Dropping the blog, picking up the tumblr... Thanks for reading! =)
http://glassthreequartersfull.tumblr.com/
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Overcome...
In light of recent world headlines (...Headline), it has been fascinating to gauge the response of at least my generation on Facebook. Would I know how my friends were reacting to the news if not for status updates and note-posting? Is this something we would talk about in conversation? Perhaps because of the child-based environment or perhaps because 9/11 evokes a unique and diverse set of perspectives in this city, it has NOT been a topic of conversation at school.
I've found profile-hopping on Facebook to be oddly helpful in processing my own take on the events. A few of the most resonant:
postscript: it is really awkward to be both an Obama supporter and a non-violence advocate right now. people cheering over death is freaking me out.
Not sure how I feel about crowds of people celebrating an individual's death, no matter who it is.
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that"
~Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(apparently this has been proven to be part-quote and part-eloquent-but-never-spoken-words, but the sentiment is a great one, regardless)
There is no way that justice can be done; justice is already dead when war begins. All that can be done is a necessary evil, and again jubilation is a shameful way to react to that. [...] It's like entering a room where people throw cow shit at each other. You wouldn't want to enter that room, but you're pushed inside and some sonofabitch starts throwing cow shit at you. If you throw cow shit back and win the cow shit fight, you're not "clean": you stopped being clean when you entered the room and now you're a cow-shit thrower as much as he is. Your only victory will be to escape the cow shit room, but once you do that, you can't say that what he did and what you did are fundamentally different. You've the moral high ground, but you were still a cow shit thrower in a cow shit room and THAT is tragic. Celebrating your victory in the cow shit throwing contest is monumentally stupid: you should be celebrating your escape from the cow shit room instead, while still ruing the fact that you were ever made to throw cow shit in the first place.
(can you tell this writer is earning a graduate degree in philosophy?)
And a link:
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/03/135927693/is-it-wrong-to-celebrate-bin-ladens-death
(NPR, incidentally, was one of the only major outlets on Monday to cover the angle presented among the quotes above)
Closing thought: How would our national and personal responses to 9/11 been shaped differently had Facebook and other social networking sites been as prevalent (or existent) in 2001? Discuss.
K
Monday, April 25, 2011
Introducing...
Hi.
My name is Kate. I love to run and complete crossword puzzles. I wear flat shoes most of the time. I do not eat meat, and I enjoy Mexican food, cereal, beer, coffee, and... chocolate. I follow the news. I listen to podcasts and TEDTalks. I do not own a TV. I have no idea what's happening on the current season of American Idol. I sing in an adult choir, where members are more than 1-4 years apart in age. I make budgets and fix toilets and make my own almond butter. I lead initiatives at my Unitarian Universalist church. I have many friends who are married, getting married, or close to getting married. I drive a car maybe twice a year. I use a calendar to keep track of my schedule.
How entwined are substance and label? Does a change of name facilitate or even precipitate change in personality or lifestyle? Opposite? (PS, go watch 30 Rock's 100th episode. Brilliance.)
Images from the life of Kate:
I sang with my adult, secular choir in D.C... at a Lutheran church.
AND I had a homestay in springy, colonial-tinged Annapolis, MD.
The parents came for a visit, and I walked them many more miles than they had anticipated... Totally worth this view, though! Little Red Lighthouse under George Washington Bridge, about 2 miles from my apartment.
Though not made of foam, we did still fly the traditional Easter airplane, this time in Central Park!
My name is Kate. I love to run and complete crossword puzzles. I wear flat shoes most of the time. I do not eat meat, and I enjoy Mexican food, cereal, beer, coffee, and... chocolate. I follow the news. I listen to podcasts and TEDTalks. I do not own a TV. I have no idea what's happening on the current season of American Idol. I sing in an adult choir, where members are more than 1-4 years apart in age. I make budgets and fix toilets and make my own almond butter. I lead initiatives at my Unitarian Universalist church. I have many friends who are married, getting married, or close to getting married. I drive a car maybe twice a year. I use a calendar to keep track of my schedule.
How entwined are substance and label? Does a change of name facilitate or even precipitate change in personality or lifestyle? Opposite? (PS, go watch 30 Rock's 100th episode. Brilliance.)
Images from the life of Kate:
I sang with my adult, secular choir in D.C... at a Lutheran church.
AND I had a homestay in springy, colonial-tinged Annapolis, MD.
The parents came for a visit, and I walked them many more miles than they had anticipated... Totally worth this view, though! Little Red Lighthouse under George Washington Bridge, about 2 miles from my apartment.
Though not made of foam, we did still fly the traditional Easter airplane, this time in Central Park!Love, Hugs, & SPRING!
