Stand Down or Speak Up?

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We all send our kids to school hoping they will be safe, nurtured and integrated into a learning atmosphere where they are not teased, bullied or made uncomfortable. Now let’s examine what actually happens in the real world.

Our kids enter kindergarten. What happens? They learn, yes. Some learn to tease and bully. If it is tolerated, it continues. Others learn to either fight back or withdraw and try to escape notice. These behaviors become habits, and we all know how hard habits are to break. Many times the bullying and/or teasing follows the victims all the way into high school. Is it right? No. Should people speak out instead of silently abetting the bullies? Yes. Does it always work out that way? No.

Talk to your children about bullying and harassment at school. Let them know it’s ok to complain about it. Tell an adult and don’t stop speaking up until the bad behavior stops. They may end up being someone’s hero. Doing the right thing is not easy, but the self-respect earned is priceless.

#Ricebucketchallenge

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I accidently found an idea I super like: instead of the ice bucket challenge, it’s something called the RICE BUCKET challenge. Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for having a good time and raising awareness, but the idea of dumping a bucket of ice water on myself holds little appeal. According to the news, the ice bucket challenge has been responsible for increased donations to fund research and treat ALS. That’s certainly a wonderful thing.

The thing I never thought about was how obscene wasting water would seem to people in countries without a steady supply of clean drinking water or suffering from drought. With so many hungry people in India and many other places in the world, another idea was born—that of the rice bucket challenge.

Visit the links below to find out all the details. I’m sure you’ll like the idea as much as I do!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/08/27/343498667/rice-bucket-challenge-put-rice-in-bucket-do-not-pour-over-head

https://www.facebook.com/ricebucketchallenge

The Chicken Chick

State Fair

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Our county has a wonderful 4H leader, and I appreciate all the work Sue does on behalf of our children. She helps the kids learn new things, schedules workshops to create projects for fair, and transports projects to state fair and sets them up. She is an amazing lady. She even took this picture for me since I couldn’t get to state fair myself! Thank you, Sue, for all you do for us.

Thanks to Sue, I have a picture of Bela's project!

Thanks to Sue, I have a picture of Bela’s project!

A Lofty Goal?

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I spent all summer stressing over finishing classes, work and all the other daily responsibilities like cooking dinner and having meaningful conversations with my teen and more. I tried hard to fit in the important things, but too often I got sidetracked by tiny details that don’t really matter in the long run.

Your opinion of what matters might very well be different from mine, but I have a goal—I have started writing a book, and I want to finish it. I’m only 13 pages into it, but all writers begin with a sentence, right?

I am ashamed to say that I didn’t add one word to my rough draft over the summer. Since my work and study schedules are lighter this year, I think it’s time to remedy that. Maybe I will have a completed manuscript by the end of the school year.

Walking Taco

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I meant to mention this sooner, but (being me) I forgot. Sometimes I have the attention span of a gnat.

When I was at the Hyannis rodeo, I needed a snack, so I went to the concession stand to see what $3 could buy me. I finally settled on what was being called a walking taco. My first question was if it had onions. The answer was no, so I ordered one. Hamburger meat, sour cream (if requested), Fritos and cheese were served in half a Fritos snack bag. I wish I had grabbed a spoon instead of a fork, but I managed pretty well. Personally, I would have called it a travelling taco just for the alliteration, but whatever the name, it was awesome!

Walking taco....

Walking taco….

Bright Spot in My Day!

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I teach an exploratory language class with students in seventh and eighth grades. Originally it was an exploratory Spanish class. Instead of boring myself with Spanish only (since I teach the same material to three or four groups), I asked the principal and the students if it would be cool to let the students vote on the languages we study for the nine weeks I have them.

The first language chosen was French. American Sign Language, German, Portuguese and Navajo were next on the list. To be honest, Navajo caught me by surprise. I am forgetting one language, but I’m sure it will come to me by morning! Spanish, of course, is going to be the last language we investigate. Most of the students already know a few words of it from last year and classes in elementary school. It will be fresh in their minds for next year (I hope!) when they begin Spanish at the high school level. This class is shaping up to be fun.

I have a video lined up for ASL already. The song is now stuck in my head along with some signs!

One student commented that he really liked the fact that I want to have some fun! LOL He went on to suggest that we prepare and eat (of course) a food related to each culture. Hmmm. I like that a lot! My mind instantly jumped to crepes….with Nutella, whipped cream and maybe some fruit. This kid was on a roll. He also happily recalled the baklava a teacher friend made for them (at my request) last year when we studied ancient Greece. At least he has one good memory from history class! I’ll try to give them some new ones with languages.

UPDATE: I forgot Russian!

School!

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After spending almost all day in classes and putting my lesson plans on the school website, it dawned on me—-we have to go back again tomorrow….and Friday and all next week! WHAT????? REALLY????? The kids feel the same judging by the comments I heard. I know my own teen was not excited about returning to school. Summer vacation was simply not long enough. Enough said.