Friday, April 17, 2009
Facebook defriend-estation
Yesterday I got Facebook de-friended by a radical right-wing Republican. I hadn't written anything particularly political on Facebook--just mildly so-- but then a friend of mine wrote in with some stronger opinions, with which I agreed. Then my radical right-wing "friend" (he was a former neighbor of mine) wrote in yelling belligerently in all caps and telling my other (real) friend to move to Cuba. Oh dear, I thought. I don't want it to look like I won't tolerate difference of opinion on my Facebook page (I will, really), but I think I have to de-friend him now because he is being rude and below the belt and going too far. I always hate having to do something that will potentially offend someone, so it was with trembling fingers that I scrolled down my Friends page, looking for his name so I could defriend him. How relieved I was to discover that he had already defriended me! Relieved and a little bit... proud.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The semester is over
A lot of grading awaits, but classes are over. Final assignments will be turned in today. It's strange to think that this may--possibly--be my second to last college composition class. I certainly had some challenges and hard times this semester, but in general, I am leaving with a warmer and fuzzier feeling than usual. I know you could say it's because I realize this period of my life is ending, and maybe that's true. But I've also been giving a lot of thought to how I got through the semester, particularly with regard to some students I found challenging from day one. Even from the first day of class, they were talking and horsing around and wise-assing a bit, and I remember a feeling of dread as I walked away that day: oh no, this semester is going to be a disaster. I remember telling my husband that when I got home.
But it wasn't a disaster, not at all, and I managed to handle what I saw as a potential discipline problem in a way that never exploded. Of the four students I thought could be a big problem, two are coming back for my class next semester (with my whole-hearted approval) and one just sent me a nice note over email. I keep thinking how badly I would have handled the situation as a rookie teacher, and how proud I am that I managed to let these students know I needed them to behave differently without alienating them or making them turn against me and the class. I stayed in control, I didn't let them hijack the class or ruin it for the other students, but I also didn't ever yell, threaten, bully, try to have them removed, or even make them feel like I didn't want them there (I think). They remained in the class in good standing. I end the semester with a feeling of great fondness for my whole class, for these students as much as the others. I am so proud that I have it within me to handle this sort of thing now. It makes me think that, ironically, I am more suited and qualified to be a teacher than I ever was before in my life, right at the pivotal moment that I may be walking away from it.
Not that I'm thinking I don't want the change. I think I am just a little puzzled.
But it wasn't a disaster, not at all, and I managed to handle what I saw as a potential discipline problem in a way that never exploded. Of the four students I thought could be a big problem, two are coming back for my class next semester (with my whole-hearted approval) and one just sent me a nice note over email. I keep thinking how badly I would have handled the situation as a rookie teacher, and how proud I am that I managed to let these students know I needed them to behave differently without alienating them or making them turn against me and the class. I stayed in control, I didn't let them hijack the class or ruin it for the other students, but I also didn't ever yell, threaten, bully, try to have them removed, or even make them feel like I didn't want them there (I think). They remained in the class in good standing. I end the semester with a feeling of great fondness for my whole class, for these students as much as the others. I am so proud that I have it within me to handle this sort of thing now. It makes me think that, ironically, I am more suited and qualified to be a teacher than I ever was before in my life, right at the pivotal moment that I may be walking away from it.
Not that I'm thinking I don't want the change. I think I am just a little puzzled.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey
1) In my recent Word Twist game with Melissa, we both found the Big Word. She found SISTER, and I found RESIST. Neither of us found the other one's word. Think about that for awhile.
2) Two nights ago I was telling my mom and Mark about a teacher-student conference I overheard some time back in which I thought the teacher wasn't giving the most useful critique. He was zooming in on a lot of grammar errors, but at the same time saying there were larger, "global" problems with the paper while not giving much guidance as to how to address them. (It's hard; I know.)
Suddenly my mom piped in, "That is exactly like this time when I was a girl and was fired from my job at the library because my boss thought my friend was wearing a clown suit! Really, though, my boss was just anti-Semitic."
