Happy December!!

Well, how are we all doing this evening? (Or...uh, morning...)

So...I have to admit to a mistake on my last (well, second to last) post. I was watching Dr. Phil (feel free to make fun of my choice of television viewing) and they were debating home schooling vs. public schooling. Dr. Phil, in his defense of teachers, claimed that teaching was a science. For some reason, that didn't sit well with me. My immediate reaction was that that was wrong...that teaching is more of an art....that there has to be a certain level of fluidity involved, and that science meant, in my initial visceral response, something too cut and dried, too cookie-cutter in nature.

In discussing it was co-workers and in response to my readers, I have to acknowledge that teaching necessarily has to be a mixture of both art and science...that neither one alone will produce the desired results. The scientific aspect of teaching involves research based teaching methods; understanding that there are different types of learners, following and keeping up-to-date on brain research and the current political trends. The artistic aspect of education is exactly what I was focusing on initially--that teachers need to be constantly making adjustments for student needs, that teachers need to be aware of teachable moments and the moods and needs of each student and the class as a whole. (As one coworker put it, it's a lot like architecture....that without both a scientific, or analytical component, and the artistic component, you won't be meeting ALL of the needs of your students. I agree with that.)

Anyhow...that's all with that.

Went to KC for a wedding this weekend. Had a good time...really enjoyed myself. Watched an interesting movie..."Junebug." When we first finished watching the movie we all thought that it really wasn't very good at all...but then we started talking it over, and discussing what we thought the 'point' was, and we realized that there were a lot of different levels to the movie, and...most importantly...it did not have a "hollywood" ending, which left us feeling somewhat unsatisfied, but in reality added to it's worth as a movie.

And, finally, I've been reading a lot, and hearing a lot about Time magazine's Person of the Year declaration. I wanted to open up that question to you all, my hearty readers. So....who do you think should be My Life's Person of the Year?

(And, keep in mind...it doesn't HAVE to be a "good" person--Hitler was Time Magazine's person of the year in 1939...)

So....with that query I leave you....enjoy!

And, as always, thanks for stopping by...

Tommy