We live in love

and apart.

Another sonnet of caring heart
I will not write.

Oh, lame poet,
whose pen betrays,
lets stray thoughts cross
a page of notebook paper.

He is the dearest friend
of the me I share
not at all.

Closed completely
from those around
so pretense of fabulous wit
is intelligent fakery.

The ethical dilemma of facebook "friending"

What do you do when people you know
but with whom you've never been friends
Ask to "friend" you
on facecbook?

It was years, decades ago:
the old conflicts, the hard feelings.
You thought you were over it.
It seems that you're not.

Do you pretend?
Do you swallow pride?
Do you accept the invite
and then just never message?

Living thousands of miles away,
it's not like you'll ever see them.

And if there's trouble,
ignore
can end a flame war.

So maybe it's like the teen talk
"frenemy"
that you keep close
to scrutinize,
letting the Internet
be the glass
between you
and vitriol.

Another quarter finished

Now there are 5 courses out of the way working toward my EdS. Only 7 more are left to go. Every day is progress. Still, it's nice today just to sit, relax and not worry about finishing a mountain of reading or posting responses to discussion questions in the course room.

Yoga is going well. I've been at it for 10 weeks now this year, and I feel a lot better at work, and sleep a little bit better each night. However, I've not exactly kept pace with my online yoga club. It's not really something I have to keep at a certain pace though. Some weeks are a bit more challenging than others, and when weekends were too busy with course work to download workouts and pose tutorials, I relied on a couple of DVDs that I have from the same company. Because of those little bumps, its sometimes tough to get through morning practice. I do it though. I need it. Beau watches me; he stays curled up in his chair and watches me do downward facing dog. How ironic.

Now, I just have to work on my diet a bit, reduce stress induced sugars and fats. Then maybe some of this spare tire that I've stored up can go a way. I'm not so concerned about the weight itself, just the shape of my body and my overall fitness level.

If you know where to look, you can find me

If you search carefully, you'll find my work in French literary criticism. I can't be certain that this is a permanent or persistent link, but give it a try on Google Books. If you look for William Thompson's French XX Bibliography and search the text for Swanson or maybe this title (Convergences thématiques et narratives dans La Rue Cases-Nègres de Joseph Zobel et L'Enfant noir de Camara Laye), you'll find my name.

Below is bibliographical information if any of you faithful readers are truly interested. All is in APA format since I need to practice that style for my EdS research work.

Monye, L. P. & Swanson, K. A. (2001, September). Convergences thématiques et narratives dans La Rue Cases-Nègres de Joseph Zobel et L'Enfant noir de Camara Laye. CLA Journal, (45)1, 95-113.

That article is listed and or cited in the following:

Renaudin, C. & Toczyski, S. (2003, July 11). Ressources et illustrations. In En préparation à l'examen AP: L'Enfant noir de Camara Laye. Sonoma State University. Available from http://www.sonoma.edu/users/t/toczyski/camaralaye/clayeressources.html

and

Thompson, W. J. (2003). French XX bibliography: Critical and bibliographical references for the study of French. Selinsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press.

The latter means that I have contributed to the scholarly, peer-reviewed research and critique of French literature from 1885 to present! The former is a citation of my work in an AP French Literature study guide.

Thank you for your tolerance of my shameless self promotion.

My childhood "street gang"

Born in 1969, I teethed on Sesame Street. My own children teethed on Sesame Street. I'm guiltily fond of "Mahna Mahna." Today, I listened to a Feast of Fools episode (#926) that included an interview with children's entertainment journalist Michael Davis. Davis has recently published a definitive history of the premier children's television show, Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. It's going to have to be next on my long reading list. I miss Super Grover, and I still sing "C Is for Cookie" and "It's Not Easy Being Green" at random. When you love the Muppets, a part of you never completely matures.

