I turned on PBS tonight (yep, another wild Friday night for me!), and Death Cab for Cutie was performing. I decided I like them. I may order their CD "Transatlanticism." Also, I heard this group called Elizabeth & the Catapult on NPR the other week and liked them, too, so I might get their CD "Taller Children." This is a big deal for me, since I don't really buy music anymore. I don't mean that I download it illegally or anything. Sadly enough, I just don't actually listen to much music. My 20-something self would feel so sorry for me. I think it started when I moved to New York in 2000. I always used to listen to the radio in the car, and that's how I would find out about new songs and bands. But when I moved to New York, I didn't have a car anymore, so my radio listening almost completely ceased. And maybe because the city is noisy, my first instinct when I get home isn't to turn on some music, but revel in the quiet. Then when by some miracle I do hear a new song and decide I like it enough to buy it, then I have the format choice to consider. Should I just download that one song, or buy the whole album on CD, or etc. etc. etc. I end up feeling so overwhelmed, I don't buy anything at all.
But Death Cab for Cutie AND Elizabeth & The Catapult are both sitting in my Amazon.com shopping cart right now. I haven't bought them yet, though. There are some books I want to order while I'm at it. But I can't order EVERY book I want -- I have to narrow it down. So that's yet another decision to make. Hmmm.
Oh well...I'll let you know if I actually place the order sometime this century....
Friday, July 10, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
God is like a weed
When I go to church, my favorite sermons are the ones that give an interpretation of God that I'd never considered before, or that help me see a Bible story in a new way. Two weeks ago, Bill Tully's sermon at St. Bart's (http://www.stbarts.org) did just that. The Old Testament reading was Ezekiel 17:22-24, which reads in part: "Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out...I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain...in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar."
The Gospel reading was from Mark 4:26-35, the "mustard seed" passage: "[Jesus] said, 'With what can we compare the Kingdom of God...It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nest in its shade.'"
Rev. Tully compared and contrasted the two passages, pointing out that mustard wasn't considered imperial and noble like the mighty cedar. Mustard was a weed. So Jesus was actually doing something pretty radical here: comparing the Kingdom of God to a weed! It was messy and invasive. It got into things. Once planted, you couldn't stop it. Weeds just grow and grow, and you don't even fully understand how. "There is something about how life turns out that we can't control," Rev. Tully said. But what we do know is that life is growth -- in all its messy, uncontrollable glory.
The Gospel reading was from Mark 4:26-35, the "mustard seed" passage: "[Jesus] said, 'With what can we compare the Kingdom of God...It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nest in its shade.'"
Rev. Tully compared and contrasted the two passages, pointing out that mustard wasn't considered imperial and noble like the mighty cedar. Mustard was a weed. So Jesus was actually doing something pretty radical here: comparing the Kingdom of God to a weed! It was messy and invasive. It got into things. Once planted, you couldn't stop it. Weeds just grow and grow, and you don't even fully understand how. "There is something about how life turns out that we can't control," Rev. Tully said. But what we do know is that life is growth -- in all its messy, uncontrollable glory.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson's kids
In all the hooplah about Michael Jackson's death, no one I saw on TV was answering the question I had: what's going to happen to his three kids? They were born by a surrogate mother who renounced all parental rights, from what I remember, so it's not like they're going to live with Mom now. I finally just saw this article, "Attorney: Michael Jackson's Kids 'Are Doing Fine'" (http://omg.yahoo.com/news/family-attorney-michael-jacksons-kids-are-doing-fine/24378?nc), which says that his three kids, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II (a.k.a. Blanket), 7, are fine (which is a weird thing to say -- how can they be "fine" when their father just died suddenly?). They're in the care of a nanny, and will be raised by Michael Jackson's mom.
I still wonder if he truly is the kids' biological father. I mean, whatever skin disease he might have had, he was born a black man, but all of his kids look white, not biracial in the least. Which of course can happen, but with all three kids?
I remember when the "Thriller" video was all the rage when I was in middle school. My friends and I loved it so much, we would call each other whenever it aired ("Quick, turn on MTV! 'Thriller' is on!").
I still wonder if he truly is the kids' biological father. I mean, whatever skin disease he might have had, he was born a black man, but all of his kids look white, not biracial in the least. Which of course can happen, but with all three kids?
I remember when the "Thriller" video was all the rage when I was in middle school. My friends and I loved it so much, we would call each other whenever it aired ("Quick, turn on MTV! 'Thriller' is on!").
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Kreativ Blogger Award!
I am happy and quite honored that Sarah, author of one of my favorite blogs, Things Men Say (http://thingsmensay.blogspot.com/), nominated me for a Kreativ Blogger Award! Thanks so much, Sarah!
