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I just read online that JD Salinger died. I'm a little shocked, mostly because I didn't know he was still alive.
Despite his idiosyncracies, Salinger was one of my favourite authors, if not for his body of work, then for Holden Caulfield, who is my favourite fictional character ever. And this is why:
. . . I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.
RIP, Mr Salinger.
One of the things that I find problematic is finding time to sit down and write. This week has been absolutely insane. It's the first week of exams, and it makes me want to jump in front of a bus. I keep reading that Africa (as a whole) is a country, and that the "colonism" of European countries was "bad" (with no explanations why. I understand that exams are stressful, and time pressure is a factor, but holy stink, use your brains children.
I know it's not me, as a teacher, but man oh man, I feel like most of what I say isn't getting through. I must do better. I will try harder. And I will complete my 101.
Today is Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. (The official US holiday is on Monday.)
I've long been enthralled with Martin Luther King (I even did a huge project on his life and death in grade 5). I firmly believe in the power of words, and King was (in my mind) one of the best wordsmiths of all time.
In a time where it would have been so easy to let things stay the same, and to let the Jim Crow laws in the southern US dictate a way of life, Martin Luther King stood up for something that he truly believed in.
He did not back down in the face of violence, though he would not respond with violence himself.
He chose to use his education and his intellect to win his battles, rather than taking up the sword.
He chose to use his gifts to further the cause of Civil Rights in the United States.
Most of all, he chose to live his life in public, knowing that his speaking engagements and public appearances posed a threat to his safety.
He influenced countless people to live a little bit better, and to be a little bit better, and to think of others before themselves.
He spoke some of the most powerful words I have ever heard, and I think that my life is just a little bit richer for having heard them. I think, though, that people who got to be in the same space as Martin Luther King, and hear him speak live are among the luckiest on the planet. I hope they know that.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I went to see Avatar for the 2nd time on the weekend, and I was again blown away by the visual impact.
- It is not an original story. In fact, it's a lot like Pocahontas. Or Dances With Wolves. But any more complexity in the story would take away from the visual impact.
- The technology is incredible. Seeing it in IMAX was worth it, just to better catch the miniscule details (and watching the lady in front of me swat at bugs as the flew towards us was HILARIOUS).
- Sam Worthington is kind of awesome. Not that he's a Robert Redford or Al Pacino calibre actor, but I can imagine that it'd be difficult to carry a film where you don't really play yourself and where you're mostly costumed as a big blue thing. Zoe Saldana was pretty incredible too. And Sigourney Weaver pretty much rules.
- The message in the film is pretty blatant, but I think that if the movie had been set on Earth, in the current decade, it would be seen as environmentalist propaganda. Instead we're all “Oh my goodness how could they destroy such a beautiful planet like that?“. Hello Irony.
That's #2!
Kate and I went to see Sherlock Holmes on the weekend. It was pretty good. While it doesn't have the visual appeal of a film like Avatar, it definitely has its moments.
- Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes is rather brilliant. He's such a good actor that I forgot that he isn't actually British.
- Jude Law plays an excellent straight-man to Downey's neurotic Holmes. I read somewhere that the movie is really a love story between the male leads, and I would not disagree.
- Rachel MacAdams was quite good as a criminal; it was nice to see her break out of the niche she had created for herself.
- I'm kind of looking forward to a sequel; I think they've opened up an interesting storyline, and I hope it gets fleshed out.
There. The first post for my 101 in 1001. Ha.
Task: to complete 101 things in 1001 days
Start Date: January 2, 2010
End Date: September 28, 2012 (right before the world ends....)
