The New Intellectual Pursuit

Frankie (Keyshia's mom) attacks public schools and get my goat!

2008-12-04T03:26:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday morning a friend of mine asked me to DVR BET’s wildly successful program, Keyshia Cole- The Way Life Is. I have heard of the program, but I had yet to sit down and watch it fully. Being a fan of R&B music, I appreciate the work Keyshia Cole has done and how she has shown significant growth as an artist over the course of two albums, so I was excited to watch this program.

I watched the program and was left feeling not only angry, but a little disgusted.

The point that angered me was the attack of Keyshia’s mother Frankie on America’s public schools system. Keyshia Cole’s sister Neffe (I think this is spelled correctly…shoot… I’ve never seen this name before…) is considering sending her daughter Brianna (a seemingly bright and very charismatic young lady) to Atlanta’s Southwest Christian Academy.

When providing reasons as to why the move from a public elementary school to a private middle school should occur, Neffe (the child’s mother) cited smaller class sizes and more parental involvement, both of which are admirable reasons for wanting to send a child to private school.

When the two spoke to grandma Frankie about the private school option, she provided numerous reasons that were not only offensive to me, a product of public schools, but down right elementary (where Brianna just finished school) in reasoning.

Frankie said, “You need private schools because it will help you have a better future. Public schools gone take you way off of your goal…It’s important to me that Brianna have a solid education. Neffe didn’t have a solid education, Keyshia didn’t have a solid education, and it’s important to me that someone break the family curse.”

An educator’s response (If only I could sit my home girl down, adjust that lace front and those teeth and say…)
Frankie, what are you talking about? Keyshia and Neffe did not struggle in regards to education because they attended a public school. Not only did students graduate from whatever public school these young women attended and go on to college, but some of them became teachers, lawyers, ministers, doctors, and successful entrepreneurs. The curse these young women were afflicted with is the same curse too many young people are afflicted with and that is being born into a family where a parent or parents fail to make decisions that will positively impact their children.

Frankie is a reformed crack cocaine addict, the mother of numerous children (by numerous fathers), many of whom were reared by foster care because Frankie was neglectful and a prostitute. And while I am glad she reformed her life for the better with help from her inspirational daughters, Keyshia and Neffe, I don’t think she is the best sounding board for her granddaughters future. And the number one detractor against private schools, oddly enough, was Frankie herself. She went, for a little while she claims, to private school. And look where she ended up.

The entire episode can be seen at:
http://www.bet.com/onblast/default.html?chan=3&id=2462&i=4&sub=&itype=e

A final note:
On the show, one can routinely see Frankie’s love interests. All of these men are tall, a lil rugged around the edges and young… extremely young. Frankie is clearly not a young woman. Clearly, Frankie is not a playful little pussycat. She is actually too old to be a cougar. She’s more like a saber tooth tiger. And no, I am not making fun of her false teeth. I am simply saying she is too old to be on the prowl off of Bankhead Highway (Hollowell Parkway in these modern times) looking for ‘lil thugsters and dime bags of weed.

Vampires are Everywhere!

2008-11-24T19:03:00.001-08:00

Okay, after a hiatus, I’m back… I know friends far and near have been wondering where I went, but work just got the best of me. I promise to try and do a better job.

So what has happened since I’ve been gone…

Vampires have taken over our world… well, at least the pop culture world. I had been a vampire fan since 9th grade when I read Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, but after Queen of the Damned, Vampires lost their appeal for me. Witches (The Witching Hour is a MUST READ) and wizards (who didn’t love Harry Potter) ruled. Now, vampires are every where (True Blood and Twilight). Unfortunately, my one hour of Sunday night television belongs to Desperate Housewives (until Big Love returns January 19) and I am keeping my movie money in my pocket.

Beyonce dropped a new album that turned out to be a bomb. I am very disappointed. Beyonce is a true superstar for our current generation and I, like you should, expect more than 7th grade lyrics and played beats.

I turned 30. And as crazy as it sounds, as soon as I turned 30, I found several gray hairs. Well, at least they were on my head.