But... IS it like that? In any way? This should really make you think. Deeply.
2) Two nights ago I was telling my mom and Mark about a teacher-student conference I overheard some time back in which I thought the teacher wasn't giving the most useful critique. He was zooming in on a lot of grammar errors, but at the same time saying there were larger, "global" problems with the paper while not giving much guidance as to how to address them. (It's hard; I know.)
Suddenly my mom piped in, "That is exactly like this time when I was a girl and was fired from my job at the library because my boss thought my friend was wearing a clown suit! Really, though, my boss was just anti-Semitic."
But... IS it like that? In any way? This should really make you think. Deeply.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
I think we worked something out
We have talked and come up with some ideas for getting along better. I think it's okay now. My feelings are all bruised, though. Sensitive me.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Ugh
Well, it looks like I might be taking a break from my family of origin for awhile... my mother is here and things are bad and I don't think I can continue this arrangement anymore (where she comes once a week and we pay her from our child care stipend USF gives us). The comments she made are definitely out of line; she told me she "doesn't understand why people in their thirties are so tired all the time" (that would be Mark and I) and that she feels as if all the hard work she does for us just "isn't paying off"--that she "isn't seeing any progress." Like we are some kind of charity she's invested her money in, but now she needs to reconsider her investment, given how little progress we've made! These criticisms were also embedded in other criticisms of me and the messiness of my house (which also plagues me, but I seem to have a hard time keeping up with it).
All these remarks were made pretty much within ten minutes of walking in the door. She arrived after having been away a week, and during that week all three of us have been sick. Nevertheless, we have still both gone to our jobs, graded papers, prepared classes, taken care of Daisy, cooked meals, done loads of laundry, and averaged 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night. But she can't understand why people in their 30s would be so tired.
I am starting to think that part of the problem (though it doesn't entirely explain the nastiness and ugliness of her remarks) is that we have this arrangment where we pay her. Hence, her role is truly unclear. Is she somehow our employee, so that when she's here we can expect her to take care of Daisy while we do other things? (Not things for pleasure, mind you-- I mean, catch up on laundry and dishes, run errands, and work on my schoolwork.) Or is she here more in the capacity of grandmother, someone who enjoys time with her grandchild and wants to be doing this, rather than doing it for earnings? It is all somewhat blurred and confusing. I think somehow that this confusion of roles might be making her nastiness more possible.
All these remarks were made pretty much within ten minutes of walking in the door. She arrived after having been away a week, and during that week all three of us have been sick. Nevertheless, we have still both gone to our jobs, graded papers, prepared classes, taken care of Daisy, cooked meals, done loads of laundry, and averaged 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night. But she can't understand why people in their 30s would be so tired.
I am starting to think that part of the problem (though it doesn't entirely explain the nastiness and ugliness of her remarks) is that we have this arrangment where we pay her. Hence, her role is truly unclear. Is she somehow our employee, so that when she's here we can expect her to take care of Daisy while we do other things? (Not things for pleasure, mind you-- I mean, catch up on laundry and dishes, run errands, and work on my schoolwork.) Or is she here more in the capacity of grandmother, someone who enjoys time with her grandchild and wants to be doing this, rather than doing it for earnings? It is all somewhat blurred and confusing. I think somehow that this confusion of roles might be making her nastiness more possible.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Hmmmm
I got this quiz from lumenatrix's site. It is here:
http://mindmedia.com/braintest.html
The results make sense to me--kind of. I am not surprised that I would be a lot more auditory than visual, and a lot more left brain than right. However, I guess that also confuses me a little. I am very VERBAL (Scramble, anyone? Pleeeease?), and rather logical, and I like for things to make sense. My high school English teacher used to call me "the voice of reason." But I am certainly not extremely efficient, or logical to the extreme. I have very strong emotions. I am not very structured or well-organized, either. I agree that I am a detail-oriented person and it's probably true that I am understated in thinking of my own abilities (I hope). The thing about tight schedules and enviable organizational skills making me a great team asset-- definitely NOT true. I am not sure how the visual/auditory thing was measured but I would say in a heartbeat that I am pretty unobservant visually and terribly bad at mechanical/spatial relations, and that (on the other hand) music is the most important art form to me (surprise surprise) and that I can't live without it.
