As a warning, this blog is going to be incredibly long and probably not all that interesting for your reading pleasure, and it's actually more for me to look back on when I'm applying to the Woodring College of Education or whatnot.
Alas, summer school at Elma Middle School has ended.
The the beginning of the week, there were six kids in the math class who were in danger of failing. One girl and her father came in to talk to the teacher, and, during the final days of class, the girl bucked up and passed by .48%. I was so happy that she had passed, because I knew she wanted to and because she was smart enough. But then I realized that we shouldn't have taken pity on her, because she had every opportunity to get an A in that class. She simply chose to not put in the work or effort, then she freaked out when she was failing. She went to summer school because she played the same slacking-off game during the regular school year, and who's to say that she won't do the same next year? What this girl needs to learn isn't math or English or social studies. She needs to learn to be accountable for herself. Both the teacher and I were aware that she could do the math, so we both prompted her to actually do the work and finish her tests. I feel like we did all we could; we talked to the girl, the father and sister were involved, and, in the end, the girl came to, but it was only because she had an "oh crap" moment when she realized what her slacking off had done. My question for myself as a future teacher is: how do you make a kid want to learn, do the work, and be engaged?
That boy who kept failing all this tests despite massive amounts of one-on-one help did fail in the end. I think that part of the problem was a learning disability on his part, and he had very little patience and was very mouthy as a result. By the end, I was actually afraid of this kid - not just because he was bigger than me. I was afraid of him because he represented failure. Not only that, but I was afraid that he would blow up in my face when I was trying to work with him. At times, he would want to work and he would try and he would actually understand, then he would shut down other times. He sulked by himself for the first few weeks then changed his seat to a more central area. Unfortunately, he befriended three of the most outspoken and obnoxious kids, so he was constantly turned around, talking and laughing with them. I realized that he was happier but he concentrated less on his work. When he couldn't do the work, he'd just turn around and chat. This situation was no better than the first; he would first sulk by himself and get mad at me and not do his work at all, then he would spend most of his time chatting and not concentrating much at all when he changed seats. Just as I've witnessed kids getting much more work done while being isolated from friends, I've witnessed kids blossom while sitting with a friend, but this particular kid was a lose-lose situation. As a teacher's aid, I couldn't do a whole lot in this situation. Or at least that's what it felt like. If I was the teacher, I would have tried working one-on-one with this kid then contacted the parents. I would have tried to get the kid into a special-ed class where he could get more specialized help, because I know now that this kid needed it more than any other. Part of me feels awful for being so helpless and letting this kid slip through my fingers, but the other part of me knows it's not my fault; this kid needs more help than what I can offer in a classroom setting. There's still no excuse for his failing.
The second kid that failed was one of my favorite students. He was small (smaller than me) and smiley, but he hardly ever attempted his work. He hardly ever had a pencil, and if he did, he didn't use it, and I would have to prompt him to take out a piece of paper and begin writing. He simply had his head in the clouds, and I couldn't call him back to Earth. He failed every single test, and each time, he would keep the test until the last minute while chatting with the other kids. He wasn't cheating, he was just screwing around because it was more fun than working. I think he could do the work if he wanted to apply himself. I think his family needed to be contacted as well, but I can't help but hope that there are some tricks that the Woodring College of Education will teach me that will help me excite and interest kids like him and the girl I mentioned before.
The third kid that failed was an odd duck. He was a lot like the kid I just mentioned, but he actually did the work half the time. He probably would have passed had he not dropped out on the second-to-last day. I admit to not really knowing what was going on with this guy, and maybe I would have been able to get inside his head a bit more had I known more about him. What happened was that he was slacking off one day and the lady who followed the 8th grade class around told him that he'd better buck up or he'd be held back and not allowed to go onto the 8th grade. Apparently he said to her that it didn't matter if he failed because his mom would let him move onto the next grade anyway. I'm not even sure if parents have a say in promoting or retaining their kid. Anyway, what I have gathered from that incident and from previously having heard him back-talk to the other aid and myself is that this is a spoiled kid. I'm still not sure what I could or should have done differently. To say the last, I was never very fond of this kid (and for good reason), but how can I reach out to these kinds of kids who I just don't like and who doesn't like me back? That's not to say that I'll ever give up on one of these kids, but it's difficult to put extra time and energy into helping a kid who really doesn't care about school or you.
I was incredibly happy when the kids who succeeded did succeed, and that ecstatic feeling outweighed the feeling of sadness of the failures, and I now know that what I live for is seeing kids succeed and being part of that success. I know that kids will fail no matter how much you try to save them, and seeing some kids fail was hard for me, but it was nothing compared to the joy I felt with those who succeeded. I think I was more happy than them.
This whole experience has taught me a great deal and it can be summed up into two categories: what I learned I'm good at/what I improved on and what I have issues with. Er... I mean, on what I improved and with what I have issues. There. No more prepositions at the end of phrases. Phew.
What I'm good at:
1.) I've always been shy, and during the first few days of summer school, I was nervous to look over the shoulders of the kids and tell them what they'd done right and wrong. I was just scared to get in their faces. After a the first week, I gained confidence to crouch down with them and work out a problem out with them. In essence, I've gotten a lot better at connecting with the students and not being afraid of them.
2.) I have a lot of patience, and patience is truly a virtue in the teaching profession. I never got frustrated with a kid for being slow. I only became frustrated when the kids were slacking when they were completely able to do the work.
3.) I'm not sure if one can be good at having enthusiasm, but I definitely have an enthusiasm for teaching. I love the kids and I love helping them learn. The classroom is where I want to be for many, many years to come.
What I need to improve on: *ahem* On what I need to improve:
1.) I need to work on my discipline kills. I'm great at being the "friend" but not at taking control. More than once, I'd tell a kid to do or not do something, and they'd ignore me. Part of the problem is that I look as young as them, and I'm shorter than most of them. I need to learn to take control and at least look menacing. Ha.
2.) I still have yet to feel completely comfortable working one-on-one with kids, because I'm afraid they'll get frustrated at me as they struggle - whether or not it's my fault. I think I need more confidence.
3.) I know there's so much more for me to learn, but these were the blairing "goods" and "bads" and I'm sure I've forgotten many. It's late, I have a headache, and I'm not wearing my glasses, so my writing isn't to fabulous at the moment. As if it ever is...
Looking back, this opportunity gave me a chance to
-work with many Hispanic kids, not just white ones like I'm used to
-listen to discussions between parents and their children and the teacher
-learn how much energy middle schoolers have!
-understand that I don't want to work in a predominately white school. I want to help the kids that really need help not because of a learning disability here or there or a spoiled kid with behavior problems. I want to help the students who want to learn but cannot due to poor schools and inexperienced teachers.
