Category: Reviews

I learned a lot in college, both in and out of class. The bills, the jobs, the bosses, the coworkers, the professors, etc. yadda yadda. Everyone who went to college can recall I am sure. I remember one of the coolest things I learned in college was keeping a schedule. I’d start with a 3×5 card and neatly write in a weekly schedule with all my classes and their room numbers. Walking around campus, I often referred to it when I wasn’t sure of my next destination. It sounds weird but I miss that. The feeling of being a small fish in a big pond trying to get from point A to point B and pass all my classes. The best tome was the beginning of a semester. I’d have fresh notebooks, paper, and pens and the chance to excel all over again. I learned a lot of college tricks that worked for me.

One system that I used n college was the manila file folder system, so called by me. Instead of notebooks, I used manila a separate manila folder for each class and kept them in my satchel. I used a clipboard for the class at hand and filed all my notes into the file folder and then stored it in the satchel. This was a great system! I liked it a lot, especially because it broke with the “norm” of carrying a backback around. Although I hated college sometimes, I do miss the artistry of being a student. Most students don’t realize what they are capable of until they go through the challenge of college. You learn where all the 99 cent menus are in town and a million other little tricks to help you get through. It was some of the hardest work I’ve ever done but I do miss that challenge to be creative and make things work every day.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Fifteen Credits.”

I learned a lot in college, both in and out of class. The bills, the jobs, the bosses, the coworkers, the professors, etc. yadda yadda. Everyone who went to college can recall I am sure. I remember one of the coolest things I learned in college was keeping a schedule. I’d start with a 3×5 card and neatly write in a weekly schedule with all my classes and their room numbers. Walking around campus, I often referred to it when I wasn’t sure of my next destination. It sounds weird but I miss that. The feeling of being a small fish in a big pond trying to get from point A to point B and pass all my classes. The best tome was the beginning of a semester. I’d have fresh notebooks, paper, and pens and the chance to excel all over again. I learned a lot of college tricks that worked for me.

One system that I used n college was the manila file folder system, so called by me. Instead of notebooks, I used manila a separate manila folder for each class and kept them in my satchel. I used a clipboard for the class at hand and filed all my notes into the file folder and then stored it in the satchel. This was a great system! I liked it a lot, especially because it broke with the “norm” of carrying a backback around. Although I hated college sometimes, I do miss the artistry of being a student. Most students don’t realize what they are capable of until they go through the challenge of college. You learn where all the 99 cent menus are in town and a million other little tricks to help you get through. It was some of the hardest work I’ve ever done but I do miss that challenge to be creative and make things work every day.

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Fifteen Credits.”

Bloggers love lists. They can be short and sweet or developed as much as one chooses. They are also great for task management. The Summer can be a time for me to “Vege out” and not accomplish anything. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, As Neil Young says, “There’s a lot to learn from wasting time.” Still, it helped for me to sit down in a straight-backed chair and write in my paper journal the things I hope to accomplish this Summer. Sharing them as an online diary is helpful to me and hopefully entertaining if not helpful to someone reading this.

Today I am participating in Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. This is one of her suggested topics for the week.

This summer I hope to accomplish the following things, not in order of importance.

1. Rest and rebuild. This sounds like the opposite of accomplishment to a workaholic but it isn’t. In fact, the more you stop to sharpen your axe and the better sharpened it is determines how productively you cut trees down. The brain needs rest. Of course it must always stay challenged but there’s a lot to say for stopping and tending to your body and mind over the Summer.
2. Journal at least weekly about innovative ideas for running my classroom. A few creative, well-placed ideas can improve the learning environment immensely. I am not so much worried about the kids who misbehave in my class as about those who try to do the right thing but are hindered by the kids who make wrong choices. I want the class to be a sanctuary for learning and I need to create and innovate some new ideas to that end. Summer is the perfect wide-open thinking time to do it.
3. Take my wife out at least weekly. I’ll need to coordinate with my son’s work schedule and plan dinners for the kids when I take Sarah out to the places where she can relax and have a good time. Sometimes when I get so into my routine, I forget to show her how valuable and attractive she is to me. I do not want this to happen over the Summer.
4. Swim, get sun and Vitamin D. This may seem like part rest and it is but ot is something else as well. The sun grows vitamin D in our bodies. My being in the sun a sensible amount of time, we build our immunity and overall health. Not to mention that I spend so much time and money on the pool, Summer is the time to use it.
5. Blog once a day or more. My blogging life has stretched and contracted over time. It has stretched again and even gone into hiding at times. I’ve learned it is something I cannot ever quit. It fits me. It’s become a natural tool where I sort out my thoughts and make connections with other bloggers. Like I said, the way I blog has undergone many changes as has my routine. Over the Summer, I plan to blog once a day. I hope to do a WordPress.com Daily Post prompt each day because I find it an effective networking device. In fact, so far the best I have found for the sort of online diary blogger I am. I am also checking out two other days of writing challenges: Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop of Thursdays or another day I choose, and SOCS, Stream of Consciousness Saturday which I have participated in a few times and very much enjoyed. Anything beyond this will just be regular posts I may feel so led to share.
6. Attend Summer Institute for my teacher’s union at UCLA. I’m scheduled to stay in the dorms there and study website and communications. I’m not overly thrilled about leaving my wife and kids for a week but I feel the training will hugely benefit my teachers union so I’m doing it.
7. Go to Laguna Beach. I just love this place. Sand and salt water here I come! If I go twice it’s a huge accomplishment.

