A Year Pursuing We The People

Gobble Gobble! What to do the day before Thanksgiving...

2009-11-25T11:35:00.002-05:00

You try teaching 11th graders on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I dare you. Really.

I'm not quite sure what it is about this day -- whether it is the anticipation the students have towards the upcoming mini-break, the exhaustion that many teachers are at at this point in the year that they don't have the energy to be the way they usually are in the classroom, or maybe its just a day on which teachers and students realize that there are things that are more important than what they know -- such as the people around them -- and, therefore, they simply just want to talk.

This year, I showed my students a West Wing episode called "Isaac and Ishmael," and episode that was produced a few years after 9/11, which explores the conflict of civil liberties and national security during the age of terrorism. It is a great episode for students not only because it discusses this conflict in an good way, but also because the episode focuses around a group of 11th and 12th grade students that get stuck in the White House during a lock down, and spend the day talking with the White House senior staff (If only this were to have happened to me when I was in 11th grade...)

Aside from this, here are things I have done with my students the day before Thanksgiving, or for that matter, any other break:

1) Show episodes of family guy and explain all the references the kids think they get, but don't
2) Go through every state, and wait for one student to say "Wait, that's a state?"
3) Allow students to imitate you in front of the class, and then act as them so they see how ridiculous they can be sometimes
4) Have students clean or organize the classroom
5) Play Chess
6) Have students push all the desks to the side of the classroom and then do flips over desks
7) Order Dominican Food and have your students explain to you what everything is because you have no clue
8) Go through the website you spent many hours putting together for them, but forgot to tell most of them that it existed until that day
9) Have students make up every single piece of work they are missing
10) Put your hands in the air and give up -- Hey, Its Thanksgiving!

If you have any other ideas, share!

Terribly Sorry

2009-11-15T18:00:00.003-05:00

So I hope to continue much more with this, but I definitely have not posted in the last 6 months, and so for that I am sorry!

I went last night to see the Radio City Rockettes, and it was quite a show. One thing that I noticed right off the bat was that it was most definitely not the normal theater going crowd, as half the theater was empty/still standing as the show started. I can't imagine that being the case in for a broadway production...or maybe I'm just being a little harsh.

Anyways, definitely a good time -- and you get a 3D tour of New York, along with a song of sung by 100 Santas.

Cool.

My First Ticket

2009-04-14T18:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I got my first parking ticket ever.

It was for letting my meter run out. The sad thing is that I was literally sitting across the street in a coffee shop, and didn't even notice what was going on.

Yet, someone up above must have known it was my Spring Break, and happily made sure that the village of Evanston has ticketing policies which are foolish.

The price of the parking violation? 10 dollar. That's cheaper than the garage parking decks in the city. Next time I go to the movies I might just leave my car in a spot rather than paying for parking.

The Double Edged Sword That Is Pandora

2009-04-13T14:17:00.002-04:00

Pandora is a double edged sword.

It is amazing as a product and a tool. I can listen to music that I enjoy for free, even though my iTunes library has about as extensive a collection as Bodega's in the Bronx have of Kosher food.

However, it has a single flaw: It removes the mystery of why you like the music you like.

Whenever someone asks me what type music I listen to, I struggle to explain to them what my taste in music is. I name a few bands, somehow settle on "Alternative Rock" as what I enjoy, and leave it at that.

Now, with Pandora, I can tell them that it is not necessarily "Alternative Rock" that I enjoy, but rather, I enjoy music that "features electronic rock instrumentation, a subtle use of vocal harmony, major key tonalities, electric rhythm guitars and a dynamic male vocalist."

I'm not quite sure if that's a good or bad thing, but right now it's just not what I need. If you have any good Alternative Rock songs/bands to suggest to me, please do so. However, if I need some new music that "features electronic rock instrumentation, a subtle use of vocal harmony, major key tonalities, electric rhythm guitars and a dynamic male vocalist," I'll let Pandora figure that out for me.

Confused

2009-04-12T21:00:00.002-04:00

So I recently was invited to sign onto Twitter by someone. I have never had the intention to get involved with Twitter, especially since I currently don't have a Smart Phone that would make it more useful.

