The 32nd edition of the Carnival is up here. It is shorter than normal, but there are some great Spring photos.
Peace
..._
29 March 2008
26 March 2008
Midweek Miscellany: Four Trees, the Wrong Trousers, and a New Five
It seemed like such a good idea: Plant a tree for each child in our backyard. My seven-year-old son has a silver leaf maple that is now over twenty feet tall. My daughter has redbud that bloomed for the first time last year, but has not grown much lately because of the Georgia drought. I haven't decided which trees will be the twins'. I planted five trees last year, and we will probably wait before assigning trees. Two weeks ago my eldest informed his mom that we can't move until he has grown up and saved enough money to buy our house so he can have the tree. Last week was my Spring Break.
Since my seven-year-old son was not off, I helped get him ready for school each day and walked him to the bus stop. On Thursday I picked out his clothes for him. Something didn't look quite right with the jeans, but we were in a hurry. He came home having had a bad day (he got a red star). His Mom looked at him funny, examined his jeans, and laughed for fifteen minutes. The jeans belonged to his five-year-old sister. I feel like such a heel. I fear that my lack of child-wear savvy was somehow the cause for his red star.
In the true spirit of Miscellany: Some bits concerning my daughter. She has just turned five, which means that she is now in her third year of the terrible twos. She is a sensitive and opinionated child. She has asked me to teach her to read, and she is picking it up very quickly. The flashcards I made for her brother and that he didn't need because he already knew all of the words are coming in handy. A couple of weeks before her birthday, she was setting up her Barbies for a wedding when she realized that something was missing. She asked, "Daddy, are there boy-Barbies?" After telling her that there was such a thing, she asked for a "Wedding boy Barbie" for her birthday. Princess Bride has become one of her favorite movies. In spite of my fumbling attempt to properly raise a girl, she gives excellent and frequent hugs. I look forward each day to the enthusiasm with which she greets me when I return home.
I have shared before some of the unusual google searches that bring people to my blog. Some are slightly icky. Some are funny. Some are so suggestive of a story behind the search that I wish I could contact the person who made the search. Here are some of more interesting recent ones with my comments in italics (I was going to hyperlink each one to each post that it lead to, but I decided that I was much too lazy for something so time intensive):
"going commando school"
"name tag silver magnets"
"jury duty excuse note for teachers"
"changing a child's surname of pumkinhead"
"lego nomenclature"
"does your wife mow the lawn"
"marathon mowing"
"Spring Zephyr"
"how long does Publix keep security tapes"--I really want to know what this person did at Publix to make them so concerned
"letter with curses"
"stomach fat survival"
"goose or pope"--Interesting choice. I favor the pope.
"smartboard hyperbole"--I am probably guilty of a bit of this, but I love my SmartBoard!
"why did I marry a nerd"
"ice age theme of redemption"
"the wiggles get busted for drugs"
"kennesaw mt lord of the flies"--I wonder if the seeker ever found a connection?
"sergent york's achievements"
"what is truett cathy's favorite sport as a kid"
"American English supermarket deli conversation"
"leg braces crippled lover"--Should there be a comma after "braces" or did the braces, in fact, cripple the lover?
"a guy roasting marshmallows on a fire with a tornado"--My personal favorite; I don't know why
"poe, about monkeys"
"tofu grinder"
Peace
..._
Since my seven-year-old son was not off, I helped get him ready for school each day and walked him to the bus stop. On Thursday I picked out his clothes for him. Something didn't look quite right with the jeans, but we were in a hurry. He came home having had a bad day (he got a red star). His Mom looked at him funny, examined his jeans, and laughed for fifteen minutes. The jeans belonged to his five-year-old sister. I feel like such a heel. I fear that my lack of child-wear savvy was somehow the cause for his red star.
