Presidents' Day

Kind of funny. A day off or a week off and few know why.

It's President's Day tomorrow. 

Originally it was Washington's Birthday.

Remember him? 

Remember your history?

Then Lincoln got tied in because his birthday is also in February.

Remember him?

Remember your history?

So, sort of accidentally this holiday was born, and it isn't  a bad thing.

Sad thing is, most kids nowadays know zilch about either.

History being taught in elementary schools is an afterthought with the Common Core Curriculum.

I know, because I'm there. 

On Friday, no one in the school said anything about either President as we got ready to take the week off.

I daresay my younger colleagues have no idea why we have this " President's Week"

That should scare you. 

History is being erased.  Thank you Arne Duncan and Andrew Cuomo.

That said there is no excuse for ignorance.

We can do better.

But Seriously Folks.......

"But Seriously Folks..."
Joe Walsh. 1978.  Great album.

 I'm at SUNY Canton or Canton ATC as it was known at the time.

19 year old white male, totally clueless and loving it.

Listened to that album, over and over.

Life's Been Good To Me.... a hit single for Joe before he left to join the Eagles, another fairly good band.

Joe was and is a pisser, the epitome of  one not taking themselves seriously.

Which brings us to today's talking point.

Don't take yourself , your job , or anything else too seriously!
So who are these serious types?

You know who they are.

Problem is, they don't.

They're the ones that take notes at meetings.  At 8 AM.
Tell you what, 29 years of faculty meetings and I'm still waiting for an epiphany.
And yet, they take notes.....
I've often wondered what you do with notes about telling your kids to quiet down in the cafeteria or that fart jokes are not acceptable in 4th grade. Notes on why we need to add another 120 hrs. of testing this year to make kids smarter.  Notes on notes on notes......

They're the ones that think since you crack jokes and go off topic that you don't care about your job.
Yo, it is possible to laugh, poke fun at one's self, poke fun at just about everything and still be dead on serious about your job and it's responsibilities.

They're the ones that always iron their clothes and have a tie on with a new long sleeve shirt and give you the sideways glance when you show up in jeans and old (but comfortable) polo and a vest.
Hey show me the research that says well dressed = competent employee.

They're the ones that'll walk right by you in the hall, avoiding eye contact until you force the issue with a hearty, " Good Morning!", when you're really thinking, "Good Morning Dickhead!"

Do I need to say more? I don't think so.
I'll just leave it at this-

Don't be that person!!!!!

Dare To Be Happy...

While digging through the bookshelves in my room at school searching for who-knows-what, I re-discovered my copy of Don't Sweat The Small Stuff At Work by Richard Carlson.  

I'd written the date that I purchased it inside the front cover.  4/2000 it says, almost 15 years ago.  

I may have read some of it, most of it, or all of it, don't really remember!

I flipped it open to the first little passage, it's titled "Dare To Be Happy."

I read it, and it made a lot of sense to me. Without going into a major discourse on why it makes sense, I'll just reprint the last paragraph.

If you dare to be happy your life will change immediately. Your life and your work will take on greater significance and will be experienced as an extraordinary adventure. You'll be loved by others and, without a doubt, you'll be sweating the small stuff far less often at work. 

 

Solid advice, go ahead. I dare you.

The Layoff Ends......

 Welcome to my latest blog, CrossRoads TL, the 3rd in my series.

Before we go any further, let me state this, I am a writer at heart.  I've been an elementary school teacher for 29 years,with one to go, and for the most part it's been a fulfilling and rewarding career (more on that in future posts).  That said, in my next life I want to be a writer; sports, politics, food, whatever, I just want to write for a living.    I know, I know, it's a pipe dream, but one can dream, right?  Hell, yeah!

My first blog, Tupper Cooks was mostly about food, travel, and friends, and was a most enjoyable first attempt at blogging. You can visit it here!  I'd probably still be there had I not run out of space In Blogger (the Blog machine) and being semi-technologically illiterate, just ended it a little more than 2 years ago. I really liked Tupper Cooks!  (To date it's had over 100, 000 page views, so it was a success in my mind.)

In hindsight it was a good thing it ended, I realized, that while posting about food is fun, and I still will here, I'm no match for the 100's of real food blogs out there, some done by folks I've come to know and respect. I will certainly be writing about them.  

After Tupper Cooks! was retired I set up another blog using Wordpress, TupperCooks2. It was a definite misfire. I really didn't understand the workings of Wordpress.  I was way more comfortable with Blogger and in over my head with this new one.  I stumbled and fumbled on for about 6 months and then gave up the ghost in June, 2013.  I wasn't happy with it, my writing had become stale, I was bored.   

TupperCooks2 sucked. 

So  after a layoff of a year and a half, I have the urge to write. I name this blog Crossroads, because both literally and figuratively I'm at a crossroad, my hometown of Tupper Lake, NY is at a crossroad,  my profession of education is, New York State is, and on and on.  Lots happening, lots going on, lots to write about.  I'll be wicked opinionated and you won't have to guess about how I feel about anything.

I welcome your comments and thoughts on whatever issue we tend to be discussing.

So what image should I put in my first post on my 3rd blog? 

That's Red, she's my girl (well one of 'em, you'll meet the rest along the way).