From Seth to Rick:
Name six things you learned as a teacher.
*Rick teaches Math at the high school across town from the school he and Seth attended.
There's a ton of sappy educational crap I could say along the lines of, "The kids have taught me so much more...blah blah blah," but instead here are six things I really learned as a teacher- or at the very least, relearned on the other side of the desk:
1. Nobody cares about the content. Not the students, not the parents, not the administrators, not the bureaucrats, and frankly, not the teachers, either. And that's fine, because the last thing that determines how successful you'll be in life is whether or not you understood the purpose of the Spanish-American War.
2. Two types of people become teachers: the ones who had a great time in school and want to keep enjoying that experience, and those who had a miserable experience and need vengeance. We all know exactly which ones are which.
3. Characteristics come in waves. One year may be a wave of work ethic, followed by a year of competitive need, followed by a year of pure talent. My guess as to why this happens is because in this small town, students have been with each other for a decade by the time they get to me in the high school. Day by day, those personality traits have worn onto each other.
4. Everyone in the nation has strong opinions of what school is and what it should be, because everyone has twelve plus years of experience with it. You can't casually mention that you're a teacher anywhere without the response being a discussion of the other person's experience. I think this is especially true for math.
5. Nobody knows what they are doing. To begin with, all educational research is flawed. In order for it to eliminate cultural factors, it needs to be done in one location and stretched over multiple years longitudinally. If you stretch the research out over multiple years, though, by the time it is published, it is no longer relevant. Things change at lightning speed now. Five years ago-which is not that long ago- only my rich students had their own cell phones and half the kids listened to music on portable cd players. Now every kid has a cell phone and half of them can watch a full-length movie on it. A while back, I asked a First grade teacher how you teach kids to read. Apparently, even though everybody has their own technique, nobody has any idea how kids acquire that skill. They just see other people do it long enough and it happens.
6. You are always a teacher. This probably has more to do with being in a small town, but I cannot go anywhere without running into current or former students. For a couple years, bars were safe, but I taught long enough that plenty of my Former students are of age now. They all know your name- including lots of students that didn't have you, but knew someone who did- and they all react the same way I did when I saw teachers outside of school- confusion followed by overfamiliarity. Some days it's nice, but other days you just need a break.
Readers: what did you not realize about your job until you started doing it?
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Name Six: Memories of My Sisters
From Rick to Seth:
Name six memories you have of your sisters, (two for each).
*Seth has three sisters, two older and one younger. They all now live on the east coast.
As to not open old wounds, or pass along embarrassing stories, I will restrain these six to positive experiences. I shall go in order of age.
My oldest sister Abby:
1. I credit Abby with introducing me to many things that I still cherish today. One of those things is fantasy fiction, specifically the authors Robert Aspirin and R.A. Salvatore. The books she gave me of theirs were Another Fine Myth and The Crystal Shard respectively. Both of them literally changed my life since they were the first books I ever read that didn't involve Garfield of his friends.
2. The second memory of Abby that I cherish is when she took me along with her and her friends to see George Carlin live. I don't remember how old I was, but since I was still living in NY at the time I was pre-high school age. Bringing your underage little brother to see a comedy genius, that's pretty awesome.
My older sister Megan:
3. Megan has a very sharp memory, and many of things I think I remember from childhood she tells me never happened. And this may be one of those things, but I'm gunna tell it anyway. I remember an instance when I was very young (under 5) and me and Meg were sitting on the washer and dryer in our house in Middletown, and staring at the light bulb in the room. We would then turn the light off and try and grab for the flashy pops that would stay in your vision. Of course I figured out later in life that this was bad for your eyes and a horrible activity, but hey, that's growing up.
4. Megan and I have had a big of a contentious relationship at times, which has been fueled from both sides, really. It may be in part to us being too similar in some ways, but I'm not sure. Anyway, knowing the disagreements we've had, I found it a huge honor when she asked me to speak at her wedding. I rehearsed that speech literally a hundred times before I gave it, and still my hand was shaking for the first few minutes. It went well, if a big long, and I still remember how happy Meg was. Making Megan smile and laugh on her big day, will always be a moment I cherish.
