera. (and, NO, I didn't misspell that, so please don't attempt to further annoy me by attempting to point out my mistakes)
Like I said, I have many things that annoy me. I try to be optimistic, but I'm not naturally that way, so sometimes it takes a lot of effort on my part to see the good in things. Fortunately, I have many wonderful students, fantastic children, great friends, fabulous parents and many other phenomenal people in my life that show me every day that the world, while full of faults, is still a great place to be. I am just a picky person, but that has also led me to pick the best people in the world to surround myself with, so I am glad I'm picky.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Wynken, Blynken, and NOT
Sleep often eludes me. It does no good to chase him either, as he is very nimble and swift and will only dart off to a corner somewhere and mock me like a naughty child picking on a decrepit old woman.
Those so-called "tricks" that seem to work for others have no effect on me. Counting backwards from 100? Nope. By the time I reach 96, my mind has floated away on some other thought stream and before I know it I'm all wrapped up in a bizarre inner-journey that only takes me further and further away from the Land of Nod I want to visit. Clear my mind? Hah! Impossible. If I could do that, all my sleep problems would be solved, and my days would be a lot more worry-free as well. Start at my feet and feel my muscles relax as I breathe deeply? Not happening. As I concentrate on trying to relax one set of muscles, I feel other groups tensing up in expectation.
The only real almost-surefire technique for me to fall asleep is to read for at least half an hour until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. Then I have to immediately shut off my lamp and pray that I'll be asleep in minutes because if I'm not, then I might as well turn my lamp back on and pick up my book again because if I don't do that, then my mind is going to start playing its cruel, uh, mind games on me with its buddy, Insomnia.
There are times when Insomnia visits so often that I've had to resort to a couple beers before bed to help lull myself to sleep, but that's not something I like to do very often. Insomnia or alcoholism? Not a great choice either way. I've also tried the over-the-counter sleeping pills, but I don't want to be reliant on artificial aids that could lead to other sorts of dependency. It's not advisable for me to report to work in the morning still feeling drugged -- not the best way to deal with teenagers (although I guess it couldn't hurt, either :) )
I've simply come to the unpleasant realization that I am a picky sleeper. I need complete quiet, utter darkness and lots of blankets. I like sleeping with somebody next to me, but I sleep better alone, and when there is a partner, I still need my space. Once I'm actually asleep, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, but not like I was before I had children. Then, I could sleep through the heaviest thunderstorm; now, a light rain will wake me.
I don't do well in hotels unless I'm really really tired, but even then, if there is a lot of noise filtering through the walls from the hallway or other rooms, then I might as well watch TV all night or read because that beats lying in a foreign bed all night wide awake and tossing and turning. I've learned that if I truly expect to sleep in a hotel, then I have to pay the money and stay at a quality hotel and not any old run-of-the mill motel next to the interstate. Saving money does me no good when I'm too exhausted to drive the next day.
I'm not a napper either. I've never been one. Partly because I don't like wasting my time, and I see naps as time wasters, but mostly because napping usually takes place in the middle of the day -- when it's still light out! I can't fall asleep with light of any sort. I can, however, sleep in on a weekend well past sunrise, but once my mind registers that it is light outside and that the light is creeping into my room through a crack in my curtains, then I might as well get up because my brain will suddenly kick into overdrive, and then there's no going back to slumber-land.
I envy people who can crawl into bed, put their head upon their pillows and immediately be fast asleep. I simply cannot do that. Even when I've read myself into a stupor, turned off my lamp and snuggled under the covers, I will often have to beat my pillow into submission to get it into just the right shape to adequately support my head while also conforming perfectly to my neck. Believe me, if I didn't need sleep to actually stay alive, I'd say the hell with the damn activity completely some nights because it's just not worth the effort it involves sometimes.
Nothing aggravates me more than to be on the very brink of sleep and then either the dog starts barking at something, or my partner decides he wants to snuggle, or a sudden rain starts hammering against the roof, or the neighbor comes home in his loud pickup truck, or a fly invades my room, or any other of a myriad of annoyances suddenly crops up to rob me once again of the sleep I need.
I also can only fall asleep on my side, but I always wake up on my back. I have never been able to sleep on my stomach -- except on a warm tropical beach while sunbathing, which is also the only time I can truly nap (however, then I'm usually embarrassed because I'll wake myself up with my OWN snoring!). However, I cannot fall asleep on my back which makes no sense at all since that is the position I'm in every morning when I awaken.
All this writing about sleep is making me tired, but I know that it will be many hours yet before I actually fall asleep because I'm not in bed yet, I'm not snuggled under a bunch of covers, I'm not wearing my warm pajamas, and I haven't yet read for a half hour or better.
