An Amazing Moment Caught on Video!

An acquaintance shared the below video on Facebook. After watching it, I was so moved that I needed to pass it on.  Here's the background on the video:

Marina Abramović is a New York-based Serbian performance artist, who shared an intense love affair with West German performance artist, Ulay from the mid-70s through the late-80s.  In 1988, Marina and Ulay decided to end their relationship but ended it in a very unique way.  "Each of them walked the Great Wall of China, starting from the two opposite ends and meeting in the middle. As Abramović described it: 'That walk became a complete personal drama. Ulay started from the Gobi Desert and I from the Yellow Sea. After each of us walked 2500 km, we met in the middle and said good-bye.'" (Wikipedia) Wow, pretty mature way to end a relationship.

At her 2010 MoMa performance retrospective, The Artist is Present, as part of the show, Marina shared a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing and this is what happened:

I was speechless after watching that beautiful moment. Of course, my romantic sensibilities want this moment to be the start of a rekindled love affair. Additionally, I'm so mad at myself, because I was still living in NYC during this retrospective. It would have been an incredible performance to witness and I missed it. 

Remembering "Columbine" - 14 Years Later

It's been nearly 14 years since the Columbine tragedy. What do you remember about the two shooters (Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold) from the April 20, 1999 shooting and attempted bombing of Columbine High School? Let me tell you some of the so-called "facts" I remember hearing in the hours and days after the shooting: 

• they were Goths;
• they were part of the "Trench Coat Mafia";
• they were loners who had no friends;
• they were fans of Marilyn Manson;
• they specifically targeted jocks;
• they specifically targeted minorities;
• they chose April 20th because it was Hitler's birthday;
• they were gay; 
• they shot Cassie Bernall because she believed in God.

All of these allegations are false! I just finished reading Columbine (2009) by Dave Cullen, who spent 10 years researching the tragedy and is considered the nation's foremost authority on the Columbine killers.

Synopsis:  "On April 20, 1999, two boys left an indelible stamp on the American psyche. Their goal was simple: to blow up their school, Oklahoma-City style, and to leave 'a lasting impression on the world.' Their bombs failed, but the ensuing shooting defined a new era of school violence-irrevocably branding every subsequent shooting 'another Columbine.'

When we think of Columbine, we think of the Trench Coat Mafia; we think of Cassie Bernall, the girl we thought professed her faith before she was shot; and we think of the boy pulling himself out of a school window -- the whole world was watching him. Now, in a riveting piece of journalism nearly ten years in the making, comes the story none of us knew. In this revelatory book, Dave Cullen has delivered a profile of teenage killers that goes to the heart of psychopathology. He lays bare the callous brutality of mastermind Eric Harris, and the quavering, suicidal Dylan Klebold, who went to prom three days earlier and obsessed about love in his journal. 

The result is an astonishing account of two good students with lots of friends, who came to stockpile a basement cache of weapons, to record their raging hatred, and to manipulate every adult who got in their way. They left signs everywhere, described by Cullen with a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of police files, FBI psychologists, and the boy's tapes and diaries, he gives the first complete account of the Columbine tragedy." (from the book jacket)

Review: The professor of my current grad class brought in an excerpt from Columbine for us to read and discuss. I was immediately fascinated by the excerpt and decided to pick up the book from the library. What did I discover? An incredibly well-researched, detailed account of the Columbine tragedy. Cullen addresses many myths that the press created in the first moments after the tragedy and that most of us still believe.

In the 10 years following the Columbine shooting, Dave Cullen sifted through a mountain of information – conducting hundreds of interviews, reading over 25,000 pages of police files, consulting with FBI psychologists, and viewing the tapes and diaries left behind by Harris and Klebold – in order to write a definitive account of what happened that day at Columbine; including what led up to the shooting, what went wrong during the initial response, and the aftermath of the shooting in the community and those permanently scarred either by the loss of loved ones or injury. He also attempts to answer one of the biggest questions that lingers over the specter of the Columbine shooting: Why?

I'm oversimplifying Cullen's book but Eric Harris was a born psychopath and Dylan Klebold was clinically depressed, eager to please, and looking for an escape hatch. Together, they formed a rare and volatile combination known as a criminal dyad (a coupling of an egomaniacal control freak and a doting, depressed side-kick; i.e.; Leopold and Loeb or Bonnie and Clyde). But Cullen does not merely dwell on the psychopathy of the killers. He reports on the practically criminal mistakes by the police, the egregious rumors spread by the media, the recovery of the injured victims, and the anger and eventual healing of the deceased's families. Additionally, Cullen provides one of the best descriptions of psychopathy I think I've ever read (Chapter 40).  It worth reading the book for just that explanation!

