Adteacher

I have never been an athlete. But I raised one. A baseball player, specifically. He started playing T-ball when he was about 4 years old. He didn't have pushy athletic parents, obviously me nor his father were trying to fulfill some sort of unfulfilled personal athletic glory. We never played sports, but we were happy if sports were his thing. He asked us as a little bitty boy if he could "join the team" and we had to do research to even know where to sign him up. He played all the way through his senior year in high school. He was really good at first base, and he had some good successes at bat and running the bases too. He loved the game. He still does at the age of 25 as a young professional. He plays corporate softball at the advertising agency where he works, and he watches every game he can that his favorite team, The Texas Rangers, plays in. Now comes the part about learning to accept defeat. As a four year varsity player, my son had to endure several untimel...

I had a little talk about motivation today. Actually, I had several. One was with my class at large. One was with an individual. No matter how often I have to go over the material that I teach, no matter how slowly I feel we are moving on our deadlines - I never get impatient. Unless... Unless a student displays a lack of internal motivation or "self-discipline". See, I was raised in the 1960s by some parents who were raised in the 1940s. I guess that means that there were certain things that I learned early on in life, mostly because life was much different back then. It was easier for most kids, and for most families. Now there is a lot more reason for students to feel "stressed out" and I do feel bad about that. Nonetheless, it isn't impossible for these students to have high expectations of themselves. Most of the ones that I get to work with do. There are always a few who need to re-focus now and then. Here is a video that explains a little bit abou...

Copyrighted artwork Cindi Lynch available at etsy.com Got past that bad cold and feel much more on the upswing. I am overly busy at times and then when I do get some time to myself, it seems I am feeling overly lazy! There are two wonderful little miniature schnauzers that keep me so grounded. No matter how busy everyone else in my family gets, these little guys always have time for me. In fact, they are the ones who are happy to see me no matter whether I am in a good mood or a bad mood. They simply don't care - they love me regardless of all that! I think that is why God gave us animal companions. I have been in a sports haze this weekend. First came bitter disappointment on Friday night when the Rangers lost game one to the Yankees, then elation after game two when they won to even up the series. I have great hopes for game three with Cliff Lee pitching. After that, who knows? Then the disappointment of a 1-4 start for the Cowboys this season. I think it will be very d...

It didn't turn out to be the kind of weekend that I was dreaming of last week. Not to feel sorry for myself, but I had a headache from late Friday afternoon to the present moment - Monday night. I have had a disgusting head cold that has put me in bed on one of the most beautiful weekends of the year, and I didn't get to go to the Rangers' home playoff game or to the State Fair - both of which I was really looking forward to. I was at home alone for most of the three days, just watching old TV shows and trying to breathe. Ugh. But on the bright side, I feel like I am on the upside of the cold and that maybe if I sleep well tonight, I will be fine to go back to school on Tuesday. Since this was a three day weekend, I didn't miss a day of school, and I always hate missing class, so that makes me happy. I hope that I can get some of my lost energy back and get caught up on some printing that needs to be done, and I also hope that I can get back to counseling individu...

I got a visit from the very entrepreneurial Calvin and Ryan Sprague today, and I got filled in on their http://www.thisisouryear.net/ venture. They have really gotten so much business for their design firm, Pavlovvisuals (see http://www.pavlovvisuals.com/ ) doing merchandise for well known musical artists and local bands too, that they are now branching into the world of sports merchandise. The "Claws Out" shirt that they designed is very popular and selling like hotcakes. I know I'll be wearing mine this weekend and during the rest of the games until the World Series is over, and I am going to be so much happier during those games when I realize that I have on a popular shirt that some of my former students were responsible for. Go Rangers! I have so many former students that I am so very proud of. The list of students who are out there in the world working and doing great things is becoming longer each year, and I guess I'd have to say that motherhood and my lo...

Every day this week when I have walked out to my car, I have realized that I missed out on the weather during one of the most beautiful times of the year. I was kind of sad when I realized it, but I have been so tired every day that I just had to go ahead and go home to rest. This weekend we have a wonderful 3 day weekend for the holiday that is both Texas State Fair Day and Columbus Day. I would love to go out to the fair, I only have a few weekends to get there this year. But I feel like I MUST catch some of the lovely Texas autumn. The sun has been out, the sky has been clear and blue, but the air is what really makes it special. There is a slight crispness, not really a chill, but a crispness. I love this time of year in this state, and I hate to go through too many more long workdays where I just miss the day. This weekend, even if its just a bikeride around the neighborhood... I will be outside. Ideally, I will be here though. The great Texas State Fair. Eating a Fletcher's...

All CCE students, working on my class project. I guess pride can be a bad thing, but honestly, in the case of the pride I had today - well, I am pretty sure it is a good thing. I was always so happy when someone told me when I was a kid that they were "proud of me." I got to say that to a roomful of teenagers today, and I really meant it. There was a group presentation today and it went really, really well. The kids were good at their presentations, but they were also good at giving and receiving feedback and having a mature discussion without erupting into chatter and silliness like sometimes can happen in a high school classroom. I was just very proud! OK, proud talk is over... "In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years."  ~Jacques Barzun I hope that I can be around to see my kids, my students and my possible grandchildren sometime 20 years down the road from now. I guess by tha...