Happy 2011

This is a recipe for the Happiest New Year!

Merry Christmas to all . . .

and to all a good night . . .

Mean Girls Mentality

Boys run in packs, girls join cliques. The club is open - for a while - but slowly, slowly, slowly the door closes. Once the door is closed, it's almost impossible to enter. I know, I'm a girl.

And from there the "Mean Girls Mentality" commences. Mean girls are selfish and connive:  to get their own way, to get what they want.  Mean girls behavior is often  referred to as "relational aggression". (click here to find out more).  Common tactics include: gossip, rumor spreading, exclusion, ignoring, intimidation and alliance building. These are covert forms of aggression.  Like, how can you explain to a teacher that Susie/Mary/Bonnie's "looking" at you is hurtful?  How can you complain about someone saying "ew"?  Motivation for this behavior can vary but includes: Fear, Power, Control, Popularity, Security. Unfortunately, this is often an adolescent reality.  Time marches on and little girls usually grow up and leave behind unsuitable conduct.

BUT how do we survive when mean girls morph into mean women and invade the workplace and show-up as your line manager or the wannabe girl at the office who steps on everyone's ideas to get ahead?  And I ask myself - ahead of what or whom? This mean girls mentality is especially harmful in an environment where support and encouragement should be the tools of the trade.

It only takes one mean girl (or the perception of one mean girl) to set things into motion and transform the workplace into a catfight zone with claws unsheated and everyone hissing. Once that occurs the force of the dysfunction drives it forward on a course all its own.  There's no turning back then and all the members of the organization take a quantum leap back in time.  They resort to teenage behavior.  What a pity.

All I can say is that I hated being 14 when I was 14, I don't like it any better this time around.

I'm pulling out.

Meow . . .

gobble, gobble

So much of life is what we make it.  Make time today to think of all the "good" in your life:   good people, good opportunities, good moments, good books and try to be a person that your parents would be proud of.

gobble, gobble

Against the wind. . .

Against the wind
I'm still runnin' against the wind
I'm older now but still runnin' against the wind . . .

Resize your problems. . .

After school on Friday I was talking to one of the other teachers. We were talking about some problems which have been cropping up at work.  She explained that as she has a little boy, she needs to put away problems in the evening and focus on her family life.  The expression that she used was - "resize problems".  It's such a great way to think about it.  Instead of spending all our extra available time caught up in circular thinking in which a problem spins out of control, we have the option of  "resizing" it and making it smaller. Good idea!

 Elena, thanks for another way of looking at things.

Boo!

Bragança, Portugal region

Here in Europe Halloween isn't really a big deal but as the world becomes more of a global village cultures and festivals are crossing.

Yesterday my English B students were doing a bit of research on Halloween and we established that there were festivals held at the this time of the year by the Celts (from the 5th century BC) and they believed that "spirits of all those who had died the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess. The Celts thought that by dressing up in ghoulish costumes they could frighten the spirits away."

Portugal has Celtic origins and funnily enough way in the north in a region sparsely populated (Bragança) near the border with Spain there is a tradition of donning costumes and masks on October 31.

So beware the 31st of October wherever you are. . .

Happy birthday to me . . .




Another birthday, not mine.
Although I am the child on the right in this photo, I was standing on the left. Funnily enough  I'm still very much to the left these days - lol.

 1951 was the year that:

• Harry S. Truman was President,
• Alben W. Barkley was Vice President,
• Nuclear testing began at the Nevada test site,
• The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, limiting a President to 2 terms, was ratified,
• Second Red Scare: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. On April 5 they are sentenced to receive the death penalty,
• Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I opens on Broadway and runs for 3 years,
• The 23rd Academy Awards ceremony is held; All About Eve wins Best Picture,
• Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau,
• In Joplin, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument to honor an African American,
• Walt Disney's 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, United Kingdom,
• The American soap opera Search for Tomorrow debuts on CBS. After over 30 years, the show switches to NBC on March 26, 1982. Search for Tomorrow airs its final episode on December 26, 1986,
• Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan to formally end the Pacific War,
• Tennessee Williams's adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire premieres, becoming a critical and box-office smash,
• MGM's Technicolor musical film, An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, premieres in New York. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli. It would go on to win 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture,
• I Love Lucy made its television debut on CBS,
• Judy Garland begins her legendary concerts in New York's Palace Theatre,
• CBS' Eye logo premieres on TV,
• U.S. President Harry Truman declares an official end to war with Germany,
• The first military exercises for nuclear war, with infantry troops included, are held in the Nevada desert,
• Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States,
• John Huston's drama film, The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, premieres in Hollywood,
• The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $13.3 billion USD in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

After WW2 there was a sharp rise in the US population.  There were 3,820,000 babies born in 1951.  I belong to a group called Baby Boomer cohort #1 (born from circa 1946 to 1955), who epitomized the cultural change of the sixties.  

