Wow.

I can't say anything....but, I just had something work related happen. (Yeah, for those of you who think teachers are done with work at 3? It is now 8:00pm. So, there.)

Something good.

Something that I can take a fair amount of credit for....and, it makes me VERY, very happy.

(c;

Thank you ALL for reading...and, man...I hope you all's evening go HALF as well as mine is going.

WOW.

(c;

Tommy

I say tomato, you say tomahto...

So, in the news today, we see that there are new regulations in the countries laws regarding same-sex education. At the risk of opening up a whole new can of worms, I thought I'd get everyone's opinion on that deal. What do you all think? Is same-sex education another piece of the puzzle toward educational advancement, or is it a throw back to the Brown vs. the Board of Education debates of the 50's? Is this necessarily discrimination, or is this acknowledging the possibility that boys and girls actually are different?

What do you all think?

(I'll share my view in a couple of days...)

Oh, and apparently boys are wearing their pants in a "sagging" fashion. This is news? ABC news is covering it tonight, as I type. People have been wearing their pants thusly since I was a freshman in high school!!! Argh!

All right, leave your thoughts on the gender education issue, if you would....

Thanks!

Tommy

I can be your hero baby...

So, I feel like there is a lot I want to blog about, but I don't know where to begin.

On the political front, I do enjoy a good debate. As for Obama? Well, the whole cliche' arguement about Democrat's perpetuating a welfare state seems somewhat lackluster during an administration which has done nothing to change our welfare system because it is too busy trying desperately to convince an increasingly large number of people that what we're doing in Iraq is the right thing, when all evidence would point to the contrary. (I will point out that I do think it was a good thing to depose Saddam Hussein--good as in right, or moral.) However, it has become increasingly obvious that Bush is unable--or unwilling--to acknowledge his own mistakes. And, what is worse in my opinion, Bush seems unwilling, or again unable, to acknowledge that times change. What may have worked two years ago is not necessarily going to work now. He seems to think that any change of course will play into the hands of "the enemy", and that means that we are stuck on this ridiculous path that seems to have no successful conclusion whatsoever.

Now, does Obama have the solution? I wouldn't be the right person to ask. However, according to Obama this morning on Meet the Press, Iraq is a situation with either a bad solution or a worse solution. In other words, this will not end well. So we need to be able to assess the situation realistically and to reflect on whether or not what we're doing now is leading us down that path. In all honesty, I don't see in Bush the level of character needed in order to tackle that kind of contemplation.

In other news, it flurried today, here in Kirksville, MO. I love fall, I love winter, and I love spring and summer. I love all four seasons. As my friend Aaron said to me this weekend, "Purgatory is not having four seasons." I like that.

Oh, and for those of you in the mood for a good movie, check out "In America". It's about an Irish family that moves to New York. Fan-freakin'-tastic movie.

All right. Well, enjoy the last few days of October.

And remember if you're trying to impress someone this week...it's a "dog eat dog" world, not a doggie-dog world.

Thanks for reading...

Tommy

Laugh Your Cares Away....

This is by far the greatest news out of California in YEARS.

Read this article:http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/20/film.fraggle.reut/index.html


It is GOOD.

(c;

Tommy

Greetings, beloved Readers....

Hello, and welcome to another post by....well, me.

Things have been well, since last we spoke at length.

I believe it was almost a week and a half ago, right?

Well, last week went well. Friday night Bibi was working on her capstone, so I went to a concert at a local establishment, and a good time was had by all. Some very dear friends mocked my reticence at admitting I was no longer a Republican. (As my favorite teacher from high school said, I was a republican in the original sense of the word, as in...a fan of the "republic".)

Saturday Bibi and I hung out, watched a movie, etc. Sunday, I got up and read, relaxed, and over all enjoyed the day.

This week has been good. It's funny...Parent Teacher Conference time always looms over my head as some frightening inevitability, and as always, goes unbelievably well. Had a great time, got to know my students, via their parents, a lot better. And, that's a good thing.

I'm sitting here in my house, in my gorgeous rocking chair (thanks, Gary!!!!) watching Leo sit on another chair (no, Mom, Leo's not allowed on the rocking chair!) chewing on his bone. He's a good pup. Bibi is in class right now, and I'm looking forward to the long weekend--we don't have school tomorrow b/c of the long day today. So, that's cool.

So, I'd love to keep the discussion from last time going...but, instead of knocking other people's candidates, how 'bout we just brag on our own candidates? I'd love it if our political discussions were smear free, you know?

Anyhow, I'm going to close with a quote from one of my favorite movies:

And, so life goes.
And so love goes.
And, so I go.

Carry on my brother. Carry on.

