"Dude, I could so make this myself."

So this evening I hanging out with my colleague and friend, Holly.  We were looking online for this awesome resource that she had given me at the beginning of the school year.  It was around the time that I was plucked from the garten of kinders and sent head-first into first...on the second day of school.  Needless to say, I did not have the organization (or sanity) to hold onto it.  In the 30-so minutes I spent searching, Holly introduced me to the world of many many teaching blogs, most of them for First Grade teachers. Yet we just couldn't find that awesome "Welcome First Grade Parents" questionnaire. 

Then it hit me. "Dude, I could so make this myself." I love designing stuff on the computer and knew it would probably be a piece of chocolate chip cookie cake ('cause that's my favorite).  With Holly's help, I designed it, added questions we wish had been on the original (how do you prefer to be contacted, allergies, dietary restrictions), and even added insanely cute monkeys at school graphics. What's cuter than Firsties on a bus?  Why monkeys on a bus, of course!

Being the second and third year teachers that we are, we started talking about how we could supplement our salaries.  Holly mentioned being a consultant for those really cute bags that spell out the number rather than just use the numeral.  She suggested I start putting my stuff on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I'm not there just yet.  First I need to save up (or prepare many many thank you notes addressed to the kind soul that helps me) to pay for the Adobe account that will allow me to save and upload the resources I design without sacrificing my cute fonts!

(Me: I could just post them with the plain old fonts that everybody has as a default.)
(Holly: But people pay for the cute fonts.)

Somewhere after that exchange, Holly said that I could look into blogging.  She even told me which blog offers helpful advice on getting started (I haven't read it yet :/)  Then I remembered..."Hey!  I have one of those bloggy thingies!"

Well, this was my blog for my experiences student teaching in Bangkok, Thailand.  In 2009.  It's 2013. And a lot has changed (But that's another post for another night).

So here's the plan:  While I wait for that account, I'm going to try to become disciplined at posting.  I figure the summer is a good time for this, and I am teaching some fabulous kinders at the STEM Summer Academy in my county.  This will only be my third year of teaching, my second in First Grade.  These posts will probably be taken with the approximate amount of salt found on the rim of that lime-flavored beverage for which Jimmy Buffet named his ville.  We'll see how it goes...

This post is dedicated to Holly...because it was her idea!

yawn. stretch. sip coffee. conquer.

Today's to do list: yawn. stretch. sip coffee. conquer. And that's after the two hours of a.m. activities aimed to earn a paycheck.

This blog used to be called adventures in student teaching. But that was just one small, yet terribly exciting, chapter to my so-called life. Things have slowed down tremendously since then....almost to a halt, by comparison. So from time to time, I will grab a cup of coffee, log into the blog, settle into the not-couch (floor) and reminisce about the good ol' days: Thailand and Chattanooga. I'll consider it practice for any potential future grandchillins.

Life is not a fairy tale. Not all princesses live at Disney World....some live in Disneyland. I'm part of the "rest of the world" category. I prefer flip flops to glass slippers and I can't wear a tiara with my sunglasses atop my head. And don't get me started on ball gowns.

I may be wrong, but I don't recall ever dreaming of being a princess. Princess Teacher Barbie? Please. My life just wouldn't fit into a neat, princess story package with a bonus light up wand. So I'm writing my own kind of fairytale. Instead of fairies and pixie dust to help me accomplish, I'll turn to coffee and friends (coffeetale?). Prince Charming needn't ride in on a stallion...a Jeep would be just find. Royal subjects: I decline. Class of young minds: I'll gladly accept.

But honey, about that wand....if they do exist....I'll take twenty.

Life's to do list: Write my own caffeinated fairytale. Find my own happily ever after, and after and after. Keep up with this blog.

Next episode: Jimmy Buffett, dreams and schemes, and maybe an LOL or two from the Oprah and Gayle vault.

I'm not special...

I'm not special, this I know; for the Bible tells me so. I'm not all that and a bag of chips, not even the 25cent bag that is reduced to crumbs in the bottom of yesterday's lunchbox...

...but this paper from my grad class in philosophy did hang on the fridge for a while.

Belief.

I believe in miracles. I believe the children are our future. I believe in peace. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind. I believe in the power of music to heal and communicate. I believe in recycling. We are all worms, but I believe that I am a glow-worm. I believe in finding your “happy place”. I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world. I believe in love. I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. I believe in eternal life. I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do. I believe we are meant to learn from history and the people from it. And, despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.

I believe in many things. Most of us do. Some of our beliefs are developed on our own, through knowledge, experience, or even random meandering thoughts. Other beliefs are learned and adopted (when they align with our worldview) from the great minds that have lived and thought before us, like Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, C.S. Lewis, Eleanor Roosevelt, Anne Frank, and so many others. These people have put beliefs into word more eloquent than ours and found their place in the world to extend their influence far beyond themselves.