In the true spirit of Miscellany: Some bits concerning my daughter. She has just turned five, which means that she is now in her third year of the terrible twos. She is a sensitive and opinionated child. She has asked me to teach her to read, and she is picking it up very quickly. The flashcards I made for her brother and that he didn't need because he already knew all of the words are coming in handy. A couple of weeks before her birthday, she was setting up her Barbies for a wedding when she realized that something was missing. She asked, "Daddy, are there boy-Barbies?" After telling her that there was such a thing, she asked for a "Wedding boy Barbie" for her birthday. Princess Bride has become one of her favorite movies. In spite of my fumbling attempt to properly raise a girl, she gives excellent and frequent hugs. I look forward each day to the enthusiasm with which she greets me when I return home.
I have shared before some of the unusual google searches that bring people to my blog. Some are slightly icky. Some are funny. Some are so suggestive of a story behind the search that I wish I could contact the person who made the search. Here are some of more interesting recent ones with my comments in italics (I was going to hyperlink each one to each post that it lead to, but I decided that I was much too lazy for something so time intensive):
"going commando school"
"name tag silver magnets"
"jury duty excuse note for teachers"
"changing a child's surname of pumkinhead"
"lego nomenclature"
"does your wife mow the lawn"
"marathon mowing"
"Spring Zephyr"
"how long does Publix keep security tapes"--I really want to know what this person did at Publix to make them so concerned
"letter with curses"
"stomach fat survival"
"goose or pope"--Interesting choice. I favor the pope.
"smartboard hyperbole"--I am probably guilty of a bit of this, but I love my SmartBoard!
"why did I marry a nerd"
"ice age theme of redemption"
"the wiggles get busted for drugs"
"kennesaw mt lord of the flies"--I wonder if the seeker ever found a connection?
"sergent york's achievements"
"what is truett cathy's favorite sport as a kid"
"American English supermarket deli conversation"
"leg braces crippled lover"--Should there be a comma after "braces" or did the braces, in fact, cripple the lover?
"a guy roasting marshmallows on a fire with a tornado"--My personal favorite; I don't know why
"poe, about monkeys"
"tofu grinder"
Peace
..._
The World Is Too Much With Me: A Visit to John's Mountain and Keown Falls
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
--William Wordsworth
Spring Break came early to my school this year. We were off last week, and I was ready for the break. Teaching is a wearying profession. I do not like to gripe about my chosen profession. I chose to teach and, considering the many benefits of the career, it seems disingenuous to gripe about my every little frustration. Too many teachers seem to have received certification in elementary complaining and secondary whining and can see nothing but the dark side of teaching. They poison the staff room and the blogosphere with bitterness, frustration, and anger. I have learned to avoid the AJC education blog and certain other blogs for this reason. At times I have had to avoid certain teachers for fear that I might become, as my former boss put it, "a disgruntled teacher."
Putting that gripe aside for now, the exhaustion that comes with teaching compounds itself with each pointless meeting, failed lesson plan, nasty e-mail. Every day is a five-hour performance and must be one of commanding a captive audience. A teacher can feel his normal happily gruntled self on the road to losing his gruntle. Students perceive this and a break is often the only thing that can stave off disgruntledness.
So I took one day of my Spring Break and went to the Northwest Georgia mountains. Preferring the Northeast Georgia mountains, I have never spent much time exploring Northwest Georgia. Suspecting that they must be feeling my neglect, and desiring to see something new, I conducted about five minutes of intensive internet research and headed up I-75.
Even when trying to get away from it all, I can't stop thinking about finding things for class so I first made a brief stop at a little antique mall in Calhoun (exit 315, turn right and it is immediately on the right). I purchased a Max Boot book, and headed northwest into the mountains.
I ended up parking at the top of John's Mountain. At the end of a long gravel road is the small parking lot, but I had no trouble finding a parking space as I had the only car there. The trailhead lacked any of the typical directions, mileage, trail information, or bear warnings. Instead there is a stunning overlook facing west, a trail that heads south down the ridgeline, and another trail that plunges down the east face of John's Mountain.
As I emerged from my car, I was nearly overwhelmed by the awesome silence. There was no breeze, and even if there had been one, there was not yet any foliage to rustle. I heard not the buzzing of an insect, nor the cry of a bird, nor the sound of far off people. It is at times like these that I am grateful that I do not possess an I-Pod to drown out the awful silence.