Hi everybody!!!!

Apparently, I failed window proofing day of kindergarden.

So, just a quick few updates:

1.) Election day is coming...get registered!!!!

2.) In the spirit of democracy, I wanted to let you all know about this great website about stem cell research...whatever your view, it's always better to be informed. (Thanks JNo!!!) http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/basics1.asp

3.) Life is good.

So....here's your question....who do you like for president in 2008?

(c;

Tommy

Technical Question...

How do you all like the links I've had in my posts lately? Helpful? Or annoying?

--Tommy

FYI

I know that many of you are familiar with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a condition on the Autism scale. I wanted to make you all aware of something cool that will happen next Monday. NPR's wonderful program, "This I Believe" will feature an essay by a child/teen with Asperger's Syndrome. You can hear the essay on your local NPR affiliate Monday during the morning program and sometime during All Things Considered, or you can read the essay, which will be posted Monday at www.npr.org.

I thought it was pretty cool, and I wanted to share that with you all.

Also, today we had our monthly staff meeting. The meeting was about a new reading program that we will be adding next year (in addition to the one we added this year) but we also talked about something a little more noteworthy. In response to the AK47 incident in Joplin, MO, we reviewed the Kirksville School's intruder program. So, that was interesting. Safety first, and all.

And, finally, for those of you living under a rock, Kim "I'm a complete lunatic" Jung Il of North Korea threatened to fire a nuclear missle. As of this writing, it seems that Il may be compensating for an apparent problem with premature....um, firing, as we know suspect that the tests on Monday may have actually gone horribly awry.

We can only hope.

So, until next time....as long as there IS a next time....

Thanks for stopping by....

Tommy

It would seem that I'm not alone...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/08/ING0FLHNM21.DTL

That is all. Oh, and Michelle, yes, I'm quite familiar with www.bookcrossing.com. I love that website....it's great!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled evening/morning.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tommy

Throw the book at 'em!!!

I know I've had kind of an unintentional them going here with educational posts, but, well, when it rains, it pours.

This just in, filed under "I" for irony....

Dateline: Texas. (I think I told some people it was Florida...oops!)

Last week, during National "Banned Book Week", a parent filed a complaint on the behalf of his sophomore daughter. He objected to one of the books that her class was reading. Now, two things:

1) His daughter had opted to read something else, and was not being penalized for this choice.
2.) The book in question was "Fahrenheit 451," written by Ray Bradbury, about the perils of a society that bans books. Hmm....maybe he should have read it first.....

So, of course the fact that his daughter wasn't being forced to read the book meant that the problem was solved, right? Well, since you're reading about it here....guess again. The book was removed, entirely, from the high school library. So much for personal choice, right? Right?!

Ugh.

Here's the link....http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17270600&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6

That's all I got. Oh, and an addendum to my earlier post about Studio 60's similarity to Sports Night. My anonymous poster was right....it's not as good as Sports Night. It never will be, because Sports Night was as close to television perfection as televions will ever again be. However, not watching a show because it isn't as good as Sports Night would mean not watching any televsion at all. So, instead of isolating myself from that medium, I'm going to accept the fact that no amount of hope, prayer, and angry letters threatening boycott to "the powers that be" will bring back the show, and I"m going to watch my DVD's as much as possible, and then? I'm going to watch Studio 60 because regardless of the show...Aaron Sorkin is the finest writer of televsion today.

So, there ya go.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Tommy

If you're driving out to the stadium this weekend....don't forget to take your car.

For those of you Sports Night fans....apparently, it's back. It's changed it's name to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and instead of a sports show, it's a sketch comedy show (ala' Saturday Night Live) but, well, it's Sports Night. So, you know...that's cool. (c;

Tommy

this just in....

For those of you who didn't watch/read the news today, sad, sad news out of Pennsylvania. What a shame....what a damn shame.

Oh, and Brad sent me a link that really fit in nicely with our discussion of trade schools and vocational training...so, here it is: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/13/crawford.htm

I found it interesting, and the timing fit in well.

I'll write more later, but I just wanted to let people know about these things.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tommy

Life Imitates Art

I just heard about this, and wanted to share. A teacher in Texas took her fifth grade class to an Art Museum. (So far, so good.) While at the museum, one of her fifth graders inadvertantly saw a nude sculpture. The parents of said child claimed that the kid was permanently scarred for life, and would suffer immeasurable emotional harm. So, what happened? The teacher was fired. Huh. Thoughts?

Just finished The Human Story. Really enjoyed it. Great overview of human history, and I've just started The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyon. Good stuff.

All right, so thoughts about the teacher issue....

(Thanks for stopping by...)

Tommy