Random collection of thoughts

Hard to believe that the second trimester has already started; one third of the year has already come and gone. Yeesh.

Tried out texthemob last week, with mixed results. Turns out quite a few of the kids have Cricket, and so weren't able to send a text to the site, so they had to go to the internet on their phones before they could register their vote. Good to know for future reference.

One of the great disadvantages of blogging is the guilt associated when one doesn't regularly update said blog. For some reason I've decided that I needed to update this blog on a weekly basis. Don't ask me why. I have no idea. At any rate, here I am again, wondering what I could possibly write about this time.

Really, though, setting aside a time to write on a regular basis is said to be a good thing, though sometimes it feels a bit like taking cod liver oil; not that I ever did, but from what I'm told, I'm lucky to have escaped that little fate.

So here we are towards the end of November with one marking period behind me and what have I learned? Well, getting students to embrace technology is a bit more difficult than I'd originally anticipated, for one. I figured I'd offer them the chance to blog and such and off they'd run. Not so. I had more students than I thought I would completely bypass blogging for the entire term, for a variety of reasons, and though I was given a wide range of whys and wherefores, I think part of it simply came down to a lack of confidence in their own writing ability combined with a self-consciousness that the world would see them and even see through them; a fear shared not only by many students, but many adults as well.

That's a lot of what writing is, really. The laying bare of the soul. Even the most mundane entry says something about the writer, and it is for this reason most people seem to fear putting their thoughts down anywhere, let alone on a public forum like a blog.

So how will I combat this with my students? I'm not sure, really. A few of my students read my blog, and so they get to see my writing, warts and all, but there must be another way to encourage them to step beyond their boundaries, their comfort zones, and step into the world of writing. I'm not sure what those strategies are yet, but I'm open to suggestions.

Very funny

Said by one of my students after repeated difficulty logging in to her Google docs account: "That's it. I'm just going to become Amish. I'm serious."

And just like that, the world changed

Tonight was the most intense and emotional election I've ever experienced; it was one of the most intense and emotional nights of my life. Tonight the citizens of the United States shed shadows of its past and embraced a black man as their President. I made sure that Kyle watched it... watched history being made.

I remember what I did when at 9:00 p.m. MST, NBC news announced that Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States... I cried. I cried simple tears of joy that our country could look past the color of a man's skin to other possibilities, not just for a few, but for anyone and everyone in this country, regardless of race, gender, age, or other typical barriers to the highest office in our land.

I was also impressed with Sen. John McCain's speech. He continues to be a man worthy of respect and worthy of admiration. It was a long campaign, and I thank him for the many years of service he has given this country.

Congratulations, President-elect Obama and Vice-President-elect Biden. Thank you for helping lead the United States into the 21st century and out of the dark days of our past.

The big day!

November!!!

Hard to believe that it's November already. The last farmers' market of the year was yesterday, so I did a little stocking up, said goodbye to the farmers and told them that I would see them come April. It's a little sad, but I'm sure farmers are looking forward to a little bit of a rest. It's going to be quite strange this Saturday, though, when I don't get up at the crack of dawn to be in Boulder for my scone and coffee at the market before getting my produce picked out and bought. For the first time in a long time I can take my time getting out of bed and getting my groceries for the week.

Term 1 is over in 12 days. Last week I got confirmation that I'm going to be in the IB Academy, which is really exciting. I am a huge believer in the IB program and what it can do for our students, so to be a part of the IB Academy at ACHS is amazing and great. A group of my students have chosen to be in an IB-influenced class starting term 2. Once we obtain authorization, they will be officially designated an IB English class, so that will be cool as well, but in the meantime I plan to get them well acquainted with various IB concepts like the Areas of Interaction, Learner Profile, the Personal Project, and the like. I can't wait!