What does this have to do with education? I believe in education. I also believe that there is little value placed on the beliefs of students. Very rarely do we ask them to tap into the highest levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, engage their critical thinking skills which they cannot define, and analyze themselves deeply enough to evaluate their beliefs in 1,000 Times New Roman words. We are more likely test student to exhausting limits to find what they know for the 13 years they spend as a part of the system. Please don’t mistake me; I do understand the importance of testing. It’s the teaching to the testing that becomes problematic. There is so much planning and preparation for testing that many teachers feel as though their hand and the hands of their clock are bound to making sure every last little Johnny and little Suzie knows what they must know to perform on this test. Where is the time to sit in a circle, sing Kumbaya, and talk about our feelings while someone asks, “Will this be on the test?” To the best of my knowledge, the Educational Testing Service has not developed a test to measure beliefs.

Then we load the students into little boxes, using standardized test scores as packing peanuts, and poking little holes into the sides of the box to let in the parts of the world that we have deemed to be necessary to support life. We ship these neatly packaged 18 year-olds and their well-deserved high school diplomas to colleges across the country, and my, what an awakening they receive. Who could have known that higher education would be equated with higher thinking? Imagine their surprise when it is not enough to simply write two pages to answer the “what” question (what they know), but must write at least three more pages to answer the “how” or “why” questions. Even still, they might make it all the way though six semesters in their Associates program, seven semesters in their Bachelors and into their first semester of their Masters before a professor asks for a 1,000 word argument about their beliefs.

I can count on one hand the times that I was given an assignment along the lines of the very one I complete at this very moment before college. The closest one was in 10^th grade during the 2000 Presidential Election. In an effort to make conscientious and responsible citizens out of us, we were told to watch the debates, read the paper, and write an informed decision of who would get our vote and why. It was not enough to cite what the candidates believed, but why that mattered in accordance to what we believed. It was the first time that I felt as though my opinion mattered – I was validated. I had to think about my beliefs in the planet, and where those beliefs came from.

Is it important to encourage students to look at themselves and evaluate their beliefs? Yes! I particularly think of middle school students, beginning to develop their identity. They are sometimes eager to tell you they do and don’t believe in as they begin to assert themselves. We should challenge them to tell us why they believe in saving the puppies but not in school lunch. In the study of history or literature, students can select a figure they think fits in their worldview, analyze the writings of Mrs. Roosevelt or the sermons of Dr. King, and tell us how these beliefs assimilate to their own. Or better yet, someone that they do not agree with, and argue their beliefs against Churchill or Lewis.

It goes beyond college preparation. In asking students to tell us what they think, or feel, or believe, we have the opportunity to validate them as a person, as a mind, as a soul. We show we care, so when they arrive on the university doorstep, they are not ingrained in the “who cares” mentality, and are able to articulate their beliefs. Our beliefs often change, as we change and adapt. By encouraging students to consider and analyze their beliefs, not only are they learning, they are learning themselves, and can mark the progression of their beliefs like they would measure their height on a growth chart, inching their way towards adulthood. Or at least be able to laugh at how a 15-year-old who believed in hugging trees grew up to a twenty something who believes in promoting recycling on a college campus – it’s a great way to get rid of those things we know general core tests when we need more room for the papers about things we believe.

Like sands through the hour glass...

I am in shock, and I stand so corrected. When I told people that I was going to be in Thailand for 2 months, most said, "Oh, that is not long...it will go by so fast." Yeah, right. I wasn't buying it. Even as I became painfully aware that the last day I would get to spend with the most precious 60 boys on the face of the planet, it seemed like we had nothing but time.

Yet here I sit, with my suitcases (mostly) packed and blogging my flight plans. I haven't even finished publishing blogs about Thailand. (Which, by the way, I will do from home. Promise.) What gives?? My dear and usually right friend recently blogged a letter to father time. I agree...what's the deal, father time?

If I were a dictionary, this would be my entry for time:
time (n): that thing we never seem to have enough of, no matter how much we try to make the best of what we have of it.

Don't worry. That's the end of my time rant. For those who are curious, concerned, or otherwise involved, here's all the airplane jazz:

(U.S. Eastern Time)

(Sat 10/3) Departs Bangkok at 10:25pm (Sat. 10/3 11:25am)

(Sun 10/4)Arrives in Tokyo at 6:30am (Sat. 10/3 5:30pm)

(Sun 10/4) Departs Tokyo at 11:30am (Sat. 10/3 10:30pm)

(Sun 10/4) Arrives in Dallas at 8:45am (Sun 10/4 9:45am)

(Sun 10/4)Departs Dallas at 1:05pm (Sun 10/4 2:05pm)

(Sun 10/4) Arrives in Chattanooga at 4:00pm (The Same!!)

See you soon, America!

A Case Study...

