Guided twirling?

Every day we have a 20-minute guided study so students can do homework and see teachers if they have questions. During the 1st and 4th quarters, guided study is at the end of the day so student who are in fall and spring sports and activities won't miss as much class time.

For those who are left, it usually amounts to talk time, 'cause what high school junior (my guided study consists of 17 juniors) wants to study at the end of a long day of school? Tuesdays is silent reading day, and they are to quietly read a book or magazine for the 20 minutes.

Last Tuesday my advisees were talking, and I kept shushing them.

"Get something to read from the shelf and be quiet," I kept telling them in various ways, some of which got a bit snippy.

Until, one girl asked me what my first job was---and I stupidly took the bait and told them: "I gave baton-twirling lessons."

"Really?" they asked.

Well, the next thing you know it, I'm in front of the class teaching two of the girls how to twirl a wooden dowel, showing them my old tricks, as the others look on.

"Uh oh," they said.

In the doorway stood Dr. J, the principal. He looked at us, shook his head, smiled half a smile, shut the door and walked on. Why couldn't he have walked by when I was telling them to be quiet?

No Blarney

My white board collects a lot of stuff throughout the year, besides the invaluable stuff that I carefully post for the good of all students on a regular basis. Last week my white board became adorned with stuff that twenty, or even ten, years ago would never have been possible.

It began when I posted a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, as we are studying transcendentalism. I told students that while watching the local news, I saw Mayor Dave C give his consolation speech after being defeated by Paul Soglin during which he quoted Emerson: "What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us." We talked about what the quote meant and why the loser of an election would use it as he was leaving office.

After we got our work finished, Ramona, an exchange student from Switzerland, translated the quote into German. Next hour, Hyeon wrote it in Koren; then, Mindy in Chinese, Cagla in Turkish, Firas in Arabic, etc., Now, we have Thoreau's quote in eleven languages, not counting the one that Matt tried to pass as Gaelic as he is from Ireland---for upon checking Google translate, I found it to be blarney and erased it.

What a cool place to

a poem

Yesterday, 80-degrees in Wisconsin after a long, long winter sent me into closets and corners of the yard tossing and tidying, and inspiring a poem of sorts.

mornings, spring and being 10

anything is possible then

my hours unspent,

my seeds just sewn,

my life imagined

and nothing to regret, yet

Is that a chunk of moron in your teeth?

Today I attended a writing conference in Madison. In one of the sessions we were advised to observe and even listen in on conversations. So, I did. Not that I had much choice with this one.

A number of us wannabes were sitting around talking and waiting for our turn to pitch our work to the agents, when this guy, Joey, pulls out a container of dental floss, tears off a serving, and starts flossing. Right there in front of us.

And I thought high-schoolers could be uncouth.

If that wasn't gross enough, the lady next to him asked for some, like most people ask for a piece of gum, and there they sat, the two of them contorting their faces and digging that thread into their gums, while the rest of us tried not to look, which, by the way, didn't help because, guess what? They had to have a conversation about it, too:

"Did you know that Dr. Oz says you're supposed to floss four times a day?" says Joey.

"No, I didn't," says Ann.

"Yup, it can cause cancer."

"Wow. I didn't know that. I'm just glad I could get that piece of apple out of my front tooth."

"Yeah. But, nobody would have noticed," Joey says. "It's the same color as your teeth---unless the peel was still on it."

They laugh as they work the food bits outta those back molars.

"Gee, that sure is refreshing," says Ann.

"No kidding. That minty taste is invigorating! I feel so much better."

I'm glad he did. I don't know what they did with the used floss; I looked the other way and another woman got up and walked out.

Vote Kloppenberg for Justice

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election will be held next week on Tuesday, April 5.

You have no doubt seen the ads depicting David Prosser as a “rubber stamp” to Gov. Walker. Additionally, Prosser, rather than report a priest for sexual abuse, talked to the bishop who reassigned the priest to a different parish where the abuse continued.

I support JoAnne Kloppenburg because her record as a prosecutor and litigator has shown she will stand up for the law, fairness, and the people. She says she believes in “independent, impartial courts and judges, free of partisan politics.”

