Musings on Life and Living

"If one doesn't respect oneself one can have neither love nor respect for others." "I can fight only for something that I love, love only what I respect, and respect only what I at least know." “Cooking is at once one of the simplest and most gratifying of the arts, but to cook well one must love and respect food.” Gretch and I were having a discussion the other night about whether or not the source of a quotation affects the validity of the statement. We've decided to put it to the test. What do you think of these statements? If you happen to know the sources, please don't ruin the game. Oh, and don't go Googling them, either! The purpose of this discussion is to find out what you think about the statements, not the authors. I'll post the quotes again with the authors after we get some feedback.

For those who don't know, and don't want to scroll down the page, here's the preface: I recently applied for a 5th grade teaching job at Dr. Howard Elementary. I spent one day as a substitute teacher in that class, and got to spend a bit of time with one of the other 5th grade teachers. I had also previously subbed at Dr. Howard for two weeks. I really like working in this school. Even when I am working with a kindergarten class, and one of the girls accidentally kicks another girl in the face during a temper tantrum, I like the school! So when the position opened up, I was ridiculously excited about it. So, I went in for my interview, and I was happy to see that I already knew practically all of the members of the committee. There was only one person I had not seen before, and another that I only knew in passing, but I had had several conversations with the other committee members. The interview had the series of nine basic teacher interview questions (tell us about yourse...

Sen. Obama has promised that, when he is President, he will be the great unifier. Does anyone think he really will? Personally, I hope he does not. I hope he will be the great compromiser. The great builder. The great doer. But unifier? No, thank you. I enjoy differing opinions and mental conflict. It is what makes our nation great! I can't help but think of a quote from "My Fellow Americans." I can't remember the exact words, but it essentially said, "'Voice of the people'? What 'voice of the people'? We've got 300,000,000 people all yelling for something different!" So congratulations to Sen. Obama, the President-Elect. I look forward to spending four years fighting Congress for the things that I most dearly believe in, all the while watching you fight Congress for the things you most want. (And for those of you following along at The Four Corners , yes, I did post this there, too.

I'm sure you've heard it before. A "moral" issue shows up in political discussions, and it eventually makes its way to the ballot. The opposition tends to have just one rallying cry: "You can't legislate morality!" I am curious about this refrain, and about this concept, in general. There are some things that are on ballots that are not moral issues: candidates, for instance. Tax increases. Pretty much, anything that isn't making one thing or another illegal. On the other hand, aren't all laws legislated morality? What is "morality" anyway? According to Dictionary.com, morality is " conformity to the rules of right conduct". Are not all laws "rules of conduct"? And is not the purpose of legislation to promote conformity to said rules? Now, obviously, you cannot actually force anybody to conform to anything. Heck, you can't force anybody to do anything. Well, I suppose you could drug somebody to a mindless stupor ...

So now that I have bombarded you guys with my political views and random ruminations, I suppose it is time for an update on the life of your favourite substitute teacher! I've been working just about every day in the Champaign schools. After that first disastrous encounter with high school, the district has been kind enough to keep my activities limited to the elementary level. While I am sure that I would do fine in a high school setting with actual lesson plans, I am just much more comfortable teaching in the grade schools! I spent two weeks as a 2nd grade teacher at Dr. Howard Elementary. The class was a bit unruly at times, but, dang it, I just can't help but love the kids! I have a lovely collection of drawings, origami boxes, and notes that they gave me while I was there. This week I have been all over the place! On Monday I was a special ed teacher working with four students who are hearing impaired. On Tuesday I was a reading tutor in the morning and a monitor for a 1st...

On Tuesday, 4 November 2008, I, along with millions of other American citizens, entered a recognised polling place, a cast my vote. For the people of California, they were asked whether or not they, as a people, should amend their constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This was a response to the California Supreme Court's 4-3 decision that "same-sex marriage" was protected under their constitution. This ballot question was known as Proposition 8. Before I continue, I wish to affirm one very important fact: I do not condone nor tolerate bigotry or discrimination against others. A member of my family asked me to defend my support of Proposition 8. More importantly, he asked me to explain how the ability of homosexual couples to marry posed as a "threat" to my own marriage. I promised that I would do so by Friday. As it is Thursday night and my dearly beloved is at work for another hour, I decided that now would be a good time to ...