However, in the last 48 hours I have posted a few times to Twitter, and been conversing here and there simply through my laptop.

The problem is that I now I'm confused what should be communicated directly to people by text, what should be twittered, and what I should blog about.

I guess this is something I should blog about. Decision made.

I also think I might start making lexiconic slogans to describe what you can do with texts, blogs and twitters, like the ones Comcast created to promote their Triple Play package.

My first one, and I encourage you to come up with others, is:

Twextogger - A person who uses their phone to twitter as a means to replace their blog.

I hope to never become a Twextogger.

P.S. In the beauty of the computer age, I was able to just tell to blog spot to "Add" Twextogger "to Dictionary"

Why Bill Cosby Became Famous

2009-04-11T11:14:00.003-04:00

Bill Cosby was right about one thing: Kids say the darnedest things.

There is a family guy episode in which Stewie gets on Cosby's Show and says, "I was under the impression the name of the show was "Kids Say the Darndest Things," not "Old Black Comedians Never Shut the Hell Up." (Sorry for the political incorrectness...) Anyways, there is a reason why people watched that show. Kids do say the darnedest things.

As the youngest in my family, I never had the opportunity to watch a little sibling grow up. And so, I never had the chance to laugh at little children do funny things very often.

However, on the second night of Passover, three of my cousins came over for the Seder -- they are ages 3, 7 and 7 (the last two are twins). The twins are of course funny and cute (and can read very well as we were all privileged to hear). Yet, the three year old by far provided the entertainment for the night at the far end of the table.

I have a two friends who teach 3 and 4 year olds, and so I decided to see what this three year old could do. In my infinite wisdom, and slow IV of teacher juices flowing through me, I tried to teach the three year old how to add. This of course was not a task I really thought would be successful, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

Before moving onto using manipulatives (as in AWESOME Duplo blocks from my childhood) as my means of teaching addition, I began by using fingers. We first scaffolded by counting the fingers on my hand, which she did very successfully, making it up to five. I then had her count the one finger on my other hand, which she did successfully. When I put that one finger out, I had used my index finger.

Next came the big moment: What would happen when I put the one finger next to the other five, and asked the three year old how many there were together? Well, this is how it went:

"So if we have five fingers and one hand (I hold up one hand), and on finger on the other hand (I for some reason choose to use my thumb to represent the one finger), and we put them together (and so I put them together), How many fingers are there together?"

The Answer: "GOOD JOB!"

Good Job? Good Job? That's not a number!

It was not for a few moments until I realized what had happened. The three year old, being as literal as possible (How I didn't see this one coming I have no idea....) had seen the single thumb on my right hand pointing up, and concluded that 5 + 1 = Good Job.

It was then that I moved onto the Duplo, and actually, was semi-successful.

Good Job, Sam.

Been Listening All Morning

2009-04-10T12:32:00.005-04:00

Been listening to this song all morning figuring out how to use it in school...

Lyrics:

"I Can" http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nas/ican.html

Basically, it has a good message, good motivation, good medium AND history. Isn't it gold?

Coming Home

2009-04-10T11:56:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday I hopped on a flight back to Chicago to spend Spring Break (and Passover, per the post yesterday) with my family.

In the car on the way back my dad turned to me and said, "So, for the first two nights you're sleeping on the Futon." My brother, sister-in-law and grandmother were staying with us.

However, the question that I keep wondering as a 20 something year old, who was across state lines for college and now continues to live 800 miles away, is when does the home you grew up in stop being your "home"? (yes, I know there is something wrong with the grammatical placement of the quotation marks since they do not include the question mark; however, I don't like how it looks that way).

I'm immediately inclined to answer that question by saying that it stops becoming your home when you no longer have a bedroom that is yours. That is, a bed which you slept in for most of your life, still having most of the furniture that you used, and the general decor of the room (pennants, posters, pictures, books) is still similar.

If that is the case, then my home is still in Chicago. I still have my bed, my blanket, my cubs posters, my pennants from different stadiums, my desk, my bookshelf and my pictures.