Memorable events: the Cuban Missile Crisis, assassinations of JFK, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., political unrest, walk on the moon, risk of the draft into the Vietnam War, anti-war protests, social experimentation, sexual freedom, drug experimentation, civil rights movement, environmental movement, women's movement, protests and riots,Woodstock, mainstream rock from the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix

Key characteristics: experimental, individualism, free spirited, social cause oriented  - yeah, this sums it up nicely!

Someone called me Arrogant today . . .

Arrogant? Me? I don't get it so I looked it up online and came up with the following definition thanks to: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/arrogant.

Arrogant: adjective
1. Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance.
2. Marked by or arising from a feeling or assumption of one's superiority toward others: an arrogant contempt for the weak.

 Am I/Was I arrogant when I:

• finally listened to others and started night school to further my education and earn a degree?  No, I would call that : Industrious.
• applied to study abroad for a semester when I was 39?  No, I would call that:  Curious and Risk-taking.
• decided that in order to live and work in Portugal that I needed  to earn a graduate degree in Education (which wouldn't have been my first choice if I were living in the States but my best option for living abroad and was financed thru loans and financial aid that I am still paying by the way - lol) and get my teaching certificate?  No, I would call that:  Realistic and Committed.
• offer someone my time, ideas, effort, support? No, I would call that: Available, Thoughtful, Generous, Interested.
• developed an interest in Educational Technologies as a way to develop my skill set and improve my chances for opportunities here in Portugal?  No, I would call that: Practical and Mature.
• continued to upgrade my skills by taking a Publisher course and was consequently offered a small gig editing a local newsletter for 2 years?  No, I would call that: Persistent and Tenacious.
• approached the international schools in my area with an idea for an afterschool activity for grammar school kids that would combine learning English with learning basic computer skills (This by the way led to a full time teaching position at one of the schools)?  No, I would call that: Imaginative and Resourceful.
• argue my point based on evidence and research and not "just makin' it all up as I go along"?  No, I would call that: Prepared.
• reveal a lot of my life with this "tell-some" blog for all of cyberspace to critically read and comment on?  No, I would call that:  Brave.

One of the things that I have learned (really learned) in my life is that I need to support what I am saying.  This is true in the scholastic world, the business world and in our personal lives. I try to pass this message on to my students.  You can say whatever you want or hold any opinion that you have but you MUST to be able to support your message/opinion/thesis based on research and evidence with  facts, examples, statistics, and/or quotes.

So, based on the above definition and supporting information, I conclude that I am NOT arrogant.  Now, if someone called me opinionated or suggests that I am stubborn  - Well, that's another post entirely . . .

Sound advice . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28016498@N00/3931122112

The New Math . . . lesson 1



Low income + High tax = Undernourishment/Poverty/Despair


Here in Portugal we have 3 catagories of sales tax (called IVA) and we will see changes in the categories and a tax increase beginning January 1, 2011. 

The catagories:
1.Essential items (food) and medicines fall into the group with the lowest tax rate.  It was 5% and was recently increased to 6%.
2.  The second group includes other basics like cleaning products, personal products like shampoo/toothpaste and wine. The tax on these items was recently increased from 12% to 13%.
3.  The third catagory includes everything else from clothing to furniture to household appliances.  These items were taxed at 21% and will increase to 23% in January.

Can you imagine?  23% sales tax on just about everything else including shoes, coats and school clothing for kids.  The young and the old are going to take a beating on some of the changes.  Items like chocolate milk and fruit will move from the Essential food items list (6%) to 13%.  For many young families with low incomes this will hurt and limit their purchases for home consumption while the tax on wine remains stable  (good idea, limit healthy food options and a treat for kids and encourage everyone to get soused).  The "new" poor in the 21st Century are the young and the elderly (society's Hope and Wisdom).

Here's the equation:

Low income  +  High tax = Undernourishment/Poverty/Despair

Buffoons, morons and idiots - oh my!