He disturbs the quiet as he bounds through the door, burdened by his third grader's book bag. "Hi, Mom! Mmm...those brownies smell great!" The perfect vision of June Cleaver, she turns and says, "Hello, Johnny dear. How was school today?" He flashes a big, toothy smile and says, "It was swell! We talked about occupations and, say, will Pop be home for dinner tonight? I can't wait to tell you both what I have decided I'm going to be when I grow up."

--

That night at dinner, as they pass the meatloaf and garlic bread, Dad says, "Hey sport! Your mother was telling me that you have determined your future. Let's hear it. You going to be a doctor like your old man?" Sheepishly, but with excitement bubbling just below the surface, Little Johnny responds, "Um, actually, I was thinking of something a little more...exciting." "Surgeon? Pilot? Televangelist? What do you want to be when you grow up," his parents ask. Johnny drops his fork, takes a gulp of whole milk, wipes his mouth on the cloth napkin in his lap.

"I want to be a crocodile wrestler."

"This is what I want to be when I grow up," says Johnny proudly. "I want to pull them out of the water by their tails, antagonize them with water and shouting, and provoke them to anger by prodding them with a stick. An' then, when I got 'em good and mad, I'll stick my arm, my foot, even my head into his mouth. An' the best part is I can start when I'm sixteen!"

"A crocodile wrestler? I'm so proud," beams dad.

--

This may or may not be a factual account of how one chooses the career path of crocodile wrestler. I saw this. I watched them royally tick off an animal with sharp teeth and get paid for it. I don't remember crocodile wrestler coming up when I did a review game on Occupations with grade one here at BCC, but it's clearly an option, I suppose.

Who am I to judge someones hopes, dreams, and other matter of future aspiration?

Forget the eye of - I touched the tiger

We went to a tiger temple. (??) These large cats are raised by monks and thus desensitized to human contact, thus rendering 400 pounds of striped fur on a dog leash "safe". The volunteers take your camera and walk you around to various tigers for several Kodak moments. I think I have 15 pictures, which is fine by me. Who wants to be blinking or making a face in the photo of a once in a lifetime opportunity? Not me.

Clearly, petting a tiger is not one of those things I had planned on doing in my lifetime. Then again, neither was traveling to Thailand. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, nor the brightest candle on the cake. I'm not worthy of glossy photos, and I am definitely not in shape. My wallet...well, it shows I'm in college. Cool- please?!? farthest thing from it. I do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, and have regrets. Worse, I focus on these regrets, and kick myself further when it looks like I fall down 10 times more than I get back up. Simply put, I don't have it all together. I am messy.

But none of that mattered. I still got to pet a tiger. Several tigers. And my messy life seemed (temporarily) redeemed in a moment of a cool experience. It didn't matter how many mistakes I had made: the tiger let me pet it. I didn't do anything to deserve such awesomeness, but I still got to touch the tiger.

...so that's how this unmerited grace stuff works.

Yes, Mr. Lifeguard, I am conscious...

This post promises to be a more coherent and cognizant view of Thailand.

About six months ago, I was talking to my dad about going to Thailand, one of those countries on the other side of the planet, one of those countries I knew absolutely nothing about. He said, "Make sure you go to the River Kwai." I know there's that whole novel into movie deal about the POWs during WWII, but that was about it. So besides the deeply moving historical value, is there anything worth while around Kanchanaburi?

Yes, my friends. Yes, there is.

Aside from the stunning mountain views, there is the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, a memorial to the100,000 plus POWs (16,000 allies and 90,000 local Asian laborers) who died from horrific working conditions. From there we went to the actual bridge over River Kwai (or Kwae). In short...it was AWESOME. Yeah, it looks like just a bridge with some railroad tracks, but when you think about the history there...awesome. Just awesome.

The day only got better from there. Everything just became a random adventure. Our amazing tour guide from BCC met another amazing tour guide who let us join her group. We rode the train across death railway and took in the stunning mountain views. (note: when traveling to a new place, try to do the train thing. awesome and easy way to take in the scenery without walking).

We got off the train and had lunch at an outdoor restaurant. Sarah and I were talking to these two guys from England doing a year-long walkabout; going to South America, Asia, and Australia. Never in my life would I have imagined being so intrigued by traveling, but it sounded like so much fun and such an incredible experience that I found myself trying to think of the places that I would go if I were to do such a trip.

After lunch, we took a bamboo raft down the river. Awesome and peaceful experience. I couldn't help but imagine the raft making stops in the early morning, loading up with children and their books, and making its way toward the school like an aquatic bus...not that I have any reason to think that has ever happened...just random ADDness. We talked to a woman visiting from Australia who said just the same. When you see how simply and peacefully many of the Thai people live, it makes you wonder why we stress ourselves into heart attacks everywhere else. It was awesome to be able to meet so many interesting people and hear their stories.

When we got off the raft, we loaded our slightly damp selves back into the van to head off to our next adventure:

The Tiger Temple...