The Road to 65, Mile 332: Where It’s At

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Posted by on in Alternative Careers, Education, Personal goals

October 26, 2015, Chino Valley- I am holding my own, as a third grade teacher, it seems.  Three weeks into my nine-week assignment, I find I could extend the term, if the state Department of Education simplifies my elementary certification.  I will ask them what is expected of me, within the next two days.  A certification fee and a couple of tests would be reasonable.  Thousands of dollars on a new course of study would not be.

I was in a labyrinth, of sorts, on Saturday.  I was reminded of the days when getting a teaching certificate here was Byzantine.  Now, standardized testing, of teachers, has made this easier, at least here in Arizona.  I have my transcripts on file down in Phoenix, so that should speed the plow. I will likely be there on Friday, and so would go in to see what else is needed, besides the certificates I already hold.

The bottom lines are: 1. I will be in a good place, whether I remain with my 8&9 year-olds, or move on to another assignment, or two. 2. The children’s security, however, means we need to secure a teacher for the second semester, and soon.  Stay tuned.

The Road to 65, Mile 331: Nightmare

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Posted by on in children, Poetry

October 25, 2015, Prescott- Reflections on a middle-night’s dream:

There came the Little Rascals,

into a coffee shop where I sat.

An adult was with them,

speaking untoward rap.

Egging on the boys and girls,

Her words were enough to make me hurl.

I stood up and re-assured the kids,

that young, fresh days are not meant

for moral skids.

Be free of obligation,

to social degeneration.

I awoke,

having stood my ground,

feeling ready for a day

of love profound.

The Road to 65, Mile 330: Prescott Circle Trail, Segment 8

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature

October 24, 2015, Prescott- I spent a few hours walking the shortest segment of PC, from Willow Lake to Peavine Trail Head, alongside the north and west shores of Watson Lake.  This older and smaller of the twin reservoirs is bounded by  Granite Dells, to the north, Glassford Hill, to the east, and Granite Creek, to the south and west.

The first part of the segment follows Willow Lake Road, away from Willow Dells, to Highway 89, which I crossed, just north of a roundabout, when the near constant flow of traffic was abated, courtesy of traffic signals, some distance away, in either direction.  Highway 89 is a four-laner, and has crosswalks, so no overpass is needed.

I then came to Watson Lake Park, one of my favourites here.  The Dells make it an especially otherworldly place.

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The trail took me away from the Dells, for a bit, along the west shore, where waterfowl were abundant.  Two Greater Sandhill Cranes were among the crowd.

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As you can see above, at first, the female was being rather coy.The riparian trail then went off into the marshy terrain near Granite Creek, which is rather paltry at present.

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Upon coming to the rather mundane Peavine Trail Head, I resolved to return there and resume my hike, with segment 7.  Ambling back to Watson Lake, I spotted a lone kayaker.

The surreality of the Dells never gets old, so here we are again.

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Next up:  The Peavine Trail Head to Highway 69. (First half of Segment 7).

The Road to 65, Mile 329: Headlong

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Posted by on in Assistance, Education, Inner Struggles, Personal Values

October 23, 2015- After two weeks with my third graders, eight and nine-year-old beings, I am drawing some very definite conclusions about how their world is treating them, and how they are reacting.  I have said, countless times, that adults, especially young adults, tend to look at children as being mini-adults themselves.  The American media persists in addressing children as young as three by their last names, especially in cases of children of colour, and oddly enough, when the child is a victim of tragedy.  There was a tendency, a few years back, to sexualize teens and pre-teens. Fortunately, the media have dialed back on that hideous format, significantly.

I am not so sure,though, about the public-at-large. Kids are still picking up on that message, and our task, as teachers-and as parents, is to guide them away from talk of “relationships” and “romance”, just as we will guide them through it, later on.  There is something, though, in the lives of all too many people, that prompts them to live through others.  There is an impediment, called vicariousity, that lets one off the hook, with regard to owning one’s life and facing up to the comfort zone.

When this impediment involves children, it gets problematic, to say the least.  There has always been “puppy love”, worship from afar, as it were.  When it involves adults cooing in the corner, exchange of phone numbers, social media and spammed “love letters”,however, it can be injurious- to both parties.

So, I discourage the ardent swains, and reassure both them and the targets of their affection that life is not meant to be lived in one fell swoop, that there will be a time in life- in fact, much of life, that friendship can and does entail romance.

The headlong rush, after all, too frequently ends in a crash.

The Road to 65, Mile 328: Deferred

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Striving

October 21, 2015, Chino Valley-  The Chicago Cubs came further than they have, in over a century.  Then they ran into the buzzsaw that is New York City’s professional teams.  It takes time, patience and an indomitable will, to beat a team from the Big Apple.  My Red Sox know that, better than anyone.  The Sox are on hiatus, but they will come back.  Then again, the Yankees are taking a break, too.

The Cubs remain the only team to have waited more than a century to reach even the secondary level of the championship ladder, but they will be at the top, within three years. It takes time, patience and an indomitable will, to overcome the entrenched and powerful.

The voices of the common people, many of whom have not been heard for centuries, are at long last being heard.  Some of what they say is a message of frustration.  It does not ring of justice- when it is voiced by the ignorant, the self-centered, the blinkered- and the opportunistic, who pretend to speak for the dispossessed.  The voices of the common people must all be heard, though, lest those denied a voice end up “stinking like rotten meat”, the way Islamic State is now, the way the Nazis did, in the middle of the last century.