Last night I half-watched part of an episode of a relatively new and extremely lame sit-com called Parks and Recreation and got really chipped off. The story line of this mockumentary involved a Valentine's Day Dance for senior citizens and reuniting Leslie's mother with a long lost love. Actually, the episode involved deriding senior citizens - period.  (Check out this clip which NBC lauds as a "HIGHLIGHT" : http://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation/video/ladies-love-mouse-rat/1200953/) 

Like what the hell is that all about? Don't we have anything better to do with our free time than ridiculing and marginalizing portions of our population?  How can we teach kids NOT to ridicule other students when they watch this happening over and over again and disguised as "entertainment" and assume that if all the grown-ups are doing it, then it must be acceptable. It's no wonder there is a lack of tolerance and empathy for others when our "role models" scorn the elderly (and the not-so elderly as well - since when is 63 old?  Seems to me that we are still working and supplementing our kid's-who by the way are pushing 40- incomes at that age . . .) all the while waiting to inherit.

Parks and Recreation is not clever, smart or funny.  What are they thinking?

Since adding "senior citizen" to the list that defines who I am is not that far in the future, I feel that I have earned the right to complain. . .

The morning after . . .

I usually walk on weekend mornings.  There is a 5 kilometer (approx 3 mile) esplanade near my home that offers a pleasant place to promenade along the shore. 

Due to the heavy rains Saturday, this morning's stroll was a shocker. A torrential downpour and high waves took their toll and left a path of destruction that I was surprised to see.  Clean-up crews were on hand at 9am to begin removing rubble and debris.

Too bad there's not a pill for this . . .

Happy birthday John

This song deserves a replay.

My favorite stanza is:
Saving up your money for a rainy day,
Giving all your clothes to charity.
Last night the wife said,
"Oh boy, when you're dead
You don't take nothing with you
But your soul - think!"

Good advice. . .

money, money, money

The Portuguese Prime Minister announced yesterday that in order to balance the budget for next year the State would be taking austerity measures a few of which include: freezing pensions, reducing salaries of state workers (between 3.5% and 10% based on monthly income), and increasing the IVA (sales tax) to 23%.  Looks like we are all headed for the poor house . . .

New life goal

Skinny jeans  . . .

Leadership

Derek Sivers: How to start a movement

Watch video before reading;-)

This is an interesting little video that someone passed on to me last week about leadership with Derek Sivers explaining how to start a movement. I found it really clever and thought provoking. Yesterday I had the opportunity to take this video one step further and try out the theory.

Last night there was a festival called "Endless Nights" in Cascais (which is close to me). There was animation of all sorts: a magic show, pop groups, a Brazillian Carnival show (complete with young girls in skimpy costumes), and stilt-walkers to name a few. Cascais is a touristic area with loads of outdoor restaurants and many of the shops were open to accommodate the crowds.

There was a roving brass band playing typical Portuguese tunes. We met up with them at one point along their circuit and we stood among a crowd of people who encircled the group and formed their audience. When all of a sudden an old guy (yeah, even older than me) jumped into the center and began to dance. It was totally unexpected and he must have been nuts. Well, I thought about the video and decided it was the perfect opportunity to conduct an experiment so I jumped in and started to dance with the nuts guy. I was really curious to see how many others would join us. A couple in their early 50's (tourists I'm sure - lol) were the next to enter. They were really good and showed off their jitterbugging skills. The piece ended too soon and the brass band moved on without us.

It was pretty funny and I wonder if more people would have danced with us if the music had continued . This experiment isn't over yet (lol). . .

The last days of August. . .

Carcavelos Beach, Aug 30, 2010, 9am

I can hardly believe that I have finished 8 weeks of summer vacation. It passed in the blink of an eye. Although not being paid until Sept 1, most of us have agreed to go into school for meetings these last 2 days of August.

I have a new route - an ocean drive - to my new job. This morning as I passed by I saw that there were people already on the beach enjoying these last days of August. . .

Forever fourteen . . .

Today would have been Sophie da Silva's 15th birthday.

Our school is truly international. Sophie was born in Zimbabwe in 1995 and immigrated to Portugal with her parents in 2005.

She was a great kid with a big smile. In addition to being a fab student she was a daughter, sister, dancer, swimmer, sailor, Christian, animal lover, friend. . .

Sophie passed away suddenly on July 6, 2010. A tribute to Sophie's zest for life can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=138548346170598&v=wall&so=30

In the black summer night sky there is a new star shining brightly over the bay of Cascais.

Rest in peace Sophie da Silva. . .

Movin' on - again

It says a lot when an almost over the hill chick living in a foreign country looks for a new job during a global recession - hahaha. Today was the last day of school and my last day at the school. I'm movin' on.

