The Prep v. The Go

Have you ever had one of those experiences where the preparations for it are as good as (or better than) the actual axperience? I think most of us have. Well that's where I am about now. We're in the middle of preparing for a great winter/Christmas vacation- two weeks in Finland at the end of the year. I'll bet we have a great time there. We'll be with marvelous friends doing delightful things. But... you know... I'm having a ball getting ready and anticipating! Being from East Texas, we don't really have much seriously cold weather, so we don't have cold-weather clothes. We're buying wool underwear and socks, snowproof shoes, and arctic circle type jackets. We're busily studying up on our Finnish phrases (Hyvaa huomenta, ya'll!) We're stocking up on the things our Finnish friends want us to bring from Texas. (Try getting a decent salsa picante in Scandinavia.) We're sending all our Christmas presents to family before we leave. So much to do! I love it!

Now of course I may have to eat my words, in fact I hope and expect to, after we get back having had the time of our lives. My family has never been to Europe, and I've never been there in the winter. We'll be cruising to Tallinn, visiting castles, skating on the lake (if it's cold enough), and sitting around the fire drinking gloggi. I fully expect to be severely jet lagged before I ever step onto the plane for home. I'll be taking gigabytes worth of pictures and writing pages of journal. A fun time to be had by all.

Most of all, and behind all the fun and preparation, is the anticipation of seeing dear friends again. Jaana has been a part of our extended family for 5 years. It'll be a real joy to see her again since she went back to Finland and to meet her family. And that's the best part of any holiday/vacation: being with those who mean the most to us. Peace, ya'll.

National diet

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies:

1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. Africans drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans.

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you

(courtesy of Connie Bloxom, Protiviti Int'l)

Turkey of a Day

Thanksgiving... a day of family and the sharing of a bounteous table. But mostly it's the family. Something like 62 million turkeys will sacrifice their lives to bring us together around the feast, so that we can glutonize and sit around in the glowing aftermath, feeling warm and fed and more than a little sleepy. It is in this sated state that we transfer that feeling onto family, once more reinforcing that annual stimulus/response pairing. Except this year.

This year I got sick in the days before Thanksgiving. This morning, albeit reluctantly, my family drove off to visit extended family in my absence. (This was necessary as my wife's grandmother is in a weakened state and would be very vulnerable to my virus.) They are having a wonderful time (phone call), and I am feeling a little lonely. In my almost 47 years I have never spent a Thanksgiving alone. The feeling I'm having makes me wonder: "What about the people who always spend the holidays alone?"

For me, I know that they'll be back and that I was missed. But what about those who aren't missed? who don't have anyone coming back? who look both backward and forward to loneliness during holiday times. Sometimes these are people with friends and career and all that, but when the holiday comes, and all the friends are with their families, the weight of true loneliness oppresses them. That's when thoughts of "Who really cares about me? Who would care if I were gone?" That's when we, their friends, come in. During this most trying time of the calendar, we must find ways to support those of our friends and make them feel a part of the world of family.

Thanksgiving is not a day of turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is a day of reinforcing our connection to humanity and to family. Connect with someone today and expand your family.

Harry Potter and the Gray Lady

Okay, so I take my gray haired mother to see "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." She's never read the books or seen the movies. How do you explain the backstory of such a complex saga? I hit the high points, the low points, and the mid points. I put it in terms she would understand and appreciate. All this while eating burgers before the movie.

Showtime. What an introduction to the series! Very exciting and some of the best acting of the series. I was interested to see what they left out and what was left in. (I'm kinda glad the E.L.F. was missing in action along with Dobbie and his girlfriend.) I like the change in Barty Jr.'s introduction, too. But all in all, the central themes of the movie remain intact.

To make a short story long, Mom liked it very much and now will read the books. Another victim of J.K. Rowling's relentless attack on boredom.

Okay, more on CPI

Today in the seminar I have been attending, worked on ways to control "out of control" students. This of course includes talking them down if possible. Always go through the lowest level interventions first.

Then we get to the physical stuff. There I have a serious problem. No, it's not the reluctance to lay hands on a child (although it's true). It's not even the chance of litigation that could arise (and that's true too). No, it's the fact that I spent 6 years learning karate, and I had to unlearn much of what has become automatic. While practicing, I really had to be careful what I did and how much force I used. Scary, huh? Now more than ever, I don't want to lay hands on an out of control child. I have good control, but if anything happens they're going to say, "That black belt teacher injured my baby... your Honor!" I think I'm even more a pacifist than before.

I think I'll just treat them with respect and kindness and wait for my pension to kick in.

Crisis Intervention

For the past two days, I and several of my peers have been undergoing the CPI training at the request (read instruction) of our respective administrators. Some are there because they had to restrain a student from harming themselves or others in the past 30 days; others are there because they are in a situation where that is possible or likely. Some of us have even had the training previously. Regardless, it's a pretty good program when given correctly.

The main thrusts of the program are that avoiding conflict is job 1. But in all cases, do the least amount of intervention necessary to resolve the situation. Makes sense doesn't it? First, head off the problem before it happens, which means to reduce or eliminate the triggers of the undesired behavior. Hey, that works for everybody, not just teachers and not just with kids. Next, failing step one, diffuse the situation as non-confrontationally (is that a word?) as possible. Of course, being human, that's not always easy to do. If the conflict occurs, the next stage is to "de-escalate" the situation so that it not only doesn't get worse, but both student and teacher regain control of themselves and resolve the conflict. Always try to resolve the situation with words of understanding and compassion. So many of our dis don't get that from anywhere but school and us.
The last resort occurs when students become physically aggressive to the point where they are harming themselves or may harm others (or cause significant dammage). At this point, physical restraint may be necessary. Rule of thumb, never lay hands on a child unless there is absolutely no other way to protect them from themselves. Tomorrow we'll get instruction on non-harmful ways of restraining a student so that they may regain control of themselves before harm is done. It's simply ways of holding someone so that their movements are restricted and no one gets hurt.

I have problems with physically restraining a child. Many of them have been treated badly outside of school and that's the source of their anger and acting out. But, having worked at a mental hospital long ago, I know that there are times when the biggest favor you can do a person is to keep them from digging a legal hole for themselves that they may not be able to get out of. If they harm someone, their lives will take a turn for the worse, not better. Hard decisions are why they pay us teachers the big buck (singular).

Serious topic today. Tomorrow-- who knows?

First Blog- 12-Nov-05

Well folks, into the 21st century at last! This will be a blog of education, travel, theatre, and whatever else pops into my life. Not much of a profound opening, but, hey, it's the first day. More another time.