“What happens to a dream deferred?  Does it dry up, like a raisin in the sun?”- Langston Hughes

The Road to 65, Miles 326-7: Sanctity

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Posted by on in Education, Inspiration, Poetry

October 19-20, 2015, Chino Valley

Some thoughts on a couple of rainy days:

Awakening under stars,

glorying in a shower.

Glancing at the news,

whilst thinking of my brood.

The clouds ride north with me,

and plot their mid-day reverie.

Some are stranded behind sand-bagged washes,

Most, though, tough out the day,

with galoshes,

and a will that overcomes the driving rain.

For, learning soothes, and ignorance

breeds pain.

Knowledge has sanctity.

Its lack, breeds angst,

you see.

The Road to 65, Mile 325: So Much the Better

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Posted by on in Personal goals

October 18, 2015, Prescott- I got in my start of the week workout, today, as tomorrow will be an exhausting day of catch-up at work.  I am almost where I need to be, on my job, to have established an identity for myself and to not feel the need to spend hours at the school, on weekends.  I also got an alarm clock, with a pied screen- each number is in a different colour.  The alarm is also a gentle buzz, which I prefer.  These are features that will make my winter wake-ups so much more pleasant.

I still watch my favourite TV shows, a day later, on the computer.  I have a huge, big box TV, which is fading.  It will need to go to big box TV heaven, when my son gets here and can help me lift it off the stand.  I won’t get a flat screen, right away.  Other things are a priority.

No hiking was done, this weekend.  Between the constant rain ( a blessing) and a long afternoon at work on Saturday, my agenda seemed ill-disposed towards leisure.  No matter, I will get in a goodly amount of time on the Prescott Circle and Black Canyon Recreation Trails, as well as in Sedona, between now and the Christmas holiday trip back East.  San Diego, over Thanksgiving, will also find me out in the fresh air, quite a bit.

So, the last month or so, before pushing the 65 Button, will be not lacking in a spirited life.

The Road to 65, Mile 324: Nomination

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Personal goals

October 17, 2015, Prescott- I have been nominated by   http://www.writersdream9.wordpress.com   (sorry, no hyperlink on Windows 10) for the One Lovely Blog Award.        .

The rules of this are as follows:

1. You must thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.

2. You must list the rules and display the award.  (These are the rules.  I have no idea how to cut and paste the award.)

3. You must add 7 facts about yourself

4. You must nominate 15 other bloggers and leave a comment on one of their posts to let them know they have been nominated.

Some facts about myself:

  1.  I live alone, in a small apartment, in Prescott, AZ.
  2. I have returned to teaching full time, at an age when most look forward to retirement and leisure.
  3. I trade in Essential Oils, for those who are interested.
  4. I have been to all 50 states, D.C., nine Canadian provinces, northern Mexico and 17 other countries.
  5. I enjoy most forms of music and art.
  6. I believe that the life of the soul has no end.
  7. I have numerous friends, of all ages.                                                                                                                                     I nominate the following:                                                                                                shawnbird.com                                                                                                                                            artwolfen.wordpress.com                                                                                                                             htmm.wordpress.com                                                                                                                                 suggestivetongue.com                                                                                                                               cocosangel.wordpress.com                                                                                                                        untemperedtongue.wordpress.com                                                                                                            365til30.com                                                                                                                                              oceanstarr.wordpress.com

The Road to 65, Mile 323: Extra

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Posted by on in Education, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Poetry

October 16, 2015, Prescott- 

It was a day off, of sorts, and I recouped some energy. This is directed at a person, in a school, who looks at people like me, and shows only disdain.

Early morning invitation,

to increase my aggravation.

A polite decline,

no extra time,

to spend on one

who talks a line

of superiority and

shuns,

those like me

whose love is free

and time-tested.

You, who walk with upturned nose

will soon realize aloneness,

I suppose.

As you sit in your seat,

sequestered.

Remember, those of us

who give, the extra.

The Road to 65, Mile 322: Course Corrections

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Posted by on in collaborating, distraction issues, Education, impediments

October 15, 2015, Chino Valley-  We sat together, at the end of the day, and of the week.  The kids and I agreed that there was too much varied content thrown onto one page of the textbook publisher’s worksheet on perimeters.  We humans don’t, generally, speaking, absorb more than one mental skill at a time.  I will make the necessary adjustment in the lessons, next week.

I knew it would not be long, before I felt like taking the pre-fabricated material, and, like the late Richard Mulligan, in “Teachers”, open the classroom window and toss the useless book out.  I won’t go that far.  The taxpayers’ sensibilities matter greatly, after all.  One of the tenets of good teaching, however, is “monitor and adjust.” I am big on mastery, and will do whatever it takes to bring this about, for as many of the people with whom I work, as possible.

We, as a profession, are under a lot of pressure to provide ready answers to the question of “Why are our students falling behind, in the Great Global Rat Race?”  I have a few, tentative answers to that, which will not make the Testing Industry, or its political sponsors, very happy.  One, which I still remember, from having worked with Korean teachers of English, several years ago, is that many nations’ educational programs are focused on teaching one skill at a time.  That used to be the case here, when I was in school.

Now, however, I see a tendency to throw many concepts and skills together, so as to “hurry up and catch up”, with a perceived Global Mass of superlearners.  Grandma said “Haste makes waste”, and that is painfully obvious, looking in the faces of my still-trusting little ones.  We have to go back and look hard at the most basic level of the skill expected of them- and, yes, they will get it, and extrapolate the rest, one piece at a time- in time for the Great April Acid Test, which the state, in its wisdom, has cast upon us.

The journey of a thousand miles still needs that single step.