Mr. Fancy Pants Living the SOPH Life

Well, I wouldn't fit this description. I would be Mr. Cargo Pants living the POSH life this week. We have been staying at the Double Tree Hotel in Austin. There are at least 3 in Austin, we are at the one at 35 & 290 E. We are staying at this hotel because the teacher conference we are attending is here. I have not been impressed by the high society life. Numerous things have caused me to desire the cheaper if not simpler life.
I am a huge proponent of free wifi. Mainly because I don't want to pay to have internet when I travel. I prefer just finding open networks and accessing the internet. Many hotels, and even motels, have free wifi. Arriving at the hotel, I turned on my computer, found the network, opened Mozilla and Double Tree wanted $10 a day to access the internet... That's OK, I have a modem and just dial in, right? Sure! But Double Tree wants $0.50 per call... Are you kidding me? Here we are in a fancy pants hotel and they charge for local calls? How about some water? Sure! $2 per bottle in your room. Continental breakfast? You bet! $9.00 for your cereal and milk. Give me a $60 a night motel that has free wifi and free donuts over this place anyday...

You're talking, but are they listening?

This week I am in teacher in-services. The content has been great but the delivery is often lacking. I find that it is hard to focus when the deliver is distracting. Usually I make note of issues I see in speakers, not to be nit-picky, but in order to improve myself. Below is my list from this week.

• Don't stereotype (particularly about males vs females or Texans)
• Make sure your A/V works. Failure of A/V loses the audience
• Leave pointless politics out of your speech (Bush really isn't responsible for $3 gasoline and if he was it has nothing to do with education)
• Give room on the table to work (I have to take notes on my lap because the table is too small)
• Don't make people sit with their backs turned. If I have to turn my seat 180 degrees to see the speaker, I certainly can't use the table and I feel uncomfortable. Either provide screens in the back or don't use circular tables.
• Don't give notes that don't follow your speech. It is very confusing when I have to jump around in your notes and if there is critical information missing.
  

Howdy There Shorty!

According to this report, the average height of people my age, race, and sex is 5' 10.6." I am 5' 5.75." I am almost 5 inches below average. This doesn't really bother me until I go clothes shopping. Sometimes it is almost impossible to buy a shirt my size. I wear a men's small button up shirt but stores rarely have these in stock. JC Penny's carries shirts by Pierre Cardin. I love the styles but they do not sell men's smalls. Recently, I went shopping to buy a brown corduroy sports coat. I spent an entire afternoon at the mall trying to find a store that sold this coat in a 36 S. Finally, I went to Jos. A Banks. Surely a men's store would sell a coat in my size! I walked in and asked the floor walker about the corduroy jackets. They are pricey, but I am willing since I have not found anything at the other stores. He asked me my size and I told him a 36 S. He said they didn't have the corduroy jacket in that size. OK, I am use to that so I decided to try for a wool overcoat. He told me that I didn't understand, they don't sell any clothes in a 36 S. The smallest they have is 38. Even a men's store doesn't sell clothes for a man!

Well, I am use to be treated like that when clothes shopping. I had never had a problem with other types of shopping. Sure the HEB by my place got new carts that are bigger and the handlebar is shoulder height, but the new small short carts are perfect. Well, I had a problem today. I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy some picture frames for presents. They placed the items in a large plastic bag for me to carry. I grabbed the bag, walk off and "thunk!" I realize that I am dragging this bag! The large plastic bags are so large that they drag on the floor when I carry them! I had to choke up on the bag to keep it off the ground.

A goofy thing to be commenting on? Perhaps. But then again, you are pry reading this while wearing a Pierre Cardin shirt and a brown corduroy jacket. I can only dream of that day!

Dashing Through the Snow

I love snow. We have had some snow here the last few days. It hasn't been very cold so the snow doesn't accumulate for long, but I love to watch the snow. Anytime it snows I open my windows and watch it or go outside and watch it.

For some reason, many people here do not like the snow. They stay home and do not do anything. They talk about how cold it is. The sanctuary was almost empty this morning at church because of a few inches of snow and a temperature of 35. There wasn't even any ice on the road! I do not understand people who complain about the snow. It is so pretty to watch. I love to play in it. When I see it snowing, it makes me want to do more!