-learn how much time and energy it takes to run a classroom
-learn that middle schoolers need to have something to do constantly, or they'll quickly get out of hand
-learn that middle schoolers need to have a great deal of direction or they're not likely to go in the correct direction at all
-get that happy feeling of walking into a school each day, then watch the students file into the classroom as I waited excitedly to start each new day and each new class period
-...and loads of other stuff too. I think my brain stopped working a few hours ago. I didn't get my nap today!
I left on a happy note, at least. I was given a nice thank you card from the teachers, and the head teacher said he'd like me to come back next year and asked if I had any friends who would be interested in volunteering as well. I kept thinking that I'd see if I could volunteer at the Elma High School next year instead of the middle school just to get a wide range of experience, but I want to go back to that middle school. I enjoyed the experience so much and I miss the kids, so I'll probably volunteer there again. And at this point, I'm not sure if I'm ready to instruct high school students who aren't that much younger than me. But we'll see.
--Elie (who won't be Ms. Hartman for a while, unfortunately)
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Jon Does Some Ketch[ing]up [and Rambling]
I actually hate ketchup. Anyways, my life has been quite uneventful. I've been working at the local Radioshack; helping customers and selling stuff are my main duties, but lately we've been doing lots of inventory and cleaning as well, and we always have the duty of talking about video games, movies, TV shows, web-comics, computers, and other nerd stuff like that. I really enjoy helping customers with their issues; it's always a nice feeling when someone comes in confused and I know exactly how to fix their problem and make it so that they understand how their device works even a little bit. I think working at Radioshack is partly why I was inspired to become a teacher. In high school, I didn't really do any volunteering. My parents didn't really encourage me to do it, and even though I knew plenty of people who did, it just didn't appeal to me at all; why would I want to "give back to the community"? What exactly had the community given to me? What did I have to gain? In high school, I tended to be rather bitter and cynical toward the people around me, and was not very thankful at all; I just wanted to be left alone and let to live my life. I started working at Radioshack late in my junior year, and I liked it a lot. I enjoyed working with electronics, I enjoyed the relatively laidback attitude of my employer, and *gasp* I enjoyed helping people. I didn't think about this too much, though, and my senior year, I figured it was "too late" to start volunteering. I was "too busy," anyways, what with my senior year and senior project and scholarship notebook and procrastinating in College English (the UW Outreach-sponsored Language Arts class from HELL). Then college came around. I realized that to get into Woodring College, the education program at WWU, I would have to "get involved" and turn in an impressive resume. So I decided to join some clubs and start volunteering. Much to my surprise, somehow, I enjoyed it. I felt accomplished. I felt like I was doing something positive, even if only in a small and minute way. I learned about how our education system is totally screwed. I still have much to learn, and I have yet to read Jonathan Kozol's book the Elie has recommended that everyone read, but I intend to read it as soon as possible. It's very important that people know about it, and now it's very important that I do my part in fixing it. When I graduate, I'd like to teach at a low-income school. I'll probably be teaching math, since most schools in low-income areas don't have music programs, but if there is one, I would definitely like to be a part of it, even if its just an after-school thing. Kids in those areas need something positive in their lives to keep their minds enriched, something that can make them even a little bit excited about school, even if it's just one part of it. I want to make kids excited about music and learning about it and making it. Even if I just start a drum circle club, or help out with a hip-hop club; anything relating to music, I want to be there with those kids. After mind-numbing days learning about stuff in an environment that totally lacks energy, I want to be there with the soundtrack that keeps them sane. It's a pretty high goal, but even if I just end up having a little club band that all the high-achieving kids participate in, at least I can say I tried. Math is a little harder to get kids excited about, but I'll be damned if I don't learn dem kids good. I'd like to figure out a way to make kids excited about math, to tell convince them that it's not nerdy to enjoy it, to show awesome ways to apply it to their lives... but I have a hard time doing that with myself sometimes! I'm up for the challenge, though.
Let's see... in other news, I know I said I wouldn't talk about video games anymore, but I GOT A PLAYSTATION 3. $240. Pretty damn good deal if I may say so myself. Right now, I have Metal Gear Solid 4, Uncharted, Oblivion, and... umm... crap what's the fourth game... Assassin's Creed! Yesss. I might turn in Uncharted and replace it with LittleBigPlanet if GameStop has it tomorrow. I'm also playing through Final Fantasy X again. It's so addicting! So many heartbreaking moments... and I forgot to talk about some of the conversations some of the characters have about the religion in their world. At one point the essentially atheist character Rikku is arguing with the devout Yevon follower Wakka about the religion's ways and why they're wrong; if a few phrases and words were replaced in the conversation, it might as well have been had by a real-world skeptical atheist and blind, ignorant Christian [NOT to say that all Christians are ignorant AT ALL]. I find it very interesting. Anyways, I'm playing through it to try to unlock various secret stuff. And just to play through the storyline again.
Also, I've recently started watching Firefly on Hulu at the suggestion of several friends, and boy am I not regretting it! It's such an intriguing show. The basic premise is pretty standard sci-fi fare; a ship of space smugglers try to find jobs and avoid the Alliance's ships as well as super-bad criminals. But the characters are so very rich and interesting. Also, the show takes many action/sci-fi/drama cliches and twists them around for some hilarious moments. Example: the captain is lecturing a fugitive doctor about how he's done nothing good for the crew and how he got one of the crew members shot, and then says that that crew member has died. Dramatic music plays. The doctor runs down to the infirmary... only to find the crew member alive, awake, smiling, and waving. The scene cuts to the captain laughing hysterically with his crew about how they should have seen the look on his face. The show also has a Wild West tinge to it, to reflect the "frontier" aspect of space, where outlaws roam and the law is flexible on the outer fringe planets.
This weekend, I'm going to see several bands perform in Seattle at the Capitol Hill Block Party, a two-day music festival. I'm quite excited. I'll tell all about it when I return. Also, next week I'M SEEING ELIE AGAIN. It'll have been another three weeks [actually more], which has been rough. But you know, compared to most couples, I'm super-proud of us. We talk about once a day, and other than that live our lives normally. We still don't really argue at all. Our relationship is still perfectly healthy. It's impressive! I don't know if I know any other couples that are doing or have ever done as well as we're doing now. That sounds rather high-and-mighty, but it's awesome! Anyways, Squirrel Baggers United isn't going to go through any secession anytime soon, that's for sure.