My brother lost his room when he got married. Until then, he still had his bed, and room, fully intact -- aside from the treadmill my mom put into his room a number of years ago.

Yet, on some level, having been relegated to two different futons in two nights so that others who were staying with us could make use of my room and what is now the "Den" (which in reality is just my brother's old room with his bed replaced by a futon and newly painted, and, uncharacteristically, accented wall), I'm inclined to say that for someone who comes home 3-4 times a year, my home is away from Chicago.

This is not to say that I don't feel at home here, I do. Fully. Yet, the question that I think makes me decide this is, if my parents wanted to turn my room into something else (which they have contemplated), would I really have any solid reason that they shouldn't? Probably not.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, feel free to leave them.

I Really Am A Teacher

2009-04-09T11:44:00.001-04:00

I really am a teacher.

Not that I didn't realize it before. I always knew that I was a teacher (and sometimes a parent, friend, mentor, adviser, coach, chaperon, gossiper, partner in crime...depending on the day, period, minute or second). However, I hadn't realized how much I had internalized what that means on a day to day basis.

Sure, my friends and I share stories about our days -- whether it is that we figure out how to teach somebody to understand what they are reading, had a kid shout out "MONGOL" at the top of their lungs for 10 minutes, try to calm kids down after a gun was found in the school, explained to little ones what a season is, or had a kid come up to you really excited because they heard that Obama was at a NATO conference (and you taught them what NATO was) -- but those are just school stories.

I realized at my family's first Seder (passover meal) how much of being a teacher has slowly started to infiltrate and influence my everyday life, kind of like an IV tap that so slowly send teacher juices into my veins, yet not enough at one time that I notice it.

As I spoke, I refused to continue until everyone at the table was quiet. As others read from the Haggadah (the story of passover), I got very uncomfortable if people were talking while others were reading. As I read through the additional readings, the first thoughts that popped into my head were, "is there any way I can use this in class?" And, in fact, I can; there is a reading about how the original seal of the United States was supposed to have a depiction of Moses leading the people across the Red Sea as they were fleeing from Egypt, just as the American colonists were fleeing the persecution of the British thrown. As my younger cousins were discussing their college tours, I could not think of their tours or college choices but rather I thought only of where my students would end up -- whether it was fair that my cousins (and myself) had had opportunities that they did not.

I thought to myself, more than anything the whole night, what Passover really means. We are told in the Seder, "Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt," and that God freed you; to remember not just that you were once slaves, but that "you were once strangers in a strange land." I could not help but realize that what I want people in my life to realize more than anything is that they are privileged. No matter what. I have never had to sleep in a room with 5 of my siblings every night, come to class and write on the bottom of my test that I can't finish it because "I'm too hungry," missed school because I have to act as a parent and walk my siblings to school, or work 30 hours a week to help my parents pay the bills.

That is what Passover is telling us: Remember that what you have, you did not always have, and that there are others in this world -- across the country, around the corner, or across the bridge -- that are still waiting for their own redemption. You are privileged.

It amazes me that even my students understand this about themselves. They understand that they are privileged in their own way -- that there are people worse off than they are. They say it. Whenever we discuss a time in history in which people had their rights oppressed, they go into discussions about how bad it is for those people...or how their lives are so much better than those in the Great Depression. I hope that others can learn from their example in understanding what privilege is, and what it means.

That is what passover is about.

Predictions

2009-04-06T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hear it now. Cubs will win the World Series this year.

That's how it starts every year...hopefully, this year, it will finally come true. Not sure how much longer I can last in a city with a history of winning while still holding on to my Cubbies. At least when I was in Washington they hadn't won anything in the last 20 years...

March

2009-03-25T08:42:00.000-04:00

After my first grad class last night, I went outside to go call Macy's about the fact that I never received a bill which I should have received about 2 weeks ago.

Standing on a crisp evening, still light out at 6 o'clock because we have finally hit spring, I talked to a very nice lady in customer service on the phone. She explained to me how best to make sure that I got my payment in on-time, even with the confusion with the mail.