Green is In Progress
Black is haven't started
Red is failed
Blue is completed
Because I’m almost a grownup
1. Buy a place to live with at least 2 bedrooms
2. Furnish said living space with NEW furniture (not Value Village used variety)
3. Buy adequate storage for my CDs/DVDs/books
4. Put at least 20% of each month’s paycheque into the bank (0/33)
5. Contribute the maximum allowable to RSP each year
6. Spend less than $100/month on entertainment (books, movies, music, concerts, etc) for 3 months
7. Contribute at least $150 per month to charities (Right to Play, Amnesty, Invisible Children)
8. Volunteer to serve a holiday dinner at a homeless shelter
9. Find an organizational system that actually works, and stick to it. (Especially in the classroom)
10. Write a will
11. Open up a trading account and invest in something
12. Contribute the maximum ($5000) to a TFSA every year (0/3)
13. Buy and actually use a planner for a year (not every day, but at least weekly)
14. Get rid of all the clothes and shoes I no longer wear; donate to charity (1x per year) (0/3)
15. Clean out closet over Spring Break every year (0/3)
16. Pay off car by April 2010
Because I like to travel
17. Take a road trip across North America (from coast to coast)
18. Visit the following states: North/South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North/South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, California, Oregon, Hawaii, Wyoming, New Mexico (0/30)
