Blog Archives - The Land of the Weird

The Land of the Weird

Yard-based Activities

6/30/2020

The boys are getting better at playing badminton. Sure, watching them try to serve can still be painful at times, but we had a number of good volleys going today. Unfortunately, our already limited space for playing is going to be much smaller for a while due to the landscaping as part of the septic replacement--which should start tomorrow.

We still have the frisbee golf and bocce ball (as well as our regular exercises) to give us outdoor recreation and give all of us some time away from our screens. Connor, in particular, has become obsessed with building a fort using the logs that we've cut as part of our tree removal. Personally, I think that he just wants an excuse to practice his axe skills that he learned at Scout Camp last year.

Between outdoor games, regular yard work, and our tree-felling project, we've been outside a good amount so far this year. We also have the bug bites to prove it. With the weather looking like it will be quite nice in the upcoming forecast (if a bit too warm for my tastes), we will hopefully get in even more time outside.

Shelved

6/29/2020

Today launched into a type of "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" sort of home project. I've mentioned the strange mold and apparent water damage in our upstairs linen closet before. The closest is in the top eastern corner of our house, and we found that the bottom portion of its eastern corner was damp and moldy. The damp and mold had transferred to several boxes of fabric that Janelle had stored there. I have not been eager to clean out the room, cut away the drywall, and discover the source of the problem. I've been concerned that it might be due to a slow leak of either some of our heating pipes or from the outside (perhaps from the roof).

Yesterday, we cut away the offending drywall, but did not find the source of the moisture. The plastic moisture barrier over the insulation was still intact (except where I accidentally cut it) and showed no signs of moisture on the insulation side (which I could check due to my accidental cuts. Similarly, all of the studs and flooring did not show signs of water damage; although, there was some mold at the base where the damp drywall met the subfloor. There are no heating pipes in that area either (which explains why the closet can get chilly in the winter); however, now I'm not sure how the pipes get to the boys' room.

In short, the damp and mildew is still a mystery. We measured out the are that I had removed and went to Home Depot to pick up supplies to fix it (we also checked out some other project materials that we could use), but we left that project for today. While working on it today, I noted that one of the wall-to-wall shelves in the closet was not cut correctly and thus did not rest properly on its supports. As it was also narrower than we would like, I made another Home Depot run to get another board for it and the one above it (which was cut fine but was even narrower). I then realized that the offending boards would be about the right size for the pantry shelves in our kitchen (which does not have enough shelves).

At Home Depot, I had them professionally (and quickly) cut the new boards. Only on trying to fit them in did I realize that my measurements (which I did do twice) were apparently off by a quarter inch. After a slightly botched job using my jigsaw on one shelf (it still fits much better than the board it was replacing), Janelle had me use her circular saw on the second one. It turns out that I can screw up with that too, but not as badly. Speaking of screws, I did take the precaution of drilling and then screwing the new shelves in place--something the old shelves did not have. As long as I had the circular saw out, I used it to cut one of the older boards into the correct (if not perfect) size for the kitchen pantry.

Putting in the closet shelves might have scratched up the walls a little bit, but I also did not plaster or paint the new drywall I installed (as we want to see if the damp returns first). It's in the far back corner of our most inaccessible closet, so I'm not overly concerned about how it looks at the moment. Still, we will probably need to paint it in the future. Meanwhile, I still have two shelves to put into the kitchen pantry. However, as this will require more measurements and drilling, I'm going to leave it for another day.

The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

6/28/2020

The first couple of lines form today's Gospel reading has always been a bit problematic for me : “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me ..." (Matthew 10:37). Our pastor explained it as us putting worldly desires and pleasures ahead of our love of God.

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but think of Yoda's advice to Anakin after Anakin told Yoda about his visions of the death of a person close to him in the Revenge of the Sith: "The fear of loss is a path to the Dark Side. ... Rejoice for those around us who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy, the shadow of greed, that is. ...Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." Now, I found Yoda's advice to not be very helpful or comforting, and it clearly doesn't work for Anakin. Still, it seems that Yoda was explaining a similar idea to Anakin that Jesus was teaching to his Apostles.