It's been a hell of a year with too many students and too little support. I had an unreasonable workload and the senior school administration turned a deaf ear. There were so many things that I had to do and so many students that the rhythm of my week was exhausting. I never had time to develop my teaching practice and be innovative in my classes. I ran out of steam and patience by Wednesday. What a shame.

What's a girl to do? I heard about the possibility of a new international school coming onto the scene so I dusted off my resumé and knocked on their door.

Even as a child I would sit back and wait for the other kids to play nice. You can only push me so far and then I reach a point that I quit banging my head against the wall to try to understand and accommodate others. I would take my doll and go on home and play alone if need be. But not before telling you just what I think about you. I'm still like that - lol.

My Yearbook 2009/10 was a huge success with everyone saying that it was the best yearbook yet, so I finished the school year on a high note. I left on good terms with new owners (the school was bought by a business group 2 years ago), women in the admin, and the current principal.

I take with me 3 years of MYP experience, lots of memories and enough stories to keep me blogging for a long time to come.

I'm not goin' away mad, I'm just movin' on.

Again . . .

25 years later

This was my house. Newly married I moved into this house in January of 1985. It was bought in one of those movin' back to the city urban-renewal phases that cities and 30 somethings go through. It was a 9 room 2 1/2 story neglected Victorian townhouse in the National Historic District of Manchester. And you can just imagine how many coats of paint it took to give it a new lease on life.

I passed by on a recent visit to Pittsburgh when I took many a trip down memory lane. I was disappointed to see that it was once again on the decline. The peeling paint on the front of the house which seemed to be caused by water damage made me wonder if the roof was leaking somewhere. It cost a bundle but we replaced all of the oversized wooden windows on the front of the building because they were rotting/rotted and I worry that water damage will hasten this. The trim/door/brick colors are all wrong and I seem to remember that the city planted a tree in front of the house which is missing.

I moved to Cincinnati at the end of June, 1988.

I loved that house . . .

Descartes taken one step further. . .

I think therefore I drink

there's no place like home . . .

“Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, there's no place like home.”

I'm homesick . . .

José Saramago

The Portuguese Nobel prize winning author, José Sarmago, died today. He was 87. He was a natural "story-teller" but his ideas/views/books were controversial causing him to move abroad.

I attended a lecture that he gave a few years ago (2004) at a local library and you didn't need to be conversant in Portuguese to see that he was a good man. Afterwards at the book signing, he reassured those standing in a long queue not to worry about waiting as he would be the last person to leave the hall. He was that kind of person.

I cherish my copy of Baltazar & Blimunda signed by José Saramago. It was a pleasure to meet him.

May he rest in peace . . .

little black dress

It used to be that one needed to have a little black dress stashed away in the back of the closet. You never knew when an invitation to dine with friends at a new restaurant, a cocktail party, happy hour after work with co-workers or a date with the cute Price-Waterhouse auditor might arise. A girl just had to be prepared. . .

Fast forward 25 years (give or take 5) and the little black dress has taken on a completely different look. Now we need to have appropriate attire to wear to a funeral. Luis' cousin, who was in his mid 70's, died last night. His health has been declining during the past couple of years. Although home after a recent hospital stay, his death was totally unexpected and has taken us all by surprise. He was buried this afternoon.

May he rest in peace . . .

Before I do anything else today . . .

Before I do anything else today I would like to reflect on the moving situation. One thing that people don't take into consideration is the emotional impact that downsizing has. We are collectors; we spend a lifetime collecting things and memories. While I have moved more times than I care to remember and my transatlantic move forced me to leave behind lots of "things", I am once again facing that process of going through each and every item I own (paper/document/book/picture) and making a decision - pitch or keep, trash or treasure????? Although I've done this before, it's not any easier.

I've come across forgotten trinkets, revived silver earrings and bracelets, and looked at photos that have taken me back to parties and events long past. School books and papers that I wrote at Miami were revisited. And I began to feel a sense of loss. I was a non-traditional student who LOVED my undergraduate experience. Miami University was a world in which I flourished. My semesters included drama classes, horseback riding, buddhism, along with a semester abroad.

As third year students, a friend and I decided that we needed to also include a minor and we scrambled to find one that would compliment our majors. I finally graduated with a BA in History and a minor in Medieval Studies. In addition to studying the 12th Century and women in the middle ages, I took classes in medieval art and Chaucer. There was a time that I would discuss the iconography of tympanums, eat lunch in the remains of a Roman amphitheater, and go out of my way to travel to Autun (a remote town in France) to marvel at the sculptures of Gislebertus.

