For high school students that hate going to classes, being on time is not a priority. In fact, if you were caught behind these students during the passing time of my high school, it's any wonder that they could get anywhere in a timely manner.
In the high school where I teach, there are no lockers so the excuse of "Dude, I couldn't get my locker open!" is eliminated. The students typically congregate in our courtyard until the one-minute bell rings alerting them that they need to get to class.
Our school has developed a policy that if a student does not make it to class at the conclusion of the tardy bell, they are sent a classroom where they do nothing: can't sleep, can't work, can't send text messages on the cell phone, can't talk - essentially all they can do is stare at a wall for 50 minutes. In previous years, students took advantage of the relaxed attitude the administration and other teachers had about getting the students to class. Even after the one-minute bell, students had the attitude, "Oh, is that the bell? (Shrug) Anyway, so this guy says..."
The students were repeatedly warned about the consequences and now we have this program.
Now, when the one-minute bell rings, watching the crowds disperse into an semi-organized cluster of mayhem is both exciting and frustrating to watch. Someday, I'll develop an office pool about the number of students sent to the late room.
The picture below describes what our adventurous students do to avoid the late bell consequences:
But I don't have this problem...
Leave it to Dilbert and Wally to describe my thoughts on one of the true pleasures of life.
I am huge CSI: Las Vegas fan. I started watching the during the summer reruns of season two, and jettisoned ER to continue watching it. Last week's show disturbed me. People in Las Vegas were being beat up by a gang of youths who just did it "for fun." They went after tourists who were unaware of the dangers that inhabit large cities and took advantage of them. One scene had a girl walk down the alley and she was attacked and another showed a man getting stomped on only to have the CSI character Sanders risk his life for him. The radar of being careful was turned off temporarily by these tourists because what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It seemed that the gang of trouble makers took advantage of that promotional ideal as they attacked these tourists that temporarily ignored the dangers. I was in Vegas five years ago for training, and instead of calling a cab from my hotel (the only one without slots or a casino), I decided to walk a mile to New York, New York to catch the Carolina Hurricanes playing in ESPN Sports Zone. I didn't think twice about it - I should have. However, my concern was the portrayal of the young people that chose to commit these despicable acts. They had no conscience and they just didn't care. The final scene had the CSI team pontificating about what went wrong with these teenagers? These kids chose to perpetrate these crimes but what was the impetus for them to actually consider doing so? Also, is it a true reflection of the moral compass of today's young people, or is it just the minority that thinks and acts this way? I'm not sure if life was better or worse twenty years ago and I'd like to think that most of the young people today work very hard to do the right thing. It just makes me wonder that is the art a true reflection of life and do we need to work smarter in instructing the next generation how life could be better for them?
What did we do before electronics?
I like my computer and I like my cell phone. Even though I use my computer every day, my cell phone tends to be a device that I use when I don't have access to a land line or it's more convenient to use the cell for a quick phone call. Lately, thanks to Google's Calendar service, it's been a handy planner to remind me when my next meeting is and where it is located - I almost forgot one on Friday 13th.
The Sharper Image sent me its catalog yesterday. What I noticed with some of these devices that, when used often, could turn someone into a Borg as part of the Borg Collective.
I used to watch Star Trek (but would never consider myself a Trekker, Trekkie, or Convention Goer, not that there's anything wrong with that) and I see correlations between that show and present day every now and then. The device that really caught my attention, and I know it's been around for forever, is a ear piece that you can stick in your ear to make and receive phone calls at any time you want.
Now, I don't know about you, but I never think that I am that important enough to get phone calls every half hour. I rarely do high profile wheeling and dealing, I don't have friends that have a need for me to update them every five minutes on my arrivals or departures, and I am not a reporter. My phone is usually silent for most of the day, except for the occasional outburst in class when my students find out that I like Wild Cherry and they have a pretty cool song.
Believe it or not, most of the U.S. falls into the same category as I do when it comes to cell phones whether they like to admit it or not. I think those wearing these ear pieces look so goofy that if they are managing finanacial profiles or making transactions in high value real estate while shopping at the nearest supermarket (you pick the most popular in your region - we have a different grocery chain on every block), they are certainly fooling me.
The phone calls these people get are: "When are you picking me up?" or "Do I pick up Bacon and Bagels?" or "What do you mean there is no beer in the house?! I just bought some last night!"
They don't need the ear device to walk around the store - to drive, it's probably a good idea, but to think that these folk are more important where they need to show off that they too are part of the elite-class-of-important-people because they have a cell phone with a neat earpiece are just fooling themselves...
and are turning into a Borg.
The 2006-2007 NHL season starts tonight and everything is now right with the world. However, I almost missed knowing about the opening games on Versus.
I was watching the replay of the Daily Show (as I missed Monday night’s broadcast because I mourned for my troubled Green Bay Packers) and the ad came up during the commercials. The Sabres will take on the Hurricanes and the Stars will take on the Avalanche. I watched in amazement.
In my mind, it is still September not October. I thought the NHL would not start for another week so I turned to my wife and said, “Hockey is back on?!”
She said, “I don’t know…look it up internet boy.”
Sure enough, hockey starts tonight.
I set my TiVO to record the games, I ordered NHL Centre Ice, and I made sure my ‘fridge is stocked with beer.
The equilibrium of the universe has returned. I just wonder what would have happened if I missed opening night?