--Jon
Let's see... in other news, I know I said I wouldn't talk about video games anymore, but I GOT A PLAYSTATION 3. $240. Pretty damn good deal if I may say so myself. Right now, I have Metal Gear Solid 4, Uncharted, Oblivion, and... umm... crap what's the fourth game... Assassin's Creed! Yesss. I might turn in Uncharted and replace it with LittleBigPlanet if GameStop has it tomorrow. I'm also playing through Final Fantasy X again. It's so addicting! So many heartbreaking moments... and I forgot to talk about some of the conversations some of the characters have about the religion in their world. At one point the essentially atheist character Rikku is arguing with the devout Yevon follower Wakka about the religion's ways and why they're wrong; if a few phrases and words were replaced in the conversation, it might as well have been had by a real-world skeptical atheist and blind, ignorant Christian [NOT to say that all Christians are ignorant AT ALL]. I find it very interesting. Anyways, I'm playing through it to try to unlock various secret stuff. And just to play through the storyline again.
Also, I've recently started watching Firefly on Hulu at the suggestion of several friends, and boy am I not regretting it! It's such an intriguing show. The basic premise is pretty standard sci-fi fare; a ship of space smugglers try to find jobs and avoid the Alliance's ships as well as super-bad criminals. But the characters are so very rich and interesting. Also, the show takes many action/sci-fi/drama cliches and twists them around for some hilarious moments. Example: the captain is lecturing a fugitive doctor about how he's done nothing good for the crew and how he got one of the crew members shot, and then says that that crew member has died. Dramatic music plays. The doctor runs down to the infirmary... only to find the crew member alive, awake, smiling, and waving. The scene cuts to the captain laughing hysterically with his crew about how they should have seen the look on his face. The show also has a Wild West tinge to it, to reflect the "frontier" aspect of space, where outlaws roam and the law is flexible on the outer fringe planets.
This weekend, I'm going to see several bands perform in Seattle at the Capitol Hill Block Party, a two-day music festival. I'm quite excited. I'll tell all about it when I return. Also, next week I'M SEEING ELIE AGAIN. It'll have been another three weeks [actually more], which has been rough. But you know, compared to most couples, I'm super-proud of us. We talk about once a day, and other than that live our lives normally. We still don't really argue at all. Our relationship is still perfectly healthy. It's impressive! I don't know if I know any other couples that are doing or have ever done as well as we're doing now. That sounds rather high-and-mighty, but it's awesome! Anyways, Squirrel Baggers United isn't going to go through any secession anytime soon, that's for sure.
--Jon
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Wait...What?
Now that I think about it, I never really clarified why The Shame of the Nation changed my life. First of all, it opened my eyes to severe injustices going on right under the nation's (and my own) nose. I was sort of aware of these inequalities before, but this book hit home for me. While I read it, I kept thinking "I have to do something." I knew I couldn't just sit back and let the injustices occur. What I'll actually DO is another story, but this book inspired me to do SOMEthing.
Secondly, this book made me realize how passionate I am about kids and teaching. After reading this book, I know that I can't be a teacher is some middle- or upper-class school with primarily white kids. In fact, I can't even teach in a middle- to upper-class school at all while I know that kids in poor areas all around the country are not receiving proper education. Even though my job will be made harder, I'll still be part of the struggle to educate the poor children who aren't getting what they deserve. Even if I do spend time teaching in a segregated school where there are mostly white kids, I'll make a point to educate them about the inequalities in America's education system.
Jonathan Kozol mentioned Teach for America a few times in his book, and I have seen the signs to apply for the program on Western's campus, but I never really understood what the program was all about. I went on their website and discovered that Teacher for America takes the top graduates from universities all around the US and provides them with adequate training to go out into low-income schools with mostly black and Hispanic children - where good teachers are needed the most. Apparently there are hundreds of thousands of applicants each year, but very few are admitted. Those who are admitted are sent all over the country to work in a school for two years. There are no schools for Teach For America in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho, so the closest place to teach is California. Seattle is a fairly segregated area as far as schools and such (as was mentioned in Kozol's book), but there are no spots for Teach for America students. After looking around, I decided that I really want to do Teach for America, even though my chances of being selected are slim. Apparently they reject thousands of applicants from Harvard, Oxford, Georgetown, Stanford, etc. In order to be accepted, I'll need one heck of a resume and ... I don't know ... I'll need to do some impressive things while I'm in college.
Thinking about Teach for America made me think, "how far am I willing to travel to teach?" Several months ago, Jon said he was concerned about us finding a teaching job in the same area and being able to stay together. At the time, I pushed away the idea because finding a teaching job and whatnot was so far away. But if I am accepted to do Teach for America, I'll have to travel, at the least, to California, but most teachers are needed in New York and in the South. What will happen to our relationship if one or both of us leaves for an extended amount of time? On one hand, I don't want either of us to hold the other back from any opportunity what so ever, but I happen to love Jon quite a bit and I honestly can't imagine being without him. I mean, I could live for a few months without seeing him, but what if it's longer than that? Will we stay together? Is it worth staying together if we can't see each other? (My opinion is "yes"...) Even if Teach for America stays out of both of our lives, what are the odds of us each finding a job in the same area, especially if I want to be in area where I can teach "minority" children?
Reading The Shame of the Nation has made me think about my future more than ever, and I feel like I'm chasing this dream of changing the lives of hundreds of children with my teaching, but I want Jon to be there with me.
--Elie
Secondly, this book made me realize how passionate I am about kids and teaching. After reading this book, I know that I can't be a teacher is some middle- or upper-class school with primarily white kids. In fact, I can't even teach in a middle- to upper-class school at all while I know that kids in poor areas all around the country are not receiving proper education. Even though my job will be made harder, I'll still be part of the struggle to educate the poor children who aren't getting what they deserve. Even if I do spend time teaching in a segregated school where there are mostly white kids, I'll make a point to educate them about the inequalities in America's education system.
Jonathan Kozol mentioned Teach for America a few times in his book, and I have seen the signs to apply for the program on Western's campus, but I never really understood what the program was all about. I went on their website and discovered that Teacher for America takes the top graduates from universities all around the US and provides them with adequate training to go out into low-income schools with mostly black and Hispanic children - where good teachers are needed the most. Apparently there are hundreds of thousands of applicants each year, but very few are admitted. Those who are admitted are sent all over the country to work in a school for two years. There are no schools for Teach For America in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho, so the closest place to teach is California. Seattle is a fairly segregated area as far as schools and such (as was mentioned in Kozol's book), but there are no spots for Teach for America students. After looking around, I decided that I really want to do Teach for America, even though my chances of being selected are slim. Apparently they reject thousands of applicants from Harvard, Oxford, Georgetown, Stanford, etc. In order to be accepted, I'll need one heck of a resume and ... I don't know ... I'll need to do some impressive things while I'm in college.