Those of us disgusted with Gov. Walker have been accused of resenting the rich and being in favor of socialism. Somewhere between Walker’s dictatorial rule and the total ownership of a society by government is a big field where capitalism and government can coexist. Businesses that make a profit, treat their employees and the environment with respect deserve our utmost praise. It’s those who abuse power and their workers, ship jobs and earnings overseas, and pollute the environment to line their pockets exponentially that earn our disdain.

Gov. Walker and David Prosser have both expressed their distrust of government. Yet, both are major components of the government. In essence, they are telling us they can’t be trusted.

This election for a new justice is for a ten-year term. Please make an educated, responsible decision and vote for Kloppenburg. If you want to know more, the web address is www.kloppenburgforjustice.com.

And all that jazz!

It's spring, the season for love and romance, for prom and flirting---and teaching The Great Gatsby.

I tell students it is my favorite of the classics, and if you pay attention F. Scott Fitzgerald teaches you everything you should avoid in life and love. Drinking and driving, infidelity, lying, cheating and snobbery are all laid out in the style of the 20s, with words that sculpt characters and their dreams.

On Friday we talked about how Gatsby wanted both his and Nick's house to be perfect for the afternoon tea when he and Daisy would reunite after five years. Gatsby commented on how Nick's lawn could use mowing and how he had someone mow it in the rain.

"My dad says that's not a good thing to do because the grass clumps up," Joanie said.

And, Joey said, "Yeah, my dad won't let me go near the lawnmower until the grass is dry."

"How many of your dad's are particular about the lawn?" I asked.

Twenty out of twenty-two hands went up, and we spent the next ten minutes digressing into "dad and lawn" stories.

Tracy said that one time she offered to cut the grass because her dad complained about having to do it all the time. He happily got her started on the riding mower, and she said she cut designs into the grass because it was fun. She was going to go back over it, but her dad came out and got her and said that from now on HE would cut the grass thank you very much.

I told my tale about my husband who got disgusted because our former neighbor used to cut about three feet into our lawn down the adjoining property line. I told him, "Who cares? He's cutting grass that you don't have to cut." "But it's my grass," my husband said, and he began mowing three feet over into the neighbor's yard. So, there was a strip of about six feet that always got cut double. Dueling lawnmowers. My husband should have just gone out and peed down the property line to mark his territory. What is it with guys and their lawns anyway?

OK, back to the book. Most students like reading The Great Gatsby but end up hating almost all the characters except Nick, the narrator. I think they enjoy the trek into the past age of big parties, flappers, gangsters and rousing recklessness. Tom and Daisy are the epitome of total superciliousness, and if they didn't know what that word meant before, they do now.

"We always read sad-ending books," Allen says.

It's true. Most classics have sad endings. But, sometimes enough Disney sap crap is enough, right?

If you like or are familiar with The Great Gatsby, you'll get a kick out of the youtube video a former student (thanks Angella) alerted me to called "Daisy's Lullaby." It's pretty cool. Let me know what you think.

Take that! :)

Some people have told me that if I don't like working in the public sector, I should switch to private. Anybody who knows me has heard me say that I LOVE what I do way before this whole attack on public workers. Kay, I have heard you do the same. We have pride in what we do. We provide a service, and we all know that if you want good services you have to pay for them. If you don't like the service, you complain. All this hoo-hah sounds like complaining to me, and it is hard not to take it personally.

I teach and mentor 123 teenagers per day. When they are absent, I get them caught up (whether they were sick or gone on family vacations); when they are having problems, I listen and encourage them to see the counselor; I give out band-aids, even at the high school level; I give career advice and much more. Sometimes I spend my own money on class projects, and this week I spent 15 hours beyond class time grading papers and planning lessons; sometimes it is more than that.

I am NOT complaining but defending what I do because I have been attacked. People wonder why we are rallying? It's because we feel disrespected and blamed for something we did not cause in the first place. Am I perfect at what I do? Absolutely not. Every year I try to get better. I've got my master's and every summer take a class or workshop to try to get better. So, all you critics out there who think I'm an overpaid whiner: if you are so envious of what I do, come do it and stop punching me in the stomach.

It's time to stop attacking each other and work together.