K
K
Friday, March 18, 2011
"I'll have to ask my uncle if I can use his Internet this weekend."
"Maybe my mom can take me to the library to look at 'The Cat in the Hat'; we don't have a copy."
"I don't think my child can join band next year... We have to pay to rent the instrument, right?"
Per a goal report created by my teachers and administration disseminated to us last week, I learned that my school (PS 43; the Monday school--Van Nest Academy--still seems like a pretend-job) is situated in THE poorest congressional district in the country. ...We're number one!...? 100% of our students receive 10 meals a week at school--likely MORE than half the meals they will consume the entire week. I see the same sweaters over uniforms (likely also the same) every single day.
I am so fortunate to have been placed at 43. It has been an ideal environment for my continued education, both of pedagogy and diversity of realities. In all likelihood, I will be traveling to multiple continents next summer. Some of my kids have never left the Bronx. When I nearly set my kitchen on fire (a story for another entry), I can go get a burrito at the corner stand and not have to sacrifice that trip to the grocery store or that new pair of mittens or whatever the need may be. Diversity of realities.
This is not a "pat me on the back for working in the inner city" appeal. It's a "pat THEM on the back" for thriving and maintaining momentum in their education despite tremendous obstacles. My afterschool group is so excited to research their Seuss-inspired roles for a Seussical medley. I know a really fabulous single mom with two girls (in our school at least) who has her older daughter taking piano lessons and playing trumpet in band--and she is GOOD. We learned about 12-bar blues structure in the general classroom today, and as she was waiting for our afterschool group to begin, she pulled out her trumpet and figured out the tonic notes of the blues chords and played them in flawless sequence. Parents take precious time off from work to attend conferences and concerts. For the most part, the students I see during the week are a smiley, social, well-adjusted bunch.
I hope that fourth grader does get to use her uncle's Internet this weekend, because she is going to make a terrific Horton when we perform at the concert. =)
Happy Weekend!!
K
"Maybe my mom can take me to the library to look at 'The Cat in the Hat'; we don't have a copy."
"I don't think my child can join band next year... We have to pay to rent the instrument, right?"
Per a goal report created by my teachers and administration disseminated to us last week, I learned that my school (PS 43; the Monday school--Van Nest Academy--still seems like a pretend-job) is situated in THE poorest congressional district in the country. ...We're number one!...? 100% of our students receive 10 meals a week at school--likely MORE than half the meals they will consume the entire week. I see the same sweaters over uniforms (likely also the same) every single day.
I am so fortunate to have been placed at 43. It has been an ideal environment for my continued education, both of pedagogy and diversity of realities. In all likelihood, I will be traveling to multiple continents next summer. Some of my kids have never left the Bronx. When I nearly set my kitchen on fire (a story for another entry), I can go get a burrito at the corner stand and not have to sacrifice that trip to the grocery store or that new pair of mittens or whatever the need may be. Diversity of realities.
This is not a "pat me on the back for working in the inner city" appeal. It's a "pat THEM on the back" for thriving and maintaining momentum in their education despite tremendous obstacles. My afterschool group is so excited to research their Seuss-inspired roles for a Seussical medley. I know a really fabulous single mom with two girls (in our school at least) who has her older daughter taking piano lessons and playing trumpet in band--and she is GOOD. We learned about 12-bar blues structure in the general classroom today, and as she was waiting for our afterschool group to begin, she pulled out her trumpet and figured out the tonic notes of the blues chords and played them in flawless sequence. Parents take precious time off from work to attend conferences and concerts. For the most part, the students I see during the week are a smiley, social, well-adjusted bunch.
I hope that fourth grader does get to use her uncle's Internet this weekend, because she is going to make a terrific Horton when we perform at the concert. =)
Happy Weekend!!
K
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Conference Discoveries
My principal makes lollipops for special occasions. What.
Parents remember concert songs from December! Hooray!
My students have SO many dedicated parents and guardians who are sincerely invested in the education of their children, in music as well as the general classroom.
A baby touching your face at a baby shower means you are next to have a baby (like a bouquet at a wedding, presumably), and making delicious cookies means you can get married. Love my kooky teachers and their wives' tales.
Our crazy (no seriously, CRAZY) art teacher did not know one of our teachers was pregnant--8 months along at that!--until her baby shower this afternoon. The quote was, "Well, she's fat anyway, so it's hard to tell". [She is NOT.] Seriously, crazy.
Staying for the whole night of conferences is kind of fun when you're not truly accountable for academic promotion or standardized test performance. =)
Love, Hugs, and a Few Cups of Coffee Today,
Ms. Phillips
Parents remember concert songs from December! Hooray!
