It's ok to Like Poetry

Not to long ago in class we were having a discussion about renaissance men. The kind of guy who was into everything from sports and fitness, to music and poetry. Men were not one dimensional people like they seem to be today. Sports, hunting, and trucks seem to what the majority are involved in (at least where I come from.) Poetry, theater, and things of beauty will get you labeled as gay and not a man. Now it should be known that I own a truck, and I coach sports. I believe in strong body equals strong mind. I also think that things of beauty add to your personality as well. Now poetry has never been one of my big things, but lately I have read more and more. I think it is a shame that more men don't get into these things because society has dictated that men don't do that. So I figured I would share a poem by a man named Wilfred Owen. He fought and died in World War I, not the kind of guy most men would figure would write poetry. His poems were in an effort to deal with the things he experienced on the front. However, he was called back to the front in 1918 and he died two weeks before the war ended.

"Anthem for a Doomed Youth"

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
--Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them from prayers or bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

- Wilfred Owen

Mmmm, the Sweet Feeling of Learning

Doing good research, teaching six classes, sponsoring one club, and coaching one sport is not easy at the same time. However, I am managing to write my papers, and do my reading, or most of it. There are very few feelings as awesome as finishing a paper you have been working on. You spend all that time reading on it, making outlines, marking arguments, reading some more, forming a thesis, and then finally writing it. At the end you have a creation of your own mind, your ideas in the form of a coherent (hopefully) argument.

I have been doing the majority of my research and writing after school between 3:00 and 6:00 sometimes later. At night I try and do the reading I need to do which is anywhere between 50 and 100 pages. Anywho, I am writing this because I have just finished the second out of five papers I have to write for my current class, American Economic History.

Now I know I am going a little overboard on what is required for these. But I don't have gears lower than full tilt. To be honest I really, really like doing the research and writing papers. When I got done with my paper tonight I felt accomplished, I looked at the finished product and knew that through my work I had increased my own abilities as an academic. I am better than I was two weeks before because I wrote it. Even if it doesn't turn out to be as good as my last one which was pretty damn good I will learn something from it.

I have missed the feeling of being in class. That feeling of working towards something, something I am afraid to say I have not been feeling at my job lately. I love being in the classroom and I love teaching but I just don't get that same feeling that I am working towards a goal. Instead, I am just apart of a factory churning out products. These feelings have led to a lot of thoughts that could be very life changing, and we will see where they end up.

Don't touch me while I am touching me!

It is a shame that I even have to write about this, but I am going to anyway. To set it all up I was in Buffalo Wild Wings the other day for lunch (mmm chicken sandwich). I had to use the restroom and while I was walking to the urinal another guy entered the restroom. He walked up to the urinal RIGHT NEXT TO ME! It should be noted I was the only other person in the room. As we were doing our business the man TURNED HIS HEAD TO TALK TO ME, and then as he was leaving and I was still going (I drank a lot ok) he patted me on the back. It was horrific and I am still traumatized.

What has happened to society that we cannot even follow basic urinal etiquette? I mean I can no longer feel safe using the bathroom, I am going to have to use the stalls until I feel comfortable again. So as a refresher course I am going to provide some basic rules when you are using the restroom.

1.) ALWAYS leave at least one empty urinal between you and the next guy unless you have no other option. In my case he had plenty of choices but chose to get close, NOT COOL! Guys require a level of space and he violated mine in a most detestable manner.

2.) Talking in the restroom is ONLY allowed while you are in line waiting to go, or while you are washing your hands (unless you are in a bar when no guys wash their hands and i'll explain why later.) At the urinal one-on-one talking is a no go unless you know the guy next to you, or you are shouting a random comment for the whole room to hear. Just do what your mom told you and don't talk to strangers.

3.) Never for any reason are you allowed to turn your head while you are at the urinal. This might be the most sacred of all urinal etiquette rules. I shouldn't even have to explain why you can't do this it is self-explanatory so just don't do it, I don't care if you know the guy beside you. Your only options are to stare at the wall in front of you or to look down in cases where you have been drinking and you have to make sure you hit the target.