And as I write this I wonder what has happened to that woman. That woman who was filled with optimism and positive energy. That woman who was ready to tackle the world. That woman who had a sense of adventure and trusted her own competence. At the moment we are miles apart. I hope I rediscover her among the many boxes left to go through . . .

Summer is on the way . . .

The Jacaranda are in bloom!

Bad cat (part 2) . . .

The bird didn't make it.

Bad cat . . .

Bad cat . . .

It will be 4 years this August that we moved to this area. We went from living in a house to downsizing to an apartment. The house wasn't sold, it was left sitting, waiting. . . Waiting for us to clean it out, waiting for a new inhabitant. Cleaning, organizing, discarding, all that goes with moving on has been at the back of my mind for all this time but it was on the bottom of my long to-do list and well, we never got to it. Now the push is on because Luis' niece and her family will be moving in soon. As soon as we get our stuff out . . . So my Saturday for the past 2 months has been working in the house.

Today while there I heard a lot of loud birds in the front yard and went out to see what the ruckus was about and saw my neighbor's cat with a bird in his mouth. I shouted at him and he took off still holding onto his prey. Four birds chased him home. It was amazing. They were sooooooooo upset.

On impulse a few minutes later I went looking for the cat. I found him on his porch sans bird. As I started home I noticed that the bird was in the middle of the sidewalk - stunned. I picked him/her up and took him home. He/she looked like he/she was in shock. I sat him/her in the front yard (keeping an eye out for cat next door). After a while he/she seemed to be recovering and I hoped that he/she would fly away. All the while the other birds were nearby keeping an eye on their buddy. About 5pm we had to go and a decision needed to be made about the bird.

We put him/her in a small basket with a bit of water and set it on a high outside window sill safe from the neighborhood cats. We won't go back to the house until next Saturday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he/she gets his/her second wind and flys away home.

Bad cat . . .

The Outsider

I live in a world that I don't belong to . . .

Kent State - 40 years later . . .

It says a lot about a people when they kill their young . . .

ain't that the truth . . .

" It's counter-productive to raise kids in a world without consequences." Temperance Brennan

this says it all . . .

new shoes

My first pair of Converse All Stars. All I can say is, "It's about time!"

what a day . . .

cold Lux winters

This café in Place Guillaume has the best chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) in Luxembourg City. You know the kind - smooth, rich and it's served with a spoonful of thick whipped cream. Just what you need to warm you up on cold afternoons.

Ah, yes, I remember it well . . .

This is way fab . . .

I love this song which was made popular years ago by Leon Redbone. I went to see Leon at Graffiti, a very small Pittsburgh venue, in the 80's expressly to hear him sing this. Guess what - to the chagrin of the audience he flatly refused. Go figure . . .

February 4

This is what happens when you have too little time and too many blogs. This entry was meant for my Year 8 kids. I wondered what happened to this (lol).

Let's build a storyboard using Word 2007.

1. Insert a 2-column table into a word document
2. Begin with the Narration
3. Incluce Motion; Music; Title
4. Color Code your information because

Wednesday afternoons . . .

The soccer team practice at a profession soccer school on Wednesday afternoons. I am the teacher that accompanies them . . .

OMG

This was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO Cool! A couple of my students were audience members for the Portuguese equivalent of American Idol.

AND they brought signs for ME!

Rub a dub dub

Window shopping . . .

How much is that kitty in the window?

Farmville. . .

Kids at work!

Everyone engaged!

rain, rain, and more rain. . .

Danger

Today was another cold, rainy day but we walked along the sea anyway in the late afternoon. Every now and again we spotted a surfer or two as the day gave way to night . . .

Remnents of days gone by . . .

Costa da Caparica

This is above a door of a house in Costa da Caparica:

Very rough translation: Welcome are those who visit with good intentions

Somewhere over the rainbow . . .

On Fridays there are "concerts" during lunch in the reception area at my school. Today, as I was walking back to my classroom after lunch I stopped a minute to listen as a music teacher was playing a Wizard of Oz classic . . .

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high.
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue.
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

I gotta a feeling . . .

First day back after the holiday break and after seeing this rainbow on the way to work, I just knew that it would be a good day!

Mimosa - my local coffee shop

Even in January some people prefer an outdoor cafe . . .

50% off - Everything is on sale!

Nothing seems to fit. . .

Happy New Year!