Here are the rules of this award:
(1) Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
(2) Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
(3) Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
(4) Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
(5) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
(6) Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
(7) Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.
Seven things you may or may not find interesting about me:
1. I can touch my nose with my tongue.
2. I am in the 95th percentile of women my age in my ability to do sit-ups (unless the trainer at my old gym was just trying to get on my good side!).
3. Everyone in my immediate family (all 4 of us) was born on either the 1st or the 14th of the month.
4. A short story I wrote when I was 17 received an honorable mention in "Seventeen" Magazine's annual teen fiction contest...back in the good ol' days, when magazines actually still published fiction....
5. I've visited seven foreign countries: Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Guatemala, and Ireland.
6. As a kid I once had 29 pet mice -- and now I stand on a chair and scream when I see just one.
7. I failed my first driving test because you're only allowed one mistake in NJ, and I made two: forgot to put my parking brake up on a hill, and didn't use my turn signal during the 3-point turn. (As if I would be MAKING a three-point turn with a line of cars behind me that could see my turn signal!! not that I'm bitter....)
Here are seven great blogs that I read (in addition to Things Men Say at http://thingsmensay.blogspot.com):
1. Waitress from Mensa (http://waitressfrommensa.blogspot.com/)
2. Homespun Heritage (go to http://www.homespunheritage.com and click on "blog" at the top)
2. Sizzle Says (http://sizzlesays.wordpress.com)
3. Dyn-o-Wright (http://dynowright.wordpress.com/)
4. Good Day Sunshine (http://sunshinecavett.wordpress.com/)
5. The Tabar Family (http://www.thetabarfamily.com/blog/)
6. The Jersey Girl (http://jerseygirlkarin.blogspot.com/)
7. The Shark Tank (http://whitesharktank.blogspot.com/)
Here are the rules of this award:
(1) Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
(2) Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
(3) Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
(4) Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
(5) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
(6) Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
(7) Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.
Seven things you may or may not find interesting about me:
1. I can touch my nose with my tongue.
2. I am in the 95th percentile of women my age in my ability to do sit-ups (unless the trainer at my old gym was just trying to get on my good side!).
3. Everyone in my immediate family (all 4 of us) was born on either the 1st or the 14th of the month.
4. A short story I wrote when I was 17 received an honorable mention in "Seventeen" Magazine's annual teen fiction contest...back in the good ol' days, when magazines actually still published fiction....
5. I've visited seven foreign countries: Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Guatemala, and Ireland.
6. As a kid I once had 29 pet mice -- and now I stand on a chair and scream when I see just one.
7. I failed my first driving test because you're only allowed one mistake in NJ, and I made two: forgot to put my parking brake up on a hill, and didn't use my turn signal during the 3-point turn. (As if I would be MAKING a three-point turn with a line of cars behind me that could see my turn signal!! not that I'm bitter....)
Here are seven great blogs that I read (in addition to Things Men Say at http://thingsmensay.blogspot.com):
1. Waitress from Mensa (http://waitressfrommensa.blogspot.com/)
2. Homespun Heritage (go to http://www.homespunheritage.com and click on "blog" at the top)
2. Sizzle Says (http://sizzlesays.wordpress.com)
3. Dyn-o-Wright (http://dynowright.wordpress.com/)
4. Good Day Sunshine (http://sunshinecavett.wordpress.com/)
5. The Tabar Family (http://www.thetabarfamily.com/blog/)
6. The Jersey Girl (http://jerseygirlkarin.blogspot.com/)
7. The Shark Tank (http://whitesharktank.blogspot.com/)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Gainfully employed!
Doing the sample lesson paid off -- I got the job!! Starting this fall, I will be a special education teacher for middle school students at a charter school in Manhattan! ;-D It's all "push-in" services -- I'll be in different teachers' classroom six periods a day, helping special education students within the regular classroom. The current special ed teacher said that may sound like a lot, but since you're not planning or grading all those classes, it's not as overwhelming as it may sound. Six classes sounded okay to me, though. When I taught eighth grade English, I taught six periods a day all by my lonesome, whereas in this position any whole-class teaching I'll do will be co-teaching. They really didn't have the co-teaching model when I got my master's in special ed in 1998, but I'm glad they do now. I think I'll like it! Having two teachers in the class ends up helping all the kids, not just the ones labeled as needing special ed services.
I'm grateful to have gotten a job this soon. Now I'll be spared from interviewing all summer. I'm really lucky.
I sign the contract tomorrow. First day for the kids is the day after Labor Day!
I'm grateful to have gotten a job this soon. Now I'll be spared from interviewing all summer. I'm really lucky.
I sign the contract tomorrow. First day for the kids is the day after Labor Day!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
2 job interviews this week!