My younger sister Samara:
5. Sam has always been the young starlet of the family. She is the youngest in our cousin group that was kind of raised together, so she has always garnished alot of attention. Needless to say, when we younger, we fought alot. And it wasn't until we matured that we really became great friends. ANYWAY, one of the maneuvers that my parents conceived to get us to work together in those contentious years was to force us to buy a Nintendo together... and share it. It was difficult at times, but I do believe that joint effort may have started us down the path of having to work together for a common goal.
6. Years after the Nintendo system agreement, while were still both living in Wyoming, Sam and I embarked on a few road trips back east. (Once alone and once with our mother) On both occasions we chose to drive straight through without stopping, from Cheyenne, Wyo to Hackettstown NJ. The drive time, not including stops is almost exactly 26 hours. One of us would drive, and the other would sleep or read trivia questions. I look back on those trips and think two things A. "What kind of insane people would drive for a day straight?" and B, "I loved the chance to bond with my little sis."
Readers: Name six memories of your siblings. And if you didn't have any, name six memories of childhood friends. and if you didn't have any of those.... please don't hunt me down and eat my face.
Name six memories you have of your sisters, (two for each).
*Seth has three sisters, two older and one younger. They all now live on the east coast.
As to not open old wounds, or pass along embarrassing stories, I will restrain these six to positive experiences. I shall go in order of age.
My oldest sister Abby:
1. I credit Abby with introducing me to many things that I still cherish today. One of those things is fantasy fiction, specifically the authors Robert Aspirin and R.A. Salvatore. The books she gave me of theirs were Another Fine Myth and The Crystal Shard respectively. Both of them literally changed my life since they were the first books I ever read that didn't involve Garfield of his friends.
2. The second memory of Abby that I cherish is when she took me along with her and her friends to see George Carlin live. I don't remember how old I was, but since I was still living in NY at the time I was pre-high school age. Bringing your underage little brother to see a comedy genius, that's pretty awesome.
My older sister Megan:
3. Megan has a very sharp memory, and many of things I think I remember from childhood she tells me never happened. And this may be one of those things, but I'm gunna tell it anyway. I remember an instance when I was very young (under 5) and me and Meg were sitting on the washer and dryer in our house in Middletown, and staring at the light bulb in the room. We would then turn the light off and try and grab for the flashy pops that would stay in your vision. Of course I figured out later in life that this was bad for your eyes and a horrible activity, but hey, that's growing up.
4. Megan and I have had a big of a contentious relationship at times, which has been fueled from both sides, really. It may be in part to us being too similar in some ways, but I'm not sure. Anyway, knowing the disagreements we've had, I found it a huge honor when she asked me to speak at her wedding. I rehearsed that speech literally a hundred times before I gave it, and still my hand was shaking for the first few minutes. It went well, if a big long, and I still remember how happy Meg was. Making Megan smile and laugh on her big day, will always be a moment I cherish.
My younger sister Samara:
5. Sam has always been the young starlet of the family. She is the youngest in our cousin group that was kind of raised together, so she has always garnished alot of attention. Needless to say, when we younger, we fought alot. And it wasn't until we matured that we really became great friends. ANYWAY, one of the maneuvers that my parents conceived to get us to work together in those contentious years was to force us to buy a Nintendo together... and share it. It was difficult at times, but I do believe that joint effort may have started us down the path of having to work together for a common goal.
6. Years after the Nintendo system agreement, while were still both living in Wyoming, Sam and I embarked on a few road trips back east. (Once alone and once with our mother) On both occasions we chose to drive straight through without stopping, from Cheyenne, Wyo to Hackettstown NJ. The drive time, not including stops is almost exactly 26 hours. One of us would drive, and the other would sleep or read trivia questions. I look back on those trips and think two things A. "What kind of insane people would drive for a day straight?" and B, "I loved the chance to bond with my little sis."
