It's 11:22. So far this weekend I've easily spent five hours on school stuff - by the standard of most weekends, a light load.
Perhaps I have a light load, but a heavy heart.
Lunchtime on Friday was when I heard about Sandy Hook. We teachers talked about the events at the table and taught our afternoon classes, still somewhat numb.
This morning, two news reports grabbed my attention. One was from China and the other took place in the US. Both were similar and elementary-age children were the targets.
From China, the BBC News reported, "A man with a knife has wounded 22 children - at least two of them seriously - and an adult at a primary school in central China.
Three years ago I had been working at a kid’s summer camp as a camp counselor in Parsippany, New Jersey. I was having a bad day.
My boss called me over to his “bench” and asked me what was wrong.
I answered I was sorry for crying but I was having a bad day.
He insisted for me to tell him what was bothering me, in sort of an annoyed tone that indicated he probably didn’t take me seriously.
I’m fairly certain that my words here will add nothing new to the conversation and intelligent commentary that already exists on the topic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). But as is so often the case, I am compelled to write if for no other reason than to help me process complex emotions and burgeoning insights.
So, if you will indulge me, I will begin .
As my Chinese improved and I met more people from within the institute and beyond, I was struck by the deep hostility toward foreigners among Chinese in authority. There was a lot of talk of friendship but very little to be found. (John Pomfret, Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China)
1. By way of analogy…
It is a popular political pass time in America to bash China for stealing jobs from US workers.
However, Bree Fowler and Peter Svensson of the Associated Press reported, Apple to produce line of Macs in the US next year.
"Apple's CEO, Tim Cook said in his interview with NBC that companies like Apple chose to produce their products in places like China, not because of the lower costs associated with it, but because the manufacturing skills required just aren't present in the U.S.
My number one heart-stopping moment of the week happened this Sunday. It beats the moment my son almost ran into the road a couple of weeks ago (looking back, I think he would have stopped in time, whether that woman had screamed at him or not). We had a house full of visiting relatives. In total there were ten people in the house (and one mad dog).
If you doubt the cause of global warming, believe the public schools are failing, or label people as liberals because they do not support all far-right conservative Tea Party candidates and issues, then you may be a patsy of the billionaire Koch brothers.
The definition of "patsy":
1. A person who is easily cheated, victimized, etc.
2. A person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of…
Kris L. Nielsen
Monroe, NC 28110
Union County Public Schools
Human Resources Department
400 North Church Street
Monroe, NC 28112
October 25, 2012
To All it May Concern:
I’m doing something I thought I would never do—something that will make me a statistic and a caricature of the times. Some will support me, some will shake their heads and smirk condescendingly—and others will try to convince me that I’m part of the problem.
While I enjoy seeing kids and adults in cute Halloween costumes, I abhor the TREAT factor of Halloween. As an ignorant child, teen and then younger adult, I went trick or treating, wore costumes and went to Halloween Parties. As a teacher and an adult, I was Richard Nixon more than once on Halloween, and one time in the late 1970s I was Aunt Jemima with black face paint—that would probably be politically incorrect today but there were no complaints in the 70s.