Anyways, about half way through the conversation, five of my students walked outside after their College Now classes that they take twice a week at the City College which I take my graduate classes at. As I saw them leave, I shouted from my admittedly too casual pose on the handicap ramps, "Hey Guys." They turned around, said "Heyyy," and one continued to shout, "Mr. Buchbinder -- you Ghetto." I couldn't help but laugh.

Maybe I am learning something.

Update To Hat Posting

2009-03-02T07:16:00.001-05:00

We have 5 hats. A kind patron of Effy's Coffee shop left a USC Film hat. If you are that person, let me know.

fueiahgfiuehwauifew

2009-03-02T06:27:00.000-05:00

That string of letters is the only possible way to express my feelings right now.

Snow Day. 'Nough Said.

Hats

2009-02-27T08:24:00.000-05:00

I deal with hats everyday.

Mostly though, it's me telling students 3412 times (exactly that amount) to take them off as they walk into class. They aren't allowed. Although, I must say, its not the best battle to pick.

Either way, in honor of that (and because of the simple fact that our apartment has nothing on its walls) we've decided to start decorating our living room with hats. The first 4 went up this morning: GW, a DaBronx spray painted hat, a mets cap and a fighting Irish hat. If you have any hats you would like to donate, please do.

2.5 Hours

2009-02-12T23:48:00.000-05:00

So I have 2.5 more hours of teaching before I go on February break tomorrow. This is exciting.

However, what's even more exciting is the fact that I have a February break. I don't even know what that means. In Chicago the middle of February was just called frozen. I'm not quite sure why the break exists, and I really haven't cared to research it, but I'm glad it does.

One point for New York -- although, it is competing against many for Chicago.

The District Sleeps

2009-02-09T10:01:00.000-05:00

I got back last night from spending 3 days in Washington D.C. with my students at a Junior Statesman of America convention in which the students participated in model congress and political debate events.

A highlight from the weekend came on Sunday as we walked to the bus, and three of my students decided to start conversing and making decisions based on parliamentary procedure in which they motioned to have votes about decisions such as who they should sit next to on the bus, seconding those motions, and then voting for the outcome.

It definitely made my day (along with the freaking AMAZING weather)

Following the Crowd

2009-02-02T22:11:00.000-05:00

First off, apologies to anyone who actually checks this, in that I haven't posted in a while.

Second, I keep seeing people on facebook getting tagged in that 25 things about me, yet I haven't been tagged yet, and am slightly jealous, so I'm going to put 25 things about me here:

1) I go on facebook a lot, but much less than I used to.

2) I really like christmas trees

3) I rarely remember dreams, and if I do I forget what I remembered by the end of the day

4) I've had stitches twice in my life, both in the exact some place on my right eyebrow, 16 years apart.

5) I was bit by my neighbors dog when I was 5 because I was pulling the dogs tail, but when my mom asked if I was doing anything to the dog, I said that I had no idea why he would have bit me.

6) I was at Kerry Wood's 20 strike out game

7) I want to go on a Safari

8) I think mustaches are creepy, although, if you've had one since the 70's you can keep it.

9) I locked my keys in the car at Prom, while double parked outside my dates house, and tried opening the car with a clothes hanger while thousands of cubs fans walked by after a game laughing at us in our formal attire

10) I watch Morning Joe and do the Metro Crossword every morning

11) I wish that I could confine my entire memory or GW basketball from 2004-2007 and forget that anything has happened since then

12) My drink of choice is Gin and Tonic, which helps lend to people's beliefs that I'm an old man

13) One day I want to be the White House Press Secretary, and the closest I've been was getting my picture taken in the White House Press room

14) I really want to spend a day de-friending people I don't talk to anymore

15) I love coffee shops, and could (and have) spend an entire day in one

16) I drink my coffee black

17) One dream of mine in life is to be a contestant on Jeopardy! Additionally, when I played scholastic bowl in high school I often missed questions because I would answer in the form of a question like its required in Jeopardy!

