Things that were not on my to do list

I'm at home but quite a few things have come up that I was not planning on...
1. My plane was landing in Chicago when oops! there is too much snow on the long runway. Let's go to St. Louis to refuel and land a couple hours late (I am glad that I landed safely)
2. First night here, the pipes froze in our upstairs. Odd since the house was built 4 years ago. We have no idea if they broke.
3. My hard drive died. Now the question, is it worth the $199 to get what I'm missing? Haven't decided on that one yet. (and that is only if they can get the stuff off)

Holiday movies I watched as a kid

Here is a list of Christmas specials I would watch every year as a kid:
1. Garfield Christmas
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original animation)
3. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
4. Charlie Brown Christmas
And my favorite (Although 4 is really close):
5. A Claymation Christmas!

Short list, but longer than I would like

Governors I've had that have now been arrested:
1. George Ryan
2. Rod Blagojevich (quoted yesterday as saying "People wearing recording devices? That smells to me of Nixon and Watergate..." well yes, and Nixon resigned as President of the United States- really the example you wanted to bring up?)

Words of the year

One of my favorite professors just posted his word of the year post so I thought it would be time for me to list the words I think qualify as the top 5 words of the year:
1. Recession: We've been hearing it almost all year and especially in the last few months.
2. Hope: While Prof. Baron picked Obama, I'm going to avoid the proper nouns in favor for hope which certainly was heard more often during this election than any other.
3. Change: This goes with hope, the word became the catch phrase of this election.
4. Staycation: between gas prices and the economy, the staycation was probably the catchiest new word of the year.
5. Foreclosure: We've been through the dotcom bust, but that seemed temporary compared to the current mess with foreclosures.

Any words you would add?

Things to be thankful for

Yes it's kinda boringly traditional but sometimes you need the traditional. Tomorrow I'll be cooking so here is my post for Thanksgiving:
1. I love teaching. I do not take for granted that I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I graduated.
2. I live by family. I know I have moved far from home, but I have never moved far from family.
3. Cell phones are an amazing invention. We were watching Jerry McGuire where they have rather large cell phones and I started thinking about how far technology has come in my life. It's wonderful to know that even though I'm half-way across the country doesn't mean I have to leave anyone behind.
4. My kitty greats me every day. I'm used to a human room mate but my cat helps make the transition easier.
5. My friends have great friends. People struck out to LA before I did, and luckily made some awesome friends that I enjoy meeting.
6. I have mentors identified at school. Teaching is a lonely profession. You spend most of the day with 14-18 year olds and the movement towards collaborative teaching is a slow one. I have some great supports set up though in the 140+ staff at our school.
7. I have a steady job for this year at least. The budget crisis in this state may mean I have to find a new job next year but with the economy the way it is, I appreciate that I have a job for this year at least.
8. Someone taught me to read. Being in classrooms with people who really struggle with reading,

Reasons being a teacher is so difficult

I love my job but there is a part of it that is not so awesome. I want to give my students every opportunity but there is one thing standing in the way- money. Thanks to a spending freeze in the district this is a list of purchases I've had to make that I won't be able to afford long:
1. I spent $97 to get play scripts so we can get started for the play- It's another $75 for the rights
2. I will be spending $80 to get copies of Frankenstein for all of my students. That's the dover thrift edition.
3. I have spent over $30 for mask supplies for my theater classes to practice "Greek Theater"
4. I have gone through 4 reams of paper trying to get copies of materials for students- all of which the is getting charged to my name.
5. I need to spend $20-30 to get speakers for my computer so the students can hear the sound from my computer.
6. $50 getting books and materials for me to have to be able to teach the students well.
7. $30 buying Monroe gear from student fundraisers.
8. $30 on "Lunch Bunch" purchases (Program run by Special Education dept)

In good news though, I am only $147 short of getting one class set of Maus thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and my great friends! (http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=213396) Of course I'll need that set since the only books in the book room for that unit were read by the kids in 9th grade.

Problems with the idea of Western Civilization

Recently my students were asked to write an essay defining Western Civilization. I strongly dislike the question and this graphic came up that describes one of my problems.

1. See Map---->

2. I teach in a school that is 80% Hispanic. Where is that element in "Western Civilization"?

3. Africa, a whole continent with amazing culture also falls no where in the definition.

4. I feel like in the world of globalization it would be a better idea to look at how a country exerts their culture on other cultures.

5. Civilization is a rather large identity group. It's also one that encourages ignoring the oppressed.

Proposition 8: A blemish on an amazing election year.

A monumental election, amazing results, and a restored hope for America's future.