There is something that draws us to falling water, and I wanted to get to Keown Falls but was unsure which trail would lead me there. The online guides that I had read were of little help. I knew the falls are to the southeast of the parking lot; one trail heads east and the other aims south. My mountaineering instinct urged me to take the descending east trail, for falls must fall, but my curiosity wanted to follow the ridgeline so I headed south. The geography of John's Mountain reminds me of Kennesaw Mountain without the bloody history. It has the same mix of trees, lichen-covered outcroppings of gray rock, and openness. Eventually, I came upon the head of a stone lion emerging from the mountain. My wife assures me that I am not just seeing things.
The lion puts me in the mind of Wordsworth's The World is Too Much with Us:
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
Eventually, the trail strikes east to an arm of John's Mountain, and then ambles roughly north while descending in some mild switchbacks and offering some stunning east-facing overlooks. I came to the conclusion that the trail forms a loop. After about an hour hike, I found Keown Falls. The falls do not carry much mass (and, I read, it tends to dry up in late summer), but the descent is dramatic and the viewing platform provides a nice view.
There is signage at the falls. The Pinhoti Trail passes by and another trail leads down the mountain to another parking area. The signs warn all comers of the mortal dangers of slippery rocks and also confirmed that the trail does indeed loop back to the John's Mountain overlook. Access behind the falls, however, is not lethal. The hike back is. The return loop of the trail ascends nearly straight up the mountain and, though shorter than the other arm of the loop, is much more strenuous.
One of the benefits of hiking on a Friday in early Spring: I saw only one other person on John's Mountain (a jogger) and a family at the falls that had hiked up from the valley. Days like these refresh the soul, clear the mind, and grant the body the true rest of the weary. I need more days like these to get restore my gruntle.
I left John's Mountain and drove south down Furnace Valley, discovered a lovely old CCC camp that is now a Forest Service campground called the Pocket, and a promising trout stream called John's Creek. I shall return again with family and a fishing pole.
Peace
..._
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
--William Wordsworth
Spring Break came early to my school this year. We were off last week, and I was ready for the break. Teaching is a wearying profession. I do not like to gripe about my chosen profession. I chose to teach and, considering the many benefits of the career, it seems disingenuous to gripe about my every little frustration. Too many teachers seem to have received certification in elementary complaining and secondary whining and can see nothing but the dark side of teaching. They poison the staff room and the blogosphere with bitterness, frustration, and anger. I have learned to avoid the AJC education blog and certain other blogs for this reason. At times I have had to avoid certain teachers for fear that I might become, as my former boss put it, "a disgruntled teacher."
Putting that gripe aside for now, the exhaustion that comes with teaching compounds itself with each pointless meeting, failed lesson plan, nasty e-mail. Every day is a five-hour performance and must be one of commanding a captive audience. A teacher can feel his normal happily gruntled self on the road to losing his gruntle. Students perceive this and a break is often the only thing that can stave off disgruntledness.
So I took one day of my Spring Break and went to the Northwest Georgia mountains. Preferring the Northeast Georgia mountains, I have never spent much time exploring Northwest Georgia. Suspecting that they must be feeling my neglect, and desiring to see something new, I conducted about five minutes of intensive internet research and headed up I-75.
Even when trying to get away from it all, I can't stop thinking about finding things for class so I first made a brief stop at a little antique mall in Calhoun (exit 315, turn right and it is immediately on the right). I purchased a Max Boot book, and headed northwest into the mountains.
I ended up parking at the top of John's Mountain. At the end of a long gravel road is the small parking lot, but I had no trouble finding a parking space as I had the only car there. The trailhead lacked any of the typical directions, mileage, trail information, or bear warnings. Instead there is a stunning overlook facing west, a trail that heads south down the ridgeline, and another trail that plunges down the east face of John's Mountain.
As I emerged from my car, I was nearly overwhelmed by the awesome silence. There was no breeze, and even if there had been one, there was not yet any foliage to rustle. I heard not the buzzing of an insect, nor the cry of a bird, nor the sound of far off people. It is at times like these that I am grateful that I do not possess an I-Pod to drown out the awful silence.
