This and That

From the NYT, something I find sad: a kid who got admitted to college but who cannot figure out a way to pay for it.

David Souter is retiring from the Supreme Court at the end of the term. A New Hampshire man. Two views of the subject, from Slate. (One) (Two)

Also, what do you know about Morocco?

The Busy and the Lazy

And both are me. Roundup for the day:

from the NYT:
- Legos and New York
- breaking up big high schools in NYC
- continued concern about equal access to AP exams

from Slate:
- snow incapacitates London
- long-distance relationships are bad for the planet, bummer.
- Michael Phelps: can he get high faster than the rest of us?
- Burma continues to have issues
- Not Polk, please, not Polk
- Vultures (and ticks and jellyfish, oh my!)
- Donating a kidney? You can have less invasive surgery

Stuff & Things

First, a political cheer: era of Bush is over! Didn't vote for him the first or second time. Have defended him to students. Truly believe that he's not as dumb as he looks. But thank goodness that the two terms are over. Now an entirely different set of people can be frustrated with the chief executive and in four years, we'll go to the polls and do it all over again. But on this day, and for the next few, I'm just going to be happy and hopeful and calm and assume that many things are right with the world. At the end of it all, I like America. Your guy doesn't always win, but the system works well most of the time.

In that same vein, here's a post of astonishment for the celebration of the birthday of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. He did the unpopular, fought the system, continued to believe in the essential goodness of people even though, quite frankly, there was little reason to. An amazing person, an example to us all, without whom tomorrow would not have been possible.

From the NYT, here's a story on teachers using the inauguration in classroooms. Also, one on bad meetings and lots of them.

From NPR, a story concerning bells, Trinity Church, and the inauguration. In addition, a story concerning letters written to Obama from young Navajo students. (Made me bawl, but worth it.)

Here We Go Again

So, here's my latest roundup of stuff I think is interesting:

From the NYT:
- fiction reading by adults is up!
- charter schools that emphasize culture over the American "melting pot"
- the death of the lecture at certain colleges
- emphasis on manners for children
- letters in response to the editorial which suggested cutting taxes for teachers

From Slate:
- What are the rules for giving someone the finger on TV?
- At the intersection of math and politics, an article discussing how congressional districts are formed

And, for fun: it's Fish! (not actually, but representationally...)

[End] Pity Party

So, that's over for the year. I went through the annual letter reading and all is well with the world again. (You know, except for the obvious.) Laundry? In the dryer. Bread? Rising. Schoolwork? Getting there. Music? I win at Schubert and the Porpora is coming along slowly. Counting down to the latest visit to the motherland? You bet.

Mom's birthday was on Wednesday and mom's anniversary was on Saturday. Happy happy to them.

In other news, here's the latest stuff that's been keeping me busy on the internet:
- an interesting series from Slate documenting a woman who is visiting the Holocaust archives of the International Tracing Service in Germany
- from the NYT, a staging of Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" (I love Sondheim ever since my class on him during first year J-term
- a suggestion from an editorialist in the NYT who thinks it would be a good idea to eliminate all federal income taxes on public school teachers (hey, those of us in the private schools would appreciate it too)

Also, I've been watching the news from Gaza. You should too.

End of the Break

Oh my, here we are. It's the end of break and time for school to begin again. I'm a little reluctant to begin the deluge again, big surprise. AP class is on track and they finished Reconstruction before Christmas.

There was one second added to the space between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. Here's an article from "Slate" on people who are official timekeepers.

Also from "Slate," an article for budding politicians on how to avoid Facebook-based embarrassment in later years.

And, my friend Katie has decided to walk in a 3-day to raise money for breast cancer research. If you can, can you help her out?

I know I've read some other interesting stuff over the past few days, but I forget what it was...

Roundup

From the NYT, several things:
- a story on the resurrection of "Scrubs," a sitcom that I love, though have only ever watched on DVD or in reruns
- a story on a psychologist's retry of the Millgram experiment, something that I have taught my students about in conjunction with our genocide unit
- a story about the concept of adding students to the parent-teacher conference mix

I made mittens over Christmas break and I love them. I should start a baby hat soon. Two baby hats, for the children of one of my bosses. (I have many.)