A very serious blemish is hindering my celebration.
California passed Proposition 8 banning gay marriage. There are conflicting ideas as to what happens now- whether those who are married will be able to stay married, whether it will go to the Supreme Court etc.
Here is a list of things I feel like telling those who voted yes on Prop 8
1. The Constitution is not designed to regulate marriage. It is designed to protect our rights and maintain order in interpersonal matters where people's safety or rights may be at stake. Who's safety or rights are at stake if you don't ban marriage?

2. The idea that the Bible bans gays being married is a load of BS. First, I am a Christian, and don't try to tell me what Christian beliefs are. I have attended Sunday School more often than most people twice my age (I've got the perfect attendance prizes to prove it) and can quote the Bible perfectly clearly. Let's look at the commandments (or laws) given to us from the Bible: First and foremost love god, Second love your neighbor as yourself, third, do not have any gods before me, fourth you should not make wrongful use of the name of god, fifth remember the Sabbath day (and I gotta tell you not many Christians bother with this one any more) sixth honor your father and mother (no word in there about it has to be a father and mother but surprise- everyone came from some woman and some man whether those are the people who raised them) seventh no murder, eighth no adultery, ninth no stealing, tenth no lying, eleventh no coveting. (Yes the list is modified slightly- Greek Scriptures: Yo Jesus what is the most important commandment? Jesus: dude these two and one isn't on the original list) Those are the laws of the Bible that are set up. No where does it say marry only a person of the opposite gender.

3. "They can still have Civil Unions" is also a bullshit response. If you want to have a wedding and/or marriage then why would other people not want one? Marriage is something sacred and I have seen no clearer picture of that then the marriages I know between gay and lesbian couples. Everyone deserves the right to happiness and last I checked marriage is supposed to be partially built on a certain degree of happiness.

4. It ruins the sanctity of marriage. Does it really ruin it while more than the 20% of heterosexual marriages are abusive? Does it really it when the divorce rate is near 50% of all heterosexual marriages? Does it really ruin your marriage if in some other house there is another marriage? (Problem is this comes up with the complaint that promiscuity is through the roof. Shouldn't we then be wanting people to enter healthy marriages?)

5. A 52/48 majority vote doesn't mean it's a correct vote. It's not even an overwhelming vote. People in many states upheld policies of segregation based on race and you didn't see anyone saying "Oh keep that school segregated because a majority of the voters wanted it". If a majority of the voters are white and racist of course they will want segregation because they don't understand the fundamental problem with their decisions. We see now on a majority basis that this was ultimately a bigoted response. 52/48 from people who this never effects (if you are straight and against gay marriage I would like to hear how it effects you and your actions directly) is the same kind of bigoted this is the way I want it and that's the way it should be for everyone kind of bs (even worse because in segregation they were however wrongly trying to keep blacks away from their white lives. Gay marriage doesn't involve straight people other than those who love their gay lesbian bisexual and transgender friends and want to see them happy.)

6. Ever ask a kid who hasn't been trained by a homophobic person? I would say 80% of my students are fine with gay marriage being legal with probably 50% of those very devastated about the decision. One step further, so what if a three year old hears that Princes can marry other Princes? They can if gay marriage is legal and newsflash, just because they can doesn't mean that three year old is going to grow up gay or that there is a problem if he is gay. People are more likely to make the wrong recognition of their sexuality if they are in a close-minded environment than if they are free to recognize that any sexuality is fine.

7. It's discrimination. Eliminating rights, restricting people's happiness, determining what people can and cannot do because your mind is not open to the possibility that life is different for different people. It's discrimination. Let's hope America lives up to its past record and moves forward to a new day soon:
(The following is a letter from one of my friends out here. Well worth the read. Yes this is a long post but an important issue for me.

(This is something I wrote this morning. Please feel free to send it to whomever you want. ~Ryan)

Today is my anniversary.

Two years ago today, I married my husband. We had been dating for 5 years, and although we were young, we just "knew." We planned the wedding for almost a year. We knew we wanted a small, intimate ceremony surrounded by our family and friends. We knew that our families were both completely and utterly supportive of us.

We got married on November 5th, 2005. We held the ceremony in a gorgeous church here in Los Angeles. The wedding was officiated by a gay pastor and a lesbian rabbi, and attended by family and friends. The reception was vegetarian. It was, to put it simply, a reflection of Us.

We knew that the government did not, at the time, recognize our marriage, but that wasn't a deterrent. We were married in a church, under a Chuppah, witnessed by our families and friends, and before God. The Creator Of The Universe And All That Is, Was, And Ever Shall Be has witnessed, blessed, and consecrated our marriage--We. Are. Married. Do you think we really care whether the dumb government thinks we are married?