I cooked Chili… that tasted like motor oil. I think I burned it. It tasted really bad.

Oh, and Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. S

I guess I missed a lot since September 27th. Oh well… tomorrow is another day and another chance to post.

Until Buffy stages a comeback (where's a good slayer when you need one),

-Your Favorite Teacher

Hair today, gone tomrrow...

2008-09-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

I wrote about my barber this summer. He was arrested for back child support while cutting my hair.

I had a good barber. He did a solid job of cutting my hair.

My new barber cuts in the same shop and in the same chair. He does a fine job on my hair, but a horrible job on my hairline and face.

I don’t think my hair is hard to cut. I go in, sit down, get a hair cut, and go home. I never complain about the hair cut or over scrutinize the hair cut. If I get a good compliment about my haircut (rarely ever in my life), I say thank you and move on. However, with my new haircut, I don’t think I can go back into that shop and simply move on. This new barber and I are through. He has to go!

I have marks across my face and hairline where my new barber has butchered me up. After I finished with my hair cut and went home, I realized my mustache was uneven and that my beard was lopsided.

I will not let my new barber cut my hair again. I must shave my facial hair and look thirteen again

Some tales from the front lines...

2008-09-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

Teacher Stories-
The funniest things happen in high school classrooms…

After teaching a unit of study concerning constitutional rights, Mr. Ball gives his students a test over the material. When more than half of the students fail the test, Mr. Ball revists the material and gives a retest. When the same percentage of students fail the test, Mr. Ball gets disappointed and a little peeved.

“What is wrong here,” Mr. Ball asks, both hands in the air, a look of indignation on his face. “I taught this material twice. Everything on the test came directly from the notes. Directly! I mean, even the desks… do you hear me, the desks in this room could have passed this test from just being in the room when I went over the material.”

A student, who did not pass the test, raises her hand.

“Mr. Ball, I just want to apologize for the class and say that you are right. Not only the desks, but even the file cabinet should have been able to pass as easy as the test was.”

Another student, an attitudinal look of shock on her face, who sits behind the first students, raises her hand.

“Well, if that was the case, I am sitting right here by this cabinet and if I would have known the test was that easy, I would have looked on the cabinet’s paper for the answer and not yours.”

Republicans will believe anything...

2008-09-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

Since the Republican National Convention, I have searched for the right word to describe the Republican ability to twist and alter the truth. Today, I finally found that word while reading last week’s Creative Loafing (I told you I was catching up on my reading…). A great editorial by Cliff Brockstock, “When the truth won’t do” quotes Stephen Colbert and calls it “truthiness.” The article is still online at http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/when_the_truth_won_t_do/Content?oid=555942.

Republicans believe whatever they want to believe. They accept “truthiness” when truth is staring them directly in the face.

Truthiness?
Barack Obama is unprepared and too inexperienced to be President of the United States.

Truth:
Barack Obama, graduate of Harvard Law and former president of the Harvard Law Review, spent three years as a community organizer, twelve years as a Constitutional Law professor, eight years as a state Senator, and four years as a United State Senator (sponsoring 131 bills). Clearly, Obama has the experience needed to serve as the next President of the United States.

Truthiness?
Barack Obama does not represent family values or American values.

Truth:
Barack Obama has been married for nineteen years to the same woman and has reared both of his daughters in a Christian home. He and his wife both sacrificed the opportunity to make “a lot of money” in order to serve their community as public servants.

The truth is out there…

A Break...

2008-09-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

I am off for an entire week. I know, fellow bloggers, eat your heart out…

What I have done: Caught up on television! I have been taping Project Runway (isn’t this show hilarious) and America’s Top Model (again, hilarious) and I finally got around to watching them. Both shows are in some very good and creative seasons. I am pleased.

Caught up on reading! The most recent issues of most magazines have been excellent. Palin, Palin, Palin, and I, like most Americans, cannot get enough election coverage.

Caught up on sleep! It is a glorious feeling to be able to get a nap each day.

Caught up on the gym! I made great workout progress this summer and have returned to the track and Gold’s.