19. See NWT, NV, Yukon, PEI, NB, NFLD (maybe not all at once) (0/6)
20. Travel to Europe
21. See the Statue of St. Kevin at Glendalough; meditate for a while
22. Travel somewhere over Spring Break each year (0/3)
23. Go to NYC; see a Broadway show
24. Visit Las Vegas
25. Go to another city for a concert
26. Go to Australia again
27. Drive to the farm for a few days; take lots of pictures
28. Send mom and dad on a trip to the East Coast
Because I need to reconnect
29. Limit online “browsing” time to 1 hr per day, every day (5/1001)
30. Turn the TV off one day per week for all 143 weeks (1/143)
31. Keep the computer off one day per week at home for all 143 weeks (1/143)
32. Eat dinner with Mom and Dad one day per week, every week I’m in town (2/143)
33. Learn to play chess with Dad; play at least every 2 weeks
34. Find an activity to share with Mom; do it at least every two weeks
35. Have coffee with a friend twice per month for 8 months (0/8)
36. Read the (real) newspaper every day for 3 months (not just the sports)
37. Write 4 letters (by hand) per year to different people
38. Spend less than 2 hours per day marking; plan assignments better so that my job does not take over my life.
39. Go to Vancouver to see Kelsey (not attached to a conference)
40. Travel to Toronto for a visit with Kara (with no other reason to go)
41. Post photos of events to both Flickr and Facebook within 1 week of event
42. When living on my own, buy all produce at a Farmer’s Market for 3 months
43. See the sun rise one day per month, each month (1/33)
44. Take at least one picture of a sunrise or sunset each week (weather permitting) (1/143)
45. Camp in the mountains for a week; take no technology
Because I need to stay entertained
46. Create a list of every single book I own, and maintain as new books come in
47. Read every book I own at least once before buying new books
48. Re-read the Lord of the Rings trilogy
49. Read the WHOLE Harry Potter Series (0/7) - I'm feeling that this will be the LAST thing completed....
50. Read all of Bernard Cornwell’s books (18/49)
51. Read all of Philip Roth’s novels (4/26)
52. Read every Booker Prize Winner (10/46)
53. Read the Twilight series. Try not to laugh.
54. Keep a log of every movie I see, plus post a brief review on the blog for one year
55. Watch the top 25 films on the AFI 100 Years…100 Films list from 2007 (10/25)
56. Watch all of the Oscar “Best Picture” nominees for 2010, 2011, 2012 (0/15)
57. Watch every episode of The X-Files in order, including the movies (0/204)
58. Keep a record of every DVD I own
59. Keep a record of every CD I own
60. Watch all DVDs I currently own before buying anything new
61. See at least 5 films per year at the Princess or the Garneau
62. Buy an XBOX 360 and play the heck out of it
63. See at least 9 live theatre productions each year
64. ALWAYS see the movie first (where applicable)
Because I need to do things for my health
65. Fit into “those jeans” again
66. Swim at least 4x per week for 6 months (0/6)
67. Do a triathlon-length swim (1.5k) in less than 20 minutes
68. When living on my own, eat organic for 1 month
69. Do not eat after 8pm on weekdays for 3 months (0/3)
70. Do not eat after 8pm on any day of the week for 3 months (0/3)
71. Sleep at least 7 hours a night during the week for 6 months (0/6)
72. Be in bed with the lights out by 11 pm on weeknights for 3 months (0/3)
73. Drink nothing but milk, water, green tea and white tea for 1 month
74. Consume no more than 3 alcoholic beverages per week for 6 months
75. Floss my teeth every day for 3 months (0/3)
76. Spend no more than 9 hours at work on any weekday
77. Take a “mental health day” from work when I’m stressed to the max
78. Spend 5 minutes every day in my own quiet time (5/1001)
Because I like sports
79. Go to the Super Bowl
80. See the Packers at Lambeau; try to get in on a Lambeau Leap
81. Go to see the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal with Dad
82. See a baseball game in Fenway Park
83. See a baseball game at Wrigley Field
84. See a high school football game in West Texas
85. Go to the World Junior Hockey Championships
86. See a college football game (Div 1)
87. See a college basketball game (Div 1)
88. Watch at least one game for every team at my school in one school year
Because I like to use my brain
89. Get into graduate school (part-time)
90. Complete half of a Master of War Studies degree at the Royal Military College
91. Get published (somewhere other than my blog or in a letter to the editor)
92. Blog at least 2x per week, every week (0/143)
93. Start writing the book
94. Learn how to play the guitar (and sing at the same time)
95. Buy a telescope
96. Read each future issue of Foreign Affairs magazine from cover to cover
Miscellaneous
97. Try one new restaurant a month or a brand new dish at a favourite restaurant (0/33)
98. Say the words that have been rolling around in my head for the last 10 (!) years to JW.
99. Tweet about each of these as I complete, with the hashtag #101in1001
100. Sum up each month with a blog post (does not count towards the 2/week)
101. For every incomplete task after 1001 days, donate $10 to Right to Play
Well, I tried this last year. Then life got a little crazy.
This year I'm trying to declutter my mind, my spirit and my life. I think that if I can complete all of these, I'll feel like I've actually changed my life (and myself) for the better.
I've challenged a friend of mine to try it out too, because I think it'll be easier for me to finish if there's someone to “compete“ with. But I'm going to do this. I WILL NOT FAIL.
A couple of years ago, Meg Fowler posted this. Despite my lack of posting this year, I was looking for something to fill out that could quickly recap my favourite whatever from 2009. So I'm using it again. Here's my 2007-in-review version.
Movie of Love: District 9. Or Star Trek. Or even The Blind Side.
Song of Love: I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers. Go now and listen. it's Spectacular.
Book of Love: I can't. I tried to keep track of the books I read this year, and I failed miserably, losing count around 75 (I'm sure that I read at least 150 books last year). If I had to pick (and this is not necessarily the best book I've read, it's the one I remember best) I'd say People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
Album of Love: The Circle by Bon Jovi. Or I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers. Or Veneer by Jose Gonzalez
Place of Love: My car. I drive a lot to clear my head, and I especially enjoy driving at sunset.
Month of Love: Oddly enough, December (see Scrooge for further clarification)
Best Day of Love: My birthday. Because Riva and I went to see The New Kids on the Block in Saskatoon. And I touched Jonathan Knight. And we were both fangirl retardo that day. And it was beautiful.
Best Moment of Love: When I said I wanted to quit my job (on FB), and one of the boys I taught last year came right out and said that I shouldn't. I cried, but it made me realize that I have lots left to do at this here teaching thing..
Word of Love: Clever
Purchase of Love: Xbox 360. Now I can play Madden '09. Finally.
City of Love: E-Town in summer. And Seattle (especially when it wasn't snowing this year!)
Food of Love: Butter Chicken, because I only ever have it with Kate. And that's special.
Beverage of Love: Oddly enough, water. Plain old tap water.
Person of Love (someone who made a difference for you this year): Justin, despite the circumstances that brought us back together. I'm rather grateful that we're reconnecting.
Spot of Love (the best place to go to just be): Still Starbucks. Good for so many things.
Clothing Item of Love: New coat! And new mitts! And new sweater!
Random Thing of Love (anything you want):
I'm finding it very difficult to muster the strength to write. Not that there's anything wrong with me, but I am finding it really tough to sit down for long enough to put something together.
Some things have changed; other's haven't:
- I'm still a huge football fan, and my Packers are not disappointing so far. Except for that loss to Tampa Bay. But other than that, it's been a good year, so far.
- The Oilers are not as promising, but they're still my team and I still enjoy watching. Except when they're really bad.
- School has mostly been kicking my ass this year. I'm really busy, and there was a time when I thought I'd quit. I've never wanted to before, but some friends (and former students) helped me to see that quitting was a bad idea.
- I joined a choir this year, with Riva, Aimee and Lindsey. It's fun to sing again, and it's really fun to sing with my friends again. We even got told that we weren't allowed to drink before our last concert. The conductor knows us well.
- I've been spending some time recently reconnecting with old friends. And it's been great. It reminds me of how lucky I really am to have some of these people in my life.
I could write more, but I'm going to stop, and formulate something meaningful to put up here. How about that?
I've written about Remembrance Day before, and I don't think that my opinion about the day has changed all that much.
