That Explains A Lot

October 8, 2009

Yesterday in my senior class we were having a discussion about the day's journal topic. We were discussing whether or not the kids think there's ever any justifiable reason to break the law. As I expected, the students came up with lots of examples of instances they felt like a person should be exempt from the law, due to self-defense, damage of property, or a variety of other situational events whereby one might be able to 'bend' the letter of the law.

I love to try and include as many people as possible in our class discussions, especially those who don't always readily volunteer. I was especially excited, then, when one of my students raised his hand who rarely participates in any way--doesn't do homework, or classwork, or join in the conversations that we engage in. "Great!" I said, as I called on him. "What did YOU think about today's topic? Do you ever think it's okay to break a law?"

He closed his eyes, and drew in a long, deep breath. Suddenly, he slammed his hands down on his desk and emphatically bellowed, "YES! IF I DON'T SMOKE WEED EVERY DAY, I'LL DIE!" The entire class erupted in laughter, but then they realized he was dead serious. "Plus, I actually drive a lot better when I'm drunk, so that should be okay, too." Not a trace of irony or humor in his voice. The other students were dumbstruck for a few moments before I ungracefully attempted to guide the discussion in another direction.

If I didn't know his personality, I would have thought he was saying this just for shock value, or to make everyone else laugh. But no--the astonishing thing about the whole incident was that he truly seemed to believe the words he was speaking.

I think his counselor and I might be getting together to chat a lot sooner than I had anticipated this year. At least before I get behind the wheel with my kids in tow while he's out on the road.

At any rate, his 'extra-curricular' interests certainly do explain a lot about his motivation in the classroom.

One Man's Junk is Another Man's...Whadda Ya Call It?

Last night, I was driving Nicholas home from his Robotics meeting. I asked him, when we pulled into the driveway, to make sure he brought in all his junk from the car. (All three of the kids are notorious for leaving random stuff in the car--books, shoes, socks, combs, snacks--or remnants thereof--etc. I often rationalize this by thinking that if we broke down in the middle of nowhere, we'd be able to survive quite nicely for awhile, left to our own devices, with the supplies that would surely be found somewhere in the van.)

As I was saying, before I so rudely interrupted myself, I asked Nicholas to bring in all of his junk. He turned and looked at me in all sincerity and said, "I don't have junk, Mom. I have stuff of minimal importance." I just love the stuff that falls out of these kids' mouths, especially when they're not even trying to be funny or cute!

(But still--take your stuff of minimal importance into the house. Really.)

Thought for the Day

The average person laughs 15 times per day. My goal is to be an overachiever.

Queen Bees

October 3, 2009

It looks like Danielle's soccer team, the Queen Cobras, is in for a character-building season. During the seeding tournament a couple of weeks ago, the team didn't score a single goal. Today's game, the first in league play, saw them hold on to that trend. It's not for lack of trying--these girls ran and played hard. They've still got a lot to learn about passing and playing position, and most importantly, shooting a goal towards the space where the goalie IS NOT. Nevertheless, we definitely saw some improvements in the way the girls worked together this week, and hopefully they can build on that as practices progress this week.

The opposing team did not suffer the same tactical errors our girls did. Danielle ended up playing goalie both halves this game, because her trade-off counterpart wasn't feeling well. She let four goals fly by her, but again, not for lack of trying. Two of those goals were regular, in-play shots, one of which hit high in the corner of the goal. The girl couldn't have stopped it to save her life--it arched three feet over her head and dropped into the net. Another shot she dove for, but missed.


The last two were penalty kicks. Mano-a-mano, a girl with a power kick aimed at a wide open goal, Danielle the only thing between her and a score. Let me tell ya, those penalty kicks are almost as hard for me to watch as they are for her to defend! To her credit, she didn't get discouraged at all--just got right back up to do her job again. She had some good stops, too; if she hadn't, the score would have been even more lopsided.

I really like her coach this year. He does a great job of trying to give the girls strategy, building teamwork, providing constructive criticism, and really encouraging them. He tells them what they need to do better, but he is liberal with his praise of what the girls are doing well. He wants the girls to learn and have fun, and feel good about themselves even when they don't win. Isn't that what all of us parents want for our kids? So far, so good!

At Least He's Learning Something

...So Danielle was irritating Nicholas, and Nicholas told her to shut up. "Nicholas--you know that's not okay with me," I chastised. "Don't tell people 'shut up.'"

"But Mom, I was using a preposition!" Only MY kid....

A Long, Long Time Ago

September 30, 2009

I caught one of my kids texting during class yesterday. It's a common occurrence on campus--I'm sure it's a problem on most campuses these days. It wasn't during a test or anything, so I wasn't worried about cheating, but it is against the rules, so I gave him his warning and then asked him to put it away. He sheepishly apologized, and then said, "Didn't you ever text during class? Did you ever get caught?"

First of all, I'd like to take it as a compliment that he thinks I'm young enough to have texted during class. Upon reflection though, I realize he has never even known a world where texting wasn't ubiquitous; as far as he knows, it's always been around. I don't mean that literally, of course; the kid knows that cell phones and texting were invented in the modern world, but they just don't stop to think about how modern it all really is.