Thinking about Teach for America made me think, "how far am I willing to travel to teach?" Several months ago, Jon said he was concerned about us finding a teaching job in the same area and being able to stay together. At the time, I pushed away the idea because finding a teaching job and whatnot was so far away. But if I am accepted to do Teach for America, I'll have to travel, at the least, to California, but most teachers are needed in New York and in the South. What will happen to our relationship if one or both of us leaves for an extended amount of time? On one hand, I don't want either of us to hold the other back from any opportunity what so ever, but I happen to love Jon quite a bit and I honestly can't imagine being without him. I mean, I could live for a few months without seeing him, but what if it's longer than that? Will we stay together? Is it worth staying together if we can't see each other? (My opinion is "yes"...) Even if Teach for America stays out of both of our lives, what are the odds of us each finding a job in the same area, especially if I want to be in area where I can teach "minority" children?
Reading The Shame of the Nation has made me think about my future more than ever, and I feel like I'm chasing this dream of changing the lives of hundreds of children with my teaching, but I want Jon to be there with me.
--Elie
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Education Inequality and Segregation in American Schools - It Exists!
It's not often that one reads a book that chances his or her life. I was lucky enough to encounter one of these life-changing books, and it happens to be The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol. I won't summarize this book, because anybody who reads this blog should read the book for themself. Actually, every American (and non-American) citizen should read Kozol's book, because it contains information that everybody needs to know. In essence, he writes about how segregated and unequal American schools are. We always hear of people going over-seas to build schools for poor, innocent children who have been denied an education, but America suffers from educational inequality like any other country. Not only are schools very, very segregated (yes, segregation is still rampant in America and has gotten worse since the Civil Rights movement), but those segregated schools are in miserable condition. Again, I won't go into detail because I could never convey the true colors of what Kozol has done in his many books. I suggest you read this particular book because it's one of his most recent (published in 2005).
The hardest idea to grasp isn't that millions of poor black, white, and Hispanic kids are suffering from educational equality. What is truly amazing is that the government refuses to protect these children. The government refuses to desegregate schools and it refuses to fund rich and poor areas equally. Kozol wrote, "The majority opinion of the high court noted that, in order to bring to bear 'strict scrutiny' upon the case [the case was about a school board or possibly a parent suing the state - for not supplying sufficient funds to his child's school - or something to that extent. There were several court cases mentioned in this book; it's hard to keep them all straight. This case eventually went to the Supreme Court and was dismissed.], it must first establish that there had been 'absolute deprivation' of a 'fundamental interest' of the Edgewood children. Justice Lewis Powell wrote that education is not 'a fundamental interest' inasmuch as education 'is not among the rights afforded explicit protection under our Federal Constitution.' Nor, he wrote, did he believe that 'absolute deprivation' was at stake. 'The argument here,' he said, 'is not that the children in districts having relatively low assessable property values are receiving no public education; rather, it is that they are receiving a poorer quality education than that available to children in districts having more assessable wealth.' In cases where wealth is involved, he said, 'the Equal Protection Clause does not require absolute equality.'"
That's right - the United States Constitution doesn't promise an equal education for all, so education is unable to be protected by law, just as gays and lesbians are not protected because the Constitution is too vague. Although this Constitution of ours has done good for many, it's destroying America's youth (and gays and lesbians, but that's not part of my argument...at this particular time...) Basically, as Kozol wrote, "education, 'where the State has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.'"
TO ALL (not some) ON EQUAL TERMS. Furthermore, this court case, a fight to get one single school district equal rights, was denied. "From that point on, with few exceptions, legal efforts to reduce or to abolish inequalities in education were restricted to state levels." What this statement means is that there is no single all-encompassing law that protects educational equality. Now it's up to each individual state to look after its schools, and it's up to each state to determine where the money goes, and, as evidence shows, the money is not being distributed fairly.
As Jon and I were discussing recently, these schools could be helped so much if they were only given sufficient funds. Granted, giving much-needed money to the dilapidated schools won't desegregate schools, but at least the children (often black and Hispanic) will have a chance to learn as much and in the same way as their rich (and often white) counterparts. Maybe if the white, middle- and upper-class communities were able to see that black and Hispanic children are able to learn as much as their children, they'll be more willing to desegregate schools. Just maybe...
Back to my first comment that money can fix so much in this dismal situation. And it's not like the money simply isn't there. Just look at how much sports stars are paid and all the million and billionaires there are. They could easily build a few hundred schools and supply them with the necessary materials to help underprivileged kids learn as much as they deserve. According to Kozol's findings, "'the top 25 percent of school districts in terms of child poverty...receive less funding than the bottom 25 percent." and "In 31 states, districts with the highest percentage of minority children also receive less funding per pupil than do districts with the fewest minority children. Thirty-five out of 48 states spend less on students in school districts with the highest numbers of minority children than on students in the districts with the fewest children of minorities."
All of the statistics that Jonathan Kozol presented were worth noting, but I chose to highlight a few in this blog: "Nationwide, from 1993 to 2002, the number of high schools graduating less than half their ninth grade class in four eyes has increased by 75 percent." The percentage of minority students graduating from high school was already low and it has increased by an astounding percentage.
Furthermore, George W. Bush (praise Allah that he is no longer president) did nothing to help. (Actually, Jonathan Kozol has been fasting for quite some time (years, perhaps, I can't remember) in his protest against No Child Left Behind. George W. Bush, you are killing a 72 year-old man. President Barack Obama, please save Mr. Kozol.)
"I went to Washington to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations," the president [George W. Bush] said again in his campaign for reelection [how the hell was this guy elected TWICE?] in September 2004. It's working. It's making a difference." It is one of those deadly lies which, by sheer repetition, is at length accepted by large numbers of Americans as, perhaps, a rough approximation of the truth. But it is not he truth, and it is not an innocent misstatement of the facts. It is a devious appeasement of the heartache of the parents of the black and brown and poor and, if it is not forcefully resisted and denounced, it is going to lead our nation even further in a perilous direction."
Here's another little tidbit for your reading enjoyment: "With the continuing effects of economic turndown undercutting state assistance to the local districts, even some of the less impoverished systems have been forced to such extremes as locking down their libraries for lack of funds with which to pay librarians. Full-day kindergarten in some low-to-middle-income district near my home has recently been cancelled. The only children in the district who receive full days of kindergarten now are those whose parents can afford to pay for it with private funds - this within a public system. The same undemocratic practice has been introduced in schools in Washington State, Colorado, Arizona, Indiana, Oregon, and elsewhere."