As a teacher, I have the opportunity to attend a ceremony in my school, and it gets better each year. We have two very dedicated and passionate teachers who put the ceremony together, and a wonderful group of students who participate in it as well. Each time I attend one of these as a staff member, I'm always struck by how much respect if afforded to these ceremonies by all the students in the school. because of the population of my current school, not everyone can attend, but there is also a 10 minute ceremony done over the intercom so that all students can participate. It's rather touching to see students who have truly known no war to stop what they are doing and ultimately stand at attention for the duration of such an event. We don't have to ask, it is just a given that quiet and respectful are the tones of the day.
What stands out to me more now than ever before is that our children are starting to learn firsthand why Remembrance Day is important. We. Are. At. War. I don't think that politics needs to get in the way of this fact. It doesn't matter if a person supports the war effort or thinks that Canada needs to be out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. What matters is that there are men and women overseas, donning the uniform of our military, and doing jobs that most of us are not willing to do.
Leave your politics out of this and remember that your right to protest is a result of others suiting up and defending our freedoms (speech, religion, protest, expression).
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
courtesy of Laurence Binyon
It's no secret that I'm not a Calgary Flames fan, but a little piece of me was pretty excited that Theoren Fleury was trying to break back in to the NHL. Despite Fleury breaking my heart time and time again while a member of the Calgary Flames (and later the Colorado Avalanche), I always admired his tenacity and his drive to succeed. I think it speaks about the power of the game when a guy who has been away from it for 6 years has the drive to compete at such a high level again. When Fleury was cut from the Flames, I thought it was fitting that he retired right away, rather than embarrass himself by trying to find a spot on every other team in the league.
When news broke today about the book Fleury has written, I wasn't really surprised that he alleges abuse at the hand of Graham James (and I mean that in the most genuine way). In the culture that we've created around hockey, it's not unusual for “questionable” conduct between players and coaches, or between players to go on without so much as a second look.
I think that we should all take a moment and acknowledge how difficult it must be for someone in Fleury's position to come right out and tell everyone what happened to him, and who was responsible. I think that we spend far too much time promoting the masculine ideal that boys and young men have nowhere to turn when they need an adult who will actually care for them rather than exploit them.
Both Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy deserve nothing but respect for coming forward about these tragic events. Hopefully more people will come clean and the healing process can begin on a large scale.
I've been remiss in recaps as well as other forms of blogging. I mostly just dont' care, but I do have things to say. That said...
- I'm working on the first of my “Part of Tens“ posts as wek speak. Sort of. That really means I have a sticky note with the names of some books on it. But a sticky note is better than no sticky note.
- The summer is almost half over. As of Sunday night, I have 5 full weeks off of work. Next summer maybe I'll only teach CALM for the first 2 weeks. The money is still good, and it's less work.
- The Oilers are still the worst team in the lague. Not worst as in “winning the draft lottery“ worst, but worst as in “no one ever wants to play for the Oilers because Edmonton is actually a dirt hole“ (Dany Heatley, I hate you.)
I have some other things I want to write about, but instead I will leave you with this:
Because I'm about ready to crawl under a rock and die from sheer exhaustion, I thought I should put something up here about what I do love and am grateful for.
My job (despite it being the main source of my problem....)
Being done work at 115
Summer in Edmonton for all of the following reasons:
1. Warm weather
2. River City Shakespeare Festival
3. Street Performers Festival
4. CapitalEx (though I still call it K-Days)
5. Fringe Festival
6. Heritage Days
7. Folk Fest
8. Patio lunches
9. Concerts
10. Farmers Markets
11. Whyte Ave
Temperatures pushing 30
Having seen every “big“ movie so far this summer
Planning a trip to KC for some football with Ed
NFL Preseason coming soon
Green Bay Packers
Brett Favre (despite his waffling on the whole retirement thing)
The Oilers (even though they couldn't land a marquis player if they tried)
“Lay it Down Slow“ by Spiritualized
Russell Howard (Find “Mock The Week Newspapers“ on YouTube)
Good friends who listen when I need to talk
Former students who are genuinely nice people, and are sincere
Pearls Before Swine
Book Sales
Rediscovering the music of my junior high years (Soul Asylum, anyone?)
Friends who make me belly-laugh on a regular basis
Tucker Max (despite his mostly mysoginistic outlook on life, he's a brilliant writer)
And you? (If anyone still actually reads this......)
One of my favourite book series is the “For Dummies” series, especially the history books. One of the things that I really like about them is that the authors use language that is much easier to understand, especially in a hurry. There are also attempts made to make light of certain situations, so that the details do not become cumbersome.