Mostly: No, of course not.

But in some ways: yes, of course we care.

Because the government is simply a reflection of The People. And the government does not recognize our marriage because a majority of people do not either. Of course, every day that passes, more and more people come to the realization that There Is Nothing Wrong With Being Gay. But we still have a long way to go.

I am eternally grateful for my supportive family and friends. And I know that the more that people personally know gay people, the more their opinions change. When they see what we live with, their opinions change. When they imagine themselves in our shoes, their opinions change. Because when they know us, they see what we go through. There is nothing I can say to describe the gay experience that hasn't been said before, and more eloquently, by others. But just imagine:

When you are walking down the street with your spouse, and feel the urge to hold their hand, you first have to think about Where You Are, and whether your hand-holding might result in verbal abuse or physical violence. And eventually, you grow tired of thinking about it, and decide that simply: you can't hold hands in public.

When you go to the movies with your spouse, and want to put your arm around their shoulders and cuddle, you then remember that you can't. And so you sit side by side. Like buddies at the movies.

At a romantic restaurant to celebrate a happy occasion, you see other couples holding hands over the table, and even--how wondrous!--kissing. You smile at them, and then--assuming there is a long tablecloth--continue holding hands under the table, where no one can see.

At home, when you and your spouse think about vacations you would like to take together, you realize that there are certain places you can't go. For instance: you will Never get to see the Pyramids of Egypt. The last remaining Wonder of The World is off-limits to you, because the laws of that country are such that if you went to visit, you could end up in jail, or worse.

When you are at work, and other people are talking about their spouses, you smile and nod, because you have to be careful about with whom you discuss your spouse. It might harm your career. And depending on which state you live in, you can even be fired outright for revealing Who You Really Are.

You get the idea.

And yesterday, the people of California decided that they like the world I just described.

They continue to believe that gay people are second-class citizens, worthy of nothing but derision and hatred.

But.

The vote was close. It was almost 50/50. And as sad as I am today, I am an optimist. I know that, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward Justice." I know that I will see equality in my lifetime.

But today is my anniversary.

And I wanted to get married.

Thanks for reading. As has been said "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Reforms I think are most pressing to Education

Tonight, one of the debate questions was about education reform, and I happen to be a professional in the field (still a bit weird) so I thought I'd make a list of reforms I find to be most pressing to the educational world (and ps John McCain- your claim that we have reached equality in education is bs. I'm calling you out on that).
1. Better continued professional development support for teachers: Education is a fast changing field as far as our understanding of what the students need, but a slow-changing reality in the classroom. A lot of this has to do with the continued professional support for teachers. Yes, there are people who are just bad and need to get out, but a lot of teachers were good and can be good again, they just need the updated training. I may be a good teacher now, but without continual support to get better, I can easily become a bad teacher.
2. A strategic plan for closing the achievement gap through early education and culturally relevant programs: The fact that there is an achievement gap makes me sick to my stomach. The fact that people ignore it makes me sicker. We need a specific plan for how we can close that and I think increasing early education to get kids the same opportunities from the start and culturally relevant so students can pick up the tools they need to learn any culture are two of the most important ways. (getting better measurements of achievement is another...)
3. A careful examination of the assessment tools used to measure standards in American children and the research about assessment: Standardized tests are not a valid measure of what our students know. Time and again this gets proven and then ignored. Pay attention people. Other countries have come up with much more valid measures to test a child's achievement.
4. Easily available grants for teachers trying to get resources: I can understand people's fuss about money being wasted. I don't agree with the way money gets pulled from schools that are failing, but I get this want for accountability. How about instead the government offers a website like donorschoose that allows teachers to apply for resources they need to fix their classroom? I just talked to a middle school librarian tonight whose students are going to massacre him because the circulation in the library has doubled but there aren't enough books for the kids to read. That is a person trying to make a difference for good with his hands tied because of the wonderful backwards way our schools get funding.
5. Mandate a larger amount of school funding be state-wide and more of it be nationwide: I know schools have traditionally been locally run, but if we are held responsible to anyone outside of the local than someone outside of the local should be paying up. This one I am particular about since a local referendum failed at my high school. Schools in Illinois are funding by property taxes (many states are this way) since property values are linked to the quality of schools and keep the control city wide. The problem is we have Ethel here on a fixed income who owns some property. If she's on a fixed income she can't pay any more on her property just to keep the property value up- her income is FIXED. Make it an income tax and you are taxing the money people have to be able to give and are more likely to give it. This also closes the gap between the haves and have nots. Just because the city doesn't have a lot of money doesn't mean the students should suffer. It's already hard enough convincing students who live in down and out towns that they should take pride in where they came from.
6. Valid teacher accountability: If you don't perform on any job you get fired. For some reason teaching has gotten exempt from this rule. I get the purpose of this in colleges, so professors can calm down from the cutthroat competition and focus on more important issues, but in high school I should be held accountable for what I'm doing. Things such as evaluations, standards of continuing education, better national requirements are ways of holding teachers accountable. Comparing students' test scores is not.
7. Create more cross-curricular learning: Do you know how many times you have to hear a word before you learn it? I have it written down from some Dressman lecture, but it's a lot. And we want our teaching to be relevant to the students, but how often do you sit down outside of school and say I'm going to do some history and then some english and maybe a little chemistry experiment? We mold all of these into all of these fields. Math people write, and English people do math. Some of the most interesting work is in the fusion of various fields where we can really get to the crux of the problem from multiple angles. (And for the love of god- math and science are not the only fields in the world)
8. Stop trying to fix things in some schools rather than all schools: Sure we can bus a kid to another school, but what about the 1000 kids left at the school who don't want to get bussed because they won't know anyone anywhere else? Charter schools may work and vouchers may be turning around the system in DC, but those aren't solutions for my school that still has students who need to learn.
9. Class size nationally mandated: You want a positive mandate coming at the national level then make the class size a nationally mandated level at 25. I know the research shows that class size doesn't matter past a certain age, but it does matter when you are trying to create universal design and have to worry about 40 kids. 25 allows you personal time with all students. It's for the teachers' sake as much as anything.
10. This one isn't so much a policy change as a mind-set change: Recognizing that every student has the potential to change the world in a positive way, and our teachers have one of the greatest chances of influincing that as long as we can change the idea that education is for wimps and only bad things happen in our schools. (two different sides of the fence there, but equally damning.)