Can it be true that I am both reasonable and extremely emotional? Both those things seem true to me, of me. Well, this gives me a chance to spout one of my maxims, which is that in my experience, the most rational people are usually the ones who are the most in touch with their emotions, rather than the ones who believe they are acting purely logically and rationally and without the influence of emotion. I secretly (now, not so secretly) think those people are often the most irrational of all.
Your Brain Usage Profile:
Auditory : 62%
Visual : 37%
Left : 77%
Right : 22%
Sarah, your results indicate a strong left-hemisphere dominance with a mild preference for auditory processing. This blend would suggest that you are an extremely efficient person, logical perhaps to an extreme. You tend to structure your life and learning in very precise ways.
You benefit from experience, seek the rational in situations and feel most comfortable with routine.
You are a detail person. You see each piece of a puzzle or situation with equal clarity and value, and thrive on your ability to fit each piece into a unifying structure.
Your learning style tends toward the auditory, which suggests that you process inputs sequentially and classify each before moving on to the next. You do, however, possess sufficient visualization skills and interest to supplement the auditory tendency and render you more active than a person who is purely auditory.
In all likelihood you will be somewhat reserved in appreciating your own talents and understate your abilities even to yourself. You will organize your time and set schedules for yourself and, in that sense, lose sight of spontaneity and other needs - both of yourself and others. Your enviable organization, structure, and efficiency make you a valuable asset to a team effort.
http://mindmedia.com/braintest.html
The results make sense to me--kind of. I am not surprised that I would be a lot more auditory than visual, and a lot more left brain than right. However, I guess that also confuses me a little. I am very VERBAL (Scramble, anyone? Pleeeease?), and rather logical, and I like for things to make sense. My high school English teacher used to call me "the voice of reason." But I am certainly not extremely efficient, or logical to the extreme. I have very strong emotions. I am not very structured or well-organized, either. I agree that I am a detail-oriented person and it's probably true that I am understated in thinking of my own abilities (I hope). The thing about tight schedules and enviable organizational skills making me a great team asset-- definitely NOT true. I am not sure how the visual/auditory thing was measured but I would say in a heartbeat that I am pretty unobservant visually and terribly bad at mechanical/spatial relations, and that (on the other hand) music is the most important art form to me (surprise surprise) and that I can't live without it.
Can it be true that I am both reasonable and extremely emotional? Both those things seem true to me, of me. Well, this gives me a chance to spout one of my maxims, which is that in my experience, the most rational people are usually the ones who are the most in touch with their emotions, rather than the ones who believe they are acting purely logically and rationally and without the influence of emotion. I secretly (now, not so secretly) think those people are often the most irrational of all.
Your Brain Usage Profile:
Auditory : 62%
Visual : 37%
Left : 77%
Right : 22%
Sarah, your results indicate a strong left-hemisphere dominance with a mild preference for auditory processing. This blend would suggest that you are an extremely efficient person, logical perhaps to an extreme. You tend to structure your life and learning in very precise ways.
You benefit from experience, seek the rational in situations and feel most comfortable with routine.
You are a detail person. You see each piece of a puzzle or situation with equal clarity and value, and thrive on your ability to fit each piece into a unifying structure.
Your learning style tends toward the auditory, which suggests that you process inputs sequentially and classify each before moving on to the next. You do, however, possess sufficient visualization skills and interest to supplement the auditory tendency and render you more active than a person who is purely auditory.
In all likelihood you will be somewhat reserved in appreciating your own talents and understate your abilities even to yourself. You will organize your time and set schedules for yourself and, in that sense, lose sight of spontaneity and other needs - both of yourself and others. Your enviable organization, structure, and efficiency make you a valuable asset to a team effort.
Monday, July 21, 2008
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