Trying to figure out what to do with myself next summer. The thought of doing nothing isn't fab, but I'm not sure what I want to do. Camp? Could be. It's a good fallback.

Returned, I Have

Interestingly, I made the drive to NH last Thursday in my personal best time, 10 hours and 20 minutes. However, today I made the drive back in 9 hours and 45 minutes, besting my previous record by 35 minutes. Probable cause? The new car. It doesn't rattle to let me know how fast I'm going!

Lovely holiday, although not enough time with family, including my brothers, who zipped back to their homes much earlier than anticipated. Lovely presents -- things to read, wear, enjoy.

Lovely article, from Slate, on the book Rise Up Singing, which I first encountered at Girl Scout camp. There were several counselors who seemed to own their own copies. At any rate... back home. Time to start some school work, as I have actually taken a whole week off!

One of the NPR stations in Boston broadcast a program yesterday afternoon called "The Best of Public Radio 2008." It's a last-ditch fundraising effort for stations across the US... (If you want to give: www.givetopublicradio.org) and had the funniest story about an attempt to take the things that make stories on the NPR website hit the "most popular" list -- but it's not online in consumable form for people who haven't made contributions. Trust me, it was funny. Funny enough to consider making a contribution to a station that I don't even live in range of anymore.

Quick Post

Signing off for a week of no internet access... oh boy! Pity me the 12 hour drive each way. :) Or don't, since I am fortunate enough to have a car to drive and a family to visit, even if they do live far away. Be thankful for what you've got and I'll be back just before the new year.

NYT article: private colleges concerned about smaller numbers of applicants, even though early decision applications were up in many places.

Another article, this one on lying -- I don't feel that I lie very often, except, I guess, lies of omission. I'm just bad at it.

On Being Lazy

There is truly nothing like an actual weekend, a real break from work. They are a luxury that I do not often have the time to take in my profession. I have been lazing about, finishing knitting projects and starting new ones (mittens!), reading, messing about on the internet. I actually took a nap this afternoon.

Latest things of interest from the internet:
- an article from the NYT on people who leave things between the pages of books. Best part? The closing paragraphs which describe a pair of Smith students in the early 70's who pull a trick concerning a famous alumna of their college. You have to read it for yourself.
- another from the same newspaper on small schools sharing buildings
- plus, an editorial commenting that separate is not equal when it comes to marriage

Now it's time to drink some tea.

Snow.

Apparently, I'm going to have to squeeze in the 12-ish hour drive home between weather events. However crazy it seemed when I made the decision originally, I'm glad that I'm not driving home. Between storms in the Northeast and the Northwest, I'm certain that air travel will be snarled for a while. So off I will drive on Tuesday.

Since people who are dear to me live in Seattle, I was checking out their paper and the storm news. The following story amuses me: "Road Crews Pit Chemistry Against Ice," wherein it tells of local officials using a combination of cheese whey, water, and molasses to combat road ice. Clever.

Stories of Place

From the NYT, several interesting stories of place:
- a small village in Vermont that is trying to undertake responsible development with the help of Middlebury College
- an island in Hawaii that used to house a leper colony
- back to Vermont, an article on the club football team at UVM
- American students attending college abroad

Plus, the slightly *duh* article that college may soon be unaffordable for any but the wealthiest Americans. For first years entering next fall at my alma mater, four years will likely cost twice what four years cost when I attended.

1/3 of the way through!

1/3 of the school year is over! Yahoo and yippee. More importantly, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means a few more days off in a row. And in that vein, here's my thing to be thankful for today: my end-of-trimester comments are finished. All 75 of them.

In other news:
- from the NYT, an article on the fact that early decision applications are actually up this year at lots of different institutions despite the fact that the economy is down
-from the NYT, an article on the fact that California plans to cut enrollment at its state university system by 10,000 students because of the economic downturn (ouch for low income kids)
- from the NYT an article on how a student from Dartmouth won a county election in NH
- from Slate, an article on a new book about the Constitution, one of my favorite documents of all time

And that's it for now. Reading on a Sunday afternoon, what a concept!

