The worst and best day

October 31st is a day that covers both ends of the spectrum for me. On one end of the spectrum is Halloween. Halloween is a day I completely despise for a multitude of reasons. I have felt this way since I was a young boy. My feelings toward Halloween have been compared to those that Ebenezer Scrooge had toward Christmas. I happily accept that comparison. I'm guilty as charged. On the other end of the spectrum is reformation day. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Martin Luther is the father of the reformation movement and the reformed church. God bless Martin Luther!

The Writing's on the Wall

We received this report from Jessi on Tuesday:

Jessi went to take a shower and left Sveta alone in her room. A few minutes later Jessi returned to find Sveta writing on the wall. Jessi asked her what she was doing. "Writing", Sveta replied. "On paper?", Jessi asked. Sveta's simple reply was,"No".

Jessi wasn't happy to see Sveta writing on the wall, but was at least pleased with her honesty.

I really tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it. It was just too funny. One of the joys of being a grandparent is being able to just sit back and watch the show. And hey, she didn't write on MY wall :-)

An uphill battle

I've spent considerable time on this blog documenting the struggles of being a teacher in a public school in the inner-city. There are so many factors working against me on a daily basis. It feels like an uphill battle and a battle that I'm losing on a daily basis. I realize there are students I'm affecting that I'm not aware of and students whom I've helped that I will never know about. However, I have to admit I'm a bit envious of people like construction workers. They work for months building a house and when the job is done they can look at it and say,"Look what I built!" Dentists have a patient come in with a terrible toothache. After a little while in the chair, the damage is repaired and the dentist knows he helped somebody that day. A fireman helps put out a fire and goes back to the firehouse knowing they saved somebody's property. All these jobs have a "product" when the job is done... an end result. With teaching it's not so much that way. At least not at my school. Not only am I battling students who do not value education and have absolutely no desire to be in school, but I'm battling their parents too. I'm not just talking about students living in horrid conditions or parents being unsupportive of their child's education. I'm talking about adults walking into the school and directly disrupting the learning process. Here are a few examples:

There is a parent who comes to the school every day wearing a sweatshirt that reads, "If you think I'm a B****, you should meet my daughter". What kind of person wears something like that to an elementary school? There is just no way to combat that type of mentality. This parent is also the first to holler if she doesn't agree with something the school does.

I had a parent two years ago sit in on one of my classes. She wanted to observe her son. (This is a very common practice and teachers welcome such things). This parent sat in the front row of my classroom and proceeded to take a call on her cell phone and carried on a two minute conversation as I was trying to teach. I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even ask her to take her conversation out of the room. I was struck speechless by this woman's actions. Again, there is no combating that type of mentality.

Just last week a colleague of mine reported the following incident. A mother showed up unannounced to observe her daughter in class. I mentioned that teachers welcome this practice, but the visit should be scheduled with an appointment. Showing up unannounced just isn't appropriate. Anyway, this mother is observing class and proceeds to put a set of fake, scary Halloween teeth in her mouth. She then starts looking around the room "smiling" at the students distracting them. She was a complete disruption. Again I say, there is no combating that type of mentality.

Also last week we had an angry mother barge into a classroom and start screaming at a student. Apparently this mother thought her child was being picked on and went in to confront the alleged bully. It turns out the situation was not at all what the mother thought it was. And I will say for the last time, there is no way to combat that type of mentality.

This job can be mighty discouraging at times. It can feel a lot like pounding your head against the wall. However, there are those rare moments that can be rewarding. You just have to press on.

Oh Sandy!

Hurricane Sandy, the monster storm, is about to wreak havoc on the entire eastern seaboard. I think storms are fascinating, but I never want to see damage, injuries or deaths. Pray for the more than 50 million people along the east coast who will be impacted by this storm. There is even talk of the national election being affected by the aftermath. Impassable roads and power outages may make it difficult or impossible for some folks to reach the polls. If this happens, you better believe the loser of the election is going to holler. I hope and pray the election can go off without a hitch. No matter what happens, there is one thing for certain... God is on the throne, God is sovereign, and God is in control.

On a lighter note... every time somebody on the news mentions hurricane Sandy, Tami and I bust out in song. Remember the song John Travolta sang in Grease? Oh Sandy!

3000

Silence Runs Deep received its 3000th page view today. Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read my drivel. And oh yeah, happy weekend everybody!

The Electrical College

My previous post asserted a good number of my students probably know more about the electoral college than many adults. I still believe this to be true after an informal survey of random adults I feel comfortable enough asking. Now if only I can get my students to stop calling it the "electrical" college.

The Electoral College

Have you heard of the electoral college? If so, do you understand it? Raise your hand if you think electoral college plays Ohio St. in football this weekend. I jest of course. The electoral college is not an institution of higher learning, but an integral part of the American election process. I am teaching the electoral college to my students this week and I dare say they may understand it better than many adults who will be voting in 13 days.

Put as simply as I know how, the electoral college is a group of 538 people. These 538 people actually elect the President of the United States. Before you get in a tizzy and start thinking your vote doesn't matter, consider the following: each state is worth a certain number of electoral votes ranging from 3-55. The higher the population of the state, the higher the number of electoral votes that state is worth. Why 538 votes? The number of electoral votes is directly tied to the number of representatives a state has in congress. 435 Representatives from the House of Representatives. 100 Senators. Washington DC gets 3 electoral votes. 435+100+3=538. And by the way, the number of congressional reps in a state is directly tied to its population. Whichever candidate wins the popular vote within that state, receives that state's electoral votes. That's where your vote counts. That's why it matters. Since you want the candidate you support to win your states electoral votes. This is a point I had to teach my own mother. I'm not making fun of her... just sayin' even intelligent voters may not understand it. Make sense so far?