My only complaint about the book is the organization. I have never been a fan of nonlinear narratives (stories that jump around in time (one of the reasons I dislike Slaughterhouse Five)). Cullen's narrative is not written chronologically so it can be a little difficult to keep track of the timeline, but that's my personal issue and in no way detracts from the brilliance of his research and writing. Not counting endnotes, the book is nearly 400 pages long and took me approximately 2 days to read. This genius work of journalism was thoroughly engrossing and I highly recommend it. As an educator, it scared the hell out of me; as a feeling and caring human being, it saddened me!

Rating:  5 out 5 stars

Career Change: A TFA Update

It occurred to me that I have not written any updates about Teach for America in awhile. Mostly because TFA has become such an inconsequential, yet still annoying part of my life. But I should give this update as a warning for anyone who is thinking of going the TFA route. Here's the warning:  

Be prepared that if you do not drink the Kool-Aid for this cult, you will be ostracized. Do not have a mind of your own. Do not have any opinions. Just agree with everything they say - no matter how ridiculous, stupid or unprofessional that it might be and you should succeed. 

Of course, I do not take my own advice, because I'm an intelligent, opinionated, strong-willed (read: stubborn), experienced (read: old) personality, who has little time for nonsense and hates to have time wasted when it can be better utilized. The problem with TFA is that they are used to dealing with (generally) 22 year old ivy league graduates who more often than not grew up in a sheltered, privileged world and have very little idea of reality, which is the complete opposite of me. Here's the latest on my experience with TFA Massachusetts ("TFAM"):  

In late November 2012, while I was attending a class at Boston University as part of my Master’s program, I made an innocent comment which was completely misinterpreted by a fellow TFAM corps member - I have no idea who. Because instead of discussing this comment and making their dissatisfaction known to me, this corps member went directly to the Executive Director ("the E.D.") of TFAM to register a complaint. A couple of weeks later, the E.D. contacted me that he wanted to “have a meeting” regarding this comment. I refused to meet with him and explained to the E.D. that a meeting with him is an inappropriate response to the issue and that the corps member should have come to me instead of registering a complaint with him, which would be the professional way to handle this issue. The E.D. told me that he was "disappointed" in my response. <shrugs> Whatever.

After that correspondence between the E.D. and myself, I was essentially cut off from any support from TFAM; not that I care. The TFAM staffer who is supposed to be mentoring me (ha!) has made only one visit to my classroom which was back in October 2012 and I have never seen or heard from her since. This ostracizing by the TFAM staff was not actually communicated to me directly, but the writing is pretty clear on the wall that I am persona non grata. On Friday, February 22, 2013, the E.D. called my cell phone and left a voicemail attempting yet again to schedule a meeting with me about this now three-month old comment. In this voicemail, the E.D. stated that “wants to get back on the track of supporting” me and we can get back to “working together in all the right ways.” (My suspicions were confirmed with those statements.) Once again, I emailed the E.D. that I will not meet with him regarding this issue which is a personal matter that should have been handled in the moment, that the comment was made 3 months ago and well past the time of talking about it. I finally decided enough was enough and sent a letter of complaint to the TFA National Office about the unprofessional behavior of the TFAM staff and am now waiting for a reply.

It is the most redonkulous situation. Remember career changers: TFA will get you into the classroom faster than going the traditional route of student teaching while in graduate school, but there is a hefty price to pay!!!

Side note: a couple of new photos were posted to My First Year of Teaching photo album. Enjoy!

A friend of mine posted this video today and it's awesome. Best video EVER! I hope I'm just like Nana in 40 years. Make sure you listen to her last sentence.  Word, Nana!

Best Album of All Time?

On my way to and from school today, I was listening to Michael Jackson's 1982 best selling album, Thriller and the thought that ran through my head is that many people consider this album the greatest album of all time, but do I think that?  Hmmmm.  For starters, I think I need to narrow down the field of best albums according to decade.  After all, it seems only fair.  It's hard comparing the different decades because music has evolved so much over the years, therefore let me at least list my top picks for each decade - starting with the 1950s. 

 The 1950s:  Sorry, but hands down the best album (and performer) from the 1950s is Elvis Presley's debut album Elvis Presley (1956). Is there really any argument about this??  Let me just list these few songs:  "Blue Suede Shoes" "I Got a Woman", "Blue Moon", "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)". Need I say more? I would love to hear arguments for any other album because you'll lose every time.

The 1960s:  Here's where it gets difficult.  Can I just list every Beatles album??  Okay, no - that wouldn't be fair.  I'll have to narrow it down.  For me, I would say Abbey Road (1969) by The Beatles is the best of the 60s.  I'm sure I'm going to get yelled at for picking Abbey Road over The White Album (1968) or Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). Believe me, it was a difficult choice. Something about Abbey Road just resonates with me over any other Beatles album.  And similar to Elvis in the 1950s, is there any other artist that would win out over The Beatles?

