Thursday, September 10, 2009

It's all histroy now



And I'm teaching it! I really enjoyed teaching civics last year. I love the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, articles of confederation, how a bill becomes a law, Levels of government, responsibilities of citizen, supreme court cases. I love teaching all that stuff. But, I really love teaching American history. I think the part I really like are the stories. There are so many of them. Some are funny, some are sad. Some are just plain crazy. But it's these stories that,woven together, creates the fabric of America. I wish I was better at telling the stories. That will come in time as I get more familiar with the stories and their details. I had several history teachers over the years who were master story tellers. They were able to keep students engaged in the story by the way the told the tale. No one could spin a yarn like Dr. Caz at UNO. True, I couldn't always understand some of the words because of his very thick accent, but the stories were great.

I also like being able to show the students how we got here. Our history is not always a pretty one, but we try to learn from those mistakes in order to create a "more perfect union". Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we fail. But America, and Americans, keep moving forward beleiving in the hope of porsperity and progress. And I think that's why I like history. Because I can look at my own personal history and see the mistakes I have made and learn from them. I can overcome my own bad decisions, make progress and become prosperous. Everyday I tell stories about people who weren't afraid to try. Our founding fathers tried. They knew if they failed they would pay with their lives. I can learn from that. I will never know what I am capable of if I don't try.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Dress shoes continued

I don't like the way the feel. I don't like the way they look. I hate dress socks. they are uncomfortable. The don't make dress socks for people with a size 13 shoe. Thus, all of the socks are too tight. and they are all too thin, then they have extra tight elastic around the top to keep them up. It's like a heroin band around your ankle all day(from what I hear). But, my current employer does not allow us to wear running shoes except on Fridays. So, I'm trapped. I bought a new pair of rockport slip-ons, which in general are pretty comforatble. But the opening is a little tight. So, when i slide my foot in the shoe it puls the sock even tighter. I've gotten into the habit of leaving the socks buhed up by my toes because i know they will be pulled when I slide the shoes on.

I guess this is just a rant because I miss the comfort of my running shoes. I do look more professional in dress shoes. I guess I will just suck it up and deal with it. I just don't like it