So I told him no, texting wasn't an option for me when I was in high school. No one had cell phones, let alone unlimited texting plans. "What did you do then?" he asked. "How did you talk to your friends during class? Did you seriously just have to wait til lunch if you were bored?" He looked incredulous.

"We passed notes. All through class. If our friends didn't sit by us, we'd just pass them down the rows until they got where they were supposed to go. And yes, I'm sure I passed as many notes as anyone else." I got a little nostalgic thinking about passed notes to boyfriends about plans for the Friday night football games, and passed notes to best friends about who the new cute boy in class was. And of course, I thought about passed notes about how BORING class was that day. I get it. If I see 'em texting in class, I understand. I still ask them to stop, but I don't get mad at them.

"Whoa....total old school!" my charming student said.

Old school indeed.

Thought for the Day

Every man is entitled to be valued by his best moments.
---Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm Gonna Live Forever

September 27, 2009

"You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here's where you start paying...in sweat."
--Lydia (Debbie Allen), from the original Fame movie

I embraced my inner 80s child today--Bree and I went to see the new Fame, which opened in theaters this weekend. We've been counting down the days, believe me! When I was in high school the original movie came out. New to the world of dance, I was entranced. Not that I believed I'd ever make a career out of the performing arts, but I was fascinated by the journey, the drive, the ambition, the triumphs and heartaches. I loved Irene Cara as Coco, and Gene Anthony Ray as the amazing Leroy. Imagine my excitement when the movie was adapted as a weekly T.V. series. I never missed it.

While this new adaptation of the franchise hasn't been garnering particularly strong reviews, I really enjoyed it. Perhaps it had the nostalgia factor going for it. It wasn't quite as gritty as the original, but it was entertainment. The movie rating was watered down to a PG version, most likely to draw on the So You Think You Can Dance audience (as well as perhaps the High School Musical crowd), and I imagine that's the source of some of the criticism. My criticism would be more about the lack of depth of some of the primary characters. I just don't feel like we got to know them as well as I would have liked--always a challenge with larger ensemble casts.

I especially enjoyed seeing Kherrinton--a former So You Think You Can Dance contestant--shine in her role. The impressive roll call of the Performing Arts Academy faculty (Charles S. Dutton, Bebe Newirth, Kelsey Grammar, Megan Mullally, and of course, Debbie Allen) was a real treat. I enjoyed their performances at least as much as many of the kids who are just beginning to aspire to their own fame.

It was worth the wait--Bree and I are both already looking forward to seeing it again.

Look Ma, No Cast!

September 25, 2009

Nicholas and I went to get his cast taken off today. The process was quick and easy, but he got a case of the hysterical giggles when they were actually cutting through the cast to get it off--the tickling vibration was almost too much for him! X-rays showed he still has a bit of a hairline fracture, but not enough to warrant any further action than just taking it easy on it and wearing good, supportive shoes. Originally he was supposed to be out of P.E. until October 14, but the doctor extended it to November 10th instead, just to be on the safe side. The kid who's never liked P.E. was actually disappointed--I think he really misses getting to run around with all his pals. I'm sure once November rolls around, he'll be making up for some lost time!

Cupcakes and Pool

Sept. 25, 2009

Wednesday was a pretty good day in our household.

First of all, Wednesday was the day that my oldest decided to ask a good friend to the Sadie Hawkins dance. When I was in high school, girls just had their friends go up to the friends of the boy in question and say something clever to the effect of, "If my friend asks your friend to Sadie's, do you think he'd say yes?" If there was encouragement, a note would be passed during the middle of math class where the boy would read, "Do you want to go to Sadie's?" and he'd check a box labeled Yes or No. Simple.

These days, high school kids often go all out to think of really clever ways to ask each other to dances. If a boy simply asks a girl to the dance (or vice-versa), it's seen as something of a let down, as if that's not really throwing yourself out there, exposed and vulnerable. Bree's invitation wasn't over-the-top, but it was still pretty cute. She baked a big batch of cupcakes (she's known for baking for her big group of friends 'just because,' so it's not out of the ordinary for her to show up with brownies or cookies or cupcakes), and handed them out to her pals at break between the first two classes of the day. On one of the cupcakes, she had written the word "Sadie's?". She handed the special cupcake to the boy, and he smiled, gave her a hug, and said, "Of course!" Aw, how sweet! He's a sweet kid, and they've been friends for a long time, so I'm sure they'll have a great time.

Later in the evening, Doug decided to go out to a local pool tournament that he had heard about. He is a crazy-good pool player, and has really been on his game lately. There were some solid players in the race, but none that he couldn't beat on any given day. Well, Wednesday was his given day, because he was the last man standing, and he walked away with the prize money. It wasn't as much prize money as he was hoping it might be, but it was more than he went in with. Even cooler though, was that they were holding a raffle drawing for a pool table for all the entrants in the tournament. It turned out that the winner of the tournament got an additional 20 tickets entered in the drawing, so his odds of winning were dramatically increased. As you might guess, based on the way the rest of this post is going, he won the pool table! I had just walked into the pool room to pick him up just as he made the winning shot for the tournament, and then right after that they did the drawing, so I got to be there for that, too. We have no place in our home right now for an 8 foot pool table, so we are trying to figure out if we're just going to store it or try and sell it, but just the fact that he won is astonishing. We never win anything! (I guess we can't say that anymore.)