"Lost in Translation"

Before I talk about the movie.  I was thinking that yesterday's post was only up for about 15 minutes, and here I am typing another post.  I watched this movie a few days ago.  The movie was burned on a dvd burner.  It was really crisp and clear.  I guess soon I'll be able to afford a dvd burner...but who has the time?

I believe Sofia Coppola won the Oscar for the screenplay.  I thought the movie was pretty funny.  Defn. a bit of culture shock in watching life in Japan.  I thought though that movie was really cool music.  Even Bill Murray's (sp?) character comments about some music he overhears.  The sound track was nothing I ever hear here in El Paso.  Not even in Austin.  Although Austin has some real cool radio stations. 

I found myself fascinated by that small island nation.  Maybe I will go there one day!  Oh it occurred to me that I should write that the movie was less slapstick funny but more cerebral funny.

Days of Summer

I guess I had a pretty full day.  The district had us meet with other teacher's of the same subject, and we went over the curriculm.  We also discussed stratetegies.  I hung out with a fellow that I met two weeks ago at a GT workshop and he was also at the subsequent AP institute.  We ate some great Mexican food at a place called Gill's and since our lunch was long we played chess back at the school where our meetings took place.  I guess his level was close to mine, or viceversa, but this guy plays online, and he commented that playing me was a bit different because I was unorthadox, and I also I was playing to win.  Sort of like hunter and prey.  So the afternoon session has us checking out this website, and I guess with every teacher accessing it at the same time, the server crashed.  So I went to my classroom to get it in order.  I have much to do.  Went out to eat.  Met with the college kids from church at a bowling alley.  So I thought that I should blog all this.  Not your typical summer day.  Its kinda weird going back to work when most people are on vacation.

Hypocrisy, My Xanga cont'd

yeah, I have a Xanga, and have started many a blog, and abandoned a few too.
 
I guess the title isn't quite accurate.  But I was reading on this Xanga here:  http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=Jon_Man&tab=weblogs&uid=108533537, and they were discussing being a Christian.  It got me to thinking, and I can see where one can get mad at clicks and such.  But perhaps the thing to consider is that the church is an organization composed of people and people are imperfect beings.   I wonder though if the enemy of Christians has done a good battle in making us weak.  I wonder if the smear campaign against the Church has been waged in all out blitzkrieg.  But have we kept our borders weak from attack? 
 
I think I'm going to leave a comment on that guys blog, I wonder if and when organizations grow too big, we lose touch. 
 
He talks about gung ho Christians becoming gung ho pot-heads.  Do those people just have very addictive personalities?
 
I wonder if being a Christian is a matter of being even-keeled?  Like moderation is the key? 
 
Christianity's strongest selling point is the difference it makes in the lives of people and when you can no longer see the difference, its impact is diminished, its looked down upon, and doubted.  I think the Bible talks of false teachers, and I guess you could extrapolate that there would be false followers too. 

Love and Hate

In some instances I like year round schooling, but other times I don't.  Like right now I am sitting in my classroom, waiting for Freshmen, today is a workday/Freshmen Orientation day.  I think I got some things accomplished, anyhoo still have quite a bit to do, like, how shall I arrange my room?

"C'mon Out and Play"

My nephew (23 months) along with his mommy, and daddy (my sis, and bro-in-law) are in town.  An observation that they made is that the kids in El Paso are pretty friendly and will actually attempt to play with other kids.  I hear that in Austin, my nephew is pretty much ignored by other kids.  I wonder if this is cultural?  Could it be that El Paso kids have more interaction with other kids because of wide extended families whereas children in Austin probably pretty much stick around their nuclear units?  Not sure, or could it be that EP is just a friendly city.
 
