Geeze - what a great topic. I could write about elections all night. Why? Because this election has me infuriated and I like to spew about things that piss me off.
Before I go any further, I apologize in advance for anything I might say tha offends anyone. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I do respect that. Still, I have to question anyone who is comfortable with their vote this January 23.
What are our options? Well, we have the Liberals. The crooked, corrupt liberals who are inept at handling a bad situation, unless you think that making it worse is the way to go. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a Paul Martin fan! I had very high hopes for the guy at one time. Not any more. I get that it was hard to get anything accomplished with Stephen Harper riding his back, but still, I thought at one time at least, that PM would be the guy who could handle it - I guess not. I hate what he let Harper do to Canadian politics and let's face it - we have seen the face of our country's politics reer an ugly, ugly head and I doubt we will ever recover.
Ok, I admit, Harper may not be quite as 'Charming' as Stockwell Day, but he sure has that same 'sparkle' in his eye! So let's talk Conservatives. Apparently, we are supposed to believe that the leader of the conservative party believed in one way of life his whole life, and then changed his mind just before election time. Man, what a scary thought. Whenever I think of the conservatives in power I think back to Ontario's Harris days. That province will be forking out doe 'till the cows come home to pay off all the legal fees that they accrued as they got sued for illegal practices. And let's face it - the Cows aint coming home - mad cow disease and all.
Anyway, the thing is, bare-foot and pregnant in the kitchen, chatting with my gay neighbour who isn't allowed to get married, is no place I want to be. And I believe if our friendly conservative leader had his way, that's where he'd put me.
I guess that brings me to the NDP. While I have nothing against Jack and his gang, and rather like his wife, I can't bring myself to vote for him in fear of throwing my vote. Bad choices, worse process, awful situation - that about sums up what I think of this current election. In a word (or maybe not so much)... BLAHHHHHHHHHHH.........
Monday, January 23, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Some Thoughts on Little Ones...
I have two nephews. Cian who is 6, and Calum, who is 3. When Cian was about 3 we shared a small experience that has stayed with me ever since. It was a minute interaction, something you might disregard as insignificant. But it has stayed with me, popping back into my memory every once in a while. So I am going to share it, and some of my thoughts that go with it now.
One night my sister and her family were at my parents home while I was there. They were getting ready to leave, which is always an adventure, and I offered to bring Cian to the car to help. Calum was not born yet. It was winter in Toronto, which meant that the sidewalk was icey and slippery in some places.
Cian wasn't quite sure how to walk on slippery sidewalks. My mom had warned us to be careful because it was slippery, and he listened intentely to the warning, but he wasn't sure how to 'be careful'. He had never walked on slippery sidewalks before, and he didn't know what to do. I saw him hesitating and told him if he stuck his toe out first, and wiped it along the sidewalk in front of him, he could ascertain how slippery it was and that would help him to ensure his footing.
From that moment on until we reached the car, he took a few steps, stuck out his toe to test the ice, and continued based on his assessment. He did exactly what I had told him too. I was amazed, shocked really. He followed my instructions precisely and executed them easily.
Why was this shocking to me? Well, I teach university students. And no matter how much I emphasize the importance of following my instructions, only a handful (across the span of many years) have ever been able to follow my instructions as well as my 3 year old nephew.
I think most of my students can't be bothered, though some are genuinely unable. Either way, it makes me wonder what we do to our young people that takes away this ability. I do understand that some of it has to do with independent thinking and all that. But even when it is in my students best interests', they don't follow my instructions. They don't even pay attention long enough to have enough information to make an informed choice not to follow.
I think that part of the problem is trust. To this day, I still see Cian applying the 'toe-test' every once in a while. Clearly, Cian trusts me completely. Because of this, he had no reason to ignore me, and all the reasons in the world to pay attention and follow my instructions. At 3, his processing power must have gone something like this: "If I listen, and do what Auntie Dawn says, I will be safe."
Clearly my students don't trust me. There thought proceses must go something like this, "This lady doesn't know me. How does she know what is good for me. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz".
So, what can we learn from this? A few things I think. First, it is really important to keep the trust we have established between our children and ourselves. We need to make sure that we tell our children the truth, albeit some version that they can actually understand. We can't take short-cuts because they are easy for us. If they figure out that we have mislead them, they won't understand that we were exagerating/fibbing/pretending to know, just to save time or because we were tired, they instead will learn to distrust us.