"We've got [the] money in place to fund the measurement systems,"' President Bush announced as school began two years ago. Even this was not entirely true. Many inner-city districts have been cutting back on buying education supplies because they are diverting funds to purchase test materials and test-preparation programs. Others have been forced to spend large sums of money to support a virtually new profession of 'test-checking' personnel to guard against he widespread cheating that has taken place, in Texas for example." Yeah, Texas, Mr. Bush. In Texas. It's ridiculous that much-needed money is not even being spent on "educational supplies" but on test materials. Test materials! These kids who are denied basic supplies and safe classrooms are being forced to take the same tests as everyone else who as enough money to spend on every little necessary thing and more.
As far as segregation goes, "And, despite the polls which demonstrate the large majorities of black Americans believe in integrated education and that only 20 percent of white Americans do not think it to be of serious importance, the drumbeat of opinions that are cited in much of the non-print media (virtually no integrationists are ever invited to express their viewpoints on this subject on TV) give many citizens who favor integration the impression that their own beliefs must be archaic or unique."
A heart-felt tidbit with which I heartily agree: "'White teachers and black and Hispanic teachers need to teach together. White children and black and Hispanic children need to learn together. You have to start it when they're very young, in elementary school, in kindergarten, when they're learning innocence.'"
Some hypocrisy: "'You hear them talk of 'standards' - 'national standards' - in the White House now, but when it comes to where our children go to school and how we're supposed to pay for them to have an education, it's 'a local issue.' It's 'states' rights'"
"Mr. Paige, the former education secretary, went so far a year ago [2004] as to call the National Education Association, our nation's largest teachers union, 'a terrorist organization' because it criticized the White House for refusing to deliver on the funding that it promised at the time its education bill was shepherded through Congress."
The last two paragraphs of the book which made me tear up: "'You cannot deviate from this. You have to say, ''Some things are good and right unto themselves'" he [Roger Wilkins] said again. 'No matter what the present mood in Washington is like, no mater what the people who are setting policy today believe, or want us to believe, no matter what the sense of temporary hopelessness that many of us often feel, we can not give up on the struggle we began and on the dream that brought us here.
"You cannot give it up. We cannot give it up. As a nation, as a people, I don't believe that we have any choice but to reject this acquiescence, to reject defeat.'"
Please read The Shame of the Nation. Perhaps it will change your life too.
--Elie
The hardest idea to grasp isn't that millions of poor black, white, and Hispanic kids are suffering from educational equality. What is truly amazing is that the government refuses to protect these children. The government refuses to desegregate schools and it refuses to fund rich and poor areas equally. Kozol wrote, "The majority opinion of the high court noted that, in order to bring to bear 'strict scrutiny' upon the case [the case was about a school board or possibly a parent suing the state - for not supplying sufficient funds to his child's school - or something to that extent. There were several court cases mentioned in this book; it's hard to keep them all straight. This case eventually went to the Supreme Court and was dismissed.], it must first establish that there had been 'absolute deprivation' of a 'fundamental interest' of the Edgewood children. Justice Lewis Powell wrote that education is not 'a fundamental interest' inasmuch as education 'is not among the rights afforded explicit protection under our Federal Constitution.' Nor, he wrote, did he believe that 'absolute deprivation' was at stake. 'The argument here,' he said, 'is not that the children in districts having relatively low assessable property values are receiving no public education; rather, it is that they are receiving a poorer quality education than that available to children in districts having more assessable wealth.' In cases where wealth is involved, he said, 'the Equal Protection Clause does not require absolute equality.'"
That's right - the United States Constitution doesn't promise an equal education for all, so education is unable to be protected by law, just as gays and lesbians are not protected because the Constitution is too vague. Although this Constitution of ours has done good for many, it's destroying America's youth (and gays and lesbians, but that's not part of my argument...at this particular time...) Basically, as Kozol wrote, "education, 'where the State has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.'"
TO ALL (not some) ON EQUAL TERMS. Furthermore, this court case, a fight to get one single school district equal rights, was denied. "From that point on, with few exceptions, legal efforts to reduce or to abolish inequalities in education were restricted to state levels." What this statement means is that there is no single all-encompassing law that protects educational equality. Now it's up to each individual state to look after its schools, and it's up to each state to determine where the money goes, and, as evidence shows, the money is not being distributed fairly.
As Jon and I were discussing recently, these schools could be helped so much if they were only given sufficient funds. Granted, giving much-needed money to the dilapidated schools won't desegregate schools, but at least the children (often black and Hispanic) will have a chance to learn as much and in the same way as their rich (and often white) counterparts. Maybe if the white, middle- and upper-class communities were able to see that black and Hispanic children are able to learn as much as their children, they'll be more willing to desegregate schools. Just maybe...
Back to my first comment that money can fix so much in this dismal situation. And it's not like the money simply isn't there. Just look at how much sports stars are paid and all the million and billionaires there are. They could easily build a few hundred schools and supply them with the necessary materials to help underprivileged kids learn as much as they deserve. According to Kozol's findings, "'the top 25 percent of school districts in terms of child poverty...receive less funding than the bottom 25 percent." and "In 31 states, districts with the highest percentage of minority children also receive less funding per pupil than do districts with the fewest minority children. Thirty-five out of 48 states spend less on students in school districts with the highest numbers of minority children than on students in the districts with the fewest children of minorities."
All of the statistics that Jonathan Kozol presented were worth noting, but I chose to highlight a few in this blog: "Nationwide, from 1993 to 2002, the number of high schools graduating less than half their ninth grade class in four eyes has increased by 75 percent." The percentage of minority students graduating from high school was already low and it has increased by an astounding percentage.
Furthermore, George W. Bush (praise Allah that he is no longer president) did nothing to help. (Actually, Jonathan Kozol has been fasting for quite some time (years, perhaps, I can't remember) in his protest against No Child Left Behind. George W. Bush, you are killing a 72 year-old man. President Barack Obama, please save Mr. Kozol.)
"I went to Washington to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations," the president [George W. Bush] said again in his campaign for reelection [how the hell was this guy elected TWICE?] in September 2004. It's working. It's making a difference." It is one of those deadly lies which, by sheer repetition, is at length accepted by large numbers of Americans as, perhaps, a rough approximation of the truth. But it is not he truth, and it is not an innocent misstatement of the facts. It is a devious appeasement of the heartache of the parents of the black and brown and poor and, if it is not forcefully resisted and denounced, it is going to lead our nation even further in a perilous direction."
Here's another little tidbit for your reading enjoyment: "With the continuing effects of economic turndown undercutting state assistance to the local districts, even some of the less impoverished systems have been forced to such extremes as locking down their libraries for lack of funds with which to pay librarians. Full-day kindergarten in some low-to-middle-income district near my home has recently been cancelled. The only children in the district who receive full days of kindergarten now are those whose parents can afford to pay for it with private funds - this within a public system. The same undemocratic practice has been introduced in schools in Washington State, Colorado, Arizona, Indiana, Oregon, and elsewhere."