18) Throughout college my roommate would save all the pink straws for me and make me use them if I wanted to use a straw

19) I was photographed for and interviewed for a cover story in Chicago Tribune Magazine in 2002

20) I like meeting new people, enjoy transitions, and consider myself a "Connector" in the words of Malcolm Gladwell

21) Last year in D.C. my apartment had bed bugs and it was one of the worst experiences of my life -- which in some sense means i've had a pretty good life

22) I wrote my thesis on the Political Attitudes of Young Jewish Voters, and found it interesting

23) During the time that I'm writing this I could have done multiple unnecessary things, including going to bed at an early hour

24) One of my students just got a 98 on his U.S. History Regents half way through the year. That impresses me.

25) I like details; I remember everything about most conversations I've ever had, and as a result I often fake not remembering things later on because if I let on that I remembered these things people would think that I'm creepy for remembering them, since most of the time they don't remember ever saying it.

9:30

2009-01-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

I went to bed at 9:30pm.

I haven't gone to bed before 10pm since before I was in college. I woke up today having had 9 hours of sleep (with a few minutes awake at 3am, since my body couldn't FATHOM that I might actually get that much sleep on a school night).

I'm not sure if this will be feasible on a regular basis, especially once Grad School starts up again (which I am dreading), but I think If I can will myself to do go to bed early every so often it will do me lots of good.

I have no bags under my eyes, my first class when great, I feel refreshed.

Try it sometime -- unless you already do -- in which case, tell me how to do it more often.

Old Friends

2009-01-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

Last night I went and saw a friend who was in NYC over her school break. She's now a 7th Grade math teacher out in Watts/Gompers in Los Angeles. While the stories she told about her kids -- good, bad, sad, humorous -- were even beyond most things I've experienced while teaching, that is not what I noticed most about the night.

Last night the people that had gathered to see their friend who was in town were from many different points in her life: Middle school/High school (me), college, and teaching. Yet, each one of those people seemed to have a snapshot of her life as what they knew about her -- even if they had heard a few stories over time, or kept in touch sporadically after our closest years, as I have with her.

I learned from listening to others about her college years, which in reality are all but left out of my experiences with her, and paid close attention to how things are going in her first year of teaching -- especially in comparison to mine. I think its a good thing in some sense that a person can often times be a new person as they move through life into different places -- even if they are not really "new," just placed into different settings, different environments.

Its Friday at school, and thus a much needed Test Day. Good luck students.

Pub Trivia

2009-01-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

Pub Trivia is a phenomenally-odd thing.

One thing that my closest friends know is that I love trivia. I love the idea that I can attempt to show off how much useless information I know, as well as sit around and have a drink with all my other friends who are there for the very same reason.

Every time I know the answer to a question, or hear someone else's explanation to how they know the question, it never fails to amaze me at how little of it we know from our formal educations. In most cases, there is a story, or a scene which can explain how you know the answer -- rarely was it in classroom or a lecture hall.

Maybe it was my inspiration of seeing Slumdog Millionaire, or continuous attempts to as people if when they were younger they read the book A View From Saturday (which you all should at some point), but I think its a really important point to make that most of what we know comes from life as an experience.

Go. Get out there. Learn something today that will be useful useless-knowledge the first time you choose to attend pub trivia.

My Date With A Special Investigator

2009-01-06T13:04:00.000-05:00

I walked into Starbucks at 4pm.

I had planned to meet him at 4:30. He said he's be wearing a suit; sure enough he was.

We both got there a half-hour early. I had been secretly (and not so secretly) excited about it all day. I was going to get to talk to a special investigator! Kinda movie-like, right?

I grabbed a Blackberry Fizzy drink -- I think that's what they are called. I've actually never bought a drink at Starbucks from the refrigerator, I always get something fresh from the bar. I guess was was feeling like trying something new. I mean I was about to be interrogated, right?

We sat down. He flashed his badge. HE FLASHED HIS BADGE. He had a badge. I don't know anyone who has a badge (well I guess police officers, but I don't know any, and I don't think their badge is as cool).

