Adteacher

I read another really good blog lately that talked about the importance of "re-charging" to the human lifestyle. It is really amazing to me how often people forget about that aspect of living. How can you do it? Especially at this time of year when it seems everyone is busy and school is either ending for high schoolers or about to begin again for summer college sessions? Well, I have learned the importance of a few key things, and I would like to suggest a few of them for you to consider. Exactly what do I mean by re-charging? Just starting anew. Getting a new wind, finding a way to re-energize. This afternoon, I was tired. It had been a very busy week and I had been working hard to get a lot done in not enough time. The coming week promises to be more of the same, if not more intense. How can you face it if you don't take time for rest and play? The answer, quite simply put, is that you can't. You will struggle through and not be your best - not a good option. E...

Today I got sent a copy of a photo of the VERY first group of students who were allowed into the new  "LISD Career + Technology Center East" building from my ace photographer (who happened to be sporting the wide angle lens for his Nikon on the day of our field trip last week.) Thank you, HHS senior Cason Hallock! This really feels very special to me, to get to be the teacher to have the first group of kids to walk through the door of the school. To give you a little further information, one of our seniors, Heather Streater from LHS was the first student into the Graphic Design studio where this photo was taken. That was something that I pointed out to her as we were about to enter the room for the first time, and she was rather honored to be that. Heather is the girl in the front row wearing white pants. Congratulations to these students for having a great tour of the building and a really great field trip all day on our visit to Denton. They came back wit...

Well, I like American Idol. I've watched it religiously since Kelly Clarkson (of Burleson, Texas!) won it the first season. I liked it even during the Ruben Studdard and Fantasia years that followed. I would not buy a record by either of them, haven't bought an album by Kelly Clarkson since her first one, and frankly - I usually don't listen to any of the American Idols too often after they win. I think the spirit of competition that drives the show is what really appeals to me. I just can't stop watching even if I don't like the singers too much when they make commercial pop records after the show ends. I think that there was a singer this season that I will actually be buying a record from, and one whose career I think might have some appeal and some staying power. (Some would say that Carrie Underwood is another, and I would probably have to agree. Not so much on any of the other winners of the past.) The singer I liked so much this season was Crystal Bowersox. ...

Up till today, my favorite nanny of all time has always been Mary Poppins. You can ask anyone I know, that movie has always been in my top favorites list and I can still sing ALL of the songs from the soundtrack. (Julie Andrews is like a goddess as far as I am concerned.) Well, she is going to have to move aside now, because I have a new favorite nanny. Her name is Katherine Venable, DJCC ad design class of 2006. She recently graduated from the advertising program at the University of North Texas, and next Tuesday she gets on a plane and flies to the UK to begin her internship with Publicis UK in London. This has been a dream of hers for a long time, and she made it come true! I am so incredibly proud of her that I could pop. I can't wait to hear what her future holds, because I think that they will love her at Publicis and she will be offered a position to work in London. It is going to be a challenge for her, because she is going to be a live-in nanny to earn money to pay he...

Today has been so great! I had a moment when I decided that "enough is enough". I am tired to death of not having enough time in my life for creative output. I am going to challenge myself, and when that happens, usually something good results. I have been putting so much energy into other things... teaching and planning for my new job, worrying about administrative tasks, house remodeling, the wedding a few months ago, my students and their needs and activities, and the list goes on - I really want to do something about my lack of creative time. So I went and got some art supplies and I spent the afternoon today drawing in my new sketchbook. I am posting the results online elsewhere for my own use, and when I am ready to share some of it, rest assured I will. Today I just reacquainted myself with my motor skills and my pencil. After so many years of concentrating on the computer and not much else, it was nice to get back to some real nitty gritty drawing. I'm rusty, but ...

So today I could talk about our Thursday field trip, which by the way, turned out great! But rather, I believe that I will save that topic for when I have some pictures to accompany the story, and instead I will talk about how to be nice to people you really don't like and to just be more positive in general. That is a real challenge, isn't it? I know some people who are not the greatest. Grumpy, negative, don't have the same standards that I believe in, or maybe they are even unscrupulous. I try as hard as I can to be nice to them when I deal with them. Some days I am more successful, sometimes less... it kind of depends on whether I am at my best or just the average version of me. I try not to demand perfection in this area of myself, but I do try as hard as I can to be consistently nice and to take a positive tone. Why? A few good reasons come to mind, and I think it is pretty easy for me to outline them. First, it seems that no matter ho...

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me. If you are old enough to remember the good old Aretha Franklin hit called "Respect", then you know what it is that I refer to. Actually, I think it is incredibly important to know what respect is all about. I don't know if it is just me, or if it is true that society really is getting a little less respectful these days? I remember as a kid, I was expected to say words like thank you and please, and those were ways that we were trained by our parents and teachers to be polite. I hear less and less polite language on a daily basis these days, and yes, I know that things always change, but what I have to ask is if is it really good to change the stuff about our world that was going right? Is there anything that is wrong with a little old fashioned respect? To me, respect is several things. I think respect for others typically starts with self-respect. It really does begin with the Golden Rule - who ever had a bad result with ...