4.) This one is for the younger bar crowd. Don't pee in the sink, seriously what is wrong with you? I have seen it happen on more than one occasion. So if I am in a crowded bar and use the restroom don't be surprised if I get back pretty quick because I didn't wash my hands. I mean would you if you have seen someone urinate in the sink?

5.) Never touch me while I am touching me! It is uncomfortable. No pats on the back, slaps on the arm, bumps, nothing. Don't let it happen for any reason.

So there you go this list is not exhaustive, but it is a reminder to ALL men how to act when you are in the restroom.

Don't be that guy.

What the hell do you want from us?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_hi_te/us_teacher_suspended_blog

I found the above article today while I was doing my usual reading during my prep period. Now most wonder why I am not grading, or being "productive," during my prep but the fact is I am. I catch up on important world news, issues in education, and other things that can be used in the classroom. So there....

The article has to do with a teacher in Pennsylvania who ironically started a blog and in some of her posts her frustration with students and education in general boiled over. As a result she has been suspended from her job and is facing possible termination. My only answer to all of this is....

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM US?!?! I mean come on, if the rest of the world only knew what we put up with on a daily basis, yet still put up with societies rambling about how our poor education standing is OUR fault. Oh that is right it's not like I have a real job I am just a teacher. I have been told this on many occasions, and it takes every ounce of energy not to pull a Senator Preston Brooks on them (history joke). The fact is I get to school every morning by at least 7 in the morning, and I don't leave until 5 in the evening. When baseball starts it will be around 6 or 7 when I get home. For those of you people with real jobs that is 10 to 12 hour days 5 days a week. That doesn't count the work I do when I get home, I mean why the hell do you think I am starting a blog? A way to relieve stress and relax, though I am really fired up right now.

Now for the rest of my day. When I am at school I am a teacher, a counselor, and a principal. I am suppose to make sure kids don't bully, cuss, dress inappropriately, talk about inappropriate things, sell inappropriate things, and basically make sure they act like decent human beings. The amount of rules that are in need of being enforced are endless, and the list keeps growing as kids inability to act in a way that befits school grows as well. I have heard things and seen things that would tear your heart out. I won't discuss any of them for obvious reasons but you get the point. Oh by the way I have to teach 4 sections of world history, 1 section of advanced placement american history, and 1 section of sociology at the same time. The fact that they are ill-prepared for my class in just about every way is another problem, but a topic for another blog.

This year I coached two sports I will concentrate on the one I am about to coach, baseball. This means every day after school I have to hurry up and go get dressed then rush down to the baseball field for a hour and a half practice. I am head JV baseball coach with no assistant, should be awesome. On away game nights I probably won't be home until 9 or 10 o'clock at which point I can work on things for my classes. Dealing with parents is the funnest part. The same parents who are so interested in sports are the same ones who won't come to a single meeting when it comes to what we teach in school.

During all this I am also trying to further my education. Makes sense for a teacher to do this right? I mean you would want your kids teacher to be a life long learner. Ironically, at this point in my career it would make more financial sense to keep coaching than to go back to school. I know it is short-sighted but it is hard not to be.

Now for the cherry on top. Go ahead and read any newspaper about what we need to change in education and it will be dedicated to teachers. "We need to evaluate them more, we need to get rid of tenure so we can get rid of bad teachers, if only we had better teachers our kids would be doing better. We already don't pay them much, lets start cutting their retirement too, I mean it's not like they have real jobs." Hey you know what, you can shove it up your ass. Ever think of looking in the mirror? Education is pretty low on our societies priority list.

