Texts from the past #6: Pop Culture/Iconic phrases

Most of us have favorite movies, cartoons, shows that we like to quote. It’s fun when someone “gets” your reference. Chuck and I had a lot of quotes, especially from Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, Napoleon Dynamite, Seinfeld, Perfect Strangers and Frazier, to name a few. And Scooby Doo. As evidenced in our texts here…

Apri 6, 2017

C: Hey dearie, don’t forget to transfer the $1k from your savings. Me: Ok. My list of classes to avoid is getting longer…. (I was subbing that day) C: Ruh roh

April 27, 2017

Me: Didn’t know this was band class (I was subbing that day). C: Ruh roh. C: Hey I’m using the new microphone feature. It’s pretty cool. C: Just call me George Jetson. Me: Call me Jane

September 4, 2017

C: I’m about to eat something bad. Me: Ruh roh

I miss all the silly little conversations we had.

Altering Forces

In the introduction of Here is New York (originally published in 1949) by E.B. White,  Roger Angell, White’s stepson, describes television as, “the biggest altering force of our century”.  This was in 1999.  I’d say now it’s internet and smartphones.

In the 1950s, TV was considered a form of family entertainment. Today it seems rare for  families to sit down watch a show or movie together.

Studies have been made that link childhood obesity and attention disorders  to “screen” viewing. This includes television, ipads, game systems, and especially smartphones. Smartphones — now that’s an oxymoron.

There is much debate about the issue of violence on the screen and its influence on viewers, but my opinion is that it numbs the viewer to reality.

As a substitute in high schools I see the downside of the smartphone. I watch students sitting side by side, faces glued to their screen. When they do converse with a classmate, it so often is just to share and laugh at something on their phone, I am not saying all this in innocence. My smartphone has dumbed me down, my computer has wasted so many hours. I take that back – I have done this to myself.

Please turn it off, I’m tired
Of bang bang bang shoot ’em up movies — Bang Bang by The Avett Brothers 

 

They Won’t Let Me Teach

 

“I’m a teacher, but they won’t let me teach – not the way I can. It’s just not worth it.” – Miss Shaw, the Wonder Years, Season 5

I recently binge watched the entire Wonder Years series. I’d say I teared up during about 80% of the episodes. But, I must reveal that Kevin, the main character, was just two years my senior. I’m talking the character, not the actor. So, all that 70s stuff, all those family issues, the clothes, the culture – that was my world.

Instead of my teen-self, one episode got to the heart of my teacher-self. Miss Shaw was an unconventional teacher. She loved what she was doing and it showed. The kids knew it and her fire lit them up. I’m not saying I agreed with all her methods. But, when she said, “…they won’t let me teach – not the way I can”, I felt like she was speaking for so many other teachers. I recently talked to a teacher who is certified and experienced in one thing and has a desire for it, but she is being forced to teach something else. That’s just sad.

I’ve been in four different school systems in the past few years as a substitute and I’ve seen the mindless test prep and the daily wasted hours in “study hall’ where maybe on a good day five kids were studying. I’ve been in middle schools where seventh graders can’t write a lucid paragraph; in high schools where students spent more time “googling” an answer on their phones than it would have taken to read the article in front of them to find the answer.

I’m not saying there is no good teaching. I have come across pockets of creativity and solid math lessons; I have met some very caring teachers. It’s not usually the teachers, but it’s the system, the “they” that Miss Shaw referred to, that is killing education in our country. And every June, there are teachers who decide, like Miss Shaw, “it’s just not worth it.”

 

“…So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way…” – from Both Sides Now by Judy Collins

 

I’ve seen teaching from both sides now; as a full-time teacher and as a substitute. I wish I knew how to make a change.

 

 

Wonder #2

“Some people pass through your life and you never think about them again. Some you think about and wonder what ever happened to them. Some you wonder if they ever wonder what happened to you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do.” – The Wonder Years

There are many people who I think about and I wonder what happened to them. Like Christy who lived across the street. We played together when we were little and I was fascinated that her family ate real turtle soup. In high school she sometimes rode to school with me on days I was able to drive my mom’s car. And then there was her brother, who shot my brother just above the eye with a BB gun.

I wonder about Stephanie who got married and had a baby the year before she was in my wedding. I haven’t seen her since and that makes me sad. And Susan who left school before she graduated. We were so close our sophmore/junior years, and then we drifted apart.

And those I wish I never had to think about again? My second grade teacher, Mrs. Nash, who hit us with rolled up Weekly Readers. I don’t remember her ever smiling. My fourth grade teacher who humiliated me over a boy. Those two coworkers that liked to steal away my customers at Dillards.

Are there some who I wonder if they wonder about me? Sure. Maybe one day our paths will cross again.

FUN FACT:  I own the  5-disc compilation box set under the title Music from ‘The Wonder Years in 1994 thanks to my daughter, Kat.