Second, we must work hard to establish trust amoung anyone we want to pay attention to us. We can start by letting our students get to know us, at least a little, and getting to know them. Share our interests and some experiences. We can also let them know when we don't know the answers.
Maybe if I work at it a little harder, more of my students will stick there toes out before they walk on slippery sidewalks!
One night my sister and her family were at my parents home while I was there. They were getting ready to leave, which is always an adventure, and I offered to bring Cian to the car to help. Calum was not born yet. It was winter in Toronto, which meant that the sidewalk was icey and slippery in some places.
Cian wasn't quite sure how to walk on slippery sidewalks. My mom had warned us to be careful because it was slippery, and he listened intentely to the warning, but he wasn't sure how to 'be careful'. He had never walked on slippery sidewalks before, and he didn't know what to do. I saw him hesitating and told him if he stuck his toe out first, and wiped it along the sidewalk in front of him, he could ascertain how slippery it was and that would help him to ensure his footing.
From that moment on until we reached the car, he took a few steps, stuck out his toe to test the ice, and continued based on his assessment. He did exactly what I had told him too. I was amazed, shocked really. He followed my instructions precisely and executed them easily.
Why was this shocking to me? Well, I teach university students. And no matter how much I emphasize the importance of following my instructions, only a handful (across the span of many years) have ever been able to follow my instructions as well as my 3 year old nephew.
I think most of my students can't be bothered, though some are genuinely unable. Either way, it makes me wonder what we do to our young people that takes away this ability. I do understand that some of it has to do with independent thinking and all that. But even when it is in my students best interests', they don't follow my instructions. They don't even pay attention long enough to have enough information to make an informed choice not to follow.
I think that part of the problem is trust. To this day, I still see Cian applying the 'toe-test' every once in a while. Clearly, Cian trusts me completely. Because of this, he had no reason to ignore me, and all the reasons in the world to pay attention and follow my instructions. At 3, his processing power must have gone something like this: "If I listen, and do what Auntie Dawn says, I will be safe."
Clearly my students don't trust me. There thought proceses must go something like this, "This lady doesn't know me. How does she know what is good for me. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz".
So, what can we learn from this? A few things I think. First, it is really important to keep the trust we have established between our children and ourselves. We need to make sure that we tell our children the truth, albeit some version that they can actually understand. We can't take short-cuts because they are easy for us. If they figure out that we have mislead them, they won't understand that we were exagerating/fibbing/pretending to know, just to save time or because we were tired, they instead will learn to distrust us.
Second, we must work hard to establish trust amoung anyone we want to pay attention to us. We can start by letting our students get to know us, at least a little, and getting to know them. Share our interests and some experiences. We can also let them know when we don't know the answers.
Maybe if I work at it a little harder, more of my students will stick there toes out before they walk on slippery sidewalks!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Man, am I getting old!
Last night a couple of friends and I went out for drinks. Nothing unusual about that, we do it often. Last night however, we went to the "Rockin' Rodeo." While that is not unusual for my friends, I had never been there. Regardless, we were all acting like a bunch of old women (which we were, from the perspective of most of the people surrounding us).
Here's what I mean. As soon as I walked in, I could see a billion little tiny girls with barely anything on. OK - that's from my 'Old frigid lady' perspective. There were billions of girls, and they were wearing some pretty skimpy attire, but hey, what's wrong with showing a little skin??
So we get our drinks and sit down at a bar table not far from the dance floor. Again, very quickly I notice that all the girls are walking through the bar holding hands and the 'Old frigid lady' inside of me says "What's wrong with these girls? Can't they find enough gumption inside themselves to walk through a bar without being physically attached to their best friend?" OK - what's really wrong with that. Didn't we all used to have to go to the bathroom in pairs? I guess this is the modern day version of that.
So we continue to drink, and observe. Next we see a group of girls, a team, or a set of bridesmaids or something, all dressed in the same slinky white tank top, asking boys to sign it. That's when I caught myself being the 'Old frigid lady'. The girls were having fun, just like the guys, and I was trying to find something wrong with what they were doing. But what's wrong with a little flirting in a bar! Ikes, I really am getting old.
Not to long after that, one of my friends leaned over to me and said, "Why are all the girls trying to show off their boobs". This was rather funny coming from Karen, since she is very well endowed herself and does quite a bit to hide her 'gifts'. She followed up with, "if it were all about boobs, and I showed a little more, I could bring the whole bar over to our table". After a pause, and a swig of her drink, she sat back and said "I'm getting old."