Your student failed to suit...

A list of comments that I can make on my students' reports cards...

Comment Code	Comment
01	Exceptional work. Demonstrates mastery of standar
02	Produces beyond the assignment.
03	A pleasure to have in class.
04	Obeys rules, respects public and personal property
05	Works well with others in a variety of situations.
06	Accepts responsibility for personal actions.
07	Shows determination in accomplishing assignments/t
08	Work is improving to meet the standards of the cou
09	Demonstrates thorough use of knowledge and skills.
10	Low scores.
11	Does not complete assignments/tasks.
12	In danger of failing/not meeting promotion standar
13	Excessive absences and/or tardies.
14	Experiencing difficulty in meeting the standards.
15	Frequently comes to class without necessary materi
16	Seldom or never dressed for Physical Education.
17	Needs to participate in class activities.
18	Exhibits disruptive and/or inconsiderate behavior.
19	Talks too much.
20	Grade based upon a modified curriculum.
24	Parent conference requested. Call for appointment
25	Demonstrates honesty, fairness and/or integrity.
26	Demonstrates insight and thorough use of knowledge
27	Maintains courteous, positive relations with other
28	Maintains excellent attendance.
29	Completes work assigned.
30	Demonstrates understanding of standards and tasks.
31	Follows directions.
32	Accepts suggestions for improving work.
33	Completes all assignments.
34	Does well on oral assignments.
35	Does well on written assignments.
36	Contributes greatly to the class.
37	I'm proud of your child's achievement.
38	I'm proud of your child's improvement.
39	Assists others in meeting the standards.
40	Grade average is going up.
41	Grade average is steady.
42	Maintains satisfactory attendance.
43	Does not take suggestions for improving work.
44	Exhibits little effort; indifferent to corrections
45	Does not finish assignments.
46	Seldom is prepared for class.
47	Exhibits little effort to learn.
48	Makes careless errors in work.
49	Exhibits little effort to improve.
50	Does not pay attention in class.
51	Grade average is going down.
52	Exhibits discourteous behavior.
53	Too many violations of class rules.
54	Does not respect equipment and materials.
55	In danger of earning a "U" in Work Habits.
56	In danger of earning a "U" in Cooperation.
57	Chewing gum and/or eating in class.
58	Tear-offs/notices home not returned.
59	Books not covered.
60	Exhibits a negative attitude in class.
61	Demonstrates a lack of self-control.
62	Truancies/tardies are affecting class work.
63	Does not follow directions and/or instructions.
64	Seldom participates orally in class.
65	Seldom works in class; wastes time.
66	Often exhibits discourteous and inconsiderate beha
68	Awaiting mark from previous school.
69	Too many non-suits in Physical Education.
70	Fail - non-compliance with school's attendance pol
71	Recommended for intervention.