The pictures posted are some highlights...

My Very Own Republican National Convention Scrapbook!

2008-09-05T21:15:00.001-07:00

Captions for my Republican National Convention Scrapbook...

1. 80’s Fashion truly is making a comeback…

2. And first lady Laura Bush agrees.

3. Oh, it was Gerald Ford who died…. My bad… I that it was this guy. Then, why is he with reformed alcoholic Betty Ford?

4. “I been a Republican since Lincoln, and I ain’t changing. If Rosa could stay on that bus, then I show can stay in this party! Segregation today, segregation tomorrow…"

5. Benedict Arnold was in attendance.

6. Representing the great state of Georgia… and Hazzard County...

Boss Hog.

I guess it really is true...

More McCain means more of the same...

Sarah Palin and tall... is simply not tall enough!

2008-09-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

For some it seems as though first impressions are lasting impressions and this seems to have been the case for McCain in regards to Palin.

Beautiful, intelligent, and a staunch conservative, Plaines appeared to appeal to a group of Republicans who were not connecting to McCain. Never mind the fact that Palin would be one of the most inexperienced Presidents in history or that few Americans had ever heard of her or knew of her political convictions. None of that matters when you are Miss Congeniality (Palin won this title in 1984).

Palin seemed like the perfect pick. It is hard to argue against the war in Iraq with someone who has a child fighting in Iraq. It is hard to argue against abortion with someone who has a child with Downs Syndrome.

However, it is also hard to argue for abstinence only education when you are someone who has a teenage daughter who has conceived a child out of wedlock. It is also hard to argue against big government and more accountability in terms of spending when you are someone who has more earmarked deals than the majority of other U.S. governors.

A number of minor “news quakes” have rocked the McCain-Palin ticket in the days since his announcement that Palin would be his running mate. A pregnant unwed teenaged daughter, a history of earmarking work with lobbyists, and affiliation with the Alaskan Independence Party (which questions whether statehood is good for Alaska), are all things that should have propelled McCain away from Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee-if McCain truly knew these things about Palin.

Poor John McCain. It seems as if he failed to do his homework. And as any student will tell you, failing to do homework can result in dire consequences come report card time…

Until Alaska becomes its own sovereign nation,
-Zack Kirk

Zack, where have you been?

2008-09-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Where are you going

with the long face pulling down?

Don’t hide away like an ocean-

you can see, you can smell

and the sound of your waves coming down.

I am no superman not at all-
I have no answers for you.

I am no hero and that’s for sure.
Lyrics from Dave Matthews’ “Where Are You Going”

A new school year is underway. The beginning of a new school year is always a hectic time. New students, new co-workers, and new policies always hit hard.

In addition to starting a new year at my high school, I started a new year at my adjunct position and took an extra course to help out the school and to help out my bank account. The goal is a new car in June… hopefully.

I cannot get a new car until I finish my dissertation. The dissertation- another reason I almost took a month long break from belonging.

But I am back and ready to blob about those VPs and that pregnancy…

-Until tomorrow‘s post…
Zack Kirk

A loss..

2008-08-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

We are dealing with our loss in our own ways...
Here is another poem of comfort that speaks
to me of the ways I knew our co-worker, our
teacher, our friend...

Mending Wall-

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'

Robert Frost

(explanation forthcoming....)

An Ice-Dream Deferred...

2008-08-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

So I am leaving work and I start craving an ice-dream cup from Chik-fil-a. I pull into the restaurant and park. I wanted to go through the drive-thru but the line was too long. I walk inside and to my delight there was a line with only one customer waiting. It was a man and his two daughters (around 6 and 4) and they were placing their order.

I wait.

When the line to my left moved two customers, I decided to see what could be the problem. I started to listen.

“Honey, what do you want?”

The customer, dressed in his suit, was allowing his two daughters in plaid school girl uniforms to decide what they wanted to order. It’s great when kids can make choices, but this ten-minute decision process was getting ridiculous.

At six, my mother would ask me what I wanted and she would place the order for me. If I did not know, I had better decide quick and in a hurry.