The week ahead or The List

So next week is my mid-winter break. Although I won't have to go to my classroom at all, I will have plenty of work to do:

• complete readings for each of my two graduate courses
• complete discussion questions & responses for the aforementioned classes
• complete an assignment/paper for each of these classes
• grade papers for all of my own classes
• prepare lessons for all my own classes
• prepare substitute instructions for all my own classes for three days of the following week
• arrange a carpool for my son for the three days that I'll be attending a graduate colloquium
• attend a graduate colloquium that begins Saturday
• practice yoga daily
• walk the dog daily
• have the car serviced: change oil & request little warranty repairs; rotate tires; wash
  
• wash & fold laundry
• do dishes
• do the custody shuffle with children and ex-wife
  
• shop for food
• watch TiVo with addictively reckless abandon
• read Watchmen
• bathe the dog
• press the Easy button
• do the Dew
• Just do it

Ok. Got it. Why do I need a vacation?

Home for this holiday

John is here with me today. It's good to have him home. We stayed in and split a bottle of chardonnay. The dog is very glad that John is home, too. The children are with their mother this weekend. I prefer when they're here with me, but a custody agreement is what it is. Tomorrow, John goes back to New York. It's tough here without him, but at least we have unlimited cell phone minutes together.

Tomorrow, I think that I will have my hair cut.

Valentine's Day

My boyfriend will be home for Valentine's Day. It's a total Hallmark marketing holiday, but I don't care. I just want to be with him, and because it will be 14 Feb, I'm especially glad. I really miss him.

Way cool Web sites and news about me (sort of)

After listening to an story on NPR about the old IBM Model M keyboards (which I did love for their typewriter like feel), I did a little surfing online for the company that makes them today. The IBM Selectric-like feel of those old keybaords was wonderfully reminiscent of my 7th grade typing class with Mrs. Weesa (not sure of the spelling on that name anymore, so forgive me Mrs. Weesa). I didn't do well at the time in that class, but I did learn to touch type, and I don't peek at the keys. Although I love all the extra media and application keys on my Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard, I do miss that clickety-clack of a real, spring loaded, heavy duty, built to last keyboard.

After checking out that bit of retrotechno, I decided to hunt for more cool tech. I found Steampunk. These are beautiful works of art that, alas, are not for sale. That keyboard is downright beautiful. I've always been fascinated by the aesthetic of cyberpunk: analogue and digital coming together in such crafted elegance. [post scriptum: I found a site where a man makes keyboards like these for sale - Datamancer.net. Heck, the name of the site alone requires a little creative loafing on my part!)

In other news (look around a bit, you'll see me standing out from the crowd), the high school where I teach is now award winning. I wish the recognition weren't merely for high test scores because so much more happens at Northgate than simple standardized achievement. I work with some very inspired teachers, and I have students that impress me every day. I'm proud to be a teacher at NGHS. Go Vikings!

Inauguration of a New America

Tuesday at school, we watched President Obama's inauguration on CNN. My upper level French classes most often tend to be filled with the most liberal students in the school. Because we are in the Bible belt, that tends to be the entire population of 11 liberal high school students. Being who I am, I think that may be why they're attracted to my courses.

During the new president's address, we commented to each other, and when the address ended, we commented more. My favorite part, right now anyway, was "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." That call for peace, for the end to the anger in the world, it was the line that touched me.

As a teacher in a public school, the next portion of the speech that touched me was this passage: "What is demanded, then, is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept, but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task." Making this nation great requires hard work on the part of all Americans. For years I have heard criticisms of thrown at our country, our people and our schools--by Americans! The only way to improve our country is to get off "our" critical backside, take off the necktie or high heels, roll up your sleeves and get to work on making the United States a better country. I believe in public schools, so that's where I teach. I believe that public school teachers are great people, so I work hard to be a great teacher and to help my colleagues to the same. Thank you, Mr. President, for the reminder that each and every one of us is responsible for our success or failure in the world.

Although our previous president was not necessarily my favorite, I do not envy the hard tasks he faced during the last eight years. In all, I feel hopeful for this new administration. I'm grateful that this new president has a very different vision for the United States, and I look forward to the changes to come.

Things to do

Finally, with the Eastern Orthodox Christmas just around the corner, my little Episcopalean tribe is taking down the Christmas tree.