Readers: Name six memories of your siblings. And if you didn't have any, name six memories of childhood friends. and if you didn't have any of those.... please don't hunt me down and eat my face.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Name Six: Growing Up In Wyoming
From Seth to Rick:
Name six things that were great about growing up in Wyoming.
*Rick moved to Wyoming in the third grade and has never really left; Seth moved there in ninth grade and left four years later.
1.) The Open Land. I wouldn't say wilderness, because it's mostly prairie, at least in this corner. I love the fact that from the center of Wyoming's largest city you can be in an open field in under six minutes. Growing up, it was always nice to get away from civilization in a hurry.
2.) Being behind the times in terms of cultural fear. Growing up, I know my parents heard stories of abductions and poisoned candy, but they always talked about those stories in tones of them happening in other places. I appreciate that I was allowed to talk to strangers.
3.) Big Fish Syndrome. There are certainly downsides once you graduate and leave the state, but with as few people as we have in the state, it is easy to be one of the best in the state at anything. I remember being told that our senior year I could have been one of the state's top five discus throwers, because only four students competed in that event that year. It's a nice feeling, even if it is bogus.
4.) Appearance of Wealth. My family is pretty firmly middle class- there were months where keeping the thermostat low was a big deal, and there were other months when my sister and I got a little extra allowance 'just because'. There were absolutely families with more money than we had, but because of the size of town we lived in, the rich had to shop the same aisles of Target with the rest of us. I was well into my teens before it occurred to me that some people could buy more than other people could.
5.) Learning to Drive. I still have no idea how first-time drivers get any feel for their cars learning in metropolitan areas. I would say that I never really understood my car until I spent 45 minutes in it covering 50 miles (back when the speed limits were 65mph).
6.) State History. It seems to me that children growing up in Pennsylvania, when they learn about state history, get a deeper look at the 1600s settlers that we all studied. Around here, though, state history is the story of westward expansion; in Wyoming specifically, there seemed to be an imbalance of stories dealing with the harsh weather, as though Jack London were traveling with Lewis and Clark. I loved it.
Readers: What are your favorite things about growing up in your home state?
Name six things that were great about growing up in Wyoming.
*Rick moved to Wyoming in the third grade and has never really left; Seth moved there in ninth grade and left four years later.
1.) The Open Land. I wouldn't say wilderness, because it's mostly prairie, at least in this corner. I love the fact that from the center of Wyoming's largest city you can be in an open field in under six minutes. Growing up, it was always nice to get away from civilization in a hurry.
2.) Being behind the times in terms of cultural fear. Growing up, I know my parents heard stories of abductions and poisoned candy, but they always talked about those stories in tones of them happening in other places. I appreciate that I was allowed to talk to strangers.
3.) Big Fish Syndrome. There are certainly downsides once you graduate and leave the state, but with as few people as we have in the state, it is easy to be one of the best in the state at anything. I remember being told that our senior year I could have been one of the state's top five discus throwers, because only four students competed in that event that year. It's a nice feeling, even if it is bogus.
4.) Appearance of Wealth. My family is pretty firmly middle class- there were months where keeping the thermostat low was a big deal, and there were other months when my sister and I got a little extra allowance 'just because'. There were absolutely families with more money than we had, but because of the size of town we lived in, the rich had to shop the same aisles of Target with the rest of us. I was well into my teens before it occurred to me that some people could buy more than other people could.
5.) Learning to Drive. I still have no idea how first-time drivers get any feel for their cars learning in metropolitan areas. I would say that I never really understood my car until I spent 45 minutes in it covering 50 miles (back when the speed limits were 65mph).
6.) State History. It seems to me that children growing up in Pennsylvania, when they learn about state history, get a deeper look at the 1600s settlers that we all studied. Around here, though, state history is the story of westward expansion; in Wyoming specifically, there seemed to be an imbalance of stories dealing with the harsh weather, as though Jack London were traveling with Lewis and Clark. I loved it.