“Does the cole-slaw has carrots and raisins, cause I don’t like the raisins…”
“Well, it does have raisins and carrots because it is pre made…”

What? The manager was talking to the little girl as though she was an adult.

SHE IS SIX YEARS OLD!

It is great that she is being taught to make decisions, but the line at Chik-fil-a is not the place for her life long lessons in fiscal or physical responsibility.

Give these girls a kid’s meal nugget and a couple waffle fries and keep it moving…

In frustration, I left, with out an ice-dream. I guess some dreams are simply not meant to be.

No Longer King of the Hill…

2008-08-06T17:53:00.001-07:00

The metro Atlanta area boasts some colorful characters in the realm of politics and public service. Vernon Jones (former CEO of DeKalb County), Myron Freeman (former Sheriff of Fulton County), Ron Sailor (State Representative who has missed the most votes during the current legislative session) and Joyce McKibbens (mayor of Lithonia) have all garnered media attention as much for their public actions as they have for their public service (or in Sailor’s case, the lack thereof). However, for the past four years, it has been Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill who has stood as the most colorful character in the bunch.

Hill was defeated in last night’s election and I am remiss. Victor Hill was a rabble rousing lil rascal and made great fodder for the Atlanta media. I cannot imagine a week’s news broadcast without the lil guy. What will Monica and Bill Jim talk about not that lil Victor is on his way out of office?

Consider this:

On his first day in office, Sheriff Hill fired twenty-seven sheriff deputies, reportedly because he wanted the department to look like the constituents they served. He even had the policemen taken from the building under the cover of snipers and loaded into a padded wagon to be escorted from the premises.
-Atlanta Journal Constitution

And this:

A former Clayton County Sheriff’s department employee claims that Sheriff Hill used money from department vending machines and forfeited drug money on art pieces of black cowboys and lynch mobs. Vending machine money, according to the former employee, once went to an annual Christmas party.
-Creative Loafing (July 1, 2008: Thomas Wheatley)

Victor’s term in office was hilarious (to me at least… I live in DeKalb County, not Clayton).

I’m going to miss you, lil man...

I pooted? No, I voted!

2008-08-05T15:08:00.001-07:00

I pooted? No, I voted. Georgia held statewide run-off elections this morning and I cast my ballot for State Senate and DeKalb County CEO. I also cast my nominations for the 2008 Black Weblogs Awards.

Have you considered "the new intellectual pursuit" for category 30: Blog to Watch?
The criteria reads:
"This category highlights the best “undiscovered” blog in the blogosphere; keep your eye on this one! This is for that great blog that not everyone knows about…but should!"
Vote here at:
http://www.blackweblogawards.com/database/step1.php

Tales from the Hood

2008-08-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, hater! I know you wished you lived in my neighborhood, because if you did, you would have access to some things found in no other part of the country!

When you live in my hood, you can see some fine orthodontic work on display so you too can bling when you smile!

The shrimp steak and cheese is a culinary creation only found in a Chinese restaurant in my hood!

Until the Cheesecake Factory serves the steak-shrimp burger,

-Zack Kirk

A poem of comfort (for me at least...)

2008-07-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

For all who know the discomfort of hope and the uncertainity of faith...
My prayers are with him as are yours. I have hope for the fight and faith in God's plan.

Faithless
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits. . .
Matthew Arnold

By mid-July I'm tired of the mountains.
I want to be near the sea,
walk beside it for an hour or two,
watch it cleaning the wounds of the shore.
Such persistence—though we know
there isn't a plan, just this
going back over the same places,
revising everything out.
"Is there a way to win?"
Jane Greer asks Robert Mitchum
in Out of the Past. "Well," he says,
"There's a way to lose more slowly."
He knows he shouldn't trust her,
and he doesn't care. Ah, Matthew Arnold,
our lovers are more melancholy than yours,
more desperate, more faithless.
"You can't help anything you do,"
Mitchum tells her at the end.
Which is what he might have told himself.
But nobody ever sees how far
the things we shouldn't feel can take us.
I just want to walk along the shore
for an hour, watch the waves
rearranging whatever they can.
I like the way the sea encourages me
to think about the past,
as if I could leave it where it is:
the moon on the water, the stars
that gleam and are gone.