 

Book Review (book thoughts) #9

Hello 
"The Gatekeepers" by Jacques Steinberg was a required reading for the Bellevue AP Institute if you wanted graduate credit, one of the attendants who was working for grad credit and I had some conversations, so I decided to read the book and email some thoughts here is my email:  
 
Hello
  I finished the book a few days ago and have been digesting the info.  I really enjoyed the storytelling and the individual stories.  I do not know where to begin?
  Ironic that the focus of the book, Ralph leaves Wesleyan, hence you don't have kids writing to Ralph to get into that school. 
  I finished a book in May by Rafe Esquith entitled "There Are No Shortcuts" in which he tells his story as an elementary school teacher teaching in a low socio-economic neighborhood public school.  Part of his philosophy is that he attempts to provide for his students a service that you wouldn't need if you were rich.  For example, he notes that if a child from a wealthy background has problems, the parents can hire a tutor.  So Rafe becomes a tutor, by arriving at school early and staying late, to work with his kids.  And as I read "The Gatekeepers" it occurred to me that children of means still have an advantage, yet the playing field is a bit evened. 
  But if a school does not prepare you for higher education (and rigourous education at that) than you may not be able to survive. 
  Also as of the last 7 years in Texas, if you graduate in the top 10 % of your class you are given automatic admission into Texas' state universities, and hence the top two univerisities in the state (The University of Texas at Austin or simply UT; and Texas A&M)are swamped with just Texans.  70% of their Freshmen admits now are from Texas...they are attempting to make it only the top 5%.  Many are arguing that this lowers diversity, but I was thinking, "how diverse is a University that has 70% of its applicants as graduates from Texas high schools?"
  It seemed that most all those kids found some place to go to school?  And definitely the idea I picked up is that the more rigorous classes you took the better off your are in terms of getting into a premier school.  Ironically I spoke to someone who teaches AP yet still was adamant about extracurricular activities, which didn't help that girl Becca at all, although perhaps the brownie was the thing that kept her out.  But most people would tell you, keep you mouth shut about those things (taking drugs,etc.)
  Well, I best end here, but those are some initial thoughts.  What did you think?
 
-and that is the end of my email.  But I could talk more about that book, basically it follows a handful of seniors and chronicles their attempts to get into an Ivy League or close to Ivy League school.  Perhaps that goal should be the end goal of more American students, it'll just raise the bar for everyone.
 
  In a similar vein, I'm reading a book entitled "The Teaching Gap" about a study of German, Japanese, and American teachers.  Someone close to me commented that perhaps its not the methods (which is what Teaching Gap looks at) but the student, and their home lives.  No matter how you taught it depends on the students.  If they don't care, than no matter what method you use they won't learn.  But I am not reading it from that angle, cuz I am teaching the "good" kids, and basically I don't want to lose them with poor teaching methods, so in a way I believe you can imporve your teaching, that its more than just the student.  Not to say that the onus is not on them.  Sure teachers get the blame, but ultimately the onus should fall back on the student.
 
  I also started "A is for Ox" which is an examination literacy and violence.  "A is for Ox" shows the parallels of  low literacy with high violence, and attempts to explain why this occurs.  The enemy I've gotten so far is television.  Statistics say that the next generation will be on the internet moreso than t.v.  so maybe that will keep them off the boob tube, but Ox's arguments against t.v. range from the consumerism of commercials to actual stunts in brain development.  This is fascinating reading.
 
---This just in---I'm watching the news---
The whole low-carb diet craze is fading.  Shoot, we all know diets don't really work, as long as your physical activity out paces your intake you'll be trimmer.  Well, I best hit the books, I should have read about 25 books by now, if I am to get a book a week down, and I'm only at 9, and soon school will start! Yikes.
 
  Thanks for reading.
  
 

Finding Time To Blog

This week, I am attending my third AP weeklong workshop.   I am in AP US History, and I attended AP Pre-AP World Geo in Albuquerque, and AP Human Geo in Seattle.  (In Dallas I attended the Hatton W. Sumners Institute on the Founding Documents) and last week I attended a two-day training for GT (Gifted and Talented).  Next week, we are scheduled with a week of conferences, meetings, and workshops.  Saturday is even assigned as an extra work day.  School starts July 26, such is life in year round schooling.
 