Here's the thing. We didn't see anything unreasonable last night. The girls were out and flirting, showing off their pretty little bodies, hanging with each other in support, and the boys were out enjoying it. I guess they were strutting there stuff aswell, but baseball hats and bangs flipped up don't register for me as what's hot to trot. Bottom line - good for them. Out, having fun. Maybe picking-up, let's hope being safe and responsible about that. Didn't we all do that in our day?
Of course we did. And people our age looked back at us as if we were doing something naughty. When did I turn into my mom? Well, maybe not quite yet. Here's to the meat market. May I respect it for another few years yet (at least as much as I did when I was a part of it - which thinking back, wasn't all that much, hmmm...).
Here's what I mean. As soon as I walked in, I could see a billion little tiny girls with barely anything on. OK - that's from my 'Old frigid lady' perspective. There were billions of girls, and they were wearing some pretty skimpy attire, but hey, what's wrong with showing a little skin??
So we get our drinks and sit down at a bar table not far from the dance floor. Again, very quickly I notice that all the girls are walking through the bar holding hands and the 'Old frigid lady' inside of me says "What's wrong with these girls? Can't they find enough gumption inside themselves to walk through a bar without being physically attached to their best friend?" OK - what's really wrong with that. Didn't we all used to have to go to the bathroom in pairs? I guess this is the modern day version of that.
So we continue to drink, and observe. Next we see a group of girls, a team, or a set of bridesmaids or something, all dressed in the same slinky white tank top, asking boys to sign it. That's when I caught myself being the 'Old frigid lady'. The girls were having fun, just like the guys, and I was trying to find something wrong with what they were doing. But what's wrong with a little flirting in a bar! Ikes, I really am getting old.
Not to long after that, one of my friends leaned over to me and said, "Why are all the girls trying to show off their boobs". This was rather funny coming from Karen, since she is very well endowed herself and does quite a bit to hide her 'gifts'. She followed up with, "if it were all about boobs, and I showed a little more, I could bring the whole bar over to our table". After a pause, and a swig of her drink, she sat back and said "I'm getting old."
Here's the thing. We didn't see anything unreasonable last night. The girls were out and flirting, showing off their pretty little bodies, hanging with each other in support, and the boys were out enjoying it. I guess they were strutting there stuff aswell, but baseball hats and bangs flipped up don't register for me as what's hot to trot. Bottom line - good for them. Out, having fun. Maybe picking-up, let's hope being safe and responsible about that. Didn't we all do that in our day?
Of course we did. And people our age looked back at us as if we were doing something naughty. When did I turn into my mom? Well, maybe not quite yet. Here's to the meat market. May I respect it for another few years yet (at least as much as I did when I was a part of it - which thinking back, wasn't all that much, hmmm...).
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Happy New Year...
...hope this one is better than the last! Even if you had a great last year, all hope is that this year will be even better.
As for me, looking forward to more writing, more research, more love and more fun.
I guess this is where I step back and be thankful for what I have, because it's all pretty good right now! Here's a recap of the things I am most thankful for from last year (not in any particular order):
Kevin
Biff and the Gang and all the writing that came from it
My NSERC
Soccer, soccer and more soccer
Katy
All my fellow Descomers
Shelley and Karen and our trip to TO
Calum's health
Scoring
My health
Drunken nights with Bill
My SWE students
All the downtime with my parents
Dinners at Frederics with the geriatrics
Drinks and movies with Big K
The Wall
Two papers and my grad students
Roger
Sarah, Shamus and a great night in Moncton with Kris and Karen
Kris and a crap load of wine
...and so much more...
As for me, looking forward to more writing, more research, more love and more fun.
I guess this is where I step back and be thankful for what I have, because it's all pretty good right now! Here's a recap of the things I am most thankful for from last year (not in any particular order):
Kevin
Biff and the Gang and all the writing that came from it
My NSERC
Soccer, soccer and more soccer
Katy
All my fellow Descomers
Shelley and Karen and our trip to TO
Calum's health
Scoring
My health
Drunken nights with Bill
My SWE students
All the downtime with my parents
Dinners at Frederics with the geriatrics
Drinks and movies with Big K
The Wall
Two papers and my grad students
Roger
Sarah, Shamus and a great night in Moncton with Kris and Karen
Kris and a crap load of wine
...and so much more...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)