The 1970s:  Ah, the lost decade.  The decade when the world lost its mind and embraced disco!  Yuck! This decade is difficult for many reasons, the least of which being the disco era.  How do you choose Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run (1975) over Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (1976) over Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) over Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell (1977) over Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973)? All of these albums deserve the top billing, but my heart will always remain faithful to Elton John - Goodbye Yellowbrick Road edges out the others.

The 1980s: I've already mentioned Michael Jackson's Thriller and yes, I like that album, but I don't think it's the best of the decade.  (Although it is still the best selling album of all time.)  My pick for the 1980s is Prince's Purple Rain (1984).  To this day, I practically weep when I hear the title song. Just hearing the opening chord of "Let's Go Crazy" makes me want to get up and dance!!

The 1990s: Okay after the 1980s, I start having issues because I think music from the 1990s through today sucks by comparison.  I stopped listening to the radio by the mid-90s.  I suppose if I have to choose the best album from the 1990s, it would be Nirvana's Nevermind (1991).  Not my favorite but it's the best I could come up with on short notice.

The 2000s:  Ugh! Do I really HAVE to do the 2000s?  <sigh>  Okay, fine.  I suppose I would choose Radiohead's Kid A (2000).  Again, not my favorite, but probably the best of the decade.   

Which wins my vote for best album of all time??

Abbey Road!

For me, The Beatles will always be the best of the best and every performer can thank The Beatles for launching their careers.

I'm sure some people completely disagree on my choices. <shrugs> Check out Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the top 500 albums of all time. Quite a compilation. 

Career Change: "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"

A few months back, I explained in a posting that nearly 99% of my students are either English language learners or former English language learners, consequently many of our idioms go completely over their heads. I have a habit of using idioms as a matter of course and most of my students get completely lost when I use them. Therefore, I started instituting An Idiom of the Day. Today was a funny kind of day...

During one of my planning periods, the assistant principal asked me if I could cover a Biology class for a few minutes while that teacher met with the principal.  Of course I said "yes."  Most of the students in this class I didn't know but two of my seniors were there. We got to chatting and the one senior (a girl) asked me if I had any kids. I told her no but then I said "Well actually I have 90 kids - my students." She laughed. She asked me if I wanted any and I told her that at 47, that ship had sailed for me. She then asked if I was married or had a boyfriend to which I said no. She then asked if I had a girlfriend. I laughed and said nope. She then told me that I should go with her to the Dominican Republic so that she could find me a boyfriend. I laughed so hard and then said that it was sweet of her, but that I wasn't interested.  She asked me "why not?"  Then I said "once bitten, twice shy."  She had a look of confusion on her face so I had to explain that I was hurt badly by someone recently and that the idiom means when you have had an unpleasant experience you are more likely to avoid similar experiences in the future.  She said, "Oooooooooo." 

My teenagers are funny. They are fascinated with my love life... or rather my lack of a love life. One male student said to me the other day:  "Miss, you better get on finding a man because you're getting old." Bah hahahahahahaha!! But I keep teaching them the same idiom lesson: "once bitten, twice shy."   I'm not positive why they are so fascinating with my love life, but I think it's because as teenagers they cannot understand someone who isn't out searching for a partner.  After all, their lives are all about who is dating whom and who just broke up with who and all that other drama. The fact that someone chooses not to date and would rather be alone than in a crappy relationship doesn't compute.  I keep telling them: "Wait a few years.  You'll understand it better."  (Also, as I mentioned in my post from the other day, I'm in the "perpetually-romatically-challenged" category.  Always have been, always will be.)  :-D

See I just don't teach them reading and writing.  Life Skills 101!!!

Do You Have "Th1rteen R3asons Why"?

Are there thirteen people in your life that you would like to send messages to regarding various lingering and nagging issues? I'm not sure I have thirteen people but yeah, I can imagine sitting down and letting certain people know my thoughts and feelings about a few topics from the past. That storyline is the basic premise of the 2007 New York Times best-selling young-adult fiction novel, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, which I'll be starting with my English 3 Honors class this week. I remember reading this book in 2007 when it was released and I just finished re-reading it in preparation to teach it. 