There is something that draws us to falling water, and I wanted to get to Keown Falls but was unsure which trail would lead me there. The online guides that I had read were of little help. I knew the falls are to the southeast of the parking lot; one trail heads east and the other aims south. My mountaineering instinct urged me to take the descending east trail, for falls must fall, but my curiosity wanted to follow the ridgeline so I headed south. The geography of John's Mountain reminds me of Kennesaw Mountain without the bloody history. It has the same mix of trees, lichen-covered outcroppings of gray rock, and openness. Eventually, I came upon the head of a stone lion emerging from the mountain. My wife assures me that I am not just seeing things.
The lion puts me in the mind of Wordsworth's The World is Too Much with Us:
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
Eventually, the trail strikes east to an arm of John's Mountain, and then ambles roughly north while descending in some mild switchbacks and offering some stunning east-facing overlooks. I came to the conclusion that the trail forms a loop. After about an hour hike, I found Keown Falls. The falls do not carry much mass (and, I read, it tends to dry up in late summer), but the descent is dramatic and the viewing platform provides a nice view.
There is signage at the falls. The Pinhoti Trail passes by and another trail leads down the mountain to another parking area. The signs warn all comers of the mortal dangers of slippery rocks and also confirmed that the trail does indeed loop back to the John's Mountain overlook. Access behind the falls, however, is not lethal. The hike back is. The return loop of the trail ascends nearly straight up the mountain and, though shorter than the other arm of the loop, is much more strenuous.
One of the benefits of hiking on a Friday in early Spring: I saw only one other person on John's Mountain (a jogger) and a family at the falls that had hiked up from the valley. Days like these refresh the soul, clear the mind, and grant the body the true rest of the weary. I need more days like these to get restore my gruntle.
I left John's Mountain and drove south down Furnace Valley, discovered a lovely old CCC camp that is now a Forest Service campground called the Pocket, and a promising trout stream called John's Creek. I shall return again with family and a fishing pole.
Peace
..._
03 March 2008
Monday Miscellany: Pennies, Epics, and Partisan Teachers
I left school a little early on Friday so I could cash in the high school's Pennies for Patients coins. I fed coins into the CoinStar machine at Kroger for an hour. By the time I was done, my back was aching, my fingers were blackened from many filthy lucres, at least four other CoinStar customers had turned away upon seeing my haul, and $1,320 worth of coins had been donated to Pennies for Patients.
One day, after the 117th time of claiming to be bored, my eldest son was instructed to write a story by his mother. The story concerned an epic underwater battle between a chicken and a spidershark. The sentence construction of the second sentence made me laugh out loud. Here is the entire story for you enjoyment with original spelling and grammar preserved:
1 Day a chicken went under water and rose and sew a spidershark and aimd at the spidershark and hott [hit] the spidershark and the spidershark ate the speer! And back and forth it was. The SS [spidershark] shoot it from it's moth [mouth] soon the SS was dead chicken got a gold metel. The End.
When I first started teaching government I decided to teach the subject as neutrally as possible while attempting to challenge the beliefs of my students. I did not think it would be enlightening to merely parrot those students who agreed with me, nor did I think it would be fair to only attack the beliefs of those students with whom I disagreed. My stance on this generally drives my students crazy. They want to know. Earlier this year a student tried to draw me out by claiming, "You're a liberal. All teachers are liberal, right?" Certainly the most vocal of the teachers at my new school are strong partisan democrats, but I refused to fall into his trap. Early this semester a student asked me why so many people hate Hillary Clinton. I spent about twenty minutes discussing partisanship, politics in America, the history of the Clinton family, and the importance of judging people and issues for yourself. That night she left this comment on the class blog:
I just wanted to say that our discussion today in class gave me a whole new perspective on politicians. Thanks Mr. C!