Nothing in this world is permanent. Putting our faith and trust into the impermanent pieces of this world will only lead to suffering. Even those whom we love above all others will one day pass away. It is in not accepting the transitory nature of this reality that we bring ourselves greater suffering. Placing our trust (our love) in God allows us to transcend the pain and cares of our mortal world. This allows us to bear the many tragedies that befall us in life, and prepares us for the life that follows. This request of Jesus is not one of selfishness on His part, but rather a path for our own redemption.

According to Matthew's Gospel, Jesus will later his Apostles to treat all people like they would treat Him. Think of this; He first tells them to love God more than anyone else in the world, and then instructs them to treat everyone they meet as if they are Him. That love, that ultimate love that He requests of us, He asks that we share with everyone. This sort of love is not the love brought through attachment, control, or ownership, but a love freely given.

Mail It In [surprisingly controversial]

6/27/2020

I've long been baffled by the antiquated voting practices that our local, state, and federal governments use to handle one of the most important responsibilities of their citizens. I was in awe at the absolute madness of the punch card system used by some states in the 2000 election. Despite the clear issues, it was used for over another decade for federal elections in some regions of the U.S. ... punch cards ... seriously. Our 2016 election had proven foreign interference, yet it looks like it will be about a decade for those issues to be dealt with as well.

We live in an age where we can do all of our banking online, pay our taxes and receive tax rebates online, get a degree online, access the stock market online, shop online, and even order the state IDs often needed for voting online. Yet for some reason, people are insisting that voters must be physically present at a polling site in order to vote ... during an epidemic. It makes me wonder if they are actually concerned about voter fraud or if they are actively trying to supress people from voting. They claim the former, but as we've already seen recently in Kentucky and Georgia, the latter is actually a larger issue.

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of mail-in ballots. I believe that our technology is significantly advanced that we can give more voters the opportunity to vote in a safe and secure manner--if we really cared about this aspect of our democracy. Still, considering the situation, mail-in ballots are at least better than the system that we are currently using (especially in heavily populated areas).

I've written before that I believe election day should be a national holiday. Honestly, election day is a better representative of what America stands for than even the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, many Americans are working jobs that do not follow the traditional schedule. Lower socioeconomic families are often putting in time at multiple jobs which, between work and dealing with their families, makes in-person voting disproportionately difficult compared to more prosperous individuals. Voting in person is a challenge for the disabled, the sick, and the elderly as well.

This leads us to the current problem: voting in an epidemic. Especially considering that other options are available, forcing people to choose between their health and their vote is a particularly barbaric practice. I'm going to answer four of the justifications that people have used to excuse this kind of voter suppression head on.

"You go to the store, don't you? If you're willing to risk your life for that, asking you to go vote isn't asking too much" Actually, many people don't. A lot of shopping is done through online options or by other, healthier, people that they know. Also, there is a world of difference between spending half an hour to an hour buying food and standing for ninety minutes in crowded lines waiting to vote (I'm referring in particular some polling places at the recent Kentucky primary election). Interestingly, I see this question posted by a lot of people who also post about how they will refuse to wear a mask for the protection of others--it feels like they might really just hate other people.

Speaking of spewing hatred, there's this one: "Millions of mail-in ballots will be printed by foreign countries ..." [caps removed] (Or other sorts of suggestions of fraud). Again, see my earlier suggestion to use even better technology, still there are safeguards to this sort of thing. Don't you think that foreign countries send in millions of false tax returns, hoping to defraud our country? We already have safeguards for this sort of thing in place (ironically, more safeguards than we have for foreign intrusion of our polling stations). In fact, over a fifth of all voting is already done by mail anyway due to our military and people using mail-in options--you know, like our President and Vice-President did in the last election. Mail-in votes require just as much authentication as absentee ballots.