As we sat there for about 45 minutes, we discussed a friend who was applying for a job with a security clearance, and so I basically was quizzed about his entire life, and my involvement in his life. Questions stemmed from how I knew him, when I lived with him and how often I talk about him...to the REALLY fun ones, and ones I nearly burst out laughing during, which included, "Have you ever known this person to have forcibly attempted to overthrow the United States Government?" I also had to confirm that, to my knowledge, he loves his country. Which he does, I assure you.

While this was happening, people in the Starbucks continuously looked over at us in confusion, trying to understand what this conversation was about, and why I was trying to create a time-line of events, as well as why the man across from me cared about someones allegiances to the United States. Although the answer to those questions are not too excited, since it was really just a formal background check, I'd like to think that the people in the Starbucks thought that I was someone exciting, important and maybe even slightly in trouble with the Law.

That would be cool, right? Oh well.

Back to School

2009-01-05T12:52:00.000-05:00

Today, break ended.

I went back to school. It's amazing how as a teacher your anxieties are essentially the same as when you were a student: Fidgety; Unable to fall asleep; Putting off going to sleep since you know you'll be unable to fall asleep; Playing out different scenarios in your head; Wondering if everything you did up until then will be moot.

I finally fell asleep, of course after reading a few political articles. A few about Gaza (none of which I've found say anything new or unexpected anymore), one on public service (which is a must read...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/177725/page/1)

I'm not quite sure what it is that makes me fall asleep. I've started to wonder if I fall asleep or wake up in the same position every night/morning. I think I might do a study...you know, mark down exactly how I am when I get up, kinda like a crime scene. Maybe I'll have chalk marks all over my bed, but who cares. If I can figure out the secret to sleeping the night before something big, it'll be worth it, right?

Another note: I walked into my classroom today while there was another teacher in there, in the middle of teaching. She proceeded to stop to tell me that she liked my sweater and that she got one exactly like it from Old Navy (where mine is from) for each of her nephews. Mind you, this entire 2-3 minute ordeal was done right in front of the class--underscoring of course how young I am, since I'm like her nephew, she said to them. Thanks.

Never Ending Hanukkah Celebrations

2009-01-02T00:21:00.000-05:00

I had my final (I think) Hanukkah Celebration for Chanukkah '08, although admittedly, it occurred in 2009.

One thing that my family has never been able to do is have Hanukkah parties during Hannukah. The intention is always there. The e-mails go out, the family members respond -- each with their own reason as to why having a party during Hanukkah won't work. Sometimes the reasons are legit, such as that they are college students still at school...or...that they are off in some exotic country on a family vacation. I accept that.

However, is it really all that hard to find ONE day during an EIGHT night holiday to all get together? I mean, If I didn't know better, I would think that the reason for Hanukkah being an eight night holiday is because knowing that, as a people, Jews have a tendency to be late, that with eight days we'd be sure to be able to all find time to get together.

Maybe next year it'll work out, right?

A Very New York Experience

2008-12-21T00:34:00.000-05:00

So tonight I had a very New York experience. One that you see on movies, and then say to yourself, "In a City of 8 million people, that would never happen." But it does.

While spending a nice evening with some college buddies, traveling from organic restaurant to Irish Pub to someplace that the girls "could dance," we ran into 5 other college friends who were standing outside the Irish Pub on the Upper West side.

When I first walked outside, I thought that I saw someone that I might have known, but I thought to myself that of course it wasn't possible. Making things even more odd, earlier in the evening I had asked some other college buddies if anyone had been in contact with Jake, one of the friends I ran into. The answer was no.

Anyways, I'm back off to Chicago in a few days. Not much going on at school this week since all my students take the liberty of taking off Monday and Tuesday to go to the DR or PR or some other two letter acronym that ends in "R." I am excited though, we're going with a group Tuesday afternoon to a Dominican Restaurant in the area, which should be phenomenal.

Happy Holidays, Chanukah starts tomorrow night!

Missing Red Cups and Christmas Trees

2008-12-11T15:09:00.000-05:00

I'll say it here and now. I'm obsessed with Christmas Trees.