Last spring, I enthusiastically supported Clinton for president (because I really wanted a woman president) however when I shared my enthusiasm with some of my fellow students and teachers, they showed an immense dislike and maybe even hatred towards the woman. Therefore, I began to falter and came to really dislike her too. I had no idea why I disliked her, but just because everyone seemed to, I did too. They said she was a witch and other bad stuff and so I thought so too, which is pretty shallow. But then again, I only supported her in the beginning because she was a woman.
But after today, I stopped 'conforming' and decided to actually think about some of my beliefs and decisions. Instead of listening to other people's opinions about the person, I've actually started to look into the different policies and beliefs the candidates supported and etc. Hmm, I kind of feel smarter now. :P
Thanks again~
Peace
..._
One day, after the 117th time of claiming to be bored, my eldest son was instructed to write a story by his mother. The story concerned an epic underwater battle between a chicken and a spidershark. The sentence construction of the second sentence made me laugh out loud. Here is the entire story for you enjoyment with original spelling and grammar preserved:
1 Day a chicken went under water and rose and sew a spidershark and aimd at the spidershark and hott [hit] the spidershark and the spidershark ate the speer! And back and forth it was. The SS [spidershark] shoot it from it's moth [mouth] soon the SS was dead chicken got a gold metel. The End.
When I first started teaching government I decided to teach the subject as neutrally as possible while attempting to challenge the beliefs of my students. I did not think it would be enlightening to merely parrot those students who agreed with me, nor did I think it would be fair to only attack the beliefs of those students with whom I disagreed. My stance on this generally drives my students crazy. They want to know. Earlier this year a student tried to draw me out by claiming, "You're a liberal. All teachers are liberal, right?" Certainly the most vocal of the teachers at my new school are strong partisan democrats, but I refused to fall into his trap. Early this semester a student asked me why so many people hate Hillary Clinton. I spent about twenty minutes discussing partisanship, politics in America, the history of the Clinton family, and the importance of judging people and issues for yourself. That night she left this comment on the class blog:
I just wanted to say that our discussion today in class gave me a whole new perspective on politicians. Thanks Mr. C!
Last spring, I enthusiastically supported Clinton for president (because I really wanted a woman president) however when I shared my enthusiasm with some of my fellow students and teachers, they showed an immense dislike and maybe even hatred towards the woman. Therefore, I began to falter and came to really dislike her too. I had no idea why I disliked her, but just because everyone seemed to, I did too. They said she was a witch and other bad stuff and so I thought so too, which is pretty shallow. But then again, I only supported her in the beginning because she was a woman.
But after today, I stopped 'conforming' and decided to actually think about some of my beliefs and decisions. Instead of listening to other people's opinions about the person, I've actually started to look into the different policies and beliefs the candidates supported and etc. Hmm, I kind of feel smarter now. :P
Thanks again~
Peace
..._
01 March 2008
Fun with the US Senate!
Patiently waiting to be graded, the tests are in my briefcase by the front door. There are times I just want a unit to go on and on because of the simple fact that I despise grading tests and ending a unit means giving a test. My unit on the legislative branch finished up this week; in this case I didn't want the unit to end because it was so much fun.
We started with a screening of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I used to be nervous before showing Mr. Smith as there was no way to know how students would respond to it. One, it is old. Two, it is in black and white (every time I show it a student blurts out in the first ten seconds in a voice of painful despair, "Is this in black and white?"). Third, it is about the U.S. Senate. Fourth, it has moments of such unflinching patriotism as to seem propagandistic by today's standards (in fact, Frank Capra would go on to direct the Why We Fight series for the War Department during World War II). After a few showings, I now know how students will respond: the majority of the class always ends up liking it, some students end up loving it, a few are bored to tears, and the entire class is disappointed at the abrupt ending (according to IMDB, the ending was cut down after a test screening).
Now that the movie had inspired the students, we went to my week-long senate simulation. This was only the second time I used this simulation, but I was encouraged that a plurality of the students agreed when a student asked, "Why can't we just keep doing this?" In retrospect, I suppose that could have just been a implicit criticism of my lectures.
The last major activity of the unit involved exploring Thomas. Thomas is the searchable Library of Congress database of legislative activity. I found it by accident while exploring the official website of the US Senate. On a whim and utilizing my SmartBoard, I took my students to Thomas and searched for the legislative records of John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. My students found the results shocking.