This week I have two job interviews for full-time special ed teaching jobs for this fall. One is at a charter school in Manhattan, for which I have to teach a sample reading lesson to a group of four sixth graders with reading difficulties. And the other is at a private school in Manhattan for kids with learning disabilities, where the class size is capped at 12 students. Sounds nice, though of course if they can't handle being in a class with more than 11 other students, there is usually a very good reason!
The kids at the charter school go to school from 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM. I wonder if the teachers are on staggered schedules or if they're expected to teach for 8 hrs and 45 minutes per day, in which case they must have to stay up 'till all hours every night grading and planning. The school day at the private school ends at 3:00 PM, but they have a six week school summer program which they strongly encourage all students to attend. I really don't want to work during the summer. Summers off are the reward that makes the stress of teaching worthwhile!
But at this point I just need a job, so I'm excited to be getting interviews.
The kids at the charter school go to school from 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM. I wonder if the teachers are on staggered schedules or if they're expected to teach for 8 hrs and 45 minutes per day, in which case they must have to stay up 'till all hours every night grading and planning. The school day at the private school ends at 3:00 PM, but they have a six week school summer program which they strongly encourage all students to attend. I really don't want to work during the summer. Summers off are the reward that makes the stress of teaching worthwhile!
But at this point I just need a job, so I'm excited to be getting interviews.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Scenes from the resource room
Teacher: "Mitchell, concentrate on your test, please."
Mitchell sticks his tongue out at her and gets back to work.
Teacher: "Hey, that's not nice. I wasn't rude to you -- don't be rude to me."
Mitchell (matter-of-factly): "I wasn't rude. I was just being silly. If I wanted to be rude, I would've flipped you off."
Teacher: "Oh. Thanks for clarifying."
***
Teacher: "You shouldn't be wearing that shirt in school."
Simon: "What's wrong with it?"
Teacher: "You're not supposed to expose your shoulders."
Simon: "No, it's OK as long as the sleeves are at least three fingers wide, or something like that. I've worn this shirt a lot and no one's ever said anything."
Teacher: "Really?"
Simon: "Hey, you should see what some of the girls wear!"
Teacher: "Oh, I know. I do."
Simon: "Not that I'm complaining. As far as I'm concerned, all the girls could wear bikinis to school and I'd be perfectly happy." Pause. "Although I don't think I would get any work done."
* * *
Teacher: "You have a really good way of explaining things. Maybe you should be a teacher."
Jared: "No way. Are you kidding? I'd get fired my first day!"
Teacher: "What do you mean?"
Jared: "Teachers have to put up with too much crap. I've talked to teachers and asked them about certain things they should have done, and they've been like, 'Yeah, you're right, I would've done that, but I can't go against the bureaucracy.'"
Teacher: "But you'd get some of that in any big organization."
Jared: "I guess. But I also can't deal with stupid kids. You know? I wouldn't have any patience whatsoever. I'd just be like, 'You're being stupid. Get out of my classroom.' The worst would be to have MYSELF as a student. I couldn't handle me! I would kick myself out of class every single day!"
;)
Mitchell sticks his tongue out at her and gets back to work.
Teacher: "Hey, that's not nice. I wasn't rude to you -- don't be rude to me."
Mitchell (matter-of-factly): "I wasn't rude. I was just being silly. If I wanted to be rude, I would've flipped you off."
Teacher: "Oh. Thanks for clarifying."
***
Teacher: "You shouldn't be wearing that shirt in school."
Simon: "What's wrong with it?"
Teacher: "You're not supposed to expose your shoulders."
Simon: "No, it's OK as long as the sleeves are at least three fingers wide, or something like that. I've worn this shirt a lot and no one's ever said anything."
Teacher: "Really?"
Simon: "Hey, you should see what some of the girls wear!"
Teacher: "Oh, I know. I do."
Simon: "Not that I'm complaining. As far as I'm concerned, all the girls could wear bikinis to school and I'd be perfectly happy." Pause. "Although I don't think I would get any work done."
* * *
Teacher: "You have a really good way of explaining things. Maybe you should be a teacher."
Jared: "No way. Are you kidding? I'd get fired my first day!"
Teacher: "What do you mean?"
Jared: "Teachers have to put up with too much crap. I've talked to teachers and asked them about certain things they should have done, and they've been like, 'Yeah, you're right, I would've done that, but I can't go against the bureaucracy.'"
Teacher: "But you'd get some of that in any big organization."
Jared: "I guess. But I also can't deal with stupid kids. You know? I wouldn't have any patience whatsoever. I'd just be like, 'You're being stupid. Get out of my classroom.' The worst would be to have MYSELF as a student. I couldn't handle me! I would kick myself out of class every single day!"
;)
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