Another feature of the books that I love is “The Part of Tens” at the end. Each book includes a series of lists (all in 10 parts) regarding the subject matter. For example, in U.S. History for Dummies, the lists are:
1. The 10 Best – and 10 Worst – Presidents
2. Ten Historical Events That Probably Never Happened
3. Ten Inventions That Changed Life as We Know It
4. Ten Events That Defined American Culture
Often times, the lists contain items that don’t easily fit in the rest of the book, and are often funny.
I got to thinking the other say that it would be interesting to do a series of posts called “The Part of Tens” about things that I’m interested in, or really enjoy.
I made a list of 11 topics to explore, and have made lists for most of them. There will be more topics added as I see fit, but here is the initial list:
1. Fiction Books
2. Non-Fiction Books
3. Movies
4. Albums
5. Concerts
6. TV Shows
7. Favourite Places in Canada
8. Athletes
9. Sports Teams
10. Musicians
This might seem a bit mundane, and perhaps even self-indulgent, but I hope that I will find more “Top Ten” lists to write about as I go through this adventure.
My real hope is to find things to write about on a regular basis. I like lists. I like to write. It would make sense, then, that I’d write about lists.
tags: Dummies biography Part of Tens
With the buzz surrounding the potential closure of the Edmonton City Centre Airport these last few weeks, another issue has fallen by the wayside. I’m talking about the proposed closure of Scona Pool. The city cannot allow this to happen.
One of the things that major cities tend to pride themselves on is the community feeling in certain neighbourhoods. For the most part, Edmonton lacks those elements because of the way the city is designed, and the fact that our transit system renders it next to ipossible to get anywhere in a relatively short time. It is difficult in Edmonton to really feel at home in a neighbourhood because not all neighbourhoods are designed the same way.
We don’t really have an Edmonton version of Kitsilano (in Vancouver) or Queens (in New York). Instead we have a city that is sprawling to the point of absurdity, and the slow death of anything small or intensely local. In many parts of the city outside of the downtown core and the Old Strathcona neighbourhood, it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a place that allows for the strengthening of community bonds to the point that you’d find in a small town.
For many families in southwest Edmonton, Scona Pool IS that place.
Part of the problem with the Scona Pool is that the City now has to pay to maintain the facility itself, and pay the wages set out in the bargaining agreement between the City and CUPE Local 30. With wages starting at $17.16 per hour and increasing to $23.02 per hour, it is little wonder that the pool can operate at all, let alone with a surplus.
The hours that Scona Pool is open do not allow for adequate use of the facility, or adequate cost-recovery. It is open to the public for a total of 15.5 hours per week. The major user group for the facility is Strathcona High School, and for most of what they use, they pay $10.50 per hour under the Joint Use Agreement between the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Public and Catholic School Boards.
I could be wrong, but a school booking the pool for even 3 hours a day at $10.50 per hour (for a total cost of $31.50 per day) cannot even begin to make up for the wage of the lifeguard on duty. Even if the lifeguard was being paid the minimum salary, they would still be paid a total of $51.48, or $20 more than the cost of the rental. The truth is that most daytime lifeguards are not just starting out, and will be at the top of the pay scale, leaving that daytime lifeguard at Scona Pool with $69.06 in their pockets, and the facility with an almost $40 shortfall.
This does not make financial sense. Other facilities are being forced to trim their budgets by up to 20% for the upcoming year, but Edmonton’s City Council is willing to spend $122,000 to keep the facility open, and another $90,000 to assess the building. That is over $200,000 which could be used to keep other facilities open for longer, or to hire more instructing or lifeguarding staff to cover the holes in various schedules.
It does make sense to close down the pool; this is undeniable. But City Council is not willing to take that step just yet. Why? Because the City recognizes Scona Pool’s importance to the community, and will do what it can to keep the facility open.
The pool has become more than just a facility. Families have been using Scona Pool for over 50 years; children have been taught to swim there, and a local swimming dynasty was born out of that environment. While I don’t think that this is the only reason the pool should stay open, I believe that to foster both competition and active living, it’s important for students at Strathcona High School to have access to the pool. I also believe that it is important to keep the pool open to provide kids with somewhere to do during the summer where they won’t be getting into trouble.
What the City of Edmonton, and specifically the Community Services department, needs to do is make Scona Pool work. This will involve being open for more than 15 hours a week. This will, undoubtedly, cost money, but the benefit in the long term will far outweigh the costs.