Hillary Clinton has sponsored or cosponsored 152 pieces of legislation this term.
Barack Obama has sponsored or cosponsored 113 pieces of legislation this term.
John McCain has sponsored or cosponsored 37 pieces of legislation this term.
On the surface, my students concluded that it looks like Clinton is a serious legislator and McCain is a no-show. Then they read through the bill summaries.
My students concluded that:
Clinton is a legislative lightweight, sponsoring bills such as
S.CON.RES.10 : A concurrent resolution honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 98th anniversary.
S.CON.RES.26 : A concurrent resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart and commending recipients of the Purple Heart for their courageous demonstrations of gallantry and heroism on behalf of the United States.
S.CON.RES.27 : A concurrent resolution supporting the goals and ideals of "National Purple Heart Recognition Day".
S.RES.20 : A resolution recognizing the uncommon valor of Wesley Autry of New York, New York.
S.RES.92 : A resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of soldiers of Israel held captive by Hamas and Hezbollah.
S.RES.176 : A resolution recognizing April 30, 2007, as "National Healthy Schools Day".
S.RES.222 : A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.
Obviously, this is a stacked selection and most of these types of bills fall at the top of her list while later bills are much more serious.
My students concluded that Barack Obama was driven by one interest:
S.CON.RES.5 : A concurrent resolution honoring the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry and the first and only African-American chemist to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
S.CON.RES.25 : A concurrent resolution condemning the recent violent actions of the Government of Zimbabwe against peaceful opposition party activists and members of civil society.
S.CON.RES.44 : A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued honoring Rosa Louise McCauley Parks.
S.CON.RES.46 : A concurrent resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month.
S.RES.133 : A resolution celebrating the life of Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson.
S.RES.268 : A resolution designating July 12, 2007, as "National Summer Learning Day".
S.RES.383 : A resolution honoring and recognizing the achievements of Carl Stokes, the first African-American mayor of a major American city, in the 40th year since his election as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
These are the first seven items on Obama's list. Like Clinton, he sponsored more serious legistation later in the term, but "National Summer Learning Day?" What?
Finally, my students concluded that despite McCain's relatively small sponsorship of bills, McCain is a serious legislator.
S.32 : A bill to reform the acquisition process of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
S.83 : A bill to provide increased rail transportation security.
S.84 : A bill to establish a United States Boxing Commission to administer the Act, and for other purposes.
S.85 : A bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to clarify that territories and Indian tribes are eligible to receive grants for confronting the use of methamphetamine.
S.86 : A bill to designate segments of Fossil Creek, a tributary to the Verde River in the State of Arizona, as wild and scenic rivers.
S.166 : A bill to restrict any State from imposing a new discriminatory tax on cell phone services.
S.192 : A bill providing greater transparency with respect to lobbying activities, and for other purposes.
S.327 : A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites associated with the life of Cesar Estrada Chavez and the farm labor movement.
According to my students, even serious legislators have to occasionally sponsor light legislation like S.327.
As we were wrapping up the discussion, I told my students that light legislation is the bulk of legislation proposed by our esteemed members of Congress. They were genuinely angry and disappointed that so much time is wasted on feel-good resolutions. I a fit of hyperbole I assured my students that I was sure that some Congressman had introduced a bill glorifying the chili dog. They challenged me so I turned to Thomas, confidant that something would turn up. No dog, but this bill on chili, reproduced in whole for your enjoyment:
101st CONGRESS
2d Session
H. J. RES. 465
To provide for the designation of chili as the official food of the United States of America.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 30, 1990
Mr. INHOFE introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service
JOINT RESOLUTION
To provide for the designation of chili as the official food of the United States of America.