Speaking of which: "Why don't people just get absentee ballots?" Many will, or are having others do so for them, but unless operations are stepped up, there might not be enough. Also, this is back to the entire bit about forcing people to risk lives to vote argument. You might be young and hale and not have a concern about it, but COVID is particularly decimating (literally) to the elderly population. Fighting against mail-in voting is a game of Russian roulette (intentional reference) that some people will risk their lives for ... but they shouldn't have to.

Finally: "It will delay election results." This is a legitimate concern, but as we built in a couple of months in our system before power actually changes hands, this might actually make it so we can go to sleep on election night and just wait a couple of days to see the results. Also, I will again note that we have better technology that can handle this.

One other thing that you should consider: while there are exceptions, many of the polling workers are in the higher-risk groups when it comes to COVID. Insisting on in-person voting not only puts them at risk, but also decreases the number of people we have that are willing to be at that risk (which is one of the reason Kentucky had to condense the number of polling stations--this led to 600,000 voters having only one polling location available to them).

We are seeing a rise in COVID cases nationwide in the middle of summer! Imagine what that will look like when we get into the tradition cold/flu season around the time of our national election. Not preparing now (let alone doing what we should be doing in the first place) for what will likely be an already difficult time is short-sighted and irresponsible.

The Clone Wars

6/26/2020

The boys and I just finished watching the 7 seasons of the computer animated cartoon Star Wars: The Clone Wars and were generally impressed with the experience. Admittedly, the artistic style took a little while for me to get used to, and some of the episodes were significantly weaker than others. Still, its best episodes (primarily in seasons 6 and 7) are some of the best Star Wars stories with some moments that literally had us cheering while others hit us emotionally.

I don't recommend the show for everyone, but it does excellent fan service for anyone who likes Star Wars. Some of the starship battles go beyond the scope of the movies. Meanwhile, a few of the lightsaber duels are beautifully choreographed and certainly true to the heart of Star Wars. Some of the character arcs are sensational. It especially makes Anakin's turn to the Dark Side more convincing as we see him struggling with the burden of being the Chosen One and have good reason to start distrusting the Jedi Council. I also loved how the stories made me care about the clone troopers--who are all searching for identity in a universe where millions of others look and are raised exactly alike. This also makes the betrayal of Order 66 much more emotionally charged.

It also introduces new characters, and some of my favorite characters in the Star Wars universe. The one to really watch is Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's apprentice. By the end of season 7 ... well, I'll leave that for the spoiler section below. I also grew to like Asajj Ventress (who bears resemblance to the villainess in my Episode II script) even though I hated her in the early seasons. They did an amazing job fleshing out her character. Lastly, I really liked Fives, Echo, and Rex out of the many clones who were introduced. I'm still amazed that the same voice actor managed to give such nuanced performances so that each clone still felt unique and identifiable. There's also the surprise appearance from one character in Star Wars lore whose story was not only riveting, but really pulled all of the threads of the larger story together.

If there's one thing that I struggled with, it was knowing how the larger story turns out in the end. The writers still managed to throw in some amazing twists and surprised, but the entire time I'm watching, I knew that this story did not end well for this generation. These were the events that lead to the rise of the Empire, and this show does a superb job of showing how Palpatine had carefully manipulated all sides to bring about his ultimate plan.

Another issue is that this took a long time to watch. There's about 44 hours worth of content and some of it (the political episodes with Padme in particular) really seemed to drag. Others, like R2's adventures with "D-Squad" were really hard to swallow between some of the more serious stories around it. And others still, like the ones with the strange god-like family that represented the Force, were just ... weird. If you would like my advice on what is worth watching, and what is worth skipping, continue on. BTW-the original Clone Wars movie is completely worth skipping. The only thing it does worthwhile storywise is set up Ahsoka as Anakin's apprentice (and provide the reason for the nickname "Snips" that he gives her). Also, I watched them not in broadcast order, but in the chronological order that Disney has posted--if I hadn't, I think that some of the episodes would have confused me as they are not all in order for the first three seasons (and a few in seasons 4, 5, and 7 [the middle arc in 7 should be before the first arc]).

