Miscellaneous Missives

Fall Song by Mary Oliver Another year gone, leaving everywhere its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves, the uneaten fruits crumbling damply in the shadows, unmattering back from the particular island of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere except underfoot, moldering in that black subterranean castle of unobservable mysteries - roots and sealed seeds and the wanderings of water. This I try to remember when time's measure painfully chafes, for instance when autumn flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing to stay - how everything lives, shifting from one bright vision to another, forever in these momentary pastures. I wish I had something pithy to say about fall. Although summer is my favorite season, fall always makes a valiant effort to warm my heart. I accidentally took this photo, but I think it's kinda cool.

I have an awesome job. More importantly, I have awesome colleagues that keep me entertained. A general music class meets in my room. It is a class for students not in orchestra, choir, or band. Perhaps this is all I need to say about the student population. Any way, the teacher lets me sit in the room while she teaches. She also warns me when the students' journal will be a country song, so I can escape. Today the students were less than motivated. She used an analogy of working in a corporation. If there needed to be cuts, which two would be eliminated? Most students took the advice and started working while one students raised his hand. I guess he saw "the writing on the wall". Earlier in the week a colleague commented about my apple being the "world's smallest apple". Today I took him an apple from my lunch which was smaller. He asked if I wanted to make a wager about whether or not he could eat it in one bite. I promised a dollar and tr...

This morning I left home early, so I could make it to school by 6:45. I stopped at Caribou for breakfast (large hot cocoa, one less scoop dark chocolate, skim). The trivia question was incredibly easy... Which comes from a plant? a) silk b) cotton c) wool d) nylon ...and yet I missed it. I can't even explain what happened. School went well, but when my Benadryl wasn't working at lunch, I decided to take more and cancel my appointment to give blood. This was a good decision since I didn't feel the best and because I ended up staying at school until 4:30 correcting journals. Tonight I will correct some other papers. When does it end? Plus, to add to the agony the 2012 nominees for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced making me feel old (Guns 'n Roses, The Cure, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Heart, The Red Hot Chili Peppers).

It seems like we are living in a data driven age especially in teaching. Recently I viewed this chart on Facebook, so I'm not sure of its authenticity. I'm, however, going to guess it's factual (you know with wars, tax breaks to the rich, and everything). Recently one of my few Facebook friends questioned the Elizabeth Warren statement, "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you," she says. "But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory...

Today a colleague and I attended the Minnesota Writing Project's fall conference. The focus was the Native American (American Indian) focus in the new standards. One break out session shared a way to talk about various stereotypes with students. The lines and spacing of both are a bit off due to the blog format (sorry). The sample poem: Because I am a Native American People think if they hire me I will only stick with the job for the two weeks till payday. Then, they think, I will take my money and quit. And they think I am a lazy, untrustworthy, unreliable quitter. But really I am a strong, hard worker, with deep loyalty who knows the effort and hardship of survival who made living in a one room basement apartment built for one work with seven room-mates and only four bed. I am the determined descendent of people who worked months to feed the village. Who walked more miles than most to relocate and start anew, adjusting our ways on the path, Who hunted, and ha...

Tonight I decided to skip the gym since I needed to correct papers and watch the Rams game. Honestly, it's been easy to come up with excuses to skip the gym since school started. My favorite excuse has been that with being out of town on the weekends, working, hip flexors, and giving blood I couldn't make my twelve times to the gym this month, so I've really not gone to the gym. It's amazing I was able to spend a week in Guatemala in July and still hit the gym +12 times. Sooooo.... I'm sitting her correcting papers, eating popcorn, drinking Diet Pepsi and watching pregame when this great commercial comes on the tube. Maybe I better not wait for October to start that gym routine.

Today' sermon was "Practicing Generosity". Being present was mentioned as a way of practicing generosity. As they were talking about being present, actually listening not thinking ahead, I was only partially present since I was making notes on my bulletin and had already checked my email on my phone twice. In all honesty, I think most of the time I am only merely partially present. Early in the service I had started writing on my bulletin, "My mind is racing, so I have grabbed a colored pencil from the kids' bucket. Unfortunately it's too light to take notes although I am trying." Perhaps I need to work on being present as a way of practicing generosity, but it is difficult to quite difficult.