"We've got [the] money in place to fund the measurement systems,"' President Bush announced as school began two years ago. Even this was not entirely true. Many inner-city districts have been cutting back on buying education supplies because they are diverting funds to purchase test materials and test-preparation programs. Others have been forced to spend large sums of money to support a virtually new profession of 'test-checking' personnel to guard against he widespread cheating that has taken place, in Texas for example." Yeah, Texas, Mr. Bush. In Texas. It's ridiculous that much-needed money is not even being spent on "educational supplies" but on test materials. Test materials! These kids who are denied basic supplies and safe classrooms are being forced to take the same tests as everyone else who as enough money to spend on every little necessary thing and more.
As far as segregation goes, "And, despite the polls which demonstrate the large majorities of black Americans believe in integrated education and that only 20 percent of white Americans do not think it to be of serious importance, the drumbeat of opinions that are cited in much of the non-print media (virtually no integrationists are ever invited to express their viewpoints on this subject on TV) give many citizens who favor integration the impression that their own beliefs must be archaic or unique."
A heart-felt tidbit with which I heartily agree: "'White teachers and black and Hispanic teachers need to teach together. White children and black and Hispanic children need to learn together. You have to start it when they're very young, in elementary school, in kindergarten, when they're learning innocence.'"
Some hypocrisy: "'You hear them talk of 'standards' - 'national standards' - in the White House now, but when it comes to where our children go to school and how we're supposed to pay for them to have an education, it's 'a local issue.' It's 'states' rights'"
"Mr. Paige, the former education secretary, went so far a year ago [2004] as to call the National Education Association, our nation's largest teachers union, 'a terrorist organization' because it criticized the White House for refusing to deliver on the funding that it promised at the time its education bill was shepherded through Congress."
The last two paragraphs of the book which made me tear up: "'You cannot deviate from this. You have to say, ''Some things are good and right unto themselves'" he [Roger Wilkins] said again. 'No matter what the present mood in Washington is like, no mater what the people who are setting policy today believe, or want us to believe, no matter what the sense of temporary hopelessness that many of us often feel, we can not give up on the struggle we began and on the dream that brought us here.
"You cannot give it up. We cannot give it up. As a nation, as a people, I don't believe that we have any choice but to reject this acquiescence, to reject defeat.'"
Please read The Shame of the Nation. Perhaps it will change your life too.
--Elie
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
How To Succeed When Failure Is So Much Easier
Today proved to be a difficult day in summer school. For the past week or so, we've been working on multiplication with the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Today, they were given their multiplication test. At least half of the kids (collectively) failed - meaning they received 60% or lower. If they don't pass all three of their summer school classes (English, social studies, and math), they won't pass at all and they'll be held back. Statistics have shown that retaining a child will significantly decrease their likelihood to graduate from high school or succeed in general. But these kids are not ready to move on. I don't know how they're doing in the other two classes, but their math skills are not up to par, even for elementary school. I don't think that holding them back is the answer, but they definitely need a significant amount of extra help in the necessary subject areas. Many of the kids who are having difficulty have problems at home, and their parent(s) are unable to help them study for tests or help with their homework. This is when the school system needs to step up. These kids shouldn't have been allowed to fall this far behind. Granted, it's partially the kids' faults for not caring or even trying to get the extra help, but the school system shouldn't have let so many kids fall through the cracks. When they reach summer school, it seems too late to help. Many kids are making progress, but many more just refuse to try. They should have been given extra help during the regular school year; they should have been pulled out of whatever class to get help. Maybe this did happen. I can't say one way or another, but my guess is that most everybody gave up on these kids.
There is one boy who I've been working with nearly every day, and he's showed little improvement. I knew he would fail the test, and he did. He got every single problem wrong. From his desk, he watched me correct his test and when I looked back at him, I saw sadness and zero hope in his eyes, and when he met my glance he knew how he had done on the test. I honestly felt like crying. When I sat down and talked to him he immediately said, "I got all of them wrong, didn't I?" It nearly killed me to show him that he was correct. This kid qualifies for special ed in at least math - probably other subjects as well, but his failure isn't justified, and my heart broke when I saw him so upset. Luckily, he asked if he could re-take the test, so the teacher is having him practice more (what I was trying to get him to do in the first place) before he re-takes it. But if he has to do extra work, he'll have to do so outside of school, and he probably won't do it. A majority of the kids in summer school are just lazy and will hardly do work in class, let alone at home.
There was another girl that raised some issues today. She's always had problems with completing and turning in work. The hardest part to comprehend is that she can actually DO the work; she just won't, and she won't try. She'll just sit there during class and only pretend to do the work when a teacher walks by. On her last test, she did half of it - the addition - and got it all right. The other half was subtraction, and when she reached that half, she shut down and hardly tried any of the problems. On this multiplication test today, she hardly tried; she did two problems and got them right, but she just sat in her desk doing next to nothing. She didn't even bother turning in her test at all, and the teacher had to track her down. The girl said that she didn't have the test, but when the teacher went through her binder, the test was found, incomplete and crinkled. This girl got out exactly what she put into the test. And then she broke down and cried in the hall way for the last hour - after she was out of the math class.
These are kids that have fallen through the cracks and are continuing to fall. They need massive amounts of extra, one-on-one help. Individual teachers cannot offer that extra help and time in a regular day, but leaving these kids alone is hardly an option. These kids are failing, and they'll continue to fail, but how can they be helped? How can I help these kids when I'm a teacher?
What scares me the most is how easy it is to walk away from these problems. If there's a kid who won't try, fine. Walk away. If they won't try, you can't make them. It's their loss. But to be a successful teacher (or a decent person, in my opinion), we can't let these kids go. We need to keep nagging at them to work. The principal and parents need to be contacted. Absolutely every single effort needs to be in place, and I don't think this is too much to ask. This is why teaching is so challenging. One can so easily just walk away, especially when the other option is working ridiculously hard on specific students in order to make them reach minimum requirements.
--Ms. Hartman
There is one boy who I've been working with nearly every day, and he's showed little improvement. I knew he would fail the test, and he did. He got every single problem wrong. From his desk, he watched me correct his test and when I looked back at him, I saw sadness and zero hope in his eyes, and when he met my glance he knew how he had done on the test. I honestly felt like crying. When I sat down and talked to him he immediately said, "I got all of them wrong, didn't I?" It nearly killed me to show him that he was correct. This kid qualifies for special ed in at least math - probably other subjects as well, but his failure isn't justified, and my heart broke when I saw him so upset. Luckily, he asked if he could re-take the test, so the teacher is having him practice more (what I was trying to get him to do in the first place) before he re-takes it. But if he has to do extra work, he'll have to do so outside of school, and he probably won't do it. A majority of the kids in summer school are just lazy and will hardly do work in class, let alone at home.
