Friday, Jan. 21, 2005
Back to life, back to reality, posted at 4:06 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Back to school. Gosh, I'm far behind in my grading.I don't know why, but the Internet filter here appears to be off. If that sort of thing continues, I'm going to have a hard time getting back to grading.
Wearing Ties
The new principal is requesting that all male teachers wear ties to school starting Wednesday. Ugh. I'll support it, though, as long as I feel supported by her. So far, I do. I did have to ask what the request was for female teachers. There was no answer.
I don't much like the tie thing because early(-ier?) in my career and during student teaching, I was all about wearing ties. I now recognize it as something I did to achieve a false sense of superiority over my students, one that I had not really earned. Now it's not false, but it just doesn't feel needed. I like to look professional, and I like to wear ties once or twice a week, but I don't like to be mandated and sometimes I just like to wear a sweater in the middle of winter or a polo shirt in the middle of May. But, whatever, she wants to change school culture, and has done so in other ways (the floors are so waxed and clean that I feel like I could skate down them, for example), so I'll support her on this. Somewhat bregudgingly.
The movies
I really want to go see Hotel Rwanda tonight. Or Sideways. I wonder if I'll be able to do that. I also want to go to the gym. And I assume I have to leave school sometime.
Flu is over
I called in sick to the restaurant yesterday, but really I'm not sick any more. I probably could work just fine. The flu came in like a lion and left like a lamb. The moral of the story is that as soon as symptoms hit, get yourself to the doctor, because Tamiflu only works in the first 48 hours.
The Bumper Sticker Dilemma
Thinking about politics still makes me sad, but lately I've been wondering what bumper sticker I should replace my "Another Teacher for Kerry" sticker with. I afford myself one political bumper sticker. In college, I was one of those freaks who had stickers all over his car. Not anymore. Now, I just a sticker stating I'm an alumni of MSU, a sticker with the name of the school I teach at, and a sticker about the Outward Bound school, which I've been a part of for a few years. I want a Detroit Tigers sticker, but haven't go around to one yet. But I also have one political sticker. That's my rule. I liked the Kerry one because it immediately identifies me as 1) political; 2) left of center; and 3) a teacher. I think the latter might help get me out of tickets on occasion, and it's also obviously something I define myself as. The former two points are also important to me, especially when I go home to Michigan. However, I cannot find another sticker that does all three things without being negative. For example, I don't want a sticker that reads "This Teacher gives W an F." I don't like to be negative. I mean, I might change my mind on that, but that's not where my instinct leads me. I might wait for that $235 million of additional funding, I mean assessment, he wants to pour into high schools this term before I get that pissed.
I've thought about "Thank You, Barbara Boxer," which is a reference to her asking to review the voting policies in Ohio. I don't think there should be a big recount or anything like that, but the most powerful scene to me of Farenheit 9/11 occurred when all those black congressmen were begging one - any - Senator to examine the voting results in Florida by objecting to the election results. No one did it despite a dozen or so impassioned pleas from congressmen. Boxer did it this year. It's glaringly obvious to me that we're going to continue to have election questions every single stupid election, so I would think examining election results should be something everyone would want. Only Boxer had the guts to come forth, though. She also was tough as nails to dopey Condi Rice the other day on C-Span. Rice is such a yes-man, it's scary.
But I've been a Boxer fan for years. There's something about Barbara Boxer that makes me want to let her have her way with me. She's fierce, takes no bullshit, is smart as hell but reserved... So, yeah, I liked that bumper sticker, even though it was bright yellow.
There's also the "Obama '08" stickers that I keep seeing. I like Barack Obama - a lot. His speech at the DNC was the best of the 21st century so far, in my book. I think he'll make a fine presidential candidate someday if he stays cool. But not in 2008. I also like Hillary Clinton a lot, but hope she's not the nominee in 2008 because she could never win, so I won't be getting a "Hillary 2008" sticker either. If someone were making "Boxer 2008" stickers, I might have to get one just on principle, but she wouldn't have a chance of winning either, which is why no one has ever mentioned her as a candidate for a national race despite the fact that she's attractive, smart, and a good legislator.
Now, if someone made a "Obama / O'Malley 2012" sticker, I might buy it. Or, better yet, "Another Teacher for Obama / O'Malley 2012". I'll probably be looking on CafePress for a long time before I find that one.