I will never forget 2009. It has been a year of horror stories for me - where teaching is concerned. Three weeks ago, I turned down a very lucrative offer from a local college that wanted to hire me to run a program for a subject that is very close to my heart - Sociology.
Many of my friends and my husband, thought that I was quite mad to turn down the offer. The head of department who called me was really surprised for she expected me to say 'yes' and had almost finished drawing up the time-table for my classes. Well, I can safely declare that really love teaching but I am terrified of the type of students who exist today. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule but these are rare and few in number.
Currently, I am in retirement and help a few children of acquaintances. Today, I had the nightmare of my life.
This girl whom I had been helping for a few months wrote the following answers for plural forms of nouns. I am not exaggerating, neither am I joking. I had gone through these with her a few weeks earlier.
mouse mouses *then after I protested, she changed it to mousees
woman womans *then she changed it to womans and then to womaness
milk milkes
dirt dirtes
and the list goes on....
A few months ago, I had a few sessions with a 12A1 student and during the first lessons, she wrote, "I has a good family...." In another essay which required her to discuss the social values of watching cartoons, she wrote this in her opening paragraph : "Cartoons make us laugh. Cartoons make us cry."
I almost fainted and I asked her quite adroitly, "Are you trying to make me laugh or cry?" I did not want to teach her anymore after that....
Another boy wrote "My father swam up on the sand."
Today, I asked a girl who had finished reading "Of Mice and Men" for her literature course a very simple question....What is the main theme of the novel?
Her answer : People. The theme is about people.
I cannot believe that she gave me such an answer after printing out pages of notes from internet sites on the novel.
What is happening to our education system?
When I asked her why Steinbeck chose to paint a character like Lennie, she was stumped and gave me simple elementary answers.
A few weeks ago, I stopped teaching this girl who wrote "I sure you can find me book." I am really not joking here.
I do not know why it is so difficult for students to use their brains to think. It seems like an impossible task for many.
I still remember how I collected hilarious errors in my "Little Book of Errors" years ago. I think the best entry was the seven different versions of how 'nowadays' should be spelled.
Now a day
Nowsaday
Noday
Nowsday
Now a day
Now a days
Noseaday
Thankfully, I do not teach in any institution now and would not want to go back unless they can assure me that they can give me students who are willing to work.
Sigh.
Many former students gasp in horror when I share with them these tales of horror and some have advised me to write my memoirs....sigh...but I rather remember the beautiful memories of those wonderful times teaching students who can think and are willing to exert themselves intellectually.
And so here I am, a housewife who has no pension and who reads, blogs and has far too much time on my hands....Life is simpler this way and less stressful.
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I also ranted at length at this post called THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY a few months ago.
Birds of a feather flock together . . . .and then crap on your car.
A penny saved is a government oversight.
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.
The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement .
He who hesitates is probably right.
If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.
If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.
Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words 'The' and 'IRS' together it spells 'Theirs.'
Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.
When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of Algebra.
You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it's called golf.
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth . . .. . . . .AMEN
IT DOESN'T HURT TO HAVE A LITTLE BIBLICAL HUMOR ONCE IN A WHILE....
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.
Q. What do they call pastors in Germany ?
A. German Shepherds.
Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah - He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.
Q.. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.
Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden ?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.
Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan The banks were always overflowing.
Q. Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.
Q. Why didn't they play cards on the Ark ?
A. Because Noah was standing on the deck. ( Groan...)
PS. Did you know it's a sin for a woman to make coffee?
Yup, it's in the Bible. It says . . "He-brews"
Imagine it is the beginning of the year. You sit down to write your resolutions or goals. You work on want you want for the year. Then you develop a plan to get you to your goals. Midyear comes around and you look at your goals. You notice that you are still working on a few of them but you have completely forgotten about three goals you wrote down. What happened? At the time you wrote the goals you were committed to them. Why did you stop working on them? It was your level of commitment.
Commitment is a very powerful and crucial part of following through and accomplishing your goals. Commitment is in almost everything we do. When you take a shower you are committed to getting clean. If you volunteer to help your child's class, you are committed to helping the school. Most important, when you are working on improving yourself and accomplishing your goals, you are committed to that as well! When you are working on your goals there are a few things you can do to find out how committed to your goal you are.
Note the areas of your life you are working on. Some examples are physical, emotional, financial, spiritual, and relationships. During certain times in your life you will be more committed to working on one or two areas. For instance, you may be working on building your career and making your relationship strong one year and the next you may want to be working on creating a powerful body and a spiritual connection with the Divine. This is the first step in the process, identifying what you are committed to working on.
The next step is to decide if it is a goal you are committed to. To help with this process ask yourself these four questions:
1. How clear am I about this goal?
2. Is it something I am willing to write down and take responsibility for?
3. Can I visualize having this?
4. Do I have my future developed in my mind?
How clear am I about this goal? This question will help you gain clarity on what it is you are working towards. Part of this question is to see where you are starting. Ask yourself on a scale of 0-100%, just how clear am I? If you can get clear about your goal, you will be more committed to it.
Is it something I am willing to write down and take responsibility for? There is power in writing down a goal. You are starting to create the physical manifestation of your desire. To take this one step further, speak the words out loud and with conviction that you believe it is yours. Take the level of commitment one step further and tell the Universe you are going to do this.
Can I visualize having this? Again, ask yourself on a scale of 0-100 how clear your vision is. The higher you are on the scale is an indication of how committed you are to this goal. During your visualization practice seeing it, feel it, make it your own. An example is writing a book. If you really want this book to be published, give it a name, create the vision of the cover, see yourself completing the book and holding it in your hands. To take this another step further you can create a vision board and draw your book on the board.
Do I have my future developed in my mind? This may seem like the same thing as visualizing but it is actually and extension of it. Taking the example of writing a book; really see your book, get a good focus on it in your mind. Let your mind grow with the thought of your book. What will you gain from writing the book? Will you get fame and fortune, or are you trying to develop a client base with your book. It is your future so you decide what you want. Put a clear intention on what you are going to create and build.
The next time you go to make a list of your goals try these steps. Decide what area you want to work on. Identify what you want to achieve in this area. Clarify what exactly it is you are wanting. Decide if you are willing to write it down and take responsibility. Visualize having your goal. Then develop it further in your mind. Make the picture big and colorful. Committing to this process is a sure way to create exactly what you want in your life!
Author's Bio
Mary Owens MSW~ empowering you to connect to your deep thoughts, feelings, values, and desires so you create the life of your dreams! Mary Owens received a Master's in Social Work from the University of Denver in 1997. She is a part of the Quantum Success Coaching Academy as a Law of Attraction Empowerment/Life Coach and will be receiving her certification in 2009. She helps people go from where they are in their lives to where they want to be by using the laws of the universe. She coaches one on one with the great teacher and one of the stars of THE SECRET, Bob Proctor. She currently studies in group settings with James Ray who is also one of the stars of the movie. She has spent years studying the laws of the universe and how they play a part of our lives and relationships. THIS LINK will give you more information on her life coaching programs.