The facility is in serious need of renovations. But in the long run, the community needs the pool much more than the city needs to worry about an airport downtown. The closure of a secondary airport in a city never destroyed people’s sense of community like the closure of a swimming pool will.
So I became much less engaged online (at least on my blog) over the course of the past 10 months. Instead of blogging, I was using Twitter fairly prolifically for a while; that, too, has dropped off. One of the things I'd like to do more of is tell tales out of school. I'll be professional and all that, but some of my students are amazing, and their stories should be told. They're also kind of ridiculous, and make me laugh; those stories need to be told as well.
I don't know what it is, but I've attained the status of a rockstar, at least with some of my students. The grad banquet this year was a prime example. I literally could have charged money for people to take pictures with me, and would have come out at least a hundred bucks ahead. I'm not sure what the reason for this is, but I find it really funny. Part of me thinks it's because I'm relatively young and I make the effort to get to know who they are outside of my classroom, but their never-ending obsession with MY life outside the classroom is borderline creepy. They wanted to know for MONTHS what kind of car I drove, and when one of the grade 12s found out, he told EVERYONE withing a day. They invite me to the bar, and out for their birthdays, and they're not just playing around. They are actually serious.
All year long, I've been extolling the virtues of my grade 12 kids, because that class was definitely the most fun I've ever had. One of the things I liked best about them was their willingness to buy whatever I was selling (both literally and figuratively). I had them coming to class on the day of their commencement (when they didn't go to any other class); they came on the last day of school, after they had written their diploma exam. I never had to chase anyone down for late assignments, and no one skipped a test (with the exception of one kid at the beginning of the year). This really was an interesting bunch of kids, and I had a ton of fun with them.
One of the boys in the class came to me on the last day with a card. He had made it himself, and inside he wrote: “I cam to your class because it was always full of laughter and because you are so much more personal than any other teacher I've had before. I haven't had a teacher that actually seemed to care about individual students. I appreciate that you treat me like and equal and friend. You've helped to brighten a year that otherwise would have been dull. Thank you.” I was literally blown away. I knew this kid appreciated the laughs we had in class, because he always joined in, but I had no idea that he felt so strongly about the class. One of the girls in the same class also gave me a card and said “ Thanks for being supportive, encouraging and patient. I know that you will be a fantastic teacher for a very, very long time and your future students are lucky to have you as their teacher.” Again, I was floored. I don't think anyone sets out in this profession to be loved, or even to be liked, but that's a huge bonus.
All self-promotion aside, one of the neatest things happened near the end of the school year. One of my kids, who I'm certain will go on to do great things in his life, told me that he thought I'd teach for a few more years, then I'd go out “and change the world”. I wasn't sure what to do with that kind of assertion, because it's my job as a teacher to be telling kids that, not their job to be telling me that. I was honestly speechless (and those of you who know me know how unlikely that reaction is). I actually teared up a bit at that. For an 18 year old to possess that kind of insight, for him to KNOW that I don't want to teach in a public school forever without me ever having said that, you could say I was just a little bit impressed. While it's very true that this student was my absolute favourite for the year, and we spent a lot of time after school talking about his plans for the future, I was still quite amazed that he picked up on it. I thanked him profusely and then shooed him out of the classroom so that I could take some time to gather my thoughts. (I'd write his name down here, but then he might read it, and would be embarrassed that he's been mentioned, and then categorically deny any involvement in the above situation. He's funny like that.)
I don't want to give this kid all the credit (though he changed my perception on the ideology behind World War II with a brilliant essay that he wrote), but I've done a lot of thinking in the last couple of weeks about where my career will take me, and I've ultimately come to a decision. In a few years, I'll be gone, at least for a while. I'd like to go to Uganda, and start with a teacher exchange there, and then do some work that is actually meaningful. Don't get me wrong. Teaching is great. There are very few jobs where a person can go to work and legitimately feel like they've done something good. Sometimes, though, I feel like I'm not necessary. My students would ultimately learn whether I'm in front of them or not (though the quality of that education would definitely be under some scrutiny), so why not change things up and spend some time in a place where most people wouldn't go, and do some work that most people wouldn't do?
I'm going to do it. It's time for me to start actually “walking the talk“ with respect to the things that I care about. I can't do it yet, but now that I've decided, I can make the decision to save money for these future adventures. And then maybe I can come back home and change the world.
I guess I just need a travel buddy....