Whereas chili is an indigenous American cuisine that was created, refined, and approaches perfection only in the United States;
Whereas chili enjoys a universal popularity throughout the width and breadth of this great land that is unequalled by other American foods;
Whereas chili is a succulent, distinctive blending of meats and spices that has economically nourished countless millions of Americans since its historic inception in the nineteenth century;
Whereas chili's composition encompasses the best ingredients and hospitable traditions of the varied cultures that have been blended in the American melting pot experience;
Whereas chili's acclaim transcends America's regional and ethnic culinary favorites;
Whereas chili is a truly egalitarian cuisine whose vast popularity prevails with American people of every economic and social strata, unifying gastronomes and those with more proletarian palates as its devotees;
Whereas chili embraces the highly individualistic traits of America's heritage through its infinite varieties, highly personalized blending of ingredients, and many adaptive uses;
Whereas the state of the art of chili preparation has been signifcantly advanced in recent years through the phenomenal growth of a stimulus for culinary excellence known as chili cookoffs, which are unique, convivial festivals held in every State of the Union that often raise many thousands of dollars for deserving charities as an ancillary benefit;
Whereas chili is a definitive food whose hearty, committed character embodies the robust and indomitable American spirit; and
Whereas in view of the foregoing facts and of precedent whereby other appropriate national symbols of history, culture, and patriotism, such as the bald eagle, the rose, the Star-Spangled Banner anthem and the Stars and Stripes flag, have been declared official representatives of Americana: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That chili be designated as the official food of this great Nation and that the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to commemorate this designation with appropriate celebrations throughout our land.
Note: Congressman Inhofe spelled "siginifcantly" wrong, and Blogger doesn't know how to spell "Barack" or "Obama."
Peace
..._
We started with a screening of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I used to be nervous before showing Mr. Smith as there was no way to know how students would respond to it. One, it is old. Two, it is in black and white (every time I show it a student blurts out in the first ten seconds in a voice of painful despair, "Is this in black and white?"). Third, it is about the U.S. Senate. Fourth, it has moments of such unflinching patriotism as to seem propagandistic by today's standards (in fact, Frank Capra would go on to direct the Why We Fight series for the War Department during World War II). After a few showings, I now know how students will respond: the majority of the class always ends up liking it, some students end up loving it, a few are bored to tears, and the entire class is disappointed at the abrupt ending (according to IMDB, the ending was cut down after a test screening).
Now that the movie had inspired the students, we went to my week-long senate simulation. This was only the second time I used this simulation, but I was encouraged that a plurality of the students agreed when a student asked, "Why can't we just keep doing this?" In retrospect, I suppose that could have just been a implicit criticism of my lectures.
The last major activity of the unit involved exploring Thomas. Thomas is the searchable Library of Congress database of legislative activity. I found it by accident while exploring the official website of the US Senate. On a whim and utilizing my SmartBoard, I took my students to Thomas and searched for the legislative records of John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. My students found the results shocking.
Hillary Clinton has sponsored or cosponsored 152 pieces of legislation this term.
Barack Obama has sponsored or cosponsored 113 pieces of legislation this term.
John McCain has sponsored or cosponsored 37 pieces of legislation this term.
On the surface, my students concluded that it looks like Clinton is a serious legislator and McCain is a no-show. Then they read through the bill summaries.
My students concluded that:
Clinton is a legislative lightweight, sponsoring bills such as
S.CON.RES.10 : A concurrent resolution honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 98th anniversary.
S.CON.RES.26 : A concurrent resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart and commending recipients of the Purple Heart for their courageous demonstrations of gallantry and heroism on behalf of the United States.
S.CON.RES.27 : A concurrent resolution supporting the goals and ideals of "National Purple Heart Recognition Day".
S.RES.20 : A resolution recognizing the uncommon valor of Wesley Autry of New York, New York.
S.RES.92 : A resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of soldiers of Israel held captive by Hamas and Hezbollah.
S.RES.176 : A resolution recognizing April 30, 2007, as "National Healthy Schools Day".
S.RES.222 : A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.
Obviously, this is a stacked selection and most of these types of bills fall at the top of her list while later bills are much more serious.
My students concluded that Barack Obama was driven by one interest:
S.CON.RES.5 : A concurrent resolution honoring the life of Percy Lavon Julian, a pioneer in the field of organic chemistry and the first and only African-American chemist to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
S.CON.RES.25 : A concurrent resolution condemning the recent violent actions of the Government of Zimbabwe against peaceful opposition party activists and members of civil society.