Yes, I know, I'm Jewish. Maybe its the whole envious about not getting to experience Christmas, but that doesn't really hold up, since Hannukah is a great holiday as well. With Hannukah, one gets to spend time with family and friends, light a menorah, play dreidel, eat good food and sing songs. Not much more one could ask for.

I think the reality is that I like what I associate with the Christmas tree. Generally speaking, stores don't really put out Hannukah items, and if they do, its usually as an "Oh, and we should probably put this to be politically correct..." So its not that I don't associate good things with Hannukah, its just that the Christmas Tree is more emblematic because its more prevalent in society at large.

That said...I associate it with:
1) Walking down the street and having people you don't know smile at you
2) Red cups at Starbucks. Nothing makes me happier than the first day of Red Cups. I must say though, I haven't actually been to Starbucks in a while. Maybe I should go.
3) Covers of Christmas music by famous singers
4) Love Actually (the movie)
5) Horrible Christmas movies that show up every year on TV (yet I still watch them)

I'll think of more as the season goes, and post.

Chicago

2008-11-29T17:23:00.000-05:00

The Midwest is much different than most places (specifically the east and west coasts). And Chicago is much different than the Midwest. There isn't much corn, no large crosses in the middle of cornfields (Ever been to Effingham? http://www.panoramio.com/photo/2780290), and there is wonderful stuffed (not deep dish) pizza.

But in someways Chicago is everything the Midwest is about, and that is why it is the best of both worlds. While still being a major metropolitan area, with skyscrapers, concerts, bars, highways, sports teams, shopping and many other things, it has the feel of home.

Unlike New York, its very hard to get lost here. I know some would say that if you are a true New Yorker, then you don't get lost there either, but I can't buy that. You always feel lost in New York, and maybe thats the appeal of it.

For me though, Chicago is hard to get lost in. It's a city of neighborhoods, you always know where you are, and usually who you are. In New York, its a place to search for each of those things, and maybe thats why I'm there right now. I think Chicago is a place you end up in when you know who you are and want to stay that way.

In other words, I'm happy to be back in Chicago for a few days. Happy Thanksgiving.

On a lighter note, this is a text message I just got from my student:

"Happy thanx giving I noe iz very late I juzz remeberd buh I hope u enjoy da rest of da days we have left lolzz." They are amazing. Be Jealous.

Not as Seen on TV

2008-11-22T17:59:00.000-05:00

Simply put: Synthetic ice does not equal real ice. Don't be confused.

U.S. History Bible?

2008-11-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

So I know that I said this blog wasn't about teaching, and it isn't; however, I cannot resist relaying what happened during my advisory today.

Some background, I'd say most of my kids speak Spanish. There are a few who don't...but most do. The majority of them speak Spanish as their first language.

The conversation turned to church on Sunday, and they proceeded to go into saying things in Spanish that I didn't understand that seemed to be jokes about their churches. They usually at this point, stop, and point out that they should switch back into English so that I can understand them (which I must say is nice of them!) But I told them not to worry, that I would just act like I understood them, and laugh at whatever they were doing.

Then this happened: They proceeded to take the U.S. History Regents Review books off the shelf. I was a bit confused at this point. They then passed out all of the books to everyone, and didn't give me one (not because I was the teacher, but because I was Jewish) and one of the girls started preaching in Spanish...everyone was cracking up, and eventually shouting Amen.

All I could think about was that they had chosen the U.S. History Regents review book as their Bible. If only, right?

New York in the Fall

2008-11-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

So I did something today that I've never really done before. I kinda played hookie from work.

Well not exactly.

I went to bed late last night since grades for the quarter were due, and woke up feeling extremely bad. Not sure if was because I was actually sick, getting sick, or just plain exhausted, but I knew from the beginning that if I went into work today it wouldn't be good for me or for my kids.

So what did I do with the day? A lot.

I lesson planned, made breakfast (eggs and cheese of course), went to my coffee shop, planned out the next month of classes (in theory), went to the Met (and tried to convince them that since I was a teacher I didn't have to donate...doesn't work) and walked through, sat down, and read a book in central park while watching the leaves turn colors and the sun set.