In the electoral college, the magic number is 270. The candidate that receives 270 (or more) electoral votes wins the Presidency. And to make matters a little more confusing, it is possible (and has happened on several occasions) for a candidate to win the overall national popular vote, but lose the election because the other candidate received more electoral votes.

Where did the electoral college come from? Glad you asked! The founding fathers wanted Congress to elect the President. Others wanted the general public (voters) to elect the President. The electoral college is the compromise established in the early days of our nation by those opposing sides and the the system still exists today.

Whether you support Romney or Obama, keep a close eye on those electoral votes on November 6th. It's a race to 270!

On a final note... it is possible to tie 269-269 in the electoral college. The tie breaker system is complicated enough to give me a migraine. That's a post for another day. A post I pray don't have to make.

Boo Humbug!

In just over a week, one of my favorite days of the year will be here. November 1st is a great day. Wanna know why? Because Halloween is over for another year and 364 days away! This so-called "holiday" has gotten to be less and less about kids and has been hijacked by adults. Here is an article that does a pretty good job of summing up my feelings: (Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste the link)

http://www.challies.com/articles/my-halloween-theory

Cheer Me Up

I had a rough day at work. I'd rather not rehash the day. Instead I thought I'd re-post one of my favorite videos. This always cheers me up (and I really don't even care for dogs). My mom says this dog reminds her of me. I'm not exactly sure how to take that :-)

The world according to Frank

We celebrated my father-in-law's 77th birthday tonight. The whole family met at his favorite restaurant (La Rosa's) and presented him with some gifts. In addition, many family members wrote letters to Frank recounting what he had taught them through the years. Below is the letter I submitted. Anything in parenthesis is explanation provided for the blog readers. As you will see, some items are serious and some are funny, but all are completely true.

Things I've learned from Frank (The world according to Frank)


1. To lose weight, adhere to the following plan... If it tastes good, spit it out.

2. It's okay to be a Melvin. That meant a lot coming from the guy who can fix anything. I'm not afraid of DIY mistakes anymore.(Frank can literally fix anything. I didn't learn until much later that he learned by making tons of boneheaded mistakes).

3. When you drop a screw, if there's a hole in the floor, the screw will roll around until it finds the hole and drop into it. It sounds ridiculous, but I swear it's true! (Kind of a variation on Murphy's Law)

4. It is not humanly possible to eat La Rosa's pizza without beer. It's a state law. Look it up! (If Frank ever goes to death row, his last request will be La Rosa's Pizza and Bud Light).

5. When doing a plumbing project,"you-know-what" doesn't run uphill. We tested that one, didn't we? (Ummmm... this story is too gross to recount on this blog).

6. Take the time to do the job right the first time. Taking short cuts will cost you time in the end. (Frank is a perfectionist. When he does a job you better believe it will be done right).

7. If your pants are too tight, your wife shrunk them... AGAIN! (Complaining still beats doing the laundry yourself!)

8. Days spent fishing don't count against you. They get tacked on to the end of your life.

9. Mick really can drive a motor home on I-75 through Atlanta... even if Tami did have to lay on the floor and not look. (We have video evidence of this!)

10. You can't eat a hamburger without a slice of raw onion. (Frank's love of onions is well documented)

11. The tool you need most is always on the other side of the room.

12. No matter where you lay your hammer, you'll always spend time looking for it.

13. You really can jack up a WHOLE house. I saw it with my own eyes! (Frank jacked up his whole house and replaced the entire foundation).

14. If you bet on red, the ball will land on black every time! (Money comes too hard. Don't gamble it away. The house wins every time)

15. It is possible, (and a lot of fun) to play a whole night of poker with 51 cards. (This really happened and is a favorite family story to this day!)

16. A guy looks ridiculous with the three of diamonds plastered to his forehead. (We tricked Frank into playing a game where you had to hold a card up to your forehead. Somebody smartly thought to take a picture... PRICELESS!)

17. Invest in a new tool for any job. It's cheaper than paying a so-called expert.

18. No matter how hard you look, you will never find a straight board at the lumber yard. (Frank is a great carpenter and spends a lot of time on the job complaining about crooked and warped boards).

19. Contrary to popular belief, the Japs were NOT just over the next hill. (Frank was only 5 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. During WWII he thought the Japanese were close to his house and was afraid they'd come after him at any minute.)

20. You have to play the hand you are dealt. You don't get to exchange cards in the middle of the game.

21. An "ASPIRIN" never fell from the Seattle Space Needle. (This comes from Frank's misreading of a Trivial Pursuit question. The real question asked, "What movie begins with an assassin falling from the Seattle Space Needle?" Frank read the word assassin as ASPIRIN).

22. When playing Trivial Pursuit always act as if you know the answer for certain... even if you have no earthly idea what you are talking about! (Frank is notorious for answering all Trivial Pursuit questions with great authority. When in reality he often has no idea what the answer is. He has talked many a team out of correct answers in this way).

23. Joy can be found watching grandchildren marvel at rats running around on a colored wheel at the Farmers Fair. (The mouse game has been discussed at length on this blog).

24. You always carry the child on your shoulders no matter how bad your shoulders ache! (No explanation needed for the fathers and grandfathers reading this).

25. Life is fleeting. Enjoy every moment.

Thanks for all the memories, Frank. May there be many, many more! Thanks for always being there. It is a great comfort knowing I can call on you for anything and everything.

Your son-in-law,
Mick