My students have SO many dedicated parents and guardians who are sincerely invested in the education of their children, in music as well as the general classroom.
A baby touching your face at a baby shower means you are next to have a baby (like a bouquet at a wedding, presumably), and making delicious cookies means you can get married. Love my kooky teachers and their wives' tales.
Our crazy (no seriously, CRAZY) art teacher did not know one of our teachers was pregnant--8 months along at that!--until her baby shower this afternoon. The quote was, "Well, she's fat anyway, so it's hard to tell". [She is NOT.] Seriously, crazy.
Staying for the whole night of conferences is kind of fun when you're not truly accountable for academic promotion or standardized test performance. =)
Love, Hugs, and a Few Cups of Coffee Today,
Ms. Phillips
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Yin and Yang
A friend posted this magnificent TED Talk and I spent the entire 20 minutes rapt with the speaker's findings and message:
A commenter on the video site posted this apparently Taoist mantra in response:
To be whole, let yourself break.
To be straight, let yourself bend.
To be full, let yourself be empty.
To be new, let yourself wear out.
To have everything, give everything up.
Knowing others is a kind of knowledge;
knowing yourself is wisdom.
Conquering others requires strength;
conquering yourself is true power.
To realize that you have enough is true wealth.
Pushing ahead may succeed,
but staying put brings endurance.
Die without perishing, and find the eternal.
To know that you do not know is strength.
Not knowing that you do not know is a sickness.
The cure begins with the recognition of the sickness.
Knowing what is permanent: enlightenment.
Not knowing what is permanent: disaster.
Knowing what is permanent opens the mind.
Open mind, open heart.
Open heart, magnanimity.
Traditional Taoism is a bit too mystical for my tastes, but I love these words. A LOT.
A commenter on the video site posted this apparently Taoist mantra in response:
To be whole, let yourself break.
To be straight, let yourself bend.
To be full, let yourself be empty.
To be new, let yourself wear out.
To have everything, give everything up.
Knowing others is a kind of knowledge;
knowing yourself is wisdom.
Conquering others requires strength;
conquering yourself is true power.
To realize that you have enough is true wealth.
Pushing ahead may succeed,
but staying put brings endurance.
Die without perishing, and find the eternal.
To know that you do not know is strength.
Not knowing that you do not know is a sickness.
The cure begins with the recognition of the sickness.
Knowing what is permanent: enlightenment.
Not knowing what is permanent: disaster.
Knowing what is permanent opens the mind.
Open mind, open heart.
Open heart, magnanimity.
Traditional Taoism is a bit too mystical for my tastes, but I love these words. A LOT.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Today I...
woke up at a reasonable hour (9:30) from a girls' night/sleepover with church friends.
brunched in Astoria with said friends with mimosa and coffee.
ran outside in sub-50s temperatures for the first time EVER. Aside from regular tissue breaks, it was actually really refreshing and surprisingly easy. More, please.
will bake a vegetarian cheeseburger noodle casserole--a childhood favorite (minus the vegetarian part), and then consume a serving with bottled beer.
will lesson plan so tomorrow (day off!) can be set aside for chores and friendships.
will watch probably too many episodes of The West Wing on loan from the library (I only have a week to finish a half a season. Justified.).
The point is, the person living the day outlined above is practically a stranger to the one who inhabited my life even two years ago. She even goes by a different name sometimes. =) There are the obvious partitions between life segments (graduations, apartment, jobs...), and then there are the incremental shifts that occur daily. Community-building. Diet and exercise routines. Coffee! Of course, this duality of change is no revelation. But the occasional perspective check can be amusing, revealing, and promising of possibility.
K
brunched in Astoria with said friends with mimosa and coffee.
ran outside in sub-50s temperatures for the first time EVER. Aside from regular tissue breaks, it was actually really refreshing and surprisingly easy. More, please.
will bake a vegetarian cheeseburger noodle casserole--a childhood favorite (minus the vegetarian part), and then consume a serving with bottled beer.
will lesson plan so tomorrow (day off!) can be set aside for chores and friendships.
will watch probably too many episodes of The West Wing on loan from the library (I only have a week to finish a half a season. Justified.).
The point is, the person living the day outlined above is practically a stranger to the one who inhabited my life even two years ago. She even goes by a different name sometimes. =) There are the obvious partitions between life segments (graduations, apartment, jobs...), and then there are the incremental shifts that occur daily. Community-building. Diet and exercise routines. Coffee! Of course, this duality of change is no revelation. But the occasional perspective check can be amusing, revealing, and promising of possibility.
K
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