Everything on earth is bad for me, from the food I eat to the liquids I drink. According to the media and researchers, my life will end earlier than I want it to, if I continue eating certain food or drinking certain drinks. I’m all about delaying the inevitable.
They say eat more fruits and vegetables, okay fine – but wait is it organic? By eating organic food, I can avoid all of the other problematic issues that food has that is not organically grown. What those issues are, no one really knows or has told me.
This Arizona resident has written books about it. Fine, cool, I understand. Beer can be an organic food – so that works.
However, when I read there is research that caffeine can be bad for me and so I must limit my caffeine intake by drinking less coffee is when I think all this stuff has gone too far!
It might be the drug addicted side of me writing this, or the fact that I have a nice, fresh brewed, cup of java on my table next to me, mmmm…coooofffeeee…but it could be worse.
I don’t drink the stuff all day, and I try to limit my caffeine intake in other areas, but [insert GOB Bluth impression] COME ON! [/impression] It’s an article that I will safely ignore.
Coffee – good, research(ers) bad.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is a new show airing Monday nights on NBC. I heard about this show from a review/tease on NPR as some television critic talked about how the show would be one of the best on the fall schedule.
Hype is hype, but the show has a lot of talented actors. West Wing alum Bradley Whitford (also from – a cheesehead can’t be that bad!), Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, Timothy Busfield, Judd Hirsch, and Ed Asner. All of these actors got our attention, but we wondered how Perry would do post-Friends.
The premise has the plot depicting a group of writers, actors, and television executives trying to rescue a historic sketch comedy show from mediocrity. The opening episode winked at the movie Network as the opening scenes depicted Judd Hirsch blowing up on the live broadcast talking about how everyone should change the channel because the show is no good. In fact, the “media” reaction in the first episode repeated the Network reference so often as the producers of Studio 60 expected their audience either not to get the reference or figured the target audience would be too young to understand it. It’s the only thing I disliked about the premiere that during these scenes they seemed to talk down to me. Literate viewers would watch the show – not the America's Got Talent crowd.
The show created by Aaron Sorkin (who created Sports Night and the West Wing) is truly outstanding, especially Perry where he plays a character that is very different from . Perry definitely chose this part wisely. I also liked how he used Felicity Huffman as the first “guest host” of Studio 60 since she worked with him on Sports Night on ABC many years ago.
Hopefully, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip will sustain its quality writing, acting, and directing and enjoy a lengthy run on NBC.
The NFL kicked off Thursday night and I am looking forward to Sunday’s action. Autumn is the best time of the year for me as I can relax in front of my television set, whine about the officials, eat food that is really not good for me, and drink beer. What I like about living in the west is that the football games start at 10 a.m. In fact, I can catch the Sunday night football action on NBC without having to drag myself into work the next morning. When the game ends, I still have most of the night holding on to the last minutes of freedom before I face my classes. I’ve already warned them that my mood can depend on how well my favorite teams did the day before. I’m not sure what unites us about football, baseball, or sports for that matter. The next day the conversation revolves around what team won or lost, repeating the drama of who played badly, who played well, and what official needs glasses. Of course, there are people that could care less, but I’m not sure who they are. Before I started dating my wife, one of the conditions that I had was that she must like sports, because I knew that would be a source of discontent. I am very used to spending time in front of the idiot box screaming at the players to play better or at the commentators who seemed to be watching a different game. I would have been happy if my other half didn’t like sports, but didn’t mind if I spent my afternoons watching them. Consider how lucky I am when I found someone who not only likes football (and hockey), but can analyze the game much better than my male friends. Right now she likes hockey more, but since that hasn’t started yet, the NFL is a good substitute. The best Sunday afternoon is the game on the television, chips and salsa, Uzinger’s sausage, and my favorite brew. I just hope that the Packers and Cardinals can win.
Do you remember your first day of high school? For me, it’s still a blur. I do remember the hot summer marching band practices where awkward 10th graders learn how to walk and play at the same time, and learn formations, and deal with upperclassman, and…well, you get the idea.
I wasn’t old enough to drive, so I can’t recall how I got to the high school campus those two weeks. I think I walked trying to carry a trumpet and a jug of water – which I didn’t bring on the first day where I learned a valuable lesson about dehydration.
To my recollection, I didn’t buy anything special for the first day of school. Maybe my parents bought assorted pens and pencils but nothing extraordinary. I didn’t need new clothes because good fashion sense wasn’t one of my concerns.
Today, it’s much different – it’s not about clothes, fashion, or wearing the latest brand (sometimes the girls still get caught up wearing the perfect outfit), but it’s about having the new technological gadget: the iPod, the video iPod, the cell phone, or the blackberry. In fact, it’s very common to have one my students walk in before class, hang up the cell phone after a lengthy conversation with one of their friends that has a class in another building, only to call him or her back right when class ends. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have that much to say in high school much less talk on the phone for five minutes every other hour. I didn’t have the resources or the disposable income to purchase these items that these young people seem to have.
Because of these gadgets, some of my students can’t deal with the silence, or the patience to wait for awhile before something actually happens. I am constantly talking to the same student to have him or her turn off the cell phone during class. It might be the technological equivalent of passing notes, but text messaging is so immediate that the moment passes and life turns to complete chaos if they can’t talk to each other right now. It’s amazing to me.
I wonder how this all happened? Is it the evolution of how we communicate, or how we need to communicate? Or is it a product of good marketing?