Synopsis:  "Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face."  (from the book jacket)

Review:  I remember when I first read this novel, I told everyone who had a teenager in their lives that they needed to have them read it. Six years later and that comment still holds true. This book is phenomenal. I'm actually quite surprised that most of my students have never read this book, but then again - they don't read any books, so I suppose it's not that surprising.  Similar to Speak (another must read), this novel deals with the major issues that most teenagers face these days: bullying, peer pressure, death, guilt, sex, revenge, depression, suicidal thoughts, etc. Winner of several book awards, Thirteen Reasons Why grabs the reader instantly. It's well-written, perceptive, and has elements of a psychological mystery/thriller. The reader is left to ponder the power of words, rumors, and innuendo. Teen readers will be able to identify with the characters and situations, and adults will be reminded (sadly) of their teen years (and people they'll never forget - equally the good and the bad). I will once again emphasize that this is a MUST READ, no matter what your age! Just be sure to start reading it at a reasonable hour, because putting it down isn't an option!

Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

The video below has nothing whatsoever to do with the novel.  I saw this video today. Cuteness abounds in it and I just wanted to share it.  I dare you not to be charmed by these cute baby animals. I really needed some sweet cuteness in my day and this video was it...

Career Change: Proctoring the ELA MCAS

This week was just... erm ... horrendous!  It started with my new car not starting on Monday morning and ending with me leaving school at 5:30 Friday night (2 hours later than usual). Okay, the car had a drained battery (probably from the cold. as it's been fine ever since), but after that crappy start, the week just went downhill.  

Due to waiting around for roadside assistance to come check on my car, I didn't get to school until almost an hour later than I usually do (I'm generally at school by 7:15), putting me way, way, way behind schedule. I arrived to find out that administration scheduled me to proctor the retest of the ELA MCAS (the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) test on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and that I would have to be trained on how to administer the test last period of the day Monday.  Therefore, I already had one class that fell behind because they did zero work during that period I was in the meeting.  Of course, because I learned about the proctoring last minute, all the plans that were put in place for Wednesday through Friday were for naught and I had to completely rewrite my plans, which of course, I had TONS of time to do.  (Still looking for that sarcasm font!)  This has put all of my classes way behind schedule.  It would have been nice to have gotten some advanced notice.

But what was the most disheartening part of the week was the actual proctoring of the test. What is the MCAS?  The MCAS is an untimed, standardized test that all Massachusetts public and charter school students have to take and pass in order to graduate from high school.  It consists of English, Math and a Science (Bio, Chem, or Physics) sessions.  This week it was the retest for those students who either failed or did so poorly that they were put on an educational proficiency plan to improve their test scores.  The English test consists of composition writing (Day 1) and reading comprehension (Days 2 and 3). 

I proctored 17 students for three days.  On day 1, the essay prompt was to pick a book that they have read in or out of school and discuss a struggle or obstacle that a character had to overcome. Here are some highlights of conversations during the composition writing:

•  "Miss, can I use the word 'crap'?"  "Ummm, I can't really help you, but I would suggest not." "What's another word I can use?" "There's a dictionary in front of you. Look it up!"
• "Miss, can you read my essay to see if it's any good?"  "No, I cannot!"
• "Miss, can you give me a suggestion of a book I can write about?"  "No!"

The "test" part was apparently beyond their understanding. But the worse part was the reading comprehension on days 2 and 3, which gave me a good indication of the kind of problems that I'm up against with teaching in my particular district. The first reading was a four page article about crop circles.  After approximately an hour and 15 minutes elapsed, most of the students were on either page 1 or 2 - a passage that I took me 10 minutes to read.  Now I know that I'm a good reader and 30 years older than these students, but over an hour and to still be on page 1 or 2?  Wow! That explains so much.  

My colleagues and I discuss these issues on a daily basis and we know exactly what a big problem is with these students. They do absolutely nothing for themselves and never have.  From the time they started school, teachers have been giving them graphic organizers, guided notes, reading aloud to them (including high school!), etc. These students have never had to do anything for themselves therefore, when it comes time to do these tests, it's ten times harder for them because they have never been forced to do anything and they quite bluntly tell their teachers that they're not going to do anything.

Whenever I try to give them independent work to do, they don't do it because they assume someone will come along and do the work for them. I can't really blame the students because people have been enabling them their whole lives and it's really hard to change that for 15, 16, 17, 18 year olds. But it's a clear indication of why I'm constantly battling students on a daily basis about doing work.  I'm trying to hold them to a higher standard than anyone else EVER has had them do and they just will try to wait it out because eventually someone will do it for them.  But I refuse.  So it's become a battle of wills between myself and my students. Guess who is going to win this battle?  <points to self> After all, I am a mix of Italian/German/English - you don't get much more stubborn than that combination.

I ended up spending an entire class period talking to my seniors about why I'm asking them to do some independent work.  After all, they're graduating in 3 months and many are planning on going to college.  And most of them have yet to crack open the copy of Jane Eyre which I assigned them. That's a problem!  Of course, all of them plan on being successful millionaires within 5 years of getting out of high school with no plan on how that's going to happen - I've asked. <sigh>

Longest and hardest week yet!  29 teaching days until Spring Break!!  Yay!!