By Lawrence Raab

When faced with the difficult...

2008-07-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

We Walk in Faith by Raymond A. Foss

A momentary blip,
a bump on the road of life
hit us again today, as it has
for a few weeks
a scare in our lives
prayed over, worry over
brought us together
family of blood,
of affinity,
our family of faith
wrapping arms around us
praying for us
for the doctor’s skill
the sureness of his hand
the guiding hand of God
in the testing to come
the results we wait for
the healing of the body
and the balm of the soul
feeling the presence
the people put in our path
wanting to help
to care for her
support her
comfort her

-August 24, 2006

The 20th Annual National Black Arts Festival

2008-07-28T15:01:00.001-07:00

Every year, I attempt to attend at least one cultural event sponsored by the National Black Arts Festival. Held annually during the last two weeks in July, the festival celebrated 20 years this month.

According to nbaf.org, the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF), a non-profit cultural institution based in Atlanta, Georgia, celebrates the contributions of people of African descent and their impact on world cultures. The mission of NBAF is to engage, cultivate and educate diverse audiences about the arts and culture of the African Diaspora and provide opportunities for artistic and creative expression

If you missed this year’s artist gallery, you missed a real treat.

2008-07-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Tales from the Hood..

I have become addicted to Checker’s hot dogs. I know, I know… don’t judge me.

So I go to the drive-thru and order three of the 99 cent frankfurters. I am greeted by a rude Checker's employee.

Checkers Worker: Yeah.
Zack Kirk: Excuse me.
Checkers Worker: Yeah, can I take yo order.
Zack Kirk: Three hot dogs, please.
Checkers: Three chili dogs?
Zack Kirk: Three hot dogs.
Checkers Worker: Huh. Nobody orders hot dogs. $3.21. Drive around.

And I drive around and wait ten minutes while the car in front of me gets three bags of food. When I finally get to the window, I am greeted by weave all over the place and two gold teeth blinging brightly.

Zack Kirk: How much is it?
Checkers Worker: Huh?
Zack Kirk: How much is the order?

Checkers Worker: I told you 3.21.
I hand it over and take the bag.

Zack Kirk: Excuse me. Can I have some ketchup?
Checkers Worker: We ain’t got no ketchup.

How can a fast food restaurant not have ketchup? I am almost sure there was ketchup in the back, but she did not want to get it.

Why? Why can I not get decent customer service in my neighborhood? I know, I know… don’t tell me.

Until Santa Claus comes to the hood and hands out some manners,

-Zack Kirk

Is this freedom of speech, satire, or something else?

2008-07-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

Did the cover of this week’s New Yorker make me angry?
The cover portrays Obama as an Islamic Terrorist, who has taken over the white house, is burning an American flag, and is greeting his wife, an aforoed militant with a machine gun slung across her breast. The only thing missing are Natasha and Malia sitting on the lawn, reading from the Koran.

Did the cover of this week’s New Yorker make me angry?
The cover is insulting to African Americans and Muslims. The cover plays into the lies and slander being perpetuated by FOX news and other conservative news outlets concerning the Obamas.

Did the cover of this week’s New Yorker make me angry?
The cover could have easily been perceived as true by the 27% of Americans who believe Obama to be Muslim, when he is not a Muslim. He proclaims his faith to be Christian.

Did the cover make me angry? No.

I am firm supporter of the first amendment.
It is the job of the media to propel us into the world of thought. I read magazines and newspapers to make me think beyond my own preconceived judgments.

The portrayal of Barack needs to be explored. While the New Yorker’s cover (not the actual story) plays into the negative thoughts surrounding the Obamas, the majority of news magazines are giving Obama tons of positive free press. This is just as inflammatory as what is being done by FOX news.

We, the American people, to be an informed citizenry, deserve multiple sides of the story. The media that forces us to seek truth for ourselves instead of having that truth interpreted for us is helping move democracy forward.