However, since this isn't the most exciting post in the world, maybe you have fallen asleep. If so, at least one of us is enjoying the Land of Nod. As for me, I more often visit the Land of NOT each night, so if you are in Nod, keep an eye out for me, and help me stick around longer than I usually do. My mind and my body would both appreciate a night of good sleep for once.
Those so-called "tricks" that seem to work for others have no effect on me. Counting backwards from 100? Nope. By the time I reach 96, my mind has floated away on some other thought stream and before I know it I'm all wrapped up in a bizarre inner-journey that only takes me further and further away from the Land of Nod I want to visit. Clear my mind? Hah! Impossible. If I could do that, all my sleep problems would be solved, and my days would be a lot more worry-free as well. Start at my feet and feel my muscles relax as I breathe deeply? Not happening. As I concentrate on trying to relax one set of muscles, I feel other groups tensing up in expectation.
The only real almost-surefire technique for me to fall asleep is to read for at least half an hour until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. Then I have to immediately shut off my lamp and pray that I'll be asleep in minutes because if I'm not, then I might as well turn my lamp back on and pick up my book again because if I don't do that, then my mind is going to start playing its cruel, uh, mind games on me with its buddy, Insomnia.
There are times when Insomnia visits so often that I've had to resort to a couple beers before bed to help lull myself to sleep, but that's not something I like to do very often. Insomnia or alcoholism? Not a great choice either way. I've also tried the over-the-counter sleeping pills, but I don't want to be reliant on artificial aids that could lead to other sorts of dependency. It's not advisable for me to report to work in the morning still feeling drugged -- not the best way to deal with teenagers (although I guess it couldn't hurt, either :) )
I've simply come to the unpleasant realization that I am a picky sleeper. I need complete quiet, utter darkness and lots of blankets. I like sleeping with somebody next to me, but I sleep better alone, and when there is a partner, I still need my space. Once I'm actually asleep, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, but not like I was before I had children. Then, I could sleep through the heaviest thunderstorm; now, a light rain will wake me.
I don't do well in hotels unless I'm really really tired, but even then, if there is a lot of noise filtering through the walls from the hallway or other rooms, then I might as well watch TV all night or read because that beats lying in a foreign bed all night wide awake and tossing and turning. I've learned that if I truly expect to sleep in a hotel, then I have to pay the money and stay at a quality hotel and not any old run-of-the mill motel next to the interstate. Saving money does me no good when I'm too exhausted to drive the next day.
I'm not a napper either. I've never been one. Partly because I don't like wasting my time, and I see naps as time wasters, but mostly because napping usually takes place in the middle of the day -- when it's still light out! I can't fall asleep with light of any sort. I can, however, sleep in on a weekend well past sunrise, but once my mind registers that it is light outside and that the light is creeping into my room through a crack in my curtains, then I might as well get up because my brain will suddenly kick into overdrive, and then there's no going back to slumber-land.
I envy people who can crawl into bed, put their head upon their pillows and immediately be fast asleep. I simply cannot do that. Even when I've read myself into a stupor, turned off my lamp and snuggled under the covers, I will often have to beat my pillow into submission to get it into just the right shape to adequately support my head while also conforming perfectly to my neck. Believe me, if I didn't need sleep to actually stay alive, I'd say the hell with the damn activity completely some nights because it's just not worth the effort it involves sometimes.
Nothing aggravates me more than to be on the very brink of sleep and then either the dog starts barking at something, or my partner decides he wants to snuggle, or a sudden rain starts hammering against the roof, or the neighbor comes home in his loud pickup truck, or a fly invades my room, or any other of a myriad of annoyances suddenly crops up to rob me once again of the sleep I need.
I also can only fall asleep on my side, but I always wake up on my back. I have never been able to sleep on my stomach -- except on a warm tropical beach while sunbathing, which is also the only time I can truly nap (however, then I'm usually embarrassed because I'll wake myself up with my OWN snoring!). However, I cannot fall asleep on my back which makes no sense at all since that is the position I'm in every morning when I awaken.
All this writing about sleep is making me tired, but I know that it will be many hours yet before I actually fall asleep because I'm not in bed yet, I'm not snuggled under a bunch of covers, I'm not wearing my warm pajamas, and I haven't yet read for a half hour or better.
However, since this isn't the most exciting post in the world, maybe you have fallen asleep. If so, at least one of us is enjoying the Land of Nod. As for me, I more often visit the Land of NOT each night, so if you are in Nod, keep an eye out for me, and help me stick around longer than I usually do. My mind and my body would both appreciate a night of good sleep for once.
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