Bloggers love lists. They can be short and sweet or developed as much as one chooses. They are also great for task management. The Summer can be a time for me to “Vege out” and not accomplish anything. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, As Neil Young says, “There’s a lot to learn from wasting time.” Still, it helped for me to sit down in a straight-backed chair and write in my paper journal the things I hope to accomplish this Summer. Sharing them as an online diary is helpful to me and hopefully entertaining if not helpful to someone reading this.

Today I am participating in Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. This is one of her suggested topics for the week.

This summer I hope to accomplish the following things, not in order of importance.

1. Rest and rebuild. This sounds like the opposite of accomplishment to a workaholic but it isn’t. In fact, the more you stop to sharpen your axe and the better sharpened it is determines how productively you cut trees down. The brain needs rest. Of course it must always stay challenged but there’s a lot to say for stopping and tending to your body and mind over the Summer.
2. Journal at least weekly about innovative ideas for running my classroom. A few creative, well-placed ideas can improve the learning environment immensely. I am not so much worried about the kids who misbehave in my class as about those who try to do the right thing but are hindered by the kids who make wrong choices. I want the class to be a sanctuary for learning and I need to create and innovate some new ideas to that end. Summer is the perfect wide-open thinking time to do it.
3. Take my wife out at least weekly. I’ll need to coordinate with my son’s work schedule and plan dinners for the kids when I take Sarah out to the places where she can relax and have a good time. Sometimes when I get so into my routine, I forget to show her how valuable and attractive she is to me. I do not want this to happen over the Summer.
4. Swim, get sun and Vitamin D. This may seem like part rest and it is but ot is something else as well. The sun grows vitamin D in our bodies. My being in the sun a sensible amount of time, we build our immunity and overall health. Not to mention that I spend so much time and money on the pool, Summer is the time to use it.
5. Blog once a day or more. My blogging life has stretched and contracted over time. It has stretched again and even gone into hiding at times. I’ve learned it is something I cannot ever quit. It fits me. It’s become a natural tool where I sort out my thoughts and make connections with other bloggers. Like I said, the way I blog has undergone many changes as has my routine. Over the Summer, I plan to blog once a day. I hope to do a WordPress.com Daily Post prompt each day because I find it an effective networking device. In fact, so far the best I have found for the sort of online diary blogger I am. I am also checking out two other days of writing challenges: Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop of Thursdays or another day I choose, and SOCS, Stream of Consciousness Saturday which I have participated in a few times and very much enjoyed. Anything beyond this will just be regular posts I may feel so led to share.
6. Attend Summer Institute for my teacher’s union at UCLA. I’m scheduled to stay in the dorms there and study website and communications. I’m not overly thrilled about leaving my wife and kids for a week but I feel the training will hugely benefit my teachers union so I’m doing it.
7. Go to Laguna Beach. I just love this place. Sand and salt water here I come! If I go twice it’s a huge accomplishment.

I’ve been telling myself lately I should watch more multi-cultural movies. Fruitvale Station could fit into that category. Beyond that however, it’s a portrait and celebration of life. The subject matter may not always indicate that but a study under the surface does. I was happy to see this one on Netflix streaming. I think it’s so cool that I can get great movies here at home on my tv for the base price I pay for Netflix every month. The film starts out with a protagonist trying to make it in life with a girlfriend and child of his own. He’s only 22 so it’s no wonder he faces obstacles. We travel through 3/4 of the movie with him facing these obstacles with mixed success. He loses his job at the grocery store for being late and yet helps a customer get the fish for her party the very same day. He has a good heart but he is hindered. We find out at the end it is a true story. It can stand as a true story for so many young black men trying to make life work for them.

You cringe at what he does just like we all cringe at what young men we know do or say. It’s a product of their age and frustration. Young black men face obstacles unique to their ethnicity. But our protagonist is faithful to his girlfriend, at least after some mistakes, and even tells her he wants to start off new with a clean slate after telling her he lost his job. To get a more rounded view of the world, you can use the tool of movies lie this one. Young black men will identify. The rest of us get a window into the world of a young black man. Along the way we peer into the perspective of those who love him: his girlfriend, his mother, and sister. To watch and learn from Fruitvale Station is to be human. I give it the full five stars because it 100% succeeds in what it sets out to do: tell the story. Fruitvale Station is a very riveting and touching human movie.

I’ve been telling myself lately I should watch more multi-cultural movies. Fruitvale Station could fit into that category. Beyond that however, it’s a portrait and celebration of life. The subject matter may not always indicate that but a study under the surface does. I was happy to see this one on Netflix streaming. I think it’s so cool that I can get great movies here at home on my tv for the base price I pay for Netflix every month. The film starts out with a protagonist trying to make it in life with a girlfriend and child of his own. He’s only 22 so it’s no wonder he faces obstacles. We travel through 3/4 of the movie with him facing these obstacles with mixed success. He loses his job at the grocery store for being late and yet helps a customer get the fish for her party the very same day. He has a good heart but he is hindered. We find out at the end it is a true story. It can stand as a true story for so many young black men trying to make life work for them.

You cringe at what he does just like we all cringe at what young men we know do or say. It’s a product of their age and frustration. Young black men face obstacles unique to their ethnicity. But our protagonist is faithful to his girlfriend, at least after some mistakes, and even tells her he wants to start off new with a clean slate after telling her he lost his job. To get a more rounded view of the world, you can use the tool of movies lie this one. Young black men will identify. The rest of us get a window into the world of a young black man. Along the way we peer into the perspective of those who love him: his girlfriend, his mother, and sister. To watch and learn from Fruitvale Station is to be human. I give it the full five stars because it 100% succeeds in what it sets out to do: tell the story. Fruitvale Station is a very riveting and touching human movie.