What follows includes spoilers for both The Clone Wars and Mandalorian. If you have not seen other and want to watch them fresh, don't continue. If you watched Mandalorian and didn't plan to watch The Clone Wars, I recommend continuing as it looks like season two of Mandalorian will have some significant tie-ins to The Clone Wars (both had the same producers, so that's not much of a surprise).

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Okay, I largely decided that I needed to watch The Clone Wars when looking up the significance of the strange lightsaber (the Darksaber) that showed up at the end of season one of the Mandalorian. I discovered that the weapon (which originated in the non-canon Extended Universe) made its first canon appearance in The Clone Wars as part of the story arc dealing with an organization called Death Watch on the planet of Mandalore (you might already be able to see the connection). I later learned that Ahsoka, Rex, and Bo-Katan (played by Katee Sackhoff herself) will also show up in some form during season 2. As I watched the series, and grew to love the characters, I became even more excited.

Thus, if you wanted to skip episodes, but still have a background before going into season 2 of Mandalorian, I would recommend watching the following: Season 1: episodes 2-5, 9; Season 2: episodes 1-3, 5-14; Season 3: episodes 1-2, 5-6, 12-14, 18-22; Season 4: episodes 7-14, 19-22, Season 5: episodes 1-9, 14-20; Season 6: episodes 1-4, 10-113; and Season 7: 1-4, 9-12. These episodes focus on Ahsoka's development, the introduction and change of Asajj, the arc of Darth Maul--which is tied to the Darksaber, the development of Fives and Rex, and the background behind Mandalore and its culture.

I still need to see Rebels--which I will start next week after watching Revenge of the Sith (now that I know the characters in the background). I know that some of the storylines from the Clone Wars get wrapped up in Rebels (especially with Rex, Ahsoka, and Maul). I also know that the Darksaber continues its story after it disappearance in the Clone Wars. I should have it all watched before Mandalorian returns in October.

Tolerance

6/25/2020

One thing that I have learned through studying world history is that nations that are more tolerant of other cultures, religions, and people are more successful than those that are less tolerant. Another strange connection to the idea of tolerance as a nation or an empire is that preaching and practicing intolerance is the fastest way to rise to power. It seems that these two ideas would be contradictory, but they are not. Intolerant regimes are able to consolidate power more quickly because they are willing to step on the rights of others and accomplish their goals "by any means necessary." However, that sort of society cannot sustain itself for long; it's like intellectual inbreeding--by refusing new ideas the state weakens itself over time and gets outpaced by other nations.

Meanwhile, tolerant regimes are the ones that go down in history as the "golden ages" of their cultures. By allowing people to continue their own faiths and traditions while also encouraging new ideas, these states are able to attract brilliant people who might face discrimination elsewhere and encourage the brilliant people at home to share their ideas, rather than hide them out of fear of punishment. Especially successful states or cultures in the world create a type of meritocracy, where their government is run by people based on their abilities and knowledge rather than who their family is and how much money they have.

Now, there is something about to be said about too much tolerance. Not all opinions and ideas are equal, and some lead to the type of narrow-minded intolerance that can lead terrible people to power even in a society that had once been more tolerant in its past (I'll use the specific example of how the Mughal Empire [an empire in northern India that was in power when the Taj Mahal was built] went from an extremely tolerant state under Akbar to a massively intolerant one under Aurangzeb--which would lead to its deterioration and collapse). It's the problem with unbridled tolerance: tolerance of intolerance can lead to the destruction of the tolerance that allowed the intolerance to grow, thus tolerance needs to be slightly intolerant.

One of the reasons that I love America is that it is the "great melting pot" of the world. Like an alloy, America takes people, cultures, faiths, and ideas from around the world and allows them to mix and grow into something better a more powerful. America has not always done the best job at this. In fact, due to some people's intolerance, terribly things have been done in our history and to this very day. I despise any person our group who works to discriminate, alienate, or harm other people who look, speak, act, or think differently from them--not just because such people and groups might believe differently than me, but because they are so clearly against what America truly stands for.