Lets go back to this teacher in Pennsylvania. So she uses a blog to vent her frustration, big deal. Probably not the best idea, but when you are put in a position where whatever you is under scrutiny you feel like a guinea pig in a cage with no place to let it out. The biggest problem is they want to just get rid of her instead of I don't know, listening to what she has to say. Teachers are the ones in the classrooms, we are the ones who face the problems day in and day out. We are the ones who are on the front lines, but when we talk about it we are ignored. Yeah sure there are bad teachers out there. Ever think that maybe they were beaten down to the point of not caring? I am in my third year teaching, and every year my idealism is torn just a little bit more. The majority of teachers who quit do so within the first five years. Either you keep your innocence and idealism and get out, or you stay on and turn into a bitter teacher who works for the paycheck.

Whats the moral of the story? If you want to change education for the better shut up and listen to what we have to say, you might be surprised.

Why Oh Why!?

Blogging, why on earth would I want to be part of such a thing? First, I would like to blame Jenna Russell for planting the idea in my head. Second, well I guess I only have myself to blame after that. I have always enjoyed writing, well I take that back I haven't always enjoyed it. Not until my senior year of high school when a certain Mrs. Hahn showed me. That is neither here nor there, so let us take a left turn back to the point. I will use this first blog to introduce myself. All of my likes and dislikes and then you may decide if you ever wish to read it again.

My name is Seth and I teach high school history. I lead a fairly boring life revolving mostly around teaching, but also sponsoring clubs, coaching sports, and going to night classes as I slowly but surely earn my masters in history. I teach history so you can be assured that I am interested in many things that would define me, according to my students, as a "geek." These include all things history with particular interest in religion, and most recently economics. Also, of recent interest to me is the colonial period, and no I don't know quite why yet. I keep myself engaged in the political wrangling of today as well. Most would define me as slightly to the left, but I like to refer to myself as an extreme moderate. I keep an open mind on most things and am willing to debate as long as you stay on topic and act like a grown up. I am of course interested in education since that is my chosen profession. I believe our education system is beyond fouled up and is in need of a serious revamping. I will probably write about it on many occasions so if you are going to follow be ready for it. It should be noted that I was a history person before I became a teacher. By that I mean I studied history long before entering the classroom. To make a long story short my dad started reading history books to me when I was about three and I have been hooked ever since. I do like music. Favorite bands include, but are not limited to: Dispatch, State Radio, The Eli Young Band, The Zac Brown Band, The Temptations, Etta James, Otis Redding (and to keep it short I like just about all old school Motown), The Allman Brothers, The Beatles, Jackson Browne, and the list could go on and on. I love all types of music except when they scream bloody murder into a microphone, not my thing. I enjoy the theater and musicals as well, and no I don't care if that makes me sound weird. For that matter I have performed in a number of both plays and musicals. I read, a lot. I am really into Russian classic literature including Dostoevsky, and American classic literature like Hemingway and Twain. I also read more current books, but when I do they tend to be historical narratives, or on current affairs. I enjoy running, but right now that is about non-existent and hopefully when summer rolls around I will be back at it.

So you now know a little bit about me, but again why I am I blogging? Mainly, it will be to get things out of my head and put them on "paper." If you are expecting a bunch of postings about my personal life though you can forget it. Getting all deep about things to share with the world is not something I am willing to do. I will probably talk about things going on in my life, but you are not a psychologist, and I am not on your couch so don't get too nosey. They will mostly revolve around whatever is on my mind at the time, and since my mind is in high gear pretty much 100% of the time who knows what I might get to talking about.

Before I end this first blog I will answer a question that is sure to be asked. Why did you name your blog "The Last of the Romantics?" Consider it an ode to one of my favorite historical figures Teddy Roosevelt. He was himself considered one of the last romantics. He was the kind of guy who did what he thought was right and did not care what anyone else thought. He was an extremely intimidating figure, and it was not in your best interest to get in his way. He loved the outdoors and slaughtering animals en masse. At the same time he studied birds, poetry, and attended the theater. He climbed mountains, yet he also read for hours and hours on end. He led soldiers into battle, and hung with rude and crude cowboys, but also refused to sit while a woman was standing in the room. He was a man who could not be pinned down with a simple explanation, and maybe I would like to think a little bit of that is in me as well.