I hope I never "outgrow" loving snow. I would love to live some place where there is lots of snow that stays all winter long. I also hope I never complain about the weather.

I was reminded of a Bible verse today by a friend.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
Philippians 2: 14 - 15

How often do we go through life complaining? And at what do we complain about? We complain that it is sunny or cloudy, hot or cold, too dry or too wet, too bright or too dark. Has our complaining ever changed the weather? The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous so we are left with little to complain about. To me, weather and the changes in nature illustrate the beauty of God's creation. I enjoy the outdoors because of the weather, not in spite of the weather.

Go out and enjoy the snow!

The Need for a Leader

I had two recent conversations with administration at my school. One was during my annual appraisal. During out post-observation conference, my AP (assistant principal) mentioned that she felt I was nearing my peak. I know she meant this as a compliment, but it seemed funny to me that she said I was nearing the best. What seemed funny was that after two years, I had become the best teacher I could ever be and it would just be all down hill from here. Obviously this was not the point she was trying to convey, but it is what stuck with me. The second conversation was with the principal. She was talking to me about some ideas she has for the future and mentioned that she wanted me to lead some of it because she felt I was a blooming leader.

This got me thinking about how I improve my ability as a teacher. What resources do I utilize in improving my teaching skill? The main one I use is reading. I do a lot of reading about science teaching and what should and should not be done in science classroom instruction. Most of my profession reading is of research papers. Not the most exciting reading, but I found it very informing. The other resource is other teachers. I have one teacher at my school who I am fond of and admire his teaching. He teaches history and works with AP students while I teach science and work with regular students. However, I still often talk with him about teaching and have borrowed several of his strategies. Despite him being an award winning teacher (he was a finalist for state teacher of the year) he is looking at options outside of teaching. He has become frustrated with several things and while he wants to remain in education, wants to be out of the public school.

These two resources have not been enough. I want to continue to improve my trade but have not found a great resource for that yet. I would love to have a mentor who I could work with and learn from. My mentor teacher my first year was an English teacher. I learned a lot from him but feel I would benefit even more from a science mentor teacher. I feel I would have a great resource who I could discuss my ideas with. They would have the experience and knowledge to help me understand what I am doing wrong in my teaching and how I can improve.

There is a need for a leader. I want to be a follower, I just need someone to lead me.

Welcome Thanksgiving Break!

As of 3:40 this afternoon, the students were officially on Thanksgiving break. They were quite excited all day, but we managed to get some work out of them. In my classes, we did a critical thinking activity that NASA produced. You may have seen it before. The students are acting out the following scenario.

You are a member of a space crew originally scheduled to rendezvous with a mother ship
on the lighted surface of the Moon. Due to mechanical difficulties, however, your ship
crash- landed on a lighted spot some 320 kilometers from the rendezvous point. During
landing, much of the equipment aboard was damaged, and since survival depends on
reaching the mother ship, the most critical items available must be chosen for the trip.
Below are listed the 15 items left intact and undamaged after landing. Your task is to rank
them in terms of their importance to your crew in allowing them to reach the rendezvous
point. Place the number 1 by the most important item, the number 2 by the second most
important, and so on, through number 15, the least important.
• Box of matches
• Food concentrate
• 50 meters of nylon rope
• Parachute silk
• Solar-powered, portable heating unit
• Two .45-caliber pistols
• One case of dehydrated milk
• Two 50 kg-tanks of oxygen
• Stellar map of Moon’s constellations
• Self- inflating life raft
• Magnetic compass
• Fifty liters of water
• Signal flares
• First-aid kit including injection needles
• Solar-powered fm receiver/transmitter

The students did the activity twice. The first time by themselves and the second time with a group. After that, we went over what the NASA engineers thought were the correct answers. They are located here.

The students love to talk about space and were very engaged in the activity. In just about every class, the students asked about why the flag is shaking in this picture.


We had a good discussion on it and they understood the explanation. I liked the fact that they are asking questions about things that seem unusual, such as a flag waving when there is no air!