There was another girl that raised some issues today. She's always had problems with completing and turning in work. The hardest part to comprehend is that she can actually DO the work; she just won't, and she won't try. She'll just sit there during class and only pretend to do the work when a teacher walks by. On her last test, she did half of it - the addition - and got it all right. The other half was subtraction, and when she reached that half, she shut down and hardly tried any of the problems. On this multiplication test today, she hardly tried; she did two problems and got them right, but she just sat in her desk doing next to nothing. She didn't even bother turning in her test at all, and the teacher had to track her down. The girl said that she didn't have the test, but when the teacher went through her binder, the test was found, incomplete and crinkled. This girl got out exactly what she put into the test. And then she broke down and cried in the hall way for the last hour - after she was out of the math class.
These are kids that have fallen through the cracks and are continuing to fall. They need massive amounts of extra, one-on-one help. Individual teachers cannot offer that extra help and time in a regular day, but leaving these kids alone is hardly an option. These kids are failing, and they'll continue to fail, but how can they be helped? How can I help these kids when I'm a teacher?
What scares me the most is how easy it is to walk away from these problems. If there's a kid who won't try, fine. Walk away. If they won't try, you can't make them. It's their loss. But to be a successful teacher (or a decent person, in my opinion), we can't let these kids go. We need to keep nagging at them to work. The principal and parents need to be contacted. Absolutely every single effort needs to be in place, and I don't think this is too much to ask. This is why teaching is so challenging. One can so easily just walk away, especially when the other option is working ridiculously hard on specific students in order to make them reach minimum requirements.
--Ms. Hartman
Monday, July 13, 2009
"Year One" and "The Hangover"
Last night, I saw both of these movies at the drive-in theater in Port Townsend with John, Ben, Emma, and Max. Neither movie really impressed me, but contrary to the opinions of my fellow movie-goers, I actually enjoyed Year One more. Sure it was very, very run-of-the-mill material, especially from Michael Cera and Jack Black, and it just wasn't very funny (something arguably necessary in a COMEDY), I just feel it had more value than The Hangover.
I liked how Year One had a sort of allegorical feel to it in terms of religion and authority, even though this allegory wasn't exactly very deep. The movie also had a sort of episodic feel to it, like a series of comics or YouTube videos; in fact it almost would have felt better if it was released as a series of YouTube videos, although I'm sure it would have made like --$84847236590 in profit, because this movie definitely looked pretty damn high budget, which is a shame considering its overall quality. Anyways, there were just little tidbits that didn't add to the movie at all and just went nowhere. Cameos were had for the sake of cameos [i.e., Paul Rudd's 5-minute appearance as Abel]. There were a few funny lines and segments scattered throughout the movie, but overall it was boring and just not very funny at all. [SCORE: +0.6(on a scale of -5 to +5)(anything positive was enjoyed, anything negative was not enjoyed)]
The Hangover was exactly what I expected it to be, which doesn't say much for it. In essence, it's a bro-movie.
[best urbandictionary.com definition I could find of "bro": "An alpha male idiot. This is the derogatory sense of the word (common usage in the western US): white, 16-25 years old, inarticulate, belligerent, talks about nothing but chicks and beer, drives a jacked up truck that’s plastered with stickers, has rich dad that owns a dealership or construction business and constantly tells this to chicks at parties, is into extreme sports... identifies excessively with brand names, spends an... [absurd] amount of money on clothes and obsesses over his appearance..."]
While I don't think the characters in the movie fall into this stereotype, I feel that this was most definitely the majority of the intended audience when the movie was made. I suppose as someone who doesn't drink and has never "blacked out" or had a hangover or anything of that sort, I couldn't really identify with the characters as much, but still, saving any "Anyone who would get into this situation is a moron" mentalities, I just could not get into this movie. They took every typical "Dude, what happened last night?" circumstance and magnified it to a level of Hollywood ridiculousness. Now, this ridiculousness was probably the best and funniest part of the movie. There's a tiger in their bathroom. There's a baby in the cupboard. They have a stolen police car. There's a naked Asian man in the trunk of their real car. These situations just keep piling up as the movie goes on and they realize more and more about the night before and search for their missing friend. I'm a fan of ridiculous, so these parts were, indeed, funny. Also, Zach Galifianakis' character had 90% of the hilarious lines in the movie, and his dim-witted character was very lovable. However, none of the other characters in the movie were even like-able. They weren't exactly very unique. There's the aforementioned loveable token moron. The prude guy who has to lie to his girlfriend about going to Las Vegas so she doesn't get mad. The crazy party guy who's always telling the prude guy to chill out and have fun. The mediator middle-of-the-road guy who goes missing after his Vegas bachelor party goes haywire. WOAH, UNIQUE. As the credits approached, I was informed that they were the best part of the movie. I disagreed profoundly. Alongside the credits, a slideshow was shown of the night before, consisting of typical, moronic, drunk party pictures. Of course, they're upgraded to the same level of ridiculousness of the rest of the movie, but I still didn't find it very funny. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention. One redeeming quality of the movie, however, was the sort of hero's journey that the prude character went on, from being sheltered and controlled by his judgmental, hypocritical wife to being independent and free-thinking. In the end, the movie probably just wasn't for me, and maybe that's okay, but I just thought it was pretty lame. [SCORE: +0.5]
--Jon
I liked how Year One had a sort of allegorical feel to it in terms of religion and authority, even though this allegory wasn't exactly very deep. The movie also had a sort of episodic feel to it, like a series of comics or YouTube videos; in fact it almost would have felt better if it was released as a series of YouTube videos, although I'm sure it would have made like --$84847236590 in profit, because this movie definitely looked pretty damn high budget, which is a shame considering its overall quality. Anyways, there were just little tidbits that didn't add to the movie at all and just went nowhere. Cameos were had for the sake of cameos [i.e., Paul Rudd's 5-minute appearance as Abel]. There were a few funny lines and segments scattered throughout the movie, but overall it was boring and just not very funny at all. [SCORE: +0.6
The Hangover was exactly what I expected it to be, which doesn't say much for it. In essence, it's a bro-movie.
[best urbandictionary.com definition I could find of "bro": "An alpha male idiot. This is the derogatory sense of the word (common usage in the western US): white, 16-25 years old, inarticulate, belligerent, talks about nothing but chicks and beer, drives a jacked up truck that’s plastered with stickers, has rich dad that owns a dealership or construction business and constantly tells this to chicks at parties, is into extreme sports... identifies excessively with brand names, spends an... [absurd] amount of money on clothes and obsesses over his appearance..."]