Readers: What are your favorite things about growing up in your home state?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Name Six: Things I Would Do In Traffic
From Rick to Seth:
Name Six Things You Would do in Traffic if You Had a Driver.
*Seth lives in Los Angeles, the city that imports traffic from around the world.
1. Eating comfortably. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to rush across town hungry and had to stop at drive through on the way. I have become quite adept at steering with my knees, but still, not a safe plan by any means. Also means I wouldn't have to choose my food by how hand-held friendly it is.
2. Texting. For what ever magical reason, as soon as I get into my car is when half my contact list like to text me. I HATE texting while driving, so I try not to do it. But I can be trapped in the car for over an hour in this town, and texts are sometimes time sensitive questions, so it's hard to avoid.
3. Go out to drink more. The problem with drinking in LA is that you have to drive EVERYWHERE, so you can never really cut lose unless you have a good DD. It ends up that the only times I can really get silly are at home, which is very lovely. But every once and a while you just want to get crazy. That's when I call Rick and Par and tell them to meet me in Vegas.
4. Look around more. LA really is a beautiful and interesting place filled with cool stuff to look at, but you miss it when you have to concentrate on the road. When ever I ride in car, even if it's a road I've taken a hundred times, I still see something new. Stores open and close, new places to eat, cool street art, it's all a blur when you have the tunnel vision of a driver.
5. Go to more events. The real problem with driving in LA is parking. It's expensive and hard to find for the really cool stuff. But if I had a driver who would just drop me off where ever I wanted, I would go out to tons of stuff that I wouldn't otherwise. Concerts at the Bowl, games at Staples, UCLA events, it would be great.
6.Fool around. I'm not going to go into detail on this one, but I'm also not going to deny that it would happen.
To the readers: What would you do with a driver? Anything similar or completely different?
Name Six Things You Would do in Traffic if You Had a Driver.
*Seth lives in Los Angeles, the city that imports traffic from around the world.
1. Eating comfortably. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to rush across town hungry and had to stop at drive through on the way. I have become quite adept at steering with my knees, but still, not a safe plan by any means. Also means I wouldn't have to choose my food by how hand-held friendly it is.
2. Texting. For what ever magical reason, as soon as I get into my car is when half my contact list like to text me. I HATE texting while driving, so I try not to do it. But I can be trapped in the car for over an hour in this town, and texts are sometimes time sensitive questions, so it's hard to avoid.
3. Go out to drink more. The problem with drinking in LA is that you have to drive EVERYWHERE, so you can never really cut lose unless you have a good DD. It ends up that the only times I can really get silly are at home, which is very lovely. But every once and a while you just want to get crazy. That's when I call Rick and Par and tell them to meet me in Vegas.
4. Look around more. LA really is a beautiful and interesting place filled with cool stuff to look at, but you miss it when you have to concentrate on the road. When ever I ride in car, even if it's a road I've taken a hundred times, I still see something new. Stores open and close, new places to eat, cool street art, it's all a blur when you have the tunnel vision of a driver.
5. Go to more events. The real problem with driving in LA is parking. It's expensive and hard to find for the really cool stuff. But if I had a driver who would just drop me off where ever I wanted, I would go out to tons of stuff that I wouldn't otherwise. Concerts at the Bowl, games at Staples, UCLA events, it would be great.
6.Fool around. I'm not going to go into detail on this one, but I'm also not going to deny that it would happen.
To the readers: What would you do with a driver? Anything similar or completely different?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Name Six: Favorite Ozymandian Moments
From Seth to Rick:
Name Six Favorite Ozymandian Moments.
*Rick is the director of Ozymandian Theater, a sketch and improv comedy group that has performed together since 2005.
1.) The first good sketch I wrote was a simple idea of doing an entire small-town fair in five minutes. Part of that sketch had Karla throwing pancakes over her shoulder to me across the stage, where I shoved them in my mouth as I caught them. At least one of the nights, I caught all seven pancakes and ran offstage with my cheeks bulging.