The Dallas Diaries... come to an end...

2008-07-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

What I learned this week that really matters...

All students deserve access to high quality education.
For too long, high quality instruction and high expectations have been reserved for the brightest and best students. Every student, whether in an AP class, an Honors Class, or a College Preparatory class deserves the best that a teacher has to offer. A student should write no less in a College Prep class than in an AP class. A student should work no less or be exposed to no less in a College Prep class than in an AP class. They key to improving education is to improve the quality of instruction for all students, regardless to their chosen level of learning. A student should be just as skilled in a given curriculum after leaving a college preparatory class as they are when they leave an AP class. The difference should not be the quality of instruction or the expectations of learners, but should instead be the curriculum covered.

All students belong in an AP class, but...not all students should take an AP class.
With the aforementioned said, not every student should take an AP class. Every student should have the educational opportunity, but not every student should take advantage of that opportunity. If a student lacks work ethic, regardless of the kid’s ability or intelligence, he or she will not succeed in an AP class. While the greatest determinate of student intelligence or ability is not academics performance, the greatest predictor or student work ethic is academic performance. Kids who make A’s work hard and will strive to reach the mark, regardless of how high it is set.

Many educational programs really only exist to make money.
College Board, Everyday Math, Success for all… numerous educational programs intended to improve education for all students only exist to make money. Education is not improved, tax payer’s dollars are wasted, and children are short changed.

The only good solution to improving education is solid teaching.
While devalued by administrators across the country, teachers make the difference in each classroom. It is not the quiet class, the well-structured class that indicates quality instruction. In some cases, it is not even test scores. Good teaching is indicated by student learning, period. Student learning is indicated by student progress or improvement. Data driven results illustrate this and should come from a variety of sources.

Good teachers stay focused on the bottom line: kids.
Despite administrator actions, district policies, or parent opinions, the bottom line is always what is in the best interest of the learners.

Things in a random teacher's classroom... (Wednesday)

2008-07-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

It is now day three and I am getting restless and distracted. Today, during a bathroom break, I decided to go on a scavenger hunt.

As a teacher, it is always enlightening to check out how other teachers decide to decorate their classrooms. On my search, I found some interesting things.

Please share your thoughts.

The Dallas Diaries: Early to Rise... (Monday)

2008-07-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

(Pardon me, but this was written in real-time)

Registration for the week-long workshop started at 8:15 and my team wanted to be their on time. I received at call at 7 am telling me the team was having breakfast at 7:30. I got the message at 8, when I woke up. I was peeved at leaving so early. If registration was between 8:15 and 9, why not arrive at 8:55? I just knew that, by leaving at 8 a.m. for a workshop that started at 9, we would be the first one’s to arrive and would find ourselves sitting in a vacant parking lot.

Um… no. I was wrong.

We were not the first to arrive. From the looks of the registration lines, we were among the last.

I will not name my child Patrick. Every Patrick I know looks like the Patrick from spongebob. Our presenter, Patrick, is no exception.

Our trainer has actually worked for the organization for a whole career span of one week. F--ing awesome! He’s also a civil war re-enactor. Double f--ing awesome. And he graduated from the University of Alabama. Even better, huh…

Most teachers make poor students. I hate having my time wasted. Luckily, as the day went on, I realized the time was being put to good use.

I learned a lot and I am already fired up about putting my new knowledge to good use…

An overview:
Kids have to learn how to write. It is essential. Creative projects are fun and easy to design, but kids are not going to be asked to make a panorama for a college admissions essay alternative assessment or do an interpretative dance to explain symbolism in the Illiad.

Um, why were some people in Texas still wearing Jheri curls?

The Dallas Diaries: The Take Off (Sunday)

2008-07-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

In April, I applied for the opportunity to represent my school district at a workshop hosted by a group calling themselves Laying the Foundation. While I have an idea of what this nebulous organization is all about, I am a little uncertain about what will be gained from this conference. Check out http://www.layingthefoundation.org and see if you can decipher what I will be learning.