While I don't think the characters in the movie fall into this stereotype, I feel that this was most definitely the majority of the intended audience when the movie was made. I suppose as someone who doesn't drink and has never "blacked out" or had a hangover or anything of that sort, I couldn't really identify with the characters as much, but still, saving any "Anyone who would get into this situation is a moron" mentalities, I just could not get into this movie. They took every typical "Dude, what happened last night?" circumstance and magnified it to a level of Hollywood ridiculousness. Now, this ridiculousness was probably the best and funniest part of the movie. There's a tiger in their bathroom. There's a baby in the cupboard. They have a stolen police car. There's a naked Asian man in the trunk of their real car. These situations just keep piling up as the movie goes on and they realize more and more about the night before and search for their missing friend. I'm a fan of ridiculous, so these parts were, indeed, funny. Also, Zach Galifianakis' character had 90% of the hilarious lines in the movie, and his dim-witted character was very lovable. However, none of the other characters in the movie were even like-able. They weren't exactly very unique. There's the aforementioned loveable token moron. The prude guy who has to lie to his girlfriend about going to Las Vegas so she doesn't get mad. The crazy party guy who's always telling the prude guy to chill out and have fun. The mediator middle-of-the-road guy who goes missing after his Vegas bachelor party goes haywire. WOAH, UNIQUE. As the credits approached, I was informed that they were the best part of the movie. I disagreed profoundly. Alongside the credits, a slideshow was shown of the night before, consisting of typical, moronic, drunk party pictures. Of course, they're upgraded to the same level of ridiculousness of the rest of the movie, but I still didn't find it very funny. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention. One redeeming quality of the movie, however, was the sort of hero's journey that the prude character went on, from being sheltered and controlled by his judgmental, hypocritical wife to being independent and free-thinking. In the end, the movie probably just wasn't for me, and maybe that's okay, but I just thought it was pretty lame. [SCORE: +0.5
--Jon
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Guess Who Got a New Computer. Just Guess.
Elie did!
I got another Toshiba, ironically. My previous laptop was also a Toshiba and, well, we didn't get along very well. I got this laptop pretty cheap, then got a $100 rebate. It doesn't do anything special, but compared to my old laptop, it's amazing. This new computer has wireless Internet (that actually works!), burns CDs, plays DVDs, and ... well, it's just a lot better. Not only that, but Toshiba gave me 50 free downloads from some music website. Of course, there are massive strings attached, and they'll probably charge me $12 for my "subscription" but I've already downloaded three albums - all by Ludovico Einaudi. That guy has so many albums, and I've been wanting to download ALL of them, but I don't want to spend the money, but I just got three albums for nothing. And even if I wind up paying the $12, it'll be less than what I would have spent if I had payed full price for all three albums. I'm pretty excited.
Before going on a computer adventure, Abel and I played in the McCleary Bear Festival parade with the McCleary Middle School band. Those kids (including Abel) drove me insane. I know, I know, it's bad that I think this because I want to teach middle school. It was only a few of the kids who were obnoxious, and they were even MORE obnoxious because they were outside of school and had instruments in their hands. I bet they're a bit different/less obnoxious when they're in a classroom setting. Plus, the band director allows a lot more chaos to happen whereas, if I had been in her position, it wouldn't have tolerated it. But because I was so annoyed today and was sick of sitting in the sun for hours on end listening to these kids hit each other with water bottles and blast their instruments, I seriously considered not participating again. I might do it again just to say I've participated for 10 years, but I'm not sure. I love music and performing, but I'm not sure if it's worth it. Usually when the next summer comes around, I've forgotten about how annoyed I was about the previous year's experience.
At any rate, today was a really good day because I got an awesome-tastic computer plus three fabulous-tastic albums by one of my favorite composers. Unfortunately, the music site didn't have much by Eric Whitacre... The only thing missing from this day was Jon. Texting is not enough! ...nor is phone-calling, but oooh well.
-Elie
I got another Toshiba, ironically. My previous laptop was also a Toshiba and, well, we didn't get along very well. I got this laptop pretty cheap, then got a $100 rebate. It doesn't do anything special, but compared to my old laptop, it's amazing. This new computer has wireless Internet (that actually works!), burns CDs, plays DVDs, and ... well, it's just a lot better. Not only that, but Toshiba gave me 50 free downloads from some music website. Of course, there are massive strings attached, and they'll probably charge me $12 for my "subscription" but I've already downloaded three albums - all by Ludovico Einaudi. That guy has so many albums, and I've been wanting to download ALL of them, but I don't want to spend the money, but I just got three albums for nothing. And even if I wind up paying the $12, it'll be less than what I would have spent if I had payed full price for all three albums. I'm pretty excited.
Before going on a computer adventure, Abel and I played in the McCleary Bear Festival parade with the McCleary Middle School band. Those kids (including Abel) drove me insane. I know, I know, it's bad that I think this because I want to teach middle school. It was only a few of the kids who were obnoxious, and they were even MORE obnoxious because they were outside of school and had instruments in their hands. I bet they're a bit different/less obnoxious when they're in a classroom setting. Plus, the band director allows a lot more chaos to happen whereas, if I had been in her position, it wouldn't have tolerated it. But because I was so annoyed today and was sick of sitting in the sun for hours on end listening to these kids hit each other with water bottles and blast their instruments, I seriously considered not participating again. I might do it again just to say I've participated for 10 years, but I'm not sure. I love music and performing, but I'm not sure if it's worth it. Usually when the next summer comes around, I've forgotten about how annoyed I was about the previous year's experience.
At any rate, today was a really good day because I got an awesome-tastic computer plus three fabulous-tastic albums by one of my favorite composers. Unfortunately, the music site didn't have much by Eric Whitacre... The only thing missing from this day was Jon. Texting is not enough! ...nor is phone-calling, but oooh well.
-Elie
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tomorrow is the Big Day
Squirrel Baggers United: REUNITED. I am leaving Sequim for Olympia at approximately 9 AM, probably arriving in Olympia before noon, where I will be meeting Elie. Then, we will wander Olympia and such and be TOGETHER AGAIN. And eventually we will retire to her home in McCleary, where we will spend the night. The next morning, we will leave for Sequim. During our time, we will hopefully visit various spots in Port Angeles and Port Townsend. On Sunday, her father will come up to Sequim and bring her back home. It will go all too fast, I know already. I will cherish the time while it lasts, and I'm sure Elie will, as well.
--Jon
--Jon
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