3/4/08
There wasn't anything too recent in the Washington Post Book Reviews, so I decided to snoop around on Librarians' Internet Index today. Right away I saw a tip of the week about daylight savings time starting the second Sunday of March. Visions of changing the time on every clock and electronic device in the house started raising my blood pressure like a bad dream. And here I was ready to be so positive today instead of getting on another soapbox. So, I'm only going to say one thing and get on with life: Why can't what time it is just be what time it is for Pete's sake?!!
Ok, I'm over it now. On to the positive!
I know you're going to be proud of me now because how positive is this: There was an article about how you can be paid by a company to be a mystery shopper. That's right! Shopping for pay! There was some negative stuff in there, too, like how there are some scams going on. Apparently, there are some marketers running promising ads for mystery shoppers but not delivering the promised glamorous opportunities. But hey, I'm still caught up in the fact that there are real, legitimate marketing/merchandising research companies who actually do hire people to shop and then report back about the experience. I am so highly qualified for that job! After all, I'm the number one believer that a woman's place is in the mall!
Anyway, check out the Federal Trade Commission article titled The Secrets of Mystery Shopping Revealed. Don't even think about trying to take one of my shopping jobs, though.
Have a great rest-of-the-week!
Sandy
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Sandy's Soapbox Today
3/3/08
Today on The Shifted Librarian I was looking at an article titled What Do Games Have to Do with Literacy? by jenny on precat. It promoted the idea of playing games (board, video, computer) to reinforce literacy. The claims are that games engage students, internalize concepts, build social skills, and provide opportunities curriculum doesn't offer.
Don't get me wrong when I say what I'm about to say because I'm hardly anti-game or anti-engagement; however when is the world going to wake the heck up and get the point that we entertain and spoil kids a little too much?! As a teacher, I get an earful from every direction (kids, parents, coworkers, administration....just about everybody in general) that every bad decision a kid makes is due to boredom, lack of engagement, lack of entertainment and, quite frankly, FREAKING FIREWORKS!! What message are we teaching? Certainly not the one you need for the real world.
That said, let's talk about the real world. My first job was waitressing. I was on my feet almost all of the time. My feet hurt, and my back hurt. I had to clean up other people's messes. I was not always happy or entertained. I did it anyway. I worked at an insurance processing center for 11 years. My first job there was filing. Again, I was on my feet most of the time. My feet hurt, and my back hurt. I was not always happy or entertained. I did it anyway. The past number of years I've been a 6th-grade teacher. My kids are often disrespectful and wear me out. With the clueless No Child Left Behind looming over everyone's head like a dark cloud, God is the only one who could sucessfully take on the load of a teacher's job. If I don't want to work on the weekends, I have to kill myself during the week by working approximately 12 plus hours daily. I guarantee you I am certainly not happy and, even if I were entertained, I would be too tired to enjoy it. In fact, I am writing this at 10:21 p.m. because it's the soonest I could get to it. I am in one of the most misunderstood, thankless jobs on the total planet. Guess what? I do it anyway.
In the end I make sure my kids get a good balance between fun and engaging and, ok, not so fun and engaging; however, by golly, you're going to sit up, stop whining, be respectful, and DO IT ANYWAY. This teacher is mean enough to try to prepare you to be successul in the real world. End of story. The queen teacher has spoken. DEAL.
Anyway, that's Sandy's soapbox for the day.
Today on The Shifted Librarian I was looking at an article titled What Do Games Have to Do with Literacy? by jenny on precat. It promoted the idea of playing games (board, video, computer) to reinforce literacy. The claims are that games engage students, internalize concepts, build social skills, and provide opportunities curriculum doesn't offer.
Don't get me wrong when I say what I'm about to say because I'm hardly anti-game or anti-engagement; however when is the world going to wake the heck up and get the point that we entertain and spoil kids a little too much?! As a teacher, I get an earful from every direction (kids, parents, coworkers, administration....just about everybody in general) that every bad decision a kid makes is due to boredom, lack of engagement, lack of entertainment and, quite frankly, FREAKING FIREWORKS!! What message are we teaching? Certainly not the one you need for the real world.
That said, let's talk about the real world. My first job was waitressing. I was on my feet almost all of the time. My feet hurt, and my back hurt. I had to clean up other people's messes. I was not always happy or entertained. I did it anyway. I worked at an insurance processing center for 11 years. My first job there was filing. Again, I was on my feet most of the time. My feet hurt, and my back hurt. I was not always happy or entertained. I did it anyway. The past number of years I've been a 6th-grade teacher. My kids are often disrespectful and wear me out. With the clueless No Child Left Behind looming over everyone's head like a dark cloud, God is the only one who could sucessfully take on the load of a teacher's job. If I don't want to work on the weekends, I have to kill myself during the week by working approximately 12 plus hours daily. I guarantee you I am certainly not happy and, even if I were entertained, I would be too tired to enjoy it. In fact, I am writing this at 10:21 p.m. because it's the soonest I could get to it. I am in one of the most misunderstood, thankless jobs on the total planet. Guess what? I do it anyway.
In the end I make sure my kids get a good balance between fun and engaging and, ok, not so fun and engaging; however, by golly, you're going to sit up, stop whining, be respectful, and DO IT ANYWAY. This teacher is mean enough to try to prepare you to be successul in the real world. End of story. The queen teacher has spoken. DEAL.
Anyway, that's Sandy's soapbox for the day.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Bloglines Reflection
3-1-08
First of all, one of the LIS-related blogs I subscribed to today was The Shifted Librarian. Scrolling through the blog, what caught my eye right away was a section titled Books We Added to the Catalog Yesterday. I loved how it was set up! It said to click on the image of the book for more information. I was ready to read a great synopsis of the book. It didn't work, though. Did anyone else try this with luck?
Secondly, I subscribed to Librarians' Internet Index. I found a budget travel site with a goal of making travel to Europe affordable. It caught my eye because I dream of going on a vacation someday when my life stops being governed by Murphy's Law. Guess what the site was called?! Eurocheapo!!
Well, FINALLY I thought I'd get to read about a book! I subscribed to Washington Post Book Reviews. Right away I saw this book titled My Brother the Cow. I thought it looked interesting. I have a brother after all. He lives in York, England. I hope to visit there in the not-so-distant future now that I know how to get a "Eurocheapo" vacation. However, when I clicked on the link, I got that annoying we-are-unable-to-locate-the-page-you-requested message. Ok, I give up! See what I mean about Murphy's Law?!
Write soon!
Sandy
First of all, one of the LIS-related blogs I subscribed to today was The Shifted Librarian. Scrolling through the blog, what caught my eye right away was a section titled Books We Added to the Catalog Yesterday. I loved how it was set up! It said to click on the image of the book for more information. I was ready to read a great synopsis of the book. It didn't work, though. Did anyone else try this with luck?
Secondly, I subscribed to Librarians' Internet Index. I found a budget travel site with a goal of making travel to Europe affordable. It caught my eye because I dream of going on a vacation someday when my life stops being governed by Murphy's Law. Guess what the site was called?! Eurocheapo!!
Well, FINALLY I thought I'd get to read about a book! I subscribed to Washington Post Book Reviews. Right away I saw this book titled My Brother the Cow. I thought it looked interesting. I have a brother after all. He lives in York, England. I hope to visit there in the not-so-distant future now that I know how to get a "Eurocheapo" vacation. However, when I clicked on the link, I got that annoying we-are-unable-to-locate-the-page-you-requested message. Ok, I give up! See what I mean about Murphy's Law?!
Write soon!
Sandy
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