Locates

6/24/2020

With the our septic system being replaced next week, our contractor called in for locates on our services. Both the phone/Internet and the gas companies came out today (before the downpour). Much like two years ago when we had the locates done before our driveway was fixed, both the employees and myself were just astounded by the routes that the lines take.

The phone/Internet line is definitely the strangest. Rather than coming straight up from the box and following the overhead electrical lines to the house, it crosses under our driveway, heads towards the house, crosses the gas line twice, crosses the driveway again, heads away from the driveway and house for a while (going around the current septic), circles back to go in front of the cabin, then goes under the driveway again in front of the garage, and finally makes it to the house. It's almost like they were intentionally making life more difficult for themselves.

With the locates out there (and looking so colorful), the project seems more real. I'm looking forward to having our septic woes dealt with. However, I know that our landscaping in that area is going to look quite different too. It will be interesting.

End of the 2020 AP World Reading

6/23/2020

Over seven days, I logged 47 hours and 8 minutes. About 3 and half hours of that were required breaks. Another two hours was training. Not counting the training, I read and scored 808 essays at a total average of a bit over 3 minutes per essay.

On my first day, I talked about some of the things I missed from being able to do the Reading onsite. If given an option, I would certainly prefer the onsite reading over doing it online. However, I will admit to some advantages.

When reading onsite, all of the essays are handwritten. Online, nearly all of them were typed, and those that were handwritten could be resized and recolored to make more readable. This made reading much easier (aside from staring at a computer screen). I also really appreciated being able to use Google to look up some of the more obscure outside evidence that students would provide. Not only could I verify (or disprove) that the information given was credible, I also learned quite a bit about the topic and time period in question that I had not realized before. Most importantly, I could use my personal bathroom rather than deal with the public toilets at a convention center.

Once again, I'm glad I participated in a Reading. Not only does it give me insight into how other teachers are teaching world history, it provides a chance to see how many different students are connecting with world history. I get to see so many interesting perspective and amazing levels of critical thinking. It also makes me appreciate the job that my own students did. Considering the circumstances leading up to this year's exam, I am so impressed and proud of how these students rose to the challenge. I certainly hope that their future colleges recognize their abilities as well and give them the credit that they deserve.

I will, however, be sleeping in tomorrow. ... I need the rest before I get back to working on my doctoral study.

Drained

6/22/2020

Sorry, I have several post ideas written down on a note here on my desk, but I just don't have the mental energy for them today. I'm glad that tomorrow is probably the last day of this Reading because it really started crashing in this afternoon. I was having tremendous difficulty maintaining focus and the back of my head started to twinge.

And my accuracy dropped even though I was going slower than any of the previous days. I went from my four blue stars to three green stars (from exceeds expectations to meets expectations), and I felt like I let the students down. The good news is that I was probably being too generous (I hope), but that still is not fair to the any of the students. At that point, I logged off.

I'm going to rest up and will try to get that fourth star back tomorrow.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Father's Day / Summer Solstice

6/21/2020

Today's readings and homily dealt with the idea that we should not be afraid to express our faith. In the face of disbelief, ridicule, and even outright evil, it is the duty of God's children to stand as a beacon of truth, compassion, and goodness. This does not have to mean thrusting our beliefs into other people's faces (let alone down their throats), but rather to demonstrate through our words and actions the teachings that our faith has given to us.

This is one of the primary roles of fathers as well. We are to guide our children towards better paths and brighter futures. We should stand as role models not only of how to live life, but also how to adapt to change while making the world a better place. Often, we sacrifice ourselves in ways that our children would not expect, and might never know, to give them a better chance for lives that can exceed our own.

This sacrifice is like the rising darkness that comes to great us now that the solstice has passed. It is not something to fear, just an aspect of life and change that we deal with year after year. Rather than fear the difficulties and challenges that await us as fathers, or Christians, or people, we should rise to meet them as bearers of persistence, hope, and light.

Transformers: The Movie--Soundtrack

6/20/2020

We've been watching the TV series Chuck, a spy/action/comedy show based on male-geek-fantasy. In a recent episode the opening chords to the song "The Touch" were played at a key moment and my soul responded. Only the first verse played, but I immediately started looking up one of my all-time favorite movie moments from junior high (or possibly early high school).