S.CON.RES.44 : A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued honoring Rosa Louise McCauley Parks.
S.CON.RES.46 : A concurrent resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month.
S.RES.133 : A resolution celebrating the life of Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson.
S.RES.268 : A resolution designating July 12, 2007, as "National Summer Learning Day".
S.RES.383 : A resolution honoring and recognizing the achievements of Carl Stokes, the first African-American mayor of a major American city, in the 40th year since his election as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
These are the first seven items on Obama's list. Like Clinton, he sponsored more serious legistation later in the term, but "National Summer Learning Day?" What?
Finally, my students concluded that despite McCain's relatively small sponsorship of bills, McCain is a serious legislator.
S.32 : A bill to reform the acquisition process of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
S.83 : A bill to provide increased rail transportation security.
S.84 : A bill to establish a United States Boxing Commission to administer the Act, and for other purposes.
S.85 : A bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to clarify that territories and Indian tribes are eligible to receive grants for confronting the use of methamphetamine.
S.86 : A bill to designate segments of Fossil Creek, a tributary to the Verde River in the State of Arizona, as wild and scenic rivers.
S.166 : A bill to restrict any State from imposing a new discriminatory tax on cell phone services.
S.192 : A bill providing greater transparency with respect to lobbying activities, and for other purposes.
S.327 : A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites associated with the life of Cesar Estrada Chavez and the farm labor movement.
According to my students, even serious legislators have to occasionally sponsor light legislation like S.327.
As we were wrapping up the discussion, I told my students that light legislation is the bulk of legislation proposed by our esteemed members of Congress. They were genuinely angry and disappointed that so much time is wasted on feel-good resolutions. I a fit of hyperbole I assured my students that I was sure that some Congressman had introduced a bill glorifying the chili dog. They challenged me so I turned to Thomas, confidant that something would turn up. No dog, but this bill on chili, reproduced in whole for your enjoyment:
101st CONGRESS
2d Session
H. J. RES. 465
To provide for the designation of chili as the official food of the United States of America.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 30, 1990
Mr. INHOFE introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service
JOINT RESOLUTION
To provide for the designation of chili as the official food of the United States of America.
Whereas chili is an indigenous American cuisine that was created, refined, and approaches perfection only in the United States;
Whereas chili enjoys a universal popularity throughout the width and breadth of this great land that is unequalled by other American foods;
Whereas chili is a succulent, distinctive blending of meats and spices that has economically nourished countless millions of Americans since its historic inception in the nineteenth century;
Whereas chili's composition encompasses the best ingredients and hospitable traditions of the varied cultures that have been blended in the American melting pot experience;
Whereas chili's acclaim transcends America's regional and ethnic culinary favorites;
Whereas chili is a truly egalitarian cuisine whose vast popularity prevails with American people of every economic and social strata, unifying gastronomes and those with more proletarian palates as its devotees;
Whereas chili embraces the highly individualistic traits of America's heritage through its infinite varieties, highly personalized blending of ingredients, and many adaptive uses;
Whereas the state of the art of chili preparation has been signifcantly advanced in recent years through the phenomenal growth of a stimulus for culinary excellence known as chili cookoffs, which are unique, convivial festivals held in every State of the Union that often raise many thousands of dollars for deserving charities as an ancillary benefit;
Whereas chili is a definitive food whose hearty, committed character embodies the robust and indomitable American spirit; and
Whereas in view of the foregoing facts and of precedent whereby other appropriate national symbols of history, culture, and patriotism, such as the bald eagle, the rose, the Star-Spangled Banner anthem and the Stars and Stripes flag, have been declared official representatives of Americana: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That chili be designated as the official food of this great Nation and that the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to commemorate this designation with appropriate celebrations throughout our land.
Note: Congressman Inhofe spelled "siginifcantly" wrong, and Blogger doesn't know how to spell "Barack" or "Obama."
Peace
..._
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