Monday, May 5, 2008

Blame it on the teacher… Mister Teacher that is…

Of course, by all means, let’s blame it on the teacher–Mister Teacher that is for starting this meme and who tagged Edna Lee who then tagged me. I wasn’t going to play, but I didn’t want to fall out of grace with my new friend Edna Lee or get on Mister Teacher’s bad list (Did I mention he started this whole thing).

I’d hate to get “doesn’t play well with others” in my permanent file. Or worse yet, I didn’t want to have to add Edna Lee and Mister Teacher to the “Richie’s Haters Club,” and yes, I’m convinced there is a such a thing. I think there are five charter members and one who sort of waivers in and out.

And I thought to know me was to love me. Sigh.

Well, let’s get this show on the road…or at least on the path…

First things first:

The Rules…

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.


Questions…

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was teaching at another school district advising the newspaper and teaching photojournalism (at that time running a black & white lab) and a Journalism I class. I loved it there, but left three years ago after causing and brouhaha and picking my hill to die on. And yes, it was worth it because it was the right thing to do. You can read about that here if you like.

2. What are my 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

  • Go to the post office
  • Work on the education carnival
  • Write my substitute instruction (because I am headed to California on Thursday for F-U-N… Yippee!)
  • Find my last to-do list
  • Go out for Mexican food tonight in celebration of Cinco de Mayo.
3. Snacks I enjoy…
  • Ginger snaps & green tea
  • Popcorn with Virgil’s root beer (the absolute best on the planet)
  • Anything remotely resembling hor d’oeuvres.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire
  • Hire a personal trainer, masseuse and hair dresser who would be available 24/7
  • Hire someone to clean my house.
  • Buy a house on the beach at South Padre Island in the fab-u-lous Lone Star state and a house in Crested Butte, Colorado
  • Give more money to the Student Press Law Center & the Padre Pio foundation
5. Three of my bad habits:
  • Lack of patience
  • Eating too much
  • Holding grudges
6. 5 places I have lived:
  • San Antonio, TX
  • Fort Worth, TX
  • Amarillo, TX
  • Dallas, TX
  • West Springfield, Virginia
7. 5 jobs I have had:
  • Babysitter
  • Life Guard
  • Pool Manager
  • Reporter
  • Teacher
8. 5 people I want to know more about…but who probably won’t respond…

  • Joanne Jacobs because she is the Queen of the EduSphere. Who hasn’t heard of her? What doesn’t she know? I’d like to have a latte with her and discuss stuff.
  • The Scholastic Scribe because we just recently started corresponding and not only is she another high school journalism teacher, but she’s the high school journalism teacher at the high school I graduated from. Now, what are the odds of that? A gajillion to one? Now isn’t that all just too serendipitous?
  • Old Andrew at Scenes from the Battleground because he can say things like “rubbish” and it’s a bit comforting (as well as disconcerting) that he faces similar challenges as an educator even though he’s an ocean away.
Well, that’s it…Gotta go and work on my to-do list… if I could just find it…

11 comments:

oldandrew said...

Cheers for that. I will try and answer properly if I have time but it may take a while.

I am left wondering what is it Americans have about the word "rubbish".

And "bloke".

And "wanker".

All perfectly normal (if not all polite) words. I guess Americans do have some very ideas about the English.

Although now I think about it I do have really bad teeth.

Mister Teacher said...

Hey, I didn't start this, I'm just a link in the chain! I was tagged by Matthew K Tabor!!

Melissa B. said...

tagged ya back! enjoy, and eat some good Mexican for those of us who live up in Yankee Land!

Sarah Hanawald said...

Hi--this is really just a fan letter. I love your blog. I didn't know about the award though. I'm proud to be in the same profession as you. Thank you.

Why comment today when I usually just read and enjoy? Well, I referenced Pizza Andy on another blog and thought you should know: http://awaitingtenure.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/hard-questions-are-the-best-questions/

PS--I'm married to someone who is also prepared for a Star Wars emergency. They do grow up into respectable citizens.

Clix said...

Hey, Richie, can I get a subscription to your school's newspaper for next year?

Anonymous said...

I have a grandson with a Cinco de Mayo birthday, and he chose Italian food for our celebration last night. The restaurant wasn't very crowded, so I guess everyone else was out dining on Mexican food. Thanks for the snack ideas. I'll have to try that root beer.

Tim said...

Thanks for the tag, and I hate to get on your bad list, but I'm going to decline the invitation. The hardest posts I ever write are ones about myself and I always find it difficult coming up with anything for these memes that would interest some other than my mother.

On the other hand, thank you also for letting me know about your blog. Anyone who "detests stupidity, but is easily amused" is worth keeping an eye on. :-)

Edna Lee said...

First off, a great big Thank You for laying the blame squarely on Mister Teacher's shoulders. Don't let his charm fool you. He's the culprit who started this whole nasty business. Riiight, it was "Matthew K Tabor." Like we don't all use him as our scapegoat at one time or another.

I couldn't agree with you more about getting to know Old Andrew better, and I wish I had thought of it myself. I do enjoy his blog.

Have a great time in my beautiful state of California. I don't know where you'll be, but hopefully it's sunny and warm (which it isn't right now in southern CA...sorry).

askthehomediva said...

Thanks to those who posted such nice, kind words :-)

And, Clix, email me your address… email me at mybellringers@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

What fun! Thanks for including us.

Devonia said...

After reading of your experience with censorship, I'm nodding instead of shaking my head and tsking. That took guts and dedication, both to your students and to "higher ideals". As a parent, I am immensely impressed and comforted that this blog isn't a true reflection of your student's classroom experience. What a relief!

I remain a bit concerned about the "Texas Hick" stuff. My nightmare was that my children would emerge from Texas public schools sounding similar to the way you write - like Molly Ivins on steriods.

It simply isn't acceptable, nor amusing "out in the professional world". Trust me on this.

They didn't. Thank God moms apparently have a stronger influence on speech patterns than peers and teachers.