I've also decided to clear off my Stephen King collection of hardbacks and rare paperbacks. If this link works, you can see my Amazon storefront. Maybe if you're looking to update your collection, I might have the book you need.

I plan to sleep a little extra this weekend because of the Monday federal holiday.

Tuesday, my school system is authorizing classes to have students watch the Inauguration during the school day. I'm glad; it's an important experience to witness.

New semesters all around

It's 2009, and with the new year came a new semester for my high school and a new quarter for my online degree program. My teaching course load includes an art class and three French classes. I'm glad that this term I have one advanced French class with students who really want to work on the material. My art class is smaller this term, too. It looks to be a good semester.

For my online courses, I've enrolled in one course in collaborative professional settings. The other is in curriculum development. The courses seem to be off to a good start. I've got all of this week's work done, and tomorrow I will dig into the next unit.

My kids are enjoying their new school terms. Both have had positive comments on their teachers and classes, but I'm sure each would have enjoyed a few more days for Christmas break. I think I would have as well.

Face at rest

Relaxed (adapted from National Geographic, January 2009) [Graphite on paper]

The Bear

The Grizzly (adapted from National Geographic, January 2009) [Graphite on paper]

Round one of online classes is over!

Although that course on educational funding about gave me the worst nightmares of my life, I finished it successfully. Grades won't come out for a few more days, but so far, it looks good there. With regard to my class on historical foundations of public schools, I received top grades for all my papers. I feel especially good about that course.

Page and Marie have done well this year, too. My son's struggle with 9th grade has proved that parental support is essential in that first year of high school. He's pulling himself together to meet the academic and scheduling challenges. I'm proud of him. My daughter has been bitten by the drama bug. She's in love with her drama class this term. Who'd have guessed?

John, the love of my life, is working hard in New York to supply the people of Long Island with plenty of electricity. At least he'll be home for Christmas.

For New Year's Eve, the whole bunch will be with John on Long Island. A New England New Year, my first, and I'm excited to be there for it, a little scared to drive in the winter for fear of deep snow somewhere on route though.

Frustration with higher education

I'm only one week away from finishing my first full term with Capella University online. It's been a very bumpy start. The course I have enjoyed the most was historical foundations in American education. For that one, I did some in-depth study of the content and was able to apply the skills I was learning to the research I did. One drawback was that the professor experiences a personal problem just before the midway point of the course. At that time, his feedback (that had been otherwise timely, engaging and helpful) all but disappeared.

The leadership course that was the beginning of my program did prepare me to be a more analytical thinker regarding leadership decisions. It also encouraged me that any teacher can take a leadership role in his or her work environment. Still, some of the content seemed redundant and not well structured over the ten weeks.

Educational funding was the nightmare before Christmas! The instructor provided feedback so late in the game that frequently I found myself having missed the mark on assignments or discussions. He seemed to assume that everyone coming into the course should already have an extensive knowledge of the complexities of federal, state and local educational funding as well as of litigation and legislation about equity and adequacy in education. Asking him for help was not unlike asking my socks for help. You know: six weeks after you got rid of the solo sock, you found the mate behind the dryer. Unless Capella goes to significant lengths to restructure the presentation and study of course content, I would not recommend it to anyone. Unfortunately, modified or not, it still is a core class for the EdS in Curriculum and Instruction.

Fortunately, in all my classes I stayed engaged in all the weekly discussions no matter how confused or frustrated I became. I've turned in all my assignments on time and did my very best to include all the points of discussion based on rubrics and checklists provided in the course rooms by the instructors.

According to my academic counselor, my future courses will allow me to tailor my research more closely to my teaching field (art education and French/foreign languages). I do hope that will be the case.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

This past Thanksgiving was wonderful. My mother came from Nevada; my boyfriend came from New York; my children were with me all week. With the slightly crowded apartment, we managed not to step on each others' toes, to enjoy family time together in a relaxed manner and to stock up a few memories for years to come.