So to top things off, my sister and her 23 month old son are in town.  So I run off to my conferences and come home and enjoy my nephew.  A typical dialogue.
 
NEPHEW:  "kowfu"
Me:   yes?
NEPHEW:  "kowfu" 
Me:  yes?
NEPHEW:  "kowfu" 
Me:  "yes"
NEPHEW:  "kowfu" 
Me: "yes"
NEPHEW:  "kowfu" 
Me: "yes?"
NEPHEW: kowfu
Me:  yes
 
ok, you got the picture.  Sometimes, he says "sit down" when he wants you to sit with him, and he does say some other stuff, anyhow, I'll never appear on stage with the kid, you know what they say?
 
So I can't believe how time flies when your doing things!!!
 
I was thinking about my friends who have been writing on their blogs about seeing the doctor, I will keep you in my prayers!!! hang in there!
 
Alright, gonna go bother my nephew now.  Later!  Thanks for reading.
 
 

Thanks Jen. A quiz I found on your blog.

W	Whimsical
I	Irresistible
L	Lazy
L	Lively
I	Influential
A	Astonishing
M	Mesmerizing
W	Warm
O	Orderly
O	Old

Name / Username:

Name Acronym Generator
From Go-Quiz.com

But modified for my name!

8 Blogs, Louis and Joann's Wedding

When I was in Dallas, a friend asked if I was still blogging away, and they in turn told me that they hadn't been keeping up. Did I still have 8 blogs? But if your reading here, you've found my blog that I'm keeping current.

This past weekend I attended the wedding of a young couple in Phoenix. This wedding was like no other I'd ever been to. The bride and groom wrote out appreciations for their parents that they had a sibling read outloud during the ceremony (at the end). Another attendant wrote her opinions on her Xanga. I found touching the part where the groom writes to his father, when he was younger, "Dad, do you want me to be an architect like you?" His Dad responds, "No, you can be whatever you want to be." His son says, "even a trash collector." "Only if your the best trash collector in the neighborhood."

That appreciation letter showed how much of a friend he was with his father. I know that I desire a closer relationship with my father, and I think other people around me had some tears...so I wonder do we all desire these relationships with our parents? (I mean these were guys wiping away tears). Later that weekend I stayed overnight with a friend from Phx, and I noticed that his relationship with his dad was pretty close as well.

Back at the wedding I found out that the groom and his father were working on a book of quotes together and that they had amassed over a 1000 quotes. He also remarked on how his dad said that there are three major events in ones life, birth, wedding, and your funeral. My friend's comment to that, gee, your only conscious for one those.

So that would explain all the antics at the dinner/dance. When the bride and groom shared their first dance as a couple. It started out slowly, and then the DJ piped in that song "A night at the Roxbury" and the couple went into this choreagraphed routine, including the groom doing the  "worm". It was a very fun evening. In between courses, we played an 80's trivia game. The game worked like this, the DJ would sample a song from the 80's and you had to figure out the title, and artist's name. Surprisingly the best man, whom had known the groom since they were 4 yrs old, well his table answered like 27 out of 31. But the winners had 29 or so out of 31. That consisted of the pastors, who are old guys and I would assume that table was older. The songs were mostly pop songs, and just not what I listened to in the 80's.

The next day, on the Fourth of July, I drove home with my friend Dave, and he had some 80's music. But none of his songs were played at L and J's wedding. Well, maybe "Oh L'amour" was...

I'm Back, Back in El Paso Again

The week went by way too quickly. On Friday, I flew out of Seattle and into the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix, Arizona. To attend the wedding of a friend from Austin. The wedding was great. They even had snow cones.

I'm back in El Paso. And there is a great deal to do. School starts in just 22 days.