Compassionate Eating: My life as a locavore

As I mentioned in my review of The Compassionate Carnivore, I enjoy a good steak. Now that’s not to say that every meal I eat has to contain some sort of meat product, and in fact, about a year ago I moved to cut back on the amount of meat my family and I eat to one meat meal a day (with smaller portions of meat) with two or three total vegetarian days each week. Last April, I made the decision to get our beef and chicken exclusively from a small, local farms (i.e., the farmers’ market) instead of King Soopers or Costco (or even Whole Foods), deciding that I was no longer going to opt-in to supporting the factory farm model of meat production. The Compassionate Carnivore has strengthened my resolve to the extent that now, when I go out to eat, if I can’t be sure of the source of the meat, I’m going to eat vegetarian. I really just can’t bring myself to eat factory farmed meat anymore. (Of course, thanks to my determination to avoid high fructose corn syrup, GMO’s and trans fats, my options are even fewer, but that’s a whole ‘nother conversation.) Fortunately I don’t have to. Within the past month I’ve found local and humane sources for beef, chicken, pork, lamb, and bison; even my eggs and milk come meet the standard of humane and local. The addition of meat to my locavore ways has been a recent and welcome addition to my diet. For the past few years, the only time I’ve purchased non-local produce has been when the farmers’ market has been closed for the season, or if I happen to get a particular craving for bananas, oranges, or some similar food that can’t be grown locally. There have even been increasing numbers of meals at my house that are 100% local; last week I made a stir fry that consisted 100% of ingredients from my local farmers’ market, and I washed it all down with raw milk from Windsor Dairy. (It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself.) Has this new and improved locavore lifestyle been a lot of work and effort? Oh yes, definitely. Making sure I could eat locally year round meant tracking down a farmer who offered a winter CSA as well as a steady meat supply. I’ve been able to set up a year round supply of meat, and I’m able to get fresh, local veggies for nine of 12 months; the only time I may end up having to rely on frozen or grocery store produce will be January-March, which isn’t so bad, and since things like bananas are in season then, I’m still able to eat seasonally if not locally. It also means that on those days when it’s pouring down rain (or snow), I still find my way to the market to get my groceries; as I told one farmer on a particularly cold and rainy Saturday a few weeks ago, “My determination to eat locally and support local farms overrides my common sense that tells me to hit a nice, dry, warm supermarket.” The result? My food tastes better and because it is more nutrient dense, I’m eating less (dieters take note!), and in many ways I feel a lot better. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I know my food is also safer, and not subject to the whims of an ineffective FDA. One of my students recently asked me if the difference in taste and my health was simply psychological. Is that possible? Yes, but in the long run, does it matter if it’s “merely” psychological, or if it’s psychosomatic? The end result is the same, really, and as I’ve said before, living mindfully may not be convenient, but it is worth it. (With no argument from my kids… they are beginning to understand the issues more with every recall of food, toys, and other products.)

For the rest of this article, go here.

Almost 12 full months of local food!

As I've mentioned in two previous posts, I've really been making a concerted effort to eat locally produced food instead of heading to the supermarket, regardless of which market it is. With the Boulder Farmers' Market coming to an end on November 1, I've been working hard to set things up for the months of November-March, and I've been successful in getting my meat and dairy set up, but my concern became veggies and fruit. Thanks to the Abbondanza farm, I now have the opportunity to continue eating local until the end of December. That means that I may end up only having to hit the grocery stores for produce during the months of January, February, and March (since I didn't get quite as much canned as I wanted to... bleah!)... not bad.

So what does this have to do with teaching? Well, one of the topics of the climbing team curriculum is food and nutrition. We typically spend a week talking about what we put in our bodies and why it is important, and the importance and advantages of eating locally produced food is a part of that conversation. Teaching our children to eat well or at least setting that example is important for any educator, regardless of subject area. Our students watch and listen to us more closely than we give them credit for sometimes, and so it is important to send that consistent, healthful message. With rising rates of obesity, cancer, and other illnesses, combined with rising fuel prices and the FDA's inability to protect our food supply, especially imported foods, eating locally produced food truly is a national issue, or perhaps it should be.