I actually received an email a couple of weeks ago telling me to arrive for my 11:15 flight between 8 and 9 and I decided then and there that I would be late. The Sunday after the Independence Day Weekend was destined to be an empty boot day at the airport. Why in the world would we have to leave so early? No one was flying on the Sunday after Independence day!

After checking in, we had a two hour wait. Hmph... Guess I was right. We cruised through security.

As the 11th hour approached, a storm brew around us. Lightening flashed and rain poured. I realized early that our flight would be delayed. I found my corner, curled up, and went back to sleep… only to be stirred and told that we were boarding. To my pleasant surprise, we boarded right on schedule.

What was not to my pleasant surprise was that we were grounded from taking off.

Despite the looming storm around us, Delta allowed us to board the plane. We boarded and waited. And waited. And waited… on the plane… three hours… while the storm passed. I read Newsweek and Time, cover to cover, and listening to every new song upload to Earl (the iphone) in the intermission.

We finally left Atlanta at 2, and after a rocky, stomach flipping flight, arrived in Dallas at 5.

We ate a fine Italian meal and checking into the Spring Hill Suites Marriot in Irving.

The hotel is awesome. I have a full suite to myself that makes being away from home endurable.

So far I am hoping for the, but, like always, best expecting the worst.

Until Delta gives me more than one pack of free cookies,

-Zack Kirk

The mind of a college instructor..

2008-07-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying my summer job. Really, I am. But as with all teaching gigs, some questions, regardless of the learner’s educational level keep popping up. And yes, my answers are always the same.

“Um, did I miss anything last week?”
Of course not, buddy. We just sat around and played rocks/paper/scissors.

“Um, do you have my make-up work?”
Of course I do. I just keep a file folder on every single one of my students for each of my five courses this term and when you are absent I put your notes, make-up work, and a five dollar bill inside it to let you know that coming to class is pointless.

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand. So, what are we supposed to doing, exactly?”
Oh, don’t worry. I don’t mind explaining again the assignment we have been working on for the past three course meetings. It’s no problem at all. Again, you are the priority here and making your life easier is why I breathe. My repetition of the same information for the fourth time is a pleasure if it results in your academic success.

And yes, laughter usually follows. But when it doesn’t…

“I was only asking, Mr. Kirk. You know, your sarcasm and attitude don’t make learning this bullspit any easier. It’s hard up in here. This class is hard, pointless, and don’t nobody want be up in here.”
Yeah, I know, right.

“Uh… why you looking at me like that, Mr. Kirk? Like I’m stupid or something?”
Pardon me, but I am simply looking at you. If you don’t like the way I am looking, I am sorry. God made my face. If you have problems with my face, please consult the NIV version of the bible for an understandable explanation of why I am looking at you like I am.

And by then, yes, laughter usually follows. But when it doesn’t

I’m sorry. I was just playing.

Until I become English chair at my college,
-Zack Kirk

The Paper Pusher (club e thanks me!)

2008-07-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

As many know, I am an adjunct at a local college. During the course of this summer, I was asked to take on additional classes and happily accepted.

Today, when I walked into the copy room, I found four stacks of copied PowerPoint notes. Each stack was copied on one side and had about 14 sheets of paper. Each packet of information consisted of notes that were being presented during class and that was also found within the student textbooks.

What in the world is this instructor thinking? Why in the world is this instructor wasting so much paper?

According to the web site, Paper University, Americans used more than 90 million tons of paper each year. Our nation is also the leading paper producer in the world. The waste of paper perturbs me because it represents a lack of consideration for the environment, the educational institution, and most importantly, the students.

I am not a peace, love, and the environment kind of guy. I am not riding around with go-green bumper stickers, watching Meerkat Manor each week, but I am concerned about foolish waste. Using inordinate amounts of paper represents a financial waste to the college. In terms of our students, which student wants to collect over 120 pages of notes per week? Who has that kind of space in a binder, when the same information is presented in a text book?

Until the next paper waster gets metaphorically crushed into pulp and recycled,

-Zack Kirk