December 8, 2010
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1 It was 30 years ago today…
2 They announced his death on Monday Night Football. All life seemed to stop, as many heard of the murder of ex-Beatle John Lennon.
3 To many, it was the death of music, or the death of a Gandhi, or of Dr. Martin Luther King. Lennon had a mystique that went way beyond the average person.
4 Historically it was a stunning time. On Monday Night Football, broadcaster Howard Cosell interrupted a game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins to announce that Lennon had been shot twice in the back and died on arrival at the hospital.
5 People poured out of houses, held vigils with candles, flowers and signs that said, “Imagine”, and “GIve Peace a Chance”.
6 I’ll think of John Lennon and his immense contributions to making people aware of one simple truth: that it is better to wage peace than to wage war.
7 Rest peacefully, John. You’ve a lot of people who admired a lot about you.
8 Moving on, Part the First: So…did anyone see last night’s sunset?
9 Without permission, I copped the above photo from the FB entrance of Christian Pizzirani. And yes, I spelled that correctly, Eve!
10 I have been WAY on top of my game lately, so on my way to run some copies of grammar boushit for my classes, I saw this. I actually looked out my window and saw it, but had a dreadful deadline and had to work my way to Kinkos without a camera. I shot a FB missive out to the masses, and then hopped in the T000000DRA to drive right into this gorgeous sky last night. This pic captures it in an amazing fashion, so thank you Christian for the quick reflexes. Brilliant.
11 Red sky at night, sailor’s delight!
12 I’m a huge fan of sunsets and their loving sister, sunrises.
13 Nice stuff. Gives all of us hope. This sunset dominated the entire sky last night, and there I drove, cameraless, if there is such a word. Enormously beautiful. At one point it went seamlessly from one point in infinity to the next. And I give huge thanks to Christian for having the sense to grab it while it happened. It was one of those sunsets that colors everyone’s world. Red sky at night. Lovely.
14 Moving on, Part the Second: So…Elizabeth Edwards walks proudly into a bar.
15 Strong, proud woman.
16 The wimminz are ridiculously underrated in our world.
17 So this DN goes out to the empowered wimminz!
18 Ohhhhhhhhh my!
19 Beautiful wimminz, everywhere. Stand up, ladies, and be counted. From the day you are born to the day you die, you are beautiful.
20 Me luvvvvz you! I was raised with two sisters and no brothers, and have two daughters and no sons. That’s a soldier in the battle of the sexes, and yes, I know much about your cause. Stand, be proud. You are wimminz. Stay strong, because so much about you is beautiful.
21 <sigh>
22 Whew.
23 I need a smoke, yo.
24 Haha!
25 Moving on, with grace, Part the Third: Hope you’re all moving through this rapid season with grace and love.
26 It’s the most miserable time of the year.
27 Seriously.
28 We are all overworked, underpaid, and under-appreciated.
29 To a man.
30 To a woman.
31 You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
32 Moving on, Part the Fourth: Ah, Glee. Good episode last night, but even the Niners beat Arizona a week ago. You need to step it up.
33 When is that show going to finally have an amazing episode? It began so amazingly, and so much of the music not only rocks, but is well produced.
34 But the storylines…
35 Lend me a pen.
36 Just sayin’…
37 Moving on, Part the Fifth: Just ramblin’. I really almost like my new lifestyle this season. In the past, I would stay up WAY late writing the DN, then try to sleep, THEN get insomnia, and finally awaken with around four hours of sleep.
38 Not healthy, and many of you lived through my subsequent tired and irritated behaviors.
39 I gave energetic and sometimes fantastic lessons, but many the result of having to step up my game for the students.
40 This year, I’ve taken to going to sleep really early, awakening at some point in the night, writing the DN with a fresh mind, and then sleeping wonderfully for the remainder of the night.
41 Last night, for example, I actually stayed up late. What was late? Ten p.m. I awakened at around one a.m. and allowed my mind to adjust.
42 I had written much of the DN before ten, but added a bunch of this after my head cleared from a hectic day.
43 Just lucky, I guess.
44 I keep thinking of all the college students who are pulling all-nighters and losing their marbles right now. Two years ago I took fifteen units to up my pay significantly, and to stay employed.
45 But studying and researching, and then trying to grade papers, visit my parents, plan classes, and put family and friends on the back burner almost killed me. I have no idea how I did it all, except that I’m pretty sure it had something to do with four-hour sleep sessions at night.
46 That’s okay when you’re young, but when you start marching toward that final battle, it can take its toll.
47 I did it, ‘cuz most people know that I am a tough cookie, but it was not easy. College professors sometimes think that each of their classes is the most important.
48 Evidently the mission of colleges is to make you jump through a million hoops in order to achieve a degree. As a teacher, I know darned well that my best students will conquer any challenge out there, so what is the point of giving them triple the amount of work they need in order to get the degree?
49 It’s a game. Nowadays, every teacher wants to be the toughest hombre around, which is why many students aren’t really learning, they are jumping through massive hoops in order to please some egocentric twit who may never have made it had they had themselves as a teacher.
50 I’m much more into leading students to amazing things, and opening their minds to things they never would have learned had they been shackled to boring texts with lots of hoops. I still give them enough to keep them honest, but if I wanted to have my students memorize the dictionary and write the entire muthafukka down, I have many who would do it, sight unseen. And yes, they’ll learn, but they’ll also learn that learning must be connected with absolute agony.
51 I refuse to be that teacher. That’s not a teacher, it’s a Nazi with a HUGE ego.
52 And if we simplify for the spirit of true learning and enrichment, we get tagged as pushovers.
53 So be it. I don’t remember my best teachers as drill sergeants or Jump-Thru-the Hoopsters, but as people excited about their subjects, and interested in activities that elevated our spirits to worlds we never knew existed.
54 That mentality is now lost in the dust of mercenaries trying to impress academia with their almost inhuman demands.
55 To me, in education, more is less. Enthusiasm, energy, and high-interest materials that engage is what it is all about. Always was, always will be. When students are engaged, laughing, and enjoying learning, they learn.
56 When they jump through hoops, they land on the other side, wipe off the dust, and then ask, “What would you like me to do next?”
57 My answer: land on your ass and keep your mind open and free.
58 That’s today’s lesson, coming to you from a wise old sage whose been at it for some time.
59 Peace.
~H~
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