2.) The first night at the new theater, we had a crowd of 196. That's still our highest one-night total, and the realization that we had needed to open the balcony was crazy exciting.
3.) For a game of Chain Murder we played, somebody yelled out Mark (one of the other cast members) when I asked for a celebrity. I took that, and the look on Mark's face when he came back into the room and realized that he was being imitated was priceless.
4.) Our back curtain is a lit scrim that we can see through from backstage, but looks white from the audience seats. One show, we pulled a couch behind the scrim and sat and talked while the audience came in. It gave a really calm feel to the rest of the night.
5.) In one of the Christmas shows, we did a six minute Charlie Brown Christmas. I was Linus, and I was able to rattle off that passage from Luke in under ten seconds.
6.) There was a sketch I wasn't in that had two sock puppets falling in love and making out with each other while the people controlling them looked on, disgusted. The audience never really enjoyed that one, but I loved to sneak around to the back of the house and watch it. I thought it was brilliant.
To anyone reading: What are some of your favorite moments performing for other people?
Name Six Favorite Ozymandian Moments.
*Rick is the director of Ozymandian Theater, a sketch and improv comedy group that has performed together since 2005.
1.) The first good sketch I wrote was a simple idea of doing an entire small-town fair in five minutes. Part of that sketch had Karla throwing pancakes over her shoulder to me across the stage, where I shoved them in my mouth as I caught them. At least one of the nights, I caught all seven pancakes and ran offstage with my cheeks bulging.
2.) The first night at the new theater, we had a crowd of 196. That's still our highest one-night total, and the realization that we had needed to open the balcony was crazy exciting.
3.) For a game of Chain Murder we played, somebody yelled out Mark (one of the other cast members) when I asked for a celebrity. I took that, and the look on Mark's face when he came back into the room and realized that he was being imitated was priceless.
4.) Our back curtain is a lit scrim that we can see through from backstage, but looks white from the audience seats. One show, we pulled a couch behind the scrim and sat and talked while the audience came in. It gave a really calm feel to the rest of the night.
5.) In one of the Christmas shows, we did a six minute Charlie Brown Christmas. I was Linus, and I was able to rattle off that passage from Luke in under ten seconds.
6.) There was a sketch I wasn't in that had two sock puppets falling in love and making out with each other while the people controlling them looked on, disgusted. The audience never really enjoyed that one, but I loved to sneak around to the back of the house and watch it. I thought it was brilliant.
To anyone reading: What are some of your favorite moments performing for other people?
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Concept and Intro
It's a simple idea...
Two friends, Rick and Seth. We've known each other for nearly twenty years. Back then, we hung out every day. We went on road trips together, we were best men at each other's weddings, we were even roommates for a semester in college.
That was a long time ago, though. We haven't lived in the same town for over a decade, and staying in touch hasn't been easy. Life keeps happening, and we don't know each other as well as we once did.
Now, we're getting to know each other better by playing a game we used to play on those long road trips: We take turns asking the other person to name six things about themselves, and letting the answer be as simple or as detailed as the person answering wants to go. It's a great way to learn more about the people you thought you knew.
Along the way, we'd love to know more about you. Feel free to add your six- or however many you want- to the comments for each post. After all, you get to read our answers; why can't we read yours?
Enjoy!
Two friends, Rick and Seth. We've known each other for nearly twenty years. Back then, we hung out every day. We went on road trips together, we were best men at each other's weddings, we were even roommates for a semester in college.
That was a long time ago, though. We haven't lived in the same town for over a decade, and staying in touch hasn't been easy. Life keeps happening, and we don't know each other as well as we once did.
Now, we're getting to know each other better by playing a game we used to play on those long road trips: We take turns asking the other person to name six things about themselves, and letting the answer be as simple or as detailed as the person answering wants to go. It's a great way to learn more about the people you thought you knew.
Along the way, we'd love to know more about you. Feel free to add your six- or however many you want- to the comments for each post. After all, you get to read our answers; why can't we read yours?
Enjoy!
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