I also have a mentoring class that meets once a week. Last week we discussed the history of Thanksgiving, defined what being Thanksgiving meant, and made a list of things we were thankful for. This week they made collages of what they were thankful for. Some made theirs serious, others made theirs humorous.

Most afternoons I volunteer to work on the bus run. Our primary job is to keep people who are off campus, off campus and the kids on campus safe. A few of us teachers volunteer for it because we have a lot of fun doing it. We get to visit with our students, visit with other teachers, kick some students around, and it makes a great stress relief. Today was one of our many days when we become "actively engaged" with students. We had a few students who had left campus and attempt to return. We stopped the students and attempted to send them off campus. One of the students finally left when his friend came up behind me. As I turned and told him to leave campus, he hit my arm and began yelling about how I couldn't touch him. I stepped up into him and told him to leave campus. One of the police officers was walking up from behind the student. The student stepped back and pushed off the cop who at that point grabbed the student and said "don't you dare touch me. I will take you down and arrest you." He was escorted across the street. The officer said he was hoping to see me get in a scrap. I told him that he stopped the fun too soon!

Tomorrow I will be finally getting some of my personal errands done. My dry cleaning will finally get done, the recycling will be taken in, and I will get my hair cut. Have an enjoyable Thanksgiving and remember to give thanks for the many blessing God provides us daily.

Today at School

Today the science department at my school was suppose to meet with the dean of science instruction for the school district. The meeting was scheduled for 4 PM. By 4, all of us teachers had gathered and awaited the dean. None of us really knew what the meeting was to be about. Since I had never met the dean, I was eager to see who it was that was in charge of all science instruction. By 4:15 the department head dismissed us as the dean had not shown up. Kind of sad when the dean doesn't seem to care about the science education at my school.


Classes went well today. We were studying electrolytes and ionization. After we had a brief lesson on electrolytes, we did a lab. The students were using a battery, wire, and light bulb to identify strong electrolytes, weak electrolytes, and non-electrolytes. They seemed to learn something about electrolytes and did well in the lab. Tomorrow is the last day before the Thanksgiving break. Because of that, we will be taking it easy. We will be doing a critical thinking scenario that I got from NASA. The scenario is that the students were on a moon ship that crashed. The students must travel across the moon to rendezvous with the mothership. They have 15 items and must rank them in order of important for their survival and transportation needs. The students love space so I am sure they will enjoy it.

The Return of the Son

The sermon at church today focused on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This was the final part of a series the pastor has been doing and focused on the return of the son to the father. The entire parable is found in Luke 15:11-32

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of thy substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 But when he came to himself he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: 19 I am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But while he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 and bring the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and make merry: 24 for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called to him one of the servants, and inquired what these things might be. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 But he was angry, and would not go in: and his father came out, and entreated him. 29 But he answered and said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 but when this thy son came, who hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou killedst for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine. 32 But it was meet to make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The following are my thoughts from the sermon.

This parable shows us how even though we may leave God, his grace, love, and forgiveness are always available. We are God's children; however, he allows us to stray. Since the foundations of the universe were laid, God has given us free will as a gift. Often though, like the prodigal son, we squander this gift. This story shows us that we can still return to God and have a new chance at life.

Sometimes we hit rock bottom before we realize that we have strayed from God. In the story, the son is living worse than pigs and realizes that his father's workers have it better than him. He decides to return to his father as a hired hand. This was his confession. His realization that he had a problem. He tells himself that he will get up. This is an important first step. Before we return to God we must realize that we have sinned and that God can help us. We must be sincere and humble about it. The son plans to go back to his father not to regain his former spot as the son, but is humble and wants to be just a hired hand.

As we see next in the story, just admitting we have the problem is not enough, we must act on it. The son gets up and goes! The son doesn't even make it back to his father's place before he is seen and his father's love and compassion compel the father to ran to his son and embrace him. The son begins to repeat what he has rehearsed, that he has sinned against his father and wants to return as a hired hand. But before the son even finishes, the father interrupts him and orders that a party be thrown and that the son be treated better than a son.