For those who don't know, Transformers: The Movie was the big screen showing of one of my favorite cartoons and included one of the most shocking moments of my young life (after the reveal of Vader as Luke's father): the death of Optimus Prime. I remember being utterly shocked. The song "The Touch" was in the direct lead up to that event which showed Optimus turning the tide of the Decepticon attack which had already killed so many of my favorite Autobots (... especially poor Wheeljack--the creator of the Dinobots). When the movie aired on television, I recorded it and watched that scene over and over (as well as a later scene where the song plays again), writing down the lyrics to the song (the Internet can provide them pretty easily now--I got a lot of them wrong).

In my search a few days ago, I discovered that the song later featured prominently in "Boogie Nights" which I have never seen (I plan to keep that status). Unfortunately, as nerdy/geeky as Chuck is, I think it was the Boogie Nights reference they were probably going for. However, for me, the song sent me on a pleasant tour of geeky nostalgia. I purchased the soundtrack (which includes Weird Al's "Dare to be Stupid") and was even more impressed by Stan Bush's (the song artist) other song "Dare" (I only just realized the comic juxtaposition with Weird Al's song). Seriously, look up the lyrics to "Dare" (by Stan Bush, not the other ones). "The Touch" and "Dare," and a couple of other songs, were immediately added to my Exercise and Car playlists.

With the songs running through my head, I had to watch the movie again. It turns out that my sons did not remember it, so it was a fun experience for all of us (we watched the live-action series of movies two summers ago; in my opinion, none of them come close to being as good as the original--but I am pretty biased). As I've been grading essays this week, the songs (especially Dare) have been pleasant earworms that keep my energy going--I can't listen to actual music as I grade because it breaks my train of thought.

They are classic examples of 80s synth-rock music. I highly recommend listening to them. They might not get your heart racing like they do mine, but I think you'll enjoy them.

The Second Civil War [controversial]

6/19/2020

About a year ago, I first read a post that spoke of how people don't talk about the Second Civil War that was fought in America and how the Confederates won it. It connected a number of historical events that I already knew about in a way that made the larger picture clearer for me. I've seen the post a few times since then, but I wasn't able to find it on my cursory search today. Frankly, I'm a bit worn with computer screens at the moment, so forgive the fact that I won't be citing anything at this time. However, considering that I'm writing this post on Juneteenth, I figured that I'd share a bit of this history that many of you were never really taught, but that happened nonetheless.

First, I want you to ponder two questions: 1) Where will you sleep tonight? 2) Where (and how) will you get your food? Got it. Good.

You probably learned that the Civil War ended in 1865 at Appomattox with Lee's surrender to Grant. It's a nice date with a clear event to follow, but as you've probably read recently, due to slow communication and some rather unscrupulous people, word of the end of the war would take a while to spread. In fact, Andrew Johnson (who is high on my list of most despicable presidents, but for other reasons--and not to be confused with Andrew Jackson, who's even higher on that list) did not officially declare hostilities ended until over a year after the signing at Appomattox. The 13th Amendment (which abolished slavery) had been signed by then.

Whew! Slavery's over! News went around and there were celebrations among the newly freed citizens of the U.S.!

And then they asked the two questions I asked you to ponder. Few former slaves had much of an education. Fewer still had any savings. Some freed citizens returned to the same place they were the day before and the years before that and worked for their former masters for wages that did not cover the same room and board that they had been provided before.

The first shots of the Second Civil War were fired to kill newly freed citizens who took "stole" food from their former masters. Following shots were on Black Americans who tried to pool money and organize for freed slaves the means to move on, live together, or get other work. The killing was so bad that the U.S. military was sent in (or ordered to remain, depending). Then the shooting began in earnest.

