Rating again.

This one's a bit different than last time, but it'll be interesting. 

Amateurs, Professionals and Spelling Bees

One of my favorite books, and one that I find completely hilarious is a book called "It was on Fire when I Lay Down on it" by Robert Fulghum.  He was quite the story teller, and there were two stories that really stood out to me because they were, as he put it, moments within our traditional mindset when we put amateurs in the position of needing to act like professionals.  As a result, it can be quite an entertaining thing to watch. 

The first of these events is weddings.  I don't even want to pretend to do that story justice, but in "the MOTB" (Mother of the Bride), he describes one of his experiences as a minister in which he councils an MOTB and watches her come completely unwound at the announcement of her daughter's engagement.  Of course, she takes over the wedding, and the hilarity that ensues can only be appreciated from afar, I'm sure.

The second of these is the Christmas Pageant.  Seeing children, parents and teenagers act in such high pressure circumstances, with cameras flashing and the relative importance of the event at stake, that mistakes are almost certain.  His particular retelling of a pageant that decided to use real animals is enough to make you want to double over with laughter.

I want to add to these, without the presumption of being able to tell these stories as expertly as he, but Spelling Bees surely need to be added to this list.  There are such high pressure rules, and the nature of a bee is so serious, with students quietly observing, letters, words and phrases uttered in precise manner, and judges with disqualification bells ready to eliminate the next contestant, that there are bound to be memorable moments.  Potty dances, disappointed stomps and that moment of "Do I raise my hands in excitement or do I just sit here quietly after I won???" were the standard of this year's spelling bee.  It was dramatic, exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time.

But it was completely memorable.

The plight of our creative minds: the gifted child defined

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this:

A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive.
To them... a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.

Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create --
so that without the creating of music
or poetry
or books
or buildings
or something of meaning,
their very breath is cut off...

They must create, must pour out creation.
By some strange, unknown, inward urgency
they are not really alive unless they are creating.

~Pearl S. Buck

Crazy Stuff

So during my presentation on Thursday, my eyes were drawn to a lady in the back. She looked very familiar, to the point that I thought I knew her from somewhere, but couldn't place her. After speaking, I tried to get back to her, but she left before I could get there. We went back to the hotel and packed up so that we could leave after the last session. I met her in the lobby, doing the same thing. "You're the lady from the workshop I've been talking about," she said. I thanked her, then told her she was very familiar to me. We discussed various places we've lived, and never came to a mutual agreement on where we could have met. She got on her elevator while I stayed back with my friends. Just as the elevator door was about to close, she held the door open and said, "WAIT! Where did you go to school?" "Missouri State," I said. "Then you had my mom. She was the only Special Ed professor there, and one of the first in the States," she said. "I look just like her." Wow. And we met. At my Visual Spatial session where we discussed visual memory. From two states away. Twenty three years later. Blew my mind. It sure validated my studies!

Done!

I finally finished my presentation for later this week!  Most of the load is lifted, except for the actual presentation.  I think I'll be glad when it's over.

And we named the cat.  Dapper Dan.  It fits.

Old Thanksgiving, New People

I love this time of year.  The colors, the changing temperatures and especially the holidays.  Halloween was fun this year.  Four times I answered the door and heard, "Mrs Hughes!" from behind masks.  They got the good candy. ;)  Our school has wonderful traditions like Grandparent's Day and Turkey Bowl.  And tomorrow I get to enjoy my favorite holiday of the year:  Thanksgiving.  It's the one time of year that everyone gets together to fellowship and catch up.  We take walks, play games, and wake up at ungodly hours to go shopping.  The nice thing, though, is that there really isn't any pressure tradition-wise.  There are so many people in the mix now, and everyone literally brings a little something to the table.  It's a come one, come all venture, and there's always someone new to get to know, some new food to try.  Of course there is the traditional fare:  the turkey and stuffing, gravy and fixin's, but there are also the new things and new people.  The only thing to count on at Thanksgiving is that it's going to be different.

That's a good tradition to have, I think.  We're too big to try and stay the same!

Oh My Word.

So apparently my presentation at the state conference has been selected to be taped for professional development statewide. Game on...