This story represents how God's grace and forgiveness works for us. When we stray from God, we must do two things. First, we must admit our problems and confess. We have done wrong and admit that God can help us. But we can't stop there. We must act on our confession. We must turn around and go to God. As we see from the story, God is there waiting for us. The son didn't have to go all the way back home before he was forgiven and back as part of his father's family. The same is true for us. We just have to turn around and see that God is standing there waiting for us to return. What good does it do for me to admit my sins if I don't stop doing them? As Jesus told the adulterous woman in John 8, "go and sin no more." Grace and forgiveness are not there to be used as a free pass for sinning, but to allow us to return to God when we mess up. The son was forgiven before he even headed home, but he didn't receive the forgiveness until he came back to his father. The same is true for us with God. His grace is there for us, all we must do is admit we need it and turn toward God and receive it.

This is Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son

What Could Be Better Than This?

How great would it be to be able to say this about your life? This is what I long for.

Tonight I am at a local coffee shop. I enjoy this coffee shop as they provide free wireless, have free refills on coffee and at night, their music is an 80's jam party. We have been partying to Billy Joel, Alannah Myles, and Tears for Fears. I always enjoy listening to the 80's music here as it reminds me of music I remember from when I was young.

Last night I attended my weekly Bible Study. We have been using a study called Walk as Jesus Walked by Ray Vander Laan. Last night's study focused on part of Paul's 1st missionary trip. Paul's trip went through Asia Minor, focusing on a region called Galatia. I want to write about one of the things that stood out for me. It wasn't part of the study but as side remark by the leader of the study. As we were wrapping up the study, we were listing things we thought we should do in order to mimic Paul as he mimics Christ. I forget what she was writing at the time, but the leader mentioned being content in our current position. This is of course something which Paul writes about.

10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:10-13. (NIV)

I have heard this passage numerous times and always wanted to be able to live out this passage. My biggest problem was I never knew what it really meant to be content in all situations. A good place to begin would be to define content. Normally when I think of the word content, it means to be OK with. Not really happy, but not really upset, just content. It almost seemed to be a state of wanting more but settling for what one currently has. However, last night when I heard being content, it meant more than just settling. The dictionary defines the feeling of content to be satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else. This is clearly not the same as settling for one's current situation. This is saying that you are where you are suppose to be! That you have found the place that you have been looking for. I have a long ways to go before I can say that I have learned to be content in all situations.

When thinking about being content in all situations, one of the first thoughts in my mind is about my job. I am a 9th grade physical science teacher. It isn't my dream job nor am I excited 100% of the time that I am doing my job. I do enjoy it. It is a challenge every day and I enjoy that. I feel much more confident in my teaching ability and often research and discuss with fellow teachers ways to improve our education system. While I am happy with my current job, I wouldn't be able to say that I am content. I couldn't say that nothing could be better.

In my own life, I am far from the person that I want to be. I often feel that I am in constant struggle against myself. I relate to Paul when he writes that he does the things he doesn't want to do and doesn't do what he wants to do. I am very happy with my friends. I couldn't ask for anything better with my friends than to wish for more time with them. I have friends that are always there for me and are willing to do anything for me. They care for me and seek for ways to help me be a better person. Materially I lack for nothing. I already feel that I have way to much stuff. I would love to be able to fit everything I owned into two boxed. Having too much stuff does not appeal to me. I am content with my friends, I am content with my possessions, but am not content with my daily living.

Because I am not content with my daily living, I often dream about living in another place or time. A much simpler life appeals greatly to me. I often dream what my life would be like if I lived hundreds of years ago. If perhaps I lived in grandparents generation. Or even if I lived in a remote area. To me, these dreams are an acknowledgment that I am not content with my life.

I feel that I finally have a target to reach for in my wanting to be content with my life. It is hard to strive to be content when my definition was a poor definition. I long for the day when I look at my life and say that I am where I belong and I no longer dream of being in a different place or time. I am not yet content with my life. I am only complacent with my life.

Introduction

Greetings! Thanks for reading my blog. I hope to use this for two purposes. My first purpose is to practice my writing skills. I want to improve my ability to express myself using the written language and want to utilize this as a tool to do this. My second purpose is a place to express my thoughts. These thoughts will not be of anything in particular but will include thoughts from work, my daily activities, my philosophy, and anything else that pops into my head. I encourage you to respond to my posts with your thoughts. Enjoy!