The Reconstruction had lofty goals, but the U.S. was literally still at war with itself. During the early years, former Confederates were not allowed to vote, let alone run for office (some did anyway). With the 15th Amendment, thousands of Black men (sorry, ladies, it will take another 50+ years for your rights to get going) took public office at the local, state, and even federal levels (most were Republicans, like Lincoln). Many would be lynched, their wives and daughters raped (like they had been as slaves), their sons killed, their houses and businesses burned, and yet they persisted anyway. Battles--with significant casualties, if nothing quite reaching the bloodiest battles first Civil War--continued between the Union forces and the newly formed KKK (whose white hoods were to stand for them representing the ghosts of Confederate dead). This continued for 10 years ... and then the North surrendered.

In 1877, due to the contested election of Rutherford B. Hayes, a settlement with the Southern Democrats who had been regaining offices due to attacks on Black men who voted (let alone ran for office), the troops were recalled ... and the real slaughter began. The devastation from the vengeance that the newly "vindicated" Confederates brought was beyond cruel. They worked to punish any Black citizen for the audacity of being "free" and worked diligently at their Jim Crow laws to reduce those freedoms to almost nothing. The Confederate flag began to fly over state buildings again in celebration of this victory and monuments glorifying Confederate leaders started to be put up in every town. To THIS DAY, many Southern schools still teach the "War of Northern Aggression" and literally "whitewash" history while Black voter suppression STILL occurs.

Unfortunately, it did not end there; however, I will.

... with this note: I don't feel guilt for that past (as I've been recently accused of); I feel disgust, and more so for the people and institutions that have continued it to the present. Those Jim Crow laws lasted for nearly a hundred years! There was not a Civil Peace during that time, but a barbaric system of discrimination and hatred that has yet to be fully dismantled! Meanwhile, good people I know and love are defending the monuments of that time because they take personal offense at have their privilege pointed out to them--and that disgusts me too, especially because I used to react the same way.

... I know better now. So should you.

Next School Year

6/18/2020

Our district just released its possible contingencies for what the next school year might look like. It basically provides three possibilities (green, yellow, and red). I haven't looked into the specifics yet, but green looks like a normal school year and would take place if the epidemic was considered contained. Yellow would take place if we are at "medium risk" and would somehow provide more social distancing with online options. Red is supposed to be if we are experiencing community spread of COVID and would put affected areas completely into remote off-site instruction.

I really, really, really, would like for us to be Green ... but I feel that is extremely unlikely. At the moment, cases are on the rise and less than .2% of the population has tested positive for the disease. We flattened the curve for a while, but with restrictions lifting, we are seeing a resurgence of the first wave of infections (the evidence suggests that the second wave is still to come). Right now, we are experiencing the same growth in cases that we were at the start despite being in our warm weather season. I am truly concerned about what will happen when we are more contained again in the fall.

My plan? I will be preparing as though we will be in the Red from the start and through the year. It's the most time and work intensive option, and I'd rather be prepared than to have to scramble later. Having the content ready will make it so I can better focus on my students as they will need a lot of attention if we are remote learning.

I'm still praying for it to be Green.

AP Reading

6/17/2020

Today was the first day of the online Reading of the AP World History exam. In general for the next week, I will be sitting at my computer and grading essays from about 8 AM to 5 PM. If today was any indication, I'm going to need more coffee.

While I was moving at a brisk pace (according to the tracker which logs every minute I'm on and the number of essays I've graded), I still spared the time to lament about the things that the online Reading lacks compared to the on site version. The biggest is, of course, not getting to spend time with the friends that I've made over the years. However, small things were also niggling at my comfort.

I miss being able to turn to the person next to me to either ask for advice on an essay or to point out something amusing that a student wrote. I miss getting to hand in my tally sheet with my completed folder so my Table Leader knew exactly which points I awarded. Even if I got something wrong, we would know exactly what needed improvement. I miss getting a "thumbs up" after the TL checked my folder. I miss my own little tally of essays that I've graded (the computer keeps track of that now).

I miss the smell of thousands of recently sharpened pencils. There was something strangely comforting about the sound of thousands of educators quietly reading and marking exams. I even miss the frantic tabling clearing that would occur during the last half hour of the day.

This Reading is definitely a great deal more lonely.