Poetry

I have been teaching poetry this summer and enjoying it very much. Growing up my grandfather and father always shared poetry, memorized and read, regularly with us. At the time I didn't fully appreciate it. In school I never really took to poetry. But during my first masters I took a class on poetry which I really enjoyed and teaching it this sumer to seventh graders has been a lot of fun. All of this is a long way of explaining why I am posting on poetry. Here is a poem I came across tonight that I find of interest in regards to the current state of our country/world. I took this from Poets.org. A great website for exploring random poems.

A Nation's Strength
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
What makes a nation's pillars high And it's foundations strong? What makes it mighty to defy The foes that round it throng? It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand Go down in battle shock; Its shafts are laid on sinking sand, Not on abiding rock. Is it the sword? Ask the red dust Of empires passed away; The blood has turned their stones to rust, Their glory to decay. And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown Has seemed to nations sweet; But God has struck its luster down In ashes at his feet. Not gold but only men can make A people great and strong; Men who for truth and honor's sake Stand fast and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep, Who dare while others fly... They build a nation's pillars deep And lift them to the sky.

Good Quote-Quality Chus

So those of you who read "Blog du Wren" or "The Week" for that matter, are familiar with publications drawing attention to interesting/disturbing/inspiring quotes. In that vain I would like to share a little gem from Baltimore politics. Those of you who are familiar with the dysfunctional group of nepotistic men and women that make up the city government are aware that Sheila Dixon, the mayor, is under investigation for all sorts of inappropriate shenanigans involving people giving her money and stuff and her doing stuff for them. Well during the investigation it was revealed that she was treated to tens of thousands of dollars in shopping sprees by her at-the-time boyfriend, who in return had the wheels of gov't greased for him in regards to development projects he was involved in. When asked about the shopping sprees where she got furs, several hundred dollar Jimmy Chu shoes, etc., her response was, "I don't shop often, but when I do I buy quality." She is quite the woman of the people. She is also accused of taking donated gift cars intended for poor families and using them for herself. Of course everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but in Baltimore the real shocking thing is that anybody bothered to care enough to say, "Hey, a city council president/mayor shouldn't be taking huge gifts in return for favors." (Full disclosure: I supported her...Hey, democracy ain't perfect.)

Moving is the worst thing in the world

I know being "curbed" is probably slightly worse, but moving is a close second. I have been laboring for what feels like years to move out of our house. How many SUV's of stuff could we possibly own? If I cannot finish getting rid of it all by tomorrow I may "curb" myself. On the same topic I guess I have to report that I will no longer be officially residing in Baltimore. Do I need to change the name of the blog? Since I consider DC a suburb of Baltimore, I think I'm all good.

Teaching Nicknames

I've been teaching the last couple weeks and have therefor not had much time to blog. This summer I am teaching 7th grade language arts to one class of boys and one class of girls. Since I have been in grad school the last year it's been interesting to be back in the classroom. One thing I have thought about as I start teaching again is the number of nicknames I have been dubbed over the years of teaching, some of which reoccur over and over, from year to year, which I guess means they are particularly apt. So here are a few of the names students have called me over the years in no particular order:
-Hunchback/Quasimodo (this is by far the most popular)
-Mr. Noodle (a reference to my broken arm)
-Nezercanezer (this was around the time the Matrix came out)
-Mr. Nezby
-various names that are inappropriate to mention here, many of which involve substituting inappropriate words for the second syllable of my last name.