Work, work, & more work

First off, and unrelatedly, an observation: when you're waiting for the phone to ring, it never does.

And now, onto other stuff! Like the busy. Seriously, I don't think that I've worked this hard for such an extended period of time since MHC. So much work! It's the AP/regular US history combined with redoing the 9th grade. I'm enjoying the work, I just wish there were a few more hours to spend doing things for myself.

Outside of my insulated little school life, the rest of the world keeps on keeping on:
- a piece from Slate on how different religions define death
- another piece from Slate on parental expectations for kids and why they are too high
- from the NYT, a story on how Howard Dean will step down as DNC chair -- I adore Howard Dean

Day After

So, here we are, back to "normal." I'm disappointed in California's decision to amend their constitution to ban gay marriage, but that's the way it works sometimes. If you leave those things to the people, it doesn't always work out the way you want it to. But I think that eventually, we will see gay marriage not only legal in all 50 states, but also socially accepted by most places and groups. Look at what just happened in this country! I feel like anything can happen now.

Often quoted Dr. King: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

Fascinating elsewhere:
- from Salon, quotes from thinkers and reporters and academics and bloggers on what the election of Obama means -- it's lovely and inspiring
- from the NYT, an article on studies that show that contagious liberalism of professors is a bit of an urban myth, though it seems to indicate that MY liberalism as a high school teacher is far more influential than I like to think
- from the blog Feministing, a "thank you" for female voters on how they affected the outcome of the election
- a really funny blog from two old ladies who have been friends for 60+ years, with absolute opinions on everything and remind me of my friends from college, older and young
- from one last blog, Indexed, on the outcome of the election

Election Results

Here's the rub, which I hope that you all have picked up on: Obama won!

Am I pleased with these results? Yes. Do I think they are amazing given our country's history of slavery and discrimination against people of color? Yes.

Are others disappointed, including some of my students? Yes. And seriously, that's ok to be disappointed. We're all disappointed when our guy doesn't win. I thought Obama's victory speech last night was very eloquent and understated-- the following was particularly historically resonant:

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

It reminds me of Jefferson's first inaugural address, where power transferred for the first time between political parties, from Washington and Adams's Federalist Party to Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. At that time, Jefferson said "We are all Federalists, we are all Republicans."

I have many students today who are bummed out by the election results. I have been emphasizing the fact that Obama has said he wants to listen to those who disagree with him, that Senator McCain said in his concession speech that he was committed to helping President-elect Obama help out country through touch times. In addition, the history teacher in me needs to tell them that we are lucky to live in a place that has a long-established tradition of peaceful transitions of power from one political party to another. That our Constitution is a pretty conservative document and that the office of the presidency is designed to be well-balanced by the other branches. That it's wonderful that we live in a place where freedom of speech and the press are enshrined in our Constitution and that it's ok to not agree with and voice your opposition to the government and the president.

Not Election Day Yet

It's not election day yet, so here's some stuff to tide you over:

- from the NYT, an article on the Erie Canal and how it's still used, amusing to me since I just taught about the Erie Canal in AP class
- from NPR, a story on a Supreme Court case involving the FCC and swear words on radio/tv -- the topic itself isn't that funny, but the treatment is, as they have a guest on to talk about the history of the "f word," but refer to that word throughout the story as "floss" -- it's absolutely hillarious

Science?

From the NYT, scientists discover that peeling Scotch tape... releases x-rays.

No, really.

It doesn't work with duct tape and they haven't tried with masking tape, yet.

Stop laughing! It's science!

The Power of Books

From the NYT, a story about a man in Columbia who brings books to people via burro...

Plus:
- a story on a man who designed school buildings in NYC
- one on people who decide not to send their little kiddos to school (probably one of the paper's semi-famous bogus trend stories, but still interesting)

And a nod to the Red Sox with their nice run this season. See you again in the spring.

Racing Non-Gas Vehicles

From the NYT, an article detailing a race called "Escape from Berkeley," where participants use non-gasoline vehicles. I especially like the idea of the wood-fired car.

In other news, I am now well-versed on the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, including the War of 1812. Still left to learn about this week: Monroe & his doctrine.