Not sure if anyone else would agree with me, but pretty sure that it rivaled Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Well, maybe not, but it sure was what I needed.

Daylight Savings Time

2008-11-09T19:42:00.000-05:00

So I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop with a few friends, and realized how confusing daylight savings time can be. An hour or so ago, I looked outside and it was dark. I proceeded to look at my watch, and thought to myself, "wow! its a lot earlier than I thought." Just now, about an hour later, I looked at my watch, and realized that it was a lot later than I thought it was. Its just confusing on all accounts.

Last week I had an argument with a friend of mine about whether or not the fact that it currently gets dark at 4:30pm could be considered a good thing. My argument was that it really does give you back time, because when it gets dark early, you think its REALLY late, when in reality it is not. So you basically get back time.

Of course, others would argue that its just a gloomy, dreary byproduct of the Fall and Winter seasons that makes people unhappy. You decide.

The Things I Carried

2008-11-08T00:10:00.001-05:00

When I came to New York I didn't bring a whole lot with me. I basically has what I had stored with some cousins that live in Jersey -- consisting mostly of clothes and other random necessities (Such as a TV, microwave, hangers, and my beloved black vest, which I've finally had a chance to break out in the crisp fall weather here in New York).

Now I've never been one to take the time to decorate my room, but I decided when I went home for my Brother's wedding a few weeks into August that I would take some things back with me to decorate my room. So what did I choose? Well, I brought my diploma, a flat-brimmed had that says "Da Bronx" in spray paint (another story for another time), a number of books, some posters, and two pictures.

One of the pictures was taken last year when I interned at the DCCC (the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) with the head of the DNC (Democratic National Committee), Howard Dean. I apologize for all the political acronyms...hopefully you'll get used to them.

And the other? The other really just hit me yesterday. It is a picture of me with Illinois Senators Barack Obama and Dick Durbin at a constituent breakfast a few years ago. It was very weird to look up and see a picture of myself with the President Elect, and I must say pretty cool. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I thoroughly enjoy figuring out how I could network to famous political people...so seeing a picture of myself on the wall with Obama was quite a proud moment.

I'll leave you with a link to a brief story reported in my hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune, today that relays just how far Obama has come in the last four years:

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2008/11/o-mens.html

Cliche Obama Post

2008-11-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine who currently attends Columbia, and has lived a fairly sheltered suburban life, was chatting with me and mentioned that he went to Harlem to join in the celebration last night after Obama's historic election to the presidency.

In this conversation he said that he was "jumping and celebrating with peopel that looked like gangsters and thugs, it was amazing, and really made me rethink my perception." This brought two things to mind:

First, that beneath all overly hyped "Obama will change America in the first 30 seconds he's in office" mind-set, there might actually be something to the idea that simply having Obama as our next President will change things in out country--regardless of whether his policies are successful.

Second, its sad that it takes a bi-racial (yes, bi-racial) president to unite whites and blacks in one of the most racially contentious neighborhoods in the country. Where was the initiative to go and interact with each other before last night's historic election? I guess thats a bit of a futile question, and maybe it doesn't matter, but its one that I thought of right away.

On a final note, before heading to sleep so that I can be productive tomorrow, please do comment on these posts with any thoughts you have -- I want to hear them.

Coffee Shops

2008-11-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

I figure as a young, hip(ish), 20-something recent college graduate with little time for anything more than my job, I'd try the blogging thing. I've always been one to share more with people I don't know than people I do know, and so this may very well be a good match for me.

A bit about me:

I'm a 22 year-old graduate of a D.C. University where my life revolved around politics and GW basketball--both of which are sports for me. I'm a native of Chicago, a city which I love, and hope to return to after a hiatus on the East Coast (one which has lasted for 5 years and counting). I now reside in New York City, teaching high school U.S. History to 65 wonderful 11th graders in the Bronx. While some of what I write about will be based on my experiences as a 1st year teacher, part of why I'm doing this is to find a way to focus on things that have nothing to do with that aspect of my life.

So, with that, welcome to "A Year Pursuing We The People." Maybe I'll blog about how I chose the name sometime...