We also put our Christmas tree. Since most of the time there's only my son and I here, it was nice to have family all around to decorate the tree together. This makes my son's 14th Christmas and my daughter's 12th. Counting Christmases seems just so silly on one hand, but on the other, each one is important. I wish I could distinguish one from the other, but basically they all sort of run together. Happy lights on the Christmas tree that is my brain...very bad analogy, but I don't care.

Only 24 more days are left until Christmas. That one and Thanksgiving are my favorites though today they do not compare to the holidays I spent as a child in Nevada. The constant flow of relatives in and out of our home and my grandmother's (who lived just down the street) gave me a great sense of connection. It's a connection I try hard every year to recreate, and given the challenges my family faces in geography alone, that task is no easy one.

Notes for the week

Band is finally done for Page. Northgate made it to the first round of state playoffs, but alas, we lost against the Marist War Eagles, 42-0. Looks like the War Eagles plucked the Vikings. At least Page will be able to have some weekends to himself again.

My leadership class toward my EdS has come to an end. Fortunately, this conclusion means a little less stress during the work week for me. I've got plenty to do still though with two classes ongoing; both have heavy reading requirements. At least we're coming up on some vacation time in my teaching schedule, so I'll be able to deal with the reading because I won't have as many teaching obligations.

Last week, my mother's dog passed away. Tommy had been her faithful Yorkie for more than 16 years. She's affected for sure, and she will wait a while before considering adopting a new dog. She still has her cats, and I'm sure she'll be ok, but I feel for her.

At her school, my daughter is pursuing the drama career of her dreams. In her class, Marie is auditioning for all the fun parts in her class plays. I think she may have been bitten by the showbiz bug.

Wochenrückblick

Now that it's Friday night, I'm resting on the sofa watching SciFi Channel's Stargate Atlantis. I suppose that at heart I will always be a scifi nerd. I can't help but wonder if that has any bearing on my ability to make friends? This past week, my asthma has been a real challenge for me. I've been using my inhalers as much as dosage will allow, and finally my symptoms are returning to normal manageable levels. Whew.

Election day was long. I waited in line for 90 minutes before casting my vote, and I had arrived at the polls by 6:45 AM. My vote made little difference in my state, but I felt accomplished as part of the democratic process. I'm glad to see our country move in a new direction, and I'll be hoping for more progress. The constitutional ballot initiatives in Florida, California and Arizona leave me in a state of grief, but I'm hopeful for revised initiatives in future elections.

Today was my sister's 37th birthday. John and I sent her an iPod Nano. She had a baby last month, and I think with the typical hullabaloo around a new baby, mom can get a little forgotten. I look forward to seeing my new niece as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I wanted my sister Kristie to know just how special she is. When I talked to her on the phone today, she was incredibly surprised and happy about her present. She wants to play movies on it while she exercises. I hope she doesn't forget about the baby.

My son has had a lot less stress since marching band finished its busiest season. Our high school went to regional playoffs tonight, so the band still had a show. However, the rehearsal schedule he faces is greatly reduced. I'm glad because he's getting more sleep, but he's also trying to parlay his free time into video game play. I won't go for it.

While at her mother's house, my daughter had a blast on Halloween. She filled a pillowcase with candy when she went trick-or-treating. Apparently in the last week she has halved what remained from her treats that night. Her mother has since made me the warden of the candy, and now somehow I'm to develop will power enough of my own not to eat it all myself. Quel dilemme!

Beau, my lovely dog, has been a bit goofy this week. I think he's feeling a little stir crazy with being indoors too much. More walks, more walks, more walks. We both need the exercise.

Election only two days away

Well, decision day is almost here. If not for Page's hectic schedule for marching band, I might have voted early. Instead I'll go early to my polling place Tuesday morning to cast my ballot. We'll be up late watching returns. This looks to be an intense and exciting election day.

Yesterday Page had the last band competition of the season.  Unfortunately, they lost the grand champion spot by 0.8 points.  They did win best marching and best visual effect.  The show really was good.  They still